Apparatus (method implemented with a machine, the machine, and the method for making the machine, and products produced thereby) for controlling a system of managing cash flows for a transaction, the apparatus including: data processing means arranged for receiving information into memory, said information including respective descriptions of risks, statistical assumptions for said risks, and financial assumptions for said risks, the data processing means further including: calculating means, responsive to said descriptions and said assumptions, for calculating expected cash flows corresponding to said risks for time periods; accounting means for determining, responsive to actual cash flow information from occurrence of events corresponding to said risks, for a first party to the transaction owing the expected cash flows to a second party to the transaction, and for determining, for the second party owing the actual cash flows to the first party, a net settlement, for each of said time periods, between the parties in the transaction, to manage the actual cash flows and the expected cash flows.

Corporations routinely purchase corporate-owned life insurance (COLI)/bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) contracts, the Policies, on employees, Covered Persons, in whom the corporation has an insurable interest. In many cases, these policies are purchased as funding vehicles to offset specific future corporate liabilities (e.g., deferred compensation plans). Because the policies pay death benefits upon the deaths of corporate employees, the corporations may have concerns regarding the potential deviation of the receipt of death benefits from the expected timing of such receipts, resulting in a mismatch of the cash flow derived from the COLI/BOLI contracts and the funding needs of the associated future liabilities.
In the life insurance industry, reinsurance is an important risk management tool. It is a contractual risk transfer that usually involves mortality risk transfer. It is a tool for ceding insurance companies to smooth out fluctuations in earnings which are usually heavily dependent on actual mortality results. The ceding insurance company has future actual mortality liability and wants certainty. The ceding company pays expected mortality plus costs in exchange for receipt of actual mortality.
In the financial sector, it is not uncommon that property & casualty (P&C) insurance derivatives are traded that swaps actual results for expected results using generic benefit index applicable to segments of the market
What about entities, that own future actual mortality cash flows and want to eliminate the uncertainty in the timing and in the amount of these cash flows, for example, employers using BOLI/COLI as funding vehicles for future liabilities, securitization programs for life insurance funding such as charity, and any other organization that requires more predictable cash flows. There are corporations that are logical counterparties to these entities, such as, life reinsurers and large well funded Defined Benefit Pension Plans, where the life insurance risks taken on the swap would be general hedges against their current life reinsurance portfolio and their longevity risks, respectively.
Mortality and other benefit occurrences (such as disability or longevity) vary so much from one case to another that the generic benefit index pricing used in the P&C insurance derivatives is not sufficient to price the associated risks effectively.
In carrying out the foregoing, there have been significant needs regarding such as efficiency and/or security, with manual systems being prone to manual problems, and with automated variants having limitations regarding control and management of corresponding computer resources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Computer system for controlling a system of managing fluctuating cash flows


The invention provides an image processing apparatus, capable of selecting arbitrary plural sections in input image data, designating an order of reproduction of the image data of the selected plural sections, comparing the camera operation information relating to the image data of the selected plural sections with a predetermined rule relating to the camera operation information, and issuing predetermined warning information when the camera operation information of the plural sections violates the predetermined rule.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for editing image information utilizing camera information at the photographing of the image information.
2. Related Background Art
In case of a conventional editing operation in an image editing apparatus for editing moving images obtained by photographing with a video camera or the like, the user determines necessary sections in the images to be edited and records the scenes of such sections in succession. The result of such recording constitutes the result of image editing.
In case the user executing such image editing is a professional user involved in the image production, such user in general has technology for obtaining images of strong impact by combining presentations (scenes) obtained by various camera operations such as panning, tilting, zooming etc. of the camera and selection of various camera angles.
On the other hand, for a non-professional or amateur user, it is difficult to obtain satisfactory images such as images of strong impact as the result of editing, because of lack of the knowledge on the presentations by various camera operations or the image effect obtained by the combination thereof.
Therefore, an image editing apparatus disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 9-37150 is provided with a dictionary showing correspondence between the presentation in natural language such as "thrilling" and the image effect by a camera operation, thereby enabling to easily obtain a result of highly advanced image editing by designating an image effect from the user with a natural language.
However, in the conventional image editing apparatus as explained in the foregoing, in which the image effect is designated by the natural language presentation, it has not been possible to adapt to the difference in the subjectivity of each user. For example a presentation by a natural language "thrilling" may be felt in different levels among the users and it is extremely difficult to adapt to such difference.
Also it has been necessary for the user to in advance determine the image effects to be adopted prior to the actual image editing operation, so that it is extremely difficult for the user to realize such image editing operation as to expand the idea freely in the course of execution of the editing operation.

Image processing apparatus with comparing of difference of camera operation information between image data of plural sections in input image data


The present application discloses a sensor for determining a measurand correlated with a concentration of at least one analyte belonging to the class of reactive oxygen species in a measuring fluid, the sensor including a sensor element having an indicator substance, wherein the indicator substance is oxidized into an oxidized form of the indicator substance by the at least one analyte, a means for generating a flow of current in the sensor element that causes a reduction of the oxidized form of the indicator substance and thereby regeneration of the indicator substance, an optical measuring sensor to detect measuring radiation influenced by the oxidized form of the indicator substance and to generate an electrical measuring signal using the influenced measuring radiation, and a sensor switch connected to the optical measuring sensor to receive the measuring signal and to ascertain a measured value of the measurand using the measuring signal.

Reactive oxygen species (or ROS for short), which are also termed "oxygen radicals," include on the one hand radicals such as the hyperoxide anion O2−, the hydroxyl radical OH*, the peroxyl radical ROO* and the alkoxyl radical RO* of lipids, as well as stable molecular oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide H2O2, hydroperoxide ROOH, ozone O3, the hypochlorite anion OCl−, and also oxygen molecules in an excited state such as singlet oxygen 1O2. ROS therefore comprise radicals, or unstable compounds which can form radicals in their surroundings.
Both amperometric as well as optical sensors are known for determining the concentration of one or more ROS as an analyte or analytes.
The amperometric sensors which are known in the prior art are, however, dependent upon flow on the one hand and, on the other hand, do not possess a high selectivity, i.e., non-negligible cross-sensitivities to other analytes therefore frequently occur. Precise measurements of ROS or measurands dependent thereupon are thus frequently only possible in disinfectants with basic compositions, i.e., contents, which are known, so that cross-sensitivities can be excluded or compensated for mathematically.
Optical sensors based upon fluorescence quenching for identifying hydrogen peroxide have been known for decades. One of the first sensors is known from Hermann E. Posch, Otto S. Wolfbeis, "Optical sensor for hydrogen peroxide," Microchimica Acta, Vol. 97, Issue 1, 41-50, 1989, and is based upon a silicone spot that comprises a permeation-selective membrane, a catalyst for converting peroxides to oxygen, and an oxygen-sensitive membrane. The surrounding oxygen concentration must be computationally factored in when calculating the peroxide concentration. A disadvantage of these sensors is the slow response time on the order of minutes, and the only relatively small available measuring range of 0.1-10 mmol/l.
Enzyme-based sensors with a high selectivity for peroxides are also known. These, however, are not very temperature stable.
A development of optical sensors for determining concentrations of ROS seeks to improve the selectivity, e.g., by using dyes with selective receptor sites. On the other hand, many of these optical ROS sensors have the disadvantage that the optical change by which the measurand is ascertained is either irreversible or can only be reversed a few times, since a chemical change in the indicator molecule occurs. For example, Christoph Staudinger and Sergey Borisov in "Long-wavelength analyte-sensitive luminescent probes and optical(bio)sensors," Methods Appl. Fluoresc. 3 (2015) 1-73, describe phosphorescent organic complexes that bring about an increase in the phosphorescence in the near infrared range upon oxidation with a hypohalogenite while binding a dye, wherein the initial state can be restored only by a chemical reaction. This has the disadvantage that a sensor can again display a decreasing concentration of the analyte only after being dipped in a regeneration solution that restores the initial state of the sensor through chemical regeneration. If the sensor is also to measure fluctuating progressions of concentration, it must regularly be regenerated in this manner. This method takes time and energy and is problematic in terms of measurement, since interruption-free measurement over longer periods is impossible. If such a sensor is to be used for automatically monitoring and controlling a process, exchangeable fittings are needed that make it possible to regularly and automatically remove the sensor from the process and automatically supply the sensor with a regeneration solution to restore the initial state. This is, however, involved and creates regular interruptions.
Color patches are also known for detecting ROS in dosimeters or food packages. The reactions upon which these color patches are based are also irreversible and therefore unsuitable for a sensor that is to be used over a long period in process analysis for monitoring and/or controlling or respectively regulating an industrial process.
For determining a concentration of hydrogen peroxide by measuring reflections, the reduced form of Prussian blue (also termed Berlin blue or Turnbull's reagent), as well as Prussian white (also termed Berlin white or Everitt's salt) is described as an inorganic, chemically-stable indicator substance in H. Akbari Khorami, P. Wild, N. Djilali, "Fiber optical sensors for hydrogen peroxide vapor," International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation, 9(10), 1145, 2015. In this context, attempts have been made up to now to restore the original state by immersion in a regeneration solution containing a reduction agent. This is possible, but it necessitates mechanical immersion of the sensor in the regeneration solution and is associated with maintenance work. Moreover, the reducing effect of the regeneration solution decreases over time due to the consumption of the reduction agent, and the regeneration solution must therefore be regularly replenished. The potential entrainment of measuring solution into the regeneration solution can cause false measured values. An entrainment of regeneration solution into the measuring solution can also be problematic for the process monitored by the sensor.

Sensor for determining a measurand dependent upon a concentration of reactive oxygen species


An object of the present invention is to provide a CRC circuit with more simple structure and low power consumption. The CRC circuit includes a first shift register to a p-th shift register, a first EXOR to a (p−1)th EXOR, and a switching circuit. A data signal, a select signal, and an output of a last stage of the p-th shift register are inputted to the switching circuit, and the switching circuit switches a first signal or a second signal in response to the select signal to be outputted.

There is a semiconductor device for transmitting/receiving a data signal by wireless communication such as a wireless tag (also called an IC tag, an IC chip, an RF (Radio Frequency) tag, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, an electronic tag, or a transponder). In a device for transmitting/receiving a data signal, cyclic redundancy checking (CRC) is performed for checking whether the data signal is transmitted accurately. In the cyclic redundancy checking, a polynomial (called a code polynomial) in which each bit of a received data signal is set as a coefficient is divided by a predetermined generator polynomial, and a coefficient of a remainder polynomial (hereinafter called a CRC code) is calculated. The CRC code is compared to a predetermined signal so that it is determined whether the received data signal is correct.
As for a circuit for performing cyclic redundancy checking (a cyclic redundancy check circuit), a structure having a plurality of delay elements and a plurality of exclusive OR circuits is proposed (Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-107650).
The structure of the cyclic redundancy check circuit is described with reference to FIG. 12. In FIG. 12, a cyclic redundancy check circuit includes delay elements S0 to S15 and exclusive OR circuits EXOR 0 to EXOR 2 which calculate an exclusive OR of two inputted signals.
The delay elements S0 to S4 sequentially output a signal which is shifted, in synchronization with a clock signal 181. That is, the delay elements S0 to S4 form a first shift register (denoted by SR 1 in FIG. 12). The delay elements S5 to S11 sequentially output a signal which is shifted, in synchronization with the clock signal 181. That is, the delay elements S5 to S11 form a second shift register (denoted by SR 2 in FIG. 12). The delay elements S12 to S15 also sequentially output a signal which is shifted, in synchronization with the clock signal 181. That is, the delay elements S12 to S15 form a third shift register (denoted by SR 3 in FIG. 12). An output of the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 0 is inputted to the delay element S0 of the first shift register SR 1. An output of S4 of the first shift register and the output of the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 0 are inputted to the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 1. An output of the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 1 is inputted to S5 of the second shift register. An output of S11 of the second shift register and the output of the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 0 are inputted to the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 2. An output of the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 2 is inputted to S12 of the third shift register. A data signal 182 and an output of S15 of the third shift register are inputted to the exclusive OR circuit EXOR 0.
The cyclic redundancy check circuit having the aforementioned structure calculates a 16-bit CRC code corresponding to the inputted data signal 182, and outputs the CRC code from out_1 to out_16 in parallel.

Cyclic redundancy check circuit and semiconductor device having the cyclic redundancy check circuit

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A reading method for finding if a disc is placed reversely used in an optical disc drive is provided. The optical disc drive has a spindle motor, an optical pickup head having a lens, a fine actuator and a sled actuator. Firstly, a disc is placed into the optical disc drive. Next, the spindle motor rotates the disc. After that, a laser light of the optical pickup head is shot on the disc. Next, the lens is moved such that the laser light follows a single data track. Then, a central error signal of the lens is measured continuously. Afterwards, if the central error signal increases progressively, the optical disc drive finds the disc placed reversely, and the disc is ejected from the optical disc drive.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a reading method of an optical disc drive, and more particularly to a reading method of an optical disc drive for reading a disc and finding if a disc is placed reversely.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the demand for high capacity memory storage medium increases, the use of discs plays an ever more important role. However, how to quickly, stably and correctly read data from the disc is still a focus of research and development to manufacturers.
In a conventional optical disc drive, the disc is placed on a spindle motor, then the spindle motor drives the disc to rotate. The disc has many tracks on which digital data is stored. The digital data is read by an optical pickup head disposed on a sled. After the sled is driven by a sled motor, the optical pickup head is moved to an appropriate position to read data from the disc.
However, the user may happen to place a disc into an optical disc drive incorrectly. For example, the disc is reversely placed in the optical disc drive. Meanwhile, the optical disc drive still continues to read data from the disc. As the disc is placed reversely, the optical disc drive can not read data from the disc successfully. After a number of error retries, the optical disc drive finds that data can not be read and ejects the disc from the optical disc drive accordingly. During the process of error retry, the optical disc drive continues to make annoying noise, which will not disappear until the disc is ejected from the optical disc drive. Particularly, if the optical disc drive is able to focus on the disc placed reversely, the optical disc drive takes longer time to come to the decision that data can not be read and the disc has to be ejected.

Reading method of optical disc drive for reading disc and finding if disc is placed reversely


A developer cartridge includes a casing, a development roller, a support member, and at least one transmission gear. The development roller is rotatably disposed in the casing. The support member is provided as a separate member from the casing and is mounted on the casing. The at least one transmission gear is rotatably supported by the support member. The at least one transmission gear transmits a driving force to the development roller. The support member is configured to be dismounted from the casing together with the at least one transmission gear.

Image forming apparatuses such as laser printers have a developer cartridge that generally includes a housing, an agitator, a development roller and a supply roller, which are rotatably disposed in the housing. The agitator agitates toner. The development roller is configured to bear toner on its surface. The supply roller supplies toner to the development roller. The development roller of the developer cartridge is disposed to confront a photosensitive drum. The toner borne on the development roller is transferred to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum. The latent image is thereby developed.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,160 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-295614), the shaft of the development roller protrudes outside from the housing of the developer cartridge. A fixed gear is mounted on the part of the shaft that protrudes from the housing. The fixed gear therefore rotates when the development roller is rotated. The fixed gear is engaged with a plurality of gears, which are held in a protection cover and prevented from coming out of engagement. These gears transmit a driving force from the main body of the image forming apparatus that includes developer cartridge. Thus, the development roller is rotated.

Developer cartridge and image forming apparatus


According to one embodiment, a semiconductor integrated device includes a first node that receives a first voltage, a second node that receives a second voltage, and an electrode. A PMOS transistor is coupled between the first node and the electrode. An NMOS transistor is coupled between the second node and the electrode. A control signal at a voltage lower than the second voltage is supplied to a gate electrode of the PMOS transistor. A control signal at a voltage higher than the first voltage is supplied to a gate electrode of the NMOS transistor.

In association with the increase in operation speed of semiconductor integrated devices, a problem of signal reflection sometimes occurs due to mismatching of the impedance between semiconductor integrated devices. To solve this problem of the signal reflection, a known structure includes an impedance adjustment circuit called an on-die termination (ODT) circuit around the electrode of the semiconductor integrated device.
To reduce the distortion of the signal transmitted via the electrode, the ODT circuit is preferred to have linearity. Additionally, it is necessary to reduce the increase in pin capacitance due to disposing the ODT circuit.


A stair lift for lifting and lowering at least one person on a rail on a stairway. There is a carriage mountable to the rail, the carriage having a track engaging drive, and a motor to power the drive, the powered drive causing the carriage to move along the rail. There is a central support post mounted on the carriage and an offset arm connected to the seat support post. The offset arm is mounted to the carriage in one of a left side or a right side position. A seat is mounted on the offset arm, and a notched plate secures the seat in position on the offset arm in either the left side or right side position and permits the seat to swivel between a sideways facing position and an upward facing position to facilitate the person getting into and out of the seat.

Currently many developed western economies have aging populations. Improved health care and advanced medical technologies are contributing to longer lives on average. As time passes, more and more people reach an advanced age. With advanced age comes reduced mobility, for example, less ability to get up and down stairs in a family home. A modern trend in managed health care is home care, in which individuals are encouraged to live at home rather than in an institution. Home care generally includes a higher quality of life and can be less expensive. Therefore, there is a growing need for devices to enhance the mobility of seniors and other mobility challenged individuals who wish to remain in their homes, but have difficulty using stairs or the like.
To meet the needs of such persons, motorized devices to lift and lower a person up or down stairways have become more popular. In some configurations, the person sits on a seat which rides on a rail. A motor is used to drive the device up and down the rail. The rail is typically made from metal and the drive mechanism is usually a toothed wheel which engages a rack located in the rail. The motor drives the toothed wheel which then rotates and advances the seat along the rail. In some cases the seat is replaced with a platform, onto which a wheelchair may be driven. Thus, rather than sitting on the seat, the person remains in their wheelchair as the platform is lifted or lowered and then the wheelchair simply rolls off the platform at the end of the journey.
These types of devices have met with significant success, but suffer from a number of drawbacks. As can be appreciated, these devices, among other things tend to permit a mobility challenged person to remain in their own home, even though they may no longer be able to climb the stairs between the upstairs and the downstairs. Thus, there is a class of such devices that are specifically designed to be retrofitted into existing structures by being placed, for example on an existing stairway. The racks and rails are typically made from metal, to provide sufficient strength for the rack and pinion style gear drive. Such metal components are heavy and somewhat expensive. Thus, it can be both costly and awkward to ship the material to where it is needed. Its weight also makes it awkward and difficult to install. Further, the drive gear, which is typically part of the moving platform is also heavy and expensive. Weight in the drive gear provides a double liability, because not only is the device more expensive to make and ship, every time the lift device is used more energy is required to lift the heavy gear and motor up and down the rail.
Another problem in the prior art devices is that the motors are typically fairly large. This is due to the need to provide enough power to overcome inefficiencies in the drive system as well as enough lift to first, lift the person with a reasonable margin of safety, then, lift the weight of the platform and/or seat, as well as the heavy elements of the drive train including both the motor and the drive gear. In this sense there is a negatively reinforcing cycle in which a heavier drive train requires a heavier motor, which in turn requires more lifting power and again a heavier motor. As a result the prior art devices tend to include expensive and heavy components in the drive train, including the motor itself.
Another problem in prior art devices is that the stair lift devices are relatively difficult to install. In most cases professional installers are required. Often, due to the heavy nature of the elements two installers are required. Typically they will have to check out the installation site, determine whether the rail is to be installed on the left hand or right-hand side of the stairway and then proceed with the installation. In many cases customised left hand or right-hand parts are required. In other cases the carriage and chair must be partially disassembled and then reassembled to permit the chair to face the right way when installed. This requires time, tools and expertise. Also, due to the need for the chair to be clear of the wall or rail, the stairway becomes substantially blocked by the installation of the device.


The present invention includes novel methods for increasing the seed productivity or accelerating the growth rate of a plant and plants produced by such methods. Such plants have at least one cell transformed with an expression complex comprising a promoter operably linked to a gene encoding a pyruvate phosphate dikinase which is capable of converting pyruvate into phosphoenolpyruvate. The plants are made by transforming at least one plant cell with an appropriate expression construct, regenerating plants from one or more transformed plant cells and selecting at least one plant having the desired phenotype.

Problem
Remarkable improvements in the yield and quality of cereal grains have been attained during the twentieth century by plant breeding and selection (Borlaug and Dowswell 1988). Nevertheless, such increases can not be sustained indefinitely. Of the many serious problems confronting humans, the most urgent is that of population growth. At the current rate of growth, world population is expected to double to 11 billion by the year 2030. This is already causing the loss of some of the best crop lands. To feed the world's population in 40 years' time, will require all our ingenuity. There is, therefore, an urgent need to increase food production by supplementing and complementing the traditional methods of plant improvement by the novel technologies of plant cell and molecular biology. These permit access to an unlimited gene pool by allowing the transfer of desirable genes between any two species of interest.
Plants are remarkable organisms. They are able to satisfy their energetical needs by means of the sunlight. In addition, they generate, by a process known as photosynthesis, carbohydrates from carbon dioxide. These substances can be used as energy stores, for biosynthesis as well as structural components. But, not all plant tissues are able to perform photosynthesis. All tissues which have no contact to light are non-photosynthetic (roots). Some tissues simply have other functions (developing seeds, vascular tissue). Naturally, photosynthesis can not be performed in the dark. During the light phase, photosynthetically active tissues must produce and store enough energy to supply the whole organism and if possible, to drive growth and reproduction. Usually, sugars are the means of short term storage (starch, sucrose) and transfer (sucrose) of energy. The main sinks for sucrose are developing leaves and non-photosynthetically active tissues. The non-photosynthetically active plant tissues must generate their complete organic components from the transferred carbon scaffolds (Dennis and Turpin 1990; Mohr and Schopfer 1978; Strasburger et al. 1991; Taiz and Zeiger 1991).
Respiration of the hexoses glucose and fructose derived from sucrose can generate up to 38 ATP* (Voet and Voet 1992). Simultaneously, carbon dioxide assimilated during FNT * Adenosine triphophate (ATP) is the energy currency of the cell. The change of free energy (.DELTA.G) for ATP hydrolysis is under physiological circumstances -50 to -65 kJ/mol. One NADH can be converted to 3 ATP. photosynthesis will be set free again. Photosynthesis needs 18 ATP and 12 NADPH to produce one hexose molecule (Mohr and Schopfer 1978; Strasburger et al. 1991; Taiz and Zeiger 1991). This equals an energy amount of 54 ATP. A simple calculation shows that 16 ATP are lost from photosynthesis to respiration.
Can respiration reduce crop yield? The answer is: Yes. A 20% reduction of respiration can lead to 10-20% increased crop productivity (Lambers 1985; Wilson and Jones 1982). Unluckily, in the field, one can not easily prolong light periods or optimize growth temperatures, air- and soil humidity. Therefore, other solutions to reduce loss of carbon dioxide by respiration must be developed.

Procedure to increase the seed productivity of plants and to accelerate the growth of plants by means of an additional plastidic pyruvate, phosphate dikinase


The disclosed embodiments relate to an electronic device configured to receive infra red (IR) signals. The electronic device comprises a first IR decoder configured to decode the IR signals when the electronic device is operating in a first power mode, and a second IR decoder configured to decode the IR signals when the video unit is operating in a second power mode.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art which may be related to various aspects of the present invention which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Electronic devices, such as the devices mentioned above, may be controlled remotely by a remote device, typically known as a remote control. A remote control conveniently enables a user to access the electronic device from a distance so that the user may, for example, change settings and configurations of the electronic device otherwise requiring the user to physically access the electronic device. Controlling the electronic device from a distance is achieved by transmission of IR burst/signals from the remote control to the electronic device. Such IR bursts contain encoded information corresponding to commands and/or functions prompting the electronic device, from a distance, to execute user-desired functionalities. Upon reception by the electronic device, the IR signals transmitted by the remote control undergo processing by dedicated circuitry and/or software disposed within the electronic device so as to decode the information contained in the IR signals. Thereafter, the decoded information may be forwarded to a main processor of the electronic device so that the commands and/or functions may be executed accordingly.
Hardware and/or software components used in implementing IR decoders, such as in TVs, DVDRs, etc., are powered by a main power supply disposed within such aforementioned devices. Particularly, during periods of time when the electronic device is turned off, the IR decoder may remain powered so that it can switch the electronic device back on when prompted by the remote control operated by the user. Further, known electronic devices may power the IR decoder contained therein during periods of time when the electronic device is not operating with the same amount of power otherwise used for powering the device when it is fully operating. Consequently, in such periods of time, which can be long, the IR decoder may consume large amounts of electrical power while the electronic device is turned off. As a result, the IR decoders may unnecessarily consume electrical power, further rendering such electronic devices non-compliant with various industry standards requiring low consumption of power by IR decoders when the electronic device does not operate.

System and method for decoding infra-red (IR) signals


Direct field cancelation with optional receive antenna compensation is provided in at least some gradient induction logging tool embodiments. Illustrative embodiments include a spatial gradient antenna arrangement having multiple spatially-separated multi-component coil antennas and a multi-component coil antenna having bucking coils that cancel the effects of both the direct field and the gradient of the direct field on the receive signal. Other tool embodiments include a multi-component coil antenna and a spatial gradient antenna arrangement having spatially separated multi-component coil antennas with bucking coils that cancel the effects of both the direct field and the gradient of the direct field on the receive signal. Those embodiments employing a spatial gradient antenna arrangement for receiving may further be configured to provide compensated measurements by combining measurements from rotated orientations of the spatial gradient antenna. Systems and methods employing such tool embodiments may provide increased induction logging tool functionality and enhanced measurement resolution.

Modern oil field operations demand a great quantity of information relating to the parameters and conditions encountered downhole. Such information typically includes characteristics of the earth formations traversed by the borehole, and data relating to the size and configuration of the borehole itself. The collection of information relating to conditions downhole, which commonly is referred to as "logging," can be performed by several methods including wireline logging and "logging while drilling" (LWD).
In wireline logging, a probe or "sonde" is lowered into the borehole after some or the entire well has been drilled. The sonde hangs at the end of a long cable or "wireline" that provides mechanical support to the sonde and also provides an electrical connection between the sonde and electrical equipment located at the surface of the well. In accordance with existing logging techniques, various parameters of the earth's formations are measured and correlated with the position of the sonde in the borehole as the sonde is pulled uphole.
In LWD, the drilling assembly includes sensing instruments that measure various parameters as the formation is being penetrated. While LWD techniques allow more contemporaneous formation measurements, drilling operations create an environment that is generally hostile to electronic instrumentation and sensor operations.
Induction logging tools have long been used in these and other logging environments. Induction logging tools typically employ transmit coils to generate eddy currents in the formation and receive coils to measure the magnetic fields resulting from those currents. Such measurements are known to be indicative of formation resistivity, but with the use of orthogonal coils to provide multi-component measurements and multiple signal frequencies to measure frequency dependence of the measurements, induction tools enable the determination of many formation model parameters including vertical and horizontal resistivity. In addition, there exists the possibility of improving the resolution of such formation models through the use of the gradient induction logging principle disclosed by M. Zhdanov in U.S. Pat. No. 7,937,221, "Method and Apparatus for Gradient Electromagnetic Induction Well Logging".
However, the actual implementation of a gradient induction logging tool faces certain obstacles. In particular, the gradient signal from the formation is expected to be significantly smaller than the normal induction tool response signal, raising the likelihood of the gradient induction logging tool response being dominated by the transmit antenna's magnetic field (the so-called "direct field"). Moreover, any feasible commercial tool design must cope with the extreme degree of temperature variations expected in the downhole environment and the commensurate changes in performance of receiver circuits designed for high sensitivity.
It should be understood, however, that the specific embodiments given in the drawings and detailed description thereto do not limit the disclosure. On the contrary, they provide the foundation for one of ordinary skill to discern the alternative forms, equivalents, and modifications that are encompassed together with one or more of the given embodiments in the scope of the appended claims.

Gradient induction logging tool having direct field cancelation with optional compensation


An aspect of the present invention is an imaging method using a multifocal lens having a plurality of regions, the plurality of regions having different focal lengths, and the imaging method includes a focusing state control step of controlling a focusing state of the multifocal lens, and an imaging step of obtaining an image of a subject in the controlled focusing state. In the focusing state control step, the focusing state is controlled so that a main subject is focused via a region with a shortest required focusing time among the plurality of regions in response to a picture taking instruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for controlling a focusing state by an imaging device including a multifocal lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an imaging device using a multifocal lens having a plurality of focal points has been known. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes that a subject image is obtained by convolution processing in an imaging device including a multifocal lens. Also, Patent Literature 2 describes that an imaging signal is corrected with an inverse function based on a point spread function in an imaging device including a multifocal lens. Furthermore, in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, images with different focal lengths are obtained by using the imaging device including the multifocal lens, and an in-focus image is obtained by restoration processing.
Still further, Patent Literature 3 describes that a barcode is read in a short focus region provided to a center portion of a multifocal lens and normal picture taking is performed in a long focus region provided to a peripheral portion of the lens.
On the other hand, as described in Patent Literature 4, pictures of the same subject are taken by a plurality of camera modules with different focal lengths instead of using a multifocal lens, and a multifocal image as a whole is obtained.


A boomerang link for aircraft engine mounts, including a first orifice and a second orifice both designed to connect the boomerang link to an aircraft pylon, and a third orifice designed to connect the boomerang link to an aircraft engine. The third orifice is offset relative to a plane passing simultaneously through an axis of the first orifice and through an axis of the second orifice. When the boomerang link is seen in section in any plane orthogonal to the axes, a straight line segment extending from the axis of the second orifice to an axis of the third orifice crosses a region external to the boomerang link. This conformation confers on the boomerang link a flexibility enabling it to filter transverse vibrations between an engine and an aircraft pylon.

The present invention concerns a boomerang link for aircraft engine mounts.
It also concerns an engine mount including such a link, a propulsion system including such an engine mount, and an aircraft equipped with such a propulsion system,
Aircraft jet engines are usually attached to the wings or to the fuselage by means of a pylon to which the jet engine is connected by means of engine mounts and links for transmitting thrust forces.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a propulsion system 8 of the type designed to be attached laterally to an aircraft fuselage rear part. This propulsion system 8 includes a jet engine 10, for example of the open rotor pusher type, and a pylon 12, partially visible, to which the jet engine is connected. The rotors, the nacelle and the air intake of the jet engine 10 are not represented in FIG. 1, and so only the main structural casings of the jet engine can be seen. The jet engine 10 has a longitudinal axis 11.
The jet engine 10 is primarily attached to the pylon 12 by a forward engine mount 14, an aft engine mount 16, and two links 18 for transmitting thrust forces, of which only one can be seen in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 shows to a larger scale the forward engine mount 14 and the connection of the links 18 to a rigid structure of the pylon 12.
The forward engine mount 14 includes a fitting 20 fixed to the pylon 12 and forming a support structure to which are connected a link 22 and a boomerang link 24. The link 22 is articulated to the fitting 20 by means of a first pivot and is designed to he articulated to the jet engine 10 by means of a second pivot. The boomerang link 24 is connected to the fitting 20 by means of two pivots and is designed to be articulated to the jet engine 10 by means of a third pivot. The pivots of the link 22 and of the boomerang link 24 are parallel to the longitudinal axis 11 of the jet engine that can be seen in FIG. 1. Finally, each of the links 18 for transmitting thrust forces is articulated to a swing-arm 26 that is itself connected to the fitting 20 by means of two pivots. The pivots of the components described above are not shown in FIG. 2 for reasons of clarity.
It should he noted that the aforementioned pivots may each incorporate a ball joint in order to impart more freedom of movement to the articulated components and to reduce unwanted moments, in a manner that is well known in itself.
A particular function of the boomerang link 24 is to take forces oriented transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the jet engine as well as to take the engine torque about the aforementioned longitudinal axis.
However, the connection of the jet engine 10 to the pylon 12 by means of the components described above leads to transmission of vibrations from the jet engine to the pylon 12.
This is particularly problematic in the case of propulsion systems attached to the fuselage of the aircraft, as described above, because the vibrations are then transmitted directly to the structure of the fuselage. These vibrations are therefore liable to increase the wear of the structure of the fuselage and to reduce the comfort of passengers.
Propulsion systems mounted above or below the wings of the aircraft generally include a configuration of engine mounts and links for transmitting thrust forces analogous to that described above.
In these latter propulsion systems, vibrations induced by the jet engines are in theory damped by the flexibility of the wings.
However, if the intensity of these vibrations is particularly high, notably in the event of a malfunction of a jet engine, there is also a risk of the vibrations of the latter being transmitted to the structure of the fuselage of the aircraft.

Boomerang link with vibration filtering ability and aircraft engine mount provided with such link


A sonic speed measurement device in which reliability is enhanced while the amount of calculation is minimized is provided. A propagation path postulation component postulates the sonic speed through bone, and calculates propagation paths up until ultrasonic waves transmitted from a wave transmitter are received by oscillators. A postulated propagation time calculator calculates the propagation time it takes for the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the wave transmitter to be received by the oscillators, based on the propagation paths. A Fourier transform component subjects I signals and Q signals of signals outputted by the oscillators to Fourier transform to generate Fourier transform data. A phase shifter shifts the phase of the Fourier transform data for the oscillators in a frequency region according to the propagation time. A sonic speed derivation component determines the validity of the postulated sonic speed based on the Fourier transform data shifted by the phase shifter.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates primarily to the configuration of a sonic speed measurement device that uses ultrasonic waves to measure the sonic speed through a measurement object.
Background Information
There is a known sonic speed measurement device that transmits an ultrasonic wave signal to a measurement object, receives the ultrasonic wave signal that comes back from the measurement object, and derives the sonic speed through the measurement object based on the received ultrasonic wave signal. This type of sonic speed measurement device is discussed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2010-246692 (Patent Literature 1), for example.
The sonic speed measurement device discussed in Patent Literature 1 comprises a plurality of wave receivers. Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which the sonic speed through a measurement object is postulated, the propagation time until ultrasonic waves reach the receivers is calculated based on a postulated sonic speed value, and received signals received by the receivers are shifted by an amount of time corresponding to the propagation time to find an integrated waveform in which the shifted signals have been integrated. In Patent Literature 1, if the postulated sonic speed value is correct, the peaks of the shifted signals reinforce each other, so whether or not the postulated sonic speed value is correct can be determined by examining the integrated waveform. Also, in Patent Literature 1, since the peaks of the received signals received by the receivers do not have to be detected precisely, noise is less likely to have an effect.

Propagation rate measurement device, propagation rate measurement program, and propagation rate measurement method


The present invention provides a method for removal of boron from metal silicon inexpensively and extremely efficiently by a simple method, specifically, heating metal silicon containing boron as an impurity to its melting point to 2200° C. to place it in a molten state, then adding a solid mainly comprised of silicon dioxide and a solid mainly comprised of one or both of a carbonate of an alkali metal or a hydrate of a carbonate of an alkali metal into said molten silicon so as to form a slag and remove the boron in the silicon.

Silicon used for a solar battery is generally required to have a 99.9999% or so purity. The various types of metal impurities are required to be 0.1 mass ppm or less and the B is required to be at least 0.3 mass ppm or less, preferably 0.1 mass ppm or less. As silicon satisfying this purity, there is semiconductor use silicon obtained by the Siemen's process, that is, high purity silicon obtained by distilling, then heat decomposing silicon chloride. However, this Siemen's process is high in cost and not suitable for solar batteries requiring large amounts of silicon.
As an inexpensive silicon, there is metal silicon obtained by using an arc furnace and reducing silica stone by carbon, but the purity is normally 98% or so and the result includes Fe, Al, Ca, or other various types of metal impurities and the P, B, etc. used as silicon dopants. For this reason, this cannot be used as is as the raw material for solar batteries. Therefore, many attempts have been made trying to refine this inexpensive metal silicon for use for solar batteries.
Among the impurities contained in metal silicon, Fe, Al, Ca, or other various types of metal impurities can be removed by the one-directional solidification method. That is, this refining method uses the phenomenon that when a silicon melt solidifies, the copresent molten silicon contains a large amount of metal impurities while the solidified silicon only takes in a little. "The concentration of impurities in solid phase silicon/concentration of impurities in liquid phase silicon" is called the "segregation coefficient". With Fe, Al, Ca, and other various types of metal impurities, the segregation coefficient is far smaller than 1, so silicon can be removed by this one-directional solidification method. That is, by concentrating these impurities in the finally solidifying part, these impurities can be removed from the other major part of the silicon.
Further, the impurities with large vapor pressure in the metal silicon, for example, the P, Ca, Na, etc., can be removed from the silicon by melting the silicon under reduced pressure, that is, by the vacuum melting method.
As opposed to this, B has a segregation coefficient close to 1 and has a small vapor pressure, so is difficult to remove by the above methods. Various methods have therefore been proposed for this.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-32319 discloses the method of acid washing silicon, the vacuum melting method, the one-direction solidification method, and a method of removal of B from silicon by the slag refining method. According to this, the extraction use melt, more specifically a total 10 kg of CaF2+CaO+SiO2 slag, and 5 kg of silicon can be melted together at 1450 to 1500° C. to reduce the boron B in the silicon from 30 mass ppm to 8 mass ppm. However, the rate of drop of B is small and the content of B remains large even after the treatment, so this is insufficient as silicon for use for solar batteries. Further, in the slag refining method, the B in the molten silicon is removed by being absorbed in the slag, but with slag of the above composition, the B distribution coefficient (concentration of B in molten slag/concentration of B in molten silicon) is a small 1.375, so there is the inconvenience that the slag refining method has to be repeated again and again. For example, when the concentration of B in the silicon is 10 mass ppm and using the above slag in double the amount of the silicon in the same way as the above example, even if the slag used contains no B at all, even if performing the slag refining operation three times, the B will not be reduced to 0.3 mass ppm or less. Further, normally, the slag used contains at least several mass ppm or so of B. Further, slag is normally used in only the same amount as the silicon or less, so the number of slag refining operations becomes further greater.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-130114 describes a slag refining method comprising vigorously mixing slag containing one or both of an alkali earth metal or alkali metal oxide or slag ingredients and crushed crude silicon (purity equivalent to metal silicon) before melting, then melting them. However, in general, crushing the crude silicon of the raw material requires considerable cost. Further, at the time of crushing, contamination frequently occurs. Further, vigorous mixing also requires considerable cost. Further, when repeatedly performing this refining operation, it is necessary to crush the silicon each time and mix it with the slag. This becomes extremely troublesome. For this reason, in an industrial process, a processing including a crushing step and a mixing step is not preferable. Further, according to the examples in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-130114, the concentration of B in the finally obtained silicon is 1 mass ppm. This is insufficient as silicon used for solar batteries.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-12317 discloses a slag refining method adding flux (slag) to metal silicon and blowing in an oxidizing gas. In this method, it is considered possible to simultaneously realize a high basicity and high oxygen partial pressure of the slag and possible to efficiently remove the B in the silicon. As basic ingredients in the slag, CaO, CaCO3, and Na2O may be mentioned. The examples describe that B is reduced from an initial concentration of 14 mass ppm to 7.6 mass ppm. However, blowing gas into molten silicon is considerably difficult. In particular, there is no material suitable for forming the nozzle for blowing in the gas. Further, the concentration of B in the finally obtained silicon is also 7.6 mass ppm—which is insufficient as silicon used for solar batteries.
Further, "Distribution Behavior of Boron Between SiO2-saturated NaO0.5—CaO—SiO2 Flux-Molten Silicon" (Tanahashi et al., Shigen To Sozai (Journal of the Mining and Materials) Processing Institute of Japan, vol. 118, No. 7, P497 to 505, (2002)) also describes the slag refining method. The slag used is Na2O—CaO—SiO2. This slag is produced in advance at 1700° C. (1973K), then charged into a metal silicon bath with a high initial B concentration for slag refining. It is stated that the B distribution coefficient at this time is as high as 3.5 and that this is an improvement over the highest value of 2.2 of the B distribution coefficient up to then. However, with a B distribution coefficient of 3.5 or so, in principle, the concentration of B in the silicon can only be reduced to 0.4 mass ppm or so, so production of silicon for use for solar batteries is difficult. This is because, as explained later, the concentration of B in the slag used cannot be reduced to "zero" and 1 to several mass ppm or so is always included.
Further, as an industrial process in which slag refining is generally performed, there is the steelmaking process, but B oxides are far stabler than iron oxides, so in the steelmaking process, it is possible to oxidize the B without allowing oxidation of the iron and allow the B oxides formed to be absorbed by the slag and thereby easily remove them. As opposed to this, B oxides and silicon oxides are substantially the same in stability. If trying to oxidize B and get it absorbed by the slag, the silicon will also end up being oxidized. In this way, silicon and iron greatly differ in characteristics, so the slag refining technology of the steelmaking process cannot be applied as it is to silicon.
As a method for removal of B in silicon by a method other than slag refining, the method of oxidizing the B in the silicon and vaporizing it to remove it from the silicon has been conceived. However, due to the above mentioned reasons, silicon is also oxidized when oxidizing the B, so with each of the methods shown below, there is the problem of a low silicon recovery rate.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-130009 discloses a method for advantageously removing B etc. by adding an H2O gas or O2, CO2, or other oxidizing gas and CaO, SiO2, or another oxygen-containing substance to a plasma gas. According to the examples, B is reduced from the initial 8.0 mass ppm to 0.2 mass ppm.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-228414 also discloses the method of adding water vapor and silica (SiO2) to a plasma jet to refine silicon. According to the examples, B is reduced from the initial 17 mass ppm to 1.0 mass ppm.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-246706 discloses a method of removal of B by generating an arc between molten silicon and an upper electrode and blowing an inert gas, preferably an oxidizing gas, into the vessel.
Further, as a method utilizing a special torch instead of plasma or an arc, U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,107 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,403 disclose a method of adding water vapor and SiO2 to an oxygen-hydrogen torch to refine molten silicon and further a method of adding, in addition to SiO2, CaO, BaO, and CaF2 to refine molten silicon.
As a method for removal of B as the oxidized gas and not using any plasma, arc, or special torch, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-193706 discloses a method of melting silicon in a container having a gas blowing tuyere at its bottom and mainly comprised of silica and further mixing and blowing Ar or H2 gas or a mixed gas of the same, preferably further with one or more types of oxidizing gas such as H2O, CO2, or O2 from this tuyere. In this method, the B can be considered to be removed in the form of an oxide gas. Further, it is described that when the raw material silicon has a high concentration of B, adding a mixture of one or more of SiO2, CaO, CaCl2, and CaF2 to the gas blown from the tuyere is advantageous for B removal. According to the examples, B is reduced from the initial 25 mass ppm to 5 mass ppm.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-202611 discloses a method of removal of B comprising blowing one or more solids decomposing at 1400° C. or less and generating one or both of H2O or CO2 into a molten silicon bath together with a carrier gas. In this method, it is described that Ca(OH)2, CaCO3, and MgCO3 are used, and B becomes the oxide gas which is exhausted together with the carrier gas. Further, the examples describe that the B concentration in the silicon falls to 1 ppm or less.
WO89/02415 discloses a method comprising adding a chloride to cause the formation of boron chloride and thereby remove the B. For example, CaCl2, CaO, and SiO2 are used to lower the B concentration from the initial 17 mass ppm to 5 mass ppm.
The above conventional refining methods utilizing slag will be summarized next.
The first group comprises methods of absorbing and distributing B in the molten silicon in slag so as to lower the B in the silicon. These include the method of crushing and mixing silicon and the slag ingredients in advance before melting and the method of introducing an oxidizing gas in addition to the slag.
The second group comprises the methods utilizing plasma, an arc, or a special torch, adding an oxidizing gas or SiO2 or one or more of CaO, BaO, and CaF2 to convert the B to an oxide, and vaporizing it for removal.
The third group comprises the method of not using plasma etc., but blowing in Ar or H2, preferably one or more oxidizing gases of H2O, CO2, or O2, into the molten silicon, or the method of adding one or more of SiO2, CaO, CaCl2, and CaF2, and the method of blowing into the molten silicon bath one or more solids decomposing at 1400° C. or less and generating one or both of H2O or CO2 together with the carrier gas. Further, there is the method focusing on use of chlorides.


An aromatic amide block copolymer containing a specific aromatic amide compound unit and having a weight average molecular weight, as reduced into standard polystyrene measured by the gel permeation chromatography, of from 10,000 to 1,000,000.

In recent years, the substitution of crosslinked rubbers by a thermoplastic elastomer advances from the viewpoints of recycle properties and energy conservation properties. Thermoplastic elastomers are constructed of a soft segment that is rich in rubber elasticity and a hard segment which will become a constraint phase of a molecular chain, and various thermoplastic elastomers using various combinations of a hard segment and a soft segment have been developed and put into the market. Above all, polyamide based or polyester based thermoplastic elastomers are broadly used in automobile parts, electric and electronic parts, industrial parts, and so on as a thermoplastic elastomer excellent in heat resistance and oil resistance. A hard segment of polyamide based or polyester based thermoplastic elastomers is constructed of a high-molecular compound having a high melting point, such as 6-nylon, 6,6-nylon, and poly(butylene terephthalate). However, there is a distribution in the hard segment chain length, resulting in problems such that the elasticity is lowered with an increase of the temperature, leading to a lowering of the softening temperature and that the temperature dependency of physical properties is large. Also, with the progress of lightening in the weight and thinning in the wall thickness, the creation of a thermoplastic elastomer having more excellent heat resistance is desired.
For the sake of solving the foregoing problems, a new type of thermoplastic elastomer containing as a hard segment an aromatic oligomer having a high crystallinity and a high melting point and having a uniform chain length are proposed. For example, a thermoplastic elastomer containing 4,4′-dihydroxy-p-quaterphenyl as a hard segment and an aliphatic polyester unit as a soft segment and having a low hardness and excellent heat resistance is proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Also, a thermoplastic elastomer using an aromatic amide ester compound having a high crystallinity and a high melting point as a hard segment and a poly(oxyalkylene) unit as a soft segment is proposed. For example, a thermoplastic elastomer obtained by the melt polycondensation process of an aromatic amide ester compound composed of an aromatic dicarboxylic acid compound and an aromatic diamine compound and a poly(oxyalkylene glycol) (for example, see Patent Document 2); and a thermoplastic elastomer obtained by melt polycondensation of an aromatic amide ester compound composed of an aromatic dicarboxylic acid compound and an aromatic aminocarboxylic acid compound and a poly(oxyalkylene glycol) (for example, see Patent Document 3) are proposed.
Further, a thermoplastic elastomer obtained by the melt polycondensation process of an aromatic amide ester compound and a polyolefin polyol such as a hydroxyl-terminated ethylene/butylene copolymer (for example, see Patent Document 4); a thermoplastic elastomer obtained by polycondensation reaction of a terminal active aromatic amide ester compound and a polyester based polyol or a poly(organosiloxane) based polyol (for example, see Patent Document 5); and process of producing the same are proposed.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-02-276817
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-06-207006
[Patent Document 3] JP-A-06-207007
[Patent Document 4] JP-A-08-253569
[Patent Document 5] JP-A-08-134210
(The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application".)
However, according to the method proposed in Patent Document 1, since the reaction temperature is very high, the aliphatic polyester as the soft segment is liable to cause heat decomposition or depolymerization. As a result, not only the production of a high-molecular product is difficult, but also the chain length of the soft segment becomes non-uniform, possibly resulting in deterioration of mechanical characteristics.
Though the thermoplastic elastomers obtained by the methods proposed in Patent Documents 2, 3 and 4 had a high melting point and a high softening temperature, they were low in strength and insufficient in long-term heat resistance.
In the thermoplastic elastomer obtained by the method proposed in Patent Document 5, though it is admitted that the long-term heat resistance is improved, the problem that the strength is low is not solved yet. Also, expensive aminobenzoic acid is used in the synthesis of the terminal active aromatic amide compound, and complicated synthesis steps are required, resulting in a problem from the economical standpoint.

Aromatic amide block copolymer and process of producing the same


An integrated power production system including a fossil fuel power plant for processing fossil based fuel such as coal or natural gas arranged in tandem with a carbonate fuel cell having an anode and a cathode section. The flue gas of the power plant serves exclusively as the inlet gas for the cathode section of the fuel cell. Anode exhaust gas leaving the anode section of the fuel cell is subjected to processing including sequestration of the carbon dioxide in the exhaust gas.

This invention relates to fuel cell systems and, in particular, to integrated fuel cell and fossil fuel power plant systems having enhanced efficiency.
A fuel cell is a device which directly converts chemical energy stored in hydrocarbon fuel into electrical energy by means of an electrochemical reaction. Generally, a fuel cell comprises an anode and a cathode separated by an electrolyte, which serves to conduct electrically charged ions. Molten carbonate fuel cells operate by passing a reactant fuel gas through the anode, while oxidizing gas comprising carbon dioxide and oxygen is passed through the cathode.
Fossil fuel power plants produce energy by combusting fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas. As a result of the combustion process, fossil fuel power plants generate flue gas, which is often disposed of by atmospheric emissions. Such emissions, however, are harmful to the environment because they contain large amounts of carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming and climate changes.
Accordingly, a number of approaches have been used to control or limit carbon dioxide content in the flue gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants. However, the process of separating the carbon dioxide from the flue gas is not cost effective because of the low concentration of carbon dioxide (approximately 10%) in the gas.
A system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,793 in which carbon dioxide emissions in the flue gas of a fossil fuel power plant are reduced by using a carbonate fuel cell in tandem with the power plant. In this system, the flue gas is added to an oxidant supply and the combined gas is used as the feed gas for the cathode of the molten carbonate fuel cell. The electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell then results in the carbon dioxide in the feed gas being transferred from the cathode to the anode of the fuel cell. The anode exhaust gas thus becomes highly concentrated with carbon dioxide gas. This permits the carbon dioxide gas to be efficiently separated form the exhaust gas and to then be disposed of or converted to a form where it can put to a useful purpose.
The system of the '793 patent uses an externally reforming fuel cell system. The external reformer generates flue gas. For efficient CO2 recovery, the reforming fuel also needs to be recycled to the fuel cell oxidant supply line. In addition, this invention adds the ambient temperature air required by the fuel cell to the fossil fuel power plant exhaust. This requires further preheating of the oxidant feed to the fuel cell to realize the required operating temperature. The separate air addition and external reforming of '793 both add complexity and cost to the system. They also reduce the efficiency of the system.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an integrated power production system comprised of a fossil fuel power plant and carbonate fuel cell which attempts to alleviate the aforesaid disadvantages.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an integrated power production system comprised of a fossil fuel power plant and carbonate fuel cell which is less complex and has improved efficiency.

Integrated high efficiency fossil fuel power plant/fuel cell system with CO


An orientation associated with an electronic device may be identified. The orientation may correspond to a first orientation or a second orientation, which may each correspond to any orientation within respective ranges of orientations. The device may include an adjustment element for adjusting an operational parameter associated with the device. If the identified orientation corresponds to the first orientation, a first adjustment of the operational parameter may be associated with actuation of a first portion of the adjustment element and a second adjustment of the operational parameter may be associated with actuation of a second portion of the adjustment element. If the identified orientation corresponds to the second orientation, the second adjustment of the operational parameter may be associated with actuation of the first portion and the first adjustment of the operational parameter may be associated with actuation of the second portion.

Many electronic devices include physical buttons or switches for adjusting various parameters or otherwise controlling device functionality. For example, electronic devices include a power button or switch that enables powering the device on and off. Electronic devices also typically include a button or switch that upon actuation by a user of the device may enable the volume level of the device to be adjusted. In certain electronic devices, a softkey button or switch may be provided that is flexibly programmed to invoke a variety of functions. A desired function for the softkey may be selected by a user of the device via, for example, a user interface associated with the device or may be invoked based on a predefined association with an application being executed on the device.

Modifying device functionality based on device orientation


A circuit for shielding an electro-magnetic wave noise radiated and conducted from a wiper motor is disclosed. The circuit absorbs, shields or suppresses such electro-magnetic wave noise when the wiper motor is activated to drive the wiper under a particular weather condition such as rain or snow. The different components of the electro-magnetic wave noise are absorbed or suppressed by different circuit components, so that the electro-magnetic noise could not reach safety devices of the automobile. Therefore accidents can be prevented, and riders can be protected.

Generally, under particular weather conditions such as rain or snow, if an activation switch for a wiper is turned on, then a wiper motor is driven, and the wiper is activated. Under this condition, the electro-magnetic wave noise which is radiated or conducted from the wiper motor can adversely effect an anti-lock brake system or an electronically driven automatic speed shifting device. In such a case, the system or the device can malfunction, or became disabled with the possible result that an accident may occur. That is, as the wiper is activated during a particular condition of weather such as rain or snow, the electro-magnetic wave noise can cause an automobile disorder or a serious accident, resulting in economic loss and the sacrifice of human lives.

Circuit for shielding electro-magnetic wave noise radiated and conducted from wiper motor


A light emitting diode and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The light emitting diode comprises: a transparent substrate; a reflective layer located on a surface of the transparent substrate; a solder layer located on the other surface of the transparent substrate; a semiconductor epitaxial structure located on the solder layer, wherein the semiconductor epitaxial structure comprises a n-type contact layer, and the n-type contact layer can be a structure having a continuous flat surface, a structure having a continuous reticulate or bar surface, or a cylinder or prism structure having a discontinuous surface; and a transparent conductive layer located on the n-type contact layer of the semiconductor epitaxial structure.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conventional light emitting diode. The light emitting diode comprises a substrate 100, a n-type semiconductor buffer layer 102, a n-type semiconductor contact layer 104, a n-type semiconductor cladding layer 106, an active layer 108, a p-type semiconductor cladding layer 110 and a p-type semiconductor contact layer 112 stacked in sequence. The light emitting diode further comprises a p-type contact pad 114 located on a portion of the p-type semiconductor contact layer 112, and a n-type contact pad 116 located on the exposed portion of the n-type semiconductor contact layer 104.
The material of the substrate 100 of a conventional light emitting diode adopts n-type gallium arsenide (GaAs). The substrate 100 composed of n-type GaAs can absorb light, so that most of the photons produced by the active layer 108 of the light emitting diode while emitting toward the substrate 100 are absorbed by the substrate 100, thus seriously affecting the light emitting efficiency of the light emitting diode device.
In order to avoid the issue of light absorbed by the substrate, I. Pollentirer et al. in the Gent university in Belgium disclosed a technology in the journal "Electronics Letters" about directly bonding the GaAs light emitting diode wafer to the silicon (Si) substrate after the GaAs light emitting diode wafer is stripped off the GaAs substrate in 1990. Additionally, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,580 (application date: Mar. 19, 1993) filed by Hewlett-Packard Co., U.S.A. disclosed a technology about directly bonding the AlGaAs light emitting diode wafer to the other substrate after the AlGaAs light emitting diode wafer is stripped off the GaAs substrate. However, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,580 has a disadvantage of low yield caused by the need of considering the consistency of the lattice direction between the bonding wafers. Furthermore, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,699 (application date: May 10, 1999) filed by K. H. Chang et al., Visual Photonics Epitaxy Co., R.O.C. disclosed a technology about using metal as a bonding agent after the light emitting diode wafer is stripped off the growth substrate. However, a disadvantage of the U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,699 is that: the light emitting diode wafer is easy to peel off after bonding, thus lowering the yield.

Light emitting diode and method for manufacturing the same


An installation for the supply of oxygen including an oxygen source and an oxygen generating unit, where oxygen is supplied simultaneously to a mixing frame from the oxygen source and oxygen generating unit. An emergency frame may be included as well.

Oxygen is the most abundant element in nature. It forms approximately 21% of the atmosphere. It is bonded to hydrogen in water and it is found forming part of most minerals and rocks. It is a constituent of all living beings and is essential for ensuring the organic metabolism of animals. In superior vertebrates, such as man, oxygen is inhaled through the lungs and then subsequently transported through the bloodstream.
A basic life-supporting element, it is not surprising that oxygen is also essential in many medicinal applications. Many medical processes require this element as an agent to speed up metabolism. Oxygen therapy and air therapy are well known examples. Oxygen is also used in anesthesia, as well as in open heart surgery, where the patient's blood must be directly oxygenated. Oxygen, therefore, is may not be lacking in any hospital and is consumed in large amounts.
In order to ensure this supply and to enable its distribution throughout the hospital complex, a supply station typically distributes the product throughout the hospital through an internal distribution network. The supply station is usually composed of steel cylinders (bottles) which contain the gas under pressure. More recently, cryogenic tanks are used to store liquid oxygen at low temperature. After vaporization in a heat exchanger, the oxygen is supplied to the hospital network. All the stations have corresponding emergency systems, such as a set of bottles which act as a reserve and enter into operation in case of need should the main source suffer a serious breakdown or should there be no supply.
Medicinal oxygen is an expensive product whose price is determined by two factors. First, it is necessary that its purity be high, approximately 99.9%. It is also essential to ensure that oxygen for hospital consumption is not in any way polluted.
Second, consumption of the product by an average hospital is considerably smaller than in industrial consumption. The installations required for its storage, specifically in the case of cryogenic tanks, have similar and considerably higher costs, which have a more significant effect in the price of medicinal oxygen.
The medicinal application of pure oxygen is practically non-existent. In fact, pure oxygen is a highly toxic product and its continued inhalation causes death. It is therefore normally supplied with air or other gases in variable concentrations which very rarely exceed 80%. Most frequently, the oxygen product is provided in a proportion of around 40%. For this reason, American Pharmacopoeia has just authorized the classification of medicinal oxygen as oxygen which does not have an impurity of inert gases of over 7%, and therefore a concentration of oxygen equal to or over 93%.
The possibility of "filtering" air, separating its constituents, was achieved some years ago by means of zeolite filters or membranes, which absorb a gas (generally nitrogen) and allow the rest to pass through. Thus oxygen may be produced, in situ, with a considerably low cost by a system of compressors and filters. This requires reduced maintenance and low consumption of energy.
The main disadvantage of these units is that they cannot produce oxygen with a purity of over 95%. The need for such purity, however, has been eliminated with the recent authorization of American Pharmacopoeia. The required 93% purity is easily obtained with the main remaining impurity being the inert gas argon.
It is wholly unthinkable that a hospital may be deprived of the oxygen supply. This condition must be avoided at all costs and any supply system must absolutely prevent this. Autonomous generating units are not satisfactory because they are machines subject to possible breakdowns and stoppings.
By duplicating some parts of the system, it is possible to decrease the risk of stoppage, but, apart from the fact that total elimination of the risk thereof is impossible, successive accumulation of duplicate or safety elements make the costs of these units so high that the oxygen produced no longer has economic advantages.

Installation for the supply of oxygen to hospitals and the like


Methods and systems are described for delivering content to a vehicle occupant through a wireless communications link between a wireless client associated with the vehicle and a wireless access point external to the vehicle. The wireless access point is in communication with a content supplier, and available content from the content supplier, as determined from a user subscription, is delivered to the user using the wireless communications link when the vehicle is stationary.

Information requirements of vehicle occupants include safety information such as travel conditions in the case of the vehicle operator, and entertainment in the case of vehicle occupants, particularly for passengers. However, existing approaches may not work well for content delivery to the vehicles. For example, the content may not be related to the preferences of the user, selection of content may be difficult, and bandwidth limitations may make immediate delivery difficult.

System and method for subscription-based content distribution to vehicles via wireless communication

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


The invention provides multi-biomarker based methods to stratify pediatric septic shock patients into high and low risk groups.

Septic shock and severe sepsis represent a major public health problem in the United States, despite the development of increasingly powerful antibiotics and advanced forms of intensive care unit-based support modalities (see, e.g., Shanley, T. et al. Sepsis, 3rd Ed., St. Louis, Mo., Mosby (2006)). Worldwide, septic shock affects millions of adults, killing approximately one in four (see, e.g., Dellinger, R. et al. Crit. Care Med. 36:296-327 (2008)). A recent study suggests that the incidence and the mortality rates of septic shock in adults are increasing in the United States (Dombrovskiy, V. et al. Crit. Care Med. 35:1244-50 (2007)).
Septic shock is also a major problem in the pediatric age group, as there are ˜42,000 cases of pediatric septic shock per year in the United States alone, with a mortality rate of ˜10% (see, e.g., Watson, R. et al. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167:695-701 (2003)). While the pediatric mortality rate is lower than that of adults, it nonetheless translates to more than 4,000 childhood deaths per year and countless years of lost productivity due to death at a young age. While this high number of pediatric deaths per year from septic shock indicates that more children die per year in the United States from septic shock as the primary cause than those children who die from cancer, funding specifically targeted toward pediatric septic shock is substantially lower than that for pediatric cancer.
Reliable stratification of outcome risk is fundamental to effective clinical practice and clinical research (Marshall J. Leukoc. Biol. 83:471-82 (2008)). No reliable and widely accepted outcome risk stratification tool specific for septic shock in pediatric patients has heretofore been developed. Such a tool would be beneficial at several levels, including stratification for interventional clinical trials, better-informed decision making for individual patients, and as a metric for quality improvement efforts.

Multi-biomarker-based outcome risk stratification model for pediatric septic shock


An open flow network system is stabilized while reducing a load, by reducing inquiries of a flow entry to a controller about a flow in which a flow registration has not completed. Specifically, the controller registers the flow entry that defines a rule and an action to uniformly control packets as a flow in a flow table of a switch. When receiving a packet, the switch carries out an inquiry of the flow entry corresponding to the received packet to the controller, if the flow entry corresponding to the received packet is not registered on the flow table, and stacks the received packet. Also, the switch controls the transfer of the received packet which has the same header data as the stacked packet by using the stacked packet until the flow entry corresponding to the received packet is registered.

A method of controlling a switch, a terminal and the like (data plane) from an external controller (control plane) is referred to as a CD (C: control plane/D: data plane) separation type architecture. A network configuration of the above CD separation type architecture is referred to as a CD separation type network.
As an example of the CD separation type network, an open flow network is exemplified which uses an open flow (OpenFlow) technique for carrying out a route control of a network by controlling switches from a controller. Note that the open flow network is merely one example.
(Open Flow Network)
In the open flow network, a series of communications, which are determined by combinations of a MAC address, an IP address, a port number and the like, is defined as a "flow". A route control, a trouble recovery, a load distribution, an optimization are carried out in a flow unit.
In the open flow network, a controller such as an OFC (OpenFlow Controller) controls the behavior of a switch by operating a flow table of the switch such as OFS (OpenFlow Switch).
The controller and the switch are connected by a secure channel to control the switch with use of a control message based on an open flow protocol by the controller. The controller and the switch transmit and receive open flow messages in conformity to the open flow (OpenFlow) protocol through the secure channel.
The switches in the open flow network configure the open flow network and are present as edge switches and core switches, which are controlled by the controller. Note that the edge switch is a switch located at a boundary between the open flow network and a network differing from it. Also, the core switch is a switch used to relay a packet in the open flow network. In the open flow network, the controller can operate the flow table of the switch on a route and control a flow from the reception (inflow) of the packet at an input side edge switch (Ingress) to the transmission (outflow) of the packet at an output side edge switch (Egress).
The packet may be referred to as a frame. A difference between the packet and the frame is merely a difference in a unit of a data handled in a protocol (PDU: Protocol Data Unit). The packet is the PDU of "TCP/IP" (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). On the other hand, the frame is the PDU of "Ethernet" (Registered Mark).
The flow table is a table in which a flow entry is registered to define a predetermined action performed on the packet complying with a predetermined match condition (rule).
The rule of the flow entry is defined based on a combination of one or more of a destination address, a source address, a destination port and a source port, which are included in a header region of the packet in each protocol hierarchy, and they can be discriminated. Note that the above address shall include a MAC address (Media Access Control Address) and an IP address (Internet Protocol Address). Also, in addition to the above, data of an ingress port can be used as the rule of the flow entry.
The action of the flow entry indicates an operation of "Output to Particular Port", "Discard" or "Rewrite of Header". For example, when the action of the flow entry indicates an identification data of an output port (Output Port Number, Etc), the switch outputs the packet to the port corresponding to this, and when the identification data of the output port is not indicated, the packet is discarded. Or, when the action of the flow entry indicates the header data, a header of the packet is rewritten on the basis of the header data.
The switch in the open flow network executes the action of the flow entry to a packet group (packet series) that complies with the rule of the flow entry.
The detail of the open flow technique is described in Non-Patent Literature 1.
In the open flow network in which a flow setup is not completed in advance, for each of unknown packets (first packets) that firstly received by the switch, a copy (mirror packet) of a received packet is transferred as an inquiry message (packet in) of the flow entry from the switch to the controller, until the flow entry is registered in the flow table.
However, when packets of a same flow whose flow entry is not registered in the flow table are continuously received by the switch, the number of the inquiry messages (packet in) of the flow entry to the controller increases, to increase a burden of the controller.
When a load is imposed to the controller that manages the open flow network, a problem is caused in the stabilization of the network. Thus, the decrease of the load on the control is requested.

Load reducing system and load reducing method


A control system for a vehicle that is towing a trailer, the control system including a lateral acceleration sensor coupled to the vehicle for determining a lateral acceleration of the vehicle caused by the trailer swaying and generating a lateral acceleration signal based on the lateral acceleration of the vehicle and a transmission controller for receiving the lateral acceleration signal from the lateral acceleration sensor, comparing the lateral acceleration signal to a threshold, and prohibiting a gear switch signal from being transmitted to a transmission of the vehicle when the lateral acceleration signal exceeds the threshold.

1. Field
The invention relates to systems and methods for improving the safety of a vehicle that is pulling a trailer. More particularly, the invention relates to a control system and method to inhibit automatic transmission downshifting during trailer sway.
2. Background
Trailers, such as mobile homes, travel trailers, campers and the like, are conventionally equipped with electrically appliable brakes which may be operated by the driver in the towing vehicle. When pulling the trailer, a dangerous driving situation known as trailer sway may occur and can be inhibited by momentary application of the trailer brakes. Such momentary application results from briefly energizing the brake-actuating coils by means of manually or automatically operable devices.
Trailer sway may occur while applying braking of the towing vehicle without braking or balanced braking of the trailer. Trailer sway may also occur during a cross-wind from traffic or when traveling on a windy highway. A rapid turn of the steering wheel of the towing vehicle can also cause trailer sway.
Trailer sway can be mitigated by applying braking to the trailer without applying braking to the towing vehicle. Trailer sway can also be mitigated by accelerating the towing vehicle to pull the trailer to straighten out. These techniques, however, can still result in a dangerous driving situation.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for a control system and method that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.

Control system and method to inhibit automatic transmission downshifting during trailer sway


A resin molded article and a production method thereof, including the processes of heat-molding a molding material containing a biodegradable resin and a reinforcing fiber or a biodegradable resin, a reinforcing fiber after controlling a water content thereof, or non-controlling. The resin molded article according to the present invention has sufficient heat resistance so that they are not deformed even after being temporarily left in a high temperature environment such as that in an automobile in the daytime in summer seasons and being heated to a high temperature, without deteriorating the properties thereof as members for recording materials, and therefore cause no environmental problems when left in nature since they can be finally decomposed by microorganisms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to resin molded articles and a production method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, resin molded articles are used for many members and parts constituting industrial products. The resin molded articles are composed of various resin materials solely or in combination, and are molded into a required shape depending on a required function, performance, property, etc. For example, various kinds of resin molded articles have been used as functional members such as containers, casing, lids, spool cores and cassette cases, for accommodating, wrapping, covering, protecting, transporting, storing, shape retaining or otherwise handling recording materials such as photographic recording materials, magnetic recording materials and optical recording materials. For example, resin molded articles made from various resin materials are used as the functional members for accommodating the body of a recording material, such as cassettes, magazines, and film cases with lenses. The resin molded articles are also used for containers for simply protecting recording materials; housing cases for audiocassette tapes and videotapes; and holding cases for CD, MD, etc.
Few of the resin molded articles are permanently stored, but most of them will be disposed or will be classified and subjected to regeneration treatment if they are reusable, when the industrial products in which the resin molded articles have been incorporated, finish their role, or after the resin molded articles themselves have performed their function. For example, the resin molded articles such as various members or components that constitute the above-mentioned recording materials will be separated and discarded at the time of use or during use of the recording materials, or discarded together with the recording materials to be discarded.
However, conventional resin molded articles are difficult to be decomposed when they are disposed of in the natural environment. This is one of the factors that contaminate the environment.
Accordingly, in recent years, the uses of the materials that are decomposed under the natural environment have been studied. Biodegradable resins, which are known as resin materials decomposed under the natural environment, are inferior in heat resistance to the conventional plastics, so that they are deformed under conditions where the temperature increases to as high as that in a car in summer seasons and none of them can exert the function thereof. For example, it has become possible to mass-produce poly lactic acid originated from corn starch as a raw material at low cost. The poly lactic acid has attracted attention as a biodegradable resin that is friendly to the terrestrial environment since it is reusable to enable making effective use of resources and since even if it is discarded, it will be decomposed under natural environment and give no adverse influence to the environment.
However, the poly lactic acid shows considerable softening at above 60° C., since it has a low glass transition temperature of as low as 58° C., so that they are deformed under environmental conditions of high temperature, for example, as that in a car in summer seasons and thus it is difficult to utilize it for applications where heat resistance is required. Therefore, there has been a demand for the development of a technology that can utilize biodegradable resins such as poly lactic acid in molded articles of which heat resistance is required.

Resin molded article and production method thereof


A cable (52) operated ignition safety interlock assembly (50) for an automobile having an ignition switch (16) and an automatic transmission having a gear selector lever (14). The gear selector lever (14) includes a detent (20) manually moveable between a Home position, associated with the Park position of the gear selector lever (14), and a plurality of displaced positions associated with each of the drive positions of the gear selector lever (14). An interlock (50) restrains the ignition switch (16) in its Run position until the gear selector lever (14) is moved to its Park position to remind the driver that the transmission is not safety engaged in the Park condition. The interlock (50) includes a cable (52) having a first end (56) operatively connected to the detent (20) of the gear selector lever (14) and a second end (58) operatively engagable with the ignition switch (16) to restrain the ignition switch (16) in the Run position, and thus to prevent removal of the key from the ignition switch (16). The second end (58) of the cable (52) includes a plunger tip (70) which is moved to and remains in a fully extended condition, restraining the ignition switch (16) in the Run position, when the detent (20) is in any of the plurality of drive positions. The plunger tip (70) automatically moves to a retracted condition, disengaged from the ignition switch (16), when the detent (20) is returned to the Home position thereby allowing the ignition switch (16) to be moved to the Off position. When the gear selector lever (14) is moved to Park, the plunger tip (70) is retracted and disengaged from the ignition switch (16), permiting the ignition switch (16) to be turned Off and the key removed.

1. Field of the Invention
In an automobile, a cable operated interlock between the gear selector lever of an automatic transmission and the ignition switch prevents complete return of the ignition switch to its Off position, and thus prevents removal of the ignition key, until the gear selector lever is first returned to its Park position.
2. Description of Related Art
An important safety consideration for automobiles equipped with an automatic transmission is that the transmission be placed in the Park condition before the driver exits the vehicle. Failure to place the transmission in Park may allow the automobile to roll forward or backward while unattended.
To reduce the incidence of this potentially unsafe situation, the prior art has taught to equip an automobile with an interlock device to prevent removal of the ignition key from the ignition switch lock cylinder until the gear selector lever of the automatic transmission has been fully moved into its Park position. This is accomplished usually by preventing the ignition switch cylinder from moving fully to its Off position until the gear selector lever is in Park. While many of the prior art interlock systems perform satisfactorily, there is nevertheless a continued need to condense the packaging and to reduce weight and fabrication costs.