Herein disclosed is a digital filter coefficient setting apparatus which can search and select a specified filter coefficient element corresponding to a specified coefficient parameter inputted by a parameter inputting unit from among the plurality of filter coefficient elements stored in a coefficient storing unit and calculate a specified filter coefficient element on the basis of the specified coefficient parameter when the specified filter coefficient element is not selected from among the plurality of filter coefficient elements stored in the coefficient storing unit, thereby enabling to efficiently set a digital filter in response to a specified filter coefficient element corresponding to any possible specified coefficient parameter inputted therein, as well as to reduce a time required for obtaining the specified filter coefficient element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital filter coefficient setting apparatus and a digital filter coefficient setting method, and more particularly, to a digital filter coefficient setting apparatus for and a digital filter coefficient setting method of setting a digital filter in response to a specified filter coefficient element.
2. Description of the Related Art
The digital filter is designed to filter a digitally encoded input signal. The digital filter has characteristics such as, for example, a passband, i.e., a frequency range over which the power of the input signal is passed to the filter output with approximately unity gain, a stopband, i.e., a frequency range where the power of the input signal is attenuated to a level which can be considered virtually absent in the output signal, and a cut-off frequency, i.e., a frequency, at which the power of the output signal is half the power of the input signal, wherein the cut-off frequency is provided in a transition band between the passband and the stopband. The digital filter is capable of, for example, altering the magnitude, frequency, or phase response of a digital signal in accordance with the digital filter characteristics. The digital filter characteristics of the digital filter can be approximately defined by known equations with filter coefficients. This means that the digital filter characteristics of the digital filter can be approximately determined by substituting a predetermined number of values for the filter coefficients in the equations.
Up until now, there have been proposed a wide variety of digital filter coefficient setting apparatuses each of which is operative to set a digital filter in response to a specified filter coefficient element. The filter coefficient element herein used is intended to mean a value to be substituted for one of the digital filter coefficients in the aforementioned equations. The filter coefficient element determines one of the digital filter characteristics of the digital filter. The conventional digital filter coefficient setting apparatus of this type is disclosed in, for example, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. S60-182815.
One typical example of the conventional digital filter setting apparatus, hereinlater referred to as a first conventional digital filter setting apparatus 900, is shown in FIG. 10(a) as comprising a digital signal processor 906, hereinlater referred to simply as "DSP 906", equipped with a digital filter, which is operable to filter a digital signal in accordance with a digital filter characteristic varied in response to a filter coefficient element, a coefficient storing unit 902 for storing a predetermined number of filter coefficient elements respectively in association with a predetermined number of coefficient parameters, a parameter inputting unit 901 for inputting a specified coefficient parameter, a coefficient selecting unit 903 for searching and selecting a specified filter coefficient element corresponding to the specified coefficient parameter inputted by the parameter inputting unit 901 from among the predetermined number of filter coefficient elements stored in the coefficient storing unit 902, and a coefficient transferring unit 905 for transferring the specified filter coefficient element thus searched and selected by the coefficient selecting unit 903 to the DSP 906. The DSP 906 is operative to set the digital filter in response to the specified filter coefficient element thus received.
The first conventional digital filter setting apparatus 900 shown in FIG. 10(a), however, encounters a drawback that the first conventional digital filter setting apparatus 900 may not set the digital filter in response to a specified filter coefficient element resulting from the fact that the coefficient selecting unit 903 of the first conventional digital filter setting apparatus 900 can search and select a specified filter coefficient element corresponding to a specified coefficient parameter only from among the predetermined number of filter coefficient elements stored in the coefficient storing unit 902, but cannot search and select a specified filter coefficient element, which is not stored in the coefficient storing unit 902. Furthermore, the coefficient storing unit 902 is required to store a large number of filter coefficient elements respectively in association with a large number of coefficient parameters in order to make it possible for the coefficient selecting unit 903 to search and select a specified filter coefficient element corresponding to any possible specified coefficient parameter to be inputted by the parameter inputting unit 901.
Another typical example of the conventional digital filter setting apparatus, hereinlater referred to as a second conventional digital filter setting apparatus 910, is shown in FIG. 10(b) as comprising a DSP 906, equipped with a digital filter, which is operable to filter a digital signal in accordance with a digital filter characteristic varied in response to a filter coefficient element, a parameter inputting unit 901 for inputting a specified coefficient parameter, a coefficient calculating unit 914 for calculating a specified filter coefficient element on the basis of the specified coefficient parameter inputted by the parameter inputting unit 901, and a coefficient transferring unit 905 for transferring the specified filter coefficient element thus calculated by the coefficient calculating unit 914 to the DSP 906. The DSP 906 is operative to set the digital filter in response to the filter coefficient element thus received. The second conventional digital filter setting apparatus 910 thus constructed may calculate and obtain a specified filter coefficient element corresponding to any possible specified coefficient parameter to be inputted by the parameter inputting unit 901, and set the digital filter in response to the specified filter coefficient element thus calculated and obtained. This leads to the fact that the second conventional digital filter setting apparatus 910 shown in FIG. 10(b) can solve the aforesaid problem.
The second conventional digital filter setting apparatus 910, however, encounters another drawback that the second conventional digital filter setting apparatus 910 may delay in setting the digital filter equipped in the DSP 906 in response to a specified filter coefficient element resulting from the fact that the coefficient calculating unit 914 cannot calculate and obtain the specified filter coefficient element instantaneously. The present invention is made with a view to overcoming the previously mentioned drawbacks inherent to the conventional digital filter setting apparatuses.

Digital filter coefficient setting apparatus and digital filter coefficient setting method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An elongate medical device configured for at least partial implantation or insertion into a subject. The medical device has at least one surface that contains one or more depressions, which are at least partially filled with a soluble material. Also described methods of making such devices.

Numerous medical devices have been developed for implantation or insertion into patients. Unfortunately, many such medical devices are commonly associated with patient discomfort or pain after being positioned within the patient. As a specific example, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer based ureteral stents are widely used to facilitate drainage in the upper urinary tract (e.g., drainage from the kidney to the bladder), for example, following ureteroscopy, endourerotomies, and endopyelotomy for ureteral strictures, as well as in other instances where ureteral obstruction may occur.
A schematic diagram of an exemplary stent 10 of this type is illustrated in FIG. 1. The stent 10 has a proximal end 10p and a distal end 10d. It is a tubular polymer extrusion having a shaft 12, a distal renal retention structure (e.g., renal "pigtail" 14), and a proximal retention structure (e.g., bladder "pigtail" 16). These retention structures prevent upward migration of the stent toward the kidney or downward migration of the stent toward the bladder. Other examples of retention structures for use in ureteral stents include, for example, spirals, coils, corkscrews, mallincotts, barbs, mushrooms and hook ends, among others. Once properly deployed in the ureter, the stent 10 provides ureteral rigidity and allows the passage of urine.
The stent 10, as exemplified by FIG. 1, may further be provided with any one or more of the following: (a) a tapered tip 11, to aid insertion, (b) multiple side ports 18 (one numbered), which are typically arranged in a spiral pattern down the length of the body to promote drainage, (c) graduation marks 25 (one illustrated), which are normally used for visualization by the physician to know when the appropriate length of stent has been inserted into the ureter, and (d) a suture 22, which aids in positioning and withdrawal of the stent, as is known in that art.
During placement, such ureteral stents 10 are typically placed over a urology guide wire, through a cystoscope and advanced into position with a positioner. Once the proximal end of the stent is advanced into the kidney/renal calyx, the guide wire is removed, allowing the pigtails 14, 16 to form in the kidney 19 and bladder 20, as shown in FIG. 2. The renal pigtail 14 of the stent may be closed or tapered, depending on the method of insertion (e.g., the use of a guide wire or otherwise). As shown in FIG. 2, the stent 10 extends through the ureteral orifice 21a and into the bladder 20. For clarity, the ureter entering bladder 20 through the opposite ureteral orifice 21b is not shown.
Such stents are known, however, to be associated with a degree of pain and/or discomfort, particularly in the bladder and flank area after insertion. One way of addressing this pain is to use a softer material, particularly in forming the proximal end of the stent, which engages more sensitive tissue. Stents of this type may employ co-extrusion to combine a firm durometer EVA copolymer at the distal end, which improves stent advancement, and a soft durometer EVA at the proximal end, which improves comfort. A specific example of such a stent is the Polaris™ Dual Durometer Percuflex® Ureteral Stent with HydroPlus™ Coating, available from Boston Scientific, Natick, Mass., USA.
Other ways of addressing pain and discomfort include providing systemically administered painkillers or providing devices which release painkillers locally. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2003/0224033 entitled "Implantable or insertable medical devices for controlled drug delivery."
Another issue associated with ureteral stents is the formation of encrustation in vivo, which may be addressed, for example, through the use of devices that release antimicrobial compounds locally. In this regard, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2004/0249441 entitled "Implantable or insertable medical device resistant to microbial growth and biofilm formation."

Partially soluble implantable or insertable medical devices


A trolling motor mounting bracket (1) which can be adjustably attached to a boat by a quick release handle (14) having pins (18) inserted through a chock (20) attached to the boat. The bracket has a support arm (4) with cradle rest (11) for supporting a shaft (18) of a trolling motor (6). The support arm be attached to the bracket by a hinge (10) which may have a spring that can be adjusted by a set screw (33) to increase resistance in the trolling motor support arm. A recessed cavity (24) in a base (31) of the bracket allows the bracket to be positioned variably on the chock.

Current typical fishing boats designed to fish in shallow waters, known in the vernacular as jon boats, have a motor mounted on a front side of the bow which is controlled by a long shaft, called a trolling arm, extending into the boat with controls at the end for a fisherman to vary depth and speed. Unfortunately, such trolling arms do not have proper and sufficient support which can cause damage to a motor shaft due to vibration, particularly in rough waters.
Another problem with current mounting brackets for trolling motors is that the mounting location on such brackets cannot be moved easily so as to account for different trolling motors and boats.
Also, theft of trolling motors is a problem and most mounting brackets do not provide deterrence from theft.
Therefore, a need exists for a trolling motor mounting bracket that provides support for a trolling arm, easy and variable location of a trolling motor and security from theft of trolling motors.


A method and system for supporting data communication from a first computer system to a second computer system, with each of the first and second computer systems having a main computer section for performing computer functions and an audio driver for supporting an audio function by activating operation of first and second audio drivers of the respective first and second computer systems; supplying data from the main computer section of the first computer system to be transmitted to the second computer system to the first audio driver in response to a request of data transmission from the first computer system to the second computer system; temporarily storing the data supplied from the main computer section in a first buffer of the first audio driver; and converting the data stored in the first buffer into an analog signal. The analog signal is transmitted through a phone output jack of the first audio driver to a microphone input jack of the second computer system; and a determination is made about whether the second audio driver of the second computer system has been activated to receive the analog signal transmitted from the first computer system. The analog signal that has been transmitted through the microphone input jack is received when the second audio driver of the second computer system has been activated and the analog signal received from the microphone input jack is converted into a digital signal and the digital signal is temporarily stored in a second buffer of the second driver read by the main computer section of the second computer system. As a result, the audio driver as incorporated in one computer system not only supports the audio function, but also permits data communication with another computer system assuming that the second computer system also includes the same audio driver.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for supporting data communication between personal computers without the use of a data modem and, more particularly, to a personal computer using an audio driver for supporting data communication with the use of a data modem.
2. Background Art
In general, data communication between two personal computers is typically performed by way of either an internal data transfer interface as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,195 for Digital Communication Interface issued to Brender et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,768 for Data Transfer Control Units Each for Which Comprises Processors And Dual-Part Memory and U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,998 for Data Transfer Control Unit both issued to Hirokawa, or by a modem such as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,610 for Method For Parallel Data Transmission Using A Serial Data Transmission Data issued to Takai. When a data transfer interface is installed in each computer, transmission cable having a data line and a control line is connected to a serial input/output interface unit of the respective data transfer interface to support data communication between the two computers. The data transfer interface is also equipped with a dedicated controller and a dual port memory for making preparation of data transfer from internal memory board of one personal computer to another personal computer. Modem can also be used to support data communication between such personal computers.
In addition to supporting a variety of data communications, personal computer also includes a variety of functions, such as a sound, an image display, a multi-media, wire/wireless communication and the like. To support good quality of sounds for the personal computer, a sound card (e.g., an audio driver) must be installed in the personal computer. This sound card is provided to support only audio function for the computer. For example, an audio (e.g., voice) signal from an microphone input jack is converted into a digital signal by means of the sound card to be stored in a memory unit of the personal computer. The digital signal is also converted into an analog signal by means of the sound card to be supplied to a phone output jack. It is noted, however, that the audio driver as practiced in the contemporary computer art is solely limited to support audio output in the personal computer.

Method and system for supporting data communication between personal computers using audio drivers, microphone jacks, and telephone jacks


A blind assembly having a frame entrapping a set of blinds. The frame has an integral track upon which tilt and height control mechanisms are slidably mounted. A height control mechanism is slidably mounted on a vertical portion of the track, and the blinds are raised and lowered by movement of this mechanism. The mechanism is connected to a lift cord retained within the track and hidden from the user's view. This mechanism further includes a spring lock to engage the track and lock the mechanism, and thus the blinds, in a stationary position. A tilt control mechanism is slidably mounted on a horizontal portion of the track, and the blinds are opened and closed by movement of this mechanism. The blinds are protected behind a pane of glass or clear plastic.

The present invention relates to a window blind assembly and, more particularly, to an assembly particularly well adapted for mounting on doors.
Adjustable window blinds are well-known in the prior art. Such blind assemblies include a plurality of slats, usually manufactured of vinyl or aluminum, a "string` ladder, and cords for adjusting tilt and height. The first ends of the height adjustment cords pass through holes cut within each of the slats and is affixed to the lowermost slat, and the second ends dangle from the blind assembly. The ladder has front and rear cords passing along the front and rear edges of the slats, and each slat rests on a thin connector cord attaching the front and rear cords. The front and rear cords are attached to a rotating extension bar along the top of the assembly. A user pulls or releases the height control cords to raise and lower the blinds. Additionally, the user may tilt the blinds open or closed by use of a rotating tilt bar connected to the extension bar.
Conventional blinds are often installed on doors, such as sliding or french doors which have large areas of glass. However, as the doors open and close, the blinds swing freely, hitting the door and marring its finish. Additionally, the slats may be caught by the door as it closes and be permanently bent or twisted. The blinds can also be noisy, especially if caught by wind while the door is open.
The height control cords are dangerous for small children who can become tangled in the dangling cords. The cords may be shortened, or the user may loop the cords over the top of the blind assembly to keep them out of children's reach; however, such preventive measures may fail by the cords slipping off the top of the assembly or the user forgetting to replace the cords after adjusting the blinds.
The rotating tilt bar which extends from the blind assembly is typically attached by a J-hook which can snag window treatments. Additionally, the rotating bar can become twisted on the J-hook and be rendered inoperable. The user must then remove the bar from the assembly and replace it in the correct position on the J-hook.
Further, the slats of the blinds are exposed to dirt and dust and must be cleaned frequently, which is time intensive. The slats are also subject to wear and tear, such as accidental bending of an aluminum or plastic slat which leaves a permanent crease in the slat.
In an attempt to prevent wear and tear of the blinds, window blind assemblies have been installed between the two panes of an insulated glass assembly to keep the blinds clean and free of dust. Such assemblies include a tilt control mechanism consisting of a small rotatable knob built into the frame surrounding the glass and the blinds. However, such blinds may only be tilted open and closed; they do not have a raise/lower feature.


A local failure of display video is suppressed. An LED data calculating portion that generates an approximate curve obtained by approximating the distribution of values of an input image, the approximate curve whose amount of change is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and calculates LED data based on the generated approximate curve and a liquid crystal transmittance calculating portion that calculates the liquid crystal transmittance based on the input image and the approximate curve generated by the LED data calculating portion are provided.

In an image display device provided with a backlight, such as a liquid crystal display device, by controlling the luminance of the backlight based on an input image, it is possible to suppress power consumption of the backlight and improve the image quality of a display image. In particular, by dividing a screen into a plurality of areas and controlling the luminance of a backlight light source corresponding to an area based on an input image in the area, it is possible to achieve lower power consumption and higher image quality. Hereinafter, a method that drives a display panel while controlling the luminance of a backlight light source based on an input image in an area in this manner will be referred to as "area active driving".
In an image display device that performs area active driving, as a backlight light source, for example, RGB light emitting diodes (LEDs), a white LED, or the like is used. The luminance of LEDs corresponding to each area (the luminance at the time of light emission) is determined based on a maximum value, an average value, or the like of the luminance of pixels in each area and is provided to a driving circuit for a backlight as LED data. Moreover, data for display (in a liquid crystal display device, data for controlling the light transmittance of a liquid crystal) is generated based on the LED data and an input image, and the data for display is provided to a driving circuit for a display panel. In the case of the liquid crystal display device, the luminance of each pixel on the screen is the product of the luminance of light from the backlight and the light transmittance based on the data for display.
Incidentally, the light emitted from the LEDs in a certain area illuminates not only the area, but also surrounding areas. In other words, a certain area is illuminated with not only the light emitted from the LEDs of the area, but also the light emitted from the LEDs of the surrounding areas. Thus, the luminance displayed in each area has to be calculated in consideration of diffusion (spreading) of the light emitted from each LED.
For this reason, in the past, there has been a method for avoiding a failure of an output image by correcting data for display by generating a correction table by measuring the actual luminance distribution. For example, in PTL 1, calculating the light transmittance of a display element based on an input image and the display luminance corrected in consideration of diffusion from the LED data for each area is described. Moreover, in PTL 2, calculating the light transmittance by correcting an input image in order to eliminate the unevenness of the luminance of adjacent areas in area active driving is described.

Image display device, recording medium, and method to control light sources based upon generated approximate curves


When a field effect transistor is used to control the current through an inductive load, the flyback voltage is felt through the vertical pnp transistor at the drain, which onducts to the substrate. This current represents a power loss and a source of heat. This invention supplies a second lateral transistor which conducts this current back to the power supply.

A circuit in an integrated CMOS device for more efficiently handling the flyback voltage of an inductive load by providing an additional bipolar transistor for shunting flyback current to the positive voltage source rather than to ground, the entire circuit being fabricated using a CMOS or a BiMOS process.
It is typical in a CMOS device with an inductive load to connect the inductance between the positive dc voltage source and the drain of an NMOS field effect transistor, FET, and to use the FET to alternately supply or cut off current to the inductance. Further, because the p+ source and drain junction of a PMOS are within an n-well on a p-substrate, there automatically exists a vertical bipolar pnp transistor to the substrate. It is also typical to use this pnp transistor to clamp the inductive flyback voltage. When the FET cuts off, the large flyback voltage generated by the inductance is felt at the emitter of this vertical transistor, and there will be a heavy flow of current from the positive voltage supply through the inductance and through this vertical transistor to the substrate. While this limits the flyback voltage, and thereby serves to prevent damage to the circuit, this process is inefficient since this current represents a loss of power in the device, which leads to higher power consumption and a higher device temperature. A circuit which can be fabricated within the basic CMOS process without any added steps or masks, and which would improve the efficiency of the circuit, is needed.

High voltage integrated flyback circuit in 2 .mu.m CMOS


A drum-type washing machine having a self-balancing outer tub assembly is provided by which balance of the outer tub assembly is maintained while the drum is rotated, without the use of a separately installed counterbalance for the front part of the tub assembly. The outer tub assembly includes a front outer tub having an open front and rear; and a rear outer tub having a closed end and an open end coupled to the front outer tub. The front outer tub is formed of a material having a specific gravity higher than that of the rear outer tub and/or has a thickness greater than that of the rear outer tub.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine, and more particularly, to a drum-type washing machine having a self-balancing outer tub assembly.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, the exterior construction of a drum-type washing machine according to a related art includes a cabinet frame 2, a cabinet front cover 4 providing the cabinet with a forward-facing opening 4a in which a door assembly 5 having a view port is installed, and a base assembly 8 on which the cabinet frame is supportably mounted. A top plate assembly 6 is mounted atop the cabinet frame 2, and a control panel assembly 7, provided with user interface features, is installed at one end of the top plate assembly 6. The door assembly 5 provides access to the interior of the drum-type washing machine.
Referring to FIG. 2, showing the interior construction of a drum-type washing machine according to a related art, a drum 10 for holding laundry is rotatably installed within a cylindrical outer tub for supporting the rotating drum and laundry. The outer tub is typically manufactured by injection molding of a synthetic resin-based material and may be integrally formed as one body or, to enable manufacture using smaller molds, may be constituted as front and rear outer tubs 12 and 14, as shown in the drawing. The front and rear outer tubs 12 and 14 are generally formed of the same material, e.g., a polypropylene containing about 25% glass fiber or a polypropylene containing about 10% glass fiber and about 17% CaCO3, and are tightly coupled to each other to create a watertight junction.
Notably, the constitution of the rear outer tub 14 is fundamentally different from that of the front outer tub 12. For example, the rear outer tub 14 has one end closed, save a through-hole 14a for receiving a rotational shaft (not shown) on which the drum 10 is rotated, and is inherently heavier than the front outer tub 12, which has an open front and rear. Moreover, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 14b is formed at the rear of the rear outer tub 14, to withstand vibrations generated when the drum 10 is rotated. It should be appreciated that the fundamental differences between the front and rear outer tubs 12 and 14 would be present even in the case of an integrally formed outer tub assembly. In either case, the weight distribution of the cylindrical outer tub results in its forward part being much lighter. That is, in spite of being formed of the same material, the front and rear outer tubs 12 and 14 exhibit a substantial difference in weight, due to their contrasting structures and functions.
Referring to FIG. 3, the constructional differences between the front and rear outer tubs 12 and 14 become more apparent. For example, in a direct drive system in which the motor assembly (not shown) is mounted on the rear side of the rear outer tub 14 at the drum's central axis, a pair of bearings 14c are installed within the through-hole 14a to support the rotational shaft, and a spider (not shown) is provided to disperse the forces of a shear stress transferred to the rear outer tub 14 during drum rotation. The motor assembly consists of a stator assembly and a rotor assembly.
The weight difference between the front and rear outer tubs 12 and 14 brings about shaking and noise when the drum 10 is rotating. Therefore, a counterbalance 16 for maintaining the balance of the front and rear outer tubs 12 and 14 is installed at one end of the front outer tub 12, namely, the forward end, to counteract the forces and effect of the rotating drum 10. While the counterbalance 16 is typically mounted to the front exterior of the tub assembly, its precise positioning is determined by the characteristics of the washing machine, and in particular, by the weight distribution of the rear outer tub 14. In any event, the counterbalance 16 is positioned in direct opposition to the weight imbalance of the rear outer tub 14.
The counterbalance 16 may be realized by one of several means, including a ring-type counterbalance fixed in two parts to the front outer tub 12, as shown in the drawings, using a coupling means such as a plurality of screws. Such a counterbalance is achievable by molding a dense cement or by filling with cement the interior of a synthetic resin-based casing having an opening for inserting the cement.
In a drum-type washing machine according to the related art, however, the number of manufacturing components is increased, which substantially increases the part count and increases assembly time accordingly. Besides, the counterbalance itself is a very heavy, cumbersome component. Moreover, the cement of the counterbalance generates cement powder and other contaminants and therefore deteriorates the manufacturing environment and increases the likelihood of operational malfunction by introducing such contaminants to the interior of the manufactured product.


As the volume of data under management expands rapidly, so do the costs associated with storing and that data on secondary storage devices. The illustrative approach provides an improvement to the information management system by delaying certain tasks that meet a set of criteria until a specified threshold is met. The system receives a request to be performed on a set of data stored on secondary devices. Power management module determines whether the task satisfies a set of criteria for delayed execution, queues the task, and when a specified threshold of the queued tasks is met powers up the necessary components to execute the tasks.

Businesses recognize the commercial value of their data and seek reliable, cost-effective ways to protect the information stored on their computer networks while minimizing impact on productivity. A company might back up critical computing systems such as databases, file servers, web servers, virtual machines, and so on as part of a daily, weekly, or monthly maintenance schedule. The company may similarly protect computing systems used by its employees, such as those used by an accounting department, marketing department, engineering department, and so forth. Given the rapidly expanding volume of data under management, companies also continue to seek innovative techniques for managing data growth, for example by migrating data to lower-cost storage over time, reducing redundant data, pruning lower priority data, etc. Enterprises also increasingly view their stored data as a valuable asset and look for solutions that leverage their data. For instance, data analysis capabilities, information management, improved data presentation and access features, and the like, are in increasing demand.
As the volume of data under management expands rapidly, so do the costs associated with storing and maintaining that data on secondary storage devices. For instance, powering computing devices to perform data storage operations may increase not only electrical costs associated with performing those tasks but may also increase utility costs associated with using virtual machines to perform those tasks (e.g. server hosting fees, storage fees, processing fees etc.).

Power management of components within a storage management system


An optical fiber holding device of the invention includes a holder that includes a base and a lid which are openable and closable, sandwiches an optical fiber when the base and the lid are in a closed state, and thereby holds the optical fiber. The holder includes: an elastic body; a drive unit configured to generate driving power; and a pusher. The pusher is configured to generate a pressing force based on the driving power generated by the drive unit and press the lid by the pressing force via the elastic body. The lid and the base are configured to sandwich and hold the optical fiber based on the pressing force transmitted through the elastic body when the lid is pressed by the pusher via the elastic body.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber holding device.
Description of the Related Art
Generally, in the case of cutting an optical fiber, after a coating of the optical fiber is removed and a bare optical fiber is exposed to the outside, a cutting blade is pressed onto the bare optical fiber and an initial scratch is applied thereto, and the optical fiber is cut by making the scratch larger.
At this time, the optical fiber is held and supported by an optical fiber holding device.
The above-described optical fiber holding device is provided with a pair of holders that are arranged with a predetermined distance provided therebetween. One of the paired holders holds a coated layer of the optical fiber and the other of the paired holders holds a bare optical fiber.
The aforementioned holders are constituted of for example, a base and a lid. An optical fiber mounted on the base is pressed by the lid and thereby the optical fiber is fixed.
Additionally, as the above-mentioned holder moves in the axis of the optical fiber, the optical fiber is pulled, and a tension is applied to the optical fiber.
Furthermore, as described above, a cutting blade is pressed onto the bare optical fiber that horizontally extends between the paired holders, an initial scratch is applied thereto, and the optical fiber is cut by making the scratch larger.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H06-160662 discloses the aforementioned optical fiber holding device.
As mentioned above, conventionally, when the optical fiber is held by the holder, the optical fiber is held by the base and the lid using a means for tightening a base and a lid, such as a screw, and utilizing, for example, human power or the like.
However, in the aforementioned conventional technique, in the case of fixing the base and the lid using a screw, if the base and the lid are tightly fixed, the optical fiber is destroyed. In contrast, if a degree of fixation is low, when the optical fiber is pulled, the optical fiber slips between the base and the lid, and there is a problem in that a required tension cannot be applied to the optical fiber.
In order to solve this problem, it is necessary for an operator to fix the base and the lid using a torque wrench with a high level of accuracy; however, when the optical fiber is cut, in both the paired holders, it is necessary to screw the base and the lid using the torque wrench, and it is necessary to release the coupled screw after the cutting of the optical fiber is completed, and the operability therefor is low.


A card game and method of playing the same played with a fifty six card deck and played to a predetermined unique point total on a table having a playing surface and several player stations surrounding said table and a card dealer station located between two of the players, and said dealer does not play hands, in which each station where a player is located initially receives two cards face down with the player adding the value of said cards and each player in rotation to receive one or more cards face up or to stand on the original cards in an endeavor to reach the point total, each player playing against the other of said players and a winning player having the point total or a total less than or greater than said point total.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a card game and method of playing the same such as would be played at a casino and to a table, special deck of cards, player positions and wager card and bet placement areas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various prior art card games used in gaming casinos are relatively complicated and require knowledge beyond an unskilled person player.
Blackjack or Twenty-one is an exception to the above paragraph as it does possess a simplicity of counting. It is also a widely played casino game. However, in certain states where there is local option for card casinos, Blackjack is outlawed per se by the state.
Applicant is aware of a casino card game protected by U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,087, however this game requires players to maintain two pairs of cards while playing as well as requires the dealer to play and usually is the bank. Such play is entirely different than the present invention.
Therefore, it is desirable to create other card games for playing in casinos that are both simplistic as well as a "legal" card games within the political body having jurisdiction over card casinos.


A system and method for employing a digital representation of a color image to be printed in a printing system is provided. The method includes generating at least one raster representation of the color image to be printed and a run length representation of the color image wherein the high resolution representation includes a plurality of files, each file storing information representing a single color to be printed; and a run length file including at least the run length information of the color to be printed. Preferably, each one of the plurality of files including at least an indication for each pixel whether to print the raster representation or the run length representation. The method also includes providing the raster representation and the run length representation to printing apparatus.

Digital printing involves direct printing of digital information onto a printing substrate. As shown in FIG. 1 to which reference is now made, a digital printing system 10 includes a front end computer 11 which operates to prepare the data in a format suitable for use by a printing apparatus 12 which prints the image to be printed on a printing substrate in accordance with the digital representation thereof. Front end computer 11 and printing apparatus 12 are connected by a communication cable 13.
In the prior art, front end computer 11 usually includes a composite file storage unit 14 which stores the digital representation of the images to be printed in a composite format, i.e. a CT file for each color separation to be printed and a single LW file. Usually, but not necessarily, the CT file for each separation and the single LW file represent the four process colors to be printed, namely Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ("CMYB" or "CMYK").
As is well known in the art, LW files are represented in a run length encoding format, i.e. a compressed lossless format wherein pluralities of pixels having the same color are represented by a vector indicating the number of pixels having that color whereas CT files are raster files wherein the color of each pixel is independently stored.
Digital printing systems are usually capable of electronic collation, i.e. the ability to print a full document where each or at least some pages are different from each other and/or are capable to print variable information, i.e. different information on each printed copy, such as a recipient name and address. Therefore, the ability of a digital printing system to address these various needs depends on the ability of front end computer 11 to feed the printing apparatus 12 with the required data efficiently.
In operation, CPU 15 retrieves a composite file of an image to be printed from storage unit 14, transfers it to an image buffer 16 and therefrom via interface 16 and communication cable 13 to printing apparatus 12 for printing. This sequence is usually a "pipe line" sequence, i.e. while the composite file of one separation is transmitted from image buffer 16 to printing apparatus 12, the composite file representing the next separation is retrieved from storage unit 14.
Composite files are voluminous and therefore, the retrieval thereof by CPU 15 and their transmission to printing apparatus 12 is a relatively inefficient, time consuming process which adversely effects the number of prints per unit of time which digital printing system 10 provides.


The present invention provides pharmaceutical formulations comprising an antibody that specifically binds to human interleukin-33 (hIL-33). The formulations may contain, in addition to an anti-IL-33 antibody, a buffer, at least one amino acid, at least one sugar, or at least one non-ionic surfactant. The pharmaceutical formulations of the present invention exhibit a substantial degree of antibody stability after storage for several months and after being subjected to thermal and other physical stresses.

Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a ligand for ST2, a toll-like/interleukin-1 receptor super-family member that associates with an accessory protein, IL-1RAcP (for reviews, see, e.g., Kakkar and Lee, Nature Reviews—Drug Discovery 7(10):827-840 (2008), Schmitz et al., Immunity 23:479-490 (2005); Liew et al., Nature Reviews—Immunology 10:103-110 (2010); US 2010/0260770; US 2009/0041718). Upon activation of ST2/IL-1RAcP by IL-33, a signaling cascade is triggered through downstream molecules such as MyD88 (myeloid differentiation factor 88) and TRAF6 (TNF receptor associated factor 6), leading to activation of NFκB (nuclear factor-KB), among others. IL-33 signaling has been implicated as a factor in a variety of diseases and disorders. (Liew et al., Nature Reviews—Immunology 10:103-110 (2010)).
Therapeutic macromolecules (e.g., antibodies) must be formulated in a manner that not only makes the molecules suitable for administration to patients, but also maintains their stability during storage. For example, therapeutic antibodies in liquid solution are prone to degradation, aggregation and/or undesired chemical modifications unless the solution is formulated properly. The stability of an antibody in liquid formulation depends not only on the kinds of excipients used in the formulation, but also on the amounts and proportions of the excipients relative to one another. Furthermore, other considerations aside from stability must be taken into account when preparing a liquid antibody formulation. Examples of such additional considerations include the viscosity of the solution and the concentration of antibody that can be accommodated by a given formulation. Thus, when formulating a therapeutic antibody, great care must be taken to arrive at a formulation that remains stable, contains an adequate concentration of antibody, and possesses a suitable viscosity as well as other properties which enable the formulation to be conveniently administered to patients.
Antibodies to human interleukin-33 (hIL-33) are one example of therapeutically relevant macromolecules that require proper formulation.
Although anti-hIL-33 antibodies are known in the art (see, e.g., WO 2014/164959), there remains a need for pharmaceutical formulations comprising anti-hIL-33 antibodies that are sufficiently stable and suitable for administration to patients.

Stabilized formulations containing anti-IL-33 antibodies


An open fire cooking utensil which has a simple and effective detachable skewless wiener holding end portion. The simplicity of the design makes it rugged, and easy to clean. The rotisserie utensil for roasting food comprises: a handle portion; an elongate shaft having one end attached to the handle portion and an other opposite end; and, a spiral food receptacle made from a spiralling member and having a cylindrical interior opening therein, said spiral food receptacle carried by the other opposite end of the elongate shaft. After food is roasted in, and removed from the interior opening, the spiralling member can be readily wiped clean. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the spiralling member and the elongate shaft comprise stainless steel tube.

Available open fire cooking utensils typically utilize prongs to hold food to be roasted. Most typically that food is a wiener. One of the problems with a multi pronged utensil is that if only one wiener is roasted then either the utensil is unbalanced for rotation, or if the wiener is skewered by more than one prong, rather than axially on a single prong, then it is not cooked evenly—its end portions are closer to the flame. Another problem inherent with a prong is either the difficulty of removing the hot cooked food therefrom, or alternatively the problem with inadvertent loss of the expanding wiener during roasting.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,778 A. B. Mayfield disclosed the use of a cylindrical receptacle to contain foods roasted over fire. One of the problems with his solution to prongs was the difficulty of adequately securing the expanded metal which forms the cylinder to the elongate handle. The cylinder tends to bend, break, and detach from the elongate handle. Another problem with his cylindrical receptacle is cleaning. After an initial use the interior side of the expanded metal is coated with carbon and grease. Properly scrubbing to remove all of the grease from the large interior surface area is next to impossible.
A food containment means which is rugged and easy to clean is needed. There should be a minimal interior surface area which is smooth and readily accessible so that it can be easily wiped clean.

Open flame rotisserie utensil having spiral wiener receptacle


Techniques are described for providing a messaging service that employs a distributed key-value store for message persistence. On receiving a message to be enqueued for subsequent delivery, a message identifier is generated and employed as a key to store the message in the key-value store. The message identifier may be generated based on an available location in a message tracking data structure. In some cases, the message tracking data structure may be an append tree data structure that is substantially self-balancing as an increasing number of messages are tracked using the append tree data structure. The message tracking data structure may be further employed to determine a message identifier for a message to be vended from the key-value store.

A computing environment may employ a messaging system to send, store, and deliver messages between entities within the computing environment, where such entities may include users, processes, and computing devices. In many cases, messaging systems may not scale efficiently and may exhibit degradations in the quality of service as the number of processed messages increases.
Certain implementations and embodiments will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which various aspects are shown. However, various aspects may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.


Approaches to improving actuator settle time by damping vibrations resulting from coil modes, such as with a voice coil actuator in a hard disk drive, include a single-piece damper plate coupled to the voice coil actuator yoke. The damper plate may be a single U-shaped piece of metal that covers the area of the yoke that experiences the maximum strain energy during operation, between the voice coil and the pivot bearing housing.

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile storage device that is housed in a protective enclosure and stores digitally encoded data on one or more circular disks having magnetic surfaces. When an HDD is in operation, each magnetic-recording disk is rapidly rotated by a spindle system. Data is read from and written to a magnetic-recording disk using a read/write head that is positioned over a specific location of a disk by an actuator.
A read/write head uses a magnetic field to read data from and write data to the surface of a magnetic-recording disk. Write heads make use of the electricity flowing through a coil, which produces a magnetic field. Electrical pulses are sent to the write head, with different patterns of positive and negative currents. The current in the coil of the write head induces a magnetic field across the gap between the head and the magnetic disk, which in turn magnetizes a small area on the recording medium.
Increasing areal density (a measure of the quantity of information bits that can be stored on a given area of disk surface) is one of the ever-present holy grails of hard disk drive design evolution. In turn, as recording tracks in HDDs become narrower and narrower, there is a need for more accurate and sustainable head positioning. Furthermore, especially in the case of enterprise-class HDDs, customers mandate meeting stringent performance requirements. One of the main factors impairing faster, more accurate head positioning are modes of vibration associated with the actuator that positions the head over the disk. Thus, the manner in which vibration modes are managed is an important factor in improving the performance and reliability of HDDs.

Single-piece yoke damper for voice coil actuator


The present invention is directed to the discovery of network devices capable of handling multiplexed packet data flows. According to the present invention, multiplexing routers included in a path along which communication resources are reserved insert an object into the RSVP RESV message, to provide operating parameters to an originating multiplexing router. Using the operating parameters provided by multiplexing routers along the path, the originating multiplexing router can identify a multiplexing router proximate to a receiving communication device or devices. The originating multiplexing router can then create super packets addressed to the receiving multiplexing router proximate to the receiving communication that contains multiple data packets. The router to which the super packet is addressed can then deaggregate the super packet, and deliver the data packets to the receiving communication device or devices.

The concept of multiplexing packet data flows, including real-time transport protocol (RTP) flows together into a single aggregate flow is a concept that is addressed in a number of Internet engineering task force (IETF) Internet drafts. Multiplexing RTP flows would be desirable, because it can reduce the bandwidth usage of wide area network (WAN) links and decrease the RTP packet rate incident on edge routers. In addition, the multiplexing of RTP flows reduces the burden of administering networks, for example in connection with the configuration of quality of service levels. In addition, multiplexing RTP flows can increase the scalability of existing quality of service schemes.
Although IETF Internet drafts specifying packet formats for aggregate flows, header compression algorithms, and packet loss compensation have been proposed, there are no methods for discovering the RTP multiplexing capabilities of a remote subnetwork. Discovery of such capabilities is desirable in order to determine whether packet data flows addressed to devices on a particular subnetwork are suitable for aggregation.

Multiplexer discovery and parameter exchange


The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for preventing reuse of a surgical instrument. The single-use surgical instrument includes a housing, an electrical connector and a treatment component. Indicia may be printed on the housing, the electrical connector and/or the treatment component. A removable ink is applied to any portion of the surgical instrument in the form of indicia that is readable by a scanning device. The removable ink includes a protein-based composition that is reactivateable with a sterilization solution having an enzyme-based composition such that upon sterilization, the removable ink reacts with the sterilizing solution and becomes unreadable by the scanning device.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to electrosurgical instruments, systems and methods and more particularly, the present disclosure relates to electrosurgical instruments, systems and methods that include a removable ink configured to substantially prevent re-use of an electrosurgical instrument after a surgical procedure.
2. Description of Related Art
During a surgical procedure, it is common for an operator to use one or more surgical instruments throughout the surgical procedure. Some of the various surgical instruments may include re-usable instruments and/or disposable instruments. After a completed or partial surgical procedure, the single-use surgical instruments are disposed of in proper waste compartments, while the multi-use surgical instruments are cleaned and sterilized by common cleaning procedures known in the art.
Typically, a common cleaning procedure includes an initial "pre-soak" step and a final sterilization step. In the "pre-soak" step, the multi-use instrument is soaked in common cleaning agents that are commonly found in hospitals and clinics. These common cleaning agents usually contain enzyme solutions that are necessary to dissolve blood from blood-soiled surgical instruments. Afterwards, in the sterilization step, the instruments are sterilized by an autoclave system, gamma sterilization, and/or ethylene oxide (ETO) system that prepares the instruments for use in a later surgical procedure.
In certain situations, the single-use surgical instruments are, mistakenly or negligibly, sterilized in the same manner as multi-use instruments and then re-used in another surgical procedure. However, due to certain manufacturing designs and other limitations, single-use instruments are not intended to be sterilized and re-used, since re-using may create a potential risk due to certain parts being made from unsterilizable and/or unautoclavable components or cross infection caused by microbiological contamination between surgical procedures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Thin film transistors including a semiconductor channel disposed between a drain electrode and a source electrode; and a gate insulating layer disposed between the semiconductor channel and a gate electrode wherein the semiconductor channel includes a first metal oxide, the gate insulating layer includes a second metal oxide, and at least one metal of the second metal oxide is the same as at least one metal of the first metal oxide, methods of manufacturing thin film transistors, and semiconductor device including thin film transistors.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to thin film transistors, methods of manufacturing thin film transistors, and semiconductor device including thin film transistors.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thin film transistor (TFT) is used in various devices, and may be particularly used as a switching and driving device in a flat panel display, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode display (OLED display) and/or an electrophoretic display (EPD).
A thin film transistor may generally include a gate electrode connected to a gate line transferring a scan signal, a source electrode connected to a data line transferring a signal applied to a pixel electrode, a drain electrode facing the source electrode, a semiconductor channel electrically connected to the source electrode and the drain electrode, and a gate insulating layer between the gate electrode and the semiconductor channel.
A semiconductor channel and a gate insulating layer may be primary components for determining characteristics of a thin film transistor. As a semiconductor of a semiconductor channel, silicon (Si) may be mainly used, and as a gate insulating layer, silicon oxide and/or nitrogen oxide may be mainly used. However, they may be limited in terms of manufacturing a high performance thin film transistor. Further, manufacturing costs may be high and the process may be complicated.

Thin film transistors, methods of manufacturing thin film transistors, and semiconductor device including thin film transistors


A hairstyle simulation image is formed by combining a face image and a hair image such that a hair image of any hairstyle can be simply combined with the face image without impairing the naturalness of the fitted face and hair images, irrespective of whether or not a part of the face is covered with the hair. The hairstyle simulation image formed by combining the face and hair images is formed as follows. First, two eyes in the face image are detected, and a semi-oval shaped curve L0 is formed based on a facial width D0 and a line passing through the eyes (an eye line L1). The facial width D0 is obtained by multiplying the distance between the eyes by a predetermined multiplier, and the semi-oval shaped curve L0 serves as a temporary facial outline. By moving the semi-oval shaped curve L0 in the right and left directions on the face image, the left and right edges Pb and Pc of the facial outline of the face image are detected based on the degree of overlap between the semi-oval shaped curve L0 and an edge line La of the jaw portion of the face image. The left and right edges Pb and Pc of the outline of the hair image are also detected as in the above. The widths D1f and D1h between the left and right edges Pb and Pc of the facial outlines of the face and hair images, respectively, are adjusted to the same width, and then the face and hair images are combined with each other.

In order to allow a general customer to judge in advance whether a hairstyle will suit the customer without actually changing the current hairstyle, a hairstyle simulation image is formed by combining the face image of the customer and a hair image of the hairstyle designated by the customer. Conventionally, to form such a hairstyle simulation image, an operator manually adjusts the sizes and the positions of the face and hair images to be superposed.
However, with such a method, it is not possible to provide the hairstyle simulation image to the customer in a short period of time, so that in practice the customer cannot try different hairstyles at a hair salon or the like. In addition, it is difficult to deal with all requests to form hairstyle simulation images when the number of the requests is large.
In view of the above, a method has been proposed which includes: automatically extracting a facial region from a face image; determining the maximum width of the outline of the facial region, the maximum width being used as the facial width of the face image; and automatically fitting a hair image to the face image by matching the facial widths of the hair and face images with each other (Patent Document 1). In this method, the facial width is used as the basis of the fitting process. However, the facial width of an image of a single person can differ depending on whether or not the hair partially covers the face. Therefore, an unnatural hairstyle simulation image can be formed in which the hair and face images do not fit well with each other.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-1997-131252.

Hair style simulation image creating method


Printed circuit board assemblies must be tested before being sold to consumers. Yet, the assemblies have various shapes and input/output configurations. Thus, a need exists for a general apparatus and method for testing a variety of assemblies. The present tester uses a test enclosure which contains the necessary test electronics. The front of the enclosure includes a personality board which is designed to interface with the device under test.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to both a method and an apparatus for testing the functionality of printed circuit board assemblies. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus that can be easily configured to test a wide variety of assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the most important issues for makers of printed circuit board assemblies is the cost of testing each assembly to ensure it functions properly. In view of the increasingly lowered cost of producing the assemblies, the cost of testing takes on greater significance. For example, it is common for the cost of testing a board""s functionality to be 30% to 40% of the cost of the product. Thus, the cost of testing is a significant percentage of the overall cost of the product.
The cost of testing the functionality of printed circuit board assemblies impacts many industries. For example, most personal computers contain several printed circuit board assemblies. A standard computer will have a motherboard, a modem board, a video board, as well as others. One option is to simply not test the boards at all. However, this results in increased customer dissatisfaction due to non-functional products. Further, the cost of warranty repair increases. In other words, not testing merely shifts increased costs downstream in the product""s life.
The problem arises with the number of different boards to be tested. Each assembly may be on a different sized board. A tester must be able to easily accommodate different sized boards. Next, the boards may have several input connections located at different positions on the board. A tester must be able to be flexible enough to mate with those inputs and be able to provide the correct standard connection. Finally, a successful tester must include the necessary test electronics to provide a routine set of inputs and detect the assembly""s output. The tester must be able to compare the detected output against a list of expected outputs to determine if the assembly is functioning within expected parameters.
This invention allows the functionality of a variety of printed circuit board assemblies to be tested. The device under test is tested in a fashion that would match its actual function in the consumer""s world. In other words, the device under test is powered up, multiple inputs provided and the outputs compared to set of expected outputs for compliance to determine if the device is passed or failed.
The apparatus includes two main elements, a test hardware enclosure and a test fixture. The test hardware enclosure, also referred to as the test enclosure, can be a commercially available enclosure that houses the test equipment. For example, the test equipment could include any mountable electronic equipment needed to run or monitor the test, such as a computer and peripherals, a digital volt meter, a digital logic analyzer, oscilloscopes, a network analyzer, a modem, a CRT, cameras, and pneumatic controls. The front panel of the enclosure is a personality board. Due to its modular nature, the personality board can also be referred to as the personality module. It is designed to interface with the device under test. The inwardly facing surface of the personality board is the system back plane, and connects the personality board to the test equipment in the housing. The outwardly facing surface of the personality board contains the several interface plugs that interconnect with the input/output leads for the device under test. The interfaces can also be referred to as the interface modules.
The test fixture is an assembly that mates with the hardware enclosure. It can be secured to the enclosure without the use of any tools. The test fixture can be altered with access modules, allowing the fixture to be quickly configured to any product. The device under test resides on a non-conductive pallet designed for that specific device under test. The pallet is placed on a drawer plate on the test fixture. Once the device under test is securely attached to the test fixture, the test fixture can engage the test enclosure. The device under test then engages the interface module on the personality board. The tester can be either manual, semi-automatic or automatic.

Method and apparatus for testing printed circuit board assemblies


A technology for securing favorable appearance of a SiC member, the SiC member includes: a first SiC layer having a first upper surface having a concavo-convex shape and a first lower surface; and a second SiC layer having a second upper surface and a second lower surface, the second lower surface being in contact with the first upper surface and having a concavo-convex shape corresponding to that of the first upper surface. The second SiC layer has a recess concaved from the second upper surface toward the second lower surface side and a flat bottom surface, and the bottom surface of the recess is placed upward of the second lower surface.

A SiC member formed of silicon carbide (SiC) has excellent properties such as high durability, high acid resistance, and low specific resistance, and is widely used as a component for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. In addition, such a SiC member has a recess on its surface as a housing portion for housing a processing target wafer. For example, Patent Document 1 discusses a technique of using the SiC member having a recess on its surface as a focus ring for a plasma etching apparatus. In addition, the SiC member requires a strict specification such as high durability or high purity. In order to satisfy such a requirement, Patent Document 1 discusses a SiC member formed of CVD-SiC having excellent physical and chemical properties. The CVD-SiC refers to SiC formed through chemical vapor deposition (CVD).


A piezoelectric substrate (120) and a method for preparing same. The method includes steps of (i) providing a boule of piezoelectric material, (ii) orienting the boule to Euler angles chosen to provide a boundary condition matched to a partially-metallized surface and (iii) sawing the boule into at least a first slice (120) having first and second surfaces, at least one of the first and second surfaces comprising a planar surface. The method desirably but not essentially further includes steps of (iv) polishing at least one of the first and second surfaces to provide a substantially planar polished surface, (v) disposing a layer of metal on the at least one of the first and second surfaces and (vi) patterning the layer of metal to provide at least one interdigitated pattern (105, 110) comprising an acoustic wave transducer (105, 110), the acoustic wave transducer (105, 110) providing the boundary condition matched to a partially-metallized surface.

There is an ongoing need for acoustic wave filters and delay lines for a variety of practical applications. Acoustic wave devices are becoming particularly important in the production of electronic signal processing equipment, especially radios, because they can be readily mass produced and are of small size and also because of increased pressure to employ available radio spectrum efficiently. Acoustic wave devices are generally constructed on planar surfaces using techniques similar to those employed in manufacturing integrated circuits.
A number of low-loss acoustic wave filter and transducer design approaches including temperature compensation, broad bandwidth and improved out-of-band signal rejection have been developed to meet specific performance goals relevant to particular applications and subject to specified manufacturing constraints. These approaches include multiphase uni-directional acoustic wave transducers, multi-transducer acoustic wave filters, resonators, distributed acoustic reflection transducers (DARTs) and acoustic wave transducers backed by reflectors, with each acoustic device type providing filter performance strengths and weaknesses. Specific substrate orientations and materials have also been developed to provide improved acoustic wave propagation and transduction characteristics, including increased electromechanical coupling coefficients, decreased temperature sensitivity, decreased acoustic propagation loss, decreased design and fabrication sensitivity, as well as reduced complexity and other factors.
Examples of these and other types of acoustic wave device approaches including choices of substrate materials and orientations are described in "propagation and Amplification of Rayleigh Waves and Piezoelectric Leaky Surface Waves in LiNbO.sub.3 " by K. Yamanouchi and K. Shibayama, J. App. Phys. Vol. 43, No. 3; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,159,435, entitled "Acoustic Surface Wave Devices Employing Surface Skimming Bulk Waves", by M. F. Lewis; 4,489,250, entitled "Temperature Compensated Surface Acoustic Wave Device" by Y. Ebata et al.; 4,670,680, entitled"Doubly Rotated Orientations of Cut Angles For Quartz Crystal For Novel Surface Acoustic Wave Devices" by J. Andle; 4,525,643 and 4,511,817, entitled "Temperature Compensated Orientations of Berlinite for Surface Acoustic Wave Devices" by B. Chai et al.; and 4,001,767, entitled "Low Diffraction Loss-Low Spurious Response LiTaO.sub.3 Substrate for Surface Acoustic Wave Devices" by A. Slobodnik, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. However, these and other prior art approaches suffer from a number of disadvantages well known in the art. These disadvantages tend to become more serious as operating frequency increases.
Of particular interest are substrata supporting surface skimming bulk acoustic waves. These tend to provide increased electromechanical coupling coefficients, resulting in a desirable combination of insertion loss, out-of-band rejection, bandwidth and other characteristics. Moreover, the reduced sensitivity of device insertion loss to surface contamination as a result of the horizontally polarized particle motion associated with such waves potentially greatly simplifies device packaging and manufacturing constraints, encouraging reduced manufacturing costs, package footprint and weight and these trends are also consistent with increased robustness of acoustic wave devices including such substrata. As noted in FIG. 3 and associated text of Yamanouch (supra), losses due to scattering into bulk acoustic waves for Y-cut, rotated LiNbO.sub.3 are a strong function of cut angle. Minima in these losses occur at different rotation angles depending on whether the substrate surface is open- or short-circuited. 41.degree. and 64.degree. rotated, y-cut LiNbO.sub.3 substrata have minimum insertion losses for the open- and short-circuited cases, respectively. Because neither condition corresponds to that obtaining in an interdigitated transducer, some scattering of acoustic energy into other, undesired acoustic propagation modes, and hence some additional component or filter insertion loss, is noted in devices employing such transducers.
What are needed are substrata and frequency selection components, as well as methods for providing and using same, having the advantages of broad bandwidth and generally reduced insertion losses associated with surface skimming bulk waves (compared to other technologies) but with reduced insertion losses, especially those losses associated with acoustic propagation loss occurring in partially metallized regions such as acoustic wave transducers.

Method for providing a piezoelectric substrate and surface acoustic wave device with reduced bulk acoustic wave scattering


The invention relates to viral vectors comprising nucleic acid sequences coding for single chain interleukin-12 (single chain IL-12 or scIL12) and a costimulator protein, and to the use of vectors for gene therapy, especially for the treatment of tumors. The invention further relates to adenoviral vectors containing nucleic acid sequences having a sequence homology of at least 90% in relation to the sequence displayed in FIGS. 19 and 20 (IL-12), in FIG. 21 (4-1BB ligand) and in FIG. 22 (IL-2) and optionally also one of the sequences displayed in FIG. 23A (B7-1) or 23B (B7-2).

The present invention relates to viral vectors comprising nucleic acid sequences coding for single chain interleukin-12 (single chain IL-12 or scIL-12) and a costimulator protein, and to the use of said vectors for gene therapy, especially for the treatment of tumors.
Tumors are still one of the most common causes of death of human beings living in industrialized countries. For example, the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a tumor with an average survival rate of 6 months after diagnosis of one or several larger tumors (Llovet J. M. et al., Hepatology, 1999, 29: 62-67). The currently used therapies, comprising radio frequency ablation, chemotherapy and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) result in some success, when treating smaller tumors, but they are insufficient to fight large tumors.
In the prior art, therefore it was suggested to treat HCC by means of gene therapy. Gene therapeutic treatments are based on the administration of a nucleic acid that is usually incorporated into the tumor cell, and has a sequence that destroys the tumor cell. To this end, a multitude of different strategies has been developed that will effect a destruction of tumor cells caused by the transferred nucleic acid sequences. An overview of such strategies for the treatment of HCC can be found in Ruiz et al., (Dig. Dis. 2001, 19:324-332). In this publication, the nucleic acids currently used in clinical trials for the treatment of HCC in humans, are categorized into one of the four following groups, according to the treatment strategy:
(1) Transfer of Tumor Suppressor Genes:
                This strategy is based on the fact that the nucleic acid used for gene therapy contains a gene, which encodes a gene product that inhibits growth of the tumor or that induces apoptosis in the tumor cells. Most clinical trials are based on the transfer of the p53 gene.(2) Therapy Using Immune Genes        This strategy is based on the fact that the nucleic acids used for gene therapy comprises sequences encoding gene products that stimulate the patient's immune system and induce an immune response directed against the tumor cells. The immune response itself finally results in the destruction of the tumor. Numerous cytokines, costimulator molecules and tumor-specific molecules have been suggested for the use in a therapy using immune genes.(3) Therapy Using Suicide Genes        In this procedure, the nucleic acid used for gene therapy encodes a gene product, for example an enzyme, which transforms a non-toxic compound into an agent that is cytotoxic for the tumor cell.(4) Transfer of Oncolytic Viruses        In this variation of gene therapy, nucleic acid vectors are used that are based on viral sequences. Vectors with oncolytic viral sequences have a tumor-specific promoter that regulates the replication of the virus, thus enabling selective viral growth in the tumor cells.
During the therapy using immune genes (also called immunotherapy) that is relevant for the current application, nucleic acids are administered that comprise sequences, which activate the immune system and are directed against the tumor. As a general property, the immune system does not only recognize antigens but also tumor-specific structures on tumor cells. Therefore, the activation of the immune system can result in the destruction of the tumor caused by components of the immune system.
According to prior art, numerous molecules are known that stimulate the immune system or modulate an immune reaction, in particular the cytokines. It was recognized very early that cytokines also have anti-tumor activities. For example, it was reported that IL-12 is a stimulator of the cellular immunity and that it exhibits strong anti-tumor activity (Brunda et al., J. Exp. Med. 1993, 178: 1223-1230). However, the administration of the recombinant IL-12 protein itself as an anti-tumor-agent failed due to the toxic side-effects of the cytokine when used in therapeutically relevant doses (Lotze et al., Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 1997, 795: 440-454; and Cohen J., Science, 1995, 270: 908).
Therefore, it was suggested to introduce a nucleic acid encoding a cytokine into the tumor, thus enabling a local activation of the immune system. Hock et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1993, 90: 2774-2778) for example, describe the transfer of the interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-7 (IL-7), TNF or IFN-γ gene into tumor cell lines and the use of these tumor cell lines for the induction of tumors in animals. All transgenic tumor cell lines generated a rejection reaction against the tumor cells. Dependent on the cytokine used, different cell types of the immune system of the laboratory animals were involved in this rejection reaction (CD4+, CD8+, CD3+).
Vectors coding for IL-12 were also tested for their suitability in immunotherapy. IL-12, also known as CMLF (cytotoxic lymphocyte maturation factor) or NKSF (natural killer cell stimulatory factor), is a heterodimeric cytokine, which is naturally produced by activated peripheral B-lymphocytes. The protein consists of two subunits with relative molecular weights of 40 and 35 kDa, respectively, that are covalently linked by disulfide bridges. The disulfide bridges are essential for the biological activity. As already indicated by the different names, the protein stimulates the proliferation of activated human lyphoblasts and activates natural killer cells.
Vectors coding for the different subunits of this protein were used for the treatment of tumors (Barajas et al., Hepatology, 2001, 33: 52-61; Mazzolini et al., Cancer Gene Therapy, 1999, 6: 514-522). Furthermore, these vectors were used in combination with other sequences for immunotherapy. In particular, they were used in combination with sequences coding for a costimulator protein, contained within the same or in a different vector, for the treatment of tumors (Gyorffy et al., J. Immunology, 2001, 166: 6212-6217; Martinet et al., Gene Therapy, 2002, 9: 786-792; Martinet et al., Journal of National Cancer Institute, 2000, 92: 931-936; Guinn et al., J. Immunology, 1999, 162: 5003-5010; and Emtage et al., J. Immunology, 1998, 160: 2531-2538).
Further, IL-12 has already been expressed as single chain IL-12, yielding good activity, such as a protein comprising the different subunits linked together in one fusion protein (Lieschke et al., Nature Biotechnology, 1997, 15: 35-40). In a different therapeutic procedure it was suggested to remove tumor cells from the patient and treat these cells in vitro with a plasmid coding for single chain IL-12 or IL-12 and a costimulator (US 2002/0018767). Following this in vitro treatment the tumor cells shall be re-implanted into the patient. This procedure, therefore, comprises several operations on the patient and a re-implantation of tumor cells into the patient, which is likely to prevent many patients from undergoing such a treatment.
None of the previously used nucleic acids could prevail in the treatment of mammals, preferably in the treatment of humans. Although, for example, the publication by Ruiz et al (loc. cit.) described treatment procedures involving a very high dosage of the vector used for therapy (3×109−2.5×1013 plaque forming units, PFU, per dose), it was observed that none or only negative results were obtained in the corresponding clinical trials. However, especially the dose of the nucleic acids is a critical factor in gene therapy, because negative side effects or the release of the vector from the tumor are expected when doses are used that are too high.

Viral vectors and the use of the same for gene therapy


The present invention provides an acoustic processing device capable of providing a high-quality sound even in a standby through mode. A controller is characterized by supplying power from an auxiliary power supply to a sound signal processing unit in the standby through mode. In the standby through mode, the controller extracts a sound signal included in an input HDMI signal, outputs a high-frequency sound component from an input/output unit to, for example, a television, and outputs a low-frequency sound component from a sound output terminal to a speaker (for example, a subwoofer) with an amplification function. As a result, the user can listen to content with powerful bass on the television, without operating an amplifying circuit, which consumes most of the power consumed by the acoustic processing device, using a main power supply, that is, while suppressing the power consumption of the acoustic processing device.

An amplifier device has been known which receives a content signal from a content reproduction apparatus (for example, a Blu-ray disc (registered trademark) player) and amplifies a sound signal included in the content signal such that a sound is output from a speaker set.
The amplifier device outputs a video signal included in the input content signal to an external equipment (for example, a television) such that the television reproduces the video signal.
The amplifier device requires a large amount of power consumption (for example, tens to hundreds of watts) in order to amplify the sound signal. The amplifier device has a standby through mode in order to enable only the television to reproduce the video and sound signals, without amplifying the sound signal (see Patent Literature 1).


A method for reproducing an image from a photoprint is disclosed. This aspect of the present invention comprises: providing a photoprint comprising an imaging media and a data storage medium; imaging the imaging media to produce an image on an image side of the media; encoding the data storage medium with data corresponding to the image; reading the data from the data storage medium corresponding to the image; and reproducing the image based on the data read from the data storage medium.

The present invention relates to a method for reproducing images and, in particular, to a method for reproducing images from a photographic print wherein the photographic print includes digital information useful in producing a reproduction of the image on the photographic print.
Methods typically utilized for generating reproductions of consumer-generated still photographic prints, such as images captured on a roll of 35 mm color film, involve identification of the appropriate negative, submission of the negative to a photographic finisher where the image on the negative is projected onto light-sensitive print paper and chemically developed into hard copy print. Reproductions can also be generated from digital images captured either with a high resolution color digital camera or during the photographic processing of a color photographic film. Generating a photographic print reproduction of a digitally stored image involves locating the stored image from a compact disc or other storage media, retrieving the image and reproducing the image on a high quality color printer or other output device.
Color photographic print reproductions can also be generated by scanning the photographic print itself to generate a digitized image of the photographic print which can then be stored to the hard drive, written to a CD or floppy or rewritable disk, or sent directly to a high quality color printer or other output device. Generating a digital image of the photographic print by scanning the photographic print itself results in a loss of resolution and consequently generates a photographic print reproduction of inferior image quality.
Accordingly, prior art methods for generating reproductions of photographic prints suffer from a number of disadvantages. Generating a reproduction of a photographic print from a negative or a digital image stored on a CD requires one to have access to the negative, CD or other storage media and, furthermore, one must be able to locate the desired image which corresponds to the photographic print being reproduced. Negatives, and even in some cases CDs, may become lost or misplaced. Likewise, there are disadvantages associated with generating a reproduction of a photographic print by scanning the photographic print itself. In addition to the loss in resolution inherent in the scanning process, the photographic print itself may have degraded with time or have been damaged, thereby resulting in unacceptable reproduction.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of generating a reproduction of a photographic print which overcomes the problems associated with the present methods for producing reproductions of photographic prints.
The present invention provides a method for reproducing images from a photographic material wherein the photographic material includes a data storage medium which can be used to store information relating to the print. Preferably, an electronically readable form, typically a bitmap or digital array, of the image is stored on the data storage medium. Although the electronic image preferably is stored in a digital format to minimize errors or loss of content involved in transforming the image, the electronic image may also be stored in a form suitable for integration into a program or as part of a file storage protocol. The photographic image file may be stored in any of the conventionally used formats such as xe2x80x9c.GIF,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.JPG,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.PCX,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.BMP,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.TIF,xe2x80x9d and the like.
The data storage medium may be a magnetic layer on the photographic print. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic layer may be a transparent magnetic layer as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,743, incorporated herein by reference, which can be applied over the image side of the photographic print without interfering with the appearance of the print. Alternatively, the data storage medium may be a conventional opaque magnetic layer located in an area where it would not interfere with the image, such as on the back of the photographic print or along a border on the front side of the print.
In one embodiment, a film is processed and the images developed on the film are converted to an electronically readable form and uploaded to a particular electronic Internet address. The Internet address, and perhaps a file location, an access code or other pertinent information, is digitally encoded on the data storage medium on the photographic print. The data storage medium on the photographic print can subsequently be read electronically and automatically direct the user to the corresponding Internet address which contains an electronic image of the photographic print. The electronic version can be transmitted, stored or retrieved. The electronic image may be directly output to a printer for generating additional hard copies of the photographic print. Alternatively, other forms of image presentation are possible, such as displaying the image on a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a light-emitting diode (LED) display or projecting a visible image onto a tangible surface using one of these display devices.
In another embodiment, a film is developed and the images developed on the film are converted to an electronically readable form and stored on the data storage medium on the photographic print. The electronic image can be retrieved from the data storage medium by any conventional means used for reading magnetic media, such as stripes, films or other forms of magnetic encoding. The retrieved image can be transmitted or stored as described above. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the image is output to a high resolution color printer. The digital image can be uploaded into a computer where, with the appropriate software, the digitized image can be manipulated by adding text to the image or modifying the appearance of the image. The computer enhanced image can then be transmitted, stored or output to a high resolution color printer for generating additional hard copies of the photographic print with the computer added enhancements.
The method of the present invention allows one to produce a full color reproduction of a photographic print or other image by accessing data stored directly on the print without the need for identifying and locating a corresponding negative, CD ROM, floppy disc, etc. The information necessary to produce a full color reproduction of the photographic print is provided on the data storage medium of the photographic print. The digital information stored on the photographic print is less likely to degrade or deteriorate with time. Reproductions generated by the digital information contained in the data storage medium may be of the same high image quality as the original photographic prints.
Magnetic readers useful in the present invention include manual feed devices wherein the photographic print to be read is manually passed by a magnetic read head or automatic feed devices which move either the read head or the photographic print. In either case movement of the magnetic layer in relation to the read head generates an electronic signal that corresponds to the information contained in the magnetic layer.


A wireless pointing device with forced power-off function includes a body and a power supply switch. The body includes a pointing module, a battery, and a wireless transmission module. The wireless transmission module transmits an indication signal providing from the pointing module. The power supply switch is located on an outer surface of the body to control ON and OFF of the power supply circuit of the battery. The power supply switch may be cut off manually, or through charging operation to completely cut off the power of the wireless pointing device to avoid electric power consumption and increase the service life of the battery.

To meet customer requirements, in addition to being slim and light, "wireless" has become a trend for the development of information appliances. "Wireless" means that information transmission and power supply have to adopt a new approach. As a result, wireless communication technology and electric charging technique have rapid innovation.
Take electric charging technique for instance. To increase charge capacity at a smaller size is a natural focus. However, to maintain long use time also is important. To meet this end, power saving technique has to be developed to increase power supply time of the charging elements. The design concept of power saving technique mainly aims to stop some power-hungry elements such as CPU and MCU (Microprocessor Control Unit) from operation when not in use, and start operation when in use so that electric power during standby mood may be saved. Meanwhile, the information appliances powered by charged battery can be used for a longer duration with the same amount of electricity.
Take the wireless mouse for example. In the present design, electric output continues even in the sleeping mode. This is because the wake-up device has to be maintained in an operation mode so that environmental changes resulting from user's operation action in the next cycle may be detected to activate the wireless mouse. Such a design is the main stream in the present market. Different techniques have been developed for switching the sleeping mode. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,621 adopts a timer to wake up detection automatically. A wake up signal is output according to a selected time interval, and checks whether users are proceeding operations. Japan patent Nos. 11-224158 and 11-242560 employ a vibration detection mechanism to enable a wireless mouse to generate vibration and wake up signals. Japan patent, No. 10-124250, employs static charge to perform detection. All these designs have a common problem, i.e. the wake up device continuously consumes electric power in the sleeping mode. Once the standby mood time is extended for a prolonged duration, the batteries are empty and have to be recharged. Moreover, these designs, because of focusing on convenience, often overlook many environmental parameters. Switching of the sleeping mode usually is accomplished through a sensor approach. Mistaken wake up actions often occurs. Moreover, electric power is consumed excessively during the standby mood period.
A wireless mouse with a built-in charge battery, though it can compensate a lack of electricity, charges in the sleeping mode while the wake-up device consumes electric power. As a result, the battery cannot be fully charged. In addition, the battery is under a charging condition for a long period. It has a negative effect to battery service life. Even for machine models that do not have a sleeping mode, charging for a long period in the power-on mood also damages the service life of the battery.

Wireless pointing device with forced power-off function