Bright-polarizer-free, active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs) are formed on plastic substrates. The primary components of the display are a pixel circuit fabricated on one plastic substrate, an intervening liquid-crystal material, and a counter electrode on a second plastic substrate. The-pixel circuit contains one or more thin-film transistors (TFTs) and either a transparent or reflective pixel electrode manufactured at sufficiently low temperatures to avoid damage to the plastic substrate. Fabrication of the TFTs can be carried out at temperatures less than 100.degree. C. The liquid crystal material is a commercially made nematic curvilinear aligned phase (NCAP) film. The counter electrode is comprised of a plastic substrate coated with a transparent conductor, such as indium-doped tin oxide (ITO). By coupling the active matrix with NCAP, a high-information content can be provided in a bright, fully plastic package. Applications include any low cost portable electronics containing flat displays where ruggedization of the display is desired.

The present invention relates to flat panel displays, particularly to flat panel displays using liquid-crystal materials, and more particularly to pixel elements for flat panels displays utilizing active matrix pixel circuits, mematic curvilinear aligned phase films, and counter electrodes laminated together, and method of fabricating such pixel elements.
Conventional processing techniques used to fabricate active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs) require processing temperatures of at least 300.degree.-350.degree. C. Temperatures in this range are too high for most plastic substrates, and presently all AMLCDs are fabricated on substrates made of silicon, quartz, or glass. These substrates are inherently brittle and often break, providing the most common failure mechanism seen for portable electronic systems.
Recently a very low temperature (.ltoreq.100.degree. C.) process has been developed to fabricate active matrix pixel circuits on plastic substrates, as described and claimed in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/940,104, filed Sep. 29, 1997, entitled "Display Pixels Driven By Silicon Thin Film Transistors And Method Of Fabrication".
Polymeric liquid crystal material, such as nematic curvilinear aligned phase (NCAP) films developed by Raychem Corporation, also known as polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), are particularly amenable to large-area displays with plastic substrates and have been marketed commercially for years in such applications. Because the NCAP emulsion can be coated directly onto a continuous plastic web and the water dried off to form a uniform film it has been found that the NCAP material itself may provide a uniform spacing between electrodes, with no spacer beads or cell filling necessary.
A major hurdle for applications of the NCAP films to date has been the necessity to drive each pixel directly. The electro-optical response curve of transmission versus voltage is not sufficiently steep for NCAP materials to allow use of the same sort of multiplexing schemes possible for twisted nematic (TN) or supertwisted nematic (STN) displays. Furthermore, the NCAP materials are not typically bistable, which can allow other means of multiplexing.
The present invention combines the silicon thin-film transistor (Si-TFT) on plastic based pixel fabrication, of the above-referenced copending application, with Raychem Corporation's NCAP polymeric liquid crystal material to fabricate lightweight, rugged, and flexible pixel elements for AMLCDs.

Plastic substrates for active matrix liquid crystal display incapable of withstanding processing temperature of over 200.degree. C and method of fabrication

The Regents of the University of California


The invention relates to a device for operating a fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type. As claimed in the invention a switching device is turned on and off by driver signals with a stipulated frequency, by which on the secondary side of a transformer the periodic voltage waveform shown at A in FIG. 1 is produced. This voltage waveform is applied to the fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type, and thus operation is effected. For the above described periodic voltage waveform, with respect to repetition period t 2 Wo<t, if the width at a voltage of the waveform of 0 V which has a single maximum peak value within one period is labeled WO, its full width at half maximum (the width between a and b in FIG. 1) being set to a stipulated value (for example, to a value of less than or equal to 2.5 .mu.sec). This makes it possible to maintain stable emission even if the pressure of the gas filled in the discharge lamp is increased. In this way high illumination intensity can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for operating a fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type which is used for document scanning illumination of an information processing device, such as a fax machine, a copier, an image reader and the like, and for a back light device of a liquid crystal display and for similar purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type is known as a fluorescent lamp which is used for document scanning illumination of an office automation device and for back light of a liquid crystal display of an office automation device and the like.
In the above described fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type, on the outside of a glass tube there is a pair of line-like or strip-like outer electrodes to which an uninterrupted high frequency voltage or a pulse-like high frequency voltage is applied to operate the lamp.
FIG. 12 is a schematic of an arrangement of the above described fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type. FIG. 12(a) shows a cross section of the fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type which corresponds to the direction perpendicular to the direction of the tube axis. FIG. 12(b) is a side view hereof.
As becomes apparent from FIG. 12, fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type 1 consists of discharge vessel 3 which consists of a dielectric such as glass or the like, a pair of strip-like or line-like electrodes 2, 2', and layers of fluorescent material 4 which are formed on the inside of discharge vessel 3. Electrodes 2, 2' are located on the side of discharge vessel 3 in the direction of the tube axis roughly over the entire length and consist of aluminum of the like.
Conventionally, above described fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type 1 has been operated by applying a high frequency voltage to the outer electrodes as in a cold cathode fluorescent discharge lamp of the inner electrode type. That is, high frequency main circuit 5 as shown in FIG. 13 is connected to the pair of electrodes 2, 2' of fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type 1. For example, a waveform high frequency AC voltage according to FIG. 14 is applied to electrodes 2, 2'. In this way a high frequency voltage is applied in the discharge space within discharge vessel 3 which is present between outer electrodes 2, 2' via the side discharge vessel 3, forming a discharge.
This approach is disclosed in the patent disclosure document of Japanese patent application HEI 3-225745 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,160).
In the above described conventional operation method there is a process with which the illuminance of the fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type is increased even more. In this process the gas pressure of the rare gas which is filled within discharge vessel 3 is increased.
In the above described case of increasing the filling pressure however the current required for discharge is not sufficient if the voltage applied to the fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type is not increased. In this case a stable discharge cannot be obtained.
In the following the shape of the discharge within discharge vessel 3 is detailed in the case of increasing the encapsulation pressure:
In this discharge, over the entire region of the lamp a plurality of locations at which emission is concentrated is formed. This plurality of local sites at which the emission is concentrated furthermore changes their positions over time. The emission state in discharge vessel 3 is observed in the form of a strip. FIG. 15 schematically shows this strip-like discharge phenomenon.
Fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type 1 shown in FIG. 12 can be called a capacitor which consists of outer electrodes 2, 2' and discharge vessel 3 as the dielectric. The lamp current which is supplied to this fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type 1 is determined by the magnitude of electrostatic capacity which is formed between outer electrodes 2, 2' and discharge vessel 3 which consists of the dielectric. Current must be supplied to increase the illuminance of fluorescent discharge lamp of the outer electrode type 1 even more. This means that the voltage applied to outer electrodes 2, 2' and the high frequency of the voltage must be increased.
When the applied voltage was increased however the disadvantages of the danger of formation of creeping discharge on the surface of the dielectric between outer electrodes 2, 2' and the danger of formation of an insulation breakdown in the circuit arose.

Device for applying particular voltage waveform for operating a discharge lamp


Apparatus for use in controlling snoring, including: a sensor system for sensing snoring by a person while sleeping, and a stimulus device effective, when actuated by the sensor system, to apply a stimulus to the person for producing a response tending to interrupt the person's snoring. The stimulus device includes a vibrator and a band for enclosing a body part of the person and for applying a vibration to the body part. Also described is a force or displacement sensor, which includes a housing filled with a liquid having high transmissivity and low attenuation properties with respect to acoustical waves, and an acoustical transmitter and an acoustical receiver carried by opposed walls of the housing spaced from each other to define between them an acoustical transmission channel of the liquid. The housing is deformable by a force such as to change the length of the acoustical transmission channel in accordance with the applied force. A measuring system measures the transit time of an acoustical wave through the acoustical transmission channel to provide a measurement of the applied force.

The present invention relates to apparatus for controlling snoring, and also to a sensor unit particularly useful in such apparatus.
It is generally recognized that snoring not only unduly disturbs those in the immediate vicinity, but probably more important, may be an indication of a serious sleep disorder which can lead to strokes, heart diseases, hypertension, etc. Many sound-type sensors have been developed for this purpose, but such sensors are also sensitive to sounds other than snoring sounds, and are therefore generally subject to a relatively high rate of false alarms.
International Application No. PCT/IL2005/000617, published under International Publication No. WO2005/120167, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses apparatus for controlling snoring by a person utilizing sensor units which sense mechanical vibrations of an external part of the person's body, and which, therefore, are less sensitive to sounds other than snoring sounds.

Apparatus for use in controlling snoring and sensor unit particularly useful therein


A filter device for fluids, in particular for low viscosity fluids such as water, includes a filter housing (1) in which element holders (31) are provided for a plurality of filter elements (21). Filter medium (35) of each filter element in the filter housing (1) separates an unfiltered side (5) from a clean side (7). The filter housing (1) can be opened for inserting and removing the filter elements (21). A carrier in the form of a basket (19) is provided for the filter elements (21). The basket can be inserted into and removed from the filter housing (1). The filter elements (21) can be releasably secured at the basket.

Filter devices of the aforementioned type are state of the art and are used in a variety of fields. A few examples that can be mentioned from the vast number of possible applications include the applications for water treatment, potable water filtration, the production of pure water and ultrapure water, the filtration of cooling lubricants and washing fluids, etc. With respect to the state of the art, reference is made to the line filter marketed by Hydac Process Technology GmbH of Neunkirchen, Germany, under the product name PLF1 and embodies a filter device of the type described in the foregoing.
When such line filters are to be used for applications in which a fine filtration of large volumetric flow rates is necessary and a correspondingly large filter surface area, for example, exceeding 500 m2, has to be provided, problems arise both with respect to the design of the filter housing and with respect to carrying out the replacement procedures for replacing the used filter elements. In the case of filter surface areas exceeding 500 m2 using filter elements in the form of conventional filter cartridges having a diameter of 67 mm and a length of 40 inches, dimensions that correspond to a filter surface area of about 1 m2, the filter housing must provide more than 500 element holders as installation slots for the filter elements. The result is housing dimensions that are difficult to service, in particular, with respect to replacing the elements. Therefore, the state of the art provides such filter surface areas only by a plurality of filter housings.


An infrared refractive lens triplet having color correction properties for radiation within the 3 to 12 micrometer spectral band for use with a quantum well detector for simultaneous dual band imagery. In certain embodiments of the invention, two widely spaced triplets form a Petzval-type objective lens. Each lens triplet is made up of a negative zinc sulfide lens, a positive zinc selenide lens, and a negative gallium arsenide lens coaxially positioned along a chief ray of the lens system.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an objective lens system and, in particular, a Petzval objective, capable of simultaneous dual band imagery in both the 3-5 and 8-12 micrometer spectral ranges, for use with a dual spectral band detector, such as a quantum well detector.
2) Discussion of Related Art
Recent advancements in quantum well detector technologies permit the simultaneous processing and display of dual infrared band imagery with a single detector at a single focal plane. There are advantages of imaging each spectral band and the possibility of focusing both bands simultaneously may yield greater information for surveillance and/or target discrimination by imaging devices.
Imaging devices, search and track sensors such as forward looking infrared systems, and other types of optical devices which operate in the 3-12 micrometer spectral region use either reflective or refractive objective lens systems. An advantage of reflective optics is that they operate within a wide spectral band. However, reflective optics systems have several undesirable features, such as, for example, a more limited field of view and a large physical size. In addition, central obstructions in reflective optics limit the modulation transfer function (MTF), or sine wave response.
Additionally, efficient cold shielding is important with any cooled detector array. Reflective optics are not appropriate for wide field of view applications, particularly when efficient cold shielding is necessary.
In the past, refractive lens systems have been designed for limited ranges, e.g., either the 3-5 or the 8-12 micrometer bands. This is because the refractive indices of the component lens materials vary significantly between the two spectral bands. For example, germanium behaves like a crown (a low dispersion material) in the 8-12 micrometer wavelengths and like a ffint (a high dispersion material) in the 3-5 micrometer region. Systems designed to operate in one band exhibit intolerable chromatic aberrations in the other band. The design for either long wave (8-12 micrometers) or short wave (3-5 micrometers) lenses are commonplace, but the need for simultaneous dual band operation is a relatively new requirement.
The number of optical materials that can transmit wavelengths in the spectral range of interest for this application is limited, and many infrared lens materials are soft or water soluble, which make them unsuitable for tactical systems.
Several studies have been carried out to isolate optical material combinations that yield refractive lens designs that are color corrected over the entire 3-12 micron spectral region. The following publications describe such studies: Thomas H. Jamieson, "Ultrawide Waveband Optics", Optical Engineering, Vol. 23, No. 2, April 1984, pages 111-116; M. O. Lidwell, "Achromatism of Lenses for Thermal IR", Proceedings SPIE, Vol. 518, 1984, pages 73-80; and, M. Roberts and P. Rogers, "Wide Waveband Infrared Optics", Proceedings SPIE, Vol. 1013, 1988, pages 84-91.
These publications describe optical design studies that employ many different infrared lens material combinations. The solutions described in these studies yield excellent color correction over the spectral range of 3-12 microns, but the material combinations are poor choices from the standpoint of durability, manufacturability and reliability.


Therapeutic compositions capable of removing excess nitric oxide are provided. The therapeutic compositions include nitronyl nitroxide monoradicals, B12 derivatives, flavonoid derivatives, the like and combinations thereof. The therapeutic compositions can be utilized in a number of suitable applications, such as to prevent or treat intradialytic hypotension during dialysis.

The present invention relates to therapeutic compositions. More specifically, the present invention relates to therapeutic compositions and methods of making and using same that are capable of removing excess nitric oxide effectively without inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis.
Due to disease, insult or other causes, a person's renal system can fail. In renal failure of any cause, there are several physiological derangements. The balance of water, minerals and the excretion of daily metabolic load are no longer possible in renal failure. During renal failure, toxic end products of nitrogen metabolism (e.g., urea, creatinine, uric acid, and the like) can accumulate in blood and tissues.
Kidney failure and reduced kidney function have been treated with dialysis. Dialysis removes waste, toxins and excess water from the body that would otherwise have been removed by normal functioning kidneys. Dialysis treatment for replacement of kidney functions is critical to many people because the treatment is life saving. One who has failed kidneys could not continue to live without replacing at least the filtration functions of the kidneys.
Hemodialysis, hemofiltration and peritoneal dialysis are three types of dialysis therapies generally used to treat loss of kidney function. Hemodialysis treatment removes waste, toxins and excess water directly from the patient's blood. The patient is connected to a hemodialysis machine, and the patient's blood is pumped through the machine. For example, needles or catheters can be inserted into the patient's veins and arteries to connect the blood flow to and from the hemodialysis machine. As blood passes through a dialyzer in the hemodialysis machine, the dialyzer removes the waste, toxins and excess water from the patient's blood and returns the blood to infuse back into the patient. A large amount of dialysate, for example about 90-120 liters, is used by most hemodialysis machines to dialyze the blood during a single hemodialysis therapy. The spent dialysate is then discarded. Hemodialysis treatment lasts several hours and is generally performed in a treatment center about three times per week.
Hemofiltration is a convection-based blood cleansing technique. Blood access can be venovenous or arteriovenous. As blood flows through the hemofilter, a transmembrane pressure gradient between the blood compartment and the ultrafiltrate compartment causes plasma water to be filtered across the highly permeable membrane. As the water crosses the membrane, it convects small and large molecules across the membrane and thus cleanses the blood. An excessive amount of plasma water is eliminated by filtration. Therefore, in order to keep the body water balanced, fluid must be substituted continuously by a balanced electrolyte solution (replacement or substitution fluid) infused intravenously. This substitution fluid can be infused either into the arterial blood line leading to the hemofilter (predilution) or into the venous blood line leaving the hemofilter.
Peritoneal dialysis utilizes a sterile dialysis solution or "dialysate", which is infused into a patient's peritoneal cavity and into contact with the patient's peritoneal membrane. Waste, toxins and excess water pass from the patient's bloodstream through the peritoneal membrane and into the dialysate. The transfer of waste, toxins, and excess water from the bloodstream into the dialysate occurs due to diffusion and osmosis during a dwell period as an osmotic agent in the dialysate creates an osmotic gradient across the membrane. The spent dialysate is later drained from the patient's peritoneal cavity to remove the waste, toxins and excess water from the patient.
There are various types of peritoneal dialysis therapies, including continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis ("CAPD") and automated peritoneal dialysis. CAPD is a manual dialysis treatment, in which the patient connects the catheter to a bag of fresh dialysate and manually infuses fresh dialysate through the catheter or other suitable access device and into the patient's peritoneal cavity. The patient disconnects the catheter from the fresh dialysate bag and allows the dialysate to dwell within the cavity to transfer waste, toxins and excess water from the patient's bloodstream to the dialysate solution. After a dwell period, the patient drains the spent dialysate and then repeats the manual dialysis procedure. Tubing sets with "Y" connectors for the solution and drain bags are available that can reduce the number of connections the patient must make. The tubing sets can include pre-attached bags including, for example, an empty bag and a bag filled with dialysate.
In CAPD, the patient performs several drain, fill, and dwell cycles during the day, for example, about four times per day. Each treatment cycle, which includes a drain, fill and dwell, takes about four hours.
Automated peritoneal dialysis is similar to continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in that the dialysis treatment includes a drain, fill, and dwell cycle. However, a dialysis machine automatically performs three or more cycles of peritoneal dialysis treatment, typically overnight while the patient sleeps.
With automated peritoneal dialysis, an automated dialysis machine fluidly connects to an implanted catheter. The automated dialysis machine also fluidly connects to a source or bag of fresh dialysate and to a fluid drain. The dialysis machine pumps spent dialysate from the peritoneal cavity, through the catheter, to the drain. The dialysis machine then pumps fresh dialysate from the dialysate source, through the catheter, and into the patient's peritoneal cavity. The automated machine allows the dialysate to dwell within the cavity so that the transfer of waste, toxins and excess water from the patient's bloodstream to the dialysate solution can take place. A computer controls the automated dialysis machine so that the dialysis treatment occurs automatically when the patient is connected to the dialysis machine, for example, when the patient sleeps. That is, the dialysis system automatically and sequentially pumps fluid into the peritoneal cavity, allows for dwell, pumps fluid out of the peritoneal cavity, and repeats the procedure.
Several drain, fill, and dwell cycles will occur during the treatment. Also, a smaller volume "last fill" is typically used at the end of the automated dialysis treatment, which remains in the peritoneal cavity of the patient when the patient disconnects from the dialysis machine for the day. Automated peritoneal dialysis frees the patient from having to manually perform the drain, dwell, and fill steps during the day.
In general, standard peritoneal dialysis solutions contain dextrose or other suitable osmotic agent at a suitable concentration, such as 1.5% to 4.25% by weight, to effect transport of water and metabolic waste products across the peritoneal membrane. Dextrose is generally recognized as a safe and effective osmotic agent, particularly for short dwell exchanges.
Although the use of dialysis and other methods for treating patients with renal disease provide treatments that allow patients with renal failure to survive, current technologies may not adequately provide a therapeutic effect necessary to address renal failure and other associated disease. For example, intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is one of the most common complications of hemodialysis. Up to one third of long term dialysis patients experience acute hypotension during hemodialysis, thus requiring premature termination of the process or requiring therapeutic intervention. See, for example, Henderson L W., Symptomatic hypotension during hemodialysis, Kidney Int. (1980) 17:571-576; Henrich W L., Hemodynamic instability during hemodialysis, Kidney Int. 1986 30:605-612; and Converse R L Jr. et al., Sympathetic overactivity in patients with chronic renal failure, New Eng J Med 1992 327:1912-1918.
The hemodialysis related hypotension is multifactorial. Failure to preserve plasma volume, pre-existence of cardiovascular disease or autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction (See, for example, Malik S et al., Chronic renal failure and cardiovascular autonome function, Nephron 1986 43:191-195) can all lead to hypotension during hemodialysis, but hypotension can occur in their absence. Repetitive occurrence of these episodes can lead to diminution in both quality and span of life. For example, it has been proposed that hemodialysis associated hypotension is mediated by production of nitric oxide in vascular smooth muscle cells which may be induced by cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) or tumor necrosis factor (TNF). See, for example, Beasley D et al., Role of nitric oxide in hemodialysis hypotension, Kidney Int 1992 42:S96-S100 (Suppl. 38). Plasma levels of IL-1 and TNF are chronically elevated in patients with end stage renal disease who are undergoing dialysis. See, for example, Shaldon S et al., Haemodialysis hypotensia: The interleukin hypothesis restated. Proc Eur Dial Transplant Assoc 1985 22:229-243. This chronic elevation of plasma IL-1 and TNF may be due to decreased renal clearance (See, for example, Dinarello C H., Amino acid sequences multiple biological activities and comparison with TNF, Year Immunol 2 1986 68-89) and also increased production due to dialysis related factors. The elevated production of NO is attributed to blood monocyte activation during the interval during hemodialysis, addition of heparin, acetate-containing dialysate solution (See, for example, Bingel H et al. 1987 Lancet 11:14-16), endotoxin from dialysate (See, for example, Lonneman G et al. 1988 Kidney Int. 35:29-35), uremic platelets, and monocyte adherence to dialysis membrane.
Cytokines are powerful inducers of NOS that can result in marked elevation in NO synthesis within hours. IL-1 derived from monocytes and macrophages was postulated to account for overproduction of NO (macrophage dependent). Several studies (See, for example, Yokokawa K et al., 1995 Ann Int Med 123 35-37; Lin S H et al., 1996 ASAIO J 42:M895-899; Kang E S et al., 1997 Am J Med Sci 313:138-143; and Martenson et al., 1997 Artif Organs 21:163-167), have also shown that NO overproduction is associated with hypotension during hemodialysis. Several aspects of hemodialysis procedure activate macrophages to produce NO that initiates a cycle/cascade of inflammatory response resulting in NO overproduction that leads to hypotension. In addition to playing a key role in the inflammatory cycle, NO plays a major role in blood pressure regulation. NOS inhibitors are not very specific and tend to shut down iNOS as well as other NOS isoforms that regulate normal physiology. iNOS has been shown to have homeostasis functions, protecting against liver damage by inhibiting apoptosis (See, for example, Ou J et al., 1997 Nitric oxide Biology and Chemistry 1(5) 404-416) and maintaining musosal barrier function in the gut (Hoffman et al, 1997 Am J Physiol 272 9383-9392).
A need therefore exists to provide improved compositions that can be utilized to effectively remove nitric oxide from plasma and/or at the cellular level to protect against disease, such as intradialytic hypotension.


An electronic apparatus and a screen unlock method thereof are provided in the invention. The method includes the following steps. First, when a screen of an electronic apparatus is locked, a password unlock option is displayed on the screen, where the password unlock option is configured to unlock the screen via a preset password. A password delete option is displayed on the screen, where the password delete option is configured to delete the preset password to unlock the screen. In response to a select operation on the password delete option performed by a user, a random code is generated and set to a preset account. Next, an input code input by the user is received, and whether the input code and the random code are identical is determined. When the input code and the random code are identical, the preset password would be deleted, and the screen would be unlocked.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electronic apparatus and a control method thereof, in particular, to an electronic apparatus and a screen unlock method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
To accommodate people's busy lifestyles, mobile electronic apparatuses such as personal digital assistants, smart phones, tabular computers have become indispensable. As an example, a smart phone equipped with a touch screen may not only include each feature provided by a traditional communication apparatus, but may also include a built-in operation system that carries out versatile tasks such as document editing, e-mail serving, web serving, multimedia playing, photo shooting, and instant communication, and thus its usage has surpassed all the other electronic apparatuses.
As the security of digital contents has been raised, a screen lock mechanism is built in the smart phone to secure personal privacy. When the user turns off the screen of the smart phone or when the smart phone has been idle for a period of time, the smart phone may enter a screen lock state. When the user desires to use the smart phone again, a certain lock operation needs to be performed on the screen. The existing screen unlock mechanisms include fingerprint unlock, facial recognition unlock, voice recognition unlock, password unlock, pattern drawing unlock, and so forth. However, for the fingerprint unlock, the facial recognition unlock, and the voice recognition unlock, failure recognition may result in unsuccessful unlock attempts. For the password unlock or the pattern drawing unlock, the user may forget the password or the pattern due to its complexity. Hence, one solution is to brute force the preset password/pattern or to restore the smart phone to factory default settings so as to unlock the screen via the default password. However, the former solution requires to manually enter all possible passwords. The latter solution may loss all data stored in the smart phone, and thus the data may needs to be backed up in advance. Consequently, the entire unlocking process may be time-consuming and cumbersome.

Electronic apparatus and screen unlock method thereof


One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for a gastrojejunostomy tube (G-J tube) with a replaceable balloon portion. An example G-J tube can comprise a connection point that is appropriately disposed distally from the balloon portion. The connection can be used to detach a proximal portion from a distal portion of the G-J tube; and a replacement proximal portion can be attached, and the G-J tube can be moved to the desired location. The example G-J tube can comprise a jejunal tube, a gastric tube, and a balloon tube, respectively sized to dispose the distal opening in an appropriate location in the target patient. The proximal portion can comprise at least the balloon tube, the port of the gastric tube, and the port of the jejunal tube.

Gastrojejunostomy (G-J) tubes are devices that allow patients to have enteral nutrition provided directly into their small bowel. They are typically used in patients who do not tolerate gastric feeding well, usually resulting from a gastric motility disorder. A G-J tube, which is often placed by either a surgeon, gastroenterologist, or an interventional radiologist, is commonly a long tube with three separate compartments: gastric tube, jejunal tube, and balloon. The gastric tube can serve to decompress the stomach, a balloon port extends to the balloon to allow for inflation and deflation of the balloon, and the jejunal tube can provide feeding access. The G-J tube typically enters the abdomen like a gastrostomy tube, except the distal end of the tube can extend in the jejunum.

Exchangeable balloon gastrojejunostomy tube

Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron


A digital printing system for producing prints in response to input digital images includes a digital printer and a plurality of computer processors. The plurality of computer processors includes one or more image-rendering units for rendering the input digital images to generate rendered digital images, wherein the image rendering is independent of specific characteristics of the digital printer. The plurality of computer processors further includes one or more image processors for processing the rendered digital images in accordance with one or more specific characteristics of the digital printer. The processed images are subsequently input to the digital printer to produce the prints. The computer processors can be dynamically assigned to be the image-rendering units or the image processors.

For many years, photographs were produced in an analog process based on silver-halide chemistry. An image was captured by exposing a photo-sensitive film to a scene by an optical system in a camera. The photo-sensitive material coated on the film include silver halide emulsions. The silver halide emulsions can capture photons and record a latent image corresponding to the captured image. The exposed photo-sensitive film was chemically developed to convert the latent image into a dye image on the film. A photo-sensitive paper was in turn exposed to the dye image on the film. A photographic print is finally obtained after the exposed paper is processed. As with other systems, photography can benefit from digital techniques applied to various aspects of the process. Image data, captured by a digital camera or digitized from a reflective print or a film by a scanner, can be transmitted anywhere in the world almost instantaneously and then stored on mass storage devices. Multiple copies can be easily made and stored at different locations. The image data can be manipulated using image-processing software.
As well known in the photographic industry, it is desirable for the photographic prints to have the look and feel of the conventional silver halide based photographic prints, even if the images are captured in a digital process. To fulfill this need, the digital images can be digitally exposed on a photographic paper and subsequently developed, bleach/fixed, and washed in the conventional photographic chemical processes. Such produced photographic prints have equal image quality and the same look and feel as the conventional photographs for viewing and sharing.
The process for generating photographic prints includes a number of different steps. Image data are often compressed in the digital cameras. To generate a print of such compressed images, one must uncompress the data and perform image processing on the uncompressed image data. The image processing operations can include tone or color adjustment, neutral balance, and image enhancement. Additional image design and text information may also be added to the digital image. Digital prints based on the digital images can be produced using a variety of digital printing technologies such as digital silver halide, ink jet, thermal dye sublimation, and electrophotography. In the example of the digital silver halide printing, the image data is converted into an image exposure pattern to expose a photosensitive material coated on a substrate to form a latent image. The latent image is converted to form a dye image when the photosensitive material is processed. Information may be printed on the back of the prints. The prints are cut and packaged before shipping. Any of these processes can become a bottleneck that limits the overall speed of the system.
Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus that can efficiently reproduce photographic prints in response to input digital images.

Apparatus and method for high-throughput and flexible digital printing


This invention relates to a silicone release coating comprising (A) an organopolysiloxane having at least two crosslinkable carbon-carbon double bonds in each molecule, (B) an organopolysiloxane having at least two Si-bonded hydrogen atoms in each molecule, (C) a silylated polymethylsilsesquioxane and (D) platinum catalyst. The silicone release coating compositions of this invention can further comprise an inhibitor. The silicone release coating compositions of this invention do not decline in release resistance due to release paper aging or release liner aging.

Silicone resins that contain 1.5 oxygen atoms per silicon atom are generically known as polysilsesquioxanes. Polysilsesquioxanes are highly heat resistant and exhibit good electrical insulation properties and flame retardancy, and this good property spectrum has resulted in their use as resist materials and interlayer dielectric films in semiconductor fabrication (for example, see, "Shirikoon Handobukku" (English title: Silicone Handbook), edited by Kunio Itoh, published by Nikkan Kogyo Shinbunsha (1990)).
Methods are known for the synthesis of polymethylsilsesquioxanes. For example, polymethylsilsesquioxane can be synthesized by dissolving methyltrichlorosilane in the presence of an amine in a single solvent or mixture of solvents selected from ketones and ethers, adding water to this system dropwise to effect hydrolysis, and then heating to effect condensation such as is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 60-17214 (17,214/1985) and 1-43773 (43,773/1989), and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,266. Another synthesis example is taught in EP 0 406 911 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-16212 (16,212/1987) which teach the dissolution of a trifunctional methylsilane in organic solvent, then hydrolysis by the dropwise addition of water to this solution at a temperature from -20.degree. C. to -50.degree. C. under an inert gas pressure of 1,000 to 3,000 Pa, and thereafter condensation by heating. Yet another synthesis example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 3-20331 (20,331/1991) which teaches the reaction in organic solvent of methyltriacetoxysilane with an equivalent amount of alcohol and/or water to synthesize the alkoxyacetoxysilane, polycondensation of the alkoxyacetoxysilane in organic solvent in the presence of sodium bicarbonate to give a prepolymer, and condensation of this prepolymer by heating in the presence of at least 1 catalyst selected from the alkali metal hydroxides, alkaline-earth metal hydroxides, alkali metal fluorides, alkaline-earth metal fluorides, and triethylamine. Still another synthesis example is found in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 3-227321 (227,321/1991) which teaches the dissolution of alkali metal carboxylate and lower alcohol in a mixed liquid system that forms two phases (water and hydrocarbon solvent), the dropwise addition of methyltrihalosilane into this system to effect hydrolysis, and condensation by heating.
The polymethylsilsesquioxanes afforded by these methods are hard but brittle. Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-43773 further discloses that regulating the fraction with molecular weight .ltoreq.20,000 (molecular weight as determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) calibrated with polystyrene standards) to 15 to 30 weight % of the polymethylsilsesquioxane. However, even this does no more than enable the preparation of coatings with thicknesses of about 1.8 to 2.0 .mu.m. Similarly, the technology in EP 0 406 911 can only provide coatings with maximum thicknesses of 3 to 3.5 .mu.m without cracking. At larger film thicknesses cracking occurs, and of course the flexibility that would permit the fabrication of an independent or stand-alone film is absent.
We have already discovered and have taught in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 7-208087 (208,087/1995) and 7-208143 (208,143/1995) that a coating that combines flexibility with high thermal stability is provided by the cure of a polymethylsilsesquioxane having a molecular weight and hydroxyl content in specific ranges and preferably prepared by a special method.
On the subject of the silylation of the residual silanol in polysilsesquioxane, a synthetic method for this is disclosed in, for example, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1990, Volume 112, pages 1931 to 1936. Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 61-221232 (221,232/1986) teaches a method for the preparation of silylated polysilsesquioxane comprising the use of silylating agent to terminate the reaction in the polysilsesquioxane synthesis methods of EP 0 406 911 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-16212. Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Nos. 6-279586 (279,586/1994), 6-287307 (287,307/1994), and 7-70321 (70,321/1995) teach that stabilization can be achieved and gelation can be avoided by trimethylsilylation of the silanol in polysilsesquioxane in which methyl constitutes 50 to 99.9 mole % of the pendant organic groups and crosslinking-reactive groups are present in the remaining organic groups. However, even without silylation the polymethylsilsesquioxane disclosed by us in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 7-208087 and 7-208143 does not gel during its preparation and can be stably stored at room temperature. Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 5-125187 (125,187/1993) teaches that an increased storage stability can be obtained by trialkylsilylation of the silanol in polysilsesquioxane having a number average molecular weight (Mn) .gtoreq.100,000 and methyl as 50 to 100 mole % of its pendant organic groups. Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-16212 also teaches that silylation of the silanol in polymethylsilsesquioxane improves stability.
Organic groups in polyorganosilsesquioxanes, and polyorganosilsesquioxanes functionalized with various crosslinking-reactive groups are described in, for example, Chem. Rev., 1995, Volume 95, pages 1409 to 1430.
As is already well known, the release of various tacky or sticky substances can be facilitated and substrate blocking can be prevented by coating a polyorganosiloxane-based release coating composition on a substrate such as paper or plastic film, and curing the composition by a condensation or hydrosilylation reaction.
A problem generally encountered with the polyorganosiloxane-based release coating compositions has been the extremely low release resistance of the cured release coatings provided by the cure of these compositions. This has led to the addition of controlled release additives to these compositions in order to adjust the release resistance. The heretofore proposed controlled release additives are exemplified by MQ silicone resins comprising R.sup.7.sub.3 SiO.sub.1/2 units wherein R.sup.7 is a monovalent hydrocarbon group containing no more than 2 carbons and SiO.sub.4/2 units as is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 49-27033 (27,033/1974) and Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 59-84953 (84,953/1984)) and MQ silicone resins comprising R.sup.7.sub.3 SiO.sub.1/2 units, (CH.sub.2 .dbd.CH)R.sup.7.sub.2 SiO.sub.1/2 units, and SiO.sub.4/2 units as is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-29678 (29,678/1978). However, even with the use of controlled release additives as described above, the release resistance of the cured coating can undergo a substantial decline due to release paper aging or release liner aging.


According to one embodiment, an electrical component comprises a substrate, a functional element formed on the substrate, a first layer which includes through holes, and forms a cavity that stores the functional element on the substrate, and a second layer which is formed on the first layer, and closes the through holes. The first layer includes a first film, a second film on the first film, and a third film on the second film. A Young's modulus of the second film is higher than a Young's modulus of the first film and the third film.

A feature of a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) device lies in that it has a mechanically movable portion, unlike a normal semiconductor device. Therefore, packaging a MEMS device requires a cavity serving as the operation space of the mechanically movable portion. That is, a packaging technique/package for forming a hollow structure is used in the MEMS device.
On the other hand, for miniaturization and cost reduction, a packaging technique of forming a hollow structure in a wafer state, instead of individual packaging for each chip, has been proposed in recent years. This packaging technique is called a WLP (Wafer Level Package). Alternatively, this package can be fabricated in a clean room, and is therefore also called an in-line WLP, thin-film cap, or thin-film dome structure.
There is provided a method of manufacturing a MEMS element having a movable portion, and a thin-film dome structure which stores the MEMS element, that includes the step of forming and patterning a first sacrificing layer, the step of forming a MEMS element on the first sacrificing layer, the step of forming a second sacrificing layer on the first sacrificing layer and MEMS element, and patterning it, the step of forming a first layer on the second sacrificing layer, and the step of removing the first sacrificing layer and second sacrificing layer. The first layer partially forms the thin-film dome structure, and has through holes. An undoped silicon oxide film which has a thickness of about 1 μm and is deposited by the CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, for example, is used as the first layer.
However, when a crack is locally generated in the thin-film dome structure, it becomes the starting point of a path which connects the interior and exterior of the thin-film dome to each other. This may degrade the sealing performance of the dome interior, thus degrading the reliability of the device.

Electrical component and method of manufacturing the same


A structure including a substrate, a copper bump formed over the substrate, and a barrier layer comprising an alloy of at least one of iron and nickel, formed over the copper bump, and methods to make such a structure.

Integrated circuits (ICs) such as processors are manufactured in various types of packages. In one type of package, the IC is provided as a semiconductor die that is housed within the package and the package serves to encapsulate and protect the die and to provide connectivity between the IC implemented by the die and a device, such as a computer, within which the circuit is installed.
Tin-based solder connections may be used to electrically connect the die to the package, using a structure such as a ball grid array (BGA) or pin grid array (PGA), in a flip-chip process. The flip-chip process is used to electrically connect the die to the package carrier. The package carrier, such as a substrate or a leadframe, then provides the connection from the die to the exterior of the package. The interconnection between the die and the carrier in flip chip packaging is made through a conductive "bump" that is placed directly on the die surface. That bump may be formed of copper. The bumped die is then flipped over and aligned with tin-based solder bumps formed on the package carrier. The copper bumped die is attached to the package carrier through a metallic bond formed between the copper bumps on the die and the tin-based solder bumps on the package carrier. This metallic bond is formed by reflowing the tin-based solder to attach the solder to the copper bumps on the die. The direct contact of the copper of the copper bumps with the tin-based solder causes the diffusion of the copper from the copper bumps and the tin from the solder to form copper-tin intermetallic compounds, which are necessary for a solid metallic bond. However, excessive compound build-up has detrimental effects such as the creation of a brittle bond, high bump contact resistance and high joule heating. The diffusion of the copper and of the tin creates voids within the connection between the die and the package carrier. The voids cause shorts, excessive heat, and may cause eventual failure of the device.


A gas sensor that can enhance gas detection sensitivity more than the conventional sensors with a simple configuration is proposed. An electric double layer including a gate insulating layer is formed in an ionic liquid (IL), a change of a state of the gate insulating layer in the ionic liquid (IL) that occurs by absorbing a gas is directly reflected in a source-drain current (Isd) that flows in a carbon nanotube (8). Therefore, the gas detection sensitivity can be enhanced more than in the conventional sensors. Further, since the ionic liquid (IL) can be simply provided on a substrate (2) to be in contact with the carbon nanotube (8) and a gate electrode (7), the configuration that chemically modifies a surface of the carbon nanotube with a plurality of polymers as in the conventional gas sensors is not needed, and the configuration can be simplified correspondingly.

In recent years, studies on gas sensors capable of detecting various gases such as CO2 and NH3 have been conducted, and among them, gas sensors using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), for example, have been especially attracting attention from the viewpoint of detection sensitivity for gases, miniaturization, and energy saving (for example, see Patent Literature 1 and Non Patent Literature 1). In fact, the gas sensor using a carbon nanotube like this has a configuration in which the surfaces of the carbon nanotube provided between a source electrode and a drain electrode are chemically modified with two kinds of polymers, in order to detect CO2 that is a target of detection, for example. Further, the gas sensor is configured in such a manner that the carbon nanotube is disposed on the silicon back gate via a silicon oxide film, and a gate voltage can be applied to the silicon back gate.


A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging system and method is disclosed. The method may include obtaining an NMR well log, a measured downhole temperature, and at least one rock sample for a formation in a subsurface region. The method may further include determining an NMR distribution for each sample and selecting a set of samples based on the determined NMR distribution. For each selected sample, the method may further include determining a first parameter of the NMR distribution, a regression parameter of a relationship, and a first and second fractal parameters of the NMR distribution. The method may further include determining a second parameter of the NMR distribution based on the first and second fractal parameters, the regression parameter, and the downhole temperature. The method may still further include determining a parameter of the formation based on the second parameter of the NMR distributions of the set of samples.

The characterization of subsurface petrophysical properties is useful for reserve assessment and production optimization. These subsurface properties may be integrated with multiphysics core measurements across different plug scale and log scales to provide constraints on reservoir model building. Core samples may be analyzed through various sensors or probes, such as through core scans performed using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to measure numerous formation and fluid properties, such as porosity, formation permeability, irreducible saturation, hydrocarbon typing, and viscosity. The cutoff value of NMR transverse relaxation time (T2) provides useful information for pore structure characterization, permeability prediction, and irreducible water saturation calculation.
However, conventional methods often predict inaccurate NMR T2 cutoff values for a rock sample with complex pore structure. In order to achieve better prediction for petrophysical properties for reservoir model building, it is necessary to predict an accurate NMR T2 cutoff value for the rock sample of formation of interest.

Method and system using nuclear magnetic resonance well logging for T


A method for detecting proteins under mutual interaction which comprises mixing a protein having a label for detection synthesized by a cell-free protein synthesis method with another protein having a modification for separation, or synthesizing a protein having a label for detection and another protein having a modification for separation in a single system by the cell-free protein synthesis method; separating a pair of proteins formed by the interaction between these proteins with the use of the modification for separation as described above; and distinguishing these proteins with the use of the label for detection as described above. A screening method using this method.

It is common knowledge that certain proteins interact with certain other proteins. The interaction between proteins is closely associated with the expression of certain physiological activity and serves as an indicator of the type of physiological activity of a given protein. Thus, when a new protein is discovered, the types of protein with which the new protein interacts provide a substantial hint as to the physiological activity of the protein.
Current well-known methods of analyzing interactions between proteins include immunocoprecipitation, the phage display method, and the yeast two-hybrid system. In immunocoprecipitation, an antibody (anti-A) against a given protein A is prepared and the protein B that coprecipitates with antigen A when anti-A is applied is specified; this method has been widely employed for some time. In the phage display method (for example, Clackson, T., and Wells, J. A., Trends Biotechnol., 12 (1994) 173–184), the phage library, in which various foreign gene fragments are inserted into the coat protein gene of a phage, and expressed as the fused protein with the coat protein, is employed. If a phage expressing protein B is detected using a protein A, the gene for protein B can be specified. In this method, the gene of A can also be specified if the antibody is employed as protein A. Further, when a gene library incorporating random mutations is employed, it is possible to isolate and identify the genes of mutant proteins capable of acting on a specific protein. In the yeast two-hybrid system (Fields, S., et al., Trends Genet. 10 (1994) 286–292), the expression system of a gene library is designed so that when a given protein A acts on another protein B, transcription of the reporter gene employed is activated. In this method, the two functional domains of a DNA binding domain (DB) and a transcription activation domain (TA) are employed to activate transcription, and those proteins activating transcription in the gene expressing fused proteins having both of the domains (for example, when a fused protein of DB and protein A associates with a fused protein of TA and protein B) are screened. Recently, a method of analyzing the interaction between proteins based on surface plasmon resonance employing a laser beam has been developed.
Further, the screening of compounds affecting interaction between proteins, for example, compounds blocking or promoting interaction between proteins, has been conducted with protein pairs for which the interaction between proteins has been clearly specified. In that case, compounds affecting the above-mentioned protein pairs are screened from libraries of compounds comprising a large number of compounds.
The number of genes of human, mouse, and like is to be as high as 60,000 to 100,000. However, the number of genes known to date is still about 10,000, which is low relative to the whole. In recent years, the human genome project has been advancing and the number of genes that are being newly isolated and sequenced is increasing each year. This number is expected to continue to increase in the future. However, the functions of the genes that are being isolated and sequenced are often unknown. Since it is anticipated that all genes will eventually be specified, there is eagerly expected an appearance of the method that can systematically and rapidly analyze the functions of individual genes whose sequences are determined among the huge number of entire genes.
The present inventors conceived of the idea that it is possible to some extent to analyze the functions of genes by examining whether or not proteins having amino acid sequences coded by each gene interact with existing and new proteins.
As set forth above, known methods of analyzing interactions between proteins include immunocoprecipitation, the phage display method, the yeast two-hybrid system, and surface plasmon resonance. However, immunocoprecipitation requires antibodies against individual gene products (proteins). The preparation of antibodies corresponding to the entirety of genes lacks feasibility and there are problems on antibody specificity. In the phage display method and the yeast two-hybrid system, there is a frame restriction on the expression of prescribed genes as fused proteins, and even when the frames match, this does not mean that a specific gene is translated as a complete protein. There are limits to the size of the DNA that can be inserted in phage packaging. And in the yeast two-hybrid system, a DNA transformation into yeast is required and there is considerable inconvenience with regard to the systematic analysis of large numbers of samples. The surface plasmon resonance method requires the purification of each protein and is thus not currently suited to mass production analysis.
Thus, the detection of interaction between large quantities of proteins including new proteins and the selection of proteins that interact is impossible using existing methods.
Further, as set forth above, although there is a known method of screening for compounds affecting protein pairs whose protein—protein interaction has been clearly specified from compound libraries comprising large numbers of compounds, there is no known method of screening pairs of proteins affected by a given compound and the like among pairs of proteins formed as a result of interactions which are thought to be in a large number. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of readily and rapidly detecting interactions between large numbers of proteins including new proteins.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method that is capable of simply, efficiently, and systematically detecting which gene products (proteins) interact with each other even when the entire genes have been isolated, that is useful for inferring the functions of proteins.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method of screening pairs of proteins that are affected by a given compound from among multiple pairs of proteins.

Method for detecting proteins under mutual interaction


A fuel injection system and method is disclosed which includes a high pressure pump that supplies fuel to a high pressure common rail, a plurality of electronically controlled fuel injectors that supply fuel from the common rail directly into different ones of the engine cylinders, a pressure regulator that varies the pressure of fuel contained in the common rail, a load sensor, an engine speed sensor, a crankshaft position sensor, and an electronic control unit coupled to control the pressure regulator and fuel injectors in response to signals received from the load sensor, speed sensor, and crankshaft position sensors. Using the pressure regulator and fuel injectors, the electronic control unit can provide independent control of the quantity of fuel injected into the cylinders, as well as the timing and duration of injection. The electronic control unit can be programmed to accommodate various engine environmental and state conditions for optimal engine performance. The high pressure pump can comprise the pumping element(s) from a rotary pump or a modified in-line or jerk-type pump having means for providing coarse control of the pressure in the common rail.

With the continuing drive for improved engine performance, fuel consumption, and exhaust emissions, it is becoming increasingly important to precisely control the timing and quantity of fuel injected into the cylinder. In electronically controlled fuel injection systems, injection can be easily timed with respect to the piston top dead center position for all conditions of speed and load. The duration of injection is determined in terms of crankshaft degrees and, for any given fuel pressure, is varied to change the quantity of fuel injected into the combustion chamber for each combustion cycle.
Optimizing engine performance and emissions requires that injection occur over a certain number of crankshaft degrees, which will vary depending on engine speed, load, and other conditions. However, because of system inadequacies inherent in known diesel and stratified charge engines, the quantity of fuel required necessitates that the duration of injection be greater than the optimum number of crankshaft degrees. Thus, injection has traditionally been advanced or retarded and extended to run longer than the optimum number of crankshaft degrees. However, when injection is begun too early in the combustion process, several problems result. For a stratified charge engine, the combustion process begins to change its fundamental characteristics, behaving more like a homogenous-mixture engine and losing the benefits of stratification. For diesels, too much fuel will be present when combustion begins and will result in the "knocking" often associated with diesel engines. Additionally, the fuel droplets will tend to agglomerate to form larger fuel droplets and too much fuel will be deposited on (i.e., wet) the cylinder walls, resulting in poor combustion and increased emissions. On the other hand, if injection is extended to run too late in the combustion cycle, the fuel at the tail end of injection will not have the time needed to properly mix and burn, resulting in smoke-limited output, high fuel consumption, and high energy losses to the exhaust and engine coolant. These situations become worse at higher engine speeds because the time it takes to rotate through the optimum number of crankshaft degrees becomes less.
To properly accommodate those particular conditions of speed, load, and other factors that require large quantities of fuel without sacrificing the optimum timing and duration of injection, fuel injection systems have been developed which vary the pressure of the fuel to thereby vary the rate at which fuel enters the chamber. One such system is commonly referred to as the Cummins PT system and is described in Diesel Engine Catalogue, Vol. 20, 1955. The Cummins PT systems uses a low pressure common rail with camshaft-driven injectors generating the high pressure. The low pressure is controlled by a throttle to thereby adjust the amount of fuel filling the injectors and, therefore, the quantity of fuel injected into the cylinders.
A second type of system which provides control of the pressure of the fuel being injected into the chamber is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,795, issued Jul. 19, 1988 to W. W. Kelly. That system utilizes what is commonly referred to as a rotary type distributor pump. Fuel is supplied at low pressure to the distributor pump, which pressurizes the fuel using cam-driven plungers. The high pressure fuel is supplied via a fuel distributor rotor to an outlet that feeds the fuel to one of the fuel injectors. Like the Cummins PT system, this system utilizes a low pressure fuel supply with the high pressure being generated individually for each injector.
A third type of system uses in-line or jerk-type pumps. Fuel injection systems using these types pumps have one pump per fuel injector. These pumps are camshaft-driven reciprocating-displacement pumps supplied with fuel from a low pressure fuel supply. Each pump produces a high pressure charge of fuel that is supplied to its associated hydraulic injector.
Yet a fourth such system is commonly known as the Cooper-Bessemer system and has been used in marine and large industrial applications. That system utilizes piston pumping elements to generate high pressure in a common rail. A pressure regulating valve that is controlled in accordance with speed and load is used to vary the pressure from about 3,200 to 13,600 psi. Fuel is gated from the common rail to the injectors by fuel doors. The fuel doors are cam-driven check valves that permit control of the timing and quantity of fuel provided to its associated injector. The Cooper-Bessemer system is described in Diesel Engine Catalogue, Vol. 13, 1948.
None of the aforementioned fuel injection systems provide complete and independent control of the pressure, timing, and duration of injection which is necessary for achieving optimum engine performance and emissions control. Although the Cooper-Bessemer system permits control of both the timing and duration of injection, it does not permit them to be independently controlled. That is, advancement of the beginning of injection is necessarily accompanied by lengthening of the duration of injection. Moreover, the Cooper-Bessemer system involves a length of fuel line running between the fuel doors and the injectors. These lengths of fuel line reduce the amount of spill control and introduce sonic disturbances resulting from the fluid dynamics of the fuel flowing in the lines.
Other than simply controlling the rate of injection (i.e., pressure) from one injection event to another, it is also desirable to be able to vary the injection rate over the course of a single injection. In the jerk-type pumps noted above, this is done by designing the profile of the cam in accordance with the desired injection rate profile. A rough form of controlling the injection rate has also been done by pilot injection. For example, pilot injection has been accomplished using a large piezoelectric stack to generate the pressure needed to pump the fuel through the hydraulic injectors and into the cylinder. The piezoelectric stack was given an initial pulse to inject a small quantity of fuel and, after a small delay time, once autoignition of the fuel was imminent, was again operated to ram fuel into the cylinder for combustion. However, this pilot injection system required an impracticably large piezoelectric stack and only provided an initial pulse of fuel rather than a controlled rate of injection.

Fuel injection system and method for a diesel or stratified charge engine


A liquid crystal display device is disclosed. The liquid crystal display device may include a cabinet having a front panel facing the front and in which an opening is formed; a liquid crystal panel having a display surface; and a chassis configured to clamp the outer region of the liquid crystal panel from the front side and the back side, to face the display surface to the opening, and to arrange the liquid crystal panel inside the cabinet. A hook may be provided that is projected rearward from a position close to the opening on the back surface of the front panel and engaged with the chassis that clamps the outer region of the liquid crystal panel, and prevents a displacement of the chassis toward the rear side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, a liquid crystal module and a front panel of a liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Television sets using a liquid crystal display device and a display device for personal computers are offered.
Such liquid crystal display devices have a cabinet and a liquid crystal module assembled inside the cabinet. The liquid crystal module has a liquid crystal panel, a back light unit that is arranged on the rear side of the liquid crystal panel, and a chassis that holds the liquid crystal panel and the back light unit.
In many cases, the cabinet has a front panel facing the front and having a rectangular opening thereinside, and the liquid crystal panel is arranged so that its display surface is faced to the opening.
In such a liquid crystal display device, when the liquid crystal panel receives an external force in the thickness direction, the colors and edges of an image displayed are disturbed. Thus, it is necessary to secure a predetermined space between the edge part of the front panel configuring the opening and the display surface of the liquid crystal panel so that an external force is not affected in the thickness direction of the liquid crystal panel.
On the other hand, when a larger space is formed between the edge part of the front panel configuring the opening and the display surface of the liquid crystal panel, the structures inside the cabinet are seen by a user, which disfigures the appearance of the device. Therefore, it is necessary to regulate the space so as not to widen over predetermined dimensions.
In the techniques before, such a structure is proposed that a hook disposed on a front panel is engaged with the outer frame part of a chassis that holds a back light unit, whereby the front panel is mounted on the back light unit (see JP-A-2003-195263 (Patent Reference 1)).

Liquid crystal display device, liquid crystal module and front panel of liquid crystal display device


A registration mark is a toner image which has a first linear pattern and a second linear pattern, which extend along a main scanning direction, and a two-dimensional pattern. The first linear pattern, the two-dimensional pattern and the second linear pattern are arranged apart from each other in this order along a transporting direction. In short, the linear patterns and extending along the main scanning direction are formed spaced apart from the two-dimensional pattern, one toward the upstream side and the other toward the downstream side, along the transporting direction. This suppresses the edge effect along the transporting direction and realizes accurate detection of the position of each registration mark by a test pattern sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which toner images formed by an image former are transferred onto an intermediate transfer medium which moves in a predetermined direction and the toner images are temporarily carried.
2. Description of the Related Art
The apparatus described in JP-A-2004-109617 for example is known as an image forming apparatus of this type. In this image forming apparatus an image forming station, in which a charger, an image writer and a developer are disposed around a latent image carrier such as a photosensitive drum, is disposed for each color along a transfer medium such as a transfer belt. Toner images formed by image forming stations are superimposed one atop the other on the transfer medium, whereby a color image is formed.
By the way, one of serious problems arising in an image forming apparatus comprising plural image forming stations is a color misregistration. This occurs as the transfer positions to which toner images formed by different image forming stations are transferred get displaced from each other, and shows as a change of hues. To solve this problem, reference pattern images (hereinafter referred to as "registration marks") for detecting a color misregistration may be formed in advance on a transfer medium and registration marks may be detected with an optical sensor to thereby calculate position information regarding the registration marks and align the respective toner images based on this position information (color misregistration correction). To be more specific, the position information regarding the registration marks is acquired through detection of edge portions of the registration marks. In short, while the transfer medium carrying the registration marks moves, (1) the position information is detected when upstream edge portions of the registration marks move passed the optical sensor and the level of an output from the optical sensor exceeds a pre-selected threshold level, or (2) the position information is detected when downstream edge portions of the registration marks move passed the optical sensor and the level of an output from the optical sensor exceeds a pre-selected threshold level.
Further, an image forming apparatus which uses an intermediate transfer belt may be a color image forming apparatus of the tandem type for instance. In this color image forming apparatus, image forming stations for yellow, magenta, cyan and black are disposed along the intermediate transfer belt, and toner images formed by the image forming stations are superimposed one atop the other on the intermediate transfer belt, whereby a color image is formed. The color image is then transferred at proper timing onto the recording medium.
The intermediate transfer belt is thus a major component of the image forming apparatus, and choice of a belt base material is important to secure a mechanical strength, a mechanical accuracy and the like in particular. Noting this, a conventional approach is to use a PC (polycarbonate) resin mainly made of polycarbonate considering a mechanical strength, a mechanical accuracy, etc., as described in JP-A-4-313757 for example.


A method and apparatus for sensing a desired component of a magnetic field using an isotropic magnetoresistive material. This is preferably accomplished by providing a bias field that is parallel to the desired component of the applied magnetic field. The bias field is applied in a first direction relative to a first set of magnetoresistive sensor elements, and in an opposite direction relative to a second set of magnetoresistive sensor elements. In this configuration, the desired component of the incident magnetic field adds to the bias field incident on the first set of magnetoresistive sensor elements, and subtracts from the bias field incident on the second set of magnetoresistive sensor elements. The magnetic field sensor may then sense the desired component of the incident magnetic field by simply sensing the difference in resistance of the first set of magnetoresistive sensor elements and the second set of magnetoresistive sensor elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to magnetic field sensor devices and more particularly relates to such devices that measure a selected component of an incident magnetic field.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetometers and other magnetic sensing devices have many diverse applications including automobile detection, proximity sensors, magnetic disk memories, magnetic tape storage systems, magnetic strip readers, etc. Such devices typically provide one or more output signals that represent the magnetic field sensed by the magnetic sensing device.
Magnetic sensor devices typically include one or more sensor element that is formed from a magnetoresistive material. The resistance of a magnetoresistive material typically changes when exposed to an incident magnetic field. Thus, to detect an incident magnetic field, most magnetic sensor devices simply sense the change in the resistance of the magnetoresistive material, and provide an output signal that indicates the presence of, or has an amplitude that is a function of, the incident magnetic field.
Common magnetoresistive materials include Anisotropic Magnetoresistive (AMR) materials, Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) materials, and Colossal Magnetoresistive (CMR) materials. The resistance of AMR materials typically only changes a few percent change when exposed to an incident magnetic field. AMR materials are typically anisotropic with respect to the supplied current direction and incident field direction. Under limited conditions, however, AMR materials can be isotropic with respect to the incident field direction.
The resistance of GMR materials can change several hundred percent when exposed to an incident field. GMR materials are typically formed using multilayer films to produce a giant magnetoresistive effect. GMR materials are typically isotropic with respect to current direction, but can be anisotropic or isotropic with respect to the incident field direction depending on the type of crystal and shape structure. AMR and GMR materials are further discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,544 to Daughton.
CMR materials have the greatest magnetoresistive effect in response to an incident magnetic field. The resistance of a CMR material can change up to a 10.sup.6 percent. Most CMR materials are intrinsically isotropic in nature with respect to the supplied current and the incident magnetic field direction.
The response curve for a magnetoresistive material is often defined with the amplitude of the incident magnetic field along the X-axis, and the resulting resistance of the magnetoresistive material along the Y-axis. CMR and some GMR magnetoresistive materials often have both a symmetrical and isotropic response curve. A symmetrical response curve is one that is symmetrical about the Y-Axis. That is, the magnetoresistive material satisfies the equation R(H)=R(-H), where H is the incident magnetic field.
For CMR and some GMR magnetoresistive materials, the response curve is not perfectly symmetrical because of a hysteresis effects. FIG. 1 shows a response curve for a typical CMR magnetoresistive material. The response curve is nearly symmetrical (R(H).apprxeq.R(-H)) about H=0, with some hysteresis shown. For CMR and some GMR magnetoresistive materials, the hysteresis effects are small and can be effectively ignored except in the most sensitive magnetic sensor applications. As indicated above, CMR and some GMR magnetoresistive materials also have an isotropic response curve. An isotropic response curve is one that is independent of the direction of the incident magnetic field, usually within a sensor plane.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic of a typical resistance measurement of a magnetoresistive film 20. Only a portion of the magnetoresistive film 20 is shown. Input current terminals 22 and 24 are electrically connected to the magnetoresistive field 20, as shown. A current source 26 is then connected between input current terminals 22 and 24 to provide a current through the magnetoresistive film 20. Output voltage terminals 28 and 30 are also electrically connected to the magnetoresistive field 20, as shown. A volt meter 32 measures the voltage generated between the output voltage terminals 28 and 30. The voltage measured by volt meter 32 is proportional to the resistance of the magnetoresistive film 20.
To measure the response curve of a magnetoresistive material, an incident magnetic field H 38 is provided to the film 20 at an angle .theta. 34 relative to a reference direction 36 in the sensor plane. As indicated above, CMR and some GMR magnetoresistive materials are typically isotropic, exhibiting the same response curve regardless of the direction .theta. 34 of the incident magnetic field in the sensor plane.
For many applications, it is desirable to sense only one component of an incident magnetic field. AMR materials provide this function intrinsically. However, and as indicated above, AMR materials are have a much smaller magneto-resistive effect than materials such as CMR materials and some GMR materials. CMR and some GMR materials, while having a higher magneto-resistive effect, typically exhibit the same response curve regardless of the direction of the incident magnetic field in the sensor plane. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a magnetic field sensor that uses an isotropic material with a higher magneto-resistive effect, but anisotropic in that only a desired component of the incident magnetic field is sensed thereby.

Method and apparatus for sensing a desired component of an incident magnetic field using magneto resistive elements biased in different directions


Most of the dielectric ceramic compositions consist of three or more different lead-based or non-lead ceramics. These materials and their solid solutions can give high dielectric constants (er>10000) but the disadvantage is large fluctuations in the dielectric constant with increasing or decreasing temperature. Most applications of these materials are therefore concentrated on the utilization of their dielectric constants at a specific temperature. This invention provides a dielectric composite of the general formula (x)[Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3]:(1−x)[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3] having improved stability of dielectric constant in the working temperature range.

Most lead-based perovskite compounds yield high dielectric constant, e.g., εr>2000, which is the requirement for small capacitors in microelectronic industry. An advantage of the lead-based materials is low sintering temperature, which is typically below 1200° C. Since these lead-based ceramics have a wide range of Curie temperatures, a multilayer ceramic capacitor can be fabricated in different layers to meet the required temperature by integrating the overall properties of the multilayer.
Most of the dielectric ceramic compositions consist of three or more different lead-based or non-lead ceramics. In addition, in many cases, small amounts of some other elements are required to modify the main solid solution. Lead magnesium niobate Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3, lead nickel niobate Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3, lead zirconate PbZrO3 and lead titanate PbTiO3 are widely used as dielectric ceramic compositions. These materials and their solid solutions can give high dielectric constants (εr>10000) but the disadvantage is large fluctuations in the dielectric constant with increasing or decreasing temperature. Most applications of these materials are therefore concentrated on the utilization of their dielectric constants at a specific temperature. For example, lead magnesium niobate, lead nickel niobate and lead titanate, which are mentioned in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,988. The addition of strontium, barium and calcium ions to ternary ceramics replaces some of the Pb ions, enabling modification of the dielectric and temperature properties. The modified ternary ceramic systems exhibit high dielectric constants (εr>10000) and satisfying the Y5U characteristics (−30° C. to 85° C., ΔC/C (25° C.), +22% to −56%). In U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,215, the main components of the dielectric composition consist of lead magnesium tungstate (Pb(Mg1/2W1/2)O3), lead zirconate and lead titanate and at least one rare-earth oxide additive. The dielectric constants of these compositions vary from 1600 to 6800 but the variations in the dielectric constant at −30° C. and 85° C. are large. Typical variations are about 15% or more. Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,350 claims reasonably high dielectric constant (˜4000 to 10000) but the temperature stability falls within ±30%.

Dielectric composites and methods of making such


A method of managing distributed self-organizing network and base station is disclosed. The base station includes but not limited to a transmitter, a receiver, and a processor coupled to the transmitter and the receiver. The processor is configured at least to: create a management interface for receiving configuration information from surrounding base stations; subscribe the configuration information and store the configuration information into a table; receive, via the receiver through the management interface, the configuration information from a base station of the surrounding base stations; update the table based on the configuration information received from the base station of the surrounding base stations; and execute a distributed self-organizing network (DSON) algorithm comprising one of capacity and coverage optimization (CCO) algorithm, automatic neighbor relation (ANR) algorithm, and physical cell id (PCI) algorithm.

Depending on where a self-organizing network (SON) algorithm is executed, 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) classifies SON algorithms into centralized SON (CSON), distributed SON (DSON), and hybrid SON (HSON) architectures. In a CSON architecture, SON algorithms are executed at a centralized server. In a DSON architecture, SON algorithms are executed at a base station. In a HSON architecture, SON algorithms may be executed at either a centralized server or at a base station.
DSON algorithms which are executed at a base station may make use of the coordination between a base station and another base station to perform self-configuration, self-optimization, and self-healing at the base station. DSON algorithms have the advantage of easy deployment. However, it is generally more difficult for DSON algorithms to collect sufficient decision information for network optimization because the DSON algorithms are decentralized and executed at each individual base station.

Method of managing distributed self-organizing network by surrounding base station information and base station using the same

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A 3D model deformation program is provided capable of performing deformation processing of a 3D model using clusters in each drawing period in a video game. A CPU 21 finds for each cluster with which a vertex is associated the product of a weighting matrix expressing weightings representing the degree of association of a vertex in any desired frame with a cluster with which this vertex is associated, a co-ordinate transformation matrix for transforming the local co-ordinate system of the vertex in this frame to a world co-ordinate system, and an inverse transformation matrix which is the transformation matrix of the co-ordinate transformation matrix for transforming the local co-ordinate system of the vertex in the specified frame to the world co-ordinate system and finds an addition matrix by adding these products.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video game device wherein a three-dimensional (hereinafter simply '3D') model constituted by a plurality of polygons having vertices associated with clusters for defining an object to be deformed is deformed in conformity with a drawing period from data of each of frames relating to a motion sequence, a 3D model deformation program employed in this video game device, a recording medium which stores the 3D model deformation program and a 3D model deformation method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the characters appearing in video games, such as for example characters modeled on human beings, are constituted by models comprising the various parts of the human body, such as head, upper arm, lower arm, hand, breast, waist, thighs, shins and feet, such models being formed by putting flesh on bones (skeleton) employed solely for the purpose of position setting. Specifically, these models are usually constituted by a plurality of polygons, the vertices of these polygons being regulated and managed as positional data from the central co-ordinates of the bones (i.e. reference co-ordinates constituting co-ordinates taken as reference for setting the bone positions). When a motion sequence of a character is to be displayed in a video game, the shape of the character in a frame at a given instant is found by calculating the positions of the bones in this frame and then calculating the positions of the vertices of the polygons which are attached to these bones.
However, when a character is represented using a skeleton as described above, the skeleton is set for each part of the human body and fine deformation processing of the character cannot be performed. For example, if a single model (skeleton) is set up for the head of a character, although overall operations such as inclining the head can be represented, detailed facial expressions of the character cannot be represented.
On the other hand, in the field of computer graphics, cluster deformation processing is performed in which clusters are associated with a plurality of vertices of the polygons constituting a three-dimensional (hereinafter simply '3D') model and the plurality of vertices associated with these clusters are moved by moving the cluster in question.
For example, facial animation tools such as the FAMOUSfaces animator (manufactured by Famous Technologies, Pty. Ltd.) are employed in the field of computer graphics. With this software, movement of vertices is achieved by setting up clusters in respect of groups obtained by grouping a plurality of vertices of a polygon or NURBS model constituting a 3D model, so that the vertices belonging to each cluster in question can be moved. Also, a single vertex can be associated with a plurality of clusters and weightings set up indicating the degree of association of the vertex in question with respect to each cluster; the vertex in question can then be moved in accordance with the weightings of the plurality of clusters.
In this way, in deformation processing of a 3D model using the above clusters, fine deformation of the 3D model can be achieved and complex human facial expressions etc can easily be created; however, when deformation processing of a 3D model is applied to a video game, it is necessary to draw the game image including that of the character appearing in the video game rapidly with every frame period.
However, in order to perform such drawing, an enormous amount of positional calculation in respect of the vertices of a large number of polygons must be performed so this calculation cannot be processed within the frame period; thus 3D model deformation processing using clusters as employed in the field of computer graphics cannot be directly applied to video games.

Recording medium storing 3D model deformation program, 3D model deformation program, 3D model deformation method and video game device

Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka, Inc.


A method for extracting information from a corpus of data includes specifying a topic and a query term associated with the topic, and defining adjunct terms which may occur in the corpus in a context of the query term, the adjunct terms comprising one or more off-topic terms. Occurrences of the query term are found in the corpus, the occurrences including at least one occurrence of the query term together with at least one of the off-topic terms in the context of the query term. The at least one occurrence of the query term is classified as non-relevant to the topic responsively to the occurrence of the at least one of the off-topic terms in the context of the query term.

In recent years, the importance of the World Wide Web as a primary knowledge source has continually increased. Due to its wide availability and distributed structure, the Web allows a large population of users to express various opinions on an unbounded range of topics and issues, such as people, companies, organizations and products. The easiest method of finding the set of mentions of a subject of interest is to use a search engine. This approach may be feasible for relatively rarely-occurring subjects, but it quickly becomes impractical for commonly-used subject names. Furthermore, due to the infamous ambiguity of natural language, many names and other query terms may have several meanings. Thus, the challenge of searching a large, heterogeneous corpus of data like the Web becomes not only to find all the subject occurrences, but also to select only those occurrences that have the desired meaning.
For example, consider the Ford Explorer™ SUV. It is of potentially significant commercial value for Ford Corporation to track what people are saying about their product on the Web. To be able to do so, it is necessary to first collect a large number of Web pages that refer to the product name. Popular Web pages may refer to the Ford Explorer colloquially as Explorer, and pages of this sort may be of particular interest to the manufacturer. Simply searching for the term "explorer" is problematic, however, since the term is both frequent and highly ambiguous. A Google™ search for Explorer yields over 13 million hits, which include Internet Explorer, MSN Explorer, Mars Explorer, MedExplorer, and many more. Clearly, even a highly-motivated user will not be able to process these results effectively without further automated filtering.
Various methods are known in the art for refining search results and eliminating irrelevant search hits. For example, word sense disambiguation (WSD) attempts to determine the different possible senses of relevant words in a text of interest, and then to assign each occurrence of a word to the appropriate sense. Methods of WSD are surveyed by Ide and Veronis in "Word Sense Disambiguation: The State of the Art," Computational Linguistics 24:1 (1998), pages 1-40, which is incorporated herein by reference. The specific problem of disambiguating proper names, such as Explorer, is addressed by Wacholder et al., in "Disambiguation of Proper Names in Text," Fifth Conference on Applied Natural Language Processing (1997), pages 202-208, which is also incorporated herein by reference.
As noted by Ide and Veronis, disambiguation is typically based on two major sources of information: the context of the word to be disambiguated, and external knowledge sources, such as dictionaries. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,836, to Church et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus and methods for word disambiguation, based on determining whether a word/sense pair is proper for a context. Wide contexts (100 words) are used for both training and testing, and testing is done by adding the weights of vocabulary words from the context. This patent also discloses training techniques, including training using categories from Roget's Thesaurus.
Another method for enhancing search accuracy is query refinement, which adds terms to the original query provided by the user in order to give more precise search results. For example, Mitra et al. describe a method for adding query terms by blind feedback, without user input, in "Improving Automatic Query Expansion," Proceedings of the 21st Annual International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval (1998), pages 206-214, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Focused Web crawling can be used as an adjunct to keyword searching, in order to find groups of Web pages that are connected by hyperlinks and are therefore likely to be related to a common domain. This sort of "goal-directed" crawling is described, for example, by Chakrabarti et al., in "Focused Crawling: A New Approach to Topic-Specific Web Resource Discovery," Computer Networks 31 (1999), pages 1623-1640, which is incorporated herein by reference. The focused crawler attempts to selectively seek out pages that are relevant to a predefined set of topics, which are typically specified using exemplary documents.
Other, related methods for document search, disambiguation and classification are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,371,807; 5,873,056; and 6,038,560, whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.

International Business Machines Corporation