Combinations of N-(3,5-dichloropyrid)-3-cyclopropylmethoxy-4-difluoromethoxybenzamide, its pharmacologically tolerable salts or its N-oxide, with PDE3 inhibitors, and methods of use thereof, are disclosed for therapeutic purposes.

The invention relates to the combination of N-(3,5-dichloropyrid-4-yl)-3-cyclopropylmethoxy-4-difluoro-methoxybenzamide, its pharmacologically tolerable salts or its N-oxide with known active compounds from the class of PDE3 inhibitors for therapeutic purposes.
The substances used in the combination according to the invention are, on the one hand, N-(3,5-dichloropyrid-4-yl)-3-cyclopropylmethoxy4-difluoromethoxybenzamide, Its pharmacologically tolerable salts or its N-oxide [xe2x95x90N-(3,5-dichloro-1-oxypyrid-4-yl)3-cyclopropylmethoxy-4-difluoromethoxybenzamide], all of them PDE4 inhibitors, which are described in the international application WO 95/01338 and, on the other hand, known active compounds from the class of PDE3 inhibitors.
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) are ubiquitous intracellular second messengers which are involved in many biological processes which are induced by a huge variety of extracellular stimulants. The inactivation (metabolization) of cAMP and cGMP is effected by enzymes of the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) type. At least nine different families of PDE isoenzymes have meanwhile been identified (PDE1 to PDE9).
The PDE3 and PDE4 isoenzyme families caused particular interest; a definitive role in the inactivation of cAMP is ascribed to both. Inhibitors of these isoenzymes exhibit actions on the airways, on the peripheral blood pressure, on the central nervous system (e.g. increase in respiratory rates) and anti-inflammatory actions.
The effect on the airways is essentially ascribed to the inhibition of PDE3 and, to a minor extent, also to the inhibition of PDE4. The effects on the blood pressure is regarded as mediated by PDE3, while the anti-inflammatory action and the action on the central nervous system are assigned to the inhibition of PDE4.
The combined use of the PDE4 inhibitor N-(3,5-dichloropyrid-4-yl)-3-cyclopropylmethoxy4-difluoromethoxybenzamide, its pharmacologically tolerable salts or Its N-oxide with a PDE3 inhibitor in the sense according to the invention has still not been described in the prior art.
The invention relates to the combined use of N-(3,5-dichloropyrid-4-yl)-3-cyclopropylmethoxy-4-difluoromethoxybenzamide, its pharmacologically tolerable salts or its N-oxide with a PDE3 inhibitor in the treatment of disease conditions which are based on acute or chronic obstruction of vessels and/or bronchi and/or on acute or chronic inflammation.
The preparation of N-(3,5-dichloropyrid-4-yl)-3-cyclopropylmethoxy-4-difluoromethoxybenzamide, its pharmacologically tolerable salts and its N-oxide and the use of these compounds as phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors is described in the international application WO 95/01338.
Pharmacologically tolerable salts of N-(3,5-dichloropyrid-4-yl)-3-cyclopropylmethoxy4-difluoromethoxybenzamide which may be mentioned are, for example, water-soluble and water-insoluble acid addition salts with acids such as, for example, hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, acetic acid, citric acid, D-gluconic acid, benzoic acid, 2-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)benzoic acid, butyric acid, sulfosalicylic acid, maleic acid, lauric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, embonic acid, stearic acid, toluenesulfonic acid, methanesulfonic acid or 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, the acids being employed in salt preparationxe2x80x94depending on whether it is a mono- or polybasic acid and depending on which salt is desiredxe2x80x94in an equimolar quantitative ratio or one differing therefrom.

Synergistic combination comprising roflumilast and a pde-3 inhibitor


A disposable litter box product for pets is provided. The product includes a box having spaced apart, generally flat top and bottom wall sections and a side wall section that interconnects the top and bottom wall sections. A quantity of pet litter is disposed in the box. At least one of the top and side wall sections includes a predetermined edge region that defines an opening into the box. A lid portion is separably joined to the edge region such that the opening is provisionally blocked and the box is closed. At least a part of the lid portion is selectively separable from the edge region to expose the opening and provide access into the box.

Conventional cat litter boxes exhibit a number of disadvantages. Typically, the litter box comprises a permanent enclosure that is bought and maintained by the pet owner. Periodically, the owner must clean and replace the cat litter. This is usually a messy, tedious and distasteful task. Additionally, regular changing of the cat litter requires the owner to maintain a supply of replacement litter, which can be expensive and inconvenient to store. Because this task is fairly annoying, many pet owners neglect regular litter box changes. However, this can result in very unpleasant odors and unsanitary conditions in the vicinity of the litter box.

Disposable litter box having lid with separable utensil


A dispersion compensator is provided that includes an input port 102 for receiving a WDM optical signal and a dispersion compensating element 110 coupled to the input port for substantially compensating the WDM optical signal for dispersion that has accumulated along an external transmission path. The dispersion compensator also includes an output port 104 for directing the dispersion compensated WDM optical signal to an external element and a dynamic power controller 106, 108, 112, 114, 116 for maintaining a total power of the WDM signal below a prescribed level prior to receipt of the WDM optical signal by the dispersion compensating element.

In recent years, Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexed (DWDM) optical transmission systems have been increasingly deployed in optical networks. Although DWDM optical transmission systems have increased the speed and capacity of optical networks, the performance of such systems, especially those providing high bit rates, has traditionally been limited by various factors such as chromatic dispersion and the non-linearity in an optical fiber's refractive index, which can cause spectral broadening of optical pulses and degrade the transmission of high speed optical signals. Because such optical signal degradation tends to accumulate along transmission paths, chromatic dispersion and non-linearity can significantly limit the transmission distance of high speed optical signals.
Chromatic dispersion refers to the fact that different wavelengths of light pass through an optical fiber at different speeds, thereby causing a pulse of light propagating through the optical fiber to broaden. Chromatic dispersion is an inherent property of the glass fiber and arises from two sources, the material properties of the glass and the waveguide structure (i.e., the refractive index profile of the glass fiber). For example, a single mode fiber through which light propagates at a wavelength of 1550 nm operates in the so-called anomalous dispersion regime. In the anomalous dispersion regime longer wavelengths (i.e. lower frequencies) of light travel at slower speeds than shorter wavelengths (i.e. higher frequencies) of light. As a result, the different wavelengths in pulse of light will be broadened as it travels through the single mode optical fiber.
Several solutions have been proposed to mitigate the effects of dispersion in transmission fibers. One technique involves the use of a compensating optical fiber having an appropriate length and which has a dispersion that is opposite to the dispersion characteristic of the transmission fiber. As a result, the dispersion in the transmission fiber is substantially canceled by the total dispersion in the compensating fiber. The dispersion of the compensating fiber is generally selected to be much greater in magnitude than the dispersion of the transmission fiber. In this way the length of the dispersion compensating fiber may be much less than the length of the transmission fiber. For example, to compensate for dispersion in a single mode fiber 100 km in length, a typical dispersion compensating fiber may need to be about 10 km in length. Such fiber is generally wound on a mandrel and provided for use as a dispersion compensating module.
Since high dispersion fiber has a relatively small core area (e.g., about 25 μm2 for a −100 ps/nm-km fiber), the optical power density in the dispersion compensating fiber will be relatively high, which leads to signal degradation arising from non-linear interactions. Accordingly, there is limit to the optical power that can be directed into the dispersion compensating fiber if nonlinear penalties are to be avoided. For example, it has been determined that a safe power level for light launched into one common dispersion compensating fiber is about 0 dBm/wavelength. Thus, for a WDM system employing 40 channels or wavelengths, the maximum permissible power that can be launched into the dispersion compensating fiber while avoiding non-linear penalties is about 16 dBm.
In many cases WDM networks are often initially deployed at less than their maximum capacity. That is, a system designed to transmit 40 channels or more, for instance, initially may be more lightly loaded with only 2, 4, or 8 channels. As demand increases, network capacity can be increased by increasing the number of wavelengths that are used. In addition, the number of wavelengths that are used may be changed dynamically as demand increases or decreases. Such dynamic networks will need to dynamically control the input power to the dispersion compensating fiber to avoid nonlinearities.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for automatically adjusting the optical power directed to a dispersion compensating fiber so that nonlinear interactions are avoided.

Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting the optical power directed to a dispersion compensating element


ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE. A multi-layered sheet is disclosed, comprising a film substrate or sheet substrate which swells, disperses or dissolves in water, which has a fluorine-type or silicone-type water repellent coated on one side of the substrate.

A known material which is both impermeable to water and which is soluble or dispersible in water is one which comprises a combination of polyvinyl alcohol and a gelation accelerator for polyvinyl alcohol. Specifically, such a material is composed of a polyvinyl alcohol film having formed thereon an absorption and retention layer constituted by a powder of a highly water-absorptive polymer and a powder of a gelation accelerator for polyvinyl alcohol. A sanitary napkin utilizing this material has been proposed (JP-B-59-13213, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,464). (The term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication".) This sanitary napkin is considered to function as follows. The gelation accelerator for polyvinyl alcohol dissolves in the water contained in menstrual blood absorbed by the absorption and retention layer, and the resulting aqueous solution of the gelation accelerator wets the polyvinyl alcohol film to form a temporary insoluble gel. Thus, the sanitary napkin can exhibit a leakage preventing effect. When this napkin is immersed in a large quantity of water of water, the concentration of the gelation accelerator is lowered and, as a result, the gel collapses and becomes water-soluble or water-dispersible.
In the above-described sanitary napkin, the concentration in menstrual blood of the gelation accelerator for polyvinyl alcohol is an important point in order for the polyvinyl alcohol film to undergo gelation with the aid of the gelation accelerator. Although the range of gelation accelerator concentrations that can cause gelation varies depending on the kind of the gelation accelerator, it has been difficult with such a system to always and completely prevent the leakage of menstrual blood.
In JP-A-63-181758 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") (corresponding to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,762,738, 4,830,187 & 4,930,942), an ostomy pouch is proposed which can be thrown away by means of flushing in an ordinary toilet. This ostomy pouch is produced by joining a front panel consisting of a water-swellable and cold water-insoluble film material having a water-resistant layer laminated thereto to a rear panel consisting of a water-swellable and cold water-insoluble film material having a layer laminated thereto. Since this ostomy pouch employs water-swellable and cold water-insoluble film materials on the inner side thereof, it becomes viscous upon contact with water in a toilet stool to thereby pass through the drainage piping system.
However, such an ostomy pouch employing a water-swellable and cold water-insoluble film material has the problem that since its inner-side film layer is water-swellable, complete water resistance cannot be obtained when feces, etc., having a high water content are to be held therein, although it is possible to hold substances with a low water content.


The present invention relates to expression cassettes comprising transcription regulating sequences with constitutive expression profiles in plants obtainable from Arabidopsis thaliana genes At5g17920, At3g03780, At2g01100, At2g34770, At5g61560, At4g00830, At3g10220, At4g38520, At3g11110, At2g47170, At1g64090, At5g60690, At1g76350, At1g76580, At1g31930, At5g18230, At1g20970, or At4g35620.

Manipulation of plants to alter and/or improve phenotypic characteristics (such as productivity or quality) requires the expression of heterologous genes in plant tissues. Such genetic manipulation relies on the availability of a means to drive and to control gene expression as required. For example, genetic manipulation relies on the availability and use of suitable promoters which are effective in plants and which regulate gene expression so as to give the desired effect(s) in the transgenic plant. Especially constitutive promoters are favored in situations where expression in all (or most) tissues during all (or most) times of the plant development are required. Examples of some known constitutive promoters which have been described include the rice actin 1 (Wang 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,876), CaMV 35S (Odell 1985), CaMV 19S (Lawton 1987), nos, Adh, sucrose synthase; and the ubiquitin promoters. It is advantageous to have the choice of a variety of different promoters so that the most suitable promoter may be selected for a particular gene, construct, cell, tissue, plant or environment. Moreover, the increasing interest in cotransforming plants with multiple plant transcription units (PTU) and the potential problems associated with using common regulatory sequences for these purposes merit having a variety of promoter sequences available.
There is, therefore, a great need in the art for the identification of novel sequences that can be used for expression of selected transgenes in economically important plants. It is thus an objective of the present invention to provide new and alternative constitutive expression cassettes for constitutive expression of transgenes in plants. The objective is solved by the present invention.

Constitutive expression cassettes for regulation of plant expression


A connector in which hinges (17), interconnecting a cover (15, 16) and a housing, (11) are positively prevented from being damaged, and the rate of development of defective products during the supply of parts and during the production of a wire harness is reduced. The connector includes a housing (11) having an opening (13) communicating with terminal receiving chambers (12) formed in the housing, a cover 15, 16 for closing the opening (13) and long hinges (17) interconnecting the housing and the cover. Before the cover is closed, the long hinges are deformed in a curved manner, and are received in a space P between the housing and the cover, and connecting bands (18) extend between the housing (11) and the cover, (15, 16) and are disposed outwardly of the long hinges,(17) respectively, and when the cover (15) is to be closed, the connecting bands (18) are cut in parallel relation to a centerline C of the housing, and are removed.

This invention relates to a connector suitably used, for example, in a wire harness for an automobile.
A connector of the type described is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Examined Publication No. 2-41824. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in this connector, a plurality of terminal receiving chambers 2 are formed in a female housing 1, and extend in a forward-rearward direction. Openings 3 are formed in upper and lower surfaces of the housing 1, and communicate with the terminal receiving chambers 2. The openings 3 are closed by covers 4 (each serving also as a terminal retaining member) after press-connecting terminals (not shown), to which wires W are to be connected, respectively, are mounted respectively in the terminal receiving chambers 2. Each of the covers 4 is connected to the upper (or the lower) surface of the housing 1 by a pair of long hinges 5 and 5, and before the cover 4 is closed, each cover 4 is held in a suspended condition above the upper openings 3 (or below the lower openings 3). The pair of upper hinges 5, as well as the pair of lower hinges 5, comprise elastic bands, respectively, which can be easily bent or flexed upon application of an external force.
In the above conventional connector, less time and labor are required for the supply and storage of the parts as compared with the type of connector in which a cover, serving as a terminal retaining member, is separate from a housing. However, in some cases, the parts become entangled with each other during the supply of the parts, and also the wire gets caught in a gap between the housing 1 and the cover 4 (serving also as the terminal retaining member) during the production of a wire harness. This results in a possibility that the hinges 5 are damaged.

Connector with improved cover hinge construction


Compositions and methods for inhibiting brain tumor proliferation, or for inhibiting or halting TM formation, invasion, and/or proliferation, or for rendering brain tumor cells sensitive to chemotherapy or radiation, or for treating a brain tumor, or for inducing cell death, involving mDia agonists such as IMM01 and IMM02, are described.

Brain tumors are often highly lethal and difficult to treat with current therapies. Current therapies available to treat many brain tumors include surgery to remove the tumor (resection), radiation (radiotherapy), or chemotherapy. In many types of brain tumors, these therapies fail, and the tumors are called resistant. Overcoming this resistance is paramount to success in treating brain tumors and improving patient outcomes.
High-Grade Glioma (HGG, WHO Grade III-IV) accounts for the majority of adult primary malignant brain tumors. Failure of current therapies to target invasive glioma cells partly explains the minimal survival advantages: invasive tumors lack easily-defined surgical margins, and are inherently more chemo- and radioresistant. Much work centers upon Rho GTPase-mediated glioma invasion, yet downstream Rho effector roles are poorly understood and represent potential therapeutic targets. There is a need in the art for new and improved treatments for high-grade glioma.

Use of formin agonists in overcoming brain tumor radio- and chemo-resistance by targeting tumor microtubes


A modulated laser device comprising two or more vertically stacked asymmetric waveguides is provided. The laser device comprises a first waveguide having a gain region formed therein for amplifying at least a first mode of light, and a second waveguide vertically coupled to the first waveguide and having a modulator formed therein for modulating a second mode of light having an effective index of refraction different from the first mode. Light propagating in the first waveguide is transferred into the second waveguide via a lateral taper in the first waveguide. The laser device may further comprise a third waveguide positioned between the first and second waveguide for providing isolation between the gain region and modulator. Distributed bragg reflector (DBR) and distributed feedback (DFB) laser designs may be employed in the device.

The present invention relates generally to the field of optical communications devices, and more particularly to lasers.
Photonic integrated circuits (PIC) provide an integrated technology platform increasingly used to form complex optical circuits. PIC technology allows multiple optical devices, both active and passive, to be integrated on a single substrate. For example, PICs may comprise integrated lasers, integrated receivers, waveguides, detectors, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA), gratings, and other active and passive semiconductor optical devices. Monolithic integration of active and passive devices in PICs provides an effective integrated technology platform for use in optical communications.
A particularly versatile PIC platform technology is the integrated twin waveguide (TG) structure. Twin waveguide combines active and passive waveguides in a vertical directional coupler geometry using evanescent field coupling. The TG structure requires only a single epitaxial growth step to produce a structure on which active and passive devices are layered and fabricated. That is, TG provides a platform technology by which a variety of PICS, each with different layouts and components, can be fabricated from is the same base wafer. Integrated components are defined by post-growth patterning, eliminating the need for epitaxial regrowth. Additionally, the active and passive components in a TG-based PIC can be separately optimized, with post-growth processing steps used to determine the location and type of devices on the PIC.
The conventional TG structure, however, suffers from the disadvantage that waveguide coupling is strongly dependent on device length, due to interaction between optical modes. For PIC devices such as lasers, the interaction between optical modes results in an inability to control the lasing threshold current and coupling to passive waveguides as a consequence of the sensitivity to variations in the device structure itself. The sensitivity to variations arises from the interaction between the different optical modes of propagation in the conventional TG structure. This interaction leads to constructive and destructive interference in the laser cavity, which affects the threshold current, modal gain, coupling efficiency and output coupling parameters of the device. The conventional TG structure suffers from unstable sensitivity of performance characteristics due to device length, even/odd mode interaction, and variations in the layered structure.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09,337,785, filed on Jun. 22, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cTwin Waveguide Based Design for Photonic Integrated Circuits,xe2x80x9d the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, Applicants disclose a modified TG structure, referred to as an asymmetric twin waveguide (ATG) which addresses some of the performance problems of the conventional TG structure. The ATG structure significantly reduces modal interference by confining different modes of light to propagation in different waveguides. This is accomplished by designing each of the single mode waveguides that are comprised in the twin waveguide such that the mode of light that propagates in each of the two waveguides has a different effective index of refraction. The asymmetric waveguides may be laterally tapered to reduce coupling losses by resonant or adiabatic coupling of the optical energy between the first and second waveguide. The asymmetric waveguide design significantly reduces the interaction between optical modes and therefore represents a great improvement over traditional TG devices.
While the ATG promises to be a versatile platform, Applicants recognized a need to deliver the photonic devices often touted, but never realized by PIC technology. Accordingly, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/717,851, filed on Nov. 21, 2000, entitled xe2x80x9cPhotonic Integrated Detector Having a Plurality of Asymmetric Waveguides,xe2x80x9d the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, Applicants disclose a photo-detector device based on the asymmetric waveguide design. An embodiment of the photo-detector PIC comprises more than two asymmetric waveguides. The asymmetric waveguide photodetectors are highly responsive and operable at very high frequencies.
The development of the asymmetric waveguide photo-detector device shows great promise for asymmetric waveguide PICs. However, the need still exists for the development of other types of PIC devices. More specifically there is a need for improved laser devices such as electroabsorption-modulated lasers (EMLs). EMLs are often employed as transmitters in optical fiber communication systems. An EML device typically comprises a laser integrated with an electroabsorption modulator at the laser output. The laser may be, for example, a distributed-feedback (DFB) or a distributed Bragg-reflector (DBR) device, which is operated continuously to ensure stability of output power and wavelength. The electroabsorption (EA) modulator is optically coupled to the laser output and modulates the signal generated by the laser.
There are numerous difficulties associated with creating a monolithically integrated, high speed EML. First, the active regions of the laser and modulator typically require quantum wells that emit at different wavelengths. This design restraint is generally satisfied by designing the laser and modulator with different thicknesses and/or with different materials. Also, efficient optical coupling is required between the laser and the modulator, as well as, in the case of a DBR laser, between the laser""s active region and grating. Furthermore, effective electrical isolation between the active devices of the laser and modulator is required to avoid crosstalk between the two devices.
Existing methods of fabricating monolithic EML devices typically involve either multiple semiconductor regrowth steps to separately fabricate the laser and EA modulator, or a single growth on a specially prepared substrate wherein dielectric masks create different bandgaps in adjacent regions of the wafer. Either of these methods is complex and typically results in poor yield and therefore very high costs for finished product.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved EML that provides efficient coupling and effective isolation and which can be manufactured relatively inexpensively.
Briefly, the present invention meets these and other needs in the art.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a monolithic asymmetric twin waveguide based electroabsorption-modulated laser device is provided. The laser device comprises a first waveguide having a gain region, such as a multi-quantum well region, for amplifying primarily a first mode of light, and a second waveguide having a modulator formed therein for modulating a second mode of light propagating in the second waveguide and having a different effective index of refraction than the first mode of light. The first waveguide is positioned vertically on top of the second waveguide and has a lateral taper formed therein for moving light between the first waveguide and the second waveguide. According to this first aspect of the invention, the first mode of light is amplified in the first waveguide and transferred into the second waveguide by the lateral taper. At the end of the second waveguide, the light encounters the modulator, which causes a modulated optical signal to be emitted from the device.
According to another aspect of the invention, an electroabsorption modulated laser device comprising more than two vertically integrated asymmetric waveguides is disclosed. The laser device comprises a first waveguide having a gain region, such as a multi-quantum well region, for amplifying primarily a first mode of light, a second waveguide having a distributed Bragg reflector therein and for guiding primarily a second mode of light having a different index of refraction from the first mode of light, and a third waveguide having a modulator formed therein for modulating a third mode of light propagating in the third waveguide and having a different effective index of refraction than the second mode of light. The first waveguide is positioned vertically on top of the second waveguide and the second waveguide is positioned vertically on top of the third waveguide. The first waveguide has a lateral taper formed therein for transferring light between the first waveguide and the second waveguide, and the second waveguide has a lateral taper formed therein for transferring light from the second waveguide to the third waveguide. The first mode of light is amplified in the first waveguide and transferred into the second waveguide by the lateral taper. The light propagates in the second waveguide as the second mode of light and is transferred into the third waveguide by the lateral taper. The modulator in the third waveguide causes the signal to be modulated at the output of the device.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, an electroabsorption modulated laser device employing a distributed feedback (DFB) laser is disclosed. The DFB modulated laser device comprises a first waveguide and a second waveguide. The first waveguide has a gain region and a grating therein to form a DFB laser. A signal out of the DFB laser is transferred via a lateral taper into the second waveguide wherein the signal is modulated. Light propagating in the first waveguide has a different effective index of refraction than the mode of light propagating in the second waveguide.
Modulated lasers in accordance with the invention provide efficient optical coupling between the laser and modulator as well as effective electrical isolation between the laser and modulator devices. Furthermore, modulated lasers in accordance with the invention can be manufactured through a process that requires only a single epitaxial growth step. Post-growth processing steps determine the location of the laser and modulator. This simplifies the manufacturing process and allows for a high yield, relatively low cost integration method.
Additional aspects of the invention are described in detail below.

Asymmetric waveguide electroabsorption-modulated laser


A tripod constant-velocity universal joint has three guide grooves extending axially along an outer cup, trunnions projecting from a spider inserted into the outer cup, and rollers rotatably mounted on the trunnions through rolling elements. The rollers rotate and slide against guide surfaces of the guide grooves. The rolling elements have flat end faces and are assembled into the rollers by a keystone process. The rollers have flanges for preventing dislodgement of the rolling elements from the rollers. If a distance X by which a rolling element moves radially is maximum, the ratio (W/Dn) of the width W of contact between inner side surfaces of the flanges to the diameter Dn of the rolling element is in a range of from 0% to 30%, and the height h of the flanges also is set to satisfy the ratio value (W/Dn).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tripod constant-velocity universal joint for use in automobiles, industrial machines, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 10 and 11 of the accompanying drawings show one known tripod universal joint for transmitting rotational power from a drive shaft to a driven shaft at a constant velocity regardless of the angle (operating angle) between the drive shaft and the driven shaft. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the tripod universal joint includes an outer housing 1 having three track grooves 2 defined in an inner circumferential surface 1a thereof and extending in the axial direction of the outer housing 1. The tripod universal joint also includes a tripod spider 4 inserted in the outer housing 1 and having three leg shafts 5 projecting radially outwardly. Three rollers 7 are rotatably mounted respectively on the leg shafts 5 by needle bearing rollers 6 having round end faces, and are rotatably and slidably held against roller guide surfaces 3 of the track grooves 2. Rotational drive power is transmitted between the tripod spider 4 and the outer housing 1.
FIG. 12 of the accompanying drawings is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of one of the rollers 7 mounted on the leg shafts 5 by the needle bearings 6. As shown in FIG. 12, the roller 7 has two axially spaced flanges 7a projecting radially inwardly from respective axially spaced ends thereof. The needle bearing rollers 6, which are assembled against an inner circumferential surface 7b of the roller 7 by a keystone process, are prevented from becoming dislodged in the axial direction of the leg shaft 5 by the flanges 7a. For details, reference should be made to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-184717, for example.
Generally, each of the needle bearing rollers 6 has opposite round end faces 6a. Therefore, the height h1 of the flanges 7a, which is required to prevent the needle bearing roller 6 from becoming dislodged, needs to be greater than one half of the diameter Da of the needle bearing roller 6, i.e., the height h1 needs to go beyond an axial central position 8 of the needle bearing roller 6. Therefore, as the diameter Da of the needle bearing roller 6 becomes larger, the height h1 necessarily becomes larger, resulting in a reduction in the rigidity of the flanges 7a. As the height h1 becomes larger, the service life of the cutting tool that is used to machine the flanges 7a is shortened, and greater difficulty is experienced in assembling the needle bearing roller 6 against the inner circumferential surface 7b of the roller 7.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-184717 discloses certain views showing flat end faces of needle bearing rollers. However, there is nothing specifically disclosed or suggested with respect to the dimensions and shapes of the ends of such needle bearing rollers.

Tripod constant-velocity universal joint


A method and apparatus for reducing gaps in data transmission between a device and at least one wireless access point connecting the first device to a central monitoring system. The device includes a radio that enables bidirectional data communication between the device and the at least one wireless access point, the radio being able to operate in a power save mode and an active transmission mode. A control processor selectively monitors a type and amount of data being transmitted between the radio and the at least one wireless access point to predict an occurrence of a gap in data transmission between the device and the at least one access point. The control processor, in response to predicting a gap in data transmission, automatically switches an operational mode of the radio from the power save mode to the active transmission mode for a predetermined amount of time enabling full bidirectional communication between the device and the at least one wireless access point for the predetermined amount of time preventing the gap in data transmission.

Monitoring patients presents challenges to healthcare professionals that are charged with patient care. These challenges are accentuated when the patients being monitored are ambulatory because the devices used for monitoring patient parameters are also required to be movable so that the patient is not confined to a particular bed in a particular care unit. There are a plurality of portable patient monitoring devices able to monitor different patient parameters. The monitored patient parameters may be transmitted over a wireless communications network for receipt by a central monitoring station. In order for these monitors to remain portable and enable patients to be ambulatory, these monitoring devices often include rechargeable batteries. However, a drawback associated with portable patient monitors that wirelessly transmit data is the need to maintain the monitors in a lower power state to maximize battery life while ensuring that there are no gaps in the data being transmitted and/or received by the monitors.
Furthermore, in order for patients to remain ambulatory, they should be able to wireless transmit data from and receive data at their respective monitoring devices. In a healthcare environment that is outfitted with a wireless network (e.g. 802.11a/b/d/g/i/n, etc), in order to consistently monitor the patients when they are moving between different care units, there are a plurality of access points positioned at various areas throughout the healthcare environment. The plurality of access points are coupled to at least one communications network that includes at least one monitoring station for collecting patient data. The collected patient data may, for example, be displayed on a display device or stored in a patient information database for the purpose of creating a patient healthcare record. In order for this patient data to be reliably collected, the portable patient monitors can selectively communicate with a respective one of the access points to transmit and receive data therebetween. While the patient is moving around the healthcare enterprise, the communication may be selectively handed off between successive access points depending on the proximity of the portable patient monitor to the respective access point. Proximity is determined based on a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) which is a measure of power. Thus, the portable patient monitors look for the highest RSSI value (or in some cases, the least negative RSSI value) which determines and identifies the "closest" access point. While RSSI value successfully determines the access point to which the portable patient monitor will connect in order to prevent a gap in data transmission, it is unable to avoid the transmission gap that often occurs when the portable patient monitor has already identified that a particular access point is the "closest" access point. Thus, a need exists to improve data transmission between monitoring devices and access points, when proximity to an access point is not the cause of the transmission gap. A system according to invention principles addresses deficiencies of known systems to reduce transmission gaps between portable monitoring devices that are connected to a central monitoring station via at least one wireless access point.


An assembly structure is provided. The assembly structure includes a first substrate, a second substrate and a medium layer disposed between the first and second substrates. The medium layer includes a side edge, and the second substrate includes at least one lead wire. When the second substrate is disposed on the medium layer, the lead wire of the second substrate is relatively oblique to the side edge of the medium layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an assembly structure, and more particularly to an assembly structure suitable for being bent several times during the assembly process.
2. Description of the Related Art
For a flexible circuit board connected to a conventional liquid crystal panel, the lead wires of the flexible circuit board are overlapped to electrically connect to the lead wires or contacts of the liquid crystal panel with respect to a side edge thereof, wherein the distributed lead wires of the flexible circuit board are perpendicular to the side edge of the liquid crystal panel. However, because the flexible circuit board must be bent several times during the assembly process of the liquid crystal panel, lead wires of the flexible circuit board may break.
Thus, it is essential to enhance the strength of the lead wires of the flexible circuit board by a more suitable distribution.


The invention relates to a method of characterizing interaction between two species in a liquid environment, wherein a liquid comprising said at least one species is passed as a flow through a measurement system, and wherein the interaction takes place within said measurement system. The method comprises generating a concentration gradient of at least a first one of said species or of at least one other species having an influence on the interaction or on interacted components. The flow of liquid is passed through a sensor device, and a result of interaction between said at least two species is detected. The flow of liquid is intersected at least once with a further liquid before the flow is passed through said sensor, so as to create at least two separated liquid segments having different concentrations of at least one of said species forming the concentration gradient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to analysis methods wherein it is desired to determine characteristics, such as kinetic properties or affinity for various interactions in multi-component systems. In particular it relates to methods for the analysis of interactions between species in a liquid environment, such as a compound and a target. The invention also relates to the analysis of site specific binding between species, e.g., compounds and targets. More particularly it relates to a method and apparatus for determining kinetic properties or affinity by providing a pulsed gradient of a sample containing a compound of interest, whereby the target molecule is exposed to the gradient of the compound with which it can interact, and detecting a result of said interaction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the study of candidates for new drugs (screening) it is often the case that substances exhibiting weak binding are encountered, leading to rapid events, exhibiting small time constants. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is a powerful technique for the study of affinity between substrates and targets, but typically designed for slower events. Instruments utilizing the principle of SPR (e.g., the instruments supplied by the assignee of the present invention, Biacore AB, Uppsala, Sweden) measure changes in refractive index of the medium next to a sensor chip, resulting from altered mass concentration at the surface.
In conventional SPR assays (e.g., using the systems from Biacore AB, Uppsala, Sweden), one sample injection corresponds to one concentration of the selected compound, and the injection comprises one single segment or "plug" of sample liquid. In most cases of kinetic and affinity determination, a few injections of different concentration are sufficient to obtain reliable results of interaction rate or strength (i.e., association rate constant, dissociation rate constant and dissociation constant). However, when studying molecules with low affinity or exhibiting fast kinetics, many such measurements need to be performed. This is a relatively time-consuming process, with considerable sample losses. With the injection exhibiting the highest precision of the available injection methods, every injection requires 40 μl of sample in addition to the desired injection volume to prevent dispersion with buffer.
In an article by Shank-Retzlaff et al, in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 72, No. 17, pp. 4212-4220, entitled "Analyte Gradient-Surface Plasmon Resonance: A One-Step Method for Determining Kinetic Rates and Macromolecular Binding Affinities", a method for determining kinetic rates and equilibrium affinities using SPR is disclosed.
It is a one-step method making use of a gradient such that under continuous-flow conditions, the concentration of compound to be analyzed (analyte) passing over the sensor surface increases linearly with time. The rate at which analyte binds to the immobilized receptors is measured by monitoring the change in the surface plasmon resonance minimum as the analyte concentration increases. Kinetic rates are determined by fitting data to a modified version of a two-compartment model.
Although representing an improvement, it still suffers from a lack of capability to perform measurements on systems exhibiting relatively fast kinetic behavior, and also in that relatively large sample quantities are needed for a full titration.

Method and apparatus for characterization of interactions


A curable aqueous formulation comprising a) an emulsion polymer with 0.1 to 20 weight percent acid monomers, b) an oxazoline-containing polymer, and c) an aqueous acrylic polymer dispersion with 40 to 100 weight percent acid monomers and having a weight average molecular weight in the range of from 2000 to 500000.

Traditional binders used in textile and nonwoven application contain N-Methylolacrylamide (NMA) as a functional monomer which gives the binders excellent water resistance (wet strength) and solvent resistance (isopropyl alcohol strength) after curing. However, NMA-containing binders release formaldehyde upon heating. One solution used in the past was a formaldehyde-free crosslinking technology based on itaconic acid. This technology has good water and solvent resistance after cure, but lacks the excellent properties of a NMA-containing binder. Therefore, a system which is formaldehyde-free and which also has comparable properties is desirable.


A display arrangement for a vehicle has, in particular, a multipurpose instrument or is configured as a multipurpose instrument. The display arrangement includes a first display device to display information concerning operation of the vehicle, a glass with adjustable transparency arranged in front of the first display device, with reference to the viewing direction of the display arrangement, and a second display device to display information concerning operation of the vehicle or additional information concerning operation of the vehicle.

A multipurpose instrument with a rigid circuit board arranged on the back of a base element is known from DE 199 43 571 A1. This base element is partly covered on the front by a support element, which is hinged to the base element. A flexible circuit board extends over the front of the base element and support element, enclosing a defined angle to an edge region of a connection area hinged to the rigid circuit board, which is connected to this circuit board, for example, by press soldering.
A multipurpose instrument is known from DE 199 41 351 A1, with a base element divided into display fields, which are aligned at different angles to each other. On the front of the base element, an additional circuit board, extending over several display fields, is arranged. This consists of rigid circuit board parts, which have flexible connection areas with the conductor paths in the transitional region of the display fields.
An integrated multipurpose instrument for display of different measurement data in a vehicle is known from DE 198 19 822 A1, which is equipped with analog and digital display instruments. The integrated multipurpose instrument includes a device to drive the display instruments and to execute one ore more additional functions of the vehicle central electronic system and vehicle power electronics and at least one integrated security device for the device.
A multipurpose instrument for display of different measurement data in a vehicle is known from DE 198 19 821 C1, which is equipped with analog and digital display instruments, in which mechanical, optical and electrical components of the display instruments are mounted on a circuit support device, and the electronic control of the display instruments occurs via an electronics module that can be mounted on the circuit support device. The circuit support device has a wiring film, which can be stretched between a rear cover and a front cover.
A multipurpose instrument for display of different measurement data in a vehicle is also known from DE 198 19 393 A1, which is equipped with analog and digital display instruments, in which mechanical, optical and electrical components of the display instruments are secured on a support plate, and electronic control of the display instruments occurs from an electronics module that can be mounted on a support plate. However, a circuit support device to support the wiring of the electrical components is mounted on the support plate.
Another display device for a vehicle is known, for example, from EP 0 272 877 A2.


Disclosed are high pressure test systems and methods. One dynamic fluid gas bleeder manifold includes gas outlet having opposing first and second ends and defining first opening at first end of gas outlet, wherein gas outlet extends between first and second ends along longitudinal axis of gas bleeder manifold, a first fluid inlet having opposing first and second ends defines second opening at first end of first fluid inlet, wherein first fluid inlet extends between first and second ends along first direction forming first acute angle with longitudinal axis, a second fluid inlet having opposing first and second ends defines third opening at first end of second fluid inlet, wherein second fluid inlet extends between first and second ends of second fluid inlet along second direction forming second acute angle with longitudinal axis, an internal fluid passage fluidly couples gas outlet to first and second fluid inlets.

The present disclosure relates to apparatuses and methods used with high pressure test systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a dynamic fluid gas bleeder manifold.
High pressure dynamic fluid systems are used to simulate downhole conditions in a wellbore for an oil or natural gas well. High pressure dynamic fluid systems often contain gas pockets that corrupt the validity of instrumentation. Closed fluid systems, especially in high pressure applications, do not adequately address the need for intentional gas removal, and therefore, produce inaccurate exported data. The system must be bled at low pressure but remain resilient during high pressure operation.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional high pressure cross 10. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, in conventional high pressure crosses 10 with fixed devices, such as a pressure transducer 16 and a safety head 18, gas may be trapped in susceptible areas 17, such as the passageways leading to sensor heads 19, whether the cross 10 is used in a horizontal or vertical orientation, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. These gas pockets can create an inaccurate reading, and thereby taint any exported data.


A hardware prefetch tablewalk system for a microprocessor including a tablewalk engine that is configured to perform hardware prefetch tablewalk operations without blocking software-based tablewalk operations. Tablewalk requests include a priority value, in which the tablewalk engine is configured to compare priorities of requests in which a higher priority request may terminate a current tablewalk operation. Hardware prefetch tablewalk requests having the lowest possible priority so that they do not bump higher priority tablewalk operations and are bumped by higher priority tablewalk requests. The priority values may be in the form of age values indicative of relative ages of operations being performed. The microprocessor may include a hardware prefetch engine that performs boundless hardware prefetch pattern detection that is not limited by page boundaries to provide the hardware prefetch tablewalk requests.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to performing tablewalks in a microprocessor, and more particularly to performing hardware prefetch tablewalk operations having a lowest tablewalk priority for improving performance.
Description of the Related Art
Modern processors support virtual memory capability. A virtual memory system maps, or translates, virtual addresses used by a program to physical addresses used by hardware to address memory. Virtual memory has the advantages of hiding the fragmentation of physical memory from the program, facilitating program relocation, and of allowing the program to see a larger memory address space than the actual physical memory available to it. These advantages are particularly beneficial in modern systems that support time-sharing of the processor by multiple programs or processes.
A common virtual memory scheme supported by microprocessors is a paged memory system. A paged memory system employs a paging mechanism for translating, or mapping, virtual addresses to physical addresses. The physical address space is divided up into physical pages of fixed size. A common page size is 4 kilobytes (KB). The virtual addresses comprise a virtual page address portion and a page offset portion. The virtual page address specifies a virtual page in the virtual address space. The paging mechanism of the microprocessor translates the virtual page address into a physical page address. This process is known as page translation. The page offset specifies a physical offset in the physical page, i.e., a physical offset from the physical page address.
The operating system decides which physical pages in memory will be mapped to each virtual page and maintains page mapping information that specifies the mappings. When the microprocessor encounters an instruction that specifies a virtual address to access a location in memory, such as a load or store instruction, the microprocessor translates the virtual address to the proper physical address by using the operating system's page mapping information. The operating system maintains the page mapping information in system memory. Thus, the microprocessor reads the appropriate page mapping information from memory to translate the virtual address into the physical address. The page mapping information is typically hierarchically arranged in order to reduce its size, which requires the microprocessor to traverse the hierarchy by performing read operations at multiple levels of the hierarchy. For this reason, and because at least a portion of the page mapping information is commonly referred to as page tables, the process of the microprocessor traversing the page mapping information to translate a virtual address to a physical address is commonly referred to as a page table walk, or simply a tablewalk. The tablewalk operation thus translates a virtual address or the like into a physical address or physical address translation, more generally referred to as a translated address.
As an example, a popular hierarchical page mapping information scheme includes a first level page directory and second level page tables. Each entry in the page directory points to a different page table, and each entry in each page table includes the physical or translated address and characteristics of the page mapped to that entry. The base address of the page directory is stored in a register of the microprocessor. Such a scheme is illustrated in FIG. 3-12 on page 3-23 of the IA-32 Intel Architecture Software Developer's Manual, Volume 3A: System Programming Guide, Part 1, document number 253668-020US, published June 2006 by the Intel Corporation, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. In this example, the microprocessor performs a tablewalk by reading the page directory entry at the index within the page directory specified by page directory entry bits in the upper portion of the virtual address. The page directory entry specifies the base address of the relevant page table. The microprocessor then reads the page table entry at the index within the page table specified by page table bits in the middle portion of the virtual address. The page table entry specifies the translated address of the relevant page. The page table entry also includes characteristics for each page. For example, the page characteristics may include an indication of whether the page has been accessed; whether the page has been written; caching characteristics, such as whether the page is cacheable and, if so, the write-back caching policy; which privilege level is assigned to the page; the write privileges of the page; and whether the page is present in physical memory.
The operating system populates the page directory entries and page table entries with the page characteristic values. However, the microprocessor also updates some of the page characteristics in response to program execution. For example, in the Intel scheme mentioned above, the processor writes the relevant page directory entry and/or page table entry to update the Accessed and/or Dirty bits in response to the program reading and/or writing memory pages. Thus, when performing a tablewalk, in addition to reading the page mapping information from system memory to translate a virtual address to a translated address (e.g., physical address or physical address translation), the processor may sometimes also have to write the page mapping information in system memory.
Because the page mapping information resides in system memory, and accesses to system memory are relatively slow, it is a relatively costly operation for the microprocessor to perform a tablewalk to perform a virtual to physical address translation and to obtain and/or update the page characteristics. To improve performance by reducing the number of tablewalks, many microprocessors provide a mechanism for caching the page mapping information. The page mapping information cache is commonly referred to as a translation lookaside buffer (TLB). When the microprocessor encounters a memory access instruction, the microprocessor provides the virtual address to the TLB and the TLB performs a lookup of the virtual page address. If the virtual page address hits in the TLB, then the TLB provides the corresponding translated physical page address and page characteristics, thereby avoiding the need to perform a tablewalk. However, if the virtual page address misses in the TLB, then the microprocessor performs a tablewalk. Thus, in addition to reading the page mapping information from memory and updating the page mapping information as necessary, the tablewalk also includes the microprocessor allocating an entry in the TLB and updating it with the translated physical address and page characteristics.
To summarize, broadly speaking, a tablewalk includes three steps. The first step is to read the necessary page mapping information from memory required to translate the virtual address to a translated address and to obtain the page characteristics. The second step is to update the page mapping information in system memory, if necessary. The third step is to allocate a TLB entry and update it with the new page mapping information.
Many modern microprocessors are superscalar. That is, the microprocessor includes multiple execution units and is capable of issuing multiple instructions to the execution units in a single clock cycle. Many modern microprocessors also perform out-of-order execution. That is, the microprocessor may execute instructions out of the order specified by the program that includes the instructions. Superscalar out-of-order execution microprocessors typically attempt to maintain a relatively large pool of outstanding instructions so that they can take advantage of a larger amount of instruction parallelism.
Many modern microprocessors also perform speculative execution of instructions. That is, the microprocessor executes instructions, or at least performs some of the actions prescribed by the instruction, before knowing certainly whether the instruction will actually complete. There are reasons why an instruction may not complete. For example, the microprocessor may have mispredicted a branch instruction that is older than the instruction in question. For another example, the microprocessor may take an exception before the instruction in question completes. The exception may be asynchronous, such as an interrupt, or it may be synchronous, i.e., caused by an instruction, such as a page fault, divide by zero condition, general protection error, and so forth. The exception-causing instruction may be the instruction in question or an instruction older than the instruction in question. Although the microprocessor may perform some of the actions prescribed by the instruction speculatively, the microprocessor is not allowed by the architecture to update the architectural state of the system with the results of an instruction until the instruction is no longer speculative, i.e., until it is certain that the instruction will complete.
Many modern microprocessors further perform hardware prefetches. Hardware prefetching in general means bringing data (or instructions) from memory into a cache memory in anticipation of a future need for that information. Hardware prefetches are highly speculative in nature since there is a significant chance that the retrieved information will not be used. A hardware prefetcher includes detectors or the like that recognize patterns and accesses in the microprocessor and spawn requests to retrieve information before it is needed or even requested by software. Conventional hardware prefetchers, however, stop when hitting or approaching a page boundary. Since the page size may be unknown, the smallest size of 4 KB is usually presumed. The page boundary limitation is somewhat based on legacy systems that rely on physical addresses in which accesses across a page boundary may be problematic.
In a virtual memory system, a virtual address of a hardware prefetch is first converted to a translated physical address. In the event that the translated address is not found in the TLB, a tablewalk is performed to retrieve the translated address using the virtual address. Although the hardware prefetch may provide a significant advantage if the retrieved information is used during subsequent processing, the hardware prefetch tablewalk may block software-based tablewalks. A software-based tablewalk is based on an actual software or code instruction and thus has a higher priority than a hardware prefetch operation. Thus, it is not advantageous to force software-based tablewalks to wait on lower priority hardware prefetch tablewalks.

System and method for performing hardware prefetch tablewalks having lowest tablewalk priority


A hologram recording apparatus includes a signal-beam spatial light modulating section, a reference-beam spatial light modulating section, and a control unit. A signal beam pattern generates a signal beam. A reference beam pattern generates a reference beam. The control unit controls the shapes of the two beam patterns. A data-recording signal beam pattern is displayed on the signal-beam spatial light modulating section and a data-recording reference beam pattern is displayed on the reference-beam spatial light modulating section so that a data-recording hologram is formed in a predetermined area of a holographic recording medium. An encryption signal beam pattern for encrypting the data-recording hologram is displayed on the signal-beam spatial light modulating section and an encryption reference beam pattern is displayed on the reference-beam spatial light modulating section so that an encryption hologram is formed in the same area as the predetermined area of the holographic recording medium.

The present application relates to a hologram recording apparatus and a hologram reconstruction apparatus.
In recent years, holographic memories serving as recording and reconstruction apparatuses capable of recording data at high density and reconstructing the data at a high transfer rate have been developed. The holographic memories utilize the thickness direction of a recording medium. When recording data, the holographic memories generate interference fringes between a reference light beam and a signal light beam according to data to be recorded in which information is two-dimensionally arranged as a page. The holographic memories three-dimensionally record the interference fringes therein at a time. When reconstructing the data, the holographic memories emit the reference light beam to the generated hologram so as to obtain a diffracted light beam. Thus, the holographic memories reconstruct the recorded data from the diffracted light beam (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-226821 and Nikkei Electronics, Jan. 17, 2005, pp. 106-114).
Holographic recording media can store a significantly large amount of recorded data compared with existing recording media. Accordingly, if a third party can easily read confidential recorded data out of the holographic recording media, leakage of a significantly large amount of confidential information or personal information could happen. That is, the risk of leakage of confidential data causing serious problems has become greater than ever before. Therefore, cipher technology that prevents a third party from reading recorded data on holographic recording media is desired. However, a cipher technology using the features of hologram recording and reconstruction has not yet been developed.

Hologram recording apparatus and hologram reconstruction apparatus


A device for processing image data for inputted image data composed of blocks, each of which has 64 pixels values arranged in a matrix. Each of the pixel values is inputted to one of first through fourth stages forming a pre-processing unit. Each of the stages has 16 addition and subtraction units. Four pixels positioned at predetermined locations in the matrix are inputted to a predetermined addition and subtraction unit, so that the four pixels are subjected to addition and subtraction, and a part of a two-dimensional DCT. Thus, 64 pre-processed DCT coefficients are obtained. The pre-processed DCT coefficients are inputted to the post-processing unit, in which the remaining part of the two-dimensional DCT and the quantization are performed, so that the quantization DCT coefficients are obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an image signal compressing device for compressing a color still image in accordance with a JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) algorithm. More particularly, the present invention is related to an improvement in the speed at which a discrete cosine transformation (DCT) in a compression process is performed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A standard algorithm for the encoding of high resolution images and the transfer of that information through telecommunication transmission channels has been recommended by the JPEG. In order to enable a large-scale data compression, the baseline process of the JPEG algorithm breaks down the original image data into components on a spatial frequency axis using a two-dimensional DCT. Thereafter, data expressed on the spatial frequency axis is quantized by using a quantization table. The quantized data is then encoded using a Huffman table.
In the two-dimensional DCT and in the quantization process, multiplications, additions and subtractions are carried out many times, respectively. Multiplication is a more complicated process than the addition and the subtraction. Therefore, the larger the number of times a multiplication is carried out, the longer the calculation time in the two-dimensional DC and the quantization. The conventional method in which the number of multiplications is reduced, thus increasing the calculation speed, was proposed in "High Speed Calculation Algorithm of Orthogonal Transformation" (Digital Signal Process Handbook, Ohm Company Limited, issued in 1993). This method however, was provided for the processing of one-dimensional DCT. Therefore, if the method is carried out twice, the method can be applied to a two-dimensional DCT, but there is an upward limit on the calculation speed.


A method of producing a fine metal component where a plated coating is deposited on a conductive film exposed at fine through-hole pattern portions in a mold to produce a fine metal component, wherein the conductive film is made using a conductive paste comprised of a metal powder in which the metal particles are magnetically linked together in a chain shape.

Conventionally, conductive pastes have been widely used as a material forming a conductive film (a conductive circuit of a printed circuit board, etc.), conductive adhesives used for conductive adhesion between electrical components (mounting of a device or the like on a conductive circuit, connection between conductive circuits, etc.), and so on.
The conductive paste is produced by blending a powdered conductive component, together with a binding agent such as resin and a solvent, in a predetermined ratio. Further, there is a conductive paste from which a solvent is omitted using a liquid binding agent such as liquid curable resin.
Generally employed as the conductive component are metal powders having an average particle diameter of approximately one to several tens of micrometers and having a granular shape, a foil shape (a scale shape, a flake shape), and so on. Examples of metals forming the metal powders include Ag, Cu, Ni, Al, etc.
However, it is difficult because there is a technical limit to make the electrical resistance of a conductive film or a conductive adhesive portion with conductive adhesives (hereinafter generically referred to as a "conductive film") lower than that at the current level using such conventional metal powders.
That is, in the conductive film, a current flows through a lot of metal powders dispersed in the binding agent. Therefore, it is considered that to fill the binding agent with the metal powders with a high density to increase the number of contact points at which the metal powders are directly brought into contact with one another is an effective method of reducing the electrical resistance of the conductive film. Examples of specific methods thereof include one of reducing the particle diameter of each of the metal powders.
In a general production method for metal powders, however, it is not easy to produce metal powders on the order of sub-microns smaller than the above-mentioned range. Moreover, even if the metal powders can be produced, the smaller the particle diameter of each of the fine metal powders becomes, the more easily the metal powders aggregate. Therefore, the metal powders tend to be difficult to uniformly disperse in the binding agent.
Moreover, the respective surfaces of the actual metal powders are covered with an oxide film or the like, and contact resistance is produced by the oxide film or the like at each of contact points there among. The larger the number of contact points becomes, the higher the contact resistance when viewed as the overall film becomes. Therefore, the electrical resistance of the conductive film also tends to be increased.
Therefore, a method of reducing the particle diameter of each of the metal powders to increase the filling density thereof, to reduce the electrical resistance of the conductive film has a technical limitation.
Furthermore, the conventional metal powders have shapes having a low aspect ratio such as a granular shape and a foil shape, as described above. Therefore, the conductivity of the conductive film is approximately equal along both its thickness and its plane. That is, a conductive film having a low anisotropic conductivity can be formed.
Conversely, there is problem that a conductive film cannot be formed superior in such an anisotropic conductivity that the conductivity is high in only the thickness direction, while being low in the other direction, for example.
In recent years, the inventors have given consideration in order to put to practical use a plating method for applying a conductive paste over a base to form a conductive film, then making a plated coating grow on the conductive film by electroplating using the conductive film as an electrode and a production method for a metal component having a fine pattern portion on the order of sub-microns and a thickness of not more than 100 μm (herein after referred to as a "fine metal component") utilizing the plating method.
When the conventional conductive paste is used for the methods, however, the particle sizes of metal grains in the formed plated coating have a distribution discontinuously changed along the thickness of the plated coating. Therefore, it has become clear that a plated coating having a uniform crystal structure cannot be obtained throughout the thickness, so that a fine metal component having good properties cannot be produced.
When further consideration is given to the cause, the following facts are made clear.
That is, the conductive film formed using the conventional conductive paste contains metal powders having an average particle diameter of not less than 1 μm, which is not so small, as compared with the fine metal component, as described above.
When the surface of the conductive film is microscopically viewed at the size level of the fine metal component, therefore, it is not electrically uniform because conductive portions to which the metal powders are exposed and insulation portions there among are in a state where they are distributed in an irregular patch shape in conformity with the sizes of the metal powders.
Moreover, when the surface of the conductive film is similarly microscopically viewed at the size level of the fine metal component, it is not flat because it has irregularities, which are not so small, as compared with the size of the fine metal component, corresponding to the sizes of the metal powders.
The crystal structure of the plated coating by electroplating is liable to be affected by a base. When the plated coating is made to grow using as a base the conductive film whose surface is neither electrically uniform nor flat, as described above, the particle sizes of the grains produced in the plated coating partially in the early stages of coating formation tend to be made significantly larger than the original particle sizes obtained when the plated coating is made to grow on the flat metal surface.
The grains of the same original particle sizes as those in a case where the plated coating is made to grow on the flat metal surface are not produced until the stage in which the growth of the plated coating progresses so that the surface thereof comes closer to a flat metal surface. Thereafter, the plated coating grows in the particle diameter.
Therefore, the plated coating does not have a uniform crystal structure throughout, and has such a distribution that the particle sizes of the metal grains forming the plated coating are discontinuously changed in the thickness direction. Specifically, the plated coating is formed in a two-layered structure comprising an area where the particle sizes of the metal grains forming the plated coating are larger than the original particle sizes and an area where they are equal to the original particle sizes.
Furthermore, in a production method for a fine metal component to which the plating method is applied, a mold composed of an insulating material such as resin having a fine through-hole pattern corresponding to the shape of the fine metal component is made to adhere and fixed on a conductive substrate such as a metal plate with a conductive film composed of a conductive paste intervened between the conductive substrate and the mold, to form a mold for electroforming.
On the surface of the conductive substrate or the conductive film, exposed at a portion of the through-hole pattern, in the mold for electroforming, the plated coating is then made to selectively grow by electroplating using the surface as an electrode, thereby forming a fine metal component corresponding to the shape of the through-hole pattern.
When the mold and the conductive substrate are removed, the fine metal component is obtained.
The conductive film may be formed on the whole surface of the conductive substrate by applying the conductive paste to the whole surface of the conductive substrate to make the mold adhere on the conductive substrate, followed by drying and solidification. In this case, the plated coating is made to grow on the conductive film exposed at the portion of the through-hole pattern of the mold for electroforming, thereby forming the fine metal component.
Furthermore, the conductive film may be formed only in an adhesive portion between the mold and the conductive substrate by applying the conductive paste to a surface, adhering to the conductive substrate, of the mold to make the mold adhere on the conductive substrate, followed by drying and solidification. In this case, the plated coating is made to grow on the conductive substrate exposed at the portion of the through-hole pattern of the mold for electroforming, thereby forming the fine metal component.
In the latter configuration, however, it is difficult to prevent the conductive paste from protruding into the through-hole pattern when the mold is made to adhere on the conductive substrate. Therefore, in a peripheral edge of the through-hole pattern of the mold for electroforming, there occurs a state where the conductive paste protrudes into the through-hole pattern, followed by drying and solidification, so that the conductive film is formed. The plated coating also grows thereon, thereby forming the fine metal component.
In either one of the cases, therefore, the produced fine metal component includes an area, where the particle sizes of the grains are larger than the original ones, as described above, which has grown on the conductive film, thereby making it impossible to obtain desired physical, mechanical or electrical properties when viewed as a whole.
Furthermore, the fine metal component has a two-layered structure comprising an area where the particle sizes of the grains are large and the other area where the particle sizes of the grains are equal to the original ones, and the two areas differ in physical and mechanical properties. Accordingly, the fine metal component is liable to be distorted depending on external conditions such as a temperature change and is liable to be damaged depending on circumstances.
In order to remove the conductive film in the through-hole pattern to expose the conductive substrate, therefore, it is considered that the inside of the through-hole pattern before electroplating is cleaned with a solvent (wet-etched) or dry-etched.
In either processing, however, a mold made of resin is liable to be damaged. Particularly, an edge of the through-hole pattern is rounded, or a side wall of the through-hole pattern is gouged, so that the through-hole pattern is liable to be deformed. Therefore, there arises such a new problem that the shape reproducibility of the fine metal component is lowered.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Plating and production methods for producing a fine metal component using a conductive paste


A node within a network comprising a transport layer protocol for multicasting datagrams on a virtual ring. Each node on the virtual ring is logically connected to two neighbour nodes through virtual connections. A virtual ring datagram is sent to a downstream neighbour node on the virtual ring and a token is received. The virtual ring is identified and the token is forwarded to the downstream neighbour node. If the received datagram is a virtual ring datagram, the virtual ring is identified and the node originator of the received virtual ring datagram is checked. If the received virtual ring datagram has not been locally originated, data in the virtual ring datagram is processed and the virtual ring datagram is forwarded to the downstream neighbour node on the virtual ring. If the received virtual ring datagram has been locally originated, the virtual ring datagram is removed from the virtual ring.

In the present description, the term "Network" designates an ordinary network, based on the Internet Protocol (IP) technology. This network can be a Local Area Network (LAN), but also an Enterprise (private) Intranet or even the (public) Internet. The term "Node" designates the computer systems in the network routing the communications, such as routers, and, also, the computer systems exchanging information on the network, such as workstations and servers.
In a network, nodes must be able to exchange information with other nodes of a same group. For instance, the broadcast of a same information to multiple nodes located in different locations is called "Multicast". In a group of N nodes called a Multicast group as illustrated in FIG. 1, each node (101) needs to communicate with the (N−1) other nodes. To do this, each node establishes a session with each other node (100). Usually in IP networks, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is used to communicate between nodes because this protocol allows a reliable transport of data through sessions and takes care of the flow control. This is not the case with the transport protocol called UDP (User Datagram Protocol) which is based on the best effort and which does not provide any session mechanism.
If a node, within a group of N nodes, wants to communicate information to all the other nodes of its group, it requires N−1 TCP sessions. If all the nodes need to communicate together in a full mesh configuration, N×(N−1)/2 TCP sessions are required. It is important to note that since a TCP session is bidirectional, the required number of sessions is N×(N−1)/2 and not N×(N−1).
The number of sessions can be considerable in a network comprising hundreds or thousands of nodes. It can results an important overhead with a significant impact in term of bandwidth consumption in the network and resource (data processing and memory) utilization in each node. In each node, the establishment the TCP sessions requires data processing resources and the maintenance of these TCP sessions requires memory in particular to store the context of the TCP sessions (TCP Control Block).
In absence of synchronisation at the application level, the nodes can exchange the same piece of information on all the TCP sessions at the same time (communication any to any). This is bandwidth consuming at the network level and resource consuming at the level of each node. An example of this scenario is the exchange of routing information between routers. Each router broadcast routing information to the other routers either periodically or when a change occurs, depending on the routing protocol used in the network. Another example is the synchronisation of multiple servers in a distributed database.
Several solutions exist to limit the number of sessions between nodes. A solution illustrated in FIG. 2, is to select a "Rendezvous Point", or a central node, to which all other nodes are connected. The central node (200) is responsible for distributing the information to all the other nodes in the network. This configuration called "Star network" reduces the number of connections (N−1 sessions) but the main drawback is due to the fact that the central node is the weakest point of the network. Generally, the central node is duplicated by means of a backup central node (201). This configuration called "Dual star network", requires (N−1)+(N−2) connections.
Note, the central node (200) is connected to all other nodes including the backup central node (201). The result is the establishment of N−1 TCP sessions. The addition of a second star configuration based on the backup central node (201) requires another N−1 TCP sessions. However, since a TCP session already exists between central node (200) and backup central node (201), this session does not need to be duplicated. In conclusion, the number of sessions required in a dual star configuration is (N−1)+(N−2)=2×N−3
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to reduce bandwidth utilization in an IP network comprising inter-communicating nodes, to reduce the resource consumption of inter-communicating nodes, and to define several groups of inter-communicating nodes in an IP network.

System and method for communicating on a virtual ring in an internet protocol network

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is an electronic level control device for a vehicle having an air suspension system, for example a trailer vehicle having an air suspension system, the vehicle comprising a chassis having an axle and at least two wheels arranged on the axle, wherein an air spring is arranged between the axle and the chassis for at least one of the wheels, wherein an electronic control unit can initiate a level controlling procedure by actuating a solenoid valve, and wherein at least one capacitive level sensor is provided for the axle. The distance between the chassis and the at least one axle can be determined by the level sensor.

An electronic level control device of this type is described in the WABCO publication "Electronically Controlled Air Suspension (ECAS) for Trailers, 3rd edition." In the case of this level control device, a travel sensor is fastened to the vehicle body and is connected via a lever system to the vehicle axle. The travel sensor ascertains in determined time intervals the distance between the axle and the vehicle body. The time intervals depend by way of example on the operating mode (driving operation or charging operation) of the vehicle. The determined measured value is the actual value of a control circuit that is relayed to an electronic control device. This actual value is compared in the electronic control device with a desired value that is stored in the control device. In the case of an inadmissible difference between the actual value and the desired value, an adjustment signal is transmitted to a solenoid valve of the electronic level control device. The solenoid valve actuates the air springs of the vehicle depending upon this adjustment signal and aerates or vents said air springs. The distance between the vehicle axle and the vehicle body changes as a result of this pressure change in the air springs. The distance is ascertained again by means of the travel sensor and the cycle starts from the beginning.
Details regarding the travel sensor are not provided in the mentioned publication but information relating to a method and a device for calibrating the level of a vehicle is found in DE19526077 C2 according to which different types of position sensors can be used that can be either variable electrical resistors, variable magnetic resistors, variable capacitances or Hall effect sensors. These position sensors can be configured to operate in a manner that requires physical contact or in a manner that does not require physical contact. DE10,2007/020043 A1 discloses level sensors that operate in an optical manner but all of these level sensors are components that are produced separately and are arranged between a chassis and an axle or are integrated respectively in an air spring.

Electronic level control device for air-suspended vehicles, method and control device for electronic level control


A heat exchanger and heat pump circuit having an operating subcircuit and a pump down subcircuit each including a liquid line and a heat transfer tube. The heat transfer tube of the pump down subcircuit surrounds the liquid line of the operating subcircuit. During the heating cycle, the heat pump circuit circulates refrigerant through both subcircuits to abstract heat from the heat source/sink. However, during the cooling cycle, the heat pump circuit circulates refrigerant only through the operating subcircuit. Also during the cooling cycle, the heat pump circuit places the pump down subcircuit at low pressure to thermally insulate the operating subcircuit liquid line.

The present invention relates to heat pumps, and more particularly to a heat exchanger and a heat pump circuit for a direct expansion heat pump.
Heat pumps have long been used as year-round air conditioning systems that operate in a heating cycle and a cooling cycle. Heat pumps are generally more efficient than conventional heating and cooling systems because they transfer rather than create heat. The fundamental principles of heat pump operation are simple. In the heating cycle, the heat pump draws heat from an outside heat source such as earth, air, or water and transfers it to the conditioned space. In the cooling cycle, the heat pump abstracts heat from the conditioned space and dissipates it into an outside heat sink.
In a conventional heat pump circuit, refrigerant is pumped through an outdoor coil where ambient air either heats or cools the refrigerant. The heated or cooled refrigerant is pumped through an indoor coil to heat or cool the conditioned space. Experience has revealed that this type of heat pump is relatively inefficient, largely because ambient air does not function as a stable heat source/sink. A number of "heat exchangers" have been developed to increase the efficiency of heat pumps by utilizing the earth or outside water as the heat source/sink. Heat exchangers replace the conventional outdoor coil and can be buried in the ground or submerged in a well, lake or river to facilitate heat transfer between the refrigerant and the heat source/sink.
Heat exchangers are available in a variety of designs. Among the most popular designs are "U" shaped and coaxial heat exchangers. A typical "U" shaped design includes a liquid line and a vapor line that are connected to form opposite legs of a "U". In a conventional coaxial design, the liquid line extends coaxially into the center of a heat transfer tube. The end of the liquid line is open to allow refrigerant to flow between the line and tube. In the heating cycle, liquid refrigerant flows into the liquid line where it receives heat from the heat source. The refrigerant evaporates and flows out of the heat exchanger through the vapor line or heat transfer tube. The vaporized refrigerant flows through an indoor coil where it condenses. The heat released in the coil during the phase change is passed into the conditioned space. The liquified refrigerant then flows back into the heat exchanger to repeat the cycle. In the cooling cycle, vaporized refrigerant enters the vapor line or heat transfer tube where it condenses to transfer heat to the heat sink. The liquid refrigerant passes through the liquid line into an indoor coil where the liquid refrigerant evaporates by abstracting heat from the conditioned space. The vaporized refrigerant then flows back into the heat exchanger to repeat the cycle.
It is well known that there is a refrigerant imbalance between the cooling and heating cycles. During the cooling cycle, liquid refrigerant must fill the entire liquid line before it returns to the circuit for use. Consequently, a tremendous amount of liquid refrigerant is needed during the cooling cycle. However, the heating cycle does not require such a large volume of refrigerant because the vaporized refrigerant expands quickly and rises, returning to the circuit for use. To overcome the imbalance, some manufacturers provide the system with a refrigerant receiver that stores the refrigerant during the heating cycle when it is not needed. Refrigerant receivers increase the size and cost of the system. Alternatively, some systems include multiple heat exchangers some of which are shut down during the cooling cycle. The refrigerant passing through the shut-down exchangers during the heating cycle is thereby made available for use by the remaining exchangers during the cooling cycle. This type of system is relatively expensive to manufacture and install. And finally, some systems include a control system that drains refrigerant from the system during heating and return it to the system during cooling. Again, the control system increases the size and cost of the heat pump system.
During the cooling cycle, a significant amount of heat dissipates from the vapor line as the refrigerant condenses. Some of this heat is transferred to the liquid line where it heats the liquid refrigerant causing it to vaporize or "flash off". This reduces the efficiency of the system. To overcome this problem, a variety of methods for thermally insulating the liquid line from the vapor line have been developed. One simple method is to increase the distance between the vapor line and the liquid line. A second method is to wrap the liquid line with insulation. A third method is to separate the vapor line and liquid line by a vacuum. All of these methods increase the manufacturing and installation costs of the system.
In addition, in northern climates there is disparity in the amount of heat exchange area needed during the heating cycle and the cooling cycle. Some manufacturers have addressed this problem by providing the system with multiple heat exchangers. During the cooling cycle, some of the heat exchangers are shut-down to provide the appropriate heat exchange area.


An apparatus that performs the mathematical matrix-vector multiplication approximation operations using crossbar arrays of resistive memory devices (e.g. memristor, resistive random-access memory, spintronics, etc.). A crossbar array formed by resistive memory devices serves as a memory array that stores the coefficients of a matrix. Combined with input and output analog circuits, the crossbar array system realizes the method of performing matrix-vector multiplication approximation operations with significant performance, area and energy advantages over existing methods and designs. This invention also includes an extended method that realizes the auto-associative neural network recall function using the resistive memory crossbar architecture.

Matrix-vector multiplication is one of the most commonly used mathematical operations in science and engineering computations. Mathematically, a matrix is usually represented by a two-dimensional array of real numbers, and a vector is represented by a one-dimensional array of real numbers. Since a matrix can be viewed as an array of vectors, the matrix-vector multiplication operation can be generalized to vector-vector multiplication (inner product) or matrix-matrix multiplication operations. In today's computer systems, matrix-vector multiplication operations are performed by digital integrated circuits, in which the numbers are represented in binary format and the computation is performed by Boolean logic circuits.
The existence of resistive memory devices, such as the memristor, resistive random-access memory (RRAM), and spintronic switches, were predicted in circuit theory nearly forty years ago. However, it wasn't until 2008 that the first physical realization was demonstrated by HP Labs through a TiO2 thin-film structure. Afterward, many resistive memory materials and devices have been reported or rediscovered. The resistive memory device has many promising features, such as non-volatility, low-power consumption, high integration density, and excellent scalability. More importantly, the unique property to record the historical profile of the excitations on the device makes it an ideal candidate to perform storage and computation functions in one device.
For the purpose of succinct description, the present invention uses the terminology "memristor" to represent the category of "resistive memory device". For the remainder of the patent description, references to "memristor" shall be regarded as referring to any "resistive memory device".
Based on circuit theory, an ideal memristor with memristance M builds the relationship between the magnetic flux φ and electric charge q that passes through the device, that is, dφ=M·dq. Since the magnetic flux and the electric charge are time dependent parameters, the instantaneous memristance varies with time and reflects the historical profile of the excitations through the device.
When developing actual memristive devices, many materials have demonstrated memristive behavior in theory and/or experimentation via different mechanisms. In general, a certain energy (or threshold voltage) is required to enable a state change in a memristor. When the electrical excitation through a memristor is greater than the threshold voltage, e.g., |vin|>|vth|, the memristance changes. Otherwise, the memristor behaves like a resistor.

Apparatus for performing matrix vector multiplication approximation using crossbar arrays of resistive memory devices

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force