A stable composition including botulinum neurotoxin and a cyclodextrin and a method of preserving botulinum neurotoxin and for producing a botulinum neurotoxin composition with improved stability properties in an efficient and economically advantageous manner. The invention seeks to alleviate the problems associated with rapid degradation or denaturation of botulinum neurotoxin by providing a novel composition that exhibits improved stability properties. The botulinum neurotoxin is preferably stabilized by forming a cyclodextrin inclusion complex.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin and to a method of stabilizing the same. Particularly, the present invention is directed to a stabilized pharmaceutical composition including C. botulinum Type A and a cyclodextrin.
2. Description of Related Art
Botulinum neurotoxins are produced from anaerobic bacillus Clostridium botulinum. Seven related protein neurotoxins, known as serotypes A through G, are produced by different strains of the bacillus. Each of the seven serotypes of the botulinum neurotoxins is a large protein having a molecular weight of about 150 kDa, and a 100 kDa heavy chain of amino acid residues and a 50 kDa light chain of amino acid residues coupled by at least one disulfide linkage.
Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins, which cause the disease of botulism by blocking the release of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, are the most toxic proteins currently known to mankind. Food-borne botulism results from the consumption of improperly stored foods in which anaerobic C. botulinum grows and releases the toxin. In other forms of botulism, C. botulinum also produces the neurotoxin resulting in toxigenesis. For example, wound botulism results when the spores of C. botulinum are introduced into an open skin abrasion. The colonization of the wound is followed by the release of botulinum toxin. Similarly, infant botulism results from the consumption of C. botulinum spores followed by colonization in the intestine and toxigenesis.
Although the botulinum neurotoxins are known to be the most lethal natural toxin known to man, these lethal poisons have become utilized in the medical community as drugs with many indications. In this regard, the botulinum neurotoxins have been used to treat strabismus, and local injections of botulinum neurotoxin are now considered a safe and efficacious treatment for many neurological and non-neurological conditions. Recently, it has been observed that botulinum neurotoxin is useful as a treatment for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Botulinum neurotoxin is not only potent in blocking skeletal neuromuscular transmission, but also block cholinergic nerve endings in the autonomic nervous system. The capability to inhibit contraction of smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract was first suggested based on in vitro observations and later demonstrated in vivo, it has also been shown that botulinum neurotoxin does not block non adrenergic non cholinergic responses mediated by nitric oxide. This has further promoted the interest to use botulinum neurotoxin as a treatment for overactive smooth muscles and sphincters, such as the lower esophageal sphincter to treat esophageal achalasia, or the internal anal sphincter to treat anal fissure.
Commercially available pharmaceutical compositions comprising botulinum toxin are marketed under the trademarks including BOTOX® (Allergan, Inc. Irvine Calif.), Dysport® (Ipsen Ltd. Berkshire, U.K.) and Myobloc® (Elan Corp. Dublin Ireland). Typically, the pharmaceutical compositions are sold as vacuum-dried form that must be reconstituted with a diluent prior to actual usage. One major drawback to using the commercially available botulinum toxin preparations is the very short shelf life of the composition. In this regard, the actual usage of the pharmaceutical composition should be administered within about four hours after reconstitution because the botulinum toxin is very susceptible to denaturation due to surface denaturaion, heat, and alkaline conditions.
The susceptible denaturation of the botulinum neurotoxin reconsitution necessiates a need for methods of preserving the botulinum neurotoxin. It has been found that the Clostridium botulinum bacteria secretes the neurotoxin along with a group of neurotoxin associated proteins ("NAPs"). Research has shown that not only do the NAPs have a critical role in the toxico-infection of the botulinum neurotoxins, but the NAPs have an important role in the toxicity of the botulinum neurotoxin. In particular, it has been demonstrated the oral toxicity of the neurotoxin type A decreases by 43,000-fold upon removal of the NAPs. It has also been shown that the NAPs act to protect the neurotoxin against various environmental conditions including exposure to proteases, acidity, and heat. See, Kitamura, M., Sakaguchi, S., and Sakaguchi, G. (1969) Significance of the 12S toxin of Clostridium botulinum type E. Bacteriol. 98, 1173-1178; Sugii, S., Ohishi, I., and Sakagch, G., (1977) Botulogenic properties of vegetables with special reference to molecular size of the toxin in them, J. Food Safety 1, 53-65. Accordingly, it has been suggested that the NAPs interact with the neurotoxin to protect it from adverse environmental conditions. This protective role has led to the hypothesis that NAPs are important for the preservation of the structural integrity of the neurotoxin, as well as preservation of its activity.
Cyclodextrins are cyclic multiclyclopyranose unites connected by alpha-(1-4) linkages. The most widely known cyclodextrins are A, B, G-cyclodextrins, and their derivatives. The cyclic nature of the cyclodextrins, the hydrophobic properties of their cavities and the hydrophilic properties of their outer surfaces enable them to interact with other chemicals and produce inclusion compounds which are characterized by improved solubilities and stabilities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,818,662 to Ito et al. discloses that solfobutyl ether B-cyclodextrin increases the solubility and light stability of N-(3-chloro-4-morpholin-4-yl)phenyl-N′-hydroxyimodoformadinie.
Although cyclodextrins are known to form inclusion complexes with drugs, there has been no disclosure or suggestion that a cyclodextrin can stabilize a botulinum neurotoxin. In fact, it has been thought that cyclic polymers including cyclodextrins can not be used to preserve or stabilize a botulinum neurotoxin. See, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0118598 to Hunt, in which it has been taught that the botulinum neurotoxin can not utilize the cyclodextrin cavity because the cavity is much smaller in size than the neurotoxin. Accordingly, cyclodextrins cannot form inclusion complexes with botulinum neurotoxin.
There remains a need for an efficient and economic method and system for preparing a pharmaceutical composition comprising botulinum neurotoxin and a method for stabilizing and preserving the botulinum neurotoxin. The present invention satisfies these needs.


An audio amplifier with a negative DC/DC converter is provided. The audio amplifier receives VDD and VEE as power supply signals. The negative DC/DC converter is arranged to provide VEE from VDD, such that VEE is a negative voltage that is lower in magnitude than VDD. Accordingly, the power loss can be minimal with lower Vee, even though the audio power is increased. The audio amplifier further receives an audio input signal, and a reference voltage that is the arithmetic mean of VDD and VEE.

An audio amplifier is a power amplifier that may be used to amplify low-power audio signals (e.g. 20 Hz-20 KHz signals) for driving a speaker load. The speaker load value typically varies from 4 ohm to 32 ohm. Audio amplifiers may be used to drive loudspeakers, but may also be used for driving other types of speaker loads such as audio headphones and earpieces. Traditionally, audio amplifiers are class AB amplifiers. However, other types of amplifiers, such as class D amplifiers, may also be employed.

Apparatus and method for negative boost audio amplifier


In a load change-over gear with infinitely variable transmission, which includes a linkage gear (1) driven by a main drive shaft (5), a control gear (2) associated with the linkage gear (1), as well as a switching or change-over gear (4) series-connected after the linkage gear (1), linkage shafts (10 and 11) can be alternately coupled to the switching gear (4). To create a variable switching logic and to save structural components of the switching gear (4), a superposition gear (3) is series-connected after the linkage gear (1) whose input shaft (14) can be coupled alternately to linkage shafts (10 and 11). Superposition gear (3), in which the main drive shaft rpm can be superposed on the rpm of the input shaft (14), in turn includes a linkage shaft (21) that can be coupled directly to a main output shaft (24) or to the switching gear (4).

This invention relates to a load change-over gear with infinitely variable transmission that includes a power distributing linkage gear and a control gear, preferably made in the form of a hydrostatic unit. The linkage gear comprises planetary gear sets and two linkage shafts on the power take-off side whose rpm's at a control-range boundary of the control gear are equal. In case of an adjustment of the control gear in the direction of control-range boundary, the rpm of one linkage gear will increase steadily and the rpm of the other linkage gear will decrease steadily, allowing the linkage gears to be alternately coupled to the control gear. The linkage gears can be alternately connected via clutches with an input shaft of a superposition gear in which it is possible to superpose on the input shaft rpm an rpm that is in a ratio to the main drive shaft rpm which can be altered constantly or gradually and where a linkage gear of the superposition gear can be coupled directly to the output shaft of the circuit change-over gear.

Circuit change-over gear with infinitely variable transmission


A wastewater treatment system and method for remediating wastewater and human waste that is self-contained and that has no connection to a municipal wastewater system and no connection to an electrical grid. The domestic toilet and wastewater treatment system can be powered by a photovoltaic panel as a source of electricity. The system includes an electrochemical cell that allows a waste stream to be disinfected in a few hours to a condition where no viable bacterial colonies can be cultured. The system produces a liquid stream that is suitable for system flushing or for uses in which non-potable water is acceptable. The system can generate hydrogen as a product that can be used to generate power. The system can generate nitrate, urea, ammonia and phosphate for use as fertilizer. The disinfected residual organic solids are also completely disinfected for potential use as an organic soil amendment for agriculture.

The conventional sewage treatment system that is disconnected from a conventional central sewage treatment system is an open sewer or a flowing or stationary body of water into which waste, including human waste, is deposited. In many such sewage treatment systems in the third world, no deliberate treatment is applied in addition to those processes that occur in nature. Some of the problems with such sewage treatment systems are that diseases are easily transferred to anyone who comes in contact with such a body of water, and the sewage can and often does contaminate ground water supplies that are used in daily life.
In recent years, there has been growing challenge of sanitation dominantly in emerging countries, with a manifestation that more than 1.8 million children under five years old die from waterborne diseases every year (Corcoran et al., 2010). In developing countries, a deficit of social infrastructure including electric grid and sewer connection requires sanitation facilities for water management to be fossil-fuel independent and self-contained. In addition, global water models projecting an increase in water stress underscores the importance of a water management strategy towards increasing the water use efficiency (Alcamo et al., 2007). In urban area of developed world, water treatment criteria has become more stringent in order to enhance livability in cities, while a local augmentation in population density often causes wastewater flow exceeding the treatment capacity of a centralized sewage treatment facility.
Also known in the prior art is Weres et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,508, issued Nov. 15, 1994, which is said to disclose electrochemical methods for producing hydroxyl free radicals and decomposing by oxidation chemical substances dissolved in water. The method utilizes a novel electrode which is capable of operation at sufficiently positive anodic potential to produce hydroxyl radicals. A complete device for oxidizing chemical substances dissolved in water is described, and operating conditions favorable to the method are discussed. Examples of oxidation reactions are presented, including oxidation of an herbicide, an insecticide, toluene, cresol, and a fluoroalkyl surfactant.
Also known in the prior art is Weres et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,824, issued May 30, 1995, which is said to disclose a novel electrode which is capable of operation at sufficiently positive anodic potential to produce hydroxyl free radicals and release them into solution, and a process for producing these electrodes. It also provides electrochemical cells utilizing these electrodes, and a novel material included in these electrodes. The electrode consists of titanium metal or a titanium alloy, with an oxide coating that includes titanium dioxide and also includes niobium(IV) oxide or tantalum(IV) oxide, sufficient to impart adequate electrical conductivity to the titanium dioxide under the necessary anodic polarization. An electrode preparation process is described, which allows niobium or tantalum in the oxide coating to be reduced to the +4 valence state, and causes the coating to assume a very stable and insoluble crystal structure. A process for manufacturing ammonium niobate, which is the preferred source compound for niobium in the electrode manufacturing process, is also provided.
Also known in the prior art is Weres et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,577, issued Aug. 8, 1995, which is said to disclose an electrochemical water treatment device for producing hydroxyl free radicals and decomposing by oxidation chemical substances dissolved in water. It utilizes a novel electrode which is capable of operation at sufficiently positive anodic potential to produce hydroxyl radicals.
Also known in the prior art is Weres, U.S. Pat. No. 7,494,583, issued Feb. 24, 2009, which is said to disclose an electrode having a valve metal substrate and an electrocatalytic surface composition comprising titanium dioxide doped with bismuth, and an electrolytic water purification process utilizing this electrode, wherein organic substances dissolved or dispersed in water are oxidized and degraded in a nonselective manner with good current efficiency.
There is a need for wastewater and solid human waste treatment facilities that are useful without connection to a conventional central sewage treatment system.

Self-contained, PV-powered domestic toilet and wastewater treatment system


The present invention provides a semiconductor device that has a shorter distance between the bit lines and easily achieves higher storage capacity and density. The semiconductor device includes: first bit lines formed on a substrate; an insulating layer that is provided between the first bit lines and in a groove in the substrate, and has a higher upper face than the first bit lines; channel layers that are provided on both side faces of the insulating layer, and are coupled to the respective first bit lines; and charge storage layers that are provided on the opposite side faces of the channel layers from the side faces on which the insulating layers are formed.

Recently, non-volatile memories that are data rewritable semiconductor devices have become widely used in the storage of electronic data. In flash memories that are typical of non-volatile memories, transistors forming memory cells have floating gates or insulation films that are known as charge storage layers. In such flash memories, charges are accumulated in the charge storage layers, so as to store data. Studies are still being made to produce non-volatile memories with higher storage capacity and density.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,725 discloses a SONOS (Silicon Oxide Nitride Oxide Silicon) flash memory that has virtual-ground memory cells, with each cell interchanging the source and drain, and operating the source and drain in a symmetrical fashion. In this flash memory, bit lines that also serve as the source and drain are formed in the semiconductor substrate, and charges can be accumulated in the trapping layer in an ONO (Oxide Nitride Oxide) film formed on the semiconductor substrate. By interchanging the source and drain, two charge storing regions can be formed in one memory cell. Accordingly, higher storage capacity and density can be achieved.
In the conventional structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,725, however, the two charge storing regions overlap with each other if the distance between any of the two bit lines is made as short as 100 nm or less. Also, a substrate current flows between the bit lines on the substrate side, which is called "punchthrough." Therefore, it is difficult to shorten the distance between the bit lines, and there is a limit to the amount the storage capacity and density of each memory cell can be increased

Convex shaped thin-film transistor device having elongated channel over insulating layer


In an embodiment, a pull toy comprises a body; a first limb element that is joined to the body; a second limb element that is joined to the body at an angle with respect to the first limb element; wherein the second limb element is joined to the body at about a linear midpoint of the second limb element and wherein the first limb element is joined to the body at about a linear midpoint of the first limb element.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Some breeds of dogs appear to enjoy participating in pull games in which a dog grasps and pulls an object or toy using the dog's mouth while a person or another dog simultaneously grasps and holds or pulls the object or toy. Commercial pull toy products include knotted ropes and stuffed objects. The stuffed type of pull toy may resemble a small animal such as a duck, chicken, rabbit or squirrel. The stuffed type of pull toy typically comprises a plush fabric body with a polyester fiber filling or other stuffing with stuffed limbs that are sewn to a body. Velour or cotton is commonly used for the fabric body.
Unfortunately, most stuffed pull toys now on the market are easily ripped and destroyed by even a moderately aggressive dog. It is common for a dog to rip off one or two arms or legs of such stuffed pull toys in the first few minutes of use. To address this problem, some stuffed pull toys are now made with very short limbs or no limbs at all, which defeats the purpose of such a toy. Further, once a part of the stuffed pull toy is ripped or torn, the toy cannot be washed because the stuffing will come out.


A method of automatic image alignment with head mounted display (HMD) optics includes generating a pixel pattern of display light on an electronic display of the HMD. A light sensor of the HMD then generates light measurements in response to the pixel pattern, where the light measurements are representative of a lateral position of an optical element of the HMD. The method also includes adjusting a rendering center of the electronic display for presentation of one or more images with respect to the optical element based on the light measurements.

A head mounted display (HMD) is a display device, typically worn on the head of a user. HMDs may be used in a variety of applications, such as gaming, aviation, engineering, medicine, entertainment and so on to provide artificial reality content to a user. Artificial reality is a form of reality that has been adjusted in some manner before presentation to the user, which may include, e.g., virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), hybrid reality, or some combination and/or derivative thereof. Some HMDs may be configured to allow binocular viewing by the user (e.g., allow viewing by both eyes).
Because the HMD may be used by different people, the distance between the left and right eye pieces may be made adjustable to account for variations in interpupillary distance (IPD). In some contexts, IPD refers to the distance between the centers of the pupils of a person's eyes. In the context of HMDs, the term "IPD" may be used to describe the distance between the exit pupils or optical axes of the optics of a binocular HMD. For some uses, incorrect adjustment of the IPD of the HMD may lead to an uncomfortable viewing experience and/or eye strain. In addition, adjustment of the IPD may change the position of the optics relative to an electronic display included in the HMD. However, changing the position of the optics relative to the electronic display may negatively affect the viewing of images rendered by the HMD, especially 3D or stereoscopic images. Thus, changes in the position of the optics may lead to a reduction in the immersion or presence experienced by the user.

Automatic image alignment with head mounted display optics


A method for dyeing keratin-containing fibers, in particular, human hair comprising the steps of: (A) contacting the hair with a dyeing composition, comprising color-imparting components for a contact time Z1; (B) rinsing the hair a to remove the dying composition; (C) optionally drying the rinsed hair; (D) contacting at least a portion of the hair from step (B) or (C) with a lightening or nuancing agent comprising, in a cosmetic carrier, at least one thickener, hydrogen peroxide and at least one alkalinizing agent for a contact time Z2; and (E) rinsing the hair to remove the adjusting agent; wherein the dyeing composition comprises a color-imparting component comprising,    (a) at least two oxidation dye precursors, where at least one oxidation dye precursor must be of the developer type or    (b) at least two oxo dye precursors, where at least one oxo dye precursor must be a reactive carbonyl compound.The method ensures a uniform lightening of keratin-containing fibers dyed with dyeing compositions, and produces uniform and natural-looking, lightened color reflections over the entire head hair area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for dyeing keratin-containing fibers, in particular, human hair, in which, after a dyeing step, some of the previously dyed fibers are selectively subjected to incomplete, oxidative color removal for the nuancing. In addition, the invention provides a kit-of-parts comprising a dyeing composition and a color removal agent, and application aids, and the use of this kit in the dyeing method according to the invention.
Human hair is nowadays treated in diverse ways with hair cosmetic preparations. These include, for example, the cleansing of the hair with shampoos, the care and regeneration with rinses and treatments, and the bleaching, dyeing and shaping of the hair with dyeing compositions, tinting compositions, waving compositions and styling preparations. In this respect, compositions for changing or nuancing the color of head hair play a prominent role. Disregarding the bleaching compositions which bring about an oxidative lightening of the hair by breaking down the natural hair dyes, then in the field of hair dyeing essentially four types of hair dyeing compositions are of importance.
For permanent, intense colorations with corresponding fastness properties, so-called oxidation dyeing compositions are used. Such dyeing compositions usually comprise oxidation dye precursors, so-called developer components and coupler components. The developer components form the actual dyes under the influence of oxidizing agents or of atmospheric oxygen with one another or with coupling with one or more coupler components. The oxidation dyeing compositions are indeed notable for excellent, long-lasting coloring results. However, for colorations which appear natural, it is usually necessary to use a mixture of a relatively large number of oxidation dye precursors; in many cases, in addition, direct dyes are used for the nuancing.
The developer components used are usually primary aromatic amines with a further free or substituted hydroxy or amino group located in the para or ortho position, diaminopyridine derivatives, heterocyclic hydrazones, 4-aminopyrazolone derivatives and 2,4,5,6-tetraminopyrimidine and derivatives thereof.
Specific representatives are, for example, p-phenylenediamine, p-tolylenediamine, 2,4,5,6-tetraminopyrimidine, p-aminophenol, N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-p-phenylenediamine, 2-(2,5-diaminophenyl)ethanol, 2-(2,5-diaminophenoxy)ethanol, 1-phenyl-3-carboxyamido-4-aminopyrazolone-5,4-amino-3-methylphenol, 2-aminomethyl-4-aminophenol, 2-hydroxy-4,5,6-triaminopyrimidine, 2,4-dihydroxy-5,6-diaminopyrimidine, 2,5,6-triamino-4-hydroxypyrimidine and 1,3-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-N,N′-bis(4-aminophenyl)diaminopropan-2-ol.
The coupler components used are generally m-phenylenediamine derivatives, naphthols, resorcinol and resorcinol derivatives, pyrazolones and m-aminophenols. Suitable coupler substances are, in particular, 1-naphthol, 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene, 2,7-dihydroxynaphthalene and 1,7-dihydroxynaphthalene, 5-amino-2-methylphenol, m-aminophenol, resorcinol, resorcinol monomethyl ether, m-phenylenediamine, 1-phenyl-3-methylpyrazolone-5, 2,4-dichloro-3-aminophenol, 1,3-bis(2,4-diaminophenoxy)propane, 2-chlororesorcinol, 4-chlororesorcinol, 2-chloro-6-methyl-3-aminophenol, 2-methylresorcinol, 5-methylresorcinol and 2-methyl-4-chloro-5-aminophenol.
For temporary colorations, use is usually made of dyeing or tinting compositions which comprise so-called direct dyes as coloring component. These are dye molecules which attach directly to the hair and require no oxidative process for color formation. These dyes include, for example, henna, which is known for coloring bodies and hair since antiquity. These colorations are generally considerably more sensitive to shampooing than the oxidative colorations, meaning that an often undesired nuance shift or even a visible "decoloring" takes place very much more quickly.
(2) Description of Related Art, Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.97 and 1.98
Finally, a further dyeing method has received great attention. In this method, precursors of the natural hair dye melanine are applied to the hair; in the course of oxidative processes within the hair, these then form nature-analogous dyes. Such a method using 5,6-dihydroxyindoline as dye precursor has been described in EP-B1-530 229. Upon, in particular, repeated, application of compositions comprising 5,6-dihydroxyindoline it is possible to give back the natural hair color to people with gray hair. The color formation here can take place with atmospheric oxygen as the sole oxidizing agent, meaning that it is not necessary to have recourse to any further oxidizing agents. For people with originally mid-blonde to brown hair, the indoline can be used as the sole dye precursor. For application on people with originally red and, in particular, dark to black hair color, by contrast, satisfactory results can often only be achieved through the co-use of further dye components, in particular, specific oxidation dye precursors.
Another way of dyeing keratin-containing fibers is to use dyeing compositions which comprise a combination of component                A compounds which comprise a reactive carbonyl group with component        B compounds chosen from (a) CH-acidic compounds, (b) compounds with primary or secondary amino group or hydroxy group chosen from primary or secondary aromatic amines, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds and aromatic hydroxy compounds, (c) amino acids, (d) oligopeptides constructed from 2 to 9 amino acids.
The corresponding dyeing method (called oxo dyeing below) is described, for example, in the publications WO-A1-99/18916, WO-A1-00/38638, WO-A1-01/34106 and WO-A1-01/47483. Some of the resulting colorations have color fastnesses on the keratin-containing fibers which are comparable to those of oxidation dyeing. The nuance spectrum which can be achieved with the gentle oxo dyeing is very broad and the coloration obtained often has an acceptable brilliance and depth of color. The above-mentioned components A and B, referred to below as oxo dye precursors, are generally themselves not dyes, and therefore when taken by themselves are not suitable for dyeing keratin-containing fibers. In combination, they form dyes in a nonoxidative process. Among compounds of component B, however, corresponding oxidation dye precursors of the developer and/or coupler type can also be used with or without the use of an oxidizing agent. Thus, the method of oxo dyeing can be readily combined with the oxidative dyeing system.
Methods are known to the person skilled in the art in which the hair is lightened or bleached on selective areas through the application of so-called bleaching agents. The result of these methods, e.g., on undyed hair which has been left natural are, for example, blonde strands or lightened hair ends.
The oxidizing agents present in the bleaching compositions have an oxidizing effect on the natural hair dye melanin and optionally on synthetic dyes located in the fiber and thereby cause a color change and optimally lightening of the hair color. The principles of bleaching processes and oxidative dyeing processes are known to the person skilled in the art and are summarized in relevant monographs, e.g., by K. Schrader, Grundlagen und Rezepturen der Kosmetika [Principles and formulations of cosmetics], 2nd edition, 1989, Dr. Alfred Hüthig Verlag, Heidelberg, or W. Umbach (ed.), Kosmetik (cosmetics), 2nd edition, 1995, Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, N.Y.
For the lightening or ultrableaching of human hair—particularly for strand application—solid or paste-like preparations comprising solid oxidizing agents are usually mixed directly prior to application with a dilute hydrogen peroxide solution. This application mixture is then applied to the hair and rinsed out again after a certain contact time. Besides hydrogen peroxide, the conventional ready-to-use bleaching compositions for keratin-containing fibers in most cases comprise peroxydisulfate compounds for increasing the lightening capacity and, upon application to the fibers, have a pH greater than pH 9. However, the result of a lightening operation should be differentiated from the result of the ultrableaching. Whereas during the ultrableaching operation as far as possible all of the color pigments are oxidatively influenced with retention of a virtually white-colored hair fiber, in the case of oxidative lightening, the existing coloration should be nuanced (i.e., lightened) in such a way that the starting color is still recognizable, but appears lighter in color to the observer.
However, the desired oxidative lightening of keratin-containing fibers treated with dyeing compositions cannot be effected directly. Often, the oxidative lightening of such color-changed fibers results in undesired color shifts to, e.g., orange or green tones, which unquestionably have to be avoided. In the course of lightening, the only color effects which are desirable are those which signify a lightening of the starting shade. In addition, it is desirable to uniformly nuance a well-defined part of the head hair, such as, for example, strands and to distribute these well-defined parts again as uniformly as possible over the entire head hair area. For strand nuancing, this means that a hair fiber has to be nuanced uniformly from the roots of the hair to the ends and these strands should settle as evenly distributed as possible both in the covering hair and also in the areas of hair which are underneath. In this way, uniform and natural-looking, lightened color reflections are obtained.

Method for dyeing fibers containing keratin


A converter for an electrical machine having a plurality of phase lines for connecting the electrical machine. For each phase line the converter has a half-bridge with a first semiconductor switch is configured to electrically connect at least one of the phase lines intermittently to a first supply line of the converter, and a second semiconductor switch configured to electrically connect the phase line intermittently to a second supply line of the converter. The converter is configured for operation in a first energy recovery limiting mode in which at least two of the first semiconductor switches are at least intermittently on simultaneously.

German Patent Publication DE 298 13 080 U1 describes an arrangement having a converter, a protective device and a permanently excited motor. The protective device is provided to prevent the converter from being destroyed as a result of intermediate-circuit capacitors being reformatted and as a result of blocking voltages on the converter valves being exceeded. The protective device is connected to the motor phases between the motor and the converter. The protective device includes a means for forming a signal which signals the presence of a harmful voltage reaction and a means for shorting a terminal voltage on the motor, with a forward resistance of the shorting means acting as a braking load.
The protective device may have the following application advantage, which is not mentioned therein: when the phases in an electrical synchronous machine (for example, a permanently excited electrical machine) are shorted together, the torque produced in the motor is high only at very low motor speeds. Above these very low motor speeds, the torque produced in the motor is substantially lower in event of a short than when the motor is operated with a nonreactive load.
Technical reasons will now first of all be provided for this behaviour by synchronous machines in order to facilitate comprehension of the implementability and principal of action of the present invention. The single nonreactive resistance which is still in the circuit when the phases are shorted is the nonreactive winding resistance. For the synchronous machine as a voltage source, the synchronous reactance of the machine is the internal resistance of this voltage source. Since the synchronous reactance of the electrical machine is proportional to the speed (See, K. Wippich, Electrical Machines and Drives II, Lecture at Oldenburg University of Applied Sciences, pg. 150), the voltage drop across the synchronous reactance outweighs the voltage drop across the nonreactive winding resistance to an ever greater degree as the speed increases. This mismatch between the internal resistance (the synchronous reactance) of the synchronous machine as a voltage source and the resistance of the load (the winding resistance) severely attenuates energy transfer from the drive shaft to the nonreactive resistance in the event of a short. In addition, the energy transfer between drive shaft and nonreactive resistance in the event of a short is diminished by virtue of the armature reaction being relatively large in the event of a short (Wippich loc. cit.).

Converter for an electrical machine, controller and method for operating a converter


The embodiments of the present invention disclose a display system comprising: a display panel; a backlight module for supplying backlight to the display panel; a drive module for driving the backlight module to emit light; and a control module for controlling the drive module to drive the backlight module to emit light, wherein the backlight module comprises first light emitting diodes and second light emitting diodes, and a spectral intensity of blue light of light emitted by the first light emitting diode is less than a spectral intensity of each of red light and green light of the light emitted by the first light emitting diode; wherein the drive module comprises a first drive unit for driving the first light emitting diodes to emit light under the control of the control module, and a second drive unit for driving the second light emitting diodes to emit light under the control of the control module.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of display, and particularly to a display system.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a need to decrease a spectral intensity of blue light while a luminance and a chrominance of a picture displayed by a liquid crystal display are ensured.


A mobile or stabile has rotatable elements comprising a solar cell, a beam, and an electric motor. The solar cell is electrically connected to the electric motor in the same rotatable element. The rotatable elements are linked by attaching the rotating shaft of the electric motor of one rotatable element to the beam of the rotatable element above. Each rotatable element produces its own movement. When a solar cell receives light it powers the connected electric motor to rotate its rotatable element.

Mobiles are often driven by external wind currents, but also by external or internal motors.
Mobiles often have the property of recursive or fractal self-similarity: a sub assembly may have a similar structure as the larger assembly it is a part of.
Each element acts as a beam suspended at a balance point in the middle, with one or more recursive elements suspended from the beam. The balance point of an element balances the gravitational mass of all the elements recursively suspended below it. Most mobiles have further recursive elements suspended from one or more ends of the beam. A simple counterweight at one end of a beam may terminate recursion. Some mobiles have further recursive elements suspended from the balance point of a beam, so that the balance points are one above the other in a vertical line.
Mobiles often have elements that rotate or pivot in horizontal planes but elements also may rock or seesaw in vertical planes.
A mobile may have flat, 2D elements that may be rotated so that the entire assembly lies flat in a vertical plane, but mobiles may also have 3D elements that are balanced plates instead of beams.
Mobiles and stabiles may be connected so that relative motion between elements is limited to one or more axis and is limited in range. For example mobiles may be connected by swivels that do not limit rotation or by hangers that do limit rotation. The connection between elements may be a bearing, a swivel, a knife-edge, a hook and eye, or other pivot.
In most mobiles, elements do not normally collide but may collide when driven to extremes.
In a mobile, the weight borne by the pivot of the topmost element is the weight of the entire assemblage, whereas the weight borne by the pivot of the bottommost element is only the weight of the bottommost element. Also, the inertial mass rotated by the pivot of the topmost element is the inertial mass of the entire assemblage, whereas the inertial mass rotated by the bottommost pivot is only the inertial mass of the bottommost element. Hence, it is desirable to eliminate extraneous mass, especially in the lower rotatable elements.
Mobiles must have low mass and low friction bearings, especially indoors where wind currents have little force. Mobiles driven by solar cells also must have low mass and low friction bearings, especially indoors under artificial light which has low power.
In an economic design of a mobile, same parts are used throughout, to lower costs by price breaks for mass purchases. Eliminating parts and lessening weight furthers this goal since then all pivots can have the same starting torque ratings and still rotate their loads.
A well-designed, motor driven mobile governs the speed of rotation lest rotatable elements collide with each other or disintegrate by centripetal force. One solution to is to use small motors with reduction gearing, however that adds weight to a mobile.
Solar cell driven mobiles often have solar cells mounted in the base driving a motor in the base. This solution keeps the mass of the solar cells and motors out of the rotating elements but requires complicated mechanical or electrical transmission means to power many rotatable elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,254 teaches a mobile where each rotatable element is self-contained and capable of producing its own movement. Each rotatable element has a solar cell for power and a motivator for causing movement, for example an electric motor with a propeller. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,254, the solar cell is on one end of a beam, and the motivator on the other end. A swivel at the balance point of the beam attaches the beam to other similar rotatable elements. U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,254 teaches that self-contained rotatable element have the advantage of simplicity by eliminating electrical or mechanical transmission between rotatable elements. U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,254 has the disadvantage that it requires a separate swivel and a heavy aerodynamic propulsion device such as a propeller, on each rotatable element. The present invention has fewer parts and is lighter by eliminating the swivel and propeller. In the present invention, the bearing of the motor serves double duty as a swivel between rotatable elements.
Daniel Chadwick "solar kinetic mobile" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CADgwsEbOUU discloses a similar mobile, also having self-contained rotatable elements each having a solar cell and a propeller driven by an electric motor. However in Chadwick's mobile, the motor driven propeller is located at the balance point of the beam of the rotatable element. Such an arrangement produces a different motion than U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,254. Chadwick's mobile also has a swivel at the balance point of the beams, attaching the beam of one rotatable element to another. Chadwick's mobile has the same disadvantages as U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,254.
Daniel Chadwick discloses another "solar kinetic mobile" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXTt-h2xz o having the rotating shaft of the electric motor of each rotatable element driving a reduction gear which then drives the next rotatable element. The rotation axis of all rotatable elements are substantially on the same axis. The mobile is suspended from a bearing collar in the middle of said axis. Said axis is essentially horizontal and the planes of rotations of the rotatable elements are substantially vertical. The arms of the solar cells about the axis of rotation are short. Said mobile has the disadvantage that heavy reduction gears are required to limit the speed of the rotatable elements and to overcome the friction of bearings under large bending moments. In the present invention, gearing is not required since the moment of inertia and aerodynamic drag of the solar cells and beam on long arms from the axis of rotation serves to govern the speed of rotation. The present invention also has the advantage that the bearings of the electric motors carry axial gravity loads and have no friction due to bending moments, allowing movement under low power. Chadwick's mobile elements are arranged iteratively (not recursively) on the same axis. The present invention also has the advantage that a mobile element is recursively supported asymmetrically offset from the prior mobile element.
Cerrito and Farinha disclose a "solar chandelier" http://prntscreen.net/thisblog/selected-works/solar-chandelier also having rotatable elements, each having a solar cell and an electric motor. In Cerrito and Farinha's mobile each motor is located at the balance point of a rotatable element and directly rotates the rotatable element below. In Cerrito and Farinha's mobile each motor's bearing serves double duty as a swivel between rotatable elements.
In Cerrito and Farinha's mobile the rotating electric motor shaft is directed downward and connected to the sub assembly below. The electric motor of one rotatable element rotates the sub assembly below. Thus light to the solar cell of one rotatable element does not move said solar cell (and change the light it receives) but only moves the solar cells in rotatable elements below. This has the disadvantage that a rotatable element can not move itself. The present invention has the advantage that a rotatable element can move itself without receiving power or control from another rotatable element.
In Cerrito and Farinha's mobile, rotatable elements are suspended one to another by torsionally rigid hangers, comprising a short beam centered on the shaft of an electric motor having four flexible lines connected from each corner of the short beam to the beam of the connected rotatable element. A hanger does not allow a rotatable element to move itself, even via reactive (equal and opposite torque) effects in the opposite direction of rotation as the electric motor is driving the rotatable element below. A rotatable element is prevented from rotating due to reactive torque of its own motor by the rotatable element's torsionally rigid hanger to the rotatable element above.
If rotatable elements are suspended one to another by a torsionally flexible hanger between one element and the shaft of the motor of another element, when the motor starts the reactive torque effect may wind up the torsionally flexible hanger like a rubber band. The torsionally flexible hanger may wind up until it becomes torsionally stiff, stopping the motor's rotation, then unwinding against the stopped motor, driving continued relative rotation of the connected rotatable elements. This may produce an undesirable, jerky motion of the mobile. Yet a torsionally flexible coupling requires less starting torque from the motor. A torsionally flexible coupling, for intermittent driving of the motor, may also produce a smooth, damped, oscillating motion that continues after cessation of motor driving.
The arrangement in Cerrito and Farinha's mobile, results in a particular pattern of motion of the mobile, described as "fighting" since one rotatable element rigidly moves another. The fighting pattern of motion may not be pleasing to viewers.
Cerrito and Farinha's mobile includes control elements whereby a first rotatable element controls a second rotatable element above, so the first rotatable element can command the second rotatable element to move the first. This has the disadvantage of extra weight for control elements.
In Cerrito and Farinha's mobile each rotatable element is not fully self-contained since to move itself, control signals need to be sent from one rotatable element to the element above. This has the disadvantage that when wires are used to transmit control signals, the wires may become twisted by the rotation of rotatable elements.
Cerrito and Farinha's mobile has the disadvantage that each rotatable element does not have an identical configuration: the bottommost rotatable element needs no motor. The present invention has the advantage that the bottommost rotatable element has a motor like the other rotatable elements.
Cerrito and Farinha's mobile also has the disadvantage that rotatable elements are suspended one to another by axially flexible hangers. Such an arrangement requires careful design and fabrication to keep each sub assembly balanced and aligned so that rotatable elements do not collide with each other.
There are numerous solar helicopter toys for sale, where a symmetrical, self-contained rotor element includes a solar panel and a motor and the rotating element of the motor is attached to the body of the helicopter. The present invention has the advantage that an asymmetrical, self-contained mobile element is recursively supported asymmetrically offset from the prior mobile element.


A suspension system for a cart having a pair of longitudinally aligned, oscillating wheel support units pivotally mounted fore and aft within a frame assembly on each side of the cart, a pair of longitudinally aligned wheels mounted on each support unit, the frame assemblies pivotally mounted in transverse alignment centrally of the cart for movement with the wheel support units in a vertical plane, all three pivotal mountings on each side of the part having horizontal axes disposed transversely of the cart, with the load of the cart distributed on each side to a quartet of wheels and with each pair of wheel support units oscillatable independently of each other and independent of the pivotal movement of their respective frame assembly.

All vehicles from highway trucks to farm wagons have always had the dual problems of suspension systems which are capable of carrying very heavy loads over almost any terrain, and which systems are capable of uniformly distributing the load on the wagon frame to the vehicle supporting means, whether that means be conventional wheels or track systems.
For farm operators, the problem is exacerbated by the need to eliminate as much as practicable the forming of deep ruts in fields used for grain growth and harvesting. Such ruts are usually formed by o combines and heavy grain wagons, in wet and muddy fields. If fields remain deeply rutted into the following spring, crop planting is made tougher because the planter will have to adjust to widely varying terrain in the same field, and soil compaction problems arise from such ruts that could retard plant growth. Further, farmers adopting conservation tillage practices are forced, with deep ruts, to use a light disk or other shallow implement in the following spring to move soil into the ruts while keeping the previous year's residue on the surface.
Many contemporary vehicles do not have suspension systems that will permit the vehicle to maintain a reasonably level attitude when one of the supporting wheels encounters an obstruction or depression. The result is that the vehicle frame and the supporting load are tilted to an undesirable angular position. Additionally, contemporary suspension systems do not distribute the load uniformly creating increasing "pressure peaks" from front to back, as seen for example in tracked vehicles. Further, the castering capability of some suspension systems of today utilizing ground engaging wheels is inadequate to eliminate "herming" which can result from dragging a tracked grain cart or an improperly castered bogie wheel unit through a tight turn.

Suspension system for heavy-duty vehicles


A washing machine and a method of controlling the same are provided. The washing machine includes an exhaust port, a filter, and a nozzle. Humid air in a tub is exhausted through the exhaust port to the outside. The filter filters is provided to the exhaust port to filter lint. The nozzle sprays air to the filter. The lint filtered by the filter is automatically removed, so that use convenience safety is enhanced and dry efficiency of the washing machine is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and particularly, to a washing machine and a method of controlling the same capable of solving a lint problem occurring at the laundry. More particularly, the present invention relates to a drum washing machine and a method of controlling the same capable of improving use convenience by allowing lint to be condensed and the condensed lint to be automatically discharged.
2. Description of the Related Art
A general drum washing machine includes a main body having a hexahedral shape, a drum installed in the main body and having a plurality of holes, a tub enclosing the drum and in which washing water is taken, a drive motor for rotating the drum; and a detergent box for receiving detergent, a water pipe connected with the detergent box, for supplying the washing water or the washing water mixed with the detergent of the detergent box, a drain pipe for draining the washing water used in a washing cycle to the outside, and a pump and a drain hose connected with the end of the drain pipe, for forcibly draining the washing water.
The drum washing machine puts the laundry, supplies the washing water into the drum and performs the washing cycle using friction with the washing water produced while the laundry falls in a gravity direction when the drum rotates. Recently, the drum washing machine has an additional function and can perform a spinning and dry cycles for the laundry after the washing cycle besides the washing cycle.
The washing machine that performs the dry cycle has a ventilation duct installed on one side of the tub to allow hot wind to be blown to the laundry in the drum after the spinning cycle for the laundry and allow humidity of the laundry to be evaporated by the hot wind. During the dry cycle, air containing humidity is exhausted to the outside of the washing machine. In the meantime, since an exhaust port is extended to the outside of the main body, it also serves as a respiration hole when an infant or a pet is confined in the washing machine.
In the washing machine having a dry function, lint (fine fluff generated from the laundry) is produced from the laundry when the dry cycle is performed. The lint is circulated in the drum within the washing machine by hot wind and discharged through the exhaust port to the outside of the washing machine. However, since the lint has weight and volume of its own though it is fine, the lint is accumulated in a position adjacent to the exhaust port, particularly in a bellows for connecting the exhaust port with the tub.
When the lint is constantly accumulated, it blocks the exhaust port after all, which hinders the hot wind from circulating during the dry cycle, so that not only dry efficiency is deteriorated but also the dry condensed lint has danger of catching fire due to the hot wind thereof. Also, since the exhaust port cannot properly serve as a respiration hole due to the lint when an infant or a pet is confined in the washing machine, danger of the washing machine increases.
Considering the above problems, a filter for filtering the lint has been suggested to prevent the lint from being accumulated in the exhaust port. The filter has a predetermined shape and is inserted into the exhaust port, so that when the lint is condensed more than a predetermined amount, a user may easily replaces the filter.
However, when the filter and the adjacent portion of the filter are not strongly bonded in such a structure, the lint leaks through a gap between them, leaking out together with the hot wind. Further, the leaked hot wind distorts or wrenches each part of the washing machine made of synthetic resin and thus transforms the appearance. Such problems have an influence on each part constituting the washing machine and deteriorate reliability of the product.
Also, when a user does not replace the filter periodically and an excessive amount of lint is accumulated on the filter, dry efficiency deterioration, danger of catching fire, and a safety problem still occur.

Washing machine and method of controlling the same


Some examples include segmenting text of a content item to include a plurality of segments or words. For instance, a module for segmenting a content item using a context-based segmenter into a plurality of segments, identifying segment boundary hints stored in the content item, and adjusting segments of the plurality of segments based on the identified segment boundary hints. Some additional examples include inserting segment boundary hints into a content item. For instance a module that segments the content item using a first segmenter and a second segmenter and inserting segment boundary hints into the content item where the results of the first and second segmenter differ.

The continued proliferation of digital content items has led to an increase in the availability of such content items, as well as an increase in the availability of electronic devices and applications used for providing these content items. For instance, users read text-based content items, such as electronic books (eBooks), magazines, newspapers, documents, or other textual content on an assortment of electronic devices.
Many of the electronic devices and applications for consuming the content items provide additional user selectable features and content not typically available in a print version. These features are frequently enabled in response to user selection of a portion of the text displayed on the electronic device. Often the electronic device is equipped with applications for consuming the content items, as well as, applications for assisting the user in selecting whole words or sentences. However, automated text selection becomes difficult when text of a content item is in a language in which word or segment boundaries are not clear.


A device optically connects one end of an optical fiber with an optical component. The device includes an adapter with a guide extending in the direction of the optical component and holding the optical fiber in a predetermined position relative to an optical axis of the optical component. The adapter includes a portion with a cross-section which is non-symmetrical and engages with a counterpart of the optical component. The device does not comprise wearing parts, like threads in known connectors, can be easily plugged in the optical component and is fixed by magnets.

Basically, optical fiber connectors comprise a plug and a socket. Plug and socket are fixed together by means of threads and an optical fiber is fixedly arranged axially in the plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,595 regards an optical connector for optically connecting an end portion of an optical fiber with a spherical lens. A retainer fixes the end portion of the optical fiber. The position of the retainer is fixed in relation to the spherical lens by means of a conical surface on the retainer tapering in the direction of the spherical lens.
These known optical connectors require an assembling time which is insufficiently long.
Thus, there is a need for a new device for optically connecting one end of an optical fiber with an optical component requiring a short assembling time.


A process for producing an elastic composite film having a textile surface including at least one unwinding fibrous web being irreversibly extended at right angles to its direction of transport. The increase in the width of the fibrous web due to transverse extension is formed into foldlets by pulling tension acting in the direction of transport of the fibrous web. The fibrous web, which is under pulling tension and modified by transverse extension, is applied atop a transversely elastic film web of a thermoplastic elastomer and is adhered or welded thereto at contact sites which are spaced apart at right angles to the direction of transport of the webs.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing a composite film which has a textile surface and which can be used for example for producing diaper pants or as closure tapes.
2. The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,787 describes a process wherein a continuous fibrous web is applied to an elastic film web. The elastic film web is composed of a thermoplastic elastomer, and the fibrous web is adhered or welded thereto at spaced apart contact sites. The laminate is subsequently extended up to close to the breaking extension limit of the fibers of the fibrous web and untensioned or relaxed again. The stretching, which is also referred to as activation, serves to improve the extensibility of the composite film.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,691 describes a process for producing a composite film which has elastic and nonelastic regions at predetermined sites. The first step is to produce, preferably by coextrusion, a laminate which has an elastic layer of a thermoplastic elastomer and at least one cover layer of a thermoplastic polymer of low elasticity, for example a polyolefin. Predetermined regions are subsequently activated by stretching to create a composite film having extensible and less extensible sections.
Existing processes expose not only the fibrous web but also the elastic layer to great stress in the course of the mechanical activation. It is consequently necessary to use elastic films which are sufficiently thick to withstand the mechanical stresses. When apertured and hence air-pervious films are used, there is a danger of cracking between the apertures.

Process for producing an elastic composite film having a textile surface


The invention relates to a device for determining the center deviation of a shaft (3) comprising a stator (1) in which an exciting winding system provided with a number of Perr pole pairs is arranged and two output winding systems provided with respective number of Paus pole pairs, wherein the output winding systems are remotely arranged with respect to each other in the stator, the shaft (3) is movably placed in the stator (1) in such a way that it makes it possible to display the shaft center deviation, when ¦Perr−Paus¦=1, an air gap is situated between the stator (1) and the shaft (3), the device voltage source is arranged for supplying the exciting winding system with an alternating voltage and the device output evaluation system is provided for determining the center deviation according to the voltage induced by the output winding systems.

The invention relates to a device for determining a shaft center deviation and to a method for determining a shaft center deviation.
Magnetic bearings can be subdivided into passive magnetic bearings and active magnetic bearings. In the case of passive magnetic bearings, use is either made of the repelling or attracting forces which occur between permanent magnets or of the attraction forces between permanent magnets and ferromagnetic materials. In the case of active magnetic bearings, the magnetic field required is generated with the aid of electromagnets. The magnetic field and thus the currently acting forces can be changed by varying the current in the coils of the electromagnets. In order to be able to mount a machine part in such a manner, a control operation which ensures that the currently required bearing forces are available is always required. The controlled variable is the center deviation of the part to be mounted or of the shaft to be mounted. This position is measured in a contactless manner using a sensor.
It is known practice to configure the sensor in such a manner that it comprises a stator into which an excitation winding system is inserted, said winding system being fed with an AC voltage. Part of the shaft to be mounted projects into the stator. Hall sensors introduced into the stator measure the magnetic field and use it to determine the shaft center deviation.
However, the disadvantage is that the Hall sensors are difficult to manufacture and are therefore expensive and that a zero point adjustment operation must take place before the sensor is started. However, under certain circumstances, the zero point adjustment operation must be repeated after a certain operating time since the material of the sensor ages. Accordingly, the use of Hall sensors also results in inaccuracies when determining the shaft center deviation.

Device for determining a shaft center deviation


A system and method for enabling a property browser to display properties of sub-objects of a control, such as an ActiveX control. The system and method further enables a user to manipulate properties of sub-objects of the control. The method determines the top level interface of the control and displays the top level properties at the top level interface in a property browser. The property browser also displays an indication of properties which are sub-objects, i.e., properties which themselves have properties. This indicator is typically a conventional plus sign which indicates further elements are available in a hierarchy tree of elements. When the user subsequently selects a property which is a sub-object, the method operates to read the interface of the sub-object property from the type library and then display further top level properties of the interface as necessary.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of graphical and non-graphical software controls, and more particularly to a property browser that displays and allows editing of properties of sub-objects in an Active X control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Graphical software controls or components have become commonplace in the field of user interfaces to computer programs, particularly software applications which make use of a graphical user interface (GUI). Examples of controls are list boxes, option buttons, scroll bars, check boxes, text boxes, picture boxes, command boxes, meters, gauges, charts, spread sheet displays, etc. The controls are commonly an integral part of the user interface to xe2x80x9cMicrosoft Windowsxe2x80x9d software applications, for example. The controls are used to receive user input and to display output. Additionally, controls can be created for non-user interface components such as timers, interfaces to hardware, data acquisition, and other software implementable functions.
Controls are used in a plethora of software applications. An example of an area in which software applications use controls is in the field of software controlled a instrumentation systems. It is common in the field of instrumentation systems for users to interact with instruments via software front panel interfaces rather than through hardware front panels. The instrumentation software programs commonly employ graphical controls such as switches, buttons, knobs, dials, meters, graphs, slider controls, slider indicators, etc. similar to those found on hardware front panels.
Programming systems such as xe2x80x9cVisual Basicxe2x80x9d provide an environment for software application developers to create user interfaces including controls. Typically, programming environments provide a set of standard controls. FIG. 1 is a screen shot of a Visual Basic 6.0 screen. Visual Basic 6.0 provides a toolbox of standard controls.
ActiveX Controls, also referred to as Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Controls, are software components that conform to the Component Object Model (COM), a standard defined by xe2x80x9cMicrosoftxe2x80x9d. In many ways, ActiveX controls are similar to traditional libraries. However, since the standard is well defined, there are many applications that can use any ActiveX control simply by providing support for the ActiveX standard.
Applications or programming environments which support ActiveX controls, i.e., which may incorporate and use ActiveX controls, are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cActiveX Control Containersxe2x80x9d or simply xe2x80x9ccontainersxe2x80x9d. Broadly speaking, a container is a software entity which xe2x80x9choldsxe2x80x9d or incorporates software components. Examples of containers are Microsoft""s xe2x80x9cExcelxe2x80x9d spreadsheet product, xe2x80x9cWordxe2x80x9d word processor, xe2x80x9cAccessxe2x80x9d database product, and Visual Basic programming environment. The ActiveX standard affords software application developers the opportunity to develop modular ActiveX controls to add into and use in their software applications.
Controls are typically objects or have some aspects of objects. Therefore, each control may have its own set of methods, events and properties. A method is a function which acts on a particular control. For example, a control may possess a xe2x80x9cmovexe2x80x9d method to move the control around on a display screen. An event is an action recognized by a control, such as clicking a mouse or pressing a key. A control has associated code which executes in response to an event recognized by the control. Properties are the control""s data (settings or attributes), such as color, shape or size. The properties of a control may be edited, i.e., changed to create the desired user interface.
Controls may have custom properties that are specific to the control. For example, a gauge may have the properties StartAngle and EndAngle describing the range in which the needle may be positioned. A button may have the properties OnColor, and OffColor for two different states. The ability to have custom properties, which the ActiveX standard provides, is generally more desirable than a standard which restricts properties on a component to a predefined set such as minimum, maximum, and color. However, this ability also presents a challenge to development systems that use the controls. Since each control may have its own unique properties, it is difficult for containers to present the custom properties of the controls to the user for configuration. This is where other attempts at control standards, such as the .VBX standard, have not been as successful as the ActiveX control standard.
Some properties of objects are themselves objects, referred to as sub-objects, which have their own properties. These properties of sub-objects may themselves be sub-objects that have their own properties, and so on.
ActiveX controls include a type library which specifies the interface of the control. The type library provides information about the components in the file (exe or dll) in which they are packaged. The type library is a compiled binary form of the idl (Interface Definition Language) file that defines the types (interfaces and controls) implemented.
FIG. 2 is a screen shot that shows an instance of a slider control which has been dragged from the toolbox and dropped onto the Form 1. The commonly used term xe2x80x9cdropxe2x80x9d is meant to encompass the placing of the control on the form, typically by clicking a mouse on the icon of the control in a toolbox, dragging the control from the toolbox to the form via the mouse and then releasing the mouse button to xe2x80x9cdropxe2x80x9d the control on the form. However, the present invention is not intended to be limited with respect to other manners of placing the control.
The slider has associated properties, which are listed in the Properties window. The developer changes the properties by selecting a property field, such as xe2x80x9cMaxxe2x80x9d (which is set to 10 in FIG. 2), and changing the value. The control reflects the change when the developer enters the change into the Properties window.
FIG. 3 is a screen shot that shows a Slider Control Properties page dialog in which the developer changes the properties of the slider. FIG. 4 shows the Max tick value property changed from 10 to 20, which is reflected in the slider now having 20 tick marks, rather than 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, a control developer may implement property pages in the control. However they may not be implemented in every control. Hence the only guaranteed way to edit the properties in a control is by using the property browser provided by the development environment. However, the property browser for ActiveX controls on present ActiveX containers in the market are unable to display properties of sub-objects of ActiveX controls.
Some environments have a property browser which can be used to view and set properties of sub-objects. However, these methods rely on examination of the source code of the component to allow this function. These methods could not work for ActiveX controls, since the source code of an ActiveX control is not available. No property browser currently exists which is able to display the sub-objects of ActiveX controls. This is because ActiveX controls typically do not expose their source code, but rather include type libraries that expose the interface of the control. Current property browsers do not access the interface description of an object in the type library and therefore cannot enumerate all the properties implemented by the object, in particular, property browsers cannot access properties of sub-objects of the object. In addition, numerous difficulties are presented in implementing such a property browser.
Hence, a system and method is desired for allowing a user to view and manipulate properties of sub-objects in a property browser for an ActiveX control.
The present invention comprises a novel system and method for enabling a property browser to display properties of sub-objects of a control, such as an ActiveX control, which utilizes a type library or other similar mechanism for specifying the interface of a control. The system and method further enables a user to manipulate properties of sub-objects of the control.
The method comprises a user dragging an icon representation of the control and dropping the control onto a form of a container which contains controls, such as ActiveX controls. When the user drops the control, the container constructs the control. Also, the method operates to read the interfaces of the type library associated with the control.
The method then determines the top level interface of the control and displays the top level properties at the top level interface in a property browser. The property browser also displays an indication of properties which are sub-objects, i.e., properties which themselves have properties. This indicator is typically a conventional plus sign which indicates further elements are available in a hierarchy tree of elements.
When the user subsequently selects a property which is a sub-object, the method operates to read the interface of the sub-object property from the type library and then display further top level properties of the interface as necessary. Thus, the system and method of the present invention operate to enable the property browser to display properties of sub-objects of a control, such as an ActiveX control, and further enables the user to manipulate these properties of sub-objects of a control.

Property browser which displays properties of sub-objects in an Active X control


Techniques are described for using data stored for a user in association with context levels to improve the efficiency and accuracy of dialog processing tasks. A dialog system stores historical dialog data in association with a plurality of configured context levels. The dialog system receives an utterance and identifies a term for disambiguation from the utterance. Based on a determined context level, the dialog system identifies relevant historical data stored to a database. The historical data may be used to perform tasks such as resolving an ambiguity based on user preferences, disambiguating named entities based on a prior dialog, and identifying previously generated answers to queries. Based on the context level, the dialog system can efficiently identify the relevant information and use the identified information to provide a response.

An increasing number of devices now enable users to interact with the devices directly using voice or spoken speech. For example, a user can speak to such a device in a natural language where the user may ask a question or make a statement requesting some action to be performed. In response, the device performs the requested action or responds to the user's question using voice output. Since interacting directly using voice is a more natural and intuitive way for humans to communicate with their surroundings, the popularity of such speech-based systems is growing at an astronomical rate.
Current dialog systems have a limited ability to leverage context. Systems exist that discern contextual information based on recent input. For example, some existing systems can resolve a pronoun by identifying a person named in the last sentence received by the system. However, in conventional systems, contextual information is underutilized.

Techniques for dialog processing using contextual data


A fuel injection pump, preferably for use with relatively large diesel engines employing heavy diesel fuel, includes a pump body that defines a portion of a fuel pressurization chamber in fluid communication with a fuel outlet and a spill passage. The pump body also defines a pressure control chamber and an actuation fluid passage. A spill valve member, which has a pressure surface is exposed to fluid pressure in the pressure control chamber and is moveable between an inject position that blocks the spill passage and a spill position that opens the spill passage. An electronically controlled valve has a control valve member that is moveable between a first position in which the actuation fluid passage is open to the pressure control chamber, and a second position in which the actuation fluid passage is blocked to the pressure control chamber.

In one class of electronically controlled fuel injectors, a cam is utilized to drive a plunger within the injector body, and an electronically controlled spill valve is utilized to control timing of the injection event. Each injection event is initiated by closing the spill valve so that fuel pressure can build above a valve opening pressure that lifts the needle check valve and opens the nozzle outlet of the fuel injector. In many of these type of fuel injectors, the spill valve includes a solenoid attached to a spill valve member. Typically, low pressure fuel is allowed to circulate around the armature of the solenoid in order to avoid the need for internal sealing, which can be difficult to impossible to reliably accomplish.
While this spill valve technology has worked well in relatively small diesel engines that utilize distillate diesel fuel, relatively large diesel engines have been unable to adopt this technology since they burn heavy diesel fuel. Heavy diesel fuel has viscosity somewhere on the order of road tar at regular temperatures and must normally be heated to a temperature sometimes in excess of 400.degree. Fahrenheit in order to make the same sufficiently flowable through a fuel injection pump. Because of the extremely high viscosity of heavy diesel fuel, the current state of the art in relatively large diesel engines continues to be cam actuated fuel injection pumps that have no electronic timing control. The reason that the known spill technology cannot be incorporated into heavy diesel fuel injection systems is because the spill valve simply cannot be made to reliably perform when surrounded by relatively high viscosity heavy diesel fuel. Therefore, some other means must be devised for overcoming the problems of incorporating electronic control into heavy diesel fuel injection systems for relatively large diesel engines.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other problems, as well as generally improving electronically controlled fuel injection systems.

Fuel injection pump with a hydraulically-spill valve


In a semiconductor liquid application apparatus, a calibration tool enables the rapid and accurate adjustment of height and center of a liquid dispense nozzle. In an example embodiment, the tool comprises a circular disk in which a first beveled out area corresponding to the shape of the liquid dispense nozzle is defined on the topside of the disk. Underneath the disk, a second beveled out area corresponding to the shape of the wafer chuck is defined therein. The calibration depth is determined by the thickness of the tool""s substrate less the sum of the depth of the first beveled out area and the depth of the second beveled out area. This calibration depth is determined by the configuration of the nozzle used in a liquid-dispense spinner. In using the calibration tool, the nozzle height and center becomes more repeatable from operator-to-operator and machine-to-machine.

The present invention is generally directed to the manufacture of a semiconductors device. In particular, the present invention relates to a tool and method for calibrating the dispensing of liquids on a wafer substrate.
The electronics industry continues to rely upon advances in semiconductor technology to realize higher-functioning devices in more compact areas. For many applications, realizing higher-functioning devices requires integrating a large number of electronic devices onto a single silicon wafer. As the number of electronic devices per given area of the silicon wafer increases, the manufacturing process becomes more difficult.
A large variety of semiconductor devices have been manufactured having various applications in numerous disciplines. Such silicon-based semiconductor devices often include metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors, such as P-channel MOS (PMOS), N-channel MOS (NMOS) and complementary MOS (CMOS) transistors, bipolar transistors, BiCMOS transistors.
One important step in manufacturing is the formation of devices, or portions thereof, using photolithography and etching processes. In photolithography, a wafer substrate is coated with a light-sensitive material called photo-resist. Next, the wafer is exposed to light; the light striking the wafer is passed through a mask plate. This mask plate defines the desired features to be printed on the substrate. After exposure, the resist-coated wafer substrate is developed. The desired features as defined on the mask are retained on the photoresist-coated substrate. Unexposed areas of resist are washed away with a developer. The wafer having the desired features defined is subjected to etching. Depending upon the production process, the etching may either be a wet etch, in which liquid chemicals are used to remove wafer material or a dry etch, in which wafer material is subjected to a radio frequency (RF) induced plasma.
As device geometry approaches the sub-micron realm, preparation of the wafer for photolithography becomes increasingly important. Integral to successful wafer fabrication, is the consistent and reliable application of photoresist. Improper application of photoresist on the wafer substrate may result in having to rework the wafer at the given process step. Rework results in higher production costs and oftentimes, lower product yield.
Photoresist is often applied to a substrate that is mounted on a chuck in a machine that spins-on the resist. The wafer is loaded on the chuck and held down with vacuum. Through a nozzle, a measured amount of resist is deposited on the wafer. The chuck is rotated at high speed and the centrifugal force on the surface of the wafer spreads the resist across the wafer. A number of parameters determine the characteristics of the applied photoresist.
Conditions that may affect the quality of the photoresist coating may include viscosity of the resist compound, the height and centering of the dispense nozzle with respect to the wafer, hold-down vacuum on the chuck, the speed of the spinner as it is affected by equipment wear. Thus, it behooves the user to monitor the equipment and process for consistency and reliability.
Assuring the uniform dispense of photoresist on the wafer substrate requires that the dispenser nozzle be centered. For example, one technique uses a 200 mm plastic disk marked in even sections having the appearance of a sliced pie. Refer to FIG. 1. Disk 100 is sliced into eight pieces 110. The center point 120 is defined by the intersection of the pieces 110. The disk is placed on the chuck and the nozzle height and centering is adjusted using the disk 100 as a reference. The equipment operator determines the correct height and centering. In an example process, a nozzle height of about 5.5 mm has been found optimal. Depending upon the specific machine, the operator may either center the nozzle manually (by adjusting knobs and other controls) or center the nozzle via software program control of the machine.
This technique is susceptible to operator interpretation and variation. Consequently, there may be lot-to-lot variation in the photo resist application owing to differences in initial equipment setups. Over time, the technique may lack repeatability and consistency.
There exists a need to provide a tool and method of assuring aligned and accurate application of photoresist on the wafer substrate. Consequently, wafer loss from improper photoresist application is minimized, thereby increasing wafer yields and lowering production costs.
The present invention is exemplified in a number of implementations, one of which is summarized below. A calibration tool is used to adjust the height and center of a liquid dispenser nozzle with respect to the wafer chuck. Use of such a tool minimizes the operator-to-operator and machine-to-machine variability of photoresist application on the wafer substrate. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a tool for calibrating a height and center of a dispenser nozzle with respect to a wafer-holding chuck in a spinner apparatus comprises a substrate of a predetermined thickness and predetermined shape having a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface has a depression of a first depth and cross-section defined substantially about the middle of the top surface. The bottom surface has a depression of a second depth and cross-section defined substantially about the middle of the bottom surface. The top surface depression is coaxial with the bottom surface depression. A further feature of this embodiment is that the first depth and cross-section of the top surface depression corresponds to a depth and cross-section of the dispense nozzle. An additional feature is the second depth and cross-section of the bottom surface depression corresponds to a depth and cross-section of the wafer-holding chuck. A further feature is that a calibration depth is determined by the thickness of the substrate less the sum of the first depth of the top surface depression plus the second depth of the bottom surface depression substantially about the middle of the depressions. Thus after adjustment, the calibration depth corresponds to the height of the dispense nozzle with respect to the wafer chuck.
In another embodiment according to the present invention, a spinner apparatus has dispenser calibration. The calibration comprises a tool for calibrating a height and center of a dispenser nozzle with respect to a wafer-holding chuck in the spinner apparatus. A storage area in the spinner apparatus retains the tool. A substrate holding clamp retrieves the tool from the storage area. A controller activates the substrate-holding clamps for retrieving the tool from the storage area, places the tool on the wafer-holding chuck, and performs calibration of the height and center of the dispenser nozzle. A feature of this embodiment is that the controller may be a computer system whose calibration commands are stored in a computer-readable medium.
In yet another embodiment according to the present invention, a method for calibrating the height and center of a resist-dispenser nozzle in a spinner apparatus comprises placing a calibration tool on the wafer chuck. The calibration tool comprises a substrate of a predetermined thickness and shape having a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface has a depression of a first depth and cross-section defined therein substantially about the middle of the top surface. The bottom surface has a depression of a second depth and cross-section defined therein substantially about the middle of the bottom surface. The top surface depression is coaxial with the bottom surface depression. The resist-dispenser nozzle is inserted in the depression of the top surface of the tool at a calibration depth defined by the first depth.
The above summaries of the present invention are not intended to represent each disclosed embodiment, or every aspect, of the present invention. Other aspects and example embodiments are provided in the figures and the detailed description that follows.

Resist-dispenser nozzle calibration tool and method thereof