A method of enhancing the fluorescence of and/or producing an increased Stokes' shift in a fluorescent dye comprising combining the dye with a base and/or a detergent is described. The method is suitable in chemical or biochemical techniques using fluorescent dyes, particularly techniques requiring staining or labeling of organic molecules, such as electrophoresis.

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Compounds that fluoresce have many uses and are known to be particularly suitable for biological applications where fluorescence is intrinsically more sensitive than absorption as the incidence and observed wavelengths are different. Fluorescence can be used for the detection of whole cells, cellular components, and cellular functions. For example, many diagnostic and analytical techniques require the samples to be fluorescently tagged so that they can be detected. This is achieved by using fluorescent dyes or probes which interact with a wide variety of materials such as cells, tissues, proteins, antibodies, enzymes, drugs, hormones, lipids, nucleotides, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, or natural or synthetic polymers to make fluorescent conjugates.
With synthetic fluorescent probes, ligands are frequently used to confer a specificity for a biochemical reaction that is to be observed and the fluorescent dye provides the means of detect or quantify the interaction. These applications include, among others, the detection of proteins (for example in gels, on surfaces or aqueous solution), cell tracking, the assessment of enzymatic activity and the staining of nucleic acids or other biopolymers.
Long wavelength absorbance usually increases the utility of a fluorescent probe since it reduces the interference from cellular autofluorescence and is less likely to cause photo-damage of labelled biomolecules. Although lasers are particularly useful as a concentrated light source for the excitation of fluorescence, at present the output of powerful lasers is restricted to particular wavelengths of light. Compounds whose excitation spectrum coincide with laser output are therefore of high utility. The argon laser is the most common light source for excitation of fluorescence, and has principal output at 488 nm and a weaker output at 514 nm. Fluorescent compounds that are excited by either of these wavelengths are therefore of particular utility. YAG lasers (532 nm or 473) and HeNe (543 nm, 633 nm) are also becoming common.
Red fluorescent compounds are used extensively in many fields of biological study. Many of these, including Texas red, Tetramethyl rhodamine or red emitting BODIPY dyes require excitation at green wavelengths such as 542 nm. This limits their use in many applications, especially those where the argon-ion laser is used for excitation.
Compounds such as ethidium bromide, can be excited with light from the argon-ion laser, but are not generally suitable for tagging of organic molecules other than nucleic acids. Other compounds such as phycoerythrin, can be excited using the argon-ion laser (488 nm), and emits in the orange wavelengths (ca 580 nm). Phycoerythrin, however, has poor stability and a high molecular weight (ca 240,000 Da) making it unsuitable for many applications such as cell tracking, labelling of nucleic acids or staining proteins.
For staining of proteins, there are a number of methods available. These methods can utilise non-fluorescent compounds, or fluorescent compounds. The most commonly used method utilises Coomassie blue (Bradford assay), which is non-fluorescent. Fluorescence-based protein-detection methods utilise fluorescent dyes, which form a complex with the protein and are intrinsically more sensitive than non-fluorescent methods. Fluorescent staining of proteins has a number of advantages over traditional Silver or Coomassie staining. These advantages include greater sensitivity, lower background interference and greater dynamic range.
For staining of nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA ethidium bromide as a fluorescent stain has been most widely used due to its cost effectiveness and high sensitivity (2 ng/ban of dsDNA). Its uses among researchers have been somewhat limited because it is thought to be carcinogenic. Other fluorescent nucleic acid stains are currently available for quantification of nucleic acids as well as gel staining however in use such stains also have significant disadvantages.
WO01/81351, incorporated herein by reference, describes fluorescent dye compounds based on a furo[3,2-g][2]benzopyran-2,9(9aH)dione core.
Fluorescent dyes are particularly useful in the field of electrophoresis. Electrophoresis allows the separation of charged biomolecules, such as DNA, RNA and/or proteins, by making use of the relative mobilities of the charged molecules in a gel matrix after the application of an electrical field. The distance moved by each molecule in the electrical field depends on the charge, shape and weight of the molecule.
The most commonly used gel matrix for the separation of proteins is polyacrylamide (PAGE electrophoresis). SDS-PAGE is a technique whereby proteins are treated with the anionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) before electrophoresis. SDS denatures the proteins and coats them with a uniform negative charge. This means that separation is based solely on molecular weight, and SDS-PAGE is typically used to determine the molecular weights of proteins1.
In contrast, nucleic acid bear a single negative charge for every nucleotide (MW approx 500 Daltons) so there is a reasonably constant mass/charge ratio. In the case of nucleic acids it is not necessary to normalise the charge with a detergent.
Whilst a number of fluorescent dyes are known in the art, there is still a need to improve the signal intensity, the signal to background ratio and the sensitivity of fluorescent dyes. There is an additional need to improve the stability of fluorescent complexes formed on an electrophoresis gel matrix.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.


A system and method for manufacturing oral osmotic drug delivery devices including the use of a mathematical model in deriving relationships between parameters used in manufacturing the devices for a desired release rate of the active drug substance contained therein. The derived relationship is then used to control the parameters so that the active substance within the device is delivered at a desired rate. Methods of administering the oral osmotic drug delivery devices are also provided. Use of a mathematical model in deriving relationships between parameters used in the drug granulation process for a desired range of percentage fines of the drug granulation substance. The derived relationship is then used to control the parameters in the drug granulation process so that the desired percentage fines are obtained in the drug granulation substance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for manufacturing oral osmotic drug delivery devices. In particular, the present invention is directed towards deriving a mathematical model of a relationship between parameters used in manufacturing the devices, using statistical analysis of historical data. The derived relationship may then be used to control the parameters so that the active drug substance within the product is delivered at a desired rate. The present invention also relates to methods of administering the oral osmotic drug delivery devices to subjects. The present invention further relates to methods of making particles of a drug and one or more excipients.
2. Description of Related Art
Unless conventional rapid acting drug therapy is carefully administered at frequent intervals to maintain an effective steady state level of the therapeutic agent or active substance, peaks and valleys in the level of the active drug in the patient's system can occur because of, for example, rapid absorption and systemic excretion of the compound and occurrence of metabolic inactivation, thereby producing special problems in maintenance therapy of the patient. This result can cause the active substance to be delivered to the patient's system in a dosage that may be too high and to regions of the body where the active substance may not be at its most effective.
These problems can be overcome to some extent by controlled release forms of the therapeutic agent or active substance. These forms are also referred to as controlled release sustained release, retarded release, and slow release.
Controlled release dosage ideally provides and maintains therapeutic concentrations of the active substance in the patient's system throughout the dosing interval with an acceptable peak/valley concentration ratio. Controlled release formulations are designed to provide a longer period of pharmacologic action after administration than is ordinarily obtained after administration of immediate-release dosage forms. Controlled release compositions may be used, for example, to maintain a desired concentration of said therapeutic agent in the patient's system for a longer duration than would occur if conventional rapid release dosage forms were to be administered. Such longer periods of response provide for therapeutic benefits that are not achieved with corresponding short acting, immediate release preparations. Thus, therapy may be continued without interrupting the sleep of a patient, for example, which can be of particular importance when treating a patient for moderate to severe pain, or for treating a debilitated patient for whom sleep is essential. A further general advantage of longer acting drug preparations is improved patient compliance resulting from the avoidance of missed doses through patient forgetfulness.
The benefits of controlling the release of the active ingredient to sustain a constant release over a predetermined amount of time include: improved delivery to the required site; improved delivery at the required rate by reducing swings of drug levels in the patient's system; allowing fewer doses per day; reduced dangers of overdosing; avoidance of side effects from rapid increases in drug concentration within a patient's system; prevention of drug concentration in the patient's system from dropping below therapeutic levels; and assurance of more efficient dosages. In order to accomplish these goals, the controlled release formulation must provide a reliable dissolution and release rate of the active substance.
In the past, the manufacturing process of controlled release tablets has not led to uniform release rates and dissolution of the active substance. Thus, the drug delivery rate can fall above or below the desired delivery rate. When the delivery rate for a controlled release tablet falls sufficiently outside the approved specifications, the tablet cannot be placed in the market to be used by a patient. Thus, it is necessary to have a manufacturing process that consistently produces tablets with a delivery rate of the active substance within the desired range and that is amenable to large scale manufacturing processes. It is also necessary to have a manufacturing process that allows for particles of the active substance and excipients to fall within specified, predetermined size limitations.

System and method for manufacturing oral osmotic drug delivery devices, and methods of administering same


The engine starting device includes a starter motor, a pinion portion, a pushing mechanism for pushing a pinion gear of the pinion portion to a position at which the pinion gear comes into meshing engagement with a ring gear, and an integrated switch for operating a motor-energization switch to pull a plunger after the pinion gear is pushed, by configuring a switch for actuating the pushing mechanism and turning ON/OFF an energization current to the starter motor by a single plunger coil. When a restart request is issued after an engine stop is requested and therefore the integrated switch is placed in an ON state, operation timing of the pushing mechanism and coil-operation timing of the plunger coil are set so that the starter motor avoids operating until the pinion gear comes into contact or meshing engagement with the ring gear.

In the inventions relating to a conventional idle-stop system, restart is performed by bringing a pinion gear of a starter and a ring gear into meshing engagement with each other during rotation of an engine in order to improve restartability after an engine stop operation is performed. For example, the rotation of a starter motor is started in response to a restart request for the engine. A rotation speed of the starter motor is brought into synchronization with that of the engine by energization with speed governing, thereby coupling the starter motor and the engine to each other (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
Moreover, when the engine is stopped, even in the case where the restart request is not issued, the pinion and the ring gear are being brought into meshing engagement while the engine is rotating or immediately before the engine is stopped, for preparation of the restart request which may be issued at any time (see Patent Literature 2, for example).


A differential amplifier comprises an operational amplifier, comprising a positive output terminal, a negative output terminal, and a feedback terminal; a common mode sensing circuit coupled to the positive output terminal and the negative output terminal, for generating a sensed common mode voltage of the positive output terminal and the negative output terminal of the operational amplifier; and a feedback circuit comprising a common mode input terminal for receiving the sensed common mode voltage, a reference input terminal for receiving a reference voltage, and a first resistive component coupled between the common mode input terminal and the reference input terminal, the feedback circuit generating a feedback signal according to the common mode voltage and the reference voltage; wherein the feedback terminal of the operational amplifier receives the feedback signal of the feedback circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an amplifier, and more particularly to a differential amplifier and a method of improving stability thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Differential amplifier circuits are widely used in the electronics industry and are generally preferred over their single-ended counterparts because of their better common-mode noise rejection, reduced harmonic distortion, and increased output voltage swing. However, due to high impedance at the output nodes of the differential amplifier circuit, a common mode feedback (CMFB) control mechanism is often required in addition to well define the common mode voltage (Vcm). FIG. 1 shows a typical differential amplifier architecture. The differential amplifier architecture 100 includes an operational amplifier (OpAmp) 110, together with a plurality of resistors R1, R2, configured as an inverting type amplifier, with a CMFB loop 120. The CMFB loop 120 includes a common mode (CM) detector 122 and a compensation signal generator 124. The CM detector 122 senses the output common mode voltage based on the voltage outputs of the OpAmp 110, i.e., Vcm=(Von+Vop)/2. Then, utilizing the compensation signal generator 124, the common mode voltage Vcm is compared with a reference voltage Vref, and a corresponding error-correcting signal Vfb based on the differences between the Vcm and Vref is fed back to the biasing circuitry of the OpAmp 110 so as to compensate for and maintain the output common mode voltage level.
The CMFB loop 120 needs to be carefully designed, as the inherent parasitic effects of the circuit components introduce additional poles that degrade common mode stability. FIG. 2 shows a Bode plot illustrating the magnitude response of the differential amplifier circuit. As shown in the figure, the differential amplifier circuit usually possesses two significant poles P1 and P2, with the second pole P2 oftentimes being contributed by the unavoidable parasitic. As generally followed by designers as a rule of thumb, the differential mode feedback factor βDM is designed, so that the corresponding 1/βDM curve falls between the first pole P1 and the second pole P2, to render a stable differential feedback loop. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the curve of 1/βDM=(R1+R2)/R1=2, by setting R1=R2, falls between P1 and P2. However, because in most of the cases the differential amplifier circuit has different differential feedback path and common mode feedback path, thus different differential and common mode feedback factors, a stable common mode feedback loop is not guaranteed merely by applying such a rule of thumb. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the curve of 1/βCM, here equaling to 1 with βCM being the common mode feedback factor, falls below the second pole P2 rendering an unstable common mode feedback loop.
Two common approaches of fixing such common mode feedback loop instability during amplifier designed are illustrated in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. One can either design the amplifier so that the curve representing open loop gain shifts downwards, as shown by the dashed curve in FIG. 3A, to fit the common mode feedback factor curve between P1 and P2, or design the amplifier so that the common mode feedback factor curve shifts upwards, as shown by the dashed curve in FIG. 3B. The later approach shown in FIG. 3B is preferable because it does not induce potential additional input offset and noise problems, as the former approach shown in FIG. 3A may do.


An apparatus includes an optical detector configured to detect at least a portion of incoming radiation. The apparatus also includes an optical component configured to provide at least the portion of the incoming radiation to the optical detector. The apparatus further includes at least one flexure that mounts the optical component to the optical detector. Each flexure is configured to deform in response to expansion or contraction of at least one of the optical component and the optical detector. Each flexure may include a side surface that is flexible in a first dimension and rigid in second and third dimensions, where the dimensions are orthogonal to each other. The optical component may include at least one of a filter, a lens, a polarizer, an aperture, and a cover.

Cooled infrared (IR) cameras typically cannot operate effectively until various components of the cameras (such as their optical detectors, optical filters, apertures, and stray light reduction features) reach cryogenic temperatures. For example, an infrared camera may need to be cooled to cryogenic temperatures in order for its optical detector to properly image a scene and meet any associated noise requirements. In some applications, infrared cameras may need to reach cryogenic temperatures in a very short amount of time. Thus, those infrared cameras may have very little time to reach cryogenic temperatures before the infrared cameras need to be placed into operation.

Direct mounting of filters or other optical components to optical detectors using flexures


Embodiments include facilitating DNA storage of digital data including a plurality of data assets in a network by building a causal graph of the network and the relationship of the data assets; computing a value of each data asset; computing, using the causal graph and data values, a radius of recovery for each data asset; classifying each data asset as appropriate DNA stored by assigning a numerical ranking of each data asset; defining manual constraints and a DNA storage configuration; and generating a ranked list of recommended data assets for storing in the DNA storage using the classification, manual constraints and DNA storage configuration.

The data era is characterized by an overwhelming amount of data that is being generated and stored. The amount of data collected, managed and analyzed in a modern data center can grow at an exponential rate, making the need for data management and monitoring tools indispensable. A key tool for an information technology (IT) administrator is a data valuation advisory, which is a tool that can automatically advise IT management on the importance of a specific data asset so that an optimal decision can be made on the data protection policy that best suits this asset. For example, in a data backup environment, such an advisory can define which data sets should be backed up along with relevant parameters such as optimum backup target, frequency of backup, replication type (synchronous/asynchronous), and so on.
Data storage resources remain among the most the critical areas of investment for enterprises and large-scale network administrators. One of the growing innovative fields of storage research is storing data over DNA sequences, which originally started as a theoretical academic research field, but has been slowly developing into an area of viable industrialization. Many technical methods for DNA storage are practical and well defined, and new developments like random access are adding to the capabilities of DNA storage, thus approaching the point where it will be an essential offering by storage companies. Recent studies indicate that DNA storage will remain limited, at least in the near future, to storing a very limited volume of data that has some very clear properties to make it economically viable. For example, the data must be very valuable, as DNA storage is expected to stay expensive (for encoding and decoding) until new fully automated and cheaper procedures are developed. Likewise, it is practical only for very low access data, as retrieving data from DNA storage is not a trivial process. Some additional considerations are the quality of data so that it can be retrieved with confidence, and the volume of data that can be recovered based on the data stored on DNA, e.g., the data is a "source" which may allow the recovery of other important assets. There are presently no data protection tools that leverage DNA storage. Furthermore, there is no formal definition or uniform formulation of data that is most suited to storage in DNA storage.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

Automatic identification, definition and management of data for DNA storage systems


An image reproducing apparatus for reproducing an image recorded on successive frames of a film having a storage medium which information for each frame is readable from and writable on, the reproducing apparatus includes a pick-up device for picking up the image from the film; a read and write device for reading and writing frame information from and on the storage medium in a specified relative movement to the film; a drive device for rendering the specified relative movement and such special relative movement as fast transporting, rewinding; a directing device for directing the special relative movement; and a controller for keeping the drive device from rendering the special relative movement when the information reading and writing is performed.

This invention relates to an image reproducing apparatus for reproducing photographed images recorded a developed film on a television monitor (hereinafter refereed to as a TV monitor).
There have been proposed such photographed image reproducing apparatus. For example. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-79236 discloses an image reproducing apparatus in which a photographed image recorded on each frame of a developed film is picked up and converted into a video signal by photoelectric means and the video signal is sent to a TV monitor on which the image is in turn reproduced in accordance with the video signal. This image reproducing apparatus can also record photographic modification data on a magnetic medium provided on the film while displaying a photographed image on the TV monitor. Specifically, the image reproducing apparatus enables the user to clip a desired portion of a photographed image reproduced on the TV monitor and expand the clipped portion on the TV monitor at a desired magnification. Data about the clipped portion and magnification can be recorded on a magnetic medium on the film to print the clipped portion.
However, this publication does not disclose or teach an operational relationship between transporting of the film and recording of processing data on the film. For example, if the film is fast transported or rewound during recording of processing data, the processing data recording will be interrupted. Insufficient data will be consequently recorded on the film.
Also, there has been required an operational relationship between user's reproduction commands and transport of the film. For example, if the user commands reproduction while the film being fast transported or rewound, it is likely that a target frame is located out of the specified correct image sensing position. This will involve reproduction of an incomplete image.


A device for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation includes separate antennas for transmitting and for receiving electromagnetic radiation and in which the lobes of the transmitting and receiving antennas are focused by a shared focusing arrangement.

German Published Patent Application No. 197 19 764 discusses a motor vehicle radar sensor that includes an antenna system which includes a focusing arrangement and at least two first antenna feeds that are arranged along a first straight line and form a first array of antenna feeds, in which is present at least one additional antenna feed which is arranged in such a manner that at least one additional array of antenna feeds is formed along an additional straight line, this additional array being capable of being laid out congruent to the first array by rotation about a hypothetical point of rotation M. This system provides a plurality of monostatic antenna feeds, each of which is used for transmitting as well as for receiving.
German Published Patent Application No. 197 31 085 discusses a device for transmitting and receiving radar waves, in particular for a range sensor. At least one antenna element is provided there, to which signals to be transmitted may be supplied and from which signals received may be picked up, the antennas being configured for the transmission of circularly polarized radar waves. The signals to be transmitted are supplied to at least one side of the antenna element in such a manner that they are radiated in a first plane of polarization. The signals received are picked up by the antenna at a second plane of polarization, which is orthogonal to the first plane of polarization. This system is also a monostatic transceiver system.

Device for emitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation


An osmotic delivery system flow modulator includes an outer shell constructed and arranged for positioning in an opening, an inner core inserted in the outer shell, and a fluid channel having a spiral shape defined between the outer shell and the inner core. The fluid channel is adapted for delivery of an active agent formulation from the reservoir of the osmotic delivery system.

The invention relates generally to osmotic delivery systems for sustained delivery of active agents in fluid environments. More particularly, the invention relates to a flow modulator for delivering an active agent from an osmotic delivery system in a fluid environment.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior-art osmotic delivery system 40, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,305 issued to Peterson et al. The osmotic delivery system 40 includes an enclosure 42 containing osmotic agent 47 and active agent 44. A dividing member 46 forms a partition between the osmotic agent 47 and the active agent 44. A semipermeable plug 48 is inserted into a first opening 45 of the enclosure 42. The semipermeable plug 48 selectively permits fluid to enter the interior of the enclosure 42. A flow modulator 20 is inserted into a second opening 39 of the enclosure 42. The flow modulator 20 allows the active agent 44 to exit the interior of the enclosure 42 while controlling back-diffusion of fluids into the interior of the enclosure 42. When the osmotic delivery system 40 is disposed in a fluid environment, fluid from the exterior of the enclosure 42 enters the enclosure 42 through the semipermeable plug 48 and permeates the osmotic agent 47, causing the osmotic agent 47 to swell. The osmotic agent 47 displaces the dividing member 46 as it swells, causing an amount of the active agent 44 to be delivered to the environment of use through the flow modulator 20.
In the prior-art osmotic delivery system 40 shown in FIG. 1, the outer surface of the flow modulator 20 includes a helical delivery path 32 through which the active agent 44 passes from the interior to the exterior of the enclosure 42. The thread 36 which defines the helical delivery path 32 abuts the interior surface 43 of the enclosure 42 so that the active agent 44 comes into contact with the interior surface 43 of the enclosure 42 as it passes through the helical delivery path 32. The pitch, amplitude, cross-sectional area, and shape of the helical delivery path 32 are selected such that back-diffusion into the enclosure 42 from the fluid environment is minimized. Fill hole 22 and vent hole 24 are provided in the flow modulator 20. When assembling the osmotic delivery system 40, the flow modulator 20 is first inserted in the enclosure 42. The active agent 44 is then injected into the enclosure 42 through the fill hole 22, while gases in the enclosure 42 escape through the vent hole 24. Thereafter, caps 26 are inserted in the holes 22, 24 so that delivery of the active agent 44 occurs only through the helical delivery path 32.
From the foregoing, there continues to be a desire to provide additional reliability and flow modulator capabilities in osmotic delivery systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Two-piece, internal-channel osmotic delivery system flow modulator


A trailer having a kingpin or having a drawbar for coupling a tractor unit on a coupling side of the trailer, wherein the trailer has a detectable pattern on its coupling side, and a tractor unit for coupling to a kingpin or a drawbar of a trailer, wherein the tractor unit has, for the identification of a trailer and/or for assisting a coupling process, in particular on a coupling side of the drawbar, a detection unit for detecting a detectable pattern.

The present invention relates to a trailer having a kingpin or having a drawbar for coupling a tractor unit on a coupling side of the trailer and relates to a tractor unit for coupling to a kingpin or to a drawbar of a trailer and to a coupling system for identifying a trailer and/or for assisting a coupling process between a trailer and a tractor unit.
After the location of a trailer has been manually determined, for example in a vehicle fleet, a driver of a tractor unit usually determines the alignment of the trailer visually and carries out the coupling between the trailer and the tractor unit manually. In order to determine the location of a trailer correctly and couple a trailer to a tractor unit there is therefore a need for a certain degree of practice and experience on the part of the driver.
The present invention is therefore based on the object of making available a trailer whose location is easy to determine and which can be easily coupled. In addition, the present invention is based on the object of making available a tractor unit with which a trailer can be automatically identified and coupled, and of making available a corresponding system for identifying and/or for assisting a coupling process.

System for identifying a trailer and for assisting a hitching process to a tractor machine


A pouch made from a heat-shrinkable, gas-barrier, thermoplastic film is suitable for packaging one or a plurality of items. The pouch has a bottom, two closed side edges, and an open mouth for the introduction of the items to be packaged. The pouch has a first seal connecting the two side edges, the seal being between the bottom of the pouch and the mouth of the pouch. The first seal, portions of the side edges, and the bottom together define a first area. The pouch has a second seal which extends toward the first seal, with the second seal and the bottom defining a second area. The second area has a precut which extends from the bottom toward the second seal.

The invention relates to a pouch or bag of a heat shrinkable gas-barrier, thermoplastic film for packaging one or a plurality of items and to a method of packaging an article in this pouch or bag.
Specifically the invention relates to an easy openable bag or pouch for vacuum shrink packaging characterized by the fact that it has two hems that can be easily gripped, facilitating the opening.
One of the packaging methods that are in common practice today is vacuum shrink packaging, according to which an article of interest is wrapped with a heat-shrinkable thermoplastic film, that is in the form of a bag, a sheet folded in two or the like and the package is vacuumised, heat sealed and cut off along the edge portions. The obtained package is heat shrunk to provide a tight appearance. The heat shrink packaging is gaining increased popularity because it adds to the aesthetic appeal of the packaged articles, thereby enhancing their commercial value and it permits easy packaging of articles even if they have complex shapes.
On the other hand, packages overwrapped in heat-shrinking film have the disadvantage that overpwraps stick so closely to the underlying surfaces and are in such tension that they are difficult to tear when the package must be torn open.
Various methods have so far been proposed with a view to overcoming this problem and facilitating the opening of packages that are made of heat shrunk films. Said methods include: i) forming a line of perforations in a specified position on a heat shrinkable film so that one can open the package by tearing it along said line; ii) making a U-shaped hole in a specified site on the film and attaching a paper seal over the hole to form a seal label that serves as an aid in opening the package; and iii) additionally attaching a so-called xe2x80x9copening tapexe2x80x9d.
However these conventional methods have their own limitations. In the first approach, the perforations will grow in size upon heat treatment of the heat shrinkable film and contaminants can potentially get into the package through the holes, thereby reducing the commercial value of the contents. In some cases, the perforations may rupture during handling. The second approach needs a special apparatus for making the U-shaped hole and, furthermore, the use of paper seals adds to the production cost. These two methods are not suited to vacuum packages. The third approach has the inherent disadvantage of being cumbersome.
One further easy opening system available for heat shrunk bags is disclosed in EP-A1-745539 where a heat shrinkable film wrap for a food product has an edge zone isolated from the remainder by a seal between opposed film layers, and a cut extending inwardly in the zone from one edge to form a tongue when heat-shrunk to facilitate opening. The film is wrapped around the product, heat sealed peripherally and then heat-shrunk. The zone is preferably separate from and adjacent to the package closure heat seal, and may be heat-sealed peripherally or over its entire area. The film may be a bag for packaging the product under vacuum, or allow packaging under a modified atmosphere.
This system has the disadvantage that, when shrunk, the protruding tongue is not visible and is difficult to grip, thus leading to an unpleasant appearance and sometimes even to an accidental break of the package. There is therefore the need for a sure easy opening system with a better packaging appearance.
The inventors have found that when in a vacuum packaging process a bag or a pouch is employed comprising a seal along a line, in-between the bottom and the mouth connecting the two side edges and defining with the closed bottom of the bag or pouch and part of the side edges a closed, airtight area, said closed bottom also comprising another seal extending from the closed bottom inward the closed, airtight area; the two hems, that are thus created, can be pulled one backward and the other forward to open the package.
The airtight area may also contain an amount of gas, typically air, such that it balloons upon heat treatment creating two pillow shaped hems having a better packaging appearance. The gas present in the airtight area may also reduce the shrinkage of the thermoplastic film in that area.

Easy opening system for shrunk hermetic bags


In this invention, a semiconductor device designed for use as an optical amplifier is provided with three sections; an input section, a middle section and an output section. A continuous optical waveguide extends through the input section, the middle section and the output section and the three sections are electrically isolated from each other. More specifically, a semiconductor laser amplifier is electrically split into three separate sections by implanting ions of, for example, hydrogen, helium or fluorine into the areas of the semiconductor amplifier which are between the middle section and the two end sections. The ion implantation provides a high degree of electrical isolation between the various sections, but it does not alter the continuity of the optical waveguide which passes through the three sections. In operation, each section is coupled to a bias source to forward bias the device, and the ratio of the voltages on the two end sections induced by the optical signal is proportional to the gain of the semiconductor amplifier.

Semiconductor laser amplifiers are becoming increasingly more important components for optical signal processing applications. In addition to simple loss compensation and switching functions, a semiconductor laser amplifier can provide simultaneous amplification and detection of an optical signal. Recently, amplifiers which exploit this dual capability have demonstrated improved detection capability by employing a split contact and performing the detecting function at the rear contact. See C. Jorgensen et al., "Two-Section Semiconductor Optical Amplifier Used as an Efficient Channel Dropping Node", IEEE Photon. Technol. Letters, Vol. 4, pp. 348-350, 1992.
As photonic integrated circuits with integrated semiconductor laser amplifiers become increasingly complex, it becomes necessary to monitor amplifier gain to perform automatic gain control or to enhance system robustness. This invention is directed toward satisfying this need of monitoring the optical gain of a semiconductor laser amplifier.

Monitoring optical gain of semiconductor optical amplifier


The module for a liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal display panel, a first polarizer formed on an upper side of the liquid crystal display panel, and a second polarizer formed on a lower side of the liquid crystal display panel, wherein the first polarizer has a length in a machine direction, the second polarizer has a width in the machine direction, a shrinkage force of the second polarizer is greater than a shrinkage force of the first polarizer, and the length of a polarizer is greater than the width of a polarizer.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a module for a liquid crystal display and a liquid crystal display panel including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a module for a liquid crystal display, an upper polarizing plate is placed on one side of a liquid crystal display panel and a lower polarizing plate is placed between the other side of the liquid crystal display panel and a backlight unit such that the absorption axes of the upper and lower polarizing plates are orthogonal to each other. Each of the polarizing plates includes a polarizer and an optical film on at least one surface of the polarizer.
The polarizers are fabricated by stretching a polyvinyl alcohol film in a machine direction (MD) to provide polarized light. As a result, the polarizers can shrink under high temperature conditions or high temperature/humidity conditions. Further, because the generally rectangular polarizers are mounted on the liquid crystal display panel such that the MD of the upper polarizer is orthogonal to the MD of the lower polarizer, the liquid crystal display panel and/or the module for the liquid crystal display can bend when the polarizers shrink. A bent liquid crystal display panel and/or the module for a liquid crystal display can lead to distortion of the absorption axes near the corners of the polarizers, which can cause light to leak and a deterioration in processability.

Module for a liquid crystal display comprising a first polarizer and a second polarizer having first and second machine directions and liquid crystal display including the same


The invention relates to a method for operating an electrical machine (1) controlled by an inverter (2), wherein the inverter (2) comprises half-bridge branches (10-U, 10-V, 10-W) having power components in the form of controllable power switching elements (3) and power diodes (4) respectively connected in parallel therewith, wherein each of the half-bridge branches (10-U; 10-V; 10-W) is arranged on a separate semiconductor module (11-U; 11-V; 11-W), which are arranged jointly on a baseplate (12), wherein the phase currents (1_U, 1_V, 1_W) flowing through the half-bridge branches (10-U, 10-V, 10-W), the voltages present at the power components and temperatures (t_Sens_U, t_Sens_V, t_Sens_W) on the semiconductor modules (11-U, 11-V, 11-W) are determined, from the current (1_U; 1_V; 1_W) respectively flowing at a power component and from the voltage respectively present a power loss (P) is calculated for each of the power components, from the power losses (P) a relevant temperature swing (Δt; Δt_Sens) is determined for each of the power components and for temperature sensors (13-U, 13-V, 13-W) serving to determine the temperatures on the semiconductor modules, a temperature (TempCooler) of the baseplate (12) is determined from the determined temperatures (t_Sens_U, t_Sens_V, t_Sens_W) on the semiconductor modules (11-u, 11-V, 11-W) and the determined temperature swings (Δt_Sens) at the temperature sensors (13-U, 13-V, 13-W), and a torque or a power of the electrical machine (1) is determined in a manner dependent on the determined temperature swings (Δt) and the determined temperature (TempCooler) of the baseplate (12).

The invention relates to a control device and a method for operating an electrical machine driven by an inverter.
For the drive in hybrid or electric vehicles, use is generally made of electrical machines in the form of polyphase machines which are operated in conjunction with inverters. In this case, the electrical machines are optionally operated in the motor or generator mode. In the motor mode, the electrical machine generates a drive torque which, in the case of use in a hybrid vehicle, supports an internal combustion engine, for example in an acceleration phase. In the generator mode, the electrical machine generates electrical energy which is stored in an energy store, such as, for example, a battery or a super-cab. Operating mode and power of the electrical machine are set via the inverter.
Known inverters comprise a series of switching elements used for optionally switching the individual phases of the electrical machine relative to a high supply voltage potential or relative to a low supply voltage potential. Two series-connected switching elements here in each case form a half-bridge branch, wherein a first switching element is connected to the high supply voltage potential and a second switching element is connected to the low supply voltage potential. Each phase of the electrical machine is then connected to a respective half-bridge branch. The switching elements are controlled by an external control unit, which calculates a desired operating point for the electrical machine depending on the driver's desire (acceleration or braking) The inverter is connected to the control unit and receives the corresponding operating data or control commands from it.
In the case of electrical machines which are controlled via an inverter, the semiconductor power components of the inverter—designated hereinafter as power components for short—are subjected to a high thermal loading primarily during operation with high currents at low rotational speeds. In this regard, e.g. electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles in the purely electric driving mode must be able to start exclusively with the aid of the electrical machine. If the electrical machine in this case is connected to the drive and thus the wheels of the vehicle without a rotational-speed-compensating coupling element, such as e.g. a torque converter or a friction clutch, then the electrical machine has to provide the necessary starting torque beginning from a rotational speed of "zero". Particularly high starting torques are required e.g. at steep inclines or else at curb edges.
If the electrical machine is embodied as a synchronous machine, for example, then the torque-generating field in the stator is directly coupled to the rotational speed of the machine. As a result, the electric field does not vary at a rotational speed of zero or varies only very slowly at low rotational speeds, but that has the consequence that the field-generating inverter has to provide the required current for a longer time with the same power components. Accordingly, the loading of the power components of the inverter is not uniform in this operating range, such that different temperatures occur at the power components. At higher rotational speeds, by contrast, temperature differences hardly occur since the thermal time constants are considerably greater than the commutation times of the power components.
Since the temperature swings that occur at the power components of the inverter crucially influence the lifetime of these components, it is necessary to limit the temperature swing in the power components. For this purpose, in the event of a limit value for the temperature swing being reached, the current for generating the torque-generating field is reduced and the torque or the power of the electrical machine is thus limited.
EP 1 768 238 A1 discloses a method for limiting the temperature of an output stage of an electric motor, wherein the temperature of at least one bridge component contained in the output stage is determined by virtue of the fact that the phase current flowing through the bridge component is measured, the power loss of the bridge component is calculated from the phase current, the temperature increase arising at the bridge component is determined from the power loss and the temperature of a baseplate of the output stage is added to the temperature increase. If the determined temperature of the bridge component exceeds a specific maximum temperature, the output torque of the electric motor is reduced.

Control device and method for operating an electrical machine driven by an inverter


A contextual fault handling method and apparatus in a printing system replaces a first diagnostic message with a second diagnostic message based on a measure of fault occurrence frequency. The first message includes information relating to a symptom of a first fault and the second message includes information relating to a root cause of the first fault. Printer usage log data is collected during operation of the printing apparatus. A trend analysis is performed on the print usage log data. Then, in response to a second occurrence of a first fault event and based on a result of the trend analysis, a second diagnostic message is displayed for providing information to the operator or end user relating to a root cause of the fault. The second diagnostic message could be displayed together with the first message or as a replacement for the first message.

The present application relates generally to systems and methods for automated diagnostics in marking systems and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for generating and displaying printer diagnostic information based upon a context in which the underlying printer fault was generated. The subject methods and apparatus are particularly well suited for use in commercial printing systems and in stand alone office printing devices and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the methods and apparatus described herein are applicable in a wide variety of other environments including, but not limited to, networked printing devices including marking devices connected to the internet and others.
When a user has a problem with a printer, typically the user will first attempt to ascertain and fix the problem using whatever built-in diagnosis tools were provided with the printer, if any. For some printers, the built-in diagnostic tools may be in the form of a user manual or diagrams on the user interface showing possible locations of printer jams and out-of-supply notices. For printers linked to a personal computer, the install disk of the printer may include diagnostics in the form of a utility program to be run on the user's personal computer. Utility programs may offer suggestions for relatively minor problems, such as cleaning ink jets or replacing toner cartridges to improve print quality or how to ascertain a printer jam. When the local diagnostic aids are insufficient to solve the user's printing problem, the user is faced with the decision of taking the printer to a service center (which usually only occurs if the printer is small enough for the user to transport) or requesting a service call from a service technician.
In many cases, however, before a service call is placed with a service representative, the user attempts to fix the problem using diagnostic tools built into the printer. Many low and moderately priced printers include an operator interface panel with mode and control buttons and a panel adapted to display simple fault handling messages. As an example, the operator may be directed to "clear paper jam in area 1" by the printer after an internal printer fault causing a paper misfeed or mishandling. It is to be appreciated jammed paper could be the result of a more sophisticated or complicated cause than debris in the paper path, for example. In most cases, however, the root cause of the printer fault is transitory or random and, thus, does not warrant much attention beyond simple remedial actions falling within the capability tool set of typical consumers.
In the above example, a transient intermittent xerographic power supply fault causing the feed rollers to hesitate might be the underlying culprit in crumpled paper in the paper path. It is not necessary or desired, however, to direct the operator's attention to the xerographic power supply portion of the printer because of many reasons not the least of which includes the potential hazards there. More importantly, the fault is likely transitory. It is essential though that the paper jam is cleared from the paper path before successful printing can be resumed. Accordingly, in most cases, simple operator messages which provide instructions for resolving a symptom, i.e. mangled paper, to an underlying, real or root cause, i.e. xerographic fault, is adequate.
In situations when the underling or root cause of a printer error is sustained and beyond the capabilities of the end user to resolve, simply repeating messages with instructions to the operator on steps to be taken to resolve the resultant symptom of the problem such as, for example, to clear the mangled paper, adds to the frustration level of the user. Eventually, the operator may become annoyed enough to call a service technician to fix the "unseen" underlying problem.
In some more expensive mid-range and upper level printing apparatus, simple operator messages are provided together with an encoded underlying fault description. As an example, a "09-220 fault" on the 61xx family of Xerox copiers is raised when the photoreceptor belt hole sensor fails to detect the belt hole. Currently, the directed operator action is to clear the inevitable paper jam which occurs when the system is shut down. Although "09-220" portion of the fault message includes encoded information, it is incomprehensible to the operator. Further, since it is displayed each time in conjunction with the regular "clear paper jam" portions the operator would likely believe that the messages are one in the same. For infrequent occurrences of photoreceptor belt hole sensor failure, simply clearing the paper jams which would naturally occur is adequate. However, if the frequency of failure becomes large enough, the customer can become very annoyed.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for contextual diagnostic message handling. Preferably, based upon one or more fault frequency metrics, a first diagnostic message displayed on an operator interface is replaced with a second diagnostic message based on a frequency of occurrence of the underlying fault. Such a system would alleviate the aggravation associated with displaying diagnostic messages relating to symptoms of a fault when an underlying or root cause of the fault is not repairable by the end user.

Contextual fault handling method and apparatus in a printing system


A hydrodynamic fluid film bearing assembly has a stationary retaining member defining a central opening and having an inner surface lined by a foil assembly comprised of a plurality of foil subassemblies. Each foil subassembly comprises a first compliant foil, a second compliant foil, and a spring foil, and subtending a rotational segment, less than all, of the inner surface of the retaining member. The complaint foils and the spring foil of each foil subassembly are held within the retaining member in such a way that sliding travel of one compliant foil along the inner surface of the opening is in the opposite rotational direction of sliding travel of the other compliant foil and the spring foil. The foil subassemblies may be restrained from undesired movement during operation by a retention tab extending from the foil subassembly which engages a channel and recess feature formed in the retaining member.

Recent efforts have been made to improve bearings for high-speed rotating machinery, such as gas turbines for aircraft engines, missile engines or power generation (auxiliary power units). Such efforts have led to the development of various designs for fluid film hydrodynamic bearings. Generally, fluid film hydrodynamic bearings have been successfully employed in high-speed rotating machines for about the past twenty years. For example, air cycle machines used for aircraft cabin environment control systems utilize fluid film hydrodynamic bearings. Such bearings generally operate on the principle that a high-speed rotating member, such as a shaft, journal, or thrust runner, and an adjacent element, such as a compliant foil or the like, establish and maintain a pressurized fluid film therebetween. Moreover, such bearings operate on the principle that the high-speed rotating member is at least slightly eccentric with respect to rotation about its longitudinal axis. Therefore, if the rotating member is enclosed by a close-fitting, compliant, annular element such as a thin foil, or multiple such foils, encased within a stationary retaining member (sometimes referred to as a sleeve, a cartridge, a retainer, a bushing or a base), the eccentricity of rotation within such retaining member will form and maintain the pressurized fluid film layer, sometimes referred to as a fluid film wedge, between the rotating member and the compliant foil. The fluid film layer, in turn, provides a lubricated support for the rotating member.
More specifically, the high-speed rotation of the rotating member generates a high pressure in the fluid film layer, which fluid film supports the load imposed by the rotating shaft. A resilient backing member—e.g., a spring foil—is often disposed between a smooth, compliant foil and the stationary retaining member to accommodate deflections of the compliant foil resulting from pressurization, centrifugal forces and temperature differentials caused within the retaining member in order to maintain optimum or at least adequate fluid film layer geometry. Desirable fluid film hydrodynamic bearings have high load capacity and high coulomb damping for suppression of shaft whirl and excursions of the rotating member due to bearing loading and imbalances. Providing such desired characteristics for optimal performance has typically required stringent control of manufacturing tolerances of the fluid film hydrodynamic bearing.
One type of known fluid film hydrodynamic bearing is a multi-pad type as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,121 to Barnett et al. and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,153,315, 4,178,046 and 4,195,395 to Silver et al. Such prior art multi-pad bearings commonly have an iris-type construction. Moreover, the foils are typically unidirectional and overlapping. Generally, coulomb damping, which is required to suppress whirl of the rotating member, is low for such multi-pad bearings, and the low damping levels have limited the utilization of such bearings for high-speed rotating machinery. The three aforementioned patents to Silver et al. further teach stiffener elements for the smooth foils.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,046 discloses a foil bearing assembly in which a plurality of smooth foils is mounted within the retaining member or bushing, each subtending a rotational segment, less than all, of the circumferential or inner surface of the retaining member. Each foil comprises two sides or wings extending in opposite directions from a midpoint. Each foil is mounted at its midpoint with one side or wing of the foil serving as an underfoil for the overfoil of an adjacent foil and the other arm or wing serving as an overfoil for the underfoil of an adjacent foil on its opposite side. The arrangement of the foils is such that the sliding travel or shifting of adjacent foils (which results from the forces imposed on the foils by the pressurized fluid film generated by the rotating shaft) is in the same direction. Consequently, the relative sliding travel between adjacent foils is the difference between the amount of sliding travel of each foil. This limited relative foil movement contributes to the low coulomb damping characteristic of these multi-pad bearings. In order to compensate for such limited coulomb damping levels, the art often provides multi-pad bearing foils having a preformed diameter—i.e., the foil diameter prior to insertion of the rotating shaft into the bearing—which is up to 50% less than the diameter of the shaft. Consequently, when the shaft is initially mounted within the bearing, the bearing foils maintain a relatively tight grip on the shaft. This results in a high preloading on the shaft and thereby requires a high starting torque for the rotating shaft. If any type of contaminant, such as water, is present in the bearing, a still higher starting torque is required. Such high starting torque is, of course, disadvantageous as it stresses the machinery being used to drive the shaft and may be severe enough to result in inability to start the engine or motor driving the shaft and/or cause wear or damage to the engine, motor or other drive components. The tight grip of the bearing foil in the shaft also makes the foil susceptible to rotational deflection and slipping during start up and operation of the rotating shaft.
Improved bearings have been provided in the form of reverse 360-degree multi-layer hydrodynamic fluid film foil bearings described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,415,280 and 4,415,281 issued to G. L. Agrawal, incorporated herein by reference. In these bearings, two layers of smooth compliant foils are arranged to shift in opposite rotational directions. The smooth foils are supported on a layer of corrugated foil which serves as a resilient spring foil and provides high load capacity for the bearing. Due to the fact that adjacent foils shift in opposite directions, coulomb damping is relatively high because the relative movement between adjacent foils is equal to the sum of the individual foil movements. Accordingly, adequate coulomb damping is attained without the necessity of reducing the preformed diameter of the foils to significantly less than that of the shaft. Consequently, preloading imposed on the shaft by the foils is small and the starting torque required is not significantly increased by the bearing. However, because the foils are a single-pad type, and thus are supported at only one end thereof, extending for 360-degrees around the entire circumference of the inner surface of the stationary retaining member, the foils of these otherwise successful bearings occasionally telescope during assembly and operation. If the foils should telescope during operation, the telescoped foils tighten around the shaft and bind it. Ultimately, this leads to bearing failure. Further, manufacture of such 360-degree single-pad foils is expensive as it requires extensive manual operations to position the foils so as to hold the required tolerances during operation.
Improved bearings were provided in the form of reverse multi-pad hydrodynamic fluid film foil bearings described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,723 issued to G. L. Agrawal, incorporated herein by reference. The key features of a reverse multi-pad bearing are as follows. A retaining member has an inner surface, which defines a shaft opening within which a rotatable shaft is receivable for rotation. A foil assembly lines the inner surface of the retaining member and comprises a plurality of foil sub-assemblies, the foil sub-assemblies each subtending a rotational segment, less than all, of the inner surface. The foil sub-assemblies comprise compliant contact foils disposed in overlying contact with spring foils which are disposed radially outwardly of their associated contact foils. The spring foils and the contact foils are affixed to the retaining member in respective opposite-facing rotational directions along the inner surface. With this arrangement, sliding travel of the spring foils is in the opposite rotational direction of sliding travel of the contact foils. This design provides the high coulomb damping similar to the reverse 360-degree multi-layer foil bearing but requires a higher preload to keep the bearing assembly together during bearing installation and operation. This preload is still less than the original multi-pad bearing designs, as described by U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,121 to Barnett et al. and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,153,315, 4,178,046 and 4,195,395 to Silver et al. Additionally, manufacturing of reverse multi-pad hydrodynamic fluid film bearings is simpler than the previous designs of hydrodynamic fluid film bearings with challenges only coming from assembly of the components into the retaining member or bushing.
In all of the prior art bearing designs, be they multi-pad or single-pad types, same direction or reverse direction, there is susceptibility of deflection of the foils at the point where they are supposed to be held in the retaining member. Specifically, during rotation of the shaft, there is a tendency for the foils to "pop up" or radially deflect, which compromises compliancy of the bearing. Such deflection occurs despite an end of each of the foils often being mounted, in part, within the stationary retaining member. In many designs, an end of the foil is disposed within a channel or keyway formed in the inner surface of the retaining member to position the foils as well as to prevent axial slipping of the foils when the rotating member is rotating. Commonly, the foil is attached to a key, pin or other support slidably disposed within the channel as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,121 to Barnett and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,415,280 and 4,415,281 to Agrawal. Alternatively, the end of the foils can be bent to fit into a channel. However, heretofore, the bent or shaped end of such foil has typically been designed to permit some radial movement of the foil, as, for example, exhibited in the pivotally disposed foils shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,066 to G. L. Agrawal, incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, such "hinged" foils place a greater emphasis on the manufacturing process of the bearing—notably, if the size of the "hinge" is too small, the foil will be loose in the channel and lead to a loss of positive bearing retention.
Accordingly, there has long been a desire to design such bearings and foil assemblies to prevent radial deflection while keeping the bearing loaded to desired level so as to maintain desired compliancy of the bearing foils. At the same time, it is further desirable that such bearings and foil assemblies restrict rotational slipping and telescoping within the retaining member so as to maintain desired compliancy, load capacity and coulomb damping levels.

Restrained, reverse multi-pad bearing assembly


A method for processing sound signal including an L side enhanced difference signal comprising a sum of a signal being removed low frequency component from L−R signal and an L+R signal, an R side enhanced difference signal comprising a sum of a signal being removed low frequency component from R−L signal and an R+L signal, an L side output signal comprising a subtraction of signals, in which said R side enhanced difference signal being delayed to remove low and high ranges and amplified by a predetermined amplifying rate for a purpose of cross cancellation talk is subtracted from said L side enhanced difference signal and an R side output signal comprising a subtraction of signals, in which said L side enhanced difference signal being delayed to remove low and high ranges and amplified by a predetermined amplifying rate for a purpose of cross cancellation talk is subtracted from said R side enhanced difference signal.

The present invention relates to an art of amplifying a stereo sound image by two speakers through inputting stereo signal of two channels, an L signal (left signal) and R signal (right signal). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing a sound signal whose sound image is normally localized outside of two speakers through especially enhancing a difference signal between the L signal and R signal and adding a crosstalk cancellation process of short delay time.
Audio frequencies in which a person can hear are concentrated around 300 Hz to 3.5 kHz, and an audio frequency which is important for clear conversations is 1 kHz and its wavelength is 30 cm. Accordingly, for example, when a sound arrives from a left side direction of a head, the sound arrives as an inverse phase to a right ear from a left ear, since the right ear is positioned approximately 15 cm apart from left ear. Therefore, when a same sound arrives from left and right sides, a listener feels that the sound image is located in front of the listener.
However, since an L−R signal generates phase modulation and a volume difference against the R signal, a sound image of the L−R signal around 1 kHz is localized to the left side within a range of left 180 degrees, and a person feels the sound image arrives from direct left side. Also, since an R−L signal generates phase modulation and a volume difference against the L signal, a sound image of the R−L signal around 1 kHz is localized to the right side within a range of right 180 degrees, and a person feels the sound image arrives from direct right side.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional surround reproduction circuit (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 354595/2002). An L side surround signal, which is the L−R signal, is generated by an adder 35 through the L signal and R signal of a stereo being inputted from input terminals 31 and 32. The L−R signal, which is mainly a composition of high frequency of small vocal and echo sound, is inputted into a low-pass filter 36 and removes a harsh signal component, and then volume to be added to an original signal is adjusted by an operational amplifier 37. Then, the surround effect is obtained through adding the L−R signal component to the original L signal as an L side surround signal through an adder 38 and adding the R−L component signal to the original R signal as an R side surround signal through an adder 39, then the surround signal is outputted through output terminals 42 and 43. Numerals 33, 34, 40 and 41 are buffers.
As mentioned above, surround effect has been obtained through enhanced phase modulation and volume difference by removing sound signal component, which is enhanced by an ear and whose sense of direction is easily recognized by a person. Then, reverberation sound and reflected sound, which locate in a frequency band where the sense of direction is hard to be recognized, are enhanced and mixed with the L signal and R signal.
Since the surround reproduction circuit of a conventional art has been enhanced the L−R difference signal component, a sound signal, which is received in an ear, is not only a signal from one speaker but it is a result of the sum of signals from two speakers. Accordingly, there has been a problem that even if there is a sense of spread, the localized position becomes unclear since a phase frequency characteristic is disturbed at the ear.

Method and apparatus for processing sound signal


A U2OS-based model system using luciferase reporters to monitor the genome replication of alpha and beta HPVs is provided. A modified U2OS cell line is disclosed that expresses Firefly luciferase to measure toxicity of the screened compounds. In addition, provided are HPV18, HPV 16 and HPV5 marker genomes that express Renilla luciferase under the control of viral promoters used to measure changes in the viral copy number. This ready-to-use model system is capable of being used in high-throughput screens to identify compounds inhibiting initial amplification and stable maintenance as well as vegetative phase of various HPV subtypes.

Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) are widely spread small, double-stranded DNA viruses that infect epithelium of skin and mucosa. To date more than 200 different HPV types have been characterized. HPVs induce benign and malignant lesions in the epithelia, most infections are cleared by immune system. Small fraction of infections however become persistent and may give a way for development of invasive cancers. Vast majority of HPV-associated cancer cases are related to oncogenic mucosal high-risk HPVs from genus alpha (types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, and 68). Types 16 and 18 are most commonly associated with cervical cancers. Cervical cancer was the fourth most common cancer among women in the year 2012: there were an estimated 528,000 new cases, of which 80% are in developing countries, and 266,000 deaths. In the United States alone, 6 million new HPV cases are diagnosed every year. HPVs main oncoproteins E6 and E7 are responsible for development of malignant tumors by interfering with p53 and Rb pathways, respectively. Recently it was suggested that cutaneous HPVs infecting skin can also be associated with tumor formation, specifically non-melanoma skin cancers.
Although quite thoroughly studied, there is still no effective drug against HPV infection. Cryotherapy could be used but it has to be done several times and it is invasive. Immune system stimulants (Aldara for example) have shown moderate success rate. In addition to therapies, there are two vaccines available: Gardasil (against subtypes 6, 11, 16 and 18) and Cevarix (against subtypes 16 and 18). There are several problems with these vaccines however: they are only prophylactic and restricted to certain subtypes. Moreover, they are not available widely enough in developing countries.
HPVs infect the proliferating cells in the basal layer of epithelia and rapidly replicate their genome to an approximately 200 copies per cell upon infection. As the infected cells start to differentiate, stable maintenance phase of the replication is turned on. During this stage, viral copy number remains constant and it is replicated once per cell cycle. As the cells differentiate and reach upper levels of epithelia, vegetative HPV genome amplification occurs, during which viral copy number reaches to a few thousand copies per cell. To replicate its genome, HPVs largely depend on cellular proteins. HPVs themselves encode only two proteins essential for viral replication: E1 and E2. E1 is a DNA helicase and E2 is multifunctional protein which is, besides replication, necessary for efficient segregation of the viral genome and regulation of HPV transcription. E2 forms a complex with E1 and directs it to the site of viral replication origin.
In the recent years it has become clear that different viruses activate DNA Damage Response (DDR) to efficiently replicate their genomes. DDR is a complex cellular response to both endogenous and exogenous DNA damage, during the activation of which a large number of replication and repair proteins are located to sites of DNA damage. It has been shown that HPV activates DDR and this activation is dependent on E1 protein and replication. The exact mechanism and role of DDR in HPV replication is still unclear, however, HPV could use DDR to effectively replicate its genome. It has been shown that both ATM (Ataxia telangiectasia mutated) and ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein) pathways could be involved in different stages of HPV replication. HPV genomes go through rapid Homologous Recombination (HR; major pathway used to eliminate DNA breaks and maintain genome integrity) dependent oligomerization upon transient replication, showing that DDR is directly involved in viral genome replication. Targeting the relations between DDR and HPV is considered a promising target for developing new HPV inhibitors.
However, for targeting relations between DDR and HPV would require a model system maintaining viral replication. Since HPV replication is dependent on keratinocyte differentiation, it has been difficult to create model systems suitable for high-throughput analyses of virus replication and therefore screening chemical libraries for potential novel drug molecules. Fradet-Turcotte et al. have developed a model system where exogenous E1 and E2 expression vectors are used and the replication of HPV origin containing plasmid is monitored. This system uses luciferase as a reporter. However, this system only provides a tool to study the E1 and E2 dependent initiation of replication of the plasmid containing HPV replication origin. It does not allow monitoring of three stages of HPV genome replication. Furthermore, in this system luciferase expression is not controlled by viral promoters, and therefore it may not reflect the actual changes in the replication accurately enough.
Similar luciferase-based system useful for screening potential compounds against HPV16 E6 and E7 expression regulation and control has been also developed by Lembo et al., however it does not measure the replication of the viral genome. In addition, two other model systems have been developed based on HaCat cell line which allow to identify HPV inhibitors. One of these systems is based on the transfection of HPV11 genomes into HaCat cell line. However, HPV replication could be monitored only for a limited number of passages. Moreover, this system developed by Wang et al. lacks the high-throughput capability because it requires DNA extraction and quantitative PCR analyses The other system disclosed by Huang et al. is based on HPV VLPs that express different reporter genes. HaCat cells are infected with these VLPs and reporter gene expression could be monitored. This system, however is suitable only for identifying compounds that inhibit very early stages of HPV infection. Infection with VLPs mimics the stage of viral entry to host cell. However, no viral replication or transcription follows, therefore this system is not suitable for identifying drugs that inhibit the already established infection.
To study the replication of mucosal and cutaneous HPVs in cell culture, a U2OS based model system was developed. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/680,618 the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses such model system. This model system is suitable for studying the initial amplification as well as stable maintenance of different HPVs. In confluent U2OS culture HPV vegetative amplification occurs as well. However, it was found that the viral replication capacity in this previously described system was lower than wt HPV genome, making the analyses difficult. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system where the replication capability can be maintained.

Assay system to identify HPV replication inhibitors in HT-screen


Packet data network (PDN) connection requests from a mobile device may be limited by the mobile device. In one implementation, the mobile device may track an amount of successful PDN connection requests issued by the mobile device over a cellular network and maintain a timer value relating to an amount of time over which the successful PDN connection requests have been tracked. The mobile device may determine an allowable number of PDN connection requests and compare the amount of successful PDN connection requests to the allowable number of PDN connection requests. The mobile device may determine, based on the comparison, whether to block a PDN connection request from being issued to the cellular network.

A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone) is a device that can connect to a network, such as a network for making telephone calls or connecting to data networks, over a radio link while moving around a geographic area. The network to which the mobile phone connects may be a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator. Modern mobile phones frequently include smartphones, which may include a phone that includes a mobile operating system. Smartphones may include applications, such as an Internet browser program, or other smartphone "apps," that interact with, through the cellular network, one or more packet data networks, such as the Internet.
A mobile phone, such as a smartphone, may connect to a packet data network by initiating a connection to the packet data network. The connection may be made via a gateway device that provides an interface between the cellular network and the packet data network. When a mobile phone is finished with a connection, it may initiate termination of the connection. Forming and terminating a connection are both operations that can use a non-trivial amount of resources of the cellular network.

Limiting of packet data network connection requests for wireless devices


In one embodiment, the method includes obtaining, by a first processing device, energy demand data representative of the energy consumption of respective tasks of a processing pipeline, obtaining, by the first processing device, battery availability data representative of the available energy of the batteries of other respective processing devices, for respective tasks of the processing pipeline, selecting, by the first processing device, one of the processing devices for executing the task, as a function of the energy demand data and the battery availability data, and controlling, by the first processing device, the execution of the respective tasks on the selected processing devices.

Smart wearable devices typically include sensors for monitoring states of a user, e.g. health monitoring, and/or for activity tracking. A processing pipeline for analyzing sensor data, e.g. based on a trained machine learning model, may be executed locally on the wearable device.
In some cases, two wearable devices are used in parallel, and techniques for load balancing between the two devices have been proposed to maximize battery life. However, known load balancing solutions apply to simple sensing tasks and have not been designed to address the requirements of more complex data processing pipelines.

Method and devices for processing sensor data by applying one or more processing pipelines to the sensor data


A device for amplifying light pulses has an optical stretcher, in which the light pulses of a pulsed laser light source are temporally stretched, and an optically pumped amplifier fiber, in which the light pulses are amplified and, at the same time, temporally compressed. In order to improve such a system with regard to the pulse duration and the pulse energy that can be achieved, the amplifier fiber has a positive group velocity dispersion, whereby the amplifier fiber has non-linear optical properties, so that the optical spectrum of the light pulses is broadened during the amplification process, taking advantage of non-linear self-phase modulation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for amplification of light pulses, having an optical stretcher, in which the light pulses of a pulsed laser light source are temporally stretched, and having an optically pumped amplifier fiber, in which the light pulses are amplified and temporally compressed.
2. The Prior Art
Laser systems that are able to produce femtosecond light pulses are increasingly being used in basic physical research and also in other areas of research. Using such laser systems, it is possible to observe rapid physical, chemical, and biological processes essentially in "real time." Commercial areas of use for laser systems that produce femtosecond light pulses exist in the fields of materials examination and processing, in the field of medicine, as well as in the so-called "life science" field. Concrete applications that can be mentioned as examples are multi-photon microscopy as well as optical coherence tomography.
Furthermore, only a few years ago, the use of phase-stabilized laser systems for producing femtosecond light pulses as highly precise frequency references became known. This development makes it possible, for example, to measure optical transitions with great accuracy. By means of a direct link between the optical spectrum range and the most precise clocks, at this time, in the range of microwave and radio frequencies, such systems replace complicated and expensive frequency division chains. In the field of optical frequency metrology, as well, there are interesting areas of application for laser systems that produce femtosecond light pulses.
Passive-mode-coupled glass-fiber laser systems that yield light pulses having pulse durations of ≦100 femtoseconds have been known for several years and have become established in optical laboratories. Fiber-based laser systems have the advantage of a particularly great cost efficiency, and a very low maintenance and adjustment expense. In addition, as compared with free-beam laser systems, extremely compact units can be achieved. In the case of the fiber-based systems, optical fibers doped with rare earths are generally used as the laser-active medium. When using fibers doped with erbium, an emission wavelength in the range of 1.55 μm is obtained. It is preferable if laser systems that emit in this wavelength range are compatible with a large number of optical components that are used in the sector of telecommunications technology. However, it must be stated that fiber-based laser systems have disadvantages, as compared with the known titanium-sapphire free-beam laser systems, with regard to the pulse duration and pulse energy that can be achieved. In the case of pulse durations of ≦100 femtoseconds, at this time it is possible to achieve pulse energies of only about 100 picojoules, using purely fiber-based laser systems. The comparatively low light intensity that results, however, is insufficient for many applications, particularly in the field of non-linear optics.
It has therefore been shown that in order to achieve pulse energies of a nanojoule and more, it is necessary to further amplify the light pulses produced by known fiber-based laser systems. A device that is suitable for this purpose is previously known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,877, for example. In the previously known system, an optically pumped amplifier fiber is used, in which the light pulses produced by a pulsed laser light source are amplified. In this connection, the amplifier fiber has a negative group velocity dispersion in the corresponding wavelength range (i.e. the fiber is operated in the anomalous-dispersion regime). The solitonic optical effects that are promoted thereby are utilized, in the previously known system, in order to generate light pulses with an extremely short pulse duration, in the range of 30 femtoseconds. It is problematic that although the corresponding solitones have a short and intense peak, pulse wings having a temporally wide spread are formed, and that a significant part of the total pulse energy goes to these pulse wings. In order to eliminate this undesirable temporal pulse shape, a frequency doubler is used in the previously known system, which is a medium having non-linear optical properties. Because of their comparatively low intensity, the aforementioned pulse wings do not contribute to the frequency-doubled light pulse, so that in total, a correction of the temporal pulse shape is achieved. A significant disadvantage of the previously known system is that, for one thing, a significant energy loss is unavoidably connected with the frequency doubling. Furthermore, the wavelength of the generated light pulses leave the technologically interesting wavelength range around 1.55 μm, because of the frequency doubling.

Fiber-optic amplification of light pulses


A tubular blank for producing golf club shafts comprises a butt section having a uniform cross-sectional configuration along its length, a tip section also having a uniform cross-sectional configuration along its length, and a tapered section interconnecting the butt and tip sections. Metallurgically formed rifling on the interior surface of the blank extends throughout the entirety of the butt, tip and tapered sections. The golf club shafts produced from these blanks have increased strength and stiffness which is a direct result of the interior rifling. A set of golf club shafts preferably is produced from a group of these tubular blanks with each blank of the group having the same length and the same natural frequency. Predetermined portions are then selectively removed from the tip and butt sections. The ultimately produced golf club shafts are frequency matched along a predetermined gradient and each shaft of the set has a predetermined stiffness distribution along its length directly related to the stiffness distribution of the other shafts of the set.

The present invention relates to golf club shafts, and more particularly to golf club shafts having rifling on the interior surface thereof and sets of frequency matched golf club shafts where each shaft of the set has a predetermined stiffness distribution along its length directly related to the other shafts of the set.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,022, granted Jan. 24, 1978, describes a method of producing frequency matched golf club shafts, and the disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference. Basically, the shafts of the frequency matched set are selected from a inventory of shafts classified as to frequency and length so that the frequencies of the individual shafts of the set fall on a predetermined gradient formed by a plot of shaft frequency and shaft length. Preferably the frequency gradient is a straight line that increases as shaft length decreases, and the frequency increments between successive shaft lengths along the gradient are substantial equal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,593, granted Oct. 31, 1978, also describes a method of producing frequency matched golf club shafts and the disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference. Individual golf club shafts are produced from a oversized universal blank of given length having a known natural frequency within a specified range. After the natural frequency of the blank is determined, selected amounts of shaft length are removed from both the tip and the butt end sections of the blank depending upon (1) the natural frequency of the blank and (2) the desired frequency of the finished golf club shaft. The total amount removed from the blank solely depends upon the length of the shaft being produced. On the other hand, the selected proportional amounts removed from the tip and butt end sections of the blank solely depend upon the desired natural frequency of the shaft. When increased amounts of shaft length are removed from the butt end section the shaft being produced becomes more flexible. Conversely, shafts produced by removing greater amounts from the tip end section produce stiffer shafts.
For example, following the process explained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,593, a golf club shaft having a natural frequency of 310 cycles per minute may be produced from oversized universal blank A having a natural frequency of 282 cycles per minute by removing selected amounts from the tip and butt end sections of the blank. A shaft having the same natural frequency of 310 cycles per minute may also be produced from universal blank B having a natural frequency of 262 cycles per minute. However, in order to achieve the target frequency of 310 cycles per minute less length is removed from the butt end section of blank B and more length is removed from the tip end section. In other words, golf club shafts having a target natural frequency and a given length may be produced from a number of different universal blanks each having the same length but a different natural frequency. In each case the total amount of length removed is the same but the proportional amounts removed from the tip and butt end sections are different. While this procedure is useful for producing frequency matched sets of golf club shafts where each shaft in the set has a predetermined frequency that falls on a gradient, the stiffness distribution along the length of each shaft of the set is different and unrelated to the others because the frequency of the universal blanks used to produce the set are different.
Tubular metal golf club shafts are traditionally formed by tube milling techniques well known in the art. Essentially flat metal stock is formed into a tube the seam of which is secured by welding. The formed tube is then pulled over a series of plug mandrels until the desired cross-sectional configuration of the tube is obtained. Once the wall thickness and diameter of the tube are within a desired range the tube is cut into unit lengths, and golf club shafts are produced from these lengths by swaging techniques well known in the art. Wall thickness must be sufficient to impart the necessary strength and stiffness to the golf club shafts but excess wall thickness is avoided because it adversely contributes to the weight of the shaft.


A chamber for a gas discharge laser is disclosed and may include a chamber housing having a wall, the wall having an inside surface surrounding a chamber volume and an outside surface, the wall also being formed with an orifice. For the chamber, at least one electrical conductor may extend through the orifice to pass an electric current into the chamber volume. A member may be disposed between the conductor and the wall for preventing gas flow through the orifice to allow a chamber pressure to be maintained in the volume. The chamber may further comprise a pressurized compartment disposed adjacent to the orifice for maintaining a pressure on at least a portion of the outside surface of the wall to reduce bowing of the wall near the orifice due to chamber pressure.

A typical gas discharge laser may employ a pair of spaced apart, elongated discharge electrodes to initiate lasing in a gaseous material. In one arrangement, aluminum, two-piece chamber housing is employed that envelops the gaseous gain media and the discharge region. In addition to containing the gain media, the housing typically acts as a mechanical support for the electrodes, and in some cases, an insulator which electrically separates at least one of the electrodes from the housing (which is typically grounded). Thus, the housing is required to be relatively stiff and rigid. For the case where the insulator, which is typically made of a relatively brittle ceramic, is mechanically coupled to the housing, deformation of the housing can place stresses on the insulator which can cause the insulator to flex, and in severe cases, crack. In addition to stresses from the housing, the insulator may also be subjected to stresses from thermal loading as well as thermal gradients produced by electrical tracking, a phenomenon known to occur in high power excimer discharge lasers.
For some types of lasers, e.g. pulsed excimer lasers, pulse energy can be increased by increasing the pressure of the gaseous gain media. This pressure, in turn, places additional stresses on the chamber housing which act to deform the housing. Moreover, the wall of the housing is typically formed with one or more through-holes to allow electrical conductors to pass to one of the electrodes. These holes can create a weakened region of the housing near the insulator which is particularly vulnerable to deformation. One way to provide a stiffer housing would be to make it out of a stronger material, e.g., steel, however this may result in an undesirable increase in weight and cost.
With the above considerations in mind, Applicants disclose a chamber for a high energy excimer laser source.

Chamber for a high energy excimer laser source


A driver device includes: a voltage terminal; a ground terminal; an output terminal; a first nMOS power transistor having a drain electrically connected to the voltage terminal, a source electrically connected to the output terminal, and a gate; an overvoltage protection circuit configured to limit a gate-to-source voltage of the first nMOS power transistor in a normal operating mode for the driver device; a pulldown circuit configured to force the first nMOS power transistor off in a stress test mode for the driver device; and a blocking circuit configured to block current flow from the output terminal to the ground terminal through the overvoltage protection circuit and the pulldown circuit in the stress test mode. A method of stress testing the driver device is also described.

Semiconductor devices sometimes have latent defects that are present and capable of emerging or developing over time but are not active at the time of initial production and testing. A semiconductor device with one or more latent defects is prone to dysfunction or even failure before the end of the specified lifetime for the device. To avoid dysfunction and failure over the specified lifetime of semiconductor devices, latent defects should be activated before the devices enter the field of use.
One approach for activating latent defects in semiconductor devices is stress testing whereby the gate-to-source voltage of a transistor is forced to a positive or negative value that exceeds the maximum rated gate-to-source voltage for the transistor. A high-side nMOS power transistor of a typical driver device has high current capability and therefore is a large device, making the high-side nMOS power transistor more likely to contain a latent defect. High-side nMOS power transistors are conventionally stressed by forcing the gate of the high-side nMOS power transistor to a voltage higher than the maximum rated voltage, via a dedicated pad of the semiconductor die (chip) that includes the high-side nMOS power transistor. However, this approach affects the die area in an additional, dedicated pad is required for stress testing. This approach also increases the cost of the wafer test equipment, particularly the probe card used to contact the die during testing since an additional probe needle is needed for contacting the pad dedicated for application of the stress voltage, and also the overall test effort.
Thus, there is a need for an improved stress testing approach for driver devices that include nMOS power transistors.

Driver device having an NMOS power transistor and a blocking circuit for stress test mode, and method of stress testing the driver device


A sensor is provided. The sensor includes a conductive substrate having side-walls; a dielectric layer overlaying a first surface of the conductive substrate, the dielectric layer including a gate dielectric having a first thickness and a field dielectric having a second thickness; a sensing layer overlaying a first surface of the gate dielectric; a non-conductive carrier wherein a second surface of the conductive substrate overlays a portion of the non-conductive carrier; and an insulating layer conformally coating at least the side-walls of the conductive substrate, wherein a first surface of the sensing layer is uncoated by the insulating layer.

When sensors and integrated circuits are immersed in a conductive fluid, unwanted electrical current can flow, disrupting the operation of the device. For example, a pH sensor and circuit are immersed in a conductive fluid (seawater). The device's sidewalls of the sensor are exposed and un-passivated due to the die separation step (sawing for example). Electrical current can then flow from the exposed sidewalls into the sensor's circuit.
Currently available pH sensors use O-rings or epoxy to seal the conductive fluid from the sidewalls. However, pH sensors for use in the ocean at depths much greater than a kilometer have failures. Specifically, the high pressure of the ocean at depth causes the O-rings or epoxy to fail. This type of failure is exacerbated by repeated pressure cycling. The failure of the O-rings or epoxy allows conductive fluid leaks and current flow from the unpassivated exposed sidewall of the device.

Preventing stray currents in sensors in conductive media