The present invention relates to processes for regulating the blood glucose concentration of a mammal.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and its derivative compounds are known as essential coenzymes in cellular redox reactions in all living organisms. Several lines of evidence have also shown that NAD participates in a number of important signaling pathways in mammalian cells, including poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in DNA repair (Menissier de Murcia et al., EMBO J., (2003) 22, 2255-2263), mono-ADP-ribosylation in the immune response and G protein-coupled signaling (Corda and Di Girolamo, EMBO J., (2003) 22, 1953-8), and the synthesis of cyclic ADP-ribose and nicotinate adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) in intracellular calcium signaling (Lee, Annu. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol., (2001) 41, 317-345). Recently, it has also been shown that NAD and its derivatives play an important role in transcriptional regulation (Lin and Guarente, Curr. Opin. Cell. Biol., (2003) 15, 241-246). In particular, the discovery of Sir2 NAD-dependent deacetylase activity (e.g., Imai et al., Nature, (2000) 403, 795-800; Landry et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., (2000) 278, 685-690; Smith et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, (2000) 97, 6658-6663) drew attention to this new role of NAD.
The Sir2 family of proteins consumes NAD for its deacetylase activity and regulates transcription by deacetylating histones and a number of other transcription regulators (see FIG. 1). Because of this absolute requirement for NAD, it has been proposed that Sir2 proteins function as energy sensors that convert the energy status of cells to the transcriptional regulatory status of genes (Imai et al., Nature, (2000) 403, 795-800; Imai et al., Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol., (2000) 65, 297-302). Sir2 proteins produce nicotinamide and O-acetyl-ADP-ribose in addition to the deacetylated protein substrates in their deacetylation reaction (Moazed, Curr. Opin. Cell. Biol., (2001)13, 232-238; Denu, Trends Biochem. Sci., (2003) 28, 41-48; see also FIG. 1), and nicotinamide is eventually recycled into NAD biosynthesis. Unlike other NAD-dependent biochemical reactions, the NAD-dependent deacetylase activity of the Sir2 family of proteins is generally highly conserved from bacteria to mammals (Frye, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., (2000) 273, 793-798), suggesting that the connection between NAD and Sir2 proteins is ancient and fundamental. In mammals, the Sir2 ortholog, Sirt1/Sir2α, has been shown to regulate metabolism in response to nutrient availability (Bordone and Guarente, Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol., (2005) 6, 298-305). In adipocytes, Sirt1 triggers lipolysis and promotes free fatty acid mobilization by repressing PPAR-γ, a nuclear receptor that promotes adipogenesis (Picard et al., Nature, (2004) 429, 771-776). In hepatocytes, Sirt1 regulates the gluconeogenic and glycolytic pathways in response to fasting by interacting with and deacetylating PGC-1α, a key transcriptional regulator of glucose production in the liver (Rodgers et al., Nature, (2005) 434, 113-118). Additionally, Sirt1 promotes insulin secretion in pancreatic β cells in response to high glucose partly by repressing Ucp2 expression and increasing cellular ATP levels (Moynihan et al., Cell Metab., (2005) 2, 105-117). While little is known about the regulation of NAD biosynthesis in mammals, NAD biosynthesis may play a role in the regulation of metabolic responses by altering the activity of certain NAD-dependent enzymes such as Sirt1 in a variety of organs and/or tissues.
The NAD biosynthesis pathways have been characterized in prokaryotes by using Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium (Penfound and Foster, Biosynthesis and recycling of NAD, in Escherichia coli and Salmonella: Cellular and Molecular Biology, p. 721-730, ed. Neidhardt, F. C., 1996, ASM Press: Washington, D.C.) and recently in yeast (Lin and Guarente, Curr. Opin. Cell. Biol., (2003) 15, 241-246; Denu, Trends Biochem. Sci., (2003) 28, 41-48). In prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes, NAD is synthesized by the de novo pathway via quinolinic acid and by the salvage pathway via nicotinic acid (see FIG. 2) (Penfound and Foster, id.) In yeast, the de novo pathway begins with tryptophan, which is converted to nicotinic acid mononucleotide (NaMN) through six enzymatic steps and one non-enzymatic reaction (Lin and Guarente, Curr. Opin. Cell. Biol., (2003) 15, 241-246). Two genes, BNA1 and QPT1, have been characterized in this pathway in yeast. At the step of NaMN synthesis, the de novo pathway converges with the salvage pathway (see FIG. 2). The salvage pathway begins with the breakdown of NAD into nicotinamide and O-acetyl-ADP-ribose, which is mainly catalyzed by the Sir2 proteins in yeast. Nicotinamide is then deamidated to nicotinic acid by a nicotinamidase encoded by the PNC1 gene. Nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase (Npt), encoded by the NPT1 gene, converts nicotinic acid to NaMN, which is eventually converted to NAD through the sequential reactions of nicotinamide/nicotinic acid mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (encoded by NMA1 and/or NMA2) and NAD synthetase (encoded by QNS1).
It has been shown that the NAD salvage pathway plays an important role in regulating Sir2 activity in yeast (Lin et al., Nature, (2002) 418, 344-348; Anderson et al., J. Biol. Chem., (2002) 277, 18881-18890; Anderson et al., Nature, (2003) 423, 181-185). For example, increased dosage of NPT1 increases Sir2-dependent transcriptional silencing and extends the life span of yeast mother cells (Anderson et al., J. Biol. Chem., (2002) 277, 18881-18890). Consistent with this finding, deletion of NPT1 causes a loss of Sir2-dependent silencing (Sandmeier et al., Genetics, (2002) 160, 877-889). Additional copies of other salvage pathway genes, PNC1, NMA1, and NMA2, have also been shown to increase telomeric and rDNA silencing (Anderson et al., J. Biol. Chem., (2002) 277, 18881-18890), while deletions of the de novo pathway genes, BNA1 or QPT1, have also been shown to have no effect on silencing at these loci (Sandmeier et al., Genetics, (2002) 160, 877-889). It has also been shown that PNC1 may be induced by different types of stress, including caloric restriction, and plays a critical role in regulating Sir2 activity in yeast (Anderson et al., Nature, (2003) 423, 181-185). These findings suggest that the regulation of NAD biosynthesis may play a role in Sir2-mediated transcriptional silencing and longevity control in yeast.
In vertebrates, NAD biosynthesis is markedly different from that of yeast and invertebrates (see FIG. 3). It is known that mammals predominantly use nicotinamide rather than nicotinic acid as a precursor for NAD biosynthesis (Magni et al., Adv. Enzymol. Relat. Areas Mol. Biol., (1999) 73, 135-182). Despite significant numbers of studies about NAD biosynthesis in the 1950's and 1960's, mammalian NAD biosynthesis enzymes have been generally poorly characterized. For example, it was not until 2001 that human nicotinamide/nicotinic acid mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (Nmnat), an enzyme required to convert NMN and NaMN to NAD in the nucleus (Hogeboom et al., J. Biol. Chem., (1952) 197, 611-620), was finally isolated and fully characterized (Emanuelli et al., J. Biol. Chem., (2001) 276, 406-412; Schweigler et al., FEBS Lett., (2001) 492, 95-100). Other critical enzymes in mammalian NAD biosynthesis pathways have yet to be characterized, thus the regulation of NAD biosynthesis is still relatively poorly understood in mammals.
Nampt has very ancient origins as an NAD biosynthesis enzyme. The entire pyridine nucleotide salvage cycle containing Nampt, Nmnat, and Sir2 homologues has been shown to exist even in the vibriophage (Miller et al., J. Bacteriol., (2003) 185, 5220-5233). Despite its ancient origins, Nampt has a relatively peculiar phylogenetic distribution. No other organisms between bacteria and vertebrates have obvious homologs of Nampt, except for one sponge species, and the homology of Nampt proteins between bacteria and vertebrates is unusually high (Revollo et al., J. Biol. Chem., (2004) 279, 50754-50763). Interestingly, the organisms that do not have Nampt homologs, such as yeast, worms, and flies, typically have nicotinamidase (Pnc1) homologs (Ghislain et al., Yeast, (2002) 19, 215-324.). It is likely that the organisms that have nicotinamidase use nicotinic acid as a precursor for NAD biosynthesis, while the organisms that have Nampt use nicotinamide as the main precursor for NAD biosynthesis. Because no obvious homologues of Pnc1 have been found in vertebrates (Rongvaux et al., Bioessays, (2003) 25, 683-690), the presence of Nampt, which allows a more direct pathway for NAD biosynthesis from nicotinamide (see FIG. 2), distinguishes the NAD biosynthesis in vertebrates from that in yeast and invertebrates.
The gene encoding human Nampt was originally isolated as a presumptive cytokine named pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF) (Samal et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., (1994) 14, 1431-1437), although the PBEF function has never been reproduced. Since then, other groups have also shown that PBEF is indeed mammalian Nampt (Revollo et al., J. Biol. Chem., (2004) 279, 50754-50763; Rongvaux et al., Eur. J. Immunol., (2002) 32, 3225-3234; van der Veer et al., Circ. Res., (2005) 97, 25-34). Recently, Nampt/PBEF has been re-identified as a "new visceral fat-derived hormone" named visfatin (Fukuhara et al., Science, (2005) 307, 426-430). Fukuhara et al. report that visfatin is enriched in the visceral fat of both humans and mice and that its plasma levels increase during the development of obesity. Fukuhara et al. report that visfatin exerts insulin-mimetic effects in cultured cells and lowers plasma glucose levels in mice by binding to and activating the insulin receptor. However, the physiological relevance of visfatin is still in question because its plasma concentration is 40 to 100-fold lower than that of insulin. Additionally, Fukuhara et al. did not describe any connections between visfatin and Nampt. In Nampt/visfatin-deficient heterozygous mice, impaired glucose tolerance was observed, and Fukuhara et al. described that this phenotype is due to the insufficient insulin-mimetic function of visfatin. Alternatively, however, it is possible that the phenotype is actually due to insufficient NAD biosynthesis in the heterozygous mice, resulting in relatively insufficient activity of critical NAD-dependent enzymes involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism, such as Sirt1. Fukuhara et al. did not examine this possibility, nor did they report insulin levels of the mice during intraperitoneal glucose tests. Additionally, it has recently been reported that certain common polymorphisms in the promoter of the Nampt/PBEF/visfatin gene are associated with fasting insulin levels in a perfect linkage disequilibrium, but not with type 2 diabetes, in a French-Canadian population (Bailey et al., Diabetes, (2006) 55, 2896-2902.
Although a number of papers have been published since this first report of visfatin, the results are contradictory; the physiological relevance of visfatin, therefore, is still in question (Sethi et al., Trends. Mol. Med., (2005) 11, 344-347; Arner, J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., (2006) 91, 28-30; Stephens et al., Curr. Opin. Lipidol., (2006) 17, 128-131). For example, one study reported that plasma visfatin concentrations correlate with BMI and percent body fat but not with visceral fat mass or waist-to-hip ratio (Berndt et al., Diabetes, (2005) 54, 2911-2916). Another study reported that plasma visfatin is reduced in human obesity and is not related to insulin resistance (Pagano et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., (2006) 91, 3165-3170). On the other hand, still another study reported that increasing plasma visfatin levels are independently and significantly associated with type 2 diabetes even after adjusting known biomarkers (Chen et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., (2006) 91, 295-299). Accordingly, it is important to understand whether the NAD biosynthesis function or the insulin-mimetic function is more physiologically relevant in the regulation of glucose metabolism in mammals. It would also be desirable to provide processes and materials useful in NAD biosynthesis and/or the regulation of glucose metabolism in mammals.

Processes for regulating blood glucose in a mammal


A signal transmission system comprises a transmitter arranged to transmit a coded signal as a series of pulses of line of sight radiation having a predetermined minimum interval therebetween, a receiver responsive to such radiated pulses received at a corresponding minimum interval, and a plurality of repeater devices. Each repeater device comprises a radiation receiving element, a radiation transmitting element, and means responsive to receipt of a pulse of transmitted energy by said receiving element for causing said transmitting element to emit a corresponding pulse of transmitted energy and for causing said receiving element to be disabled for a predetermined period of time corresponding to at least a multiple of the duration of the pulse transmitted by said transmitting element. A plurality of the repeater devices can thus be arrayed between said transmitter and receiver to provide a plurality of line of sight radiation propagation paths with a plurality of repeaters each in line of sight of the transmitter and/or other repeaters and with the receiver in line of sight of a plurality of said repeaters so that random interruption of the signal propagation paths does not interrupt the transmitted signal. Each repeater may comprise its own transmitter and key pad to provide an audience polling system.

Such devices have particular application in circumstances where relatively short range line of sight communication is appropriate, and avoid disadvantages inherent in, for example, radio communication or the use of cables. They do have the disadvantage, however, that signal communication is interrupted when there is no direct line of sight between transmitter and receiver. Where relatively short range communication is involved, it has been proposed to overcome the latter disadvantage by providing infra red reflectors or repeaters to enable transmission via an indirect path. This presupposes however that the path or paths of transmission can be planned in advance and does not allow for possible random interruption of signal paths.
One known communication system, for example, makes use of a communication link for polling a number of hand held keypad devices used in gathering opinions from delegates at meetings.
At such a meeting, each delegate is equipped with a hand held keypad. The presenter displays a question on a video screen and the delegates enter their response on their keypad. Each keypad responds to a different address and, as the controlling computer polls the keypad addresses, they each return their delegate's response.
Such a system uses serial bi-directional communications over cables. Most conferences are held in venues which do not provide group response systems so that such a system would be hired in for the duration and installed on a temporary basis. The installation of such a system is labour intensive in view of the requirement for the provision of cabling, and thus a system that avoided the use of cables would provide a significant advance on the state of the art.
WO-A-91 07028 discloses an arrangement wherein a plurality of repeaters are arranged to provide line-of-sight communication between a transmitter and a receiver located within a given area. The repeaters act as passive repeaters of pulses of radiated energy, and are arranged to incorporate a lock-out period wherein each repeater is disabled for a predetermined period of time following its response to a received pulse. Such an arrangement enables line-of-sight propagation of a pulsed signal via a plurality of possible propagation paths, without ambiguity caused by a repeater responding to a pulse that it has already transmitted. In such an arrangement, however, the repeaters, which are intended to be arranged at a fixed spacing, act merely passively to propagate radiation between dedicated transmitters and receivers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,346 describes a system for the propagation of line-of-sight radiation between devices that can receive and transmit in alternative modes in which they act either as originating transmitters, or as passive repeaters of a signal transmitted by another device. In this system, however, for a device to act as a repeater it is necessary for a predetermined signal path to be established so that the repetition of signals is via a defined path through a network. For the device to operate, a relatively complicated communications protocol is therefore required.

Free space communications system employing line of sight radiation


The present invention is a game that relies on the interactions of magnetic fields to test the skills of a player or players, and more specifically a game device which relies upon the characteristic of magnets in which like poles between two magnets form a mutual field of repulsion whereas opposing poles of the same magnets form a field of attraction.

There are a wide variety of board games and electronic interactive games commercially available. Some of these games require large or fixed systems, such as computer games that connect to television displays. Other games, such as most board games, are more mobile. Some games are designed just to provide a source of entertainment, whereas others are designed to provide valuable learning opportunities, such as role playing, reading, memory stimulation, tactile coordination, and the like. Whatever the format of the game, most games provide the opportunity to interact with other game participants and to have fun. Thus, there is always a demand for more exciting and entertaining games, and particularly for games that challenge the skills of the participants.


A bipolar semiconductor device includes an npn transistor using a base outlet electrode in the form of a polycrystalline Si film and one or more other devices using an electrode in the form of a polycrystalline Si film supported on a common p-type Si substrate, the sheet resistance of the polycrystalline Si film forming the base outlet electrode of the npn transistor is decreased to two thirds of the sheet resistance of the polycrystalline Si film forming at least one electrode of at least one other device. The base outlet electrode can be made by first making the polycrystalline Si film on the entire surface of the substrate, then applying selective ion implantation of Si to a selective portion of the polycrystalline Si film for making the base outlet electrode to change it into an amorphous state, and then annealing the product to grow the polycrystalline Si film by solid-phase growth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices and manufacturing methods and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device having both an npn transistor and one or more other devices which employ a plurality of polycrystalline silicon resistors on a common semiconductor substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to improve characteristics of bipolar transistors, a decrease in base resistance is important from the viewpoint of reduction of noise, improvement of the maximum frequency f.sub.max, low power consumption, and others. In most bipolar transistors, the base outlet electrode is made of a polycrystalline silicon (Si) film. To reduce the base resistance of such a bipolar transistor using a base electrode in the form of a polycrystalline Si film, it is effective to decrease the sheet resistance of the polycrystalline Si film forming the base outlet electrode.
An effective method for decreasing the sheet resistance of a polycrystalline Si film is to increase the crystalline grain size and to improve the crystallographic properties. An effective method therefor is to break the crystal of the polycrystalline Si film made on a semiconductor substrate to change it into an amorphous state by ion implantation and to thereafter re-crystallize it by annealing for a long time at a low temperature.
It may be possible to use the above-mentioned method to decrease the sheet resistance of a polycrystalline Si film forming the base outlet electrode of a bipolar transistor. In most cases, however, the polycrystalline Si film forming the base outlet electrode is made simultaneously with other outlet electrodes of other devices. Therefore, the above method may degrade the reliability and the yields of semiconductor devices, depending on elements and electrodes formed therein, due to damage by ion implantation for changing polycrystalline Si films into an amorphous state and centralized stress caused by large-sized crystalline grains.

Semiconductor device and its manufacturing method


A cutting device includes a cutter rod, and a movable cutting tool of a length greater than the diameter of the cutter rod. The movable cutting tool is prevented from cracking and breaking.

A cutting device that cuts a metal workpiece by sliding a movable cutting tool attached to a free end of a reciprocating rod relative to a fixed cutting tool is used widely.
FIG. 6 shows a conventional cutting device 60 by way of example in a sectional view. The cutting device 60 has a base 61, a fixed cutting tool 62 having the shape of a flat plate and fixedly held on the base 61, and a movable cutting tool 64 having the shape of a flat plate and attached to a front part of a reciprocating cutter rod 63 that reciprocates relative to the fixed cutting tool 62. The movable cutting tool 64 is slidably moved to cut a workpiece, such as a metal round bar P.
This cutting device 60 is capable of cutting not only round bars but also metal plates having a comparatively large width. The movable cutting tool 64 has a cutting edge 64a of a length greater than the diameter of the cutter rod 63.
The cutting tool 64 is applied to a longitudinal flat surface formed by longitudinally cutting a part of the front part of the cutter rod 63, and is fastened to the cutter rod 63 with bolts 65.
The cutter rod 63 is advanced by the agency of a high-pressure oil supplied through a high-pressure pipe 66 to cut the round bar P by sliding the movable cutting tool 64 relative to the fixed cutting tool 62.

Abstract: A movable cutting tool (7) has protruding parts (7b) protruding radially outward from a large-diameter part (40b) of a cutter rod (4) and having cylindrical surfaces (7c) of a cylinder of a radius equal to that of the large-diameter part (40b). The movable cutting tool (7) is attached to a flat surface (40c) formed in the cutter rod (4) with the cylindrical surfaces (7c) in close contact with the circumference of the large-diameter part (40b) of the cutter rod (4) to bear external force exerted on the protruding parts (7b) by the cutter rod (4).


A sampling device capable of collecting fluid and soil samples includes a sensor for measuring a fluid parameter. The sensor is coupled to a monitor which records the fluid parameter measurements. A regenerative gas is passed through the sensor to regenerate the sensor so that a number of measurements may be taken. A movable drive tip covers an opening through which the fluid sample is collected.

The present invention relates to the field of fluid and soil sampling methods and apparatus. Modern industries produce contaminants which are often released onto land. The contaminants migrate downward into the subsurface creating potential health risks. Contaminant remediation plans are implemented to remove soil and ground water contamination.
Designing a remediation plan typically requires collecting soil and fluid samples to determine the extent of subsurface contamination. The term fluid as used herein refers to both gas and liquid. Soil samples provide subsurface data including contaminant concentration for inorganic and organic compounds, grain size, mineral composition, texture, density, permeability and porosity. Fluid samples are analyzed to determine contaminant concentration, organic chemistry in the case of soil gas, and both organic and inorganic chemistry in the case of liquid.
A conventional method of retrieving a fluid sample is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,554 to Cordry. The sampling device includes a sample chamber which has two check valves. One of the check valves permits groundwater to enter the sample chamber and one of the check valves permits ground water to exit the sample chamber. Groundwater enters the sampling device through a tube having openings therethrough. In use, the device is driven into the subsurface to the desired sampling depth. When the sampling device reaches the desired sampling depth, the device is pulled toward the uphole end so that the body separates from the cone assembly and the tube is exposed. Groundwater then passes through the tube and check valve and into the sample chamber. The device is then pulled out of the ground with the groundwater sample being retained in the sample chamber.
A problem which occurs when using the sampling device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,554, and other conventional groundwater sampling devices is that cross-contamination of the groundwater sample may occur. When the groundwater sample is collected, groundwater enters the sample chamber under the potentiometric head in the formation. When the device is withdrawn from the subsurface, the tube is still exposed and groundwater from different vertical depths may enter the tube and displace the groundwater sample from the desired depth. The check valve is not adapted to stop groundwater flow into the chamber when the device is removed from the ground.
The problem of cross-contamination of the groundwater sample is particularly troublesome when the sampling device is removed from the subsurface since the fluid in the borehole may replace the collected sample. The borehole is normally filled with turbid water which contains suspended solids or drilling mud which increase the specific gravity of the fluid in the borehole. The high specific density borehole fluids may, therefore, pass through the check valve and into the fluid collecting portion thereby contaminating the fluid sample.
A problem with conventional sampling methods is that the fluid sample is removed from the subsurface environment before testing. Removal of the fluid sample changes the temperature and pressure of the gasses which may affect the test results.

Method and apparatus for environmental sampling


An optical recording/reproducing apparatus comprising an audio and video (A/V) codec having a function for separating luminance and color components. A video decoder converts an analog video signal into a digital video signal; an A/V codec having a pre-compression processing unit separates luminance and color components from the converted digital video signal; an encoder compresses the digital video signal having the separated luminance and color components into a predetermined compression format; and a decoder decodes the digital video signal compressed in the predetermined compression format. A memory provides a storage space as the A/V codec carries out signal processing. Accordingly, the size and production cost of the video decoder may be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical recording/reproducing apparatus having a function of separating luminance and color components of a video signal. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical recording/reproducing apparatus having an audio/video (A/V) codec, rather than a video decoder which separates the luminance and color components of a video signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional optical recording/reproducing apparatus inputs an analog signal, converts the analog signal into a digital signal, compresses the digital signal in a certain compression format to record the compressed digital signal in a recording medium, decompresses the stored digital signal, and reproduces the decompressed digital signal into an analog signal.
The optical recording media as recording media being currently used are classified into read-only recording media such as compact disc (CD)-read only memories (ROMs) and digital versatile disc (DVD)-ROMs, write-once recordable media such as CD±recordables (CD-Rs) and DVD±Rs, and re-writable recording media such as DVD±rewritables (RWs) and DVD-random access memories (RAMs).
The above recording media randomly access data recorded on a hard disc drive (HDD), record video and audio data of high quality, and quickly and conveniently record data compared to the recording on conventional video tapes. Currently, the disk type recording media are being more frequently used more for recording and/or reproduction.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary conventional optical recording/reproducing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional optical recording/reproducing apparatus comprises a video decoder 110, a decoder memory 111, an audio analog-to-digital converter (A/D converter) 115, an A/V codec 130, a memory 140, a flash memory 145, a system controller 150, a video encoder 170, and an audio digital-to-analog converter (D/A converter) 180. The A/V codec 130 comprises an encoder 133 and a decoder 136 formed as a unit.
Analog video and audio signals are input from diverse signal sources such as a broadcast reception antenna, a computer, and a settop box.
The optical recording/reproducing apparatus processes the signals into video and audio signals for outputs, and the video and audio signals are displayed through an image display unit such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) and output through a sound output unit such as a speaker, respectively.
The video decoder 110 converts an analog video signal into an input digital video signal. Further, the video decoder 110 separates luminance and color components from the digital video signal. The decoder memory 111 is used for separating the luminance and color components. The audio A/D converter 115 converts an analog audio signal into a digital audio signal. The analog video and audio signals may be provided from one of the plurality of diverse sources.
The encoder 133 encodes the input digital signal in an established compression format, and mixes encoded data to generate a data stream. For example, when the input digital signal is encoded in an MPEG format, the encoder 130 encodes the input digital video signal in a moving picture experts group (MPEG)-2 (Video) format referred to as ISO/IEC 13818-3, and encodes a digital audio signal in a Dolby AC-3 digital standard. The MPEG data stream output from the encoder 133 is recorded on a recording medium or on a hard disc drive (HDD).
The decoder 136 decodes data applied from either the recording medium or the HDD. That is, the decoder 136 decodes by decompressing a signal compressed in a certain compression format for an output. The signal decoded by the decoder 136 is output to the video encoder 170 and an audio D/A converter 180.
The video encoder 170 encodes the digital video data of the decoder 136 for an analog video output. The audio D/A converter 180 converts the digital audio signal of the decoder 136 into an analog audio signal for an analog audio output.
The flash memory 145 stores an operating system and various application programs for operating the optical recording/reproducing apparatus.
The system controller 150 controls overall operations of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus based on a user's input signal applied through a key or a remote controller.
The conventional optical recording/reproducing apparatus comprises the video decoder 110 built with functions for separating luminance and color components of the analog input video signal. Thus, the conventional optical recording/reproducing apparatus has a problem that additional circuitry is required to carry out such functions. Therefore, a size of the video decoder and a production cost due to the additional circuitry are unnecessarily increased.
Further, the conventional optical recording/reproducing apparatus requires a dedicated decoder memory 111 in order to carry out functions for the video decoder to separate the luminance and color components.

Optical recording/reproducing apparatus having a function of separating luminance and color components


An optical axis tilting device of a laser optical system, includes a lens barrel inside of which provided with a laser optical system; a tilt frame supported at the lens barrel; a tilt sensor which is provided at the tilt frame and is configured to detect a preset reference position of the tilt frame; a fixed frame fixed to the lens barrel and provided with a tilting mechanism which tilts the tilt frame relative to a horizontal plane; a leveling mechanism which supports the lens barrel tiltably, and tilts the lens barrel so as to detect the reference position by the tilt sensor and then levels the tilt frame; a feed screw which is rotatably driven by a driving motor; a feed piece which is reciprocated by the feed screw and engages with the tilt frame and tilts the tilt frame relative to the reference position; a piece position detection device configured to detect a position of the feed piece; and a computing device configured to calculate a tilting angle based on the position of the feed piece detected by the piece position detection device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical axis tilting device of a laser optical system.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that an optical axis tilting device of a laser optical system has been used as a tilt gradient setting device in, for example, a rotary laser survey equipment. It is known that, as a control means configured to control a setting amount of a tilting angle relative to horizontal or vertical of an optical axis of the laser optical system, the conventional optical axis tilting device of the laser optical system employs an encoder in its feed screw mechanism to detect a rotation speed of the feed screw mechanism, or an encoder in its driving motor which rotatably drives the feed screw.
JP H6-26861A discloses an optical axis tilting device of such a technique, which tilts the laser optical system from a horizontal position or a vertical position by driving the feed screw mechanism.
Moreover, it is also known an optical axis tilting device in which a tilt gradient of an optical axis of a laser optical system is set by tilting the laser optical system relative to a tilt sensor and leveling the whole optical axis tilting device.
However, in such the conventional optical axis tilting device of the laser optical system, the angle setting accuracy of the rotary laser survey equipment mainly depends on the accuracy of the feed screw mechanism, as a result of an accumulated error due to repetitive drives of a feed screw part of the feed screw mechanism, or a wear due to repetitive drives of the feed screw part, or a distortion of the feed screw part due to aged deterioration, etc., feed error occurs and causes deviation in angle setting, and thus a problem arises in that it is difficult to ensure tilting accuracy of the optical axis of the laser optical system.

Optical axis tilting device of laser optical system


A method of pre-applying a bolster assembly to an interior trim part includes the steps of applying a base skin layer to a groove of a first nest, applying a bolster skin layer to a second nest, positioning the first nest in an open position, and inserting a leading edge of a bolster skin layer in the groove of the first nest when the first nest is in the open position until the bolster skin layer engages the base skin layer. The bolster assembly can be attached to the interior trim part by a Foam-In-Place (FIP) or Low-Pressure Molding (LPM) operation. The interior trim part may comprise a dashboard garnish, an instrument panel (IP), a door panel, and the like. A boss locating portion can be integrally formed within the base skin layer and is used for locating the bolster assembly on the interior trim piece during the manufacturing process. Because the bolster assembly is pre-applied to the interior trim part prior to the FIP or LPM operation, the bolster assembly can be positioned at the bottom-most portion of the groove to provide a consistent fit and finish, while reducing scrap material and cost of the interior trim part.

Conventional bolster assemblies normally employ a plurality of layers that are applied at once on a bolster region of interior trim parts of a vehicle, such as an interior door panel, during interior trim part manufacturing. When the bolster assembly is applied to the bolster region of the door panel, the bolster assembly is simultaneously cut as it is glued and pushed into a peripheral groove defining the bolster region. The cutting of the bolster assembly during the manufacturing process increases the amount of scrap material. In addition, if the above process not properly performed, the resulting bolster assembly is defective and the entire interior trim part incorporating the bolster assembly is scraped.
Conventional bolster assemblies may also come in the form of a hand-made "add-on" bolster assembly. The add-on bolster assembly normally includes a heavy substrate layer injection molded to a piece of die-cut foam. A cover skin is wrapped around the periphery of the heavy substrate and die-cut foam, which is then stapled together on the rear side of the bolster assembly. The add-on bolster assembly is then manually attached to an interior trim part by heatstaking, screwing, or by other fastening means, such as palnuts. The weight restrictions and tolerances of the interior trim part results in add-on bolster design restrictions because of the need for the heavy substrate layer. The add-on bolster assembly also is manufactured with a high cost to the manufacturer due to the intensive hand labor. Costs are also increased by the waste of the high amount of scrap material of the die cut foam, as well as the need for extra cover skin material for the stapling operation.
Current profile designs for interior trim parts, such as interior door panels, involve increasing variations in the topography of the door panel because of the varying slopes, surfaces, and grooves of the door panel design. One problem associated with the increasing variation in the topography is that the profile region where the bolster is attached to the groove prevents the bolster assembly from being fully positioned within the groove during the manufacture of the door panel. Another problem associated with conventional manufacturing methods is that relatively large amounts of scrap material are produced, thereby increasing the cost of the interior trim part. Yet another problem associated with conventional manufacturing methods is that consistently manufactured interior trim part is not ensured and the entire trim part is scraped in the event of a malfunction of the manufacturing process.

Method of pre-applying a bolster assembly to an interior trim part


The articulated wireline hole finder is a modular device which attaches to the bottom of a wireline logging tool-string to aid conveyance down irregular shaped and/or deviated boreholes which possess features such as ledges, washouts, and contractions, that might otherwise terminate full descent of the tool-string to the bottom of the borehole and thereby compromise the wireline data acquisition objectives. Elements of the articulated wireline hole finder may include a low friction roller nose assembly and spacer sub, an articulated spring joint, that transfers tool-string weight and directs lateral movement of the roller nose towards hole center, and a pair of five arm centralizers that possess a wide dynamic range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireline logging and, more particularly, in one or more embodiments, the present invention relates to a device for improving the conveyance of wireline logging tools down irregular and/or deviated boreholes.
2. Background of the Invention
Wireline logging is a common operation in the oil industry whereby down-hole electrical tools are conveyed on wireline (also known as "e-line" in industry parlance) to evaluate formation lithologies and fluid types in a variety of boreholes. In irregular shaped boreholes, characterized by variations in hole size with depth, and/or in deviated boreholes, there can be problems in conveying wireline logging tools to total well depth since the bottom of the tool-string may impact upon certain features in the borehole, such as ledges, washouts, or contractions. In this situation full data acquisition from total well depth may not be possible and remedial action may be required, either altering the borehole conditions for more favorable descent or improving the tool-string geometry to navigate past the obstructions; either way may be costly to the well operator.
Consequently, there is a need for improving wireline tool-string geometry to aid conveyance past ledges, washouts, and contractions which may be present in irregular shaped and/or deviated boreholes.


A power supply operable from a plurality of alternating current inputs had having protection from abnormal operation. The power supply includes a switchable rectifier and a voltage to voltage converter. Protection circuits switch off at least one of the rectifier and the converter if the rectified voltage exceeds a predetermined voltage value and/or a current through the converter exceeds a predetermined current value. The protection circuits include latch circuits to prevent cyclic operation.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a power supplying apparatus and a power supplying method, and more particularly, to a power supplying apparatus and a power supplying method which protect a circuit safely against over-voltage and over-current.
2. Description of the Related Art
A power supplying apparatus supplies proper power necessary to operate a circuit apparatus such as a computer system. Such circuit apparatus often needs direct current power as power, and consequently the power supplying apparatus rectifies input alternating current power and outputs direct current power.
Where the power supplying apparatus uses commercial alternating current power as an input, the input voltage may be a voltage such as 110V or 220V. Therefore, in order to accommodate both 110V and 220V input voltages, the power supplying apparatus uses the input 220V voltage "as is" and the input 110V input is doubled. Such a conventional power supplying apparatus is illustrated in FIG. 1.
The power supplying apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a rectifying part 12, a voltage selector 13, and a smoothing part 15. The rectifying part 12 includes diodes 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d and rectifies input alternating current power 11. The smoothing part 15 includes capacitors 15a and 15b that correspond to the input power 11 of 110V and 220V, for example, and charges energy of the current rectified by the rectifying part 12 into each capacitor 15a and 15b.
The voltage selector 13 is disposed in a predetermined current path between the rectifying part 12 and the smoothing part 15, and serves as a switch to pass or interrupt the current. As shown in FIG. 1, if the voltage selector 13 is open, a voltage proportional to a magnitude of the input power is charged in the series combination of the capacitors 15a and 15b. However, if the voltage selector 13 is closed, a voltage proportional to a magnitude of the input power voltage is charged in each of two capacitors 15a and 15b. In this case, a voltage corresponding to double the magnitude of the input voltage is charged into the series combination of capacitors 15a and 15b. That is, where the input voltage is 110V, the power supplying apparatus outputs a direct current voltage proportional to double the input voltage.
However, although the input voltage is 220V, the voltage selector 13 may be closed due to a user's mistake or erroneous operation of the apparatus. In this case, the capacitors 15a and 15b may be damaged due to a voltage 1.4 times 220V being applied to each of the capacitors 15a and 15b.
The power supplying apparatus 1 universally uses a switch-mode power supply (SMPS) which is advantageous in terms of efficiency. The switch-mode power supplying apparatus 1 further includes a MOSFET 17a, a transformer 18, and diodes 19a and 19b. The power supplying apparatus 1 converts a magnitude of the voltage applied to the smoothing part 15 through the transformer 18 to output a voltage Vo with turning on and off the MOSFET 17a using pulse width modulation (PWM).
According to the switch-mode power supplying apparatus 1, if the voltage selector 13 is closed due to user's mistake and an input voltage of 220V is supplied, an over-current may result in the MOSFET 17a, potentially resulting in an explosion. Further, even if the input voltage is applied consistent with the position of the voltage selector 13, if a problem related to feedback loop occurs upon operating the PWM or gate on time in the MOSFET 17a is raised due to degradation of a PWM controller IC, the MOSFET 17a may be also damaged.

Power supplying apparatus and power supplying method


An improved touchpad and measurement circuitry for enabling input to a computer or other electronic device. The system includes an X electrode, a Y electrode, a common sensing electrode, and a “water” electrode, wherein these four separate electrodes can be implemented in various physical configurations to obtain the desired effects, wherein moisture and water droplets can be identified and compensated for so as not to interfere with the input of data, wherein noise rejection is achieved by using a time aperture filtering method, wherein an improved scanning technique focuses scanning around an identified input object, wherein an adaptive motion filter responds to the speed and acceleration of an object being tracked, and wherein the measurement circuitry has an increased dynamic range enabling the touchpad to operate with greater tolerances to manufacturing variances.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to touchpad technology. Specifically, the invention is an improved system and apparatus for utilizing a touchpad which is primarily used for cursor control on a computer display. The advantages of the invention relate generally to improved noise rejection, immunity to the effects of moisture on the touchpad surface, increased manufacturing tolerances, an improved scanning pattern, and an adaptive motion filter.
2. The State of the Art
The state of the art in capacitance sensitive touchpad technology spans a variety of different technologies and methodologies for sensing the location and movement of a pointing object as it moves across a touchpad surface. The means by which data can be input to a computer or other electronic apparatus are many. For example, one method of providing input is through manipulation of a cursor on a computer display. By controlling a cursor, the cursor can be caused to move icons or other objects on the display, such as text, or select buttons, hyperlinks or icons. In addition, discrete tappings on the touchpad surface can be caused to actuate buttons or controls that are disposed beneath the cursor on the computer display. Another method of data input includes using gestures that can be recognized by programming routines disposed in the software or firmware of the touchpad.
However, regardless of whether the touchpad is being used for cursor control or any of the other methods of data input, touchpads are being called upon to be more versatile, and to operate more reliably, especially in adverse operating conditions and environments.
The demands of data input reliability are especially becoming more critical. Touchpads are not only being used in many portable computers, but also in personal information managers (PIMs) and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The desire to be mobile and at the same time connected to communications services has consequently created the need for novel forms of data input. But new applications for the use of touchpads have brought more challenges for reliable performance. These challenges not only come from the devices in which they are used, but the environments in which they operate as well.
For example, moisture on a touchpad surface has always been a hindrance to reliable touchpad operation. But touchpads are not only being used in very humid climates, but also in inclement weather, where water droplets might splash onto the touchpad surface. State of the art touchpads perform poorly in these situations, again posing challenges to reliable touchpad performance.
Weather and climate are not the only formidable problems for touchpads. For example, the electronic environment poses its own kind of challenges. Consider a portable computer that is operating on its own internal battery power supply. The user might want to save battery power by plugging into an AC outlet. The electronic noise generated by an AC power source is very large, and can significantly impact the performance of a touchpad.
Another problem in the state of the art is inevitable when the touchpad is being used in a portable device. Power consumption will always be an issue when operating away from an AC or large DC power source. However, touchpad circuitry has generally not been considered an area where power usage can be minimized. Nevertheless, it has been determined by the inventors that significant improvements in power conservation can be obtained.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved touchpad that is able to compensate for general electromagnetic noise (EMI) interference, as well as the more specific problems of noise from an AC power source. It would also be an improvement to have increased immunity to the problems created for a touchpad when exposed to moisture and water droplets.
Along with the noise and moisture problems identified above, there are other problems more general to touchpad performance. For example, manufacturing tolerances of the sensing circuitry are not very forgiving in the state of the art. The result is that touchpads have required precision layout of sensor electrodes. Without precision layout, the sensing circuitry is not capable of compensating for variations in the layout. Thus, manufacturers have often had to use more costly PC boards to obtain the precise layout needed for reliable touchpad operation.
Accordingly, it would be an improvement over the prior art to improve the performance of the sensing circuitry such that the circuitry could tolerate and compensate for greater variations in the layout of the sensing electrodes. This can be accomplished by improving the dynamic range of the sensing circuitry.
Another problem inherent to touchpads is locating a valid object on the touchpad surface. The total number of measurements of the sensing circuitry that are required to locate the valid object has a significant affect on power consumption. Accordingly, it would an improvement over the prior art to have quicker scanning algorithms, thereby enabling the sensor circuitry to power down and thereby conserve power. It would also be an advantage over the prior art to be able to compensate for objects which are no longer considered to be valid objects on the touchpad surface.
Another reliability issue of touchpads lies in the sensing circuitry. The prior art generally scans for objects with a single algorithm. In other words, there are no adjustments made in scanning routines for objects that are moving rapidly or slowly.
It would be an improvement over the prior art to utilize an adaptive motion filter which can compensate for the speed at which an object on the touchpad surface is moving. The advantage of this type of filtering is that the touchpad is capable of more precise sensing when the object is moving slowly, and keep pace with an object that is moving faster by using reduced filtering. Effectively, the resolution is decreased in exchange for keeping pace with the object being tracked.
A last performance issue of prior art touchpads is concerned with the sampling of data from the sensing electrodes. Noise in the touchpad circuitry can prevent the sensing circuitry from performing correctly.
Therefore, it would be an advantage over the state of the art in touchpads to provide a filter which could compensate for noise and prevent false signals from affecting location calculations of the touchpad.

Touchpad having increased noise rejection, decreased moisture sensitivity, and improved tracking


A distinctive structure, such as an illuminating structure is provided. The illuminating structure includes an illuminating element that is placed in an opening of a surrounding area. The opening includes a curved side wall of a particular radius to reflect any light that emanates from the illuminating element so that the reflected light is viewable from the illuminating structure.

Companies are constantly working to distinguish themselves through the quality of their offerings. However, quality alone is often time not enough to differentiate a company from its competitors. Thus, companies often employ product design to further expound the quality of their products and communicate their distinctiveness to the marketplace. Accordingly, product design is a key ingredient to the creation, development, and delivery of a competitive product to the marketplace. A cohesively-designed product pallet with recognizable, superior, and distinctive elements or components across the product pallet also serve to strengthen a name brand and further boost the sales power of branded products.
The power indicator or power button on an electrically-powered device or product is one such recognizable element. It is functionally separate from other interaction points on the product. It is also ubiquitous across multiple products or product types, providing an opportunity for a high signature impact across the product pallet of a company or name brand. With common consistency, quality, and appearance in the design of the power button across multiple products in a product pallet, the perception of product quality can be transferred and reinforced across the multiple products. As a result, a company can become positively distinctive through not just one of its products but a whole line or lines of its products, which can further enhance the value and quality perception of such products.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Coatings are stripped from substrates by means of a stripping composition which comprises at least one low vapor pressure solvent. The stripping compound is applied to a coated surface of the substrate and is allowed to dwell in contact with the coating. The coating and stripping compound are removed, separately or together, and the stripping compound is reused to strip the same or a different substrate.

This invention relates generally to stripping coatings from a substrate, and more specifically to the reuse of stripping compounds during stripping procedures and compounds suitable for such reuse.
Prior art strippers consist mainly of fast evaporating solvents such as methylene chloride, acetone, toluene, and methanol. These types of solvents have been associated with hazardous health effects and are prohibited for use under certain government regulations. Also, prior art stripping compositions only remain in a wet active stage for short periods of time because of their fast evaporation rate. Prior art stripping composition gives a small window of opportunity for removal because of the fast drying characteristics. If a prior art composition is not removed within a certain period of time the paint will then re-solidify.
Also, caustic agents, such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, are used to strip paint. The high pH action of this caustic removal system breaks down the molecular bond of the paint film providing for effective paint removal. This occurs especially in the restoration of historical landmarks with accumulations of heavy paint layers. However, the high pH of caustic strippers will burn and discolor a substrate of wood and most other organic surfaces. On wood surfaces the outer cambium layer of wood will absorb potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide. Consequently, the outer cambium layer of wood cell will become weakened. If the high pH residue is not properly neutralized it remains in the outer wood fiber causing future paint and coating failures and premature degradation and staining. Likewise, aluminum and other metals are subject to pitting and staining from caustic strippers. Additionally, caustic strippers used in lead abatement and paint removal require removal by a licensed hazardous waste hauler and disposal at hazardous waste landfills at a cost of hundreds of dollars per 55-gallon drum.
The industry still needs a method to strip coatings from substrates that provides for ease of use, does not damage the substrate, does not release large amounts of organic solvents and minimizes hazardous waste.


A waterproof slide fastener and a manufacturing apparatus thereof are disclosed, wherein each fastener element has a coupling head, a neck portion, a body portion, and leg portions which are continuously fused and integrated, a terminal end is projected from a gap between upper/lower half portions of the coupling head, upper/lower flanges of a slider make a sliding contact with a surface of each of upper/lower half portions of each leg portion, each half portion of the leg portion extending from the body portion via a crotch portion and guiding the flanges, two or more leg portions are disposed with a predetermined interval in a sliding direction, an entire shoulder width of a shoulder portion is larger than a body width of the body portion if it is provided, thereby intensifying fixing strength between a fastener tape and fastener elements and waterproofness, and allowing a smooth sliding of a slider.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof slide fastener in which a plurality of synthetic resin made fastener elements are formed by injection molding on both front and rear faces of one edge portion of a waterproof fastener tape including a waterproof layer made of elastomer resin on a belt-like core material formed by weaving or knitting, and an apparatus for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
This kind of slide fastener has a waterproofing structure in which with the fastener tape woven or knitted with fibers as a belt-like core material, both front and rear faces of the core material are covered with an elastomer material such as natural rubber or synthetic rubber, and fastener elements of synthetic resin are formed integrally by injection molding along one side edge of this fastener tape such that each of them strides over the front and rear faces. Usually, an element mounting edge portion of the fastener tape includes through holes which are formed at a forming portion of each fastener element, the through holes acting as a passage route of molding resin for each fastener element and connecting integrally upper and lower half portions of the fastener elements formed on the front and rear faces of the fastener tape.
Because in this kind of conventional slide fastener, however, as disclosed in for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open NO. 59-41107, upper and lower half portions of fastener elements are formed on front and rear faces of a fastener tape through through holes formed in an element mounting edge portion of the fastener tape. Accordingly, when this fastener tape is attached to a suit for underwater construction or wet suit, water can ooze out from a front side to a rear side of a slide fastener through a boundary face between the fastener tape and the fastener elements and the through holes at a place where there is, a large difference in pressure between the front side and rear side of the slide fastener.
Thus, according to, for example, International Application Publication No. WO 02/03825 A1, front and rear faces of a fastener tape are covered with thermoplastic synthetic resin likely to be chemically fused with fastener elements, such as polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene, vinyl chloride, polyamide or high density polystyrene, whereby improving an adhesion of boundary between the fastener tape around the through hole and the fastener elements, aiming at holding water tightness at the boundary. Further, according to the International Application Publication No. WO 02/03825 A1, an end portion on opposite side to a coupling head of the fastener element is formed into an inclined face which is inclined downward toward a tape surface and then, upper and lower flange portions formed to oppose upper and lower blade pieces of a slider which engages and disengages element rows when a sliding operation is performed, are inclined such that the upper and lower flanges approach at a same angle as the aforementioned inclined face, so that the sliding operation of the slider can be carried out smoothly.
Furthermore, according to, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-30247, the front face and the rear face of a fastener element are connected to each other by a connecting portion which runs through a through hole formed in an element mounting edge portion of the fastener tape so as to intensify a connection strength between the fastener tape and the fastener element. At the same time, adhesive agent layers are formed on both the front and rear faces corresponding to at least near the through hole in the fastener tape, boundary between the fastener tape and the fastener element around the through hole is sealed with these adhesive agent layers aiming at holding water tightness at the boundary.
Any structure disclosed in the aforementioned publications comprises upper and lower half portions molded symmetrically and disposed on front and rear sides such that the element mounting edge portion of the fastener tape is nipped, and includes: a coupling head which has a gap allowing it to nip an exposed end of the fastener tape and extend outward from the mounting edge of the fastener tape; a neck portion and a body portion which nip and are integrated together on the element mounting edge portion of the fastener tape; and thin right and left shoulder portions which nip and are integrated on the element mounting edge portion of the fastener tape and extend in right and left directions from the neck portion. Further, according to the Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open NO. 59-41107 and Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-30247, a ladder-like fin piece, which narrows gradually toward its tip, extends from an end portion on an opposite side to the neck portion of the body portion such that the fin pieces nip and are integrated on both the front and rear faces of the element mounting edge portion. This ladder-like fin piece is disposed at a position opposing the flanges of the slider so as to guide the sliding of the slider through its outer surface not to make a sliding contact with the fastener tape.
In the slide fastener disclosed in the International Application Publication No. WO 02/03825 A1, a sliding contact area of the slider to the fastener element is large. Even if a component of force applied obliquely downward to the fastener element decreases when the slider is slid, in case of an ordinary slider, this only can meet an increase in sliding resistance accompanied by an increase in the sliding area and thus, there is no guarantee that a smooth sliding operation is secured. Further, the fastener element of this Publication does not include any portion for guiding the sliding of upper and lower opposing faces of right and left flange portions formed on upper and lower blade pieces of the slider. Therefore, the upper and lower opposing faces of the flanges may make a sliding contact with the fastener tape, so that the synthetic resin layers on the front and rear faces of the fastener tape may be flawed by rubbing, thereby possibly leading to reduction in waterproof performance.
On the other hand, in the fastener elements disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open NO. 59-41107 and Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-30247, a fin piece is disposed on each side of the front and rear faces at an end portion on an opposite side to the coupling head, the fin piece having a guide surface for guiding the sliding of upper and lower flange end faces of the slider through its surface. Thus, there is no fear that the surface of the fastener tape may be flawed by rubbing unlike the International Application Publication No. WO 02/03825 A1. However, the sliding resistance can not be reduced so much because its sliding area is large. In addition, a body portion molding cavity and a fin piece molding cavity are continuous and areas of them are large when molding the fastener elements. Therefore, pressing force on the fastener tape due to the upper and lower half portions of the body portions and fin pieces formed with the same cavities are likely to disperse, so that a fixing force of the fastener element to the fastener tape likely drops.

Waterproof slide fastener and apparatus for manufacturing the same


This invention relates to a data processing method for suppressing truncation artifacts mixed into two-dimensional images in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. Two-dimensional measurement data arrays are obtained on a space frequency domain by the combination of phase encoding and a readout gradient magentic field, and a data position providing the greatest value of the one-dimensional data array constituting the two-dimensional measurement data array is obtained in the readout direction so as to estimate the origin of the space frequency axis in the readout direction. A high-pass filter using the estimated origin as a reference is applied to each one-dimensional data array, and data extrapolation is made for each one-dimensional data array to obtain a data array having an expanded region. Nuclear spin images are obtained by inverse Fourier transformation of these data arrays.

This invention relates to an image reconstruction method in a nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus in a medical field.
Two-dimensional fast Fourier transformation (2D-FFT) has been used conventionally as a method of reconstructing two-dimensional images in a nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus but this method involves the problem that ringing referred to as "truncation artifacts" occurs because the number of measurement points is limited in this method. A method which applies a low-pass filter is known as the method of removing the truncation artifacts but this method is not free from the problem that resolution drops. Therefore, another method has been proposed which reduces the artifacts by extrapolating suitable data by linear prediction analysis. It is known, however, that when the linear prediction analysis is merely employed, the suppression effect of the artifacts is low.
As the reference which is the most approximate to the present invention, mention can be made of "Journal of Magnetic Resonance, Vol. 82, pp. 392-399 (1989). This method contemplates to reduce the truncation artifacts in an encoding direction, and after a linear high-pass filter is applied to data, data are extrapolated by effecting linear prediction analysis.

Data processing method in nuclear magnetic resonance measurement


A carrier selective high resistance film is formed over an entire area between a thick amorphous semiconductor layer and a voltage application electrode, and an electrodeless region extends throughout a circumference of the voltage application electrode. As a result, dark currents are suppressed, without impairing signal response characteristics, by carrier selectivity of the carrier selective high resistance film. Covered by the carrier selective high resistance film, the thick amorphous semiconductor layer maintains an effective surface resistance. The electrodeless region extending circumferentially of the voltage application electrode secures a sufficient surface voltage endurance to suppress creeping discharges due to a bias voltage. Consequently, sufficient detection sensitivity is secured by applying a high bias voltage to the voltage application electrode.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to radiation detecting apparatus of the direct conversion type used in the medical, industrial, nuclear and other fields, and more particularly to a technique of suppressing creeping discharges due to a bias voltage applied to a radiation sensitive semiconductor layer.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Radiation (e.g. X rays) detecting apparatus include the indirect conversion type which first converts radiation (e.g. X rays) into light and then converts the light into electric signals by photoelectric conversion, and the direct conversion type which converts incident radiation directly into electric signals with a radiation sensitive semiconductor layer. The latter, direct conversion type apparatus has a voltage application electrode formed on a front surface of the radiation sensitive semiconductor layer to which a predetermined bias voltage is applied, and carrier collection electrodes formed on a back surface of the radiation sensitive semiconductor layer for collecting carriers generated by incident radiation. The carriers are taken out as radiation detection signals, thereby enabling a detection of the radiation.
Certain of the conventional radiation detecting apparatus of the direct conversion type employ a thick layer of an amorphous semiconductor such as amorphous selenium as the radiation sensitive semiconductor layer. An amorphous semiconductor may simply be processed to form a thick and wide layer by vacuum deposition or the like, and therefore is suited for a two-dimensional array structure requiring a large, thick layer.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional two-dimensional array type radiation detecting apparatus includes a thick amorphous semiconductor layer 1 for generating electron-hole pairs (carriers) in response to incident radiation, a voltage application electrode 2 formed on the front surface of semiconductor layer 1 to which a bias voltage is applied, and a plurality of carrier collection electrodes 3 arranged in a two-dimensional matrix form on the back surface of semiconductor layer 1. Each carrier collection electrode 3 has, connected thereto, a charge storing capacitor Ca and a charge reading switching element (e.g. a thin film transistor) 4 which is normally turned off. Charges accumulating in the capacitors Ca as a result of incident radiation are read as radiation detection signals through the switching elements 4 turned on.
The radiation detecting apparatus having the two-dimensional array structure shown in FIG. 1 may be used in a fluoroscopic apparatus for detecting transmitted X-ray images. In this case, fluoroscopic images are acquired based on the radiation detection signals outputted from the radiation detecting apparatus.
However, the conventional radiation detecting apparatus noted above has a drawback that the bias voltage applied to the thick amorphous semiconductor layer 1 tends to result in creeping discharges. The creeping discharges are caused by dielectric breakdowns occurring along surfaces from edges 2a of the voltage application electrode 2 to edges 1a of the thick amorphous semiconductor layer 1, before being grounded, as shown in FIG. 1.
In the case of a fluoroscopic image, for example, the creeping discharges result in noise in the radiation detection signals to become a detriment to image quality. The creeping discharges may be suppressed by reducing the bias voltage. However, an amorphous semiconductor is inferior to a single crystal semiconductor in carrier transport characteristics, and cannot demonstrate sufficient detecting sensitivity with a low bias voltage.
This invention has been made having regard to the state of the art noted above, and its object is to provide a radiation detecting apparatus which suppresses creeping discharges due to a bias voltage applied to a radiation sensitive semiconductor layer.
The above object is fulfilled, according to this invention, by a radiation detecting apparatus having a radiation sensitive semiconductor layer for generating carriers, i.e. electron-hole pairs, in response to incident radiation, a voltage application electrode formed on a front surface of the semiconductor layer for receiving a bias voltage applied thereto, carrier collection electrodes formed on a back surface of the semiconductor layer, and charge storing capacitors and charge reading switching elements connected to the carrier collection electrodes, the switching elements being normally turned off, charges accumulating in the capacitors as a result of the incident radiation being read as radiation detection signals through the switching elements turned on, wherein:
the radiation sensitive semiconductor layer is a thick amorphous semiconductor layer;
a carrier selective high resistance film is formed between the thick amorphous semiconductor layer and the voltage application electrode to entirely cover a surface of the thick amorphous semiconductor layer; and
an electrodeless region extends throughout a circumference of the thick amorphous semiconductor layer between edges of the voltage application electrode and edges of the thick amorphous semiconductor layer.
With the apparatus according to this invention, radiation to be detected is emitted while a bias voltage is applied to the voltage application electrode formed on the front surface of the radiation sensitive amorphous semiconductor layer. Then, charges accumulate in the charge storing capacitors connected to the carrier collection electrodes, in a quantity corresponding to the carriers generated by incident radiation in the amorphous semiconductor layer. As the charge reading switching elements are turned on, the charges having accumulated are read as radiation detection signals through the switching elements.
Thus, when detecting radiation, the carrier selectivity of the carrier selective high resistance film blocks an injection of those carriers (electrons or holes) not contributing to the detection of radiation but becoming dark currents, thereby to suppress dark currents. An injection of the carriers that contribute to the detection of radiation is not blocked, thereby to maintain signal response characteristics.
The surface of the amorphous semiconductor layer is completely covered by the carrier selective high resistance film. This construction prevents crystallization due to moisture and the like of the amorphous semiconductor layer to avoid lowering of the surface resistance. In addition, the electrodeless region is formed throughout the circumference between edges of the voltage application electrode and edges of the amorphous semiconductor layer. The voltage application electrode is surrounded by the carrier selective high resistance film having a high surface resistance. Since sufficient surface voltage endurance is provided between the voltage application electrode and the grounding side, creeping discharges from the radiation sensitive amorphous semiconductor layer due to the bias voltage are suppressed. Consequently, sufficient detection sensitivity is secured by applying a high bias voltage.
In the apparatus according to this invention, the carrier collection electrodes may be formed in a large number and arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, each of the carrier collection electrodes having one each of the charge storing capacitors and the charge reading switching elements to constitute a two-dimensional array structure. Then, each radiation detecting unit is capable of locally detecting radiation, to enable measurement of a two-dimensional distribution of radiation intensity.
Where the carrier selective high resistance film is a p-type conducting film, a negative bias voltage is applied to the voltage application electrode. This prevents an injection of electrons that do not contribute to the detection of radiation but become dark currents. An injection of holes that contribute to the detection of radiation is allowed, thereby to detect radiation reliably.
Where the carrier selective high resistance film is an n-type conducting film, a positive bias voltage and the n-type carrier selective high resistance film prevent an injection of holes that do not contribute to the detection of radiation but become dark currents, and allows an injection of electrons that contribute to the detection of radiation. Thus, radiation may be detected reliably.
Further, the electrodeless region, preferably, has a width in a range of B mm to 3 B mm, B being a numerical value when an absolute value of the bias voltage is expressed in kV (kilovolt). With the width of the electrodeless region set to the above preferred range, sufficient surface voltage endurance is secured for inhibiting creeping discharges due to the bias current reliably. The above range does not substantially diminish the sensitive area (i.e. size of the detecting area) of the amorphous semiconductor layer. Thus, the creeping discharges due to the bias voltage are suppressed, and at the same time full use is made of the amorphous semiconductor layer suited for realizing an enlarged area.
In the apparatus according to this invention, the thick amorphous semiconductor layer, preferably, has a thickness in a range of 0.5 mm to 1 mm. With the thickness of the amorphous semiconductor layer set to the above preferred range, radiation is absorbed sufficiently by the semiconductor layer without passing therethrough. Preferably, the thick amorphous semiconductor layer is formed of amorphous selenium (a-Se). The thick amorphous selenium layer is particularly suited for realizing an enlarged detection area.
The carrier selective high resistance film, preferably, has a surface resistance of at least 108xcexa9/xe2x96xa1. With the surface resistance of the carrier selective high resistance film set to the above preferred value, creeping discharges are suppressed by the high surface resistance.
The carrier selective high resistance film, preferably, has a thickness in a range of 0.01 xcexcm to 10 xcexcm. With the thickness of the carrier selective high resistance film set to the above preferred range, an injection of unwanted carriers is inhibited while sufficiently allowing an injection of required carriers.

Radiation detecting apparatus having an electrodeless region

Shindengen Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd


An exemplary embodiment is a camera that includes a behaviour controller which controls the output of behaviours from the camera and the input of behaviours into the camera.

The role of being a camera operator can often leave the user detached from the very event that they are trying to capture. Thus rather than participating in a family event, such as a wedding, attending a sporting event, or enjoying a holiday some people become so engrossed by the process of capturing these events on their camera that they don't truly participate in the event and merely observe the majority of the event through the view finder of the camera.
It has been proposed in the scientific literature to provide wearable cameras, see for example Starner, Schiele and Pentland, "Visual Contextual Awareness in Wearable Computing", 2nd International Symposium on Wearable Computers October 1998. Such a wearable camera is able to continually monitor the environment around a person and to capture scenes from it. Such a camera could, of course, be operated by the user but it is preferable that the camera is continually active and analyses the scenes that it has acquired in order to determine whether or not the image is "interesting". In this context "interesting" means that it would be of interest to the camera's owner.
Wearable cameras have no innate understanding of the environment around them. They therefore need to be trained to understand the visual (and other) clues presented to the camera in order to determine what images a user would like or prefer to be captured. The "rules" which a camera can apply in order to determine whether it should store an image can be considered as "behaviours". The behaviours that a camera should apply can vary depending on the position of the camera and the activity that the camera is viewing. Thus if the wearable camera were attached to a skier, then the chances are that interesting images would include those where other objects were reasonably close to the skier. However if the camera were attached to a hill-walker, then it is likely that panoramic views of scenery would be preferred. Furthermore, if a camera which had a behaviour suitable for skiing were to be used inside a shopping mall or supermarket then it is likely that almost all images would satisfy the condition of having objects sufficiently close for them to be considered interesting and hence the camera would be unlikely to show a sufficient level of discrimination and would probably capture images relating to nearly all of the time that the wearer was in the supermarket environment.
A teachable camera is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,835 assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. The teachable camera includes a template matching neural network which is responsive to inputs such as a focus sensor, an exposure sensor, a motion sensor and a flash control sensor, and also to a camera microprocessor, and which alters the performance of camera functions such as camera flash, shutter speed, lens focus, and aperture so that the camera characteristics are suited to the picture characteristics desired by the photographer. The neural network template can be altered by a rule based expert system executing on a personal computer.
Workers, such as Clarkson and Pentland in "Unsupervised Clustering of Ambulatory Audio and Video" proceedings of the International Conference of Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, Phoenix, Ariz., 1998, have disclosed a wearable camera which has used hidden markov models in order to determine the nature of the environment surrounding the camera. Thus, a camera having knowledge of the sort of images that it would see in a video store has successfully been demonstrated when it has entered another video store and is able to separate this environment from other events.

Autonomous camera having exchangable behaviours


This invention concerns an optimised management method for allocating memory space of an onboard system to a data structure and a corresponding onboard system. The object code packets and the data packets being discriminated, and the memory being subdivided into addressable elementary memory blocks, the method consists in allocating (A1) to the object code packets a set of elementary memory blocks located in a first memory space (MS1) to addresses substantially adjacent and to the data packets another set of elementary memory blocks located in a second memory range (MS2). This enables to avoid fragmentation of the memory zone, during successive installations/deinstallations and to implement very easily an optimal defragmentation procedure, adapted to each type of data, code or application data.

The onboard systems now available on the market, such as in particular the digital assistants, microprocessor or micro-controller cards, cards of the PCMCIA type, portable data processing units, also called "notebook" or "sub-notebook", have as common characteristics, often contradictory, the reduction of their size and footprint and the increase in their functionality, using, in particular, the continuous progress in the computation power of microprocessors or micro-controllers onboard in them.
Due to the above-mentioned evolution, the onboard systems tend to reproduce in the most possible faithful manner any microcomputer functionality, except however the functionalities offered by a possible connection of equipment or items peripheral to them.
Among one of the types of the functional mode of onboard systems likely to limit the reconciliation of their functionalities with those of micro-computers, the one relating to the management mode of the available memory space seems critical, because, for the time being, such a management mode seems reduced to the minimum.
Indeed, if the onboard system is made of a card with a microprocessor, also called chip card, as shown on FIG. 1, this onboard system marked 10 comprises classically some input/output circuits I/O, marked 12, information processing resources, marked 14, made of a micro-controller and connected to the input/output circuits 12. Further, a non-volatile memory 18 is provided, which consists of a programmable memory 18a and a ROM memory, or a memory with reading access only 18b. Finally, a working memory RAM marked 16 is also provided. These memories are connected to the micro-controller or microprocessor 14 via a BUS link. The whole is managed by an operating system OS, which can be onboard in the non-volatile memory 18. Finally, in some cases, the microprocessor card may have a CRYPTO calculation unit SI, marked 20, itself connected to the microprocessor 14, and acting, somehow, as a dedicated co-processor.
The microprocessor itself may be replaced or completed by logical circuits onboard in a semiconductor chip, such logical circuits being possibly ASCI-type circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuits).
Management of the memory field is classically executed, for installing for instance multiple applications, by a reference made of a pointer, linking a starting address with an end of memory field address relating to an application.
When executing these applications, packs of data relating to such applications are written at any address in this memory field, the only criterion for memory allocation and for writing being a criterion of free memory field sufficient between a beginning pointer and an end pointer, to allow memorising a pack of data of a known size.
With successive applications installation/de-installation procedures in the corresponding memory field, free memory field spaces are created in which object code packs, or data, may be written and memorised.
Such an operation process leads to a breaking-up phenomenon, also called fragmentation, for the memory field considered.
The above mentioned breaking up or fragmentation has, just as in case of fragmentation of the hard disk memory field in microcomputers, grave inconveniences, such as the slowing down of considered applications or programmes execution, and the non optimised use of the memory field for the onboard system.
This invention has the aim of remedy the above mentioned inconveniences in onboard systems of the previous art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Optimised management method for allocating memory workspace of an onboard system and corresponding onboard system


A method for establishing communication schedules for a distributed real-time computer system comprising nodal computers, wherein: a) a grid (RAS) is created, which contains all of the parameters necessary to enable basic communication between nodes (KR1 . . . KR5) of a cluster (CLU); b) nodal communication schedules (KPG; KP1, KP2) for all nodes planned to be used as invariant components (KR2; KR2, KR3) are derived from the grid (RAS) and all parameters of the grid are copied and node-specific parameters are added; and c) cluster communication schedules (CP1, CP2; CL1, CL2) are derived from the nodal communication schedules (KPG; KP1, KP2), which contain, in addition to all parameters of the grid and the node-specific parameters of the invariant components, those parameters which are relevant to the remaining nodes of the cluster.

Communication schedules are necessary in order to define clear and unique time-triggered communication within a distributed, time-triggered real-time computer architecture, hereinafter referred to as a "cluster." Distributed, time-triggered real-time systems are used, inter alia, in automobiles or aircraft. Such systems are described, for example, in the following documents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,694,542; 4,866,606 and 5,887,143; European Patent No. 1,222,542 B1; and World Patent Publication Nos. WO 2002/099643 A3 and WO 2004/0233302.
Bus protocols for distributed, time-triggered real-time systems are further described in: TTP: "TTP/C Protocol Specification", available on http://www.tttech.com; FlexRay: "FlexRay Communication System Protocol Specification", available on http://www.flexray.com; and "TTCAN (time-triggered communication on CAN)", ISO 11898-1. Detailed information concerning communication schedules are also available in: Kopetz, H. (1997)—"Real-Time Systems, Design Principles for Distributed Embedded Applications", ISBN: 0-7923-9894-7, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers; and Kopetz, H., Bauer, G.—"The Time Triggered Architecture", Proceedings of the IEEE Vol. 91, No. 1, Jan. 2003, pp. 112-126.
The following short definitions are provided with reference to the terminology used.                "Communication schedule" Contains the sum of all parameters that are necessary for the unique determination of time-triggered communication. These consist of at least the following:                    Size of the slots, allocation of the transmitter nodes for all slots            Number of the communication rounds            Bit position and length of all individual messages within a slot            Additional protocol-dependent parameters, such as, for example, the length of the waiting periods between slots                        "Cluster communication schedule" The parameters for this are complete and are thus available for all nodes in their entirety—unlike the node communication schedule.        "Node communication schedule" This refers to those parameter subsets of a communication schedule that are adequate to configure a node and make it capable of communication.        "Slot" A period of time in time-triggered communication, which is allocated uniquely to a specific node. Only this particular node may send messages within this time period.        "Cluster" An abbreviated term for a distributed, time-triggered real-time system consisting of nodes and the communication system via which the nodes can exchange messages in accordance with the communication schedules.        "Node" Integrated, electronic computer. A node communicates with other nodes in the same cluster via a time-triggered communication channel.        "Grid" This term is used in the context of the invention for a meta-communication schedule. It refers to the sum of the parameters that are necessary to establish compatibility between various communication schedules within the scope of the present invention.        "Invariant component" For the purposes of the invention, this term refers to a node that can be used unchanged in various clusters implementing the same software and the same nodal communication schedule.        "Cluster variant" A cluster variant is a variant of another cluster if the cluster variant and the original cluster have at least one common node type (invariant component).
If, for example, clusters are used in an automobile, then the individual nodes are associated with different individual applications, such as, for example, engine control, control of the air-conditioning system, control of seat adjustments, exhaust purification, etc. If an automobile is to be offered with different equipment and fittings, then it becomes necessary to use cluster variants, which, however, leads to variations in the communication schedules. Thus, the same nodal computers must have, in different variants, different communication schedules so that they do, in fact, differ from one another. This leads to undesirable complications and costs with the large-scale production of cluster variants, since it must either be possible to subsequently load the communication schedules into the nodal computers, or a node variant must be provided for each cluster variant. The process of loading the communication schedules must normally be done on the production bench and costs time and leads to logistic problems. The provision and storage of various node variants for each cluster variant naturally leads to costs in a similar manner.
It is therefore necessary to find means of using invariant components that can be applied without any modification to different cluster variants. In principle, nodal computers can also communicate when their communication schedules do not exactly reflect the specific cluster. Communication can work as long as all communication partners of the node transmit and receive messages in conformity with the schedules of the node.

Method for establishing communication plans for a divided real-time computer system


An adjustment method and system for an auxiliary power unit (APU) allows the APU speed to vary based on the inlet air temperature to the APU compressor. The APU is controlled by a control law that allows the APU speed to float within a selected range based on speed and electric power generators phase matching criteria that provides smooth power transfer between the APU and a main engine generator. The specific APU mechanical speed for a given temperature may be determined from a compressor map that identifies the optimum combination of pressure ratio, flow rate and efficiency for a given inlet temperature, and avoids running the APU near mechanical resonant vibration conditions.

Auxiliary power units (APUs) are gas turbine engines often used in aircraft systems to provide pneumatic and shaft power in addition to a main propulsion engine. As is known in the art, a compressor in the APU pumps air into a combustor at a given engine cycle maximum pressure (i.e., some multiple of ambient pressure) so that the combustor burns fuel in a high pressure environment. The burning fuel in the combustor heats the air prior to passing through the turbine. Because the products of combustion expanded through the turbine, above idle fuel flow rate develops more power than needed to drive the cycle compressor, some air (referred to as "bleed air") can be drawn off and used as a pneumatic output for other aircraft devices. Excess shaft rotational speed on cold days causes the compressor efficiency to decrease because the cold air flow being pulled through the compressor makes the inlet air flow relative to the tips of the inlet blades in the compressor very fast, reaching velocities significantly higher than the speed of sound; that is, the compressor impeller blades see supersonic Mach numbers, driving the APU efficiency down.
Alternatively, the power can be used to drive a load compressor that compresses air in a separate stage, which is also driven by the powerhead components (i.e., compressor, combustor, and turbine stages).
Normally, the APU compressor and turbine are run at a constant mechanical shaft speed. Although a constant APU shaft speed keeps speed control simple, the ambient air inlet temperatures encountered by the APU can vary over a wide range during normal operation. At very low ambient temperatures, the APU compressor and turbine often experience lower efficiencies and narrower compressor flow ranges and consequent compressor/turbine matching problems. Extremely low temperatures also may cause excessive bleed air pressure. Although heavier and/or more complex, pneumatic systems may be designed to accommodate the additional pressure, this type of modification is cumbersome and expensive. Further, very high ambient temperatures adversely affect APU power and efficiency by diminishing air flow rate, bleed air pressure, and the engine cycle pressure ratio.
Running the APU shaft faster on hot days and slower on cold days can improve the compressor and turbine efficiencies, but these adjustments may also cause mechanical vibration and resonance in the APU, increasing the likelihood of failures in the blade, disc and shaft.
There is a desire for a method and system that can optimize APU operation in extreme ambient temperature conditions without causing vibration and resonance in the APU.

Auxiliary power unit control method and system