The present invention relates to a digital offset phase-locked loop (DOPLL), which may have advantages of size, simplicity, performance, design portability, or any combination thereof, compared to analog-based phase-locked loops (PLLs). The DOPLL may include a digital controlled oscillator (DCO), which provides a controllable frequency output signal based on a digital control signal, a radio frequency (RF) mixer circuit, which provides a reduced-frequency feedback signal based on the controllable frequency output signal without reducing loop gain, a time-to-digital converter (TDC), which provides a digital feedback signal that is a time representation of the reduced-frequency feedback signal, and digital PLL circuitry, which provides the digital control signal based on the digital feedback signal and a digital setpoint signal.

Frequency synthesizers are often used when an electrical signal having a variable or controllable frequency is needed. For example, modern wireless communications systems may need to transmit data using different transmit channels having different frequencies. One traditional approach to providing a controllable frequency is a phase-locked loop (PLL).
FIG. 1 shows a traditional PLL 10 according to the prior art. The traditional PLL 10 includes a first voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 12, a first fractional-N divider 14, a first phase/frequency detector 16, a first charge pump 18, and a first loop filter 20. The first VCO 12, the first fractional-N divider 14, the first phase/frequency detector 16, the first charge pump 18, and the first loop filter 20 forms a control loop having a loop gain and a loop bandwidth. The control loop uses a first reference signal VREF1 to synthesize a controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT based on feeding back and frequency reducing the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT for comparison with the first reference signal VREF1.
The first VCO 12 provides the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT, which may be fed to other circuitry needing a controllable frequency signal. Additionally, the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT is fed to the first fractional-N divider 14, which is one form of frequency reduction circuitry. The first fractional-N divider 14 reduces the frequency of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT by using digital divide circuitry to provide a first feedback signal VFB1, which has a frequency that is a fraction of the frequency of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT. Traditional digital dividers typically divide a frequency of an input signal by an integer value. A fractional-N divider may be provided by varying or modulating the integer value to divide the frequency of the input signal by a value that is on average a fractional multiple of an integer.
The first feedback signal VFB1 is fed to the first phase/frequency detector 16. Additionally, the first reference signal VREF1 is fed to the first phase/frequency detector 16, which compares the first feedback signal VFB1 and the first reference signal VREF1 to provide a first phase-error signal VPES1 based on a phase difference or a frequency difference between the first feedback signal VFB1 and the first reference signal VREF1. The first phase-error signal VPES1 is fed to the first change pump 18, which applies gain to the first phase-error signal VPES1 to provide a first charge pump output signal ICPO1. The first charge pump output signal ICPO1 is fed to the first loop filter 20, which filters the first charge pump output signal ICPO1 to provide a first control signal VCS1 to the first VCO 12. The frequency of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT is based on the first control signal VCS1.
As previously discussed, the first VCO 12, the first fractional-N divider 14, the first phase/frequency detector 16, the first charge pump 18, and the first loop filter 20 form a control loop having a loop gain and a loop bandwidth. The loop bandwidth may be determined primarily by a lowpass filter response from the first loop filter 20. The loop gain may be determined primarily by the first charge pump 18, which typically increases the loop gain, and the first fractional-N divider 14, which typically reduces the loop gain. To maintain loop stability, the loop bandwidth may need to be fairly narrow due to the reduction in the loop gain caused by the first fractional-N divider 14.
As wireless devices, such as cell phones, wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), or the like, evolve and provide expanded feature sets, wireless communications protocols become increasingly complex and demanding in utilization of bandwidth. Sophisticated modulation methods are used to convey as much information as possible while using as little bandwidth as possible. For example, polar modulation methods, which use a combination of phase modulation and amplitude modulation to encode data, are using increasing numbers of constellation points to encode data. Some wireless communications systems phase-modulate PLLs inside the control loop to provide phase-modulated signals. The loop bandwidth of such PLLs must be wide enough to provide accurate phase modulation. However, the high in-band noise of some traditional PLLs may be too high to allow a wide enough loop bandwidth to support the required modulation bandwidth. Therefore, a PLL having a low in-band noise, allowing a wider loop bandwidth than a traditional PLL's loop bandwidth is needed.
FIG. 2 shows a fractional-N offset PLL (FNOPLL) 22 according to the prior art. Both the FNOPLL 22 and the traditional PLL 10 (FIG. 1) include the first VCO 12, the first fractional-N divider 14, the first phase/frequency detector 16, the first charge pump 18, and the first loop filter 20. However, in the FNOPLL 22, the first fractional-N divider 14 is moved outside the control loop and is replaced with a first radio frequency (RF) mixer circuit 24, which includes an RF mixer 26 and a sideband selection filter and buffer 28 in the control loop. A PLL having the RF mixer 26 is called an offset PLL or a translational PLL. The controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT is fed to the RF mixer 26, which is one form of frequency reduction circuitry. The RF mixer 26 mixes the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT and a local oscillator (LO) output signal VLOOUT to provide an intermediate frequency (IF) signal VIF to the sideband selection filter and buffer 28. The IF signal VIF has two sideband components as a result of mixing the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT and the LO output signal VLOOUT. A frequency of one of the sideband components, called an upper sideband component, is equal to a sum of the frequencies of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT and the LO output signal VLOOUT. A frequency of the other of the sideband components, called a lower sideband component, is equal to a difference of the frequencies of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT and the LO output signal VLOOUT.
The sideband selection filter and buffer 28 removes the upper sideband component and provides a filtered IF signal VFIF based on buffering the lower sideband component. A LO 30 provides the LO output signal VLOOUT to the RF mixer 26 and to the first fractional-N divider 14, which reduces the frequency of the LO output signal VLOOUT by using digital divide circuitry to provide a divided LO signal VDLO, which has a frequency that is a fraction of the frequency of the LO output signal VLOOUT. The filtered IF signal VFIF and the divided LO signal VDLO are fed to the first phase/frequency detector 16, which compares the filtered IF signal VFIF and the divided LO signal VDLO to provide the first phase-error signal VPES1 based on a phase difference or a frequency difference between the filtered IF signal VFIF and the divided LO signal VDLO. The first phase-error signal VPES1 is fed to the first charge pump 18, which applies gain to the first phase-error signal VPES1 to provide the first charge pump output signal ICPO1. The first charge pump output signal ICPO1 is fed to the first loop filter 20, which filters the first charge pump output signal ICPO1 to provide the first control signal VCS1 to the first VCO 12. The frequency of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT is based on the first control signal VCS1.
The filtered IF signal VFIF replaces the first feedback signal VFB1 (FIG. 1) and the divided LO signal VDLO replaces the first reference signal VREF1 (FIG. 1). A frequency of the divided LO signal VDLO is equal to the frequency of the LO output signal VLOOUT divided by an average division ratio associated with the first fractional-N divider 14. Since the average division ratio may be any value, within resolution, tolerance, and operating constraints, an average frequency of the divided LO signal VDLO may be any value. Therefore, the frequency of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT may be any value, within resolution, tolerance, and operating constraints.
The first fractional-N divider 14 includes a divider 32, a delta-sigma modulator 34, and a summation circuit 36. The divider 32 receives the LO output signal VLOOUT and provides the divided LO signal VDLO based on dividing the LO output signal VLOOUT using a modulated division integer, which is provided by the summation circuit 36. The summation circuit 36 receives and adds a first fractional integer FFN-N and a modulation integer MN to provide the modulated division integer. The divided LO signal VDLO feeds a clock input CLK of the delta-sigma modulator 34, which receives a first fractional modulation numerator FFN-NUM and uses the divided LO signal VDLO to provide the modulation integer MN based on the first fractional modulation numerator FFN-NUM. The modulation integer MN is an integer that may toggle between two or more values with a duty-cycle. Both the duty-cycle and the integer values are based on the first fractional modulation numerator FFN-NUM and the divided LO signal VDLO. By combining the modulation integer MN and the first fractional integer FFN-N, the summation circuit 36 provides the modulated division integer to the divider 32.
Since the modulated division integer is modulated, the divided LO signal VDLO is also modulated, and since the division ratio is equal to the frequency of the LO output signal VLOOUT divided by the frequency of the divided LO signal VDLO, the division ratio is also modulated. However, the division ratio may average to any value within resolution and tolerance constraints. Normally, the frequency of modulation of the modulated division integer is greater than the loop bandwidth, such that the frequency of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT is about constant when the first fractional modulation numerator FFN-NUM and the first fractional integer FFN-N are constant. Therefore, the frequency of the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT is based on the average division ratio.
The modulation associated with the first fractional-N divider 14 is generally used to select the average or center frequency associated with the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT; however, additional modulation for communication may be applied to the divider modulus to modulate the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT. Such a modulation must operate within the loop bandwidth to pass undistorted to the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT. The controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT may be phase modulated, frequency modulated, or both, by varying the first fractional modulus numerator FFN-NUM, the first fractional integer FFN-N, or both. Since the loop bandwidth of the traditional PLL 10 (FIG. 1) may be fairly narrow to maintain stability due to the loop gain reduction associated with the first fractional-N divider 14 (FIG. 1), the traditional PLL 10 may be unusable for modulating the controlled oscillator output signal VCOOUT. However, the RF mixer 26 may not reduce the loop gain significantly; therefore, the loop bandwidth may be fairly wide while maintaining loop stability, such that the loop bandwidth may be wide enough to support modulation requirements of many wireless communications protocols.
FIG. 3 shows details of the LO 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 according to the prior art. The LO 30 is similar to the traditional PLL 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, and includes a second VCO 38, a second fractional-N divider 40, a second phase/frequency detector 42, a second charge pump 44, and a second loop filter 46, and has the LO output signal VLOOUT, a second feedback signal VFB2, a LO reference signal VLOREF, a second phase-error signal VPES2, a second charge pump output signal ICPO2, and a second control signal VCS2, respectively. An LO modulation numerator LO-NUM and a LO integer LO-N may be provided to the second fractional-N divider 40 to select a division ratio of the frequency of the LO output signal VLOOUT divided by the frequency of the second feedback signal VFB2.
While the FNOPLL 22 illustrated in FIG. 2 has advantages over the traditional PLL 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the FNOPLL 22 may have challenges as wireless communications protocols evolve, modulation frequencies increase, and linearity and accuracy requirements increase. For example, at higher offset frequencies of the FNOPLL 22, a well-controlled notch may be required in a transfer function of the first loop filter 20 to suppress the modulated divider noise spectrum in the FNOPLL 22. To precisely control the frequency of the notch, components in the first loop filter 20 may need to be calibrated. Further, additional poles that may be required by the notch in the first loop filter 20 may mandate that a zero in the transfer function of the first loop filter 20 be a very low frequency in order to maintain loop stability. Calibration circuitry and circuitry mandated by the additional poles and a very low frequency zero may add cost, complexity, circuit area, power consumption, or any combination thereof. Additionally, phase detectors and charge pumps operating at higher frequencies may require closer tolerances and may be difficult to design, manufacture, or both. Thus, there is a need for a PLL that is better suited for the challenges presented by evolving wireless communication protocols, providing a low in-band noise allowing a wide loop bandwidth with reasonable cost and complexity.


A semiconductor amplifier 1 includes transistors 21a and 21b mounted side by side on a bottom plate 2 in a space in a package 6, a matching circuit 22a mounted between the transistors 21a, 21b on the bottom plate 2, a matching circuit 22b mounted on an opposite side of the transistor 21b from the transistor 21a on the bottom plate 2, an input terminal TIN installed on one side of a wiring substrate 3, an output terminal TOUT installed on the other side of the wiring substrate 3, and gate bias terminals T1G and T2G and drain bias terminals T1D and T2D installed at positions with the input terminal TIN and the output terminal TOUT of the wiring substrate 3, and the transistor 21a, the matching circuit 22a, the transistor 21b, and the matching circuit 22b are linearly placed between the input terminal TIN and the output terminal TOUT.

As an apparatus that amplifies a high frequency signal, an apparatus in which a plurality of metallized surfaces are formed on an insulating substrate, one transistor chip is placed on one of the metallized surfaces, and an input matching circuit is placed on another grounded metallized surface on the insulating substrate is known (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H5-243871). In this apparatus, an input terminal is installed on one side of the insulating substrate, and an output terminal is installed on the other side of the insulating substrate.
Also, as a configuration of a high frequency amplifier in which two transistors are connected in multiple stages, a configuration in which two transistors and a matching circuit are placed on a circuit board in a package is known (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-19068). In this amplifier, a terminal for inputting an input signal to a gate of a first stage transistor via a matching circuit, a terminal for supplying a bias to the gate of the first stage transistor via a matching circuit, and a terminal for supplying a bias to a gate of a second stage transistor via a matching circuit are installed on a first side of the circuit board in this order, and a terminal for supplying a bias to a drain of the first stage transistor via a matching circuit, a terminal for supplying a bias to a drain of the second stage transistor via a matching circuit, and a terminal for outputting an output signal from the drain of the second stage transistor via a matching circuit are installed on a second side opposite to the first side of the circuit board in this order.
In the high frequency amplifier disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-19068, bias interference occurs because terminals for supplying a bias to the two transistors are adjacent to each other. Therefore, there are cases in which the output signal is unable to be generated stably. Therefore, there is a demand for a semiconductor amplifier that generates a stable output signal by preventing bias interference in multiple stages of transistors.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

SUMITOMO ELECTRIC DEVICE INNOVATIONS, INC.


A method of Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA) in an interworking between first and second networks that do not belong in the same administrative domain, using certificate based transactions. In the method according to the invention, the second network sends a public key to the first network, and a certificate to a mobile device. The certificate includes information regarding the subscription level of the mobile device and is signed with a private key of the second network. Upon detection of the first network the mobile device transmits the certificate and the first network authenticates the certificate using the public and private keys of the second network, and authorizes access to the network in response. The first network then sends a session key encrypted with a public key of the mobile device. The mobile device decrypts the session key with a private key and access the first network using the session key. In this manner, interworking is implemented without requiring the deployment of a special interworking function to bridge between the two different types of networks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to networking and, more particularly, to a certificate based Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA) scheme for loose coupling interworking between two different access networks.
2. Related Art
Typically, Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) are required to access and utilize networks such as cellular networks and Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). However, the implementing of AAA can be difficult as well as requiring additional software and/or hardware in the case of interworking between two different radio access networks that do not belong to the same administrative domain and do not share the same AAA schemes.
There are two main types of interworking between cellular networks and WLANs: tight coupling and loose coupling. In a loose coupling scenario, the WLAN and the cellular network have independent data paths but the AAA for WLAN users relies on cellular network AAA functions. However, the cellular network AAA protocols (MAP/SS7) are incompatible with Internet Protocol (IP) based protocols used by WLAN users. Two approaches have been proposed. In the first approach, an AAA interface is provided in the cellular network Home Location Register (HLR). This requires either duplicating HLR data or providing a protocol converter between Radius/Diameter and MAP. In the second approach, if the Mobile Terminal (MT) uses a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card based authentication mechanism (e.g., NOKIA's wireless operator LAN), then the AAA will follow the cellular procedure. An AAA InterWorking Function (IWF) is necessary to interface with the HLR and an MT. Functionality wise, it is similar to a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN) or Mobile Switching Center (MSC) from the AAA perspective except AAA traffic is carried through IP.
With both approaches, special interworking functions or gateways need to be deployed by the cellular operators. With the second approach, users are required to have a SIM card for WLAN access, but most WLAN users do not have SIM cards available on their laptops or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
Accordingly, it would be desirable and highly advantageous to have an Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA) scheme for the case of interworking between two different networks that do not belong to the same administrative domain and do not share the same AAA schemes, where the AAA scheme does not require the deployment of a special interworking function to bridge between the two different types of networks.

Certificate based authentication authorization accounting scheme for loose coupling interworking


An accompaniment determination apparatus includes a past sensor information memory configured to store past sensor information, the past sensor information acquired by sensors respectively worn by two or more users, a sensor information receiver configured to receive sensor information from the sensor worn by each of two or more users, an accompanying user determiner configured to determine at a determination time point whether two or more users are accompanying each other, using the past sensor information and the received sensor information, and an output unit configured to output information indicating a result of the determining. The accompaniment determination apparatus thus determines on a real-time basis whether the two or more users are accompanying each other using the sensor information without collecting position information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accompaniment determination apparatus configured to determine whether a user is accompanying another user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Real-time determination is performed to determine whether one is accompanying another user. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-40063 discloses an apparatus that acquires information related to surroundings of a user using position information acquired by a sensor worn by the user.
Such a related art technique based on position information is used to determine whether two or more users are accompanying each other. The related art technique of collecting a track of the user involves high costs to protect privacy of the user.

Accompaniment determination apparatus, accompaniment determination method, and computer readable storage medium


A health care information input apparatus comprising:. a substantially rectangular housing having a front wall; PA1 a computer having memory mounted in said housing; PA1 a touch screen mounted on said front wall of said housing and connected to said computer; PA1 a bar code scanner mounted in said housing and having a scanning face which is mounted on said front wall of said housing adjacent to said touchscreen, said bar code scanner connected to said computer; and PA1 a network interface socket mounted on said housing and connected to said computer; PA1 wherein information input at said touch screen and at said bar code scanner are stored in said computer memory for transmission via said network interface.

In conventional film/screen radiography, the radiology procedure can follow the following scenario. 1. A requisition is filled out by a radiologist (or other health care professional) ordering a specific x-ray exam to be performed on a patient. The requisition is sent to the radiology department. 2. A technologist takes the requisition, one or more x-ray film cassettes, and positions the patient at an x-ray source. 3. The technologist performs the exam and the x-ray film(s) is exposed to x-rays which have been projected through a body part(s) of the patient. 4. The requisition is taped to the cassette and the exposed film is taken to a dark room to be developed. 5. At the darkroom a preprinted information card is flashed on to the film. Such information includes the patient name, patient ID number, patient birth date, health care facility name, current time and date, etc. 6. The film is processed and the technologist verifies that a good image has been recorded. 7. A sticker is applied to the film which records the date, time of exposure, exposure technique (kilovolts, milliamps, distance). 8. The finished x-ray film(s) are placed on a light box for review and diagnosis by a radiologist or physician.
Because of the inherent disadvantages of conventional radiography (as outlined above) in the acquisition, storage and transmission of patient x-ray images, a digital storage phosphor radiography system has come into use. In such a system, a storage phosphor contained in a cassette, is exposed to an x-ray image of a body part of a patient in the same manner as in conventional film-screen radiography. The exposed storage phosphor is read out in a storage phosphor reader to produce a digital x-ray image of the patient's body part. The digital x-ray image can then be processed to improve the image, displayed at a high resolution display station for review and diagnosis by a radiologist, transmitted to a remote location for display, stored in image storage, or sent to a radiographic printer for reproduction in visual form on film.
As with film-based radiography, storage phosphor radiography requires the matching of an x-ray image with a patient. In one known storage phosphor radiography system, patient information is entered into a workstation and is transferred to a magnetic card (See: U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,242, issued Feb. 3, 1987, inventor Kimura). After an exposure on a storage phosphor is made, a technologist places the cassette containing the exposed storage phosphor in a reader and transfers the corresponding patient information into the reader by swiping the patient's magnetic card through an associated magnetic card reader. Problems arise from double entry of patient information where such information has already been entered in a hospital information system when the patient entered the hospital, and from maintaining proper ordering of the storage phosphor cassettes and the patient information.
In another known storage phosphor radiography system (U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,355, issued May 23, 1995, inventor Weil), a hand-held bar code scanner is used to scan into the scanner bar code information relating to storage phosphor ID, patient ID, technologist ID, exam data, exposure technique, etc. The scanned information is then transferred to the storage phosphor reader at a bar code scanner download station located at the reader. Although this system is useful for the purposes for which it was intended, it would be desirable for the technologist not to have to carry a hand-held bar code scanner along with the storage phosphor cassettes, which can be quite bulky and heavy. Moreover, downloading of the information at a storage phosphor reader can be time consuming, where other technologists may be lined up wanting to do the same thing. It would also be desirable to reduce the amount of information that a technologist must enter for each cassette, if some of such information already exists in a HIS/RIS (Hospital Information System/Radiology Information System) that is accessible over a network.

Remote health care information input apparatus


The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, Prunus persica, broadly characterized by a large size, vigorous, hardy, self-fertile, productive and regular bearing tree. The variety blooms during the mid season and requires about 525 chilling hours. The fruit matures under the ecological conditions described in mid to late June, with first picking on Jun. 13, 2015. The fruit is large in size, globose to slightly oblong in shape, clingstone in type, firm in texture, yellow in flesh color, full red in skin color, sweet, and sub-acidic in flavor.

In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. We also grow a smaller number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits, usually to capture recessive traits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as 'Candysweet XII'.
The present variety was hybridized by us in 2008 as a first generation cross using a '5P452' white flesh nectarine (unpatented) as the selected seed parent and 'Kay Diamond VII' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,715) nectarine, as the selected pollen parent. Upon reaching maturity the fruit of this cross was gathered, and the seeds were removed, cracked, stratified, germinated, and grown as seedlings on their own root in our greenhouse. Upon reaching dormancy the seedlings were transplanted as a group to a cultivated area of our experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif., in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). During the fruit evaluation season of 2012 we selected the present variety as a single tree from the group of seedlings described above. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original tree in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of 'Nemaguard' (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, '5P452' (unpatented) white nectarine, by producing nectarines that are firm, mostly red in skin color, nearly globose in shape, clingstone in type, and sub-acidic in flavor, but is quite distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is yellow instead of white in flesh color and sweeter in flavor.
The present variety is similar to its pollen parent, 'Kay Diamond VII' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,715) nectarine, by producing nectarines that are large in size, firm in texture, mostly red in skin color, globose to oblong in shape, clingstone in type, and yellow in flesh color, but is quite distinguished therefrom by having globose leaf glands instead of being eglandular, by blooming in the mid season instead of early, and by producing fruit that is sub-acidic instead of acidic in flavor and that matures about twenty-three days later.
The present variety is most similar to 'Sugarine I' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,585) nectarine by being self-fertile, by having globose leaf glands, and by producing nectarines that are similar in size, firm in texture, mostly red in skin color, yellow in flesh color, nearly globose in shape, clingstone in type and excellent in flavor, but is distinguished therefrom by blooming earlier, by being a larger tree, and by producing fruit that has a bitter instead of sweet kernel and that matures about twelve days earlier.


Architecture and method for the centralised control of events occurring in correspondence with remote peripheral electronic devices, in particular wireless devices, provided with radio units which are periodically turned on and turned off in order to limit electric power consumption to a minimum, said architecture and said method allowing for the synchronised bi-directional transmission of information between said peripheral devices and a central device.

A. Field
The invention relates to an architecture and a method for the centralised control of events occurring in correspondence with remote peripheral electronic devices.
More specifically, the invention concerns an architecture and a method for the centralised control, of the kind suitable to be employed in all those situations in which a remote control is required for peripheral devices that hardly accessible for example due to their distance or their large number, by means of a central device.
B. Related Art
The invention can be advantageously employed, for instance in the fields of security, of anti-theft systems, and of the remote control of environmental parameters, such as temperature, humidity, pressure, etc., by means of remote sensors.
It is known that architectures where one or more peripheral electronic devices are able to continuously transmit information to a central device are currently employed. for the centralised control of events occurring in correspondence with remote peripheral electronic devices.
The information transmission from the peripheral to the central device takes place by means of a transmitting unit provided in the peripheral device, through cables, optical fibres, infrared rays, laser, etc., or, preferably, radio waves.
In particular applications, where the peripheral devices are located in areas where no power supply is available, devices autonomously supplied by batteries or accumulators are employed. In such conditions, i.e. when the peripheral devices are battery supplied, and anyway in every situation where it is desirable to minimise current consumption in correspondence with peripheral devices, for example in the case when these devices are very large in number, architectures where the radio unit with which the peripheral devices are equipped is intermittently supplied were developed in the past.
As well known, indeed, in the peripheral devices the receiving and transmitting units absorb most of the electric power supplied by the batteries and, consequently, remarkable savings can be achieved by alternating turn-on and turn-off phases of these units, with an outstanding increase in batteries life.
Another reason for reducing to a minimum the turn-on time slots of the radio unit, in particular of the transmitting unit, lies in the fact that the rules currently in force for the utilisation of the frequencies employed in many applications, for example in the field of remote control, security, etc., allow bus occupancy only for short time slots.
WO 01/26069 discloses, for instance, a peripheral device where a sensor, provided with a transmitting and receiving unit, is periodically supplied for receiving a synchronisation signal from the base station and for transmitting in its turn a flow of information. If the base station receives the flow of information from the peripheral device, it sends a confirmation to the peripheral devices, which can consequently deactivate the supply to the sensor.
Nevertheless, an architecture based on the principle disclosed in the above mentioned WO 01/26069 does not allow to modify the operation parameters of the peripheral device. In other words, the peripheral device, once programmed, cannot undergo further remote modifications of its operation parameters, such as the turn-on, turn-off time slots of the sensor, without directly intervening on the device.
This arises from the fact that the autonomous transmission of flows of information from the central devices to the peripheral ones is not envisaged, but only the transmission of confirmation signals of the reception is provided.
In other words, the receiving unit provided in the peripheral devices, though allowing a bi-directional exchange of data, is intended only to receive a confirmation signal.
The need for a direct intervention on the peripheral device in order to perform its programming involves remarkable drawbacks and limitations, in particular in open-field applications, where the peripheral devices are placed at a large distance from one another and they are large in number.
Furthermore, the prior art architectures do not envisage the possibility of providing devices, either peripheral or central, exclusively supplied by battery and consequently provided with receiving and transmitting units that are periodically turned off.

Architecture and method for the centralised control of remote peripheral electronic devices


The invention concerns a method and apparatus to synthesize a frequency employing digital phase words to represent successive phase values. A digital dither signal generator is used to generate a succession of dither words which are summed with the phase words to form address words. The address words are used to address a store to convert the address words to waveform values. The periodic quantisation noise introduced by the digital process is made more random by means of the dither words thereby reducing the quantisation noise components while accepting an increased total noise power. The synthesizer is of particular advantage when used to generate the reference frequency for a frequency multiplier implemented as a phase lock loop. By making the dither sequence repetition frequency outside the phase lock loop bandwidth, the spurious components are removed from the frequency range of interest.

It is already known to implement a direct digital synthesizer including a frequency latch, a phase accumulator, and a ROM based waveform generator. The ROM based waveform generator is used to drive a digital to analogue converter to produce the desired analogue output waveform. The phase accumulator is used to generate a sequence of digital binary values which are used to address the ROM to select stored digital values representing the waveform to be generated. The size of the ROM can be reduced by subjecting the digital values from the phase accumulator to a quantisation process to truncate the size of the digital words which address the ROM.
Such a quantisation process results in the introduction of periodic quantisation noise and it has already been proposed to add a dither signal to the output from the phase accumulator so that the digital values from the phase accumulator are added to random digital values from the dither generator. The result is to make the quantisation noise more random and thereby reduce the spurious quantisation components whilst accepting an increased total noise power.


Methods and apparatus described herein form barcode characters by determining a number of pixels associated with forming a first bar and a second bar of a first barcode character. A separation width value associated with the first bar and the second bar is determined based on the number of pixels. A second separation width value is then generated based on the at least one separation width value. A barcode character is then formed based on the second separation width value.

Barcode characters are used to encode information in a form that is readable by a barcode scanning machine. Typically, a barcode character includes alternating areas of black and white in various shapes and sizes to encode letters and/or numbers. White areas of a barcode tend to reflect light, while black areas of a barcode tend to absorb light. A barcode scanner reads a barcode by emitting light on the barcode and detecting a pattern of reflected light reflected from the barcode.
Typically, a barcode scanner (including associated decoding logic) can consistently read a range of shapes or sizes of black and white bars. Barcodes that are too small and barcodes that are too large for the scanner may not be read correctly. For many types of barcode scanners, this range is specified by a number of bars per inch (bpi) the scanners are equipped to handle. Typically, the bars per inch specification includes an optimum point and a tolerance range. For example, the United States Postal Service (USPS) uses a barcode scanning system called Merlin to read zip codes on bulk mailings. The Merlin system has a bars per inch specification of 22 bpi±2 bpi. Mail that includes a destination zip code in barcode format that can be read by the Merlin system receives a discounted postal rate. Mail that is rejected by the Merlin system for failure to read the bar-coded zipcode does not receive the discounted postal rate.
Many printers used to print barcodes create the black areas of the barcode by printing a plurality of black dots called pixels. However, printers are typically only capable of printing some finite number of black dots or pixels within a predetermined area. Typically, the resolution associated with a printer is specified as the maximum dots per inch (dpi) of the printer. For example, a Scitex printer, which is often used to print bar-coded zipcodes on mail, has a dots per inch specification of 120 dpi.
If the printer resolution is relatively large and/or the number of bars per inch desired is relatively low, barcode characters that meet the bpi specification with uniform black bar thickness and uniform white space thickness may be produced by the printer. However, if the printer resolution is relatively low and/or the number of bars per inch desired is relatively high, barcode characters that meet the bpi specification with uniform black bar thickness and uniform white space thickness may not be produced by the printer.

Methods and apparatus for forming barcode characters


A method and an apparatus for switching from the main frequency to an Alternative Frequency (AF) providing the same station is provided. The method includes measuring a received signal strength of a main frequency, receiving at least one alternative frequency list, establishing an accumulated alternative frequency list including all previously received alternative frequency lists, comparing the received signal strength of the main frequency with a predefined reference received signal strength, and attempting, when the received signal strength of the main frequency is less than the reference received signal strength, switching to an alternative frequency in the accumulated alternative frequency list.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frequency switching method for a Radio Data System (RDS). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for switching from the main frequency to an Alternative Frequency providing the same station.
2. Description of the Related Art
An RDS is a system for providing information services (such as a traffic information service, a paging service, and an automatic tuning) using a subcarrier of a Frequency Modulation (FM) broadcast. A terminal, such as mobile terminal and a navigation device can be configured to provide a user with the aforementioned information service using RDS data.
The RDS data may include an Alternative Frequency (AF) list, a broadcast station name, a nationality of station, and a Program Identification (PI) code identifies the station.
Typically, an RDS-enabled terminal provides an automatic tuning function to switch from the main frequency to one of alternative frequencies listed in the AF list. This means that the user does not need to retune the frequency, but the terminal measures the received signal strength of the main frequency and switches, when the received signal strength is equal to or less than a threshold value, to an alternative frequency, resulting in improvement of user convenience.
However, when the terminal measures the received signal strength of the alternative frequency and determines the PI code, a sound discontinuation effect occurs. The sound discontinuation is an effect in which no sound is heard for a few milliseconds or seconds in the middle of listening to the radio.
Typically, the alternative frequency-switching function is configured to be executed in an environment where the electric field does not vary abruptly. In such an environment, there is no need to determine the received signal strength of the main frequency so frequently that the received signal strength measurement cycle can be set to a relatively long time.
In a case where the long measurement cycle is applied in the environment wherein the electric field varies abruptly, the terminal cannot switch to an alternative frequency strong enough in the received signal strength in due time.
FIG. 1 illustrates a broadcasting system in which stations are overlapped in their radio coverage regions according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, three frequencies, i.e., 102.4 Mhz, 105.1 Mhz, and 88.3 Mhz, are overlapped in a region 11. In the region 11, the electric field varies abruptly such that the received signal strength of the main frequency is likely to decrease. At this time, the alternative frequency is likely to have a good signal strength and thus it is a good policy to switch to the alternative frequency quickly. For this purpose, the received signal strength determination cycle needs to be set to a short time.
However, if the received signal strength determination cycle is too short, the frequency switching occurs frequently, resulting in an increase of the number of sound discontinuations.
Especially in a building or basement, both the current and alternative frequencies become weak in strength. In this case, the frequency switching to the alternative frequency is likely to fail due to the weak signal strengths of both the current and alternative frequencies. If the terminal attempts frequency switching without consideration of such environment, the sound discontinuation effect occurs frequently without successful frequency switching.
The weak electric field environment may occur temporarily when the terminal passes through a tunnel or has change in antenna conditions. In such a case, since the electric field condition is recovered soon, maintaining the main frequency is preferred. However, the terminal of the related art attempts frequency switching repeatedly because the received signal strength of the current signal is poor without consideration that the poor signal condition can be recovered soon, resulting in frequency sound discontinuation effects.
There is therefore a need for an apparatus and a method for switching between frequencies in the RDS that is capable of reducing the occurrence of sound discontinuation effect in consideration of various radio listening environments.

Frequency switching method and apparatus for radio data system


A theft prevention apparatus of a leisure vehicle equipped with a rider's seat which opens outside is disclosed. The theft prevention apparatus typically includes a portable transmitter configured to transmit a user identification code by radio at predetermined intervals during travel of the vehicle, a vehicle receiver mounted in the vehicle and configured to receive the user identification code which is transmitted by radio from the portable transmitter, a controller coupled to the vehicle receiver through a signal line or by radio, and an alarm device mounted in the vehicle and configured to indicate an alarm to inform the rider that the portable transmitter has been lost, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether or not the vehicle receiver has received the user identification code transmitted from the transmitter within a predetermined time during travel of the vehicle, and to execute control to cause the alarm device to indicate the alarm when the controller determines that the receiver does not receive the user identification code within the predetermined time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a theft prevention apparatus configured to prevent theft (defined to include a loss of a transmitter as well as theft in a general sense) of leisure vehicles such as motor vehicles including motorcycles, three-wheeled vehicles, and four-wheeled vehicles equipped with riders' seats which open outside, personal watercraft (PWC), etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a motorcycle or personal watercraft, each of which is a type of leisure vehicle, is equipped with a rider's seat which is open to the outside. So, a rider may freely mount the rider's seat. During operation, in many cases a rider steers the vehicle wearing gloves. Therefore, it is difficult for the rider to take out a key from a pocket or the like with a hand wearing a glove.
When the rider comes closer to a predetermined distance away from the vehicle, a user identification (ID) code is transmitted from a portable transmitter put in the pocket or the like and is received by a receiver equipped in the vehicle. A controller built into the vehicle determines whether or not the received code matches a correct user ID code. If it is determined that the received code matches the correct user ID code, the controller configures the vehicle for a start-up condition, whereas if it is determined that the received code does not match the correct user ID code, the controller configures the vehicle to an unsteerable condition. Such a remote-controllable theft prevention apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 8-120992.
However, since leisure vehicles such as motorcycles or personal watercraft are equipped with a rider's seat which is open to the outside as described above, anyone can mount the seat. If the rider (owner) carrying the transmitter associated with the vehicle comes closer to a predetermined distance, for example, 10 meters away from the vehicle, then the user ID code matches the correct user ID code, so that someone riding on the seat, other than the rider (owner), may start-up an engine of the vehicle. As a result, there exists a chance of theft of the vehicle.
Furthermore, since the rider's seat is open to the outside as mentioned above, the transmitter may fall off of the pocket or the like and may be lost during travel of the vehicle. In that case, if the rider (owner) stops the vehicle and turns off a power supply of the vehicle at a gas station or the like, even the rider (owner) cannot start-up the vehicle again.

Theft prevention apparatus of leisure vehicle


The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for flow control in a wellbore in a well having at least one deviated wellbore drilled as an extension of the primary wellbore. More specifically, an assembly is run into the primary wellbore, aligned and anchored and a retrievable or replaceable flow control device is installed within the assembly.

It is not uncommon for a vertical well to encounter a plurality of hydrocarbon bearing formations with varying degrees of potential productivity. Due to differences in reservoir pressure, fluid content, and petrophysical properties, downhole commingling of production from multiple zones if often not only detrimental to the ultimate recovery of the well, but prohibited by government regulatory agencies.
A number of different completion methods have been used to independently produce multiple zones encountered in a single well. In the simplest of these completion techniques, the lowermost productive zone is perforated and produced until the hydrocarbon production rate becomes economically marginal. Then, the zone is abandoned and the well is recompleted to the next shallower zone. Upon depletion of this zone, the well is again recompleted to the next shallower zone. Upon depletion of this zone, the well is again recompleted and produced until all potential zones have been produced. Upon depletion of the shallowest productive zone, the well is plugged and abandoned. A graph showing hydrocarbon production rate versus time for such a well would typically exhibit a "roller coaster" profile with relatively high production rates occurring immediately after each new zone completion.
In an effort to prolong a well's flush production period and smooth out this "roller coaster" production profile, more complex completion methods are employed. One such technique involves using multiple strings of production tubing with specially spaced multiple completion packers for isolating each completed zone. An important drawback to this type completion design is the size of independent production strings make it difficult to artificially lift the produced fluids from each zone should the well cease to flow naturally.
Multi-zone techniques facilitating the independent completion of one or more horizontal drainholes extending from a vertical well together with one or more "conventional" vertical well completions have become important to the oil industry in recent years. Such wells are commonly referred to as multi-lateral wells. Horizontal drainhole completions typically exhibit substantially better productivity than vertical well completions, but due to the increased well cost coupled with the requirement of excellent subsurface geologic definition, are not appropriate in all cases. Horizontally drilled wells, or wells which have nearly horizontal sections, are now used routinely to exploit productive formations in a number of development situations. Horizontal drainholes are often used to efficiently exploit vertically fractured formations, thin reservoirs having matrix porosity, formations prone to coning water, steam, or gas due to "radial flow" characteristics inherent in vertical well completions, and formations undergoing enhanced oil recovery operations. Drilling horizontal wells also has application in offshore development where fewer and smaller platforms are required due to the increased productivity of horizontal drainholes compared to vertical completions and the possibility of drilling multiple drainholes from one vertical well platform slot. Drilling multiple drainholes from a new or existing cased vertical well with completions in the same formation or in different formations enables both the productivity and return-on-investment in equipment infrastructure of the vertical well to be maximized.
The majority of multi-lateral wells drilled today are rather simply completed in the sense that the horizontal drainholes commingle well fluids in a vertical part of the well. The commingled fluids either flow or are artificially lifted from the vertical part of the well by equipment located substantially above the uppermost drainhole and productive formation(s). With this wellbore configuration, zone isolation, flow control, pump efficiency, and bottomhole pressure optimization is compromised. In some cases, downhole pumps are actually placed in the horizontal sections of the wells which partially remedies some of these problems, but typically leads to increased mechanical problems. When zone and/or drainhole isolation and flow control means are not incorporated in the well design, the entire well's production may be jeopardized if a production problem such as early water breakthrough occurs in one of the vertical well or drainhole completions.
In recent years, several more sophisticated multi-lateral drilling and completion techniques have been developed in an attempt to solve a host of difficult problems. It is well documented that the ideal multi-lateral system would overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide the following benefits: (1) infrastructure related to a cased vertical well should be used to efficiently deplete all economically productive zones with a series of vertical well completions and horizontal drainhole completions, (2) existing vertical wellbores with large diameter production casing should be re-enterable as the parent well for subsequent multi-lateral drilling and completion, (3) relatively simple design execution should be both cost effective and mechanically reliable, (4) should be applicable to short radius (ie: 60' turning radius) as well as medium radius (ie: 300' turning radius) drainholes used in high temperature enhanced oil recovery operations, (5) should not involve milling of "hard-to-drill" steel tubular goods to exit the cased vertical well for drainhole extension, (6) curve sections should be isolated from the horizontal target sections in drainholes to avoid hole collapse problems and/or premature gas or steam breakthrough, (7) light weight and flexible zone isolation and/or sand control liners should be installed in the horizontal target intervals of drainholes as well conditions dictate, (8) the size of the liner within each drainhole should be approximately equal to the final size of the production casing or liner string within the parent vertical wellbore, (9) the junction between the cased vertical well and each cased lateral well should be effectively sealed, (10) each vertical and/or horizontal well completion should be isolated within the vertical wellbore, (11) openable flow control devices should be employed to enable each completion to be selectively tested, stimulated, produced, or shut-in, (12) each drainhole should be accessible for re-entry to facilitate additional completion work, drilling deeper, drainhole interval testing with zone isolation, sand control, cleanout, stimulation, and/or other remedial work, and (13) the inside diameter of the final production casing or liner string in the vertical wellbore should be large enough to enable a downhole pump may be placed in a sump located below all productive horizons to optimize pressure drawdown during production operations and increase artificial lift efficiency. To date, a prior art multi-lateral drilling and completion system has not been developed that delivers all of the benefits described above.
U.S. patents of general interest in the field of horizontal well drilling and completion include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,397,070; 2,452,920; 2,858,107; 3,330,349; 3,887,021; 3,908,759; 4,396,075; 4,402,551; 4,415,205; 4,444,276; 4,573,541; 4,714;117; 4,742,871; 4,800,966; 4,807,704; 4,869,323; 4,880,059; 4,915,172; 4,928,763; 4,949,788; 5,040,601; 5,113,938; 5,289,876; 5,301,760; 5,311,936; 5,318,121; 5,318,122; 5,322,127; 5,325,924; 5,330,007; 5,337,808; 5,353,876; 5,375,661; 5,388,648; 5,398,754; 5,411,082; 5,423,387; and 5,427,177.
Of particular interest to this application is U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,760. According to this patent, a vertical well is drilled through one or more horizontal well target formations. The borehole may be enlarged adjacent to each proposed "kick-off point" prior to running and cementing production casing. An orientable retrievable whipstock/packer assembly (WPA) is used to initiate milling a window through a "more drillable" joint in the vertical well casing string in the direction of the proposed horizontal well target. A horizontal drainhole is then drilled as an extension of the vertical well. The drainhole is then completed with a cemented liner extending at least through the curve portion of the drainhole and into the vertical well. The protruding portion of the liner and cement in the vertical well is then removed using a full gauge (fitted to the vertical well casing inside diameter) burning shoe/fishing tool assembly. The resulting drainhole entrance point has an elliptical configuration with a sharp apex at the top of the liner and at the bottom of the liner at the junction of the lateral well with the vertical well due to the high angle (almost vertical) of the drainhole liner as it meets the vertical well. Furthermore, the "smooth" junction of the vertical well casing and the drainhole liner is effectively sealed by a highly resilient, impermeable cement sheath completely filling the annulus of the drainhole and the liner at the junction. Subsequent to "coring" through and removing the protruding portion of drainhole liner and cement in the vertical well, the WPA is removed from the well, thus re-establishing the full gauge integrity of the vertical well to enable large diameter downhole tools to be lowered below the drainhole entrance point. Additional drainholes may be drilled as extensions from the vertical parent well in a similar fashion.
Another U.S. patent of particular interest to this application is U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,876. According to this patent, one or more drainholes are drilled and completed using a method such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,760 in junction with a novel method for preventing drainhole collapse, isolating lateral intervals drilled out-of-the-target zone, and providing sand control for laterals drilled through unconsolidated sands or incompetent formations. A light weight, flexible, "drillable" liner assembly is used to facilitate gravel packing with high temperature resistant curable resin coated sand. Subsequent to pumping the gravel pack, the "drillable" drainhole liner together with a veneer of cured resin coated sand adjacent to the target horizon is removed using a coil tubing conveyed mud motor and pilot mill. A liner with an inside diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the pilot mill is placed adjacent to the lateral intervals drilled out-of-the-target zone to isolate these intervals. The method disclosed in this patent is applicable to short and medium radius horizontal wells used in high temperature enhanced oil recovery operations.
Multi-lateral wells drilled and completed using the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,876 in conjunction with the techniques described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,760 provide nine of the thirteen beneficial attributes previously described for the ideal multi-lateral system, namely: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (9), and (13). A need presently exists for a reliable and cost effective drilling and completion system for multi-lateral wells that addresses all thirteen previously described benefits. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enhance the utility of the methods disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,289,876 and 5,301,760 by allowing: (a) each vertical and/or horizontal well completion to be isolated within the vertical wellbore, (b) openable flow control devices to be employed to enable each completion to be selectively tested, stimulated, produced, or shut-in, (c) each drainhole to be selectively accessible for re-entry to facilitate additional completion work, drilling deeper, drainhole interval testing with zone isolation, sand control, cleanout, stimulation, and other remedial work either before or after completion isolation and flow control means are installed, and (d) the size of the liner within each drainhole to be approximately equal to the final size of the production casing or liner string within the parent vertical wellbore.

Method for isolating multi-lateral well completions while maintaining selective drainhole re-entry access


Solid state lasers based upon conjugated polymers are disclosed. A conjugated polymer useful in the practice of this invention is a conjugated polymer which has a ground state and an excited state and which, in the form of a nondiluted thin film, meets the criteria of;. i. having a strong absorption in the ground state with an absorption coefficient of at least about 10.sup.4 cm.sup.-1 and an absorption depth not greater than about 1 .mu.m, PA1 ii. having an efficient luminescence emission from the excited state; this emission being shifted to lower energy relative to the ground state absorption, and PA1 iii. providing stimulated emission which is not overwhelmed by photoinduced absorption, such that the thin film exhibits gain narrowing and amplified spontaneous emission. These conjugated polymers have gain lengths in the micron or even sub-micron regime and therefore exhibit laser action with low pumping threshold as thin solid films with thicknesses in the micron or even sub-micron regime.

Solid state photonic devices are a class of devices in which the quantum of light, the photon, plays a role. They function by utilizing the electro-optical and/or opto-electronic effects in solid state materials. Because the interband optical transition (in absorption and/or in emission) is involved in photonic phenomena and because photon energies from near infrared (IR) to near ultraviolet (UV) are of interest, the relevant materials are semiconductors with band gaps in the range from 1 to 3 eV. Typical inorganic semiconductors used for photonic devices are Si, Ge, GaAs, GaP, GaN and SiC etc. Photonic devices are often classified into three categories: light sources (light emitting diodes, lasers, diode lasers etc.), photodetectors (photoconductors, photodiodes etc.) and energy conversion devices (photovoltaic cells) S. M. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices (Wiley, New York, 1981)!. All three are important. Because photonic devices are utilized in a wide range of applications, they continue to provide a focus for research laboratories all over the world.
Conjugated polymers are a novel class of semiconductors which combine the optical and electronic properties of semiconductors with the processing advantages and mechanical properties of polymers. Semiconducting polymers typically have band gaps in the range from 1 to 3 eV. The molecular structures of a few important examples of semiconducting polymers are shown in FIG. 1. Because of the sp.sup.2 P.sub.z bonding of these planar conjugated macromolecules, each carbon is covalently bonded to three nearest neighbors (two carbons and a hydrogen); and there is formally one unpaired electron per carbon. Thus, the electronic structure (semiconductor or metal) depends on the number of atoms per repeat unit. For example the repeat unit of poly(paraphenylene vinylene), PPV, contains eight carbons; PPV is a semiconductor in which the fundamental p.sub.z -band is split into eight sub-bands. The energy gap of the semiconductor, the .pi.-.pi.* gap, is the energy between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital.
When functionalized with flexible side chains for example, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene), MEH-PPV; see FIG. 1!, conjugated polymer materials become soluble in common organic solvents and can be processed from solution at room temperature into uniform, large area, optical quality thin films D. Braun and A. J. Heeger, Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 1982 (1991)!. Because of the large elongation to break which is a characteristic feature of polymers, such films are flexible and easily fabricated into desired shapes that are useful in novel devices G. Gustafsson, Y. Cao, G. M. Treacy, F. Klavetter, N. Colaneri, and A. J. Heeger, Nature 357, 477 (1992).!
The goal of using such semiconducting polymers in "plastic" photonic devices is rapidly becoming reality. High performance photonic devices fabricated from conjugated polymers have been demonstrated, including light-emitting diodes J. H. Burroughes, D. D. C. Bradley, A. R. Brown, R. N. Marks, K. Mackay, R. H. Friend, P. L. Burns and A. B. Holmes, Nature 347, 539 (1990);D. Braun and A. J. Heeger, Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 1982 (1991)!, light-emitting electrochemical cells Q. Pei, G. Yu, C. Zhang, Y. Yang, and A. J. Heeger, Science 269, 1086-1088 (1995)!, polymer grid triodes (a new architecture for plastic transistors) Y. Yang and A. J. Heeger, Nature 372, 344 (1994)!, polymer field-effect transistors F. Garnier, R. Hajlaoui, A. Yassar, P. Srivastava, Science 265 1684 (1994);A. Dodabalapur, L. Torsi and H. E. Katz, Science 268, 270 (1995)!, photovoltaic cells, and photodetectors G. Yu, J. Gao, J. C. Hummelen, F. Wudl and A. J. Heeger, Science 270, 1789 (1995)!, and optocouplers G. Yu, K. Pakbaz, C. Zhang and A. J. Heeger, J. Electron. Materials 23, 925 (1994).!; i.e. nearly all the categories which characterize the field of photonic devices. In many cases, such polymer-based devices have reached performance levels comparable to or even better than their inorganic counterparts.
Notably missing from this list, however, is the category representing solid state lasers fabricated from semiconducting polymers. The achievement of spectrally narrow solid state polymer lasers, either optically pumped or pumped by carrier injection, (i.e. laser diodes) is an important goal for polymer optoelectronic devices.
Laser emission has been observed from MEH-PPV in dilute solution in an appropriate solvent, in direct analogy with a conventional dye lasers D. Moses, Appl. Phys. Lett. 60, 3215 (1992); U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,582!. In this application, the diluted and dissolved luminescent polymer serves as the laser dye.
Solid state lasers require pumping a photoluminescent, solid material with suitable gain, said material contained within a resonant structure. The pumping can be done either optically (optically pumped lasers) or through carrier injection (carrier injection lasers). The photoluminescent material has gain if the stimulated emission is strong enough to exceed any losses from, for example, absorption from the ground state to an excited state, photoinduced absorption, or scattering. If the luminescent medium exhibits gain, Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER) can be achieved if the optical path length in the medium exceeds the gain length. (The gain length, L.sub.g, of a laser material is defined as the distance required for the amplitude to increase by e.sup.+1.)
Many conjugated polymers exhibit relatively high photoluminescence (PL) efficiencies with emission that is shifted sufficiently far from the absorption edge that self-absorption is minimal. In such a case, stimulated emission, essential to the development of lasers, might be expected throughout the lifetime of the excited state. Ultrafast spectroscopic studies of poly(phenylenevinylenes) (PPVs) have revealed that stimulated emission is readily observed in solutions and dilute blend films M. Yan, L. J. Rothberg, E. W. Kwock and T. M. Miller, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 1992 (1995)J. M. Leng et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 156 (1994); J. W. Blatchford, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1513 (1996); M. Yan, L. J. Rothberg, B. R. Hsieh and R. R. Alfano, Phys. Rev. B 49, 9419 (1994); M. Yan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 1104 (1994); R. Kersting, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 3820 (1993); and poly(paraphenylenes) (PPPs) W. Graupner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 847 (1996); W. Graupner et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 246, 95 (1995); T. Pauck et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 244, 171 (1995)!.
In neat solid films, however, stimulated emission typically either has not been observed or has been observed to decay within at most a few picoseconds. This absence of stimulated emission results from strong photoinduced absorption (PA) which overwhelms the stimulated emission in neat films but not when the polymer chains are isolated in solution or in dilute blends. The absence of observable stimulated emission implies that the excited medium does not exhibit gain. Without gain, polymer solid state lasers are not possible. On the other hand, since self-absorption of the luminescence by transitions from the ground state is not important, we have postulated that semiconducting luminescent polymers with gain can be achieved if photoinduced absorption which overlaps the emission spectrum is eliminated.
For semiconducting luminescent polymers the pump transition and the emission derive from the same electronic transition A. J. Heeger, S. Kivelson, J. R. Schrieffer, and W.-P. Su, Rev. Mod. Phys. 60, 781 (1988)!. The spectral Stokes shift arises from a combination of structural relaxation and disorder. In this case, general radiation theory indicates that the transition probability for absorption will be approximately equal to the transition probability for stimulated emission A. Yariv, Quantum Electronics, 3rd edn, (Wiley, New York, 1989)!. Therefore, L.sub.g .apprxeq.L.sub..alpha. /fractional population in excited state! where L.sub..alpha. .apprxeq.0.1-1 .mu.m or even less. Thus, under conditions of population inversion when the fractional population of the excited state approaches unity, the gain length in semiconducting polymers is in the micron or even sub-micron regime.
Materials with gain lengths in the micron and sub-micron regime are rare and very special; such high gain materials are the enabling feature of thin film solid state lasers, either optically pumped or pumped via carrier injection.
In semiconducting, luminescent polymers, the emission is at longer wavelengths than the onset of significant absorption (the Stokes shift). Because of the spectral Stokes shift between the absorption and the emission, there is minimal self-absorption of the emitted radiation H. Burroughes, D. D. C. Bradley, A. R. Brown, R. N. Marks, K. Mackay, R. H. Friend, P. L. Bums and A. B. Holmes, Nature 347, 539 (1990); D. Braun and A. J. Heeger, Appl. Phys. Lett. 58 1982 (1991)!. Thus, in semiconducting luminescent polymers, self-absorption need not make the materials lossy. Moreover, since the absorption and emission are spectrally separated, pumping the excited state via the .pi. to .pi.* transition does not stimulate emission. Thus, by pumping the .pi.-.pi.* transition, one can achieve an inverted population.
Because of the large joint density of states associated with the direct .pi. to .pi.* (interband) transition of these quasi-one-dimensional, semiconducting polymers, the absorption coefficient (.alpha.) is large, typically .alpha.=10.sup.5 cm.sup.-1 or greater A. J. Heeger, S. Kivelson, J. R. Schrieffer, and W.-P. Su, Rev. Mod. Phys. 60, 781 (1988)!.
Gain narrowing and amplified spontaneous emission (as needed for laser emission) in neat solid films of semiconducting luminescent polymers, neither diluted nor blended, has not been previously demonstrated. More specifically, gain narrowing and amplified spontaneous emission in thin solid films of semiconducting luminescent polymers, neither diluted nor blended, with thickness less than 10 .mu.m have not been previously observed.

Conjugated polymers as materials for solid state laser

The Regents of the University of California


An end-to-end deep-learning-based system that can solve both ASR and TTS problems jointly using unpaired text and audio samples is disclosed herein. An adversarially-trained approach is used to generate a more robust independent TTS neural network and an ASR neural network that can be deployed individually or simultaneously. The process for training the neural networks includes generating an audio sample from a text sample using the TTS neural network, then feeding the generated audio sample into the ASR neural network to regenerate the text. The difference between the regenerated text and the original text is used as a first loss for training the neural networks. A similar process is used for an audio sample. The difference between the regenerated audio and the original audio is used as a second loss. Text and audio discriminators are similarly used on the output of the neural network to generate additional losses for training.

Two common and widely deployed technologies in computational linguistics are Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Text-to-speech (TTS) conversion. However, there is not a common system for training and/or deploying both systems simultaneously. Current end-to-end deep learning-based ASR and TTS systems require paired (text and audio) samples, which are difficult to obtain in significant amounts for proper training of either system.

Joint automatic speech recognition and text to speech conversion using adversarial neural networks


A method and system to support scheduling of memory store instructions across atomic regions in binary translation in a processing unit or processor. In one embodiment of the invention, the processing unit has a store buffer that allows store instructions to be issued in different order than the source binary program order but still retire in source binary program order. This facilitates a small atomic region that maps to each iteration of a source binary code and these atomic regions are joined together into a pipelined region. In one embodiment of the invention, the processing unit executes commit instruction(s) once every loop iteration instead of executing the commit instruction(s) once after the loop exit.

In the binary translation domain, there are some barriers that hinder aggressive instruction scheduling and software pipelining. For example, one of these barriers in binary translation is the requirement of the guest architecture's memory ordering which is not present in a source to binary compiler. When binary translation is performed on a code with strong memory order instruction set architecture (ISA), the translated code cannot change the order of memory operations such as, store to store, load to load, and load to store, even if there is no dependence between these memory operations. This is to prevent the other processor(s) from seeing their memory changed in a different order compared to the original binary code. In x86 ISA architecture for example, the memory ordering rules do not restrict moving a non-dependent load instruction ahead of a store operation but do restrict moving a non-dependent store instruction ahead of another store instruction.
The atomic region formed between commit instructions or points allow the reordering of load instructions and store instructions inside the atomic region. Some processors support transactional execution in which a region of instructions is executed atomically with all the memory state changed in the region becoming visible at once when a commit instruction is executed. Such transactional execution support allows reordering of memory instructions inside the atomic region without other processors seeing memory changed in a different order.
Software pipelining, which is very efficient in the optimization of code in a compiler, bring lesser benefit in the binary translation domain because of the strong memory order requirements. Software pipelining aggressively reorder instructions across different iterations. For example, a store instruction in a later iteration may need to be reordered before a store instruction or a load instruction in a previous iteration to get a highly compact kernel loop. However, this breaks the store to store (or load to store) ordering and cannot be done in a binary translator. If a binary translator is to follow these memory ordering constraints, the binary translator can only bring less benefit compared to the software pipelining algorithm of a compiler.

Method and apparatus to schedule store instructions across atomic regions in binary translation


A container for containing and dispensing articles having a unitary body having a center of gravity when full. A handle as integrally formed within the body and offset from the body to define a void. The handle encircles the center of gravity of the unitary body when the unitary body is full of contained articles.

TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a dispensing container in general, and in particular to a dispensing container for containing and dispensing large quantities of fluid or granular particles having a handle integrally formed within the container which encircles the center of gravity of the container when the container is full providing a mechanical advantage assisting in the dispensing of packaged articles while also providing a mechanical advantage when the container is less than full.
Many containers have been created for containing fluids and granular particles for dispensing. A handle provides the means for lifting and tilting the container. However, generally, the handle is not advantageously located to provide an optimum mechanical advantage to the user when the container is both full and partially full.
For large containers containing large quantities of fluid or granular items, the containers are very heavy and difficult to operate. In general, the fluid or granular particles are intended to be dispensed which requires the container to be lifted and carried to the ultimate dispensing point and rotated such that the fluid or granular articles may flow from the package design. However, the handle is typically merely suited for positioning of the hand and is not constructed for assisting the user in dispensing the fluid or granular particles. A design of such a dispensing container is illustrated by FIGS. 2A, 2B, 4A and 4B which is a container distributed by United Industries Corporation of St. Louis, Mo. This container has a handle with a center above the center of gravity of the container when the container is full and also partially full. Such a design while useful for its intended purpose, does not provide a satisfactory degree of mechanical advantage for assisting a user in dispensing the contained articles. Such assistance would aid users, such as elderly individuals, who have difficulty manipulating the heavy containers.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an elongated handle for providing maximum mechanical advantage for rotating a container for dispensing when the container is full or partially full.
Also, it is an object of the present invention, to provide a container having a handle which enables the user to position the grasp of the container at a point located around the center of the gravity of the container when the container is full for assisting the user in dispensing articles;
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a container having a handle which enables the user to position the grasp of the container at a point located around the center of the gravity of the container when the container is full which also has a central position which is also in vertical proximity to the center of gravity of the container when the container is only partially filled for providing a mechanical advantage for dispensing articles.


An apparatus for measuring weights of articles having different shapes and weights successively transported on a conveyer including first and second weighing conveyers 13 and 14 having load cells 23 and 24 to produce weight signals and photo-sensors 20, 21 and 22 arranged at inlets and outlets of the weighing conveyers 13 and 14 for detecting passage of the articles to produce article detection signals. In a calculating circuit 25, a weigh of an article is calculated by processing weight signals supplied from the first and second weighing conveyers 13 and 14 in accordance with a measuring sequence which is selected from a plurality of measuring sequences in accordance with the article detection signals supplied from the photo-sensors 20, 21 and 22.. A length of an article is measured by detecting a difference (x-y) between a length of an article and a reference length Lx by which the photo-sensors 20 and 21 are separated from each other by counting output pulses from rotary encoder 15 detecting a rotation angle of driving rollers 11, and calculating a sum of the reference length and said difference (x-y).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring weights of articles which have various configurations and are successively transported into a measuring area, and also relates to an apparatus for measuring weights and lengths of articles having various configurations and being successively transported into measuring area.
2. Related Art Statement
It is rather difficult to measure weights and lengths of articles having various shapes, which are successively transported on a belt conveyer into a measuring area in such a manner that distances between successive articles are very small, without stopping the belt conveyer.
Heretofore, a weighing conveyer having a high response is generally used to measure weights of articles successively fed along a belt conveyer. Since such a weighing conveyer has been well known in the high speed automatic weighing technique, its detailed explanation is dispensed with.
Now a known weight measuring apparatus using a weighing conveyer having a single weighing range will be explained with reference to numerical examples.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a known weighing apparatus for measuring weights of relatively long articles. An article A whose weight is to be measured is transported from an input side conveyer 1 into a weighing conveyer 2 having a length D=80 cm, and after measurement the article A is transported onto an output side conveyer 3. At a front edge of the weighing conveyer 2 is arranged a photo-sensor 4 in the form of a photo-interrupter. When the article is transported from the input side conveyer 1 onto the weighing conveyer 2 and a rear end of the article A passes through the photo-sensor 4, the photo-sensor generates an edge detection signal. For a time interval during which the article A is transported over a predetermined minimum distance S such as 10 cm after the generation of the edge detection signal, the weighing conveyer 2 performs the weighing operation. Said minimum distance S is required for measuring a weight of an article. In this manner, a weight of the article A can be measured correctly. However, if a length L of the article A is larger than 70 cm, the weighing conveyer 2 measures a weight of the article in such a condition that a front portion of the article A is placed on the output side conveyer 3. It is apparent that a weight of the article A could not be measured correctly under such a condition.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of another known weighing apparatus which is usually used in measurement of relatively short articles. A basic conception of this known weighing apparatus is substantially identical with that of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. In this apparatus, in order to measure a weight of an article A, a preceding article A' should be completely placed removed from the weighing conveyer 2. To this end, a second photo-sensor 5 is arranged at a rear end of the weighing conveyer 2. Then, a measured value obtained by the weighing conveyer 2 after the second photo-sensor 5 has detected the rear edge of the preceding article A' is adopted as a final measured value. Therefore, when a space G between successive articles A', A and A" is 35 cm and a length L of articles is smaller than 20 cm, two articles might be simultaneously placed on the weighing conveyer 2. Similarly, when a space G is 25 cm and a length L of articles is smaller than 40 cm, two successive articles might be placed on the weighing conveyer 2. In such cases, weights of articles could never be measured correctly.
Now a maximum length L.sub.max of the article A which can be measured correctly by the weighing conveyer 4 in the apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be considered. In FIG. 1, in order to measure a weight of the article A under such a condition that the preceding article A' or succeeding article A" is not placed on the weighing conveyer 2 together with the article A so that the correct measurement can be carried out, that is to say, a space G between successive articles is not less than the minimum travelling distance S which is necessary for measuring a weight of articles accurately, the measurement has to be carried out during a time interval in which a front end of the article A travels over a portion 10 cm of the weighing conveyer 2, said portion being indicated by a thick arrow S. Then, as can be understood from FIG. 1, the maximum length L.sub.max of the article A can be given by the following equation (1): EQU L.sub.max =D-S (1)
In this case, a space G between successive articles may be set to an arbitrary value which satisfies the condition G.gtoreq.S. Therefore, the maximum length L.sub.max of the article A is determined by the effective length D of the weighing conveyer 2 and the effective minimum distance S. In this manner, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the maximum length L.sub.max of the article A can be calculated as follows: EQU L.sub.max =80 cm-10 cm=70 cm
Now a minimum length L.sub.min of the article A will be determined. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the minimum length L.sub.min of the article A is greatly dependent upon the space G between successive articles and can be expressed by the following equation (2): EQU L.sub.min =D+S-2G (2)
For instance, when the space G between successive articles is 35 cm, the length D of the weighing conveyer 2 is 80 cm and the minimum distance S is 10 cm, the minimum length L.sub.min of the article A becomes 20 cm.
As stated above, the minimum length L.sub.min of the article A is affected by the space G between successive articles, and when the space G is large, a smaller article can be measured. However, in such a case, the number of articles which can be measured within a unit time becomes smaller and a measuring efficiency is decreased. It should be noted that if a space between the relevant article A and preceding articles A' differs from a space between the relevant article A and the succeeding article A", a smaller distance G is adopted in the equation (2).
By applying actual values of the article length L, minimum distance S and space G in the above equations (1) and (2), a measurable range with respect to the article length L and space G can be obtained diagrammatically. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing such a measurable range when the length D of the weighing conveyer 2 is set to 80 cm and the minimum travelling distance S is to 10 cm. It should be noted that the space G is set to be not less than 10 cm. In FIG. 3, a hatched area denotes the measurable range.
For instance, when the space G between successively transported articles on the conveyer is set to 25 cm, lengths of articles whose weights can be measured correctly is limited to a range from 40 cm to 70 cm as can be seen from a line a in FIG. 3. That is to say, an article having a length more than 70 cm or smaller than 40 cm could not be measured correctly. When articles have a predetermined length L of 25 cm, then a space G has to be set to a value not less than 32.5 cm as indicated by a line b in FIG. 3.
Actual values of the above mentioned parameters may be varied to some extent. Particularly, when parameters such as the length D of the weighing conveyer 2, minimum distance S, space G between successive articles and length L of articles are changed, the basic property of the weighing apparatus is not changed at all.
Width and height of a rectangular freight such as a cardboard box can be measured relatively easily by means of an optical measuring apparatus irrespective of a fact that the article is stopped or moved. However, a length of a moving article, i.e. a dimension of the article in a direction of the movement could not be easily measured.
In general, an ability of a high speed weighing apparatus or high speed article selecting apparatus is expressed by the number of articles which could be handled within a unit time. Therefore, also in the present specification, the number of handled articles within a unit time is adopted as a standard for judging the operation ability of the weighing apparatus.
The performance of the weighing apparatus can be improved by increasing the travelling speed or decreasing a pitch of articles (center distance or length L of article+space G). Since the present invention does not relates to the technique for performing the weight measurement at a high speed transportation, a relation between the performance of the weighing apparatus and the geometric condition of the article length L and space G will be considered.
By using the numerical examples explained above with reference to the known weighing apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the performance will be obtained in the following table when the transporting speed is set to 100 cm/sec. In this table, an inverse of the performance corresponds to the pitch P (cm), and the pitch P is a sum of the article length L and space G between successive articles. Even when the article length L is decreased to a half thereof , the performance is not increased twice, but an increment of the performance is at most 30%.
TABLE ______________________________________ L G P performance ______________________________________ 10 40 50 2.00 20 35 55 1.82 30 30 60 1.67 40 26 65 1.54 50 20 70 1.43 60 15 76 1.33 70 10 80 1.25 ______________________________________ L article length (cm) G minimum space (cm) p minimum pitch (cm)
As can be seen from the above table, in the known weighting apparatuses using a single weighing conveyer 2, when the space G between successively transported articles is set to a small value for attaining a higher performance, the length L of articles which can be measured correctly is limited to a relatively large value. That is to say, in such a condition, two articles having a small length might be placed on the weighing conveyer 2 simultaneously and thus could not be measured correctly. On the other hand, when the space G is set to a relatively large value in order to measure articles having smaller length L, the performance of the weighing apparatus is decreased.
Moreover, it is technically very difficult to measure a length of an article as well as its weight while the article is continuously transported on the conveyer.

Apparatus for measuring weight and length of article


The present invention provides image-forming compositions and photosensitive lithographic plates which are excellent in sensitivity to infrared radiation, latitude of development, treatable area in m2, and printing durability. Specifically, the present invention provides an image-forming composition comprising (A) a polymeric compound obtainable by the addition reaction of a resinous polymer having one or more phenolic hydroxyl groups with a silane coupling agent of the following general formula (1) or (2), (B) an acid generator, (C) an infrared absorber, and (D) an alkali-soluble resin, and a photosensitive lithographic plate having this image-forming composition applied onto a substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to image-forming compositions and photosensitive lithographic plates using the same. More particularly, it relates to image-forming compositions for use in positive type lithographic plates which can be directly made on the basis of digital signals from a computer or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there have been known image-forming materials having a photosensitive layer containing an acid generator and an acid-decomposable compound, as a positive type photosensitive layer which can be solubilized by irradiation with ultraviolet radiation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,778 discloses a photosensitive composition containing an acid generator and a water-insoluble compound having a specific acid-decomposable group, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 53-133429/'78 discloses a photosensitive composition containing an acid generator and a compound having an acetal or ketal group in the main chain, and Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 60-37549/'85 discloses a photosensitive composition containing an acid generator and a compound having a silyl ether group. However, all of these photosensitive compositions are sensitive to ultraviolet radiation, and are made alkali-soluble by irradiation with ultraviolet radiation to form a non-image area. Consequently, these photosensitive compositions cannot form an image by means of infrared radiation as from an inexpensive and compact semiconductor laser.
As a positive type image-forming technique in which an image can be formed by exposure to infrared radiation as from a semiconductor laser and the exposed region is made soluble in a developing solution, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication Nos. 60-175046/'85 and 7-285275/'95 disclose photosensitive compositions comprising a substance absorbing heat to produce heat (an optothermal conversion substance) and a pyrolyzable compound or alkali-soluble resin. The pyrolyzable compound used therein comprises principally a photosensitive onium salt or a quinoneazide compound. However, these compounds have low pyrolytic efficiency, so that much energy is required to decompose them thermally. Consequently, these photosensitive compositions have the disadvantage of requiring a long treating time because of low sensitivity.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 10-268512/'98 discloses a photosensitive composition comprising an optothermal conversion substance, a dissolution inhibitor and an alkali-soluble resin. However, the dissolution inhibitor comprises a sulfonic acid ester, an aromatic carboxylic acid ester or a quinoneazide compound. Consequently, this photosensitive composition has problems in that the difference in solubility in the developing solution between exposed and unexposed regions, i.e. the stability to the developing solution (latitude of development), is poor and in that the treatable area in m2 with the developing solution is small.

Image forming composition and photosensitive lithographic plate using same

Abstract: wherein X1 and X2 each represent a trimethoxysilyl group or the like; G1 represents O or COO; R1 and R2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a methoxy group; R3 represents (CH2)m which may have a hydrocarbon side chain; G2 represents O or COO; R4 represents a hydrogen atom or a straight-chain or branched alkyl group; and R5 represents (CH2)n which may have a hydrocarbon side chain.


The present invention provides high throughput screening methods for characterizing compounds that modulate the biological activity of a biochemically functional sarcomere. Compounds characterized by such methods are useful for treating congestive heart failure.

Congestive heart failure is a growing epidemic in our aging population. Its prevalence has been growing as the population ages and as cardiologists are more successful at reducing mortality from ischemic heart disease, the most common cause of congestive heart failure. Roughly 4.6 million people in the United States have heart failure with an incidence approaching 10 per 1000 after age 65 years. Hospital discharges for congestive heart failure rose from 377,000 in 1979 to 957,000 in 1997 making congestive heart failure the most common discharge diagnosis in people age 65 and over. The five year mortality from congestive heart failure approaches 50%. Hospitalization for heart failure is usually the result of inadequate outpatient therapy. Hence, while heart failure therapy has greatly improved over the last several years, new and better therapies are still required to improve these still dismal statistics.
Inotropes are drugs that increase the contractile ability of the heart. As a group, all current inotropes have failed to meet the gold standard for heart failure therapy, that is, to prolong patient survival (FDA Cardiorenal Panel: Minutes Jan. 27, 1998 afternoon session, www.fda.gov). Despite this fact, intravenous inotropes continue to be widely used in acute heart failure to allow for reinstitution of oral medications or to bridge patients to heart transplantation, whereas in chronic heart failure, oral digoxin is used as an effective inotrope to relieve patient symptoms, improve the quality of life, and reduce hospital admissions for heart failure.
Currently, there is a paucity of agents that can safely improve cardiac function; most agents have detrimental side effects if given for more than a few days. As for chronic inotropic use, only digoxin has proven safe to administer even though it has a narrow therapeutic range. The most recently approved short-term intravenous agent, milrinone, is now over ten years old. The only available oral drug, digoxin, is over 200 hundred years old. There is a great need for agents that exploit new mechanisms of action and may have better outcomes in terms of relief of symptoms safety, and patient mortality, both short-term and long-term. The present invention provides methods for identifying such agents.

Methods for treating congestive heart failure