A variable voice rate apparatus to control a reproduction rate of voice, includes a voice data generation unit configured to generate voice data from the voice, a text data generation unit configured to generate text data indicating a content of the voice data, a division information generation unit configured to generate division information used for dividing the text data into a plurality of linguistic units each of which is characterized by a linguistic form, a reproduction information generation unit configured to generate reproduction information set for each of the linguistic units, and a voice reproduction controller which controls reproduction of each of the linguistic units, based on the reproduction information and the division information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable voice rate apparatus for varying the rate of reproduced voice in, for example, video and audio apparatuses and medical instruments.
2. Description of the Related Art
The mainstream apparatuses that handle voice data or voice data related to video data have recently shifted from magnetic tapes to magnetic optical disks or semiconductor memories. Accordingly, the recording system has shifted from the analog system to the digital system.
Digital voice-recording systems facilitate the control of the rate of reproduced voice. Voice data can be caught more quickly by its quicker reproduction than the recording rate, or more slowly and clearly by its slower reproduction.
Some of the recent audio apparatuses and some voice reproduction application software for use in personal computers have a function for varying the rate of reproduced voice data, utilizing the features of digital voice data.
This function uses methods for controlling voice data based on the features of its waveform data. The methods include, for example, a method for uniformly shortening the time required for reproducing the waveform data of digitized voice data, and a method for generating, based on its waveform data, voice data whose reproduction time is shortened, and a method for intermittently skipping the reproduction of voice data. Further, a method is also included in which silent portions are detected in voice data, and the time required for reproducing the voice data is shortened by excluding the silent portions (see, for example, Published Japanese Patent No. 3219892, pages 4-9 and FIG. 1).
However, in the above-described conventional method for shortening the reproduction time of voice data, the rate of reproduction cannot be greatly increased, since no one can follow the reproduced data if the rate is too high.
Further, in the method for intermittently skipping the reproduction of voice data, the meaning of the data may not be understood. If voice data contains few silent portions, the method for erasing silent portions is not so advantageous.
As described above, in the conventional methods, since control is performed based on the acoustic features of voice data, it is often difficult to understand reproduced voice data.

Variable voice rate apparatus and variable voice rate method


There is disclosed a damping force controller for controlling a damping force characteristic of a damper disposed between an unsprung mass and a sprung mass of a vehicle. A control unit repeatedly compares an output signal of a load sensor with a predetermined range. After the sensor output signal has been kept deviated from the predetermined range over a predetermined period of time longer than a resonance period of the unsprung mass, a damping force of the damper is increased for enhanced stability of the vehicle.

The present invention relates to a damping force controller for controlling a damping force characteristic of a damper disposed between an unsprung mass and a sprung mass of a vehicle, and more particularly to a damping force controller with a fail-safe function.
Japanese Patent Application First (unexamined) Publication No. 64-60411 discloses a system for controlling a damping force of a shock absorber disposed between an unsprung mass and a sprung mass of a vehicle. According to this known system, a load sensor of the piezoelectric type is disposed between a shock absorber and a suspension upper support of a mount insulator. An output of the load sensor is supplied to a control unit where a damping force vs., piston velocity characteristic of the shock absorber is stored. The output of the load sensor is used to retrieve the stored characteristic to give a velocity of the piston of the shock absorber. The velocity obtained is integrated to give a relative displacement. The relative displacement thus calculated is used in determining which of a plurality of damping force ranges is to be selected. In accordance with this result, the shock absorber is shifted to the damping force range selected. This system is not satisfactory in that should if the load sensor or its harness fail to operate normally, the shock absorber continues to produce a low damping force, resulting in degraded running stability of the vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to improve a damping force controller such that even if a load sensor or its harness fail to operate normally, running stability of the vehicle is maintained.


In situ process for production of conjugates using a deblocking agent which allows conjugation to occur and two compositions wherein one composition is functionalized with a group capable of reacting efficiently with free thiols, and a second composition containing blocked thiols.

Antibody-based systems for diagnosis and therapy rest on development of chemistry for the covalent modification of antibodies, especially, monoclonal antibodies, as well as the further development of linker systems which can, for example, enhance the performance of drugs delivered by the antibody.
An important factor in the use of antibody-based systems concerns the quality and nature of the antibody conjugate used. Originally, aggregated antibody enzyme conjugates were produced using a nonspecific coupling chemistry such as glutaraldehyde crosslinking which was described by Avrameas, Immunochemistry, 6:43 (1969) or a periodate oxidation method as described by Boorsma et al., Histochem. Cytochem., 23:200 (1974). The drawback with these approaches is that crosslinking is random and the antibodies are often buried deep within the resulting aggregated complex. Accordingly, the relative inaccessibility of antibodies reduces, if not eliminates altogether, their specific activity.
Recently, several approaches have been described in which both proteins, e.g., antibody and enzyme or toxin, are activated at their primary amine groups using an NHS-ester group of a heterobifunctional reagent to introduce a functional moiety such as a maleimide or sulfhydryl group. Imagawa et al., J. Appl. Biochem., 4:400 (1982), Duncan et al., Anal. Biochem., 132:68 (1983).
Three methods commonly used to thiolate involve introducing a free sulfhydryl group which is deblocked before proceeding with the conjugation. These methods include the following: (1) reaction with N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP)as described by Carlsson et al., Biochem. J., 173:723 (1978); or (2) reaction with 4-mercaptobutyrimidate in the presence of 4,4'-dithiodipyridine as described by King et al., Immunol. Method, 28:201 (1979); or reaction with S-acetyl mercaptosuccinic anhydride (SAMSA) as described by Weston et al., Biochem. Biophys. Acta, 612:40 (1980).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,999, issued to Carlsson et al. on Nov. 4, 1980, describes an assay method involving biospecific affinity reactions. Thiolation using SPDP involving subsequent reduction with dithiothreitol prior to conjugation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,119, issued to Carlsson et al. on Nov. 4, 1980 describes reagents such as SPDP for use as reagents in immunoassays.
Duncan et al., Analytical Biochemistry, 132:68-73 (1983), descries the synthesis of the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of S-acetylthioacetic acid (SATA) and its use in preparing conjugates.
Derksen et al., Biochimica at Biophysica Acta, 814:151-155 (1985), describe the use of SATA to couple proteins to liposomes containing maleimide residues.
Peeters et al., J. Immunological Methods, 120:133-143 (1989), describes a comparison of several coupling reagents such as SATA and SPDP on the antigenicity and immunogenicity of the conjugates.
The disadvantage of these approaches is that the thiolated protein tends to aggregate during the conjugation process. Protection of free sulfhydryl groups in solution from adventitious reaction, particularly oxidation, is almost impossible.

Situ process for production of conjugates


A sequential buffer for a magnetic tape data storage system comprises a plurality of segments. A buffer management system buffers data in the sequential buffer, conducting a data transfer process. Subsequently, some of the buffered data is maintained in some, but less than all, the segments of the buffer. Additionally, the maintained buffered data is indicated as VALID data. Thus, a subsequent process may be conducted directly using the data maintained in the buffer, and avoids moving the tape to reread the data.

Data that is written to or read from magnetic tape typically is supplied by or supplied to a host or host system that is operating at a different speed than is the magnetic tape data storage system.
Thus, the host and the magnetic tape data storage system, such as a magnetic tape drive, are rarely operating at identical speeds in a balanced environment. Instead, typically, either the buffer is full, meaning that the incoming data (data from the host to be written, or data read from the magnetic tape) to the buffer is limited by the speed that data is removed from the buffer and thus can then be overwritten; or the buffer is nearly empty, meaning that the outgoing data from the buffer (either host data being written to the media, or read data being supplied to the host) is limited by the speed that data is supplied to the buffer.
When the effective host data rate exceeds the native data rate of the magnetic tape data storage system on a write, or when it is less than the native data rate on a read, then the differences in speeds requires that the magnetic tape data storage system stop the magnetic tape to allow the slower speed operation to catch up. Additionally, a sequence of commands may result in stopping, and perhaps reversing, the magnetic tape. The effective host data rate is the host data rate after data compression, which is typically provided by the magnetic tape data storage system. Herein, the term "host data rate" should be taken to mean the effective host data rate if the data is compressed, or to mean that the host data is not compressible, or uncompressed if there is no compression engine in the magnetic tape data storage system.
An example of a command which typically requires that the tape be stopped and reversed is a "Space" command with a negative argument, which is sometimes referred to as "Space backwards". In that case, the tape might be stopped, accelerated backwards, then re-accelerated forwards so that the target of the Space backwards command, which might be a short distance previous to the present position, can be read forward.
Another type of command which might cause the tape to be stopped is a synchronizing command. Any type of write command issued with the "Immediate" bit not set is non-Immediate, which means that the drive is not to reply with a command complete until after all of the data, up to and including the data to be written as part of that command, has been written to tape, and verified to be written properly. One instance of a synchronizing command is a "Write filemark" command with an argument of zero filemarks to be written, in which case the whole purpose of the command is to cause the magnetic tape data storage system to write all the data that is in its data buffer to tape, or "flushed". In the case of a synchronizing command, followed by another write command, the magnetic tape data storage system must stop the tape, accelerate it backwards, stop the tape again, and then accelerate it forward sufficiently in front of the end of the previously written data so that the writing of the new data may begin immediately following the data written by the last synchronizing command. Repositioning the tape to allow writing to resume following the present position is referred to as a "reposition", or sometimes as a "backhitch".
Another case where a reposition is typically required is when a magnetic tape data storage system which is writing data to tape runs out of data in the buffer be written, which will happen when the data rate at which the magnetic tape data storage system is writing to tape is faster than the rate at which the host sends it data.
All of these situations may result in inefficiencies in operation.

Magnetic tape data storage system buffer management

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides a cylindrical lithium-ion secondary battery. The lithium-ion battery of the present invention has a structure in which the value of B/A is optimized, where the distance between an electrode pole to which strip-form lead pieces are welded, the lead pieces being formed intermittently in the winding direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the belt-like electrodes, and the inner wall of the battery can is represented by A, and the distance between the electrode pole and the wound electrode group is represented by B, in order to secure an exhaust passage for the gas generated upon occurrence of an abnormality in the battery.

In recent years, against a background of environmental problems, secondary batteries typified by lithium-ion batteries have been applied not only to moving objects such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), electric vehicles (EV), forklifts, and loading shovels but also to industrial uses such as uninterruptible power systems (UPS) and power storage for photovoltaic power generation. With the expansion of the uses of the secondary batteries, an increase in the capacity as well as an increase in the energy density is demanded. In addition to increasing the performance, increasing the safety is also a significant challenge to be addressed. Among the secondary batteries are nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, and lithium-ion batteries. As cadmium is toxic, the nickel-cadmium batteries have been replaced with nickel-hydrogen batteries and lithium-ion batteries. Among all the currently available secondary batteries, lithium-ion secondary batteries are particularly suitable for increasing the energy density, and thus are actively developed even now.
The main components of a nickel-hydrogen battery and a lithium-ion secondary battery are a metallic current collector (a negative electrode) having a negative electrode active material layer formed on a surface thereof, a separator that retains an electrolyte, and another metallic current collector (a positive electrode) having a positive electrode active material layer formed on a surface thereof. In regard to a nickel-hydrogen battery, the positive electrode contains nickel oxide, and the negative electrode contains a hydrogen storage alloy. In regard to a lithium-ion secondary battery, the positive electrode contains lithium-metal oxide, and the negative electrode contains a carbon material such as graphite.
The battery structures are broadly divided into a wound structure in which a belt-like negative electrode, separators, and a positive electrode are wound in a spiral fashion, and a stacked structure in which strip-like negative electrodes, separators, and positive electrodes are alternately arranged. In the case of a wound, hermetically sealed battery with the wound structure, gas generated in the battery can should be promptly and smoothly guided to a portion around a gas exhaust valve, while how to arrange lead pieces for electrically connecting the belt-like negative electrode or positive electrode group to an electrode pole, which connects to a battery terminal, is a factor to decide the passage for the gas.
Among the gas exhaust mechanisms of the wound, hermetically sealed batteries is the invention disclosed in Patent Literature 1. Patent Literature 1 discloses that, when a plurality of lead pieces exist in a manner overlapping each other, between an end face of a wound electrode plate group and a battery cap, which is located opposite thereto and has a gas exhaust valve, a failure that a gas passage may be blocked is avoided by forming a gas passage by shifting the phase of the arrangement of the lead pieces on the electrode plate in winding the electrode plate such that the arrangement is not at regular intervals and thus intentionally creating a gap. Further, there may also be cases where a gas passage is provided by providing holes in the electrode pole arranged on the exhaust passage for the gas.


A biological assay device for use in molecular biology, pharmaceutical research, genomic analysis, combinatorial chemistry, and in the general field of the analysis of molecules that may be deposited on supports of various kinds is provided. Specifically, the present invention includes a fluidic or microfluidic device, which integrates fluidic capability into existing multi-well plates of standard configuration, for performing either single or continuous fluidic manipulations in a high-throughout format. Methods for the use and manufacture of these devices are also provided.

Manipulation of biological and/or chemical molecules in solution has become an essential aspect of various kinds of analysis. For instance, in biomedical or pharmaceutical assays, cellular components, proteins or nucleic acid (DNA) molecules are studied to ascertain particular genetic risk factors for disease or the efficacy of drug trials. Recently, a class of sample-receiving substrates has been developed for "microfluidic" bioassay devices, popularly called "lab-on-a-chip" devices. Lab-on-a-chip technology is exciting the interest of scientists in many areas. This technology can be used to carry out biological and clinical analyses, to perform combinatorial chemistry, and to carry out full-scale analyses from sample introduction to chemical separation and detection, on a single, miniaturized device efficiently and economically. Hence, microfluidic devices have recently gained great appeal in the biomedical, genomic, and pharmaceutical industries, where they offer the benefits for miniaturization, integration and automation. Substrates of these devices are integrated microfluidic assay systems with networks of chambers connected by channels, which have microscale dimensions, typically on the order of between 0.1 μm and 500 μm. These channels allow the movement of small volumes of reagent to assay stations. Such microfluidic substrates may be fabricated using photolithographic techniques similar to those used in the semi-conductor industry, and the resulting devices can be used to perform a variety of sophisticated chemical and biological analytical techniques.
Because of the variety of analytical techniques and potentially complex sample flow patterns that may be incorporated into particular microfluidic test substrates, significant demands may be placed on the analytical units, which support the test substrates. The analytical units not only have to manage the direction and timing of flow through the network of channels and reservoirs on the substrate, they may also have to provide one or more physical interactions with the samples at locations distributed around the substrate, including heating, cooling, exposure to light or other radiation, detection of light or other radiation or other emissions, measuring electrical/electrochemical signals, pH, and the like. The flow control management may also comprise a variety of interactions, including the patterned application of voltage, current, or power to the substrate (for electrokinetic flow control), or the application of pressure, vacuum, acoustic energy or other mechanical interventions for otherwise inducing flow.
As a consequence, a virtually infinite number of specific test formats may be incorporated into microfluidic test substrates. Because of such variety and complexity, many if not most of the test substrates will require specifically configured analyzers in order to perform a particular test. It is indeed possible that particular test substrates use more than one analyzer for performing different tests. The need to provide one dedicated analyzer for every substrate and test, however, will significantly reduce the flexibility and cost advantages of the microfluidic systems. Additionally, for a specifically configured analyzer, test substrates are generally only useful for performing a limited number of assay formats and functions. As the complexity and costs of test substrates increase, it becomes more desirable to increase the number of useful assay formats and functions for a particular test substrate-analyzer combination, or for a particular class of substrates in combination with a specifically configured analyzer.
For all their virtues, most current lab-on-a-chip devices, however, are inherently low throughput, allowing for only a small number of samples to be assayed at a time. Current microfluidic devices are limited typically to less than 40 or 50 assays per chip. Further, they are rather cumbersome to handle since they do not conform to standard robotics and often require manual processing. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a high throughput microfluidic device that is configured to work with equipment for bio-chemical-genomic assays of an industry-standard format. Thus, as an aspect of the present invention, the device provides high-throughput microfluidic processing that is compatible with standard microtiter plate formats.

Microcolumn-based, high-throughput microfluidic device


A process for chucking and machining an elongated cylindrical article made of a ceramic material according to the present invention, comprises the steps of: (1) chucking the elongated cylindrical ceramic article between chuck heads at longitudinally opposite end portions of said ceramic article; (2) holding the elongated cylindrical article between the chuck heads under such a low chucking pressure as allowing the ceramic article to slip inside a driven side chuck head while being kept inside the chuck heads at the opposite end portions, and slipping the ceramic article inside the chuck heads for a given time under rotation of a driving chuck head so that any positional deviation between the location of a center axis passing centers of of the chuck heads and an axis of the ceramic article may be removed due to a self aligning centrifugal action of the ceramic article; (3) raising the chucking pressure of the chuck heads to such a level as required for machining the ceramic article; and (4) then machining a surface of the ceramic article by a machining tool.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for chucking and machining an elongated cylindrical ceramic article.
1. Related Art Statement
When an elongated cylindrical article such as an engine valve-forming article is to be ground by a cylindrical grinder, it is a conventional practice that the workpiece is manually or automatically placed between a pair of chuck heads, chucked by means of a general purpose scroll chuck or opposite centers, and machined.
FIGS. 1 and 2 is a schematic view of a chucking and machining apparatus for the illustration of a conventional chucking process. According to this chucking and machining apparatus, a driving side chuck head 1 is rotatably supported by a support pole 2 at one side, and is to be rotated by a motor 3. At the other side, a rotatable tailstock 4 (driven side chuck head 4) installed at one end of a chucking pressure applicator 5. An air circuit 6 is connected to the other end of the chucking pressure applicator 5 so that a desired chucking pressure may be applied between the chucking heads 1, 4 via the chucking pressure applicator 5. The air circuit 6 is to be adjusted such that warping of the workpiece by the chucking pressure may be made smaller. The chucking pressure applicator 5 includes a cylindrical recess 5-1 formed in a support pole 7 and a piston 5-2 fitted slidably to-and-fro in the cylindrical recess 5-1 so that the chucking pressure applicator 5 may be supported and moved to-and-fro by the support pole 7. The support pole 7 is slidably and fixedly installed on a base 8 by a moving unit not shown, for example, an oil pressure device.
When a ceramic engine valve having a head diameter of 32 mm, a shaft diameter of 7.3 mm and an entire length of 109 mm as a workpiece W is to be chucked by using this chucking and machining apparatus, the workpiece W is placed between a pair of the chuck heads manually or by means of an automatic carrier, and its one end is pressed against the driving side chuck head 2 at one side (See FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b)). Then, the support pole 7 is slid in a left direction in these figures to contact the other end of the workpiece W against the driven side chuck head 5. Thereafter, the support pole 7 is fixed to the base 8 (See FIG. 1(c)). At that time, the air chuck 6 is set such that a given chucking pressure may be applied between the chuck heads 1 and 5. The driving side chuck head 1 is rotated by the motor 3, and the engine valve fixedly chucked between the chuck heads under the above chucking pressure is rotated. While the engine valve is being rotated, the surface of the engine valve is machined by a grinding tool T schematically illustrated in FIG. 1(c).
FIG. 2 is a view for illustrating a chucked state of the workpiece W in FIG. 1(c). As illustrated, frusto-conical chucking recesses 1-1, 4-1 are provided at the chucking heads 1, 4, respectively so that their conical peripheral surfaces may function as chucking faces. Beveled portions W1 and W2 are provided at an axially outer peripheral area of a large-diameter head seat portion Wa and that of a small-diameter shaft portion Wb, respectively, and are contacted with and supported by the chucking recesses 1-1 and 4-1, respectively.

Process and apparatus for chucking and machining an elongated cylindrical article made of a ceramic material


A method and apparatus are described for providing a current mirror type high voltage switching circuit (60) having a reference branch (M2, M3, R1) and a tracking branch (M1, M5), where the output peak current is limited by adding an additional branch (M4, M6) to the current mirror circuit which includes an additional mirror transistor (M4) and cascode transistor (M6), and where over voltage protection is provided by including a shut-off circuit (Q1, Q2) which turns “OFF” the cascode transistors (M5-M8) whenever the output voltage (Vout) exceeds the first reference voltage (Vbat) by a predetermined amount.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to the field of electric circuits. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a high voltage switch circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electronic control systems which include drive load devices, transistor-based load drivers or switches are used to drive the load devices. Ideally, the transistor-based switch generates a predetermined high level output voltage with a minimal voltage drop, while minimizing the output current while generating a predetermined low level output voltage. However, such switches typically include additional current sensing circuits for purposes of measuring the actual load current, protecting the transistor driver, optimizing load control, and/or performing diagnostics. However, such additional current sensing circuits can impair the performance of the transistor switch (e.g., by introducing lossy elements), can add to the manufacturing cost and complexity, and can introduce errors in the switch performance.
To illustrate the design and operation of conventional current limited switches, reference is now made to FIG. 1(a) which depicts an exemplary transistor-based switch circuit 1 that includes a simple transistor switch 4 (M1) is connected in series between a first reference voltage (e.g., battery voltage Vbat) and an output (Vout), and that is gated across a resistive load 2 (R1). While the transistor-based switch circuit 1 has a very low voltage drop across the first transistor 4 (M1), it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that there are significant variations in the on-resistance (Rds-on) and output current (Io) which depend on the Vbat voltage, the manufacturing process variations, and temperature variations. These variations over the operating range of the switch circuit 1 can be problematic in certain applications, as illustrated in FIG. 2 which depicts, at line 11, a simulated plot of the output current (Io) from the switch circuit 1 which increases as the output voltage (Vout) decreases and the battery (Vbat) shows, the output current (Io) from the switch circuit 1 is quite high when the output voltage (Vout) is low, leading to current consumption and uncontrolled current (unpredictable amount of current) that is undesirable with low power applications.
To compensate for these variations, additional circuitry is typically included to provide optimal drive capability while offering protection against voltage or current fluctuations. For example, FIG. 1(b) depicts a current mirror circuit 3 that includes a tracking or tracing branch (including a first transistor 4 (M1) that is connected between the first reference voltage (Vbat) and the output load (Vout)). The current mirror circuit 3 also includes a reference branch, including a second transistor 6 (M2) and resistive load 2 (R1) supplying a current IR1, that is connected between first and second reference voltages (e.g., battery voltage Vbat and ground). The gates of the first and second transistors M1 and M2 are connected to each other and to the resistive load 2 so that the output current (Io) which crosses the output load (Vout) tracks the current IR1 from the resistive load 2. While the current mirror circuit 3 generates a limited output current as the output voltage (Vout) is lowered, the voltage drop is higher than the transistor-based switch circuit 1, resulting in a lower output current and a higher equivalent output resistance for this operation region. This is illustrated in FIG. 2 which depicts, at line 13, a simulated plot of the output current (Io) from the current mirror circuit 3. As shown by comparing the output current plots 11, 13 in the area where the voltage drop is close to zero (e.g., Vo=9-10 V), the output current is smaller, meaning that the current mirror circuit 3 has a higher series on-resistance value (Rds-on).
This reduction in the output current can be partially corrected to form a high side switch with auto limited current by adding an activation transistor to the reference branch. This is illustrated with the modified current mirror circuit 5 shown in FIG. 1(c) where the reference branch includes a current mirror activation transistor 8 (M3) connected in series between the second transistor 6 (M2) and resistive load 2 (R1) and gated by the output voltage (Vout). The operation of the modified current mirror circuit 5 is controlled by the drain-to-source voltage drop (Vds) over the first transistor 4 (M1) to provide the controlled current performance of the simple current mirror circuit 3 in the smaller output voltage regions, and to also provide the lower series on-resistance value (Rds-on) performance of the transistor-based switch circuit 1 in the higher output voltage regions (low output voltage drop region). In particular, when the Vds of the first transistor 1 (M1) is higher than the threshold voltage of the current mirror activation transistor 8 (M3), the current mirror activation transistor 8 (M3) is active or conductive, resulting in current IR1 through the R1 resistor which turns the first and second transistors M1/M2 ON to work as a current mirror. However, when the Vds of the first transistor 4 (M1) is lower than M3 threshold voltage, the current mirror activation transistor 8 (M3) is not conductive (e.g., turned OFF) so that there is no current through the R1 resistor, and as a result, the gate-to-source voltage (Vgs) of the first transistor 4 (M1) is set to the first reference voltage (e.g., Vbat), in which case the modified current mirror circuit 5 works as a simple transistor switch. These two performance regions (current mirror and switch) for the modified current mirror circuit 5 are depicted in FIG. 2 which depicts, at line 15, a simulated plot of the output current (Io) from the modified current mirror circuit 5. As shown, the simulated plot line 15 includes a transition region 16. Below the transition region 16 (e.g., where the output voltage is less than approximately 5.2 V), the modified current mirror circuit 5 works as a current mirror, while above the transition region 16 (e.g., where the output voltage is greater than approximately 8.8 V), the modified current mirror circuit 5 works as a simple switch. However, in the transition region 16, there is a maximum or peak output current in the current plot 15 for the modified current mirror circuit 5 that is higher than the output current 13 for the simple current mirror current 3. This peak output current creates a performance problem in applications where the modified current mirror circuit 5 is used in an application that has a low power mode.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved transistor-based switch with limited current, minimal voltage drop, and/or reduced output current peak to overcome the problems in the art, such as outlined above. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional processes and technologies will become apparent to one of skill in the art after reviewing the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings and detailed description which follow.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the drawings have been schematically illustrated, and where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the drawings to represent corresponding or analogous elements.

High side high voltage switch with over current and over voltage protection


Data having some similarities and some dissimilarities may be clustered or grouped according to the similarities and dissimilarities. The data may be clustered using agglomerative clustering techniques. The clusters may be used as suggestions for generating groups where a user may demonstrate certain criteria for grouping. The system may learn from the criteria and extrapolate the groupings to readily sort data into appropriate groups. The system may be easily refined as the user gains an understanding of the data.

Large amounts of data are collected every day. Often, people attempt to understand the data in order to leverage the data. The amount of data may be overwhelming for humans to easily understand without the help of tools. Various tools that are available in the natural language space often require a linguistic background, and often significant training and/or experience, in order to effectively use the tools. Accordingly, there is a need for a tool that allows a user to gain an understanding of large amounts of data without requiring that the user gain significant training or experience to operate.


The present invention provides a refrigerated merchandiser including a case defining a product display area. The product display area defines a highest temperature zone and a lowest temperature zone. The merchandiser includes a first product simulator positioned in the highest temperature zone of the product display area to generate a first signal representative of the temperature of products positioned in the highest temperature zone of the product display area, and a second product simulator positioned in the lowest temperature zone of the product display area to generate a second signal representative of the temperature of products positioned in the lowest temperature zone of the product display area. The merchandiser also includes a controller in communication with the first and second product simulators. The controller is operable to adjust an outlet temperature set point in response to the first and second signals from the first and second product simulators.

In conventional practice, supermarkets and convenience stores are equipped with refrigerated merchandisers, which may be open or provided with doors, for presenting refrigerated products like fresh food or beverages to customers while maintaining the fresh food and beverages in a refrigerated environment. Typically, cold, moisture-bearing air is provided to a product display area of the merchandiser by passing an airflow over the heat exchange surface of an evaporator coil containing a suitable refrigerant. As the airflow passes through the evaporator coil, heat is transferred from the airflow to the refrigerant, which causes the refrigerant to evaporate. As a result, the temperature of the air passing through the evaporator is lowered for introduction into the product display area of the merchandiser.
Typically, the temperature of the air discharged into the product display area is controlled to maintain a pre-determined set point. Such a set point is typically recommended by the manufacturer of the refrigerated merchandiser, and is typically based upon data accumulated during experimental trials.

Method of control for a refrigerated merchandiser


A label tag dispenser has a base, a cassette mount for placing a paster cassette and two semi-shells symmetrical with each other. The cassette has an outer periphery and at least one groove is defined in the outer periphery. Each semi-shell has an open end, an inner periphery, at least one rib formed on the inner periphery to match with the at least one groove and a cutout defined at the open end. By engaging the groove and the rib, the two semi-shells can be individually mounted on the cassette mount. One semi-shell is mounted and then the paster cassette can be received inside the label tag dispenser with its first paster sheet extending upward through the cutout. Then, the other semi-shell is mounted to achieve the label tag dispenser. Thereby, the label tag dispenser is conveniently reloaded with a new paster cassette without nuisance concerning slippage of the paster sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a label tag dispenser, and more particularly to a dispenser in which it is easy to reload a new paster cassette in a convenient way.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional label tag dispenser comprises a base (50), a cassette mount (60) for receiving the paster cassette (80) and a cover (70). The paster cassette (80) contains multiple paster sheets (81) that can be drawn out one by one.
The base (50) has a bottom board (52) and a ballast stay (54) attached on the bottom board (52). The bottom board (52) is rectangular and has two ends and a cutout (520) defined at one end. The ballast stay (54) is also rectangular and has a cutout (540) corresponding to the cutout (520) on the bottom board (52).
The cassette mount (60) is a substantially rectangular casing mounted on the bottom board (52) to enclose the ballast stay (54) with the bottom board (52). The cassette mount (60) has two ends, an outer periphery, a top face, a stop strip (62), multiple stubs (64) and a cutout (66). The stop strip (62) is formed on the top face of the cassette mount (60) near one end to prevent the paster cassette (80) sliding on the cassette mount (60). The multiple stubs (64) are respectively formed on the outer periphery at the two ends. The cutout (66) is defined in the end that is close to the stop strip (62) to align with the cutouts (540, 520) on the base (50).
The cover (70) is also a substantially rectangular casing mounted on the bottom board (52). The cover (70) has two ends, an inner periphery, a top face, an opening (72) and multiple detents (74). The cover (70) is slightly larger than the cassette mount (60) in size and its two ends abut the ends of the cassette mount (60) when the cover (70) mounted on the bottom board (52). However, the cover (70) has a height much greater than that of the cassette mount (60) so that a compartment is defined between the top faces of the cover (70) and the cassette mount (60) to receive the paster cassette (80). The opening (72) is defined in the top face of the cover (70) to allow a paster sheet (81) to extend therethrough. The multiple detents (74) are respectively defined on the inner periphery at the two ends to correspondingly engage the multiple stubs on the cassette mount (60) to keep the cover (70) secured on the cassette mount (60).
However, the conventional label tag dispenser has a drawback in that the replacement of the paster cassette (80) is inconvenient because the first paster sheet (81) does not extend through the opening (72) when the cover (70) is remounted on the bottom board (52). Therefore, the paster cassette (80) has to be attached under the cover (70) to make the first paster sheet (81) extend out via the opening (72) initially. Then, the paster cassette (80) is pushed to abut the cover (70) to keep the first paster sheet (81) through the opening (72). Lastly, the cover (70) with the paster cassette (80) has to be released from hand and swiftly mounted on the base (50) before the first paster sheet (81) escapes from the opening (72) during the attachment of the cover (70). Additionally, even when the first paster sheet (81) is extended through the opening (72), the paster cassette (80) may slide inside the dispenser and finally makes the paster sheet (81) escape from the opening (72) again.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an improved label tag dispenser to obviate the aforementioned problems.


According to an aspect there is provided a method of determining the health of a subject, the method comprising determining the absolute humidity and volume of air exhaled by the subject over time; and analysing the determined absolute humidity and volume of air exhaled by the subject to determine a characteristic of the air that was above the isothermic saturation boundary, ISB, of the subject.

Current exhaled breath analysis is directed towards measuring biomarkers (e.g. nitric oxide, cytokines, and H2O2) in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC). This type of analysis is gaining in popularity for the detection and analysis of multiple respiratory disorders, including airway inflammation. For these purposes, the absolute EBC volume (directly related to its humidity) is of interest only as a means of generating a sample size large enough for biomarker analysis, and defining biomarker dilution. There are several devices on the market (e.g. RTube and ECoScreen) designed to collect the exhaled breath condensate.
These devices are designed for sample collection and cool the exhaled breath down to induce condensation to allow subsequent analysis of biomarkers. They collect the entire exhaled breath volume of multiple breaths, typically during a fixed time interval or until a large enough condensate volume has been sampled.
The isothermic saturation boundary (ISB) in a subject is the point in the respiratory system of the subject where inhaled air reaches body temperature (around 37° C) and is completely saturated with water (around 44 grams/metre3).

Method and device for determining the health of a subject


An architecture, which may be embodied in hardware, software or a combination of the two, is adapted to develop reflexes conditioned based on influences external to the architecture (such as user activity) in order to optimize the fulfillment of operational requirements of application modules in the architecture. The architecture includes, in addition to one or more application modules, modulation modules involved in the regulation of the functions performed by the application modules, a central regulator for registering the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement in an application module and for controlling the modulation modules to seek a solution by a strategy including the external indication of a xe2x80x9cneedxe2x80x9d condition via output modules. This manifestation is detected by the architecture itself via input modules, which also detect external phenomena indicating the activity of a user or external agent. An external event or input leads to satisfaction of the operational requirement. A conditioning system receiving inputs from the application modules, modulation modules, central regulator and input and output modules generates, on the basis of conditioning received through past experience, a signal indicating the expectation of satisfaction of the operational requirement. The operation of the architecture responds to the value of this expectation signal.

The present invention relates to an architecture, embodied either in hardware or a software agent or in a combination of hardware and software, adapted to develop reflexes and, more particularly, conditioned reflexes.
The interest of such an architecture is two-fold. Firstly, by being able to develop conditioned responses which are linked to unfulfilled operational requirements (needs), an architecture of this type can maximise the probability of satisfaction of its requirements and thus maximise its operational efficiency, for example, by increasing the duration of its useful working life. Secondly, an architecture having reflexes which are conditioned, at least in part, by externally-given user inputs, appears to the user to be exhibiting behaviour in a quasi-social manner. Such an observation leads to the experiencing by the user of a feeling of sympathy towards the machine or programme embodying the architecture. This type of sympathetic response to the architecture is something which has long been viewed as a desirable goal in the field of artificial intelligence (A.I.). One of the reasons why this goal is highly valued, is that it is generally considered that the user who feels sympathy towards a machine or software agent will better cooperate with that machine or software agent in the achievement of a common task. Moreover, the user will find working with this machine or software agent to be more congenial.
In the field of artificial intelligence, it has already been proposed to create architectures which, based on sensory inputs, can exhibit behavioural patterns which, to a human observer, appear to denote intelligence. See, for example, xe2x80x9cA Robust Layered Control System For A Mobile Robotxe2x80x9d by R. A. Brooks, IEEE Journal of Robotics and Automation, RA-2(1):14-23, 1986. Brooks"" creatures are based on a so-called subsumption architecture and, based on a small set of primitive behaviours, without symbolic expression, they exhibit apparently very complex behaviour. Brooks"" work represents an example of behaviour-based artificial intelligence.
However, in order for human user to feel sympathy towards a machine or software agent, it is not sufficient for that machine or software agent to exhibit behaviour which appears to be intelligent, it is also important that there should be an inference of emotion. This has been seen, for example, from the work of Bates (xe2x80x9cThe Role of Emotion in Believable Charactersxe2x80x9d by J. Bates, Communication of the ACM 37(7):122-125, 1994). Bates was interested in creating animated characters which would be considered to be believable by human users. His xe2x80x9cbelievablexe2x80x9d characters attracted people because they appeared to imitate human-like expressions of emotion and, thus, to show an xe2x80x9cillusion of lifexe2x80x9d. The importance of this inference of emotion in attracting or creating the sympathy of human users has also been shown by other studies such as the xe2x80x9cNeurobabyxe2x80x9d project (xe2x80x9cNeurobabyxe2x80x9d by N. Tosa in Visual Proceedings of SIGGRAPH-93 Tomorrow""s Realities. ACM SIGGRAPH, 1993) and the ALIVE project (xe2x80x9cSituation Action: A Symbolic Interpretationxe2x80x9d by Percy Maes in Communications of the ACM 38(11):108-114). Moreover, the degree of attachment which humans can develop for animated characters which exhibit an xe2x80x9cillusion of lifexe2x80x9d is seen from the fact that many owners of Tamagochi(trademark) cry when the animated character embodied therein xe2x80x9cdiesxe2x80x9d.
The present invention is based on a model which postulates that emotional expressions in humans are rooted in the experiencing of bodily needs. Although, it is clear that the needs of computers and software agents are different from those of humans, the architecture of the present invention implements an approach which metaphorically resembles that of humans when experiencing bodily needs, according to the postulated model.
More particularly, the present invention provides a system adapted to develop reflexes conditioned by experience, comprising: at least one application module having an operational requirement and adapted, when said operational requirement is not satisfied, to output a signal indicative of a need condition; a regulatory unit adapted to receive said need signal and to produce a control signal leading to a manifestation, perceptible to an external agent or user, of the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement; input means for detecting an input or event of external origin, said input or event being adapted to cause the operational requirement of said application module to be satisfied; a conditioning unit adapted to receive signals indicative of the existence of unsatisfied operational requirements in application modules of said system, signals indicative of the manifestation perceptibly to external agents or users of the existence of the unfulfilled operational requirement, signals indicative of the detection of satisfaction inputs or events of external origin, and to generate a signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of a present unsatisfied operational requirement based on values of said received signals for previous unsatisfied operational requirements; wherein at least one unit in the system adapts its operation as a function of the value of said expectation signal.
By developing reflexes, especially reflexes conditioned by the reaction of human users or other non-human agents with which the architecture interacts, directed at the satisfaction of unsatisfied operational requirements (needs), the architecture according to the present invention optimises the chances of obtaining satisfaction of its operational requirements and exhibits a behaviour which, to a human observer, implies the existence of emotional states. This latter feature leads to a feeling of sympathy in the human user towards the machine or software agent embodying the architecture.
Other advantageous features of embodiments of the invention are recited in the dependent claims appended hereto.

Hardware or software architecture adapted to develop conditioned reflexes


One embodiment is a unique strategy for evaluating performance of a component of an internal combustion engine. More particularly, in one non-limiting form a method includes operating a component, such as a heating component, and measuring a first characteristic related to its operation. The method also includes operating an engine accessory and measuring a second characteristic related to its operation, and determining performance of the component by relating the first and second characteristics to one another. In one aspect, relating the first and second characteristics to one another provides a first value which is compared to a predetermined value, and performance of the component is determined from this comparison. Other embodiments include unique methods, systems, and apparatus for evaluating or monitoring the performance of a component of an internal combustion engine, and/or for performing a procedure for starting the internal combustion engine.

The present application relates generally to operation of internal combustion engines, and more particularly but not exclusively to evaluating performance of components used on or in connection with an internal combustion engine for, by way of non-limiting example, determining if a component is properly functioning. Additionally or alternatively, the present application also relates to procedures for starting internal combustion engines.
Modern internal combustion engines must meet stringent emissions standards, including a maximum amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulates and unburnt hydrocarbons that may be emitted. In certain situations, such as cold starting environments, ambient air may be heated by a heating component before it enters into the cylinders of the engine. Additionally or alternatively, heating components can be positioned in or around the cylinders in order to heat air in the cylinder and/or the engine block surrounding the cylinders. Heating in either of these manners tends to offset heat diffusion that occurs between compressed air in the cylinder and the surrounding engine block, which in turn improves combustion quality on start-up by providing higher compressed air temperatures that are necessary for generating and maintaining combustion of fuel in the compressed air in the cylinder. Amongst other things, improved combustion quality on engine start-up can reduce unburnt hydrocarbons and particulates in the engine exhaust.
In addition to the foregoing, many engines include aftertreatment systems which are utilized to reduce engine-out emissions to regulatory levels before release to the atmosphere. Aftertreatment systems often include multiple components, including particulate filters, oxidation catalysts, NOx adsorbers, NOx reduction catalysts, three-way catalysts, and four-way catalysts, and can further include multiple components of the same type at various locations along the aftertreatment system flowpath. Several of these components properly function only after reaching a certain temperature threshold, the achievement of which can be aided by improved combustion quality on engine start-up. As a corollary, improved combustion quality on engine start-up can also indirectly enhance reduction of engine-out emissions to regulatory levels.
While the foregoing heating techniques provide several advantages, there are a number of drawbacks in the current techniques used to evaluate the performance of the above-described heating components, as well as other engine components and accessories. By way of non-limiting example, variations in battery system life and configuration can impact the ability of current techniques to accurately evaluate the performance of heating or other components and accessories. Accordingly, there is a demand for further improvements in this area of technology.

Techniques for evaluating performance of internal combustion engine components


The present invention provides a synthetic chemical method for preparing ω-hydroxylated polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) including 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), 20-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (20-HEPE), and 22-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (22-HDoHE) and a method of use thereof for treating cancer and macular degeneration.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are metabolized by CYP450 enzymes that function as monooxygenases mainly by catalyzing hydroxylation and epoxidation (see Ref 1). Arachidonic acid (ARA) is metabolized by the CYP450s to hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). While all EET isomers are almost equally formed, 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a product by w-hydroxylation, is major HETE regioisomer derived from ARA. These metabolites are important lipid mediators that play important roles in various diseases (see Ref. 2). Interestingly, EETs and HETEs often have opposing biological functions (see Ref. 2).
Every CYP450 produces both EETs and HETEs. However, epoxygenases, such as CYP2C and CYP2J isoforms, produce mostly epoxides, and hydroxylases, such as CYP4A and CYP4F isoforms, produce mostly 20-HETE. The same CYP isoforms also metabolize ω-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to the corresponding epoxy- and hydroxyl polyunsaturated fatty acids (see Ref 3). Recently, beneficial effects from dietary supplements of fish oil including prescription ω-3 fish oil have triggered interests in the biological functions of their metabolites (see Ref 4). For example, it is showed that epoxides of EPA and DHA can reduce pain perception (see Ref. 5), blood pressure (see Ref. 6), and angiogenesis (see Ref. 7). Herein, the present disclosures are concentrating on the biological role of ω-hydroxy polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites.
Biological roles of 20-HETE have been well studied, and have been shown to have detrimental effects on several diseases such as hypertension (see Ref 8), cancer (see Ref. 9), and cardiovascular and kidney diseases (see Ref 10). In addition, there is growing evidence to suggest that 20-HETE is a potent agonist of the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1) which is activated by endogenous lipid mediators and is closely related to pain (see Ref. 11).
However, little is known about the biological roles of other ω-hydroxylated PUFAs due mostly to their limited availability or difficulty to synthesize them. These are 20-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (20-HEPE) and 22-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (22-HDoHE) derived from EPA and DHA respectively. 22-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (22-HDoHE) is an endogenous lipid mediator produced by cytochrome P450 ω-hydroxylases (largely CYP4A and CYP4F) from docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 ω-3), as shown in FIG. 1A. It is an endogenous compound and has been detected in many tissues such as brain, lung, kidney and liver, as shown in FIG. 1B (see Ref 35).
Gopal et. al. reported a chemical synthesis of 20-HETE by a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of a cis-vinylbromide compound with a functionalized borane (see In Tetrahedron Lett. 2004, 45 (12), 2563-2565). Apart from that, several biosynthesis of 20-HETE have been reported (see Ref 12). Harmon et. al. reported a 20-HEPE synthesis by oxygenation of ω-3 fatty acids by human cytochrome P450 4F3B (see Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acids 2006, 75 (3), 169-77). However, a complete synthesis of 22-HDoHE has not been reported yet.
In view of the number of possible applications for the treatment of diseases there is a need for a synthetic chemical method of preparing 22-HDoHE, 20-HEPE, and 20-HETE.
Described herein, inter alia, are solutions to these and other problems in the art.

Synthesis and use of ω-hydroxylated polyunsaturated fatty acids

The Regents of the University of California


A vibratory hammer for use in driving a work piece such as a pile, pipe, caisson or plate into the earth includes a support frame 10 adapted to be suspended from a crane or the like, and a vibrator assembly 12 that is suspended from the frame. The vibrator assembly includes at least one pair of laterally spaced, parallel rotary shafts 40 that are rotatable in opposite directions to one another, and a weight 46 is supported on each shaft. Each weight is shiftable radially relative to the corresponding shaft between a balanced position in which the center of mass of the weight is collinear with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, and an eccentric position in which the center of mass of the weight is offset radially from the longitudinal axis of the shaft. Preferably, a fluid-actuated piston-and-cylinder assembly 54 is supported between each weight and the corresponding shaft for selectively carrying out the shifting movement of the weights. However, other types of shifting mechanisms could also be employed.

The present invention relates generally to vibratory hammers having at least one pair of laterally spaced, rotating eccentric weights and a drive mechanism for driving rotation of the weights at the same speed in opposite directions to one another. More particularly, the invention relates to a vibratory hammer construction in which the weights can be shifted from their eccentric, vibration-producing positions to balanced, non-eccentric positions during start-up and shut-down to avoid the production of potentially destructive strokes that might otherwise result and to be able to control the magnitude of forces generated by the rotation of the eccentric weights.
A known vibratory hammer construction includes a support frame adapted to be suspended from a crane or the like, a vibrator assembly suspended from the frame for generating vibration used to drive a work piece into the earth, and a clamping assembly for selectively clamping and releasing a work piece. The vibrator assembly includes at least one pair of laterally spaced, parallel shafts that are rotatable in opposite directions to one another, and an eccentric weight supported on each rotary shaft such that the center of mass of the weight is radially offset from the longitudinal axis of the corresponding shaft.
A hydraulic or electric motor is provided for driving rotation of the shafts at a speed of, e.g. 1500 rpm to produce vibration in the hammer for driving the work piece into the earth. At start-up, the motor increases the rotational speed of the shafts from zero rpm to the working speed of the hammer. Likewise, when the hammer is shut down, the speed of the shafts is reduced to a stop. A common problem experienced with known hammers arises during these start-up and shut-down periods. As the hammer vibrates at a frequency equal to its natural frequency, potentially destructive strokes can occur that can cause damage to the hammer, the work piece, and/or possibly to adjacent structures such as buildings and the like. Although operators attempt to bring the hammers up to speed or shut them down as quickly as possible to minimize the amount of damaging vibration that occurs. This practice does not eliminate the risk.


In a lithographic process for fabrication of integrated circuit chips, a projection exposure machine is used to print a mask pattern onto each of a plurality of shot areas defined on a substrate, where an alignment method for establishing alignment between each shot area on the substrate and the mask pattern is performed. The alignment method comprises the step of forming on the substrate a regular pattern which comprises a plurality of pattern elements regularly distributed over the plurality of shot areas, and the step of performing an alignment operation based on the position of the regular pattern so as to establish alignment between each of the plurality of shot areas and the mask pattern. An exposure apparatus may be used to form the regular pattern on the substrate. The exposure apparatus comprises a light source for emitting a primary light beam, a beam-splitting optical system for splitting the primary light beam into a plurality of secondary light beams which are coherent with each other, and an objective optical system for modifying each secondary light beam into a substantially plane wave light beam, and for illuminating a region of a photoresist-coated substrate with the secondary light beams at different incident angles, the region of the substrate extending over a plurality of shot areas defined on the substrate, wherein the region is exposed to a regular pattern of light of interference fringes produced on the substrate from the plurality of secondary light beams.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alignment method suitable for establishing alignment between each of a plurality of shot areas defined on a photosensitized substrate and a mask pattern to be printed on each of the shot areas in a lithographic process for fabrication of semiconductor devices, liquid crystal display devices, and others. The present invention also relates to an exposure apparatus for use in such an alignment method.
2. Related Background Art
In general, the fabrication of typical semiconductor devices involves the formation of multilayer circuit patterns on a semiconductor wafer (simply referred to as "wafer" hereinafter). This requires that the registration between circuit patterns of related layers (such as two adjacent layers) on the wafer should be within a specified tolerance in order to ensure that the fabricated semiconductor devices meet design requirements. As semiconductor devices have developed to have a greater and greater number of components per IC chip, leading to LSIs (large-scale-integrated circuits) and then to VLSIs (verylarge-scale-integrated circuits), the registration accuracy required by the lithographic process involved in the fabrication of semiconductor devices has become more and more stringent.
In the lithographic process for fabricating IC chips, there have been widely used step-and-repeat type of projection exposure apparatuses (called "steppers"). Where the stepper is used, the exposure region of a wafer is divided into a number of shot areas, and a pattern formed on a reticle (or mask) is successively printed on the shot areas with the printed pattern aligned (or overlaid) with the previously defined patterns on the wafer. More recently, so-called step-and-scan type of projection exposure apparatuses have been developed in order to enable the exposure of a larger pattern formed on a larger reticle without necessitating the use of a projection optical system having a larger diameter. In the step-and-scan type of projection exposure apparatus, each shot area on the wafer is positioned at the scan starting position by a stepping operation, and then the reticle and the shot area are moved in synchronism with each other and relative to the projection optical system, during which exposure is performed, so that a scanning exposure is performed with respect to each shot area.
In these types of projection exposure apparatuses, a laser interferometer is used to perform precision measurement of the position of a wafer stage carrying a wafer. In addition, an optical alignment sensor is used to determine the position of an alignment mark (wafer marks) formed for each shot area on the wafer as, for example, a relief pattern. The position of the wafer stage is controlled based on the measured values from the laser interferometer as well as the determination results from the optical alignment sensor.
The types of projection exposure apparatuses described above can provide the registration accuracy required for the fabrication of semiconductor devices whose complexity corresponds to that of a typical 256-megabit DRAM (dynamic-random-access-memory) chip. However, it is anticipated that higher registration accuracy tolerating, for example, errors of less than 50 nm (nanometers) with a minimum width of ruling of 150 nm may be required in the future for the fabrication of semiconductor devices whose complexity corresponds to that of a possible 1-gigabit DRAM chip. In order to achieve this registration accuracy by using any of the existing types of projection exposure apparatuses, the measurement accuracy of the laser interferometer must be as high as that tolerating errors of less than several nanometers, and a system including the wafer stage must be sufficiently stable to prevent any significant variation in the relative position between the wafer and the moving mirror monitored by the laser interferometer. In addition to such a higher registration requirement, there is another requirement that high throughput (i.e., the number of wafers that can be processed per unit of time) be achieved. Unfortunately, it is difficult to meet both of these requirements with any of the existing alignment techniques.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alignment method which can achieve higher registration accuracy without any need for high stability in the position control of the stage used for positioning the photosensitized substrate nor any need for tight tolerance of the measurement means (such as a laser interferometer) used for measuring the position of the stage, and even when the positioning is performed at a higher speed.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an exposure apparatus usable for performing such an alignment method.

Alignment method and exposure apparatus for use in such alignment method


An automated florist system, including an associated cooler (20, FIG. 1) and order taking control unit (22, FIG. 2) for automated vending and order placements specifically for flowers and gift items. The system, with the control unit being pre-programmed using appropriate logic (FIG. 3), allows a walk-up or drive-up customer to select from a variety of pre-made flower arrangements from discrete cells equipped with the necessary refrigeration for immediate purchase, or, alternatively, a selection may be made, and information entered, for remote delivery at a specified time and place (note displayed "order form" of FIG. 5). Further, the operating, host florist of the vending system can remotely monitor and conduct all business with the vending machine from the operating florist's shop (FIG. 4), with the sole exception of stocking the machine with items for immediate purchase; while the sending of an order to an affiliated florist for a distant delivery is fully automated; see FIG. 6.

Currently florist customers generally must visit a florist shop or call during the shop's business hours in order to obtain service. However, given the consuming public's demand for "twenty-four hour" service due to complex and busy schedules, a florist shop, that is open for business only eight or ten hours a day, is missing many opportunities to serve their clientele at the clientele's convenience.
Some efforts have been made at providing floral vending machines. These machines are essentially the same as any other refrigerated vending machine in that they hold compartments with flower arrangements which are accessible immediately for purchase. However, one of the greatest services a florist can provide is the delivery of flowers, often to a location at a great distance away. These vending machines are not capable of such delivery applications. Nor do they alert the florist when their inventory is low and by how much or on what items. This requires a first trip to the machine to determine what items have been sold and then typically a second trip to restock those items.
Further, vending machines do not exist with international capabilities nor is the traditional method of ordering flowers through a florist for international delivery very expedient. Currently customers must pay an extra surcharge for overseas delivery and are still not assured of timely delivery. Obviously there are many instances where timely delivery is of the utmost importance, for example, for funerals.
A listing of prior patents, which may be relevant to the invention, is presented below:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 4,311,227 Watkins JAN. 19, 1982 5,360,134 Falk, et al NOV. 01, 1994 5,386,462 Schlamp JAN. 31, 1995 5,450,938 Rademacher SEP. 19, 1995 5,472,116 Barbe, et al DEC. 05, 1995 5,511,646 Maldanis, et al APR. 30, 1996 ______________________________________
The Watkins U.S. Pat. No. (4,311,227) discloses an automated vending system using a set of climate controlled cubicles, each with a door that is unlocked electronically when it receives the proper signal from a corresponding panel of selection buttons. The system also includes a remote programming panel for adjusting the amount of credit necessary to unlock the door to each cubicle. The signal from the selection button will unlock the door corresponding to that button only if the system's bill reader has received the amount of money required for that door, as set at the remote programming panel.
The Falk U.S. Pat. No. (5,360,134) discloses an automated vending system that uses a cylindrical drum within a cabinet. The drum is divided into compartments by a fixed number of horizontal shelves and a variable number of vertical walls. Each horizontal shelf corresponds to a transparent door in the cabinet and an electronic price display. When the customer actuates the mechanism that rotates the drum, the electronic display shows the price of the goods aligned with the door. When the customer deposits the proper amount of money, the door corresponding to the selection is unlocked electronically to allow access to the goods. The Falk invention is designed to accept coins and bills and to accommodate a climate control system.
The Falk vending system may be programmed to limit the drum's range of motion and those limits may be programmed to change over time. The price of accessing individual compartments may be programmed to change over time, as well.
The Schlamp U.S. Pat. No. (5,386,462) discloses a vending system that uses a computing unit and a fixed number of compartments designed to allow one or more merchants to make goods available to one or more customers after hours. If a customer pre-selects goods from a merchant for pick up after hours, the merchant deposits the ordered goods in a compartment and uses the vending system's input device to associate a "customer number" with that compartment. The customer can unlock that compartment at a later time by entering the same customer number and charging the price of the goods to an account.
The Schlamp vending system also allows the merchant to offer goods for sale to the general public, including a means of advertising the available goods and a means of accepting coins and bills. Furthermore, this vending system allows potential costumers to retrieve the list of available goods remotely using telecommunications and to reserve goods using a customer number.
The Rademacher U.S. Pat. No. (5,450,938) discloses a vending system that ties a single card reader to two or more conventional currency-activated vending machines.
The Barbe et al U.S. Pat. No. (5,472,116) discloses an apparatus for dispensing tickets, as for transportation, to customers. The apparatus includes a screen, a display, a scroll knob, and a confirmation button. The customer selects parameters, such as destination and class, by turning the knob to cause the list of valid parameter values to scroll across the display and pressing the confirmation button when the desired value is highlighted. After the customer has selected all necessary parameters and has paid the necessary price, the apparatus prints and dispenses an appropriate ticket. The apparatus accepts cash and credit cards.
The Maldanis U.S. Pat. No. (5,511,646) discloses a method of programming a vending machine having two or more shelves that circulate on a conveyor belt to align with a horizontally disposed row of access doors.
While the Watkins invention uses climate controlled compartments, and the Falk invention remembers which compartments have been accessed, and the Schlamp invention uses telecommunications to accept orders for on-site pick up, none of these systems allow for the dual role of immediate purchase and receipt of goods and/or immediate purchase with remote delivery at a place and time specified at the time of purchase by the purchaser. Therefore, inter alia, none of the above referenced patents use telecommunications to allow a customer at the vending machine to place an order for remote delivery or to allow the florist to know what items have been sold and removed from the machine without a visual inspection.
It is also known to use the "world wide web" or internet for an automated, computerized process for a customer to place an order using the customer's PC, as well as simple telephonic calling, for placing floral orders through a live operator. However, these approaches do not provide for direct, automated vending and have other disadvantages not present in the automated florist vending and order taking system of the present invention.

Automated florist system allowing direct contact with delivering florist


The solvent vapor concentration which is mixed with air and is obtained in the treatment of articles in an apparatus is controlled in the apparatus by a method comprising the following steps:. a) passing gaseous solvent vapor/air mixture from the apparatus through at least one adsorber containing an adsorbent for the organic solvent and recycling the outlet gas stream from the adsorber to the apparatus; PA0 b) after completion of the adsorption, opening the apparatus to enable removal of treated articles from the apparatus and closing the apparatus; PA0 c) heating the adsorbent and passing a gas stream from the apparatus through the adsorber and recycling the outlet stream from the adsorber directly to the apparatus.

The present invention relates to a method of controlling the solvent vapor concentration in an apparatus as well as apparatuses useful therefore. The solvent vapor is mixed with air and is obtained in the treatment of articles, such as a cleaning process, in the apparatus.
Methods and apparatuses for treating, for example cleaning, articles with organic solvents are well known. They are for example used in the dry cleaning of textiles etc. and for the degreasing of metals. The organic solvents are recovered during the drying phase in order to avoid losses of solvents and environmental pollution associated therewith. In some cleaning processes the gaseous organic solvents which are in the apparatus during the drying phase are cooled and condensed in a condenser. However, mainly hydrocarbons and particularly chlorinated and/or fluorinated hydrocarbons are used as solvents in the cleaning process. Many of them, for example, trichlorotrifluroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, trichloromonofluoromethane, perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or methylene chloride have a low boiling point and cannot be recovered by condensation to a sufficient extent. Therefore, the non-condensed organic solvents are usually adsorbed by adsorbents, such as activated carbon. Several processes have been suggested for recovering the organic solvents in the cleaning of articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,325 suggests recovering solvent vapors from an air stream which is recycled through an air cooler and then through an adsorbing unit in which the air stream, after it has left the cooler, is heated again before entering the adsorber. It is suggested that the air stream is first passed through the cooler bypassing the adsorber and then, after the solvent concentration in the air has been reduced, the adsorber is connected into the circuit. Activated carbon is used for adsorbing the organic solvents.
British patent specification 996,578 relates to a dry cleaning apparatus comprising a cleaning drum, a condenser and a solvent adsorber which is filled with activated carbon. German Offenlegungsschrift 37 37 783 also relates to a dry cleaning machine having a cleaning drum, a condenser and an adsorber containing activated carbon.
According to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,325, British patent 996,578 and German Offenlegungsschrift 37 37 783, activated carbon is regenerated with steam, the steam-solvent mixture is condensed and water is separated from the organic solvent. This necessary separation step is disadvantageous.
Accordingly, other methods and means for regenerating the adsorbent, such as activated carbon, have been suggested.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,985 relates to the recovery of organic solvents in dry cleaning and solvent finishing. In the taught process the solvents which occur in the form of a solvent vapor/air mixture are partially condensed by cooling. A saturation partial pressure of the solvent in the solvent vapor/air mixture of not more than 0.25 is set up. The solvent vapors are adsorbed with activated carbon while the solvent free air is blown out to the environment. The adsorbed solvents are desorbed by means of a solvent vapor/air mixture of the same concentration as in the adsorption process and at temperatures of 100.degree. C. to 150.degree. C., the flow through the activated carbon being in the opposite direction to that in the adsorption process. The desorbed solvent is condensed in a condenser. However, a condenser having a relatively high heat exchange area and a high performance compressor are necessary in combination with a liquefier in order to reach this saturation partial pressure. Furthermore, although a high amount of solvent vapor is adsorbed in the activated carbon, there is still a risk of solvent release to the environment. An undesirably high amount of solvent vapor may be released to the environment if the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon is close to exhaustion or is exhausted.
German Patent 36 09 578 (equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,776) suggests a dry-cleaning machine containing a cleaning drum, a heat exchange unit, consisting of a cooler and a heater, one adsorber and a fan for circulating air. The conduit system has several by-passes which allow the following connections, seen in the direction of the circulating air: a) cleaning drum - heat exchange unit - cleaning drum, b) cleaning drum - adsorber - cleaning drum, c) adsorber - heat exchange unit - adsorber. In the disclosed cleaning process the solvent vapor is partially condensed by circulating the solvent vapor/air mixture in conduit system b) and the adsorbed solvent is then desorbed by circulating air in conduit system c) wherein the air is heated in the heater, the hot air desorbs the solvent in the adsorber at a high temperature and the desorbed solvent is condensed in the cooler. However, the necessary by-passes require considerable space and at least four butterfly valves.
For avoiding these by-passes and butterfly valves German Offenlegungsschrift 37 26 245 (equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,119) suggests, after partial condensation of the solvent vapors originating from the cleaning drum, removal of a portion of the circulating air stream which portion is passed over an adsorber. Two dependent air circulations are suggested. The adsorbent in the adsorber is regenerated with hot gas and the desorbed solvent is condensed in a cooler. Unfortunately, the suggested process and equipment are relatively complicated.
European patent 157 090 suggests a cleaning machine containing a treating chamber, a drying compartment and a drying gas circuit. The cleaned articles are dried by means of a drying gas. In the drying gas circuit are arranged, seen in the direction of the circulating drying gas, a cooler, an adsorber and the drying compartment. In the drying and desorption phase of the cleaning process, the solvent vapor of the drying gas is partially condensed in the condenser and the drying gas is then passed over the heated adsorber for desorbing solvent vapor from the adsorber. The desorbed solvent vapor is condensed in the condenser. The drying gas is purified by passing it over a cooled adsorber. However, the condensation of all the solvent vapors is energy-consuming.
Due to the deficiencies of the known methods of recovering solvent vapors and of the known apparatuses for treating articles, it would be desirable to provide a simple solution for solving the problems relating to the solvent vapors in the treatment of articles, such as cleaning operations. Specifically, it would be desirable to avoid the contact of the solvent vapors with steam during their desorption. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a very simple apparatus for treating articles which minimizes the contamination of the environment with solvent vapors during its operation.

Method of controlling the solvent vapor concentration in an apparatus


Workpieces for producing a firearm have an elongated body defined within a cross-sectional profile with a first elongated passage configured to receive the upper portion of the bolt, and with a second elongated passage configured to receive the lower portion of the bolt, and the elongated body having a separator between the first elongated passage and the second elongated passage and configured to prevent installation of the bolt assembly when the separator is present, and to enable installation of the bolt assembly when the separator is absent. The cross-sectional profile may be along the entire length of the elongated body. The cross-sectional profile may fully encompass the first elongated passage. The first elongated passage may be open only at the ends of the elongated body. The cross-sectional profile may have a U-shaped cross-section.

Workpieces for producing a firearm are workpieces that have been machined to form selected limited features, but have not yet reached a stage of manufacture to be legally considered a firearm. The Gun Control Act of 1968 does not impose restrictions on receiver blanks that do not meet the legal definition of a firearm, enabling anyone to purchase them in most jurisdictions. The purchaser can, in most jurisdictions, legally machine the receiver blank into a functioning firearm for personal use without being required to possess a Federal Firearms License, pass a background check, fill out a Firearm Transaction Record, Form 4473, or apply a serial number to the firearm. However, the purchaser cannot legally make the receiver blank into a firearm with the intent to sell it without possessing a Federal Firearms License, or if they are a prohibited person.
To ensure the receiver blank is not legally considered a firearm, many manufacturers leave significant parts of the receiver blank completely solid. However, this requires the purchaser to possess expensive machining tools and considerable skill to machine the receiver blank into a functioning firearm.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved workpiece for producing a firearm that ensures the receiver blank is not legally considered a firearm by including a denial feature configured to prevent installation of at least one of a bolt assembly and a barrel assembly in the workpiece, while enabling the purchaser to not require highly sophisticated machining tools and skills to remove the denial feature to produce a functioning firearm. The present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of enabling the purchaser to not require highly sophisticated machining tools to remove a denial feature to produce a functioning firearm, yet still not be readily convertible to a firearm by itself.
The present invention provides an improved workpiece for producing a firearm, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide an improved workpiece for producing a firearm that has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned above.
To attain this, the preferred embodiment of the present invention essentially comprises an elongated body defined within a cross-sectional profile with a first elongated passage configured to receive the upper portion of the bolt, and with a second elongated passage configured to receive the lower portion of the bolt, and the elongated body having a separator between the first elongated passage and the second elongated passage and configured to prevent installation of the bolt assembly when the separator is present, and to enable installation of the bolt assembly when the separator is absent. The cross-sectional profile may be along the entire length of the elongated body. The cross-sectional profile may fully encompass the first elongated passage. The first elongated passage may be open only at the ends of the elongated body. The cross-sectional profile may have a U-shaped cross section. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the various figures.


This application provides a handover method, including: determining, by a mobility management (MM) network element, to hand over a session management (SM) for a user equipment (UE), and selecting target SM network element; and triggering, by the mobility management network element, a process of setting up a channel by the target SM network element, where the channel includes a user plane data channel between a target user plane (UP) function entity and a target base station. Therefore, it is possible to hand over a network in which a control plane (CP) is separated from a UP and an MM and an SM in the CP are separated from each other.

Update and upgrade of mobile communications technologies will undoubtedly bring a variety of innovative applications to all lines of business and industries. Mobile broadband, multimedia, machine type communication, industrial control, and an intelligent transportation system will become main cases in the 5G era. To meet service requirements that vary widely, a 5G network will be flexibly built. A potential trend is to separate a control plane (CP) function from a user plane (UP) function, and separate a mobility management (MM) function from a session management (SM) function in the CP.
A 5G network slice includes a control plane function (CPF) entity and a user plane function (UPF) entity. The CPF entity mainly completes MM functions such as device access authentication, security encryption, and location registration and SM functions such as setup, release, and modification of a user plane transmission path. The UPF entity mainly completes functions such as routing and forwarding of user plane data.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a network slice.
A core network in each network slice has a plurality of SM network elements and UPF entities, and different network slices share one MM entity. There is a signaling interface between a RAN and an MM, and there is a data plane interface between the RAN and a UPF. There is a signaling interface between a user database and the MM; and there is a signaling interface between the user database and the SM. Alternatively, there may be a signaling interface between the MM and an SM of each network slice. There may be a signaling interface between the RAN and the SM, or there may be no direct interface between the RAN and the SM, but the MM is needed to transfer signaling between the RAN and the SM.
However, currently, there is no handover method based on the architecture shown in FIG. 1.


According to one embodiment, a ceramic metal circuit board is a ceramic metal circuit board formed by bonding metal circuit plates to at least one surface of a ceramic substrate. At least one of the metal circuit plates has an area of not less than 100 mm2 and includes a concave portion having a depth of not less than 0.02 mm within a range of 1% to 70% of a surface of the at least one of the metal circuit plates. The concave portion is provided not less than 3 mm inside from an end of the metal circuit plate.

Semiconductor elements include power elements represented by IGBT. The performance of the power elements is improved year by year. In addition, along with the improvement of the performance of the semiconductor elements, the operation guarantee temperature (junction temperature) is raised. As a ceramic metal circuit board used to mount the semiconductor element, a ceramic metal circuit board with an excellent heat resistant cycle characteristic (TCT characteristic) has been developed to cope with the rise of the operation guarantee temperature. For example, in WO 2013/094213 (patent literature 1), the TCT characteristic is improved by optimizing the side surface shape of a copper circuit board. In patent literature 1, the reliability is thus improved even if a semiconductor element whose operating temperature is 170° C. or more is mounted.
A semiconductor device in which a semiconductor element is mounted on a ceramic metal circuit board is resin-molded in many cases. The resin molding makes it possible to improve the productivity and prevent a conduction failure or degradation. For example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-83917 (patent literature 2), concave portions are provided in the surface of a lead frame, thereby obtaining an anchor effect to a molding resin.

Ceramic metal circuit board and semiconductor device using the same