A continuously operating centrifuge serves for centrifuging sugar massecuites. It has elements (20, 30, 40, 50) which rotate about a common axis (16). Furthermore, there is provided a drive unit (70), an outer housing incorporating a framework (10) having a base (11) and side walls (12) and vibration damping elements (82). An inner housing (80) is provided around the elements (20, 30, 40, 50) rotating about the common axis (16). The vibration damping elements (82) are arranged between the inner housing (80) and the base (11) of the framework (10) of the outer housing.

There are many different forms of centrifuge. Thus, DE 14 10 967 A1 describes a drum which rotates about a vertical axis in a cylindrical container for use especially in washing machines. The laundry drum is emptied after each washing process and is then refilled in order to accomplish a new washing process. This centrifuge is thus operated in batch mode. The container with the laundry drum is suspended in a fixed housing which rests on the ground. In order to prevent the container from rotating, several strips project downwardly into several corresponding anti-rotation means which also produce a damping effect upon the vibrations produced by the rotating laundry drum.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,375, there is known a laboratory centrifuge in which an arm having a plurality of test tubes affixed thereto circulates at high speeds of 4,000 to 12,000 revolutions per minute about a vertical axis in a cylindrical protective cover. After a centrifuging process, the test tubes are exchanged; this centrifuge is thus driven in a batch operational, mode. The laboratory centrifuge comprises a drive motor. The drive motor and the protective cover are mounted on a common platform which rests on resilient elements in a housing.
Centrifuges operating in a batch mode are unsuitable for numerous processes in which continuous operation is necessary or at least desired, perhaps with a view to maintaining a continuous supply of the raw materials that are to be treated in the centrifuge or for the continuous further processing of the intermediate products delivered by the centrifuge. On the other hand, continuous operation imposes completely different boundary constraints compared with a batch operation. Thus, vibrations occurring in a batch operation automatically come to a complete stop when the load is changed. They thus only have to be damped on a temporary basis, whereas in the case of a continuous centrifuge operation the vibrations occur permanently and consequently they must constantly be taken into consideration. In consequence, the damping concepts utilised in a batch operation process cannot be simply transferred over.
Other forms of centrifuge are known from GB 2 115 319 A for example. Liquids are processed in this centrifuge in which a motor is arranged above the centrifuge and is damped below relative to the centrifuge by means of shock-absorbent mounts. Such a centrifuge is not intended nor is it suitable for centrifuging sugar massecuites.
Continuously operating centrifuges such as are known from EP 0 487 780 B1 and EP 0 733 406 B1 for instance are used in the sugar industry. Such types of centrifuge, which are also referred to as sugar centrifuges or in the case of continuously operating centrifuges by the catch words continuous centrifuges, can be employed in the cane sugar and sugar beet industries as well as in sugar refineries. They serve to mix, to distribute and to accelerate the sugar massecuites being supplied thereto and thereby free them from foreign entities such as by means of a washing process involving the addition of water or steam.
The centrifuges stand on a suitably firm base in the factory buildings. The centrifuge drums rotate at very high speeds in order to enable them to cope with their task. To this end in particular, they are driven by a drive unit incorporating a motor utilising an endless drive means. The centrifuge drums rotate about a vertical axis and, as a rule, have an upwardly flaring conical sieve basket which forms a discharge edge.
The centrifuge drum has a mounting means. Since the vibrations of the centrifuge drum are not insignificant due to the unavoidable imbalances which occur at the high rotational speeds involved, these vibrations must not to be passed on to the environment. A means for damping the vibration of the centrifuge drum with respect to its environment is thus desired.
It is known to place the complete centrifuge together with its outer housing on vibration damping mounts, namely, on three or more elastomers.
This has the disadvantage that the entire housing is still subjected to oscillatory forces and is prone to vibrate. It is of course the case that, due to the resilient vibration damping mountings between the base and the housing, these vibrations are not transferred to the base—or are merely damped in the transfer process, but on the other hand, the correspondingly vibrating and moving outer housing of the centrifuge imposes permanent and continuous acoustic and mechanical burden on the environment, the latter difficulty also applying for the various connections since both the electrical connectors and the input leads and the supply elements are either mechanically loaded insofar as they are connected to the outer housing or else materials cannot be supplied and removed in a reliable or constantly adequate manner or the lines that are utilised for this purpose cannot be fed-in close to the centrifuge due to the movements of the elements with respect to one another.
In another state of the art, the centrifuge drum itself is mounted inside the housing in a manner such that it is vibration damped with respect to the directly adjacent parts. The problems which ensue in the case where the entire centrifuge including the outer housing is mounted in vibration-isolating manner can then indeed be avoided, but against that, the maintenance of such a conception wherein she vibration-damping mounting is merely in respect of the centrifuge drum is problematic. The vibration damping elements are now located in certain locations in the interior of a complicated assembly so which it is difficult to gain access and they can then only be maintained by specialists. Hereby, it has to be taken into consideration that the elastomers that are being used here are under a considerable load due to the high rotational speeds as a result of the high frequencies on the one hand and as a result of the continuous operational state on the other and they must therefore be replaced considerably more frequently whereby appropriate maintenance measures are necessary, and not just in a special case. In addition, this is a completely different situation from that of laboratory centrifuges or washing machines for instance, since these are only being used as and when necessary and in batch-like manner.
Moreover, it also has to be taken into consideration that the vibration damping elements in the vicinity of the centrifuge drum in the interior of the entire sugar centrifuge are now in a region which is exposed to very high temperatures since it is precisely here in the vicinity of the drum where the heating region is located in sugar centrifuges. As a result of this additional loading, the vibration damping elements which are frequently in the form of rubber buffers have to be additionally replaced on a still more frequent basis in order for them to be able to fulfil their proper function. Furthermore, there are high mechanical loads on the drive unit whereby vibrations of comparatively large amplitude occur between the drum axis and the motor.
It would be desirable co produce a vibration camping system for sugar centrifuges which is effective and maintenance-friendly at the same time.

BMA Braunschweigische Maschinenbauanstalt AG


The invention provides methods for conducting cancer immunotherapy and diagnosis using cytochrome P450 1B1 and peptide fragments thereof.

This invention relates to the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of cancer.
The paucity of clinically significant anti-tumor immune responses in cancer patients has long suggested that antigen-specific immunotherapy would not play a significant role in cancer treatment. However, pioneering studies in the early 1990s, using tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) from cancer patients, showed the existence of human tumor associated antigens (TAAs). This led to the suggestion that such antigens could be used to stimulate therapeutic anti-tumor immune responses in patients. Although these studies focused primarily on melanoma, TAAs have also been characterized in several other malignancies (Van Pel et al., Immunological Reviews 145:229-250, 1995; Rosenberg, Immunol. Today 18:175-182, 1997; Van den Eynde et al., Curr. Opin. Immunol. 9:684-693, 1997), raising the hypothesis that most, if not all, tumors express antigens that can be used to induce CTL-mediated tumor destruction. Consequently, clinical efforts are now underway to target TAAs in strategies, such as vaccination and adoptive T cell therapy, to generate effective anti-tumor CTL responses in patients.
The demonstration that TAA-specific immune responses can lead to tumor regression has been borne out extensively in animal models (Rosenberg, Immunity 10:281-287, 1999). Although the identification of TAAs using patients' CTLs has revitalized the field of T cell immunotherapy, these methods are slow, very expensive, and labor-intensive. Moreover, the strategy relies on the generation of tumor-specific T cell clones in vitro, suggesting that only a restricted set of TAAs will be identified by this method. With these limitations in mind, Pfreundschuh and colleagues developed an alternative approach, SEREX (serological identification of antigens by recombinant expression cloning), to identify TAAs (Sahin et al., Curr. Opin. Immunol. 9:709-716, 1997). SEREX makes use of patients' antibody responses to tumor-derived genes and this strategy has accelerated the identification of TAAs significantly. Although several T cell-defined TAAs, such as the MAGE genes, have also been identified by SEREX, there is no information available about CTL epitopes for the vast majority of genes in the SEREX database, and, of course, such epitopes are required to activate a CTL response.
Although there is no doubt that the identification of numerous TAAs by CTL-based approaches or SEREX reflects the existence of an anti-tumor immune response, it remains to be determined if these antigens play a role as tumor regression antigens (Sarma et al., J. Exp. Med. 189:811-820, 1999). Indeed, most T cell epitopes in TAAs identified by patient CTLs have been demonstrated to be of low MHC binding affinity and/or low MHC/peptide complex stability. This quality distinguishes TAA-derived peptides from viral peptides that are almost exclusively of high binding affinity and high MHC/peptide complex stability (Feltkamp et al. Mol. Immunol. 31:1391-1401, 1994; Sette et al., J. Immunol. 153:5586-5592, 1994). Clinical vaccination trials have circumvented this obstacle by utilizing altered peptides with higher MHC binding affinity and higher MHC/peptide complex stability (Rosenberg et al., Nat. Med. 4:321-327, 1998). The low binding affinity of TAA-derived peptides is likely to be one of the reasons why natural CTL responses against such peptides are not successful for tumor eradication. This is in agreement with the finding that large numbers of TAA-specific CTLs co-exist with metastatic tumors in melanoma patients (Romero et al., J. Exp. Med. 188:1641-1650, 1998). A recent study has even demonstrated that despite expansion, such CTLs were hyporesponsive, showing reduced cytotoxic and cytokine responses (Lee et al., Nat. Med. 5:677-685, 1999).
In addition, most TAAs described thus far are expressed in only one or a few tumor types, and not all patients with a given tumor type express the associated TAA. As a result, progress in the field of cancer immunotherapy has been relatively slow, because it has not been possible to develop widely useful TAA-specific immunotherapeutic strategies. Not only has it been necessary to tailor such therapies to individual types of malignancies, in some cases (such as the immunoglobulin idiotypic antigen in B cell malignancies), it has been necessary to tailor these therapies to individual patients.

Cancer immunotherapy and diagnosis using cytochrome P450 1B1


A lid for a container, such as a beverage cup, is provided. The lid includes a top wall for covering an opening of the container. The top wall may include an inner layer and an outer layer. The inner layer may include a first perforation line defining an openable sip hole area. The outer layer may be connected to the inner layer at the openable sip hole area. The outer layer may include a tearing off area that may be torn off and result in the opening of the first perforation line to create a sip hole in the inner layer.

Containers in the form of beverage cups are often provided with lids to reduce the risk of spilling a beverage that is held in the container. These lids may additionally help to inhibit undesired cooling of hot beverages held in the container.
An exemplary paper lid for a beverage cup is known from www.hasolid.com. This lid has a top wall made from a single layer of coated paper and includes a sip hole area that is defined by a perforation line in the paper layer. A paper strip is attached to the sip hole area, which paper strip can be pulled by a user to open the perforation line. This lid suffers from the problem that the paper strip can break or get detached prior to opening the sip hole, e.g. because it is affected by contact with a beverage. Without the paper strip it is hardly possible to open the sip hole. In addition, such lids with a single layer top wall, typically are susceptible to leakage in the area of the sip hole, in particular at the perforation line.
Accordingly, a need exists for a lid for a container that is less susceptible to leakage and that includes a sip hole that can be opened reliably.


A printed wiring board includes a glass substrate provided with through-holes, conductive patterns provided on both surfaces of said glass substrate in such a manner as to be made conductive to each other via said through-holes, and a sealing member composed of a silver paste containing an epoxy resin as a binder provided to fill said through-holes. This printed wiring board is advantageous in that circuit parts can be connected to each other without use of any planar special region and moisture does not reach the circuit parts through the printed wiring board. A display apparatus capable of stably displaying pictures for a long-period of time is provided by using the printed wiring board.

The present invention relates to a printed wiring board including conductive patterns, and a display apparatus including a display device and a drive component for driving the display device.
As one structure of electroluminescence (EL) display apparatus, there has been known a structure wherein a display device is packaged by using a protective glass board, which protects the display device and allows light emitted from the display device to pass therethrough, and a printed wiring board which includes an insulating substrate made from an organic synthetic resin and to which the display device and a drive component therefor are electrically connected.
The EL display apparatus having the above structure is disadvantageous in that since the insulating substrate of the printed wiring board is made from an organic synthetic resin, moisture is easy to permeate the printed wiring board and to reach the EL display device which is generally poor in moisture resistance, with a result that the EL display apparatus is difficult to stably display pictures for a long-period of time.

Printed wiring board and display apparatus


A blasting device, especially for cleaning the surfaces of hollow areas, uses a conveying medium, preferably air, with an added solid blasting agent. The blasting device includes a twisting chamber that impresses the jet with a controlled twist. The twisting chamber has a cylindrical shape and includes a tangential inlet for the conveying medium and the blasting agent, and an outlet changing into a nozzle component conically tapering at an angle of 10° to 25°.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blasting device, in particular for cleaning the surfaces of hollow areas or cavities by means of a jet stream including a conveying or carrier medium, preferably air, and a solid blasting material added to the jet stream.
2. The Prior Art
The cleaning of surfaces by a jet of solid particles that are accelerated by means of a conveying medium, for example a carrier air stream, is a commonly-employed surface cleaning method. In the metal-processing industry, corroding unfinished parts are first cleaned by sandblasting, as a rule, before such parts are processed further. The cleaning of curved surfaces and in particular of surfaces of cavities has been found to require much expenditure. The only opening leading to the cavity is frequently small, so that blasting devices are needed that are specially adapted to the particular cavity.
A special field of application exists in the area of the cleaning of the inner surfaces of pipes especially in connection with large condensers. Particularly in the field of energy generation, the pipeline system of a condenser often has lost the desired heat transfer and the corresponding density (or concentration) due to corrosion or accumulation of dirt. Such soiling is reflected by serious losses in the degree of efficiency. The occurring loss of capacity requires a new pipeline system for the condenser in most cases, or the existing, old pipeline system has to be restored. To restore the pipeline system of a heat exchanger, it is necessary in any event to clean the inside surfaces of the pipes.
For this purpose, it is already known to clean the individual pipes from the inside by blasting with the use of a special blasting device that is axially displaced in the individual pipes. Different types of blasting agent are employed in this cleaning process. However, the blasting operation requires much time because the rate at which the blasting nozzle is employed with the axial method has to be selected sufficiently low for each individual pipe, in order to obtain the desired cleaning effect. This time-consuming cleaning operation is frequently the primary factor that determinates the time schedule within the framework of a power plant revision. The duration of the blasting operation of the individual pipes consequently has a direct effect on the availability of the power plant, and any change is connected with economic losses. Moreover, a large quantity of blasting agent is required in most cases.
For cleaning the inside surfaces of pipes in particular during a restoration of the existing pipeline system of heat exchangers, a blasting device would be desirable that can be mounted on the ends of the pipes and that dispenses the blasting agent into the pipe to be cleaned with a high spin (or twist) and at a high blasting rate. In this way, the blasting agent will clean the pipe abrasively by means of the impressed spin, and will pass in a cleaning manner over the entire length of the pipe under the pressure of the conveying medium. In a case in which different pipe widths have to be cleaned, quick adaptability of the nozzle component of a blasting device would be desirable, as it would be desirable to have the possibility for mounting the blasting device on the pipe attachment so that it projects into the starting area of the pipe to be cleaned.
Furthermore, easy exchangeability of the components of the blasting device that are stressed most would be desirable because of the strong abrasive effect exerted by the blasting agent.


A TFA (thin film on ASIC) image sensor with stability-optimized photodiode for converting electromagnetic radiation into an intensity-dependent photocurrent. The TFA includes an intermetal dielectric layer, pixel back electrodes, vias, metal contacts, a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer, and an intrinsic absorption layer with a thickness between 300 nm and 600 nm. The pixel back electrodes are disposed over the intermetal dielectric layer, which is disposed over the ASIC. The vias connect to the pixel back electrodes and the metal contacts, which are formed in the intermetal dielectric layer. The TCO is disposed above the intrinsic absorption layer, which is disposed above the pixel back electrodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present patent application relates to a TFA image sensor with stability-optimized photodiode for converting electromagnetic radiation into an intensity-dependent photocurrent with an intermetal dielectric, on which, in the region of the pixel matrix, a lower barrier layer (metal 2) is situated and a conductive layer (metal 2) is situated on said barrier layer, and vias being provided for the contact connection to the ASIC, said vias in metal contacts on the ASIC.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A TFA sensor (Thin Film on ASIC (TFA) Technology) comprises a matrix-organized or linear arrangement of pixels. The electronic circuits for operating the sensor (e.g. pixel electronics, peripheral electronics, system electronics) are usually realized using CMOS-based silicon technology and form an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
Isolated therefrom by an insulating layer and connected thereto by means of corresponding electrical contacts, there is situated on the ASIC a multilayer arrangement as photodiode, which performs the conversion of electromagnetic radiation into an intensity-dependent photocurrent. Said photocurrent is transferred at specific contacts—present in each pixel—of the pixel electronics underneath (B. Schneider, P. Rieve, M. Böhm, Image Sensors in TFA (Thin Film on ASIC) Technology, ed. B. Jähne, H. Hausecker, P. Geiβler, Handbook of Computer Vision and Applications, pp. 237-270, Academic Press, San Diego, 1999).
According to the prior art (J. A. Theil, M. Cao, G. Kooi, G. W. Ray, W. Greene, J. Lin, A J. Budrys, U. Yoon, S. M a, H. Stork, Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Photodiode Technology for Advanced CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Imagers, MRS Symposium Proceedings, vol. 609, 2000), what is used as photodiode is a pin configuration based on amorphous silicon, i.e. a sequence comprising a p-conducting, an intrinsically conducting (intrinsic) and an n-conducting amorphous silicon layer. The n-type layer usually forms the bottom most layer facing the ASIC.
The electrical contacts are formed by a metal layer, for example, on said side facing the ASIC, while the contact connection on the side facing the direction of light incidence is generally effected by a transparent and conductive layer.
Over and above the pin photodiode mentioned, further component structures are also possible, e.g. Schottky photodiodes, in which an intrinsic semiconductor layer is brought into contact with a suitable metal (for example chromium, titanium, platinum, palladium, silver), so that the metal-semiconductor junction forms a Schottky photodiode.
A typical layer configuration is disclosed in the patent application TFA image sensor with extremely low dark current, Y, S, Seruak Bi, Ser. No. 10/541,440. Furthermore, detector structures with a controllable spectral sensitivity are known (P. Rieve, M. Sommer, M. Wagner, K. Seibel, M. Böhm, a-Si:H Color Imagers and Colorimetry, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, vol. 266-269, pp. 1168-1172, 2000). This basic structure of a TFA image sensor can furthermore be extended by additional, upstream layers in the direction of light incidence, for example by color filter layers (e.g. Bayer pattern, U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,065).
If amorphous silicon is used as photoactive sensor material, then the metastability observed in the case of this material becomes apparent, under certain circumstances. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) comprises a silicon-hydrogen atomic composite lacking a long-range order as is typical of semiconductor crystals. Modifications of the atom bonding parameters occur with respect to the ideal semiconductor crystal. The consequence of this is that, in the context of the solid-state band model, a state density that differs from zero exists in the band gap between conduction band and valence band, which affects the electrical and optical properties of the material. States in the middle of the band gap predominantly act as recombination centers, while states in the vicinity of the band edges function as traps for charge carriers. On account of light being radiated in or injection of charge carriers, more precisely through recombination of injected charge carriers, weak silicon bonds are broken and additional band gap states arise.
These band gap states caused by light irradiation represent additional recombination or trapping centers and influence the charge carrier transport and the distribution of the electric field strength in the components fabricated from amorphous silicon. In pin photodiodes, for example, predominantly positively charged states are concentrated in traps in that region of the intrinsic layer (i-type layer) which adjoins the p-type layer, and negatively charged states in that region of the i-type layer which adjoins the n-type layer. These stationary charges result in a decrease in the magnitude of the electric field strength within the i-type layer, so that the accumulation of photogenerated charge carriers deteriorates. An efficient charge carrier accumulation in pin photodiodes made of amorphous silicon is provided when the drift length (μτE) of the charge carriers significantly exceeds the thickness d of the intrinsic layer:μτE>>d  (1)
On account of the increase in the defect density associated with light being radiated in, on the one hand the lifetime τ is reduced due to intensified recombination of charge carriers and on the other hand the electric field E is reduced on account of the charged states in the i-type layer. Both have the consequence that the ratio of drift length to i-type layer thickness is reduced and the photocurrent thus decreases. The decrease in the photocurrent becomes apparent particularly when the photodiode is operated near the short-circuit point without additional reverse voltage, i.e. when only the built-in potential difference brought about by the doped layers is effective.
When reverse voltage is applied, by contrast, the electric field intensifies, so that the charge carrier accumulation is impaired to a less extent. The essential consequence of the light irradiation of a photodiode made of amorphous silicon with regard to the photocurrent thus consists in a reduction of the photocurrent saturation.
The dark current of an a-Si:H photodiode, i.e. the current which flows even in the unilluminated state is likewise influenced by the degradation of the material. On account of the defect states additionally generated by light being radiated in, the thermal generation of charge carriers increases in the case of a reverse-biased photodiode (extraction), which is manifested in an increase in the dark current.


Apparatuses and methods are provided for removing dust particles from air circulating within a mowing machine, such as a lawn mowing machine, including a housing, a handle attached to the housing, a prime mover attached to the housing, and a grassbag employing a cyclonic separator. A grassbag apparatus can be provided that can include a grass clippings chamber for collecting blades of grass that have been cut and a dust collection chamber for removing and collecting dust-filled air from the air circulating within the lawn mowing machine. The dust collection chamber can include a cyclonic separator and a dust collection receptacle, wherein the cyclonic separator can be configured to remove dust particles from air circulating within the grassbag apparatus.

Lawn mowing machines often provide grassbags that are mounted to the mowing machines to collect grass clippings cut by a blade attached underneath the mowing machine. Collecting the grass clippings in a grassbag prevents the clippings from being discharged onto the ground surface, which can impede growth of healthy grass. After being cut by the blade, the grass clippings are swept away from the ground surface into the grassbag through a discharge chute by air currents generated by the high-speed rotation of the blade. A cutter housing of the mower normally includes the discharge chute for the grass clippings to exit from the cutter housing and enter the grassbag, wherein the clippings deposit and settle to the bottom. Typically, the grassbag is detachable from the mowing machine such that the bag can be emptied when it becomes full of grass clippings. Grassbags can be used on self-propelled walk-behind lawn mowers and riding lawn mowers.
A desirable feature of a grassbag is to maximize the air flow through a mowing machine and grassbag such that grass clippings are separated from pressurized air flow and will deposit on the bottom of the grassbag. Such a feature can be obtained by using a material for the grassbag that is pervious to air but generally impervious to grass. The air exiting the grassbag contains dust particles and allergens that can cause discomfort to a user during operation. Furthermore, when the user removes the grassbag from the lawn mower, dust particles and allergens remaining in the grassbag can dissipate into the air causing discomfort for the user. The same occurs when the user empties the grassbag by dumping the grass clippings onto the ground surface.
Therefore, it would advantageous to employ cyclonic separation in the grassbag to remove dust particles and allergens from the air circulating within the grassbag and lawn mowing machine. The cyclonic separation can facilitate the collection of dust particles in a receptacle that can be emptied, while also transporting air from within the lawn mowing machine to the outside environment that is free of dust and allergens, while further maintaining a maximized air flow throughout the system.

Cyclonic separation grassbag apparatuses and methods for mowing machines


Methods and systems for establishing a chain of relationships are disclosed. An identity verification platform receives a first request for registration comprising an identification of a first user, identification of an entity, and a relationship between the first user and the entity; verifies the identity of the first user and the relationship between the first user and the entity; and verifies that the entity is legitimate. Once a relationship between a first individual, invited by the first user, and the entity is confirmed, the platform creates a custom badge representing the relationship between the first individual and the entity for display on the entity's website. The platform receives an identification of a selection by an end user of the custom badge and, responsive to receiving the identification of the selection, renders, on a domain controlled by the identity verification platform, a verification that the relationship between the first individual and the entity is valid.

Banks and financial institutions have long been required to verify the identity of a customer and to verify the authenticity of information provided by that customer when the customer seeks access to a new product or service, for example when opening a new account or applying for a loan. This trend has quickly spilled over into other sectors, particularly considering the rise in e-commerce and our increasingly digital lives. The result of this trend is that digitized personal information is constantly increasing, as are security breaches and data theft.
The ability to store and share information digitally offers many benefits, and the digitization of data has increasingly grown. However, alongside the advantages of cost and convenience, a new set of concerns has developed. The ability to copy and share data has raised questions about the security and privacy of personal data. There have been many high-profile hacks, leaks, and theft of personal information, as well as cases where unencrypted data has simply been lost or left vulnerable to theft. In 2016 alone, 15.4 million adults in the U.S. were victims of identity fraud, an increase of 16% over 2015, and victims suffered losses amounting to $16 billion. Personal identifiable information (PII) was the most common form of data stolen, accounting for almost 43% of data breaches, and the services industry was most affected by data breaches, accounting for almost double the occurrence of the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors combined.
Inefficiencies in the identify verification industry have both financial and social costs. Without proof of identity, an individual may be unable to exercise a range of legal rights, including the ability to vote, access health care, and receive social welfare. Lack of identity documentation and the high costs of obtaining it means that many individuals globally are wholly or partially denied access to banking facilities. In low-income countries, new births often go unregistered because parents struggle to acquire the necessary documentation to have verified and recorded reliably by the relevant authorities. Individuals or companies may misrepresent their identity or their relationship to one another, which can cause investors, consumers, and the general public to be misled into believe a false assertion, which may cause them personal, reputational, and financial harm.
Identify verification processes are often intrusive or time-consuming to individuals, and they come at a significant cost to those required to carry them out as a matter of law and to avoid commercial and reputational losses due to fraud. It may cost a financial institution such as a bank $15 or more to on-board a single customer and verify their identity and personal information. This process gets repeated every time the same consumer tries to access another product or service, despite the process being similar, if not identical, for most organizations. The time it takes to initially validate information has a detrimental impact on customer relations and invariably also impacts customer acquisition and conversion rates for the sales of products where verification of consumer identity or information is required. Consumers are forced to fill in lengthy application forms and provide extensive personal information, and institutions are being forced to collect sensitive data that they arguably don't need to transact with a customer.
The same overhead and inefficiencies are present in other sectors where highly sensitive data may need to be verified, including in background checks for employment. The sharing economy, which relies heavily on trust and on the verification of identity and personal information, grew an average of 32.4% per annum from 2014 to 2016 and now includes 27 million adults in the U.S., demonstrating the growth and scale driving demand for identify verification services beyond the financial sector.
In the online world today, there are many situations where companies or individuals claim a relationship to another person or entity on websites and a third-party user has no way to know the authenticity of that relationship. This may take the form of "Mr. Jones is an advisor to our business", "Ms. Smith has endorsed our product", etc. There is significant value to the company to be able to demonstrate the claimed relationship is genuine. There is significant value to the individual with whom the relationship is claimed as it protects their own reputation from misuse. There is significant value to a third party visiting the web site as they may make decisions based upon the claimed relationship, endorsement or recommendation presented to them.
In an effort to combat identity theft, systems and methods for identifying users to third parties have been developed. In a common two factor application, a user presents a bank card or credit card in addition to the personal identification number ("PIN") corresponding to the card. In other systems, a user provides a password to identify himself/herself and may be given a Short Message Service (SMS) test message or a phone call with a unique code that the user must recite for access. In still other systems, a user may be given challenge questions to verify his/her identity. Each of these systems, however, is subject to attack and ultimate defeat from a basic security breach.
An identity verification system manages trusted digital identities and enables the use of those trusted digital identities to facilitate interactions between people in society. Digital identities include a collection of attributes and their values which can be used to identify the entities of a system and allow those entities to make identity claims. Identity management includes many aspects including creation of an identity, validation of an identity, storage of the identity, maintenance and updates to the identity, and protection of the identity from theft and unauthorized use. Use of identities allow a person or a computer to recognize other entities involved in an interaction and based on that to determine a role, scope of access, scope of authorization, and scope of actions that an entity can perform.
There have been various other ways to perform certifications on online systems. Security certifications have been used to issue badges, only rendering these badges on specific domains. These badges cannot be used for individuals. LinkedIn profile integrations are possible to verify an individual in an online system however these are not secure and are easy to fake.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Provided is an electrode patterning layer used for forming an electrode pattern of any optional shape depending on the difference in wettability with an electrode-forming solution, the electrode patterning layer employing a polyimide type resin which is highly reliable as an electronic material. The electrode patterning layer is prepared by irradiating a layer comprising a polyamic acid having repeating units at the formula (1) or a polyimide obtainable by cyclodehydration of such a polyamic acid, with ultraviolet ray in a pattern shape:

At present, in the process for producing electronic devices, a masking vapor deposition method or an etching method by photolithography is mainly employed for the formation of a pattern of an electrode or a functional thin film. With respect to such conventional methods, problems have been pointed out such that enlarging the substrate is difficult, and the process is cumbersome.
In recent years, it has been proposed to apply a technique for selective coating utilizing the difference in wettability with a liquid to the patterning of a functional thin film. This is a method wherein a patterning layer comprising a region wettable with a liquid and a region hardly wettable with a liquid, is formed on a substrate surface, and then, on this patterning layer, a solution of a functional thin film-forming material is applied and dried, so that the functional thin film is formed only at the region wettable with a liquid. The method is intended to thereby prepare an electronic device such as an organic EL (electroluminescence) device or an organic FET (field-effect transistor) device.
As such a patterning layer for a functional thin film, a photocatalyst-containing layer comprising titanium dioxide and an organopolysiloxane, irradiated with ultraviolet light through a mask (e.g. Patent Document 1), or a layer comprising a fluoropolymer and a compound having a photoabsorption site such as a dye, irradiated with laser or irradiated with ultraviolet light through a mask (e.g. Patent Document 2) has, for example, been known. Further, a method for vapor deposition of a fluorinated coating agent through a mask has also been proposed (e.g. Patent Document 3).
Whereas, such a patterning layer will remain in the device even after completion of its role for patterning the functional thin film. Accordingly, such a patterning layer is required to have durability against the subsequent process steps and reliability not to adversely affect the properties of the electronic device even if it is present therein. Such properties required for the patterning layer may vary depending upon the particular device to be prepared or the particular place where the patterning layer is to be used. Among them, as a patterning layer for an electrode, the electrical insulating property becomes important.
In the techniques heretofore proposed, importance has been placed only on the properties as the patterning layer. Therefore, in patterning a source electrode and a drain electrode for an organic FET device, it is necessary to prepare a gate insulating film beneath the patterning layer.
On the other hand, a polyimide is excellent in heat resistance, mechanical strength, electrical insulating properties, chemical resistance, etc., and thus is used for various electronic devices. However, no case has been reported wherein a polyimide itself is used for a patterning layer as described above.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2000-223270
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2004-146478
Patent Document 3: JP-A-2004-273851

Electrode patterning layer comprising polyamic acid or polyimide, and electronic device employing it

Abstract: wherein A is a tetravalent organic group, B is a bivalent organic group, each of A and B may be of a single type or plural types, and n is a positive integer, provided that at least one type of A is a tetravalent organic group having an alicyclic structure.


An improved multi-function loading and recovery apparatus for pallets, containers and the like having a simple, effective design while enabling efficient operation in a wide variety of recovery operations. This multi-function loading and recovery apparatus utilizes a unique self-locking L-Arm, a portion of which is extendable and retractable, so that the L-Arm can be engaged or disengaged with a tilt frame when the L-Arm is in a variety of lengths, enabling the utilization of containers of various lengths. The present invention further allows either the rotation of a tilting frame with the L-Arm for tilting and dumping, or the rotation of the L-Arm alone for unloading of the container.

The present invention relates generally to a multi-function loading and recovery apparatus and more particularly to an improved loading and recovery apparatus having a locking L-Arm of simple design and construction that is easy and efficient to operate in a wide variety of loading, unloading, dumping and recovery applications.
There are a variety of known pallet or container loading devices which have the ability to serve a dumping function. However, these known devices suffer a number of disadvantages because of their design and construction. Generally, the known devices have complicated arm or boom assemblies necessary to achieve their designated functions. And because of their complicated arm or boom assemblies, the known devices are higher priced, require increased maintenance, require high pressure hydraulic systems to accommodate extreme load weights and are more difficult to operate. Further, while such conventional devices may also utilize a tiltable frame, these devices require a distinct third member, such as metal hooks, to connect the arm or boom assembly to the tiltable frame, in order to lift the tiltable frame. Also, while some conventional devices have the ability to retract or extend their L-Arms, no known devices have the ability to lock a L-Arm to a tiltable frame using a spring-loaded lock connected to the tilt frame and not the L-arm, and thus allow rotation of the arm and frame structure, as one unified piece, while the L-Arm i-s in such a retracted or extended position. Thus, only containers with narrowly constrained lengths can be utilized with such devices. This device obviates the need and associated cost of a subframe.
One known device, f or example, is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,323. This device functions as a container loading and unloading apparatus and also operates in a dump mode. It consists of an L-Arm which is supported by the sub-frame or vehicle chassis. The L-Arm is activated by a hydraulic ram connected to the vehicle chassis and the L-Arm. The L-Arm is sectioned such that it pivots on an intermediate point along its length and is then pivotally connected to the vehicle chassis behind the rear wheels of the vehicle. The L-Arm is also horizontally extendable through the use of a second hydraulic cam located within a sleeve of the L-Arm.
However, devices of this type have several disadvantages. First, because the L-Arm is sectioned and pivotable about two points, a more complicated mechanical configuration is required which increases maintenance and material costs. Secondly, in certain modes of operation, e.g., dumping, the L-Arm pivots at the end behind the rear wheels of the vehicle. This necessitates the use of larger hydraulic cylinders for effective operation and also increases the tipping moment of the device, which decreases the amount of load which can be lifted before the front wheels of the vehicle lift off of the ground.
Other known devices suffer from these and other disadvantages. Devices of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,819,075, 3,878,948 and 4,175,904. All of these devices have a double pivot L-Arm which necessitates more complicated parts with decreased mechanical advantage.
Another disadvantage in prior art loading devices is the requirement that the load to be recovered or loaded must be of the same configuration as the size of the truck. The pallet to be loaded is of a custom size to fit the particular truck. This requirement is a severe limitation on the use of the loading device when the precise sized pallet or load is not available. Therefore, it is also desirable to have a loading or recovery device that may accommodate a wide range of loads and pallets and still be able to operate in full tilt dumping mode or in a pallet recovery mode which may be referred to as lift and pull.

Loading and recovery apparatus with self-locking L-Arm


Programs or data in a mask ROM incorporated in a one-chip microcomputer can be modified from the outside. With version information appended to each of a mask ROM 2 incorporated in a one-chip microcomputer 6 and an external EPROM 5, by comparing the version numbers, programs (tasks and subroutines) of a new version can always be executed and update data of a new version can be used. The programs can be customized for each user.

The present invention relates to a microcomputer control system which is controlled on the basis of programs or data stored in memory.
A microcomputer control system in which an incorporated ROM can be modified in a pseudo manner, is described in e.g., Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 7-182153.
The control device comprises a ROM storing a control program for effecting a control procedure and a processing unit that executes the control program to control the device, and the control device further includes a loadable and unloadable nonvolatile memory storing a replacement program to replace part of the control program and replacement specification information indicating whether to carry out the replacement, whereby the control program executes the replacement program in accordance with the replacement specification information. As a result, the program can be modified without replacing the original program ROM.
Although the above-described control device enables program modifications to be made without replacing an original program ROM, since the modifications are determined by replacement specification information stored in a nonvolatile memory, for example, when part of a control program in the original program ROM is modified to newly create an upgraded control unit and a nonvolatile memory is used therein, if the modified portion is replacement specification information, in the nonvolatile memory, for directing replacement with the replacement program, the modified portion would not be used. To prevent this requires an additional nonvolatile memory for the replacement program, provided for modifications to the control program of the program ROM.
As described above, the above-described control device has given no consideration to independent modifications between a control program in an incorporated ROM and an external replacement program.
An object of the present invention is to provide a microcomputer control system which enables independent modifications between a control program or data in an incorporated memory and a replacement program or data in an external memory.
To achieve the above object, the present invention appends version information to a control program or data in an incorporated memory and to a replacement program or data in an external memory, and determines from the version information whether to use the control program or data in the incorporated memory, or the replacement program or data in the external memory.
Without being limited to the version information, the above object of the present invention is achieved by comparing a plurality of programs or pieces of data to determine required programs or data, and based on the results, using internal or external programs or data.

Microcomputer control system in which programs can be modified from outside of the system and newer versions of the modified programs are determined and executed


A system is provided for maximizing solar energy utilization by moving a solar panel to track movement of the sun from sunrise to sunset. Preferably, the solar panel is inclined from the horizontal plane by a fixed angle of about ten degrees. And, movements of the solar panel are accomplished, daily, in accordance with a programmed schedule of consecutive cycles. In this schedule, each cycle has a start time (i.e. sunrise) and a start point that is determined by the sun's direction from the solar panel.

The angle at which solar radiation is incident on an energy converting unit (e.g. a photovoltaic cell) can significantly affect the unit's ability to convert solar energy into electrical energy. Optimally, the angle of incidence for solar radiation will be ninety degrees (i.e. an energy converting unit is oriented so solar radiation is directed at a right angle, perpendicular to the surface of the energy converting unit). To do this, specific tracking movements of the energy converting unit during daylight hours are required. This, however, may be difficult or impractical to achieve.
Although the efficiencies of energy converting units are diminished as the angle of incidence deviates from perpendicular; with only small deviations, the diminution of efficiency is minimal. On the other hand, with relatively large deviations from the perpendicular, the diminished effect quickly becomes significant. To minimize this loss and, conversely, to maximize system efficiency, the structure on which the energy converting unit is mounted (e.g. a solar panel) must effectively track movement of the sun. Operationally, this must be done in compliance with two considerations. These are: azimuth and elevation.
In order to effectively track movement of the sun, it is clear that both the azimuthal movements and elevation considerations for a solar panel are important. For example, the panel must first be pointed in the proper azimuthal direction (i.e. toward the sun). Secondly, with azimuth established, the panel must then be inclined in elevation to optimize (maximize) the angle of incidence. On the first point (i.e. azimuthal tracking), in comparison with a stationary solar panel it has been determined that the overall efficiency of energy converting units can be improved by around twenty percent when the solar panel azimuthally tracks the sun. On the second point, for latitudes of the United States, in comparison with a horizontally oriented solar panel, an inclination angle for elevation of about ten degrees has been determined to be generally optimal.
In light of the above it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for moving an energy converting unit that azimuthally tracks the sun with a fixed elevation angle, to thereby maximize solar energy utilization. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for moving an energy converting unit in accordance with a programmed schedule of cycles which tracks the sun during daylight hours and recycles the system at nighttime in preparation for a subsequent cycle the next day. Yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for moving an energy converting unit that is easy to use, is relatively simple to manufacture, and is comparatively cost effective.


The present invention provides for compounds useful for treating an HIV-1 infection, or preventing an HIV-1 infection, or treating AIDS or ARC. The compounds of the invention are of formula I wherein R1-R4 and Ar are as herein defined. Also disclosed in the present invention are methods of treating an HIV-1 infection with compounds defined herein and pharmaceutical compositions containing said compounds

The human immunodeficiency virus HIV is the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease characterized by the destruction of the immune system, particularly of the CD4+ T-cell, with attendant susceptibility to opportunistic infections. HIV infection is also associated with AIDs-related complex (ARC), a syndrome characterized by symptoms such as persistent generalized lymphadenopathy, fever and weight loss.
In common with other retroviruses, the HIV genome encodes protein precursors known as gag and gag-pol which are processed by the viral protease to afford the protease, reverse transcriptase (RT), endonuclease/integrase and mature structural proteins of the virus core. Interruption of this processing prevents the production of normally infectious virus. Considerable efforts have been directed towards the control of HIV-1 by inhibition of virally encoded enzymes.
Some currently available chemotherapy targets two crucial viral enzymes: HIV protease and HIV reverse transcriptase. (J. S. G. Montaner et al. Antiretroviral therapy: 'the state of the art', Biomed. & Pharmacother. 1999 53:63-72; R. W. Shafer and D. A. Vuitton, Highly active retroviral therapy (HAART) for the treatment of infection with human immunodeficiency virus type, Biomed. & Pharmacother. 1999 53 :73-86; E. De Clercq, New Developments in Anti-HIV Chemotherap. Curr. Med. Chem. 2001 8:1543-1572). Two general classes of RTI inhibitors have been identified: nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.
NRTIs typically are 2′,3′-dideoxynucleoside (ddN) analogs which must be phosphorylated prior to interacting with viral RT. The corresponding triphosphates function as competitive inhibitors or alternative substrates for viral RT. After incorporation into nucleic acids the nucleoside analogs terminate the chain elongation process. HIV reverse transcriptase has DNA editing capabilities which enable resistant strains to overcome the blockade by cleaving the nucleoside analog and continuing the elongation. Currently clinically used NRTIs include zidovudine (AZT), didanosine (ddI), zalcitabine (ddC), stavudine (d4T), lamivudine (3TC) and tenofovir (PMPA).
NNRTIs were first discovered in 1989. NNRTI are allosteric inhibitors which bind reversibly at a nonsubstrate-binding site on the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase thereby altering the shape of the active site or blocking polymerase activity (R. W. Buckheit, Jr., Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors: perspectives for novel therapeutic compounds and strategies for treatment of HIV infection, Expert Opin. Investig. Drugs 2001 10(8)1423-1442; E. De Clercq The role of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) in the therapy of HIV infection, Antiviral Res. 1998 38:153-179; E. De Clercq New Developments in Anti-HIV Chemotherapy, Current Med. Chem. 2001 8(13):1543-1572; G. Moyle, The Emerging Roles of Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors in Antiviral Therapy, Drugs 2001 61 (1): 19-26). Although over thirty structural classes of NNRTIs have been identified in the laboratory, only three compounds have been approved for HIV-1 therapy: efavirenz, nevirapine and delavirdine.
Initially viewed as a promising class of compounds, in vitro and in vivo studies quickly revealed the NNRTIs presented a low barrier to the emergence of drug resistant HIV-1 strains and class-specific toxicity. Drug resistance frequently develops with only a single point mutation in the wild type RT. While combination therapy with NRTIs, PIs and NNRTIs has, in many cases, dramatically lowered viral loads and slowed disease progression, significant therapeutic problems remain. (R. M. Gulick, Eur. Soc. Clin. Microbiol. and Inf. Dis. 2003 9(3):186-193) The cocktails are not effective in all patients, potentially severe adverse reactions often occur and the rapidly reproducing HIV-1 virus has proven adroit at creating mutant drug-resistant variants of wild type protease and reverse transcriptase. There remains a need for safer drugs with activity against wild type and commonly occurring resistant strains of HIV-1.
2-Benzoyl phenyl-N-[phenyl]-acetamide compounds 2a and 2b have been shown to inhibit HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (P. G. Wyatt et al., J. Med. Chem. 1995 38(10):1657-1665). Further screening identified related compounds, e.g. 2-benzoyl phenyloxy-N-[phenyl]-acetamide, 3a, and a sulfonamide derivative 3b which also inhibited reverse transcriptase (J. H. Chan et al., J. Med. Chem. 2004 47(5):1175-1182; C. L. Webster et al., WO01/17982).

Pyridazinone non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors 1 have been described by J. P. Dunn et al. in U. S. Publication 20040198736 filed Mar. 23, 2004 and by J. P. Dunn et al. in U.S. Publication No. 2005021554 filed Mar. 22, 2005. 5-Aralkyl-2,4-dihydro-[1,2,4]triazol-3-one, 5-aralkyl-3H-[1,3,4]oxadiazol-2-one and 5-aralkyl-3H-[1,3,4]thiadiazol-2-one non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors 2 have been disclosed by J. P. Dunn et al. in U.S. Publication No. 20040192704 filed Mar. 23, 2004 and by J. P. Dunn et al. in U.S. Publication No. 20060025462 filed Jun. 27, 2005. Related compounds are disclosed by Y. D. Saito et al. in U.S. Ser. No. 60/722,335. Phenylacetamide non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors have been disclosed by J. P. Dunn et al. in U.S. Ser. No. 11/112,591 filed Apr. 22, 2005 and methods for treating retroviral infection with phenylacetamide compounds have been disclosed by J. P. Dunn et al. in U.S. Publication No. 20050239881 filed Apr. 22, 2005; T. Mirzadegan and T. Silva in U.S. Ser. No. 60/728,443 filed Oct. 19, 2005; and Z. K. Sweeney and T. Silva in U.S. Ser. No 60/728,609 filed Oct. 19, 2005. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In WO2006/067587 published Jun. 26, 2006, L. H. Jones et al. disclose biaryl ether derivatives of formula 6 and compositions containing them which bind to the enzyme reverse transcriptase and are modulators, especially inhibitors, thereof.


A heat exchanger for a motor vehicle, particularly a motorcycle in which a bent cooling element is disposed between a first and second collector tank. The bent cooling element is provided with a longer and a shorter side as well as lateral connecting planes for joining the cooling element to the collector tanks. The collector tanks are made of a material that has substantially lower strength than the material of the cooling element.

The invention relates to a heat exchanger for a motor vehicle, in particular for a motorcycle, having a first and a second collecting tank and a curved heat sink arranged between the collecting tanks, so that flow can pass through it, also having lateral connecting planes for attachment to the collecting tanks and having a longer side and a shorter side between the collecting tanks.
Cooling of efficient internal combustion engines in motor vehicles is usually accomplished by using a coolant which absorbs heat in areas of the internal combustion engine that are to be cooled and releases this heat elsewhere via a heat exchanger through which air can flow. The evolution of heat and thus the requirement for dissipation of heat via the heat exchanger depend on the power of the internal combustion engine. Very powerful internal combustion engines require especially effective heat exchangers having the largest possible surface area exposed to oncoming flow.
Especially in the motorcycle area, however, the available surface area is limited. With very powerful internal combustion engines, in particular and/or when very little space is available because of design factors, very complex measures must sometimes be taken to ensure an adequate cooling capacity.
An efficient heat exchanger for a motorcycle is known from the Honda company Fireblade brochure of Feb., 2004; in the installed position, this heat exchanger has an oncoming flow surface that is inclined at the side and bent about the vertical axis. The known heat exchanger having lateral collecting tanks comprises a heat sink through which coolant can flow transversely and which has a longer side at the top and a shorter side at the bottom between the collecting tanks and is formed from a plurality of individual cross tubes. The heat sink as well as the collecting tanks that are fixedly attached to the heat sink with the known heat exchanger are made of metal with the individual components being welded together.
The curved heat sink of the heat exchanger has a smaller bending radius on its upper longer side than the lower shorter side, with the result that the lateral collecting tanks experience torsion, which leads to stresses. These stresses are dissipated via areas of lower strength, often over a very long period of time.
The invention is based on the object of further improving upon a heat exchanger as defined in the introduction and especially facilitating the dissipation of stresses in the case of twisted collecting tanks. Furthermore, an especially economical method of manufacturing such a heat exchanger is to be made available.
This object is achieved with a heat exchanger, whereby according to the basic idea, the collecting tanks are made of a material having much lower strength values than the material of the heat sink.
It is especially preferable if the material of the heat sink has at least 1.5 times, especially approximately 2.5 to 20 times the strength of the material of the collecting tanks. The heat sink is expediently made of metal and the collecting tanks are made of plastic. It is possible for the heat sink to be made of a lightweight metal or a lightweight metal alloy such as an aluminum alloy and for the collecting tanks to be made of a thermoplastic material such as polyamide.
According to a very advantageous exemplary embodiment, the heat sink in the installed position has an oncoming flow surface at the bottom that is chamfered or rounded at the side and has flangeable straps on its lateral connecting planes for attachment to the collecting tanks, these straps being tightly attached to the heat sink with the inclusion of a gasket.
It has proven advantageous for one of the collecting tanks for holding a thermostatic valve that controls the heat exchanger flow as a function of temperature to be integrally connected to a housing. It is likewise regarded as expedient if the collecting tanks are provided with fastening points for mounting on the vehicle and/or attaching other elements.
An especially preferred method for manufacturing such a heat exchanger is characterized in that the collecting tanks are connected to the planar heat sink on its lateral connecting planes and bending of the heat sink is performed subsequently; after this bending, the longer side of the heat sink has a smaller bending radius than the shorter side, so that with the bending of the heat sink, the collecting tanks connected to its lateral connecting planes are twisted.
The stresses that occur in bending the heat sink and the associated twisting of the collecting tanks are advantageously absorbed essentially by the collecting tanks and can be dissipated into the collecting tanks due to the material.
It is highly expedient if the dissipation of stresses into the collecting tanks is supported by means of heat and/or substances that reduce the strength of the material of the collecting tanks.

Heat exchanger for a motor vehicle and a method for manufacturing same

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A printed circuit board includes a lower plate provided with an internal circuit wiring and having a recessed part at a surface thereof and a plurality of projection patterns at a lower surface of the recessed part; an upper plate having the same structure of the lower plate and adhered to the lower plate so that surfaces formed with the recessed part are opposite to each other; a heat circulation medium injected into an internal space formed by the recessed parts of the lower and upper plates.

The present invention relates to a printed circuit board, and more particularly to a printed circuit board provided with a heat circulating medium, and a method for manufacturing the same.
The recent trend in the electronic industry for mounting techniques utilizes printed circuit boards (PCBs) for high density and high accuracy mounting of mounting parts employed to achieve a miniaturization and a high performance of an electronic machine. Particularly, high density PCBs capable of mounting more memory parts such as semiconductor packages are gaining attention as the chip size package (CSP) technique such as a ball grid array (BGA) and a tape carrier package (TCP) is developed. Therefore, a PCB which allows a high density mounting of memory parts is an important aspect of the technique for accomplishing a lightweight, small sized electronic machine among others such as micromachining of the part that are to be mounted on the PCB.
A PCB refers to a board having an insulation layer formed with a circuit wiring using a conductive material such as copper and accommodates mounting parts to be mounted thereon when constructing a module.
Hereinafter, a conventional PCB will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1.
As shown, a PCB 100 includes an insulation layer 110 formed of a resin based material and a conductive circuit wiring 120. The PCB 100 has a structure in which at least one of the insulation layer 110 and the circuit wiring 120 are alternately laminated. A via type internal circuit wiring 122 is also formed in the insulation layer 110 in order to connect electrically the upper and lower circuit wirings 120, which are both disposed in the insulation layer 110. In order to form a ball land and a bump pad, the upper and lower layers of the insulation layer 110 are patterned to expose portions of the circuit wiring 120 as shown in FIG. 1.
However, in a conventional PCB as shown in FIG. 1, hot spots are generated due to the differences in the level of power consumption between parts such as the semiconductor packages that are mounted on the PCB to construct a memory module, a mother board for a PC, a graphic card for PC, and the like. Further, the circuitry malfunction may be caused by the rising PCB temperature due to the diffusion resistance resulting from the generation of hot spots. Thus, the rise of PCB temperature due to localized hot spots may lead to the system failure or poor operation of the system.
Particularly, the thermal conductivity of an insulation layer in a conventional PCB is generally low. As the conventional PCBs rely on the conductive layer that is relatively smaller in portion than the insulation layer for heat dissipation, the issue of potential system failure due to the rising temperature of the PCB will be more problematic as even greater number of semiconductor packages are mounted on a PCB in a high performance electronic machine.

Printed circuit board provided with heat circulating medium and method for manufacturing the same


Restricting use of a selected input in recovery from system failures. A testing system obtains, based on failure of a system, an indication of one or more tasks to be performed. The testing system automatically determines whether a user is to perform one or more actions to alter execution of the one or more tasks. The automatically determining is based on an indication of whether a knowledge transfer score of the user meets at least one predefined criterion. Based on knowledge transfer score meeting the at least one predefined criterion, the one or more actions are performed.

One or more aspects relate, in general, to information technology systems, and in particular, to cognitive test environments for identifying and resolving failures of information technology systems.
An extensive test process phase is performed during the manufacturing of information technology systems and/or at other times to ensure that the systems will perform as expected when in a production environment. The testing ensures the reliability, accessibility, functionality and/or security of a system.
Some failures during testing are trivial, while others are extensive requiring complex analysis, which takes time and slows down the test process. This inevitably impacts availability of the system in production.

Restricting use of selected input in recovery from system failures

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A vector retrieval/generation/correction unit of a user terminal generates, corrects, and optimizes an inquiry vector on the basis of a vector profile, an inquiry history, a user model, and a user profile. On the other hand, a vector retrieval/generation/correction unit in an information center generates/corrects/optimizes a feature vector on the basis of a vector table, a search history, and a contents description database. In the information center, when an inquiry profile including an inquiry vector is transmitted from the user terminal, an adaptive searching process is executed. According to evaluation made by a contents evaluating unit, proper contents are retrieved from a contents database.

In recent years, with explosive spread of the Internet, various high-speed search engines are used.
The current information retrieving methods are broadly classified into the following two methods.
Full text search: by inputting some keywords, a document including the input keywords is retrieved.
Similarity search: by designating an index search and a document or keyword as an input search key, a document similar to the designated input search key is retrieved.
However, there is limitation in the searches using a so-called keyword and a number of pieces of unnecessary information are hit as a result of a search, so that information which is really needed cannot be obtained. A vague request of the user cannot be grasped.
One of methods of solving the problems uses a vector space model (VSM). According to the method, the presence/absence or the number of appearing times of a word in an input document is used as a feature amount and the degree of similarity between data to be retrieved and an input document is calculated. In the method using the VSM, a feature vector calculating method and a distance between vectors are actively being studied. SMART of the Cornell University, Okapi of City University, INQUERY of the Massachusetts University, and the like are known. According to those methods, however, since a vector is constructed by using frequency of occurrence of a word included in a document as an axis, although a relation to a search keyword is known, semantic feature of the contents of the document and compatibility to the intention of a search of the user cannot be evaluated.
The applicant of the present invention therefore has proposed a high-speed search method using a dependent vector in Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-1365. According to the method, the degree of interest of the user in various attribute groups regarding semantic features of the contents is defined as dependence to form a vector. Consequently, a user request can be quantitatively expressed and both a high-speed search and a similar search adapted to the user can be realized.
However, the search method still has room for improvement with respect to mainly the following points:                1) It is difficult to automatically generate and optimize an inquiry description.        2) It is difficult to automatically generate and optimize a contents description.
Further, from the viewpoint of adaptation to the user,                3) adaptation of a search process        4) learning and updating of a system are desired.


An apparatus is provided for reducing the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of a multicarrier transmission system. The apparatus comprises a detector for receiving a plurality of symbols to be transmitted and determining a peak amplitude of the plurality of symbols and a controller for determining if the peak amplitude associated with the plurality of symbols exceeds a predetermined threshold. If the peak amplitude exceeds the predetermined threshold, the apparatus generates at least one correction carrier signal. The at least one correction carrier signal is combined with a plurality of modulated carrier signals associated with the plurality of symbols to thereby reduce a peak-to-average power ratio associated with the plurality of modulated carrier signals.

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a multi-carrier transmission technique in which a user transmits on many orthogonal frequencies (or sub-carriers). The orthogonal sub-carriers are individually modulated and separated in frequency such that they do not interfere with one another. This provides high spectral efficiency and resistance to multipath effects. An orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system allows some sub-carriers to be assigned to different users, rather than to a single user. Today, OFDM and OFDMA technology are used in both wireline transmission systems, such as asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), and wireless transmission systems, such as IEEE-802.11a/g (i.e., WiFi) and IEEE-802.16 (e.g., WiMAX). This technology is also used for wireless digital audio and video broadcasting.
Conventional power amplifiers for amplifying multi-carrier signals are relatively expensive parts of a communication system. A key design parameter for OFDM/OFDMA power amplifiers is the requirement to minimize the generation of adjacent channel power (ACP) noise. ACP noise results from signal distortion caused by operation of power amplifier components in non-linear regions of the input-output characteristic such as when the power amplifier enters saturation. This distortion produces undesired spectral components in adjacent transmission channels.
Power amplifiers are more linear at lower input signal levels. Large input signals tend to drive a power amplifier into saturation. Thus, weaker signals experience less distortion and have lower ACP noise. However, a sudden large signal peak still results in distortion and ACP noise. This is especially problematic in systems that have large peak-to-average power ratios such as with OFDM/OFDMA. To avoid this, power amplifiers often operate in "back-off" mode (i.e., reduced input signal) in order to accommodate large signal peaks. However, operating in back-off mode requires the use of devices with higher power ratings which adds to system design, development and manufacturing costs. Furthermore, it may be inefficient and may generate excessive heat.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved OFDM/OFDMA transmission system that minimizes amplifier peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) without suffering performance degradation.

Apparatus and method for reducing the peak-to-average power ratio of OFDM/OFDMA signals


A touch panel may have a pen touch and electrode touch function. More specifically, a touch panel may be capable of improving visibility of a view area and also simplifying a panel fabrication process by improving the wires of sensing patterns for a pen touch and disposing an overlap structure occurring between intersecting sensing patterns in a separate region other than a view area.

1. Field
Embodiments may relate to a touch panel having a pen touch and electrode touch function and, more particularly, to a touch panel capable of improving visibility of a view area and also simplifying a panel fabrication process by improving wires of sensing patterns for a pen touch and disposing an overlap structure occurring between intersecting sensing patterns in a separate region other than a view area.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, types of smart phones and tablet computer products have been in the spotlight in which an electrostatic touch function driven by detected static electricity generated from a body of a user and a pen touch function driven by an induced current generated by an induction electromagnetic force generated by a touch pen have been combined.
In order to simultaneously implement an electrostatic touch function and a pen touch function using an induction electromagnetic force, in recent years, a structure in which both electrostatic patterns and sensing patterns are implemented in a single layer has been actively used rather than another structure in which an electrostatic pattern layer for an electrostatic type touch (hereinafter referred to as an electrostatic pattern) and an electromagnetic sensing pattern for detecting an induction electromagnetic force (hereinafter referred to as a sensing pattern) are stacked.
If the electrostatic patterns or the sensing patterns are implemented in a single layer as described above, however, a jumping structure, intersection structure, or overlap structure in which a plurality of patterns is intersected may be inevitably present. If a plurality of such overlap structures is present in a view area, there may be a problem in that visibility is reduced. Furthermore, there are disadvantages in terms of time, cost, and yield because processes in fabricating a panel are complicated and multi-staged. In order to solve such problems, there is a need for a new solution for excluding an overlap structure in a view area.
Embodiments have been made keeping in mind limits of such a touch panel device or touch panel fabrication method, and proposes a touch panel capable of increasing display visibility and simplifying a manufacturing process by improving wires of sensing patterns for a pen touch and disposing an overlap structure occurring between intersecting sensing patterns in a separate region other than a view area.
A related art includes Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2013-0108930 entitled "Tablet with Improved Line-Antenna Structure," the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. The art presents a methodology capable of minimizing an intersection structure and also properly distributing the space occupied by a line antenna in order for the line antenna to enter a line selection circuit in an outer part of a loop antenna for determining the location of an electron pen.
Embodiments and the art may be similar in that a structure and process for a touch panel are improved by changing the arrangement of sensing patterns or line antenna, but are different in that in the art, electrostatic patterns and sensing patterns are not implemented in a single layer and a pattern intersection structure in a view area is not fully excluded.

Touch panel having intersection structures for sensing patterns


An electrical storage heater having a heat store which is electrically heated, an internal air passage which extends upwardly through the heat store, a flow controller which is located above the upper end of the internal passage for controlling the convective flow of the air through the internal passage, and an actuator for the flow controller. The actuator includes a bimetallic element secured to the flow controller.

This invention relates to electrical storage heaters.
Such heaters comprise a heat store, electrical means for heating the heat store, an internal air passage extending through the heat store, flow control means for controlling the convective flow of air through the internal passage, and means for actuating the flow control means.
The electrical heating means is powered from an electrical supply source which is only powered at certain restricted periods over each 24 hour period e.g., only from midnight until 7 am, referred to as an off-peak supply period. A small amount of heat stored during the off-peak period is dissipated but, with an adequately insulated heat store, the bulk of the heat is given out during the remainder of the time, referred to as the on-peak period.
The rate at which the heat is to be given out is not necessarily uniform: the storage heater should have an appropriate capacity for the room to be heated, but the amount of heat received or lost by the room from other factors such as solar heating through a window or loss due to draughts from an open door may vary and the flow means enables the rate of heat output to be varied accordingly.
The flow control means in such storage heaters is commonly a damper which is moveable by actuating means to cover and uncover an opening which communicates with the internal passage.
In one known form of storage heater (described in European patent number 017476), the actuating means comprises a bimetallic strip which acts on the damper and which is in turn deflected by a bellows communicating with a bulb sensor containing expansible liquid and sensing ambient temperature variations. The bulb sensor is responsible for causing the damper to open if the temperature in the room containing the heater drops unduly towards the end of an on-peak period, e.g., in the evening, in order to boost the heater output. The bimetallic strip is provided to assist closure of the damper at the start of an off-peak period, both because it is wasteful to heat the store with the damper open (the damper may well be open at the end of the on-peak period), and because it is dangerous so to do since the casing would become unduly hot. The bimetallic strip is positioned so that it is heated by the air rising from the internal passage when the heating elements inside the store are energised.
Nevertheless, it has been found to be desirable to include as well a pilot heater adjacent the room-temperature-sensing bulb sensor, operated by the off-peak electricity, in order to heat the bulb to assist the bimetallic strip in closing the damper. Alternatively the pilot heater may be positioned so as to heat the bimetallic strip.


In a horizontal deflection system, an nf.sub.H timing signal is generated synchronously with an f.sub.H horizontal synchronizing component in a video signal, where nf.sub.H is a higher frequency than f.sub.H. A first circuit is responsive to the nf.sub.H timing signal for generating an nf.sub.H scan synchronizing signal synchronously with the nfH timing signal. A horizontal deflection stage is operable at nf.sub.H and responsive to the nf.sub.H scan synchronizing signal. A second circuit is responsive to the same nf.sub.H timing signal for generating horizontal blanking pulses. The nf.sub.H timing signal can be generated by a first phase locked loop and a frequency divider. The first circuit responsive to the nf.sub.H timing signal can comprise a second phase locked loop. The second circuit responsive to the nfH timing signal can comprise a driver/inverter. The horizontal blanking pulses are combined with vertical blanking pulses to form a composite blanking signal.

This invention relates to the field of synchronization systems for televisions and the like, and in particular, to the generation of horizontal blanking signals for multiple scan rate operation. For example, the horizontal blanking signals are generated at 2f.sub.H, where f.sub.H is the conventional horizontal scanning frequency.
Proper width and deflection/video timing are important in achieving a video signal that does not have any fold over. This is especially true in high end receivers that run at multiple horizontal frequencies (nf.sub.H), and lower overscans. The amount of overscan for multiple frequency scanning is approximately 5% to 7%, as compared to the 10% to 12% overscan which is common for conventional scanning rates. Accordingly, the need is greater for accurate timing of the horizontal blanking signal.
Typically, horizontal blanking is derived from a lower voltage pulse on a secondary winding of the high voltage flyback transformer. A problem with this scheme is that the rise time of the pulse is not fast enough to blank adequately the video in the horizontal yoke current retrace interval which is generated by a higher voltage pulse. Moreover, unless the pulse is heavily differentiated and then stretched to make the pulse wide enough, the timing of the beginning of blanking is later than needed. Unfortunately, heavy differentiation creates other problems in the form of false triggering of the blanking circuit when flyback ringing pulses become high enough to trigger the circuit.
One approach which is known to overcome these problems uses two capacitors arranged in a capacitive voltage divider arrangement. This removes the secondary ringing problem and gives better timing than the secondary winding approach. However, this approach is problematic in that at least one high voltage capacitor is needed in the divider.
Another approach is to generate a blanking pulse from timing signals that precede the retrace interval. This can be done by using a pair of one-shot monostable multivibrators. A first one of the one-shots is triggered by one of the horizontal synchronizing signals and defines an initial delay of nearly one whole horizontal line. A second one-shot is triggered by the output of the first one-shot at the end of this delay, and defines the pulse width. However, there are problems associated one shots, such as false triggering, which results in improperly timed blanking.


A method of transmitting an upstream communication packet from a distributed trunk (DT) switch is described. The method comprises receiving a packet from a device connected to a DT port of the DT switch; and transmitting the received packet via a non-DT port of the DT switch if the DT switch is the owner of the device and transmitting the received packet via a DT interconnect (DTI) port of the DT switch if the DT switch is not the owner of the device.

Trunking enables the connection of two networked devices together using multiple links between the devices. Using multiple links provides for greater redundancy, e.g., if one of the links fails, the other link may be used. Additionally, multiple links may provide greater bandwidth between the devices and may provide load balancing over the connecting links.
FIG. 1 depicts a high-level block diagram of trunking in use connecting two devices, i.e., a first device 100 such as a switch or a server or other networked device, and a trunk switch 102 able to communicate over either link connecting the two devices. A pair of communication links 104, 106 communicatively connect device 100 and trunk switch 102 to each other. Communication links 104, 106 connect to trunk ports 108, 110, respectively, at trunk switch 102. The pair of communication links 104, 106 are collectively referred to as a trunk 112 (dashed line) connecting device 100 and trunk switch 102.
Assuming device 100 is a switch, AG. 1 depicts two switches connected via a two-port trunk 112. Specifically, ports 114, 116 connect respectively to trunk ports 108, 110 of trunk switch 102 via links 104, 106. Trunk switch 102 transmits a unicast packet, i.e., a packet sent from one device to one other device, to device 100 by selecting a single link of 104, 106 over which to forward the packet to the device. If trunk switch 102 were to instead transmit the packet on both ports, then device 100 would receive two copies of the same packet and forward both copies, e.g., to downstream-connected devices, thereby increasing, by duplication, the traffic on the network.
The selection of which port to use for forwarding packets is based on the traffic content. Trunk switch 102 performs a hash on several attributes within the particular packet to be forwarded. For example, trunk switch 102 may perform a logical XOR of the source and destination media access control (MAC) addresses and performs a modulus of the hash result based on the number of ports in the trunk, e.g., two ports with respect to trunk 112. Other attributes used during the hash may comprise an Internet protocol (IP) address, a transmission control protocol/user datagram protocol (TCP/UDP) port number, etc.
A type of switch which forwards packets based on a MAC layer address is a layer 2 switch. A feature of a layer 2 switch is that the switch keeps track of the source MAC addresses of received packets and the particular port on which the packet is received. For example, if device 100 transmits traffic, e.g., a communication packet, to trunk switch 102 using link 104 (and which is received at port 108 of the trunk switch), the trunk switch tracks that the device is reachable via trunk (logical port) 112. Trunk switch 102 transmits subsequently received transmissions destined for device 100 by using logical port 112, i.e., one of ports 108, 110.

Transmitting a packet from a distributed trunk switch

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


Fullerenes are synthesized by subjecting carbon in the form of particulates or as the carbon of a liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon, that can be continuously fed to a variety of intense, heat-generating processes that vaporize the carbon from the fluid comprising the particulates or hydrocarbons into an environment that condenses the vaporized carbon to the new form of carbon fullerenes.

Huffman, Kratschmer et al. Nature, vol. 347, No. 6291, pg. 354-358, 27 Sep. 1990, disclosed a process for synthesizing C.sub.60 and C.sub.70 which consists of vaporizing small graphite rods via resistance heating or arcing in a non-oxidizing atmosphere of helium at a preferred pressure of 100 torr. The process is excellent for producing fullerenes. The soot yield from a graphite rod is generally up to about 60% and the soot contains up to about 10% fullerenes. Attempts to scale up this process via using larger graphite rods, for example greater than 1/4 to 1/2 inch diameter, result in lower yields of soot and fullerenes. High power vaporization of the graphite rods reduces yields. The most convenient way to vaporize the graphite rods is a controlled arc between the rods. Automation of graphite rod feeding with a controlled arc to produce large quantities of fullerenes is difficult due to alignment of the small rods for arcing, and automation of supplying a new graphite rods after the rods have been burned in the 100-200 torr helium environment is also difficult. Graphite rods are also an expensive source of carbon.

Methods and apparati for producing fullerenes

Materials and Electrochemical Research (MER) Corporation