A semiconductor laser according to the present invention includes: a semiconductor substrate; a multilayer structure provided on the semiconductor substrate, the multilayer structure including an active layer, a pair of cladding layers interposing the active layer, and current confining portion for injecting a current into a stripe-shaped predetermined region of the active layer, wherein the current confining portion includes a first current confining layer formed in regions excluding a region corresponding to the predetermined region of the active layer, the first current confining layer having an energy band gap larger than an energy band gap of the active layer and having a refractive index smaller than a refractive index of the active layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser having excellent noise characteristics and a stable single lateral mode, and a method for producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor lasers which oscillate laser light in visible regions have applications to such devices as laser beam printers and light sources for optical information processing devices such as optical disk apparatuses, and therefore tend to have increased importance these days. Materials of an (Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P type, in particular, are attracting much attention because they can easily be lattice-matched to GaAs, which is an excellent material for substrates, and can oscillate laser light having a wavelength in the range of 0.56 .mu.m to 0.69 .mu.m by varying the Al mole fraction x.
Hereinafter, a conventional semiconductor laser having a doublehetero structure, which oscillates laser light of wavelengths pertaining to red regions, will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, this semiconductor laser includes an n-GaAs substrate 1, an n-GaAs buffer layer 2, an n-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 3, a Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P active layer 4, a p-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 5, p-Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P layer 6, an n-GaAs current confining layer 8, and a p-GaAs contact layer 9 formed in this order. A p-side electrode 10 and an n-side electrode 11 are formed, respectively, upon the p-GaAs contact layer 9 and upon the bottom face of the substrate 1.
The above-mentioned semiconductor laser can be fabricated by a crystal growing method such as a metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) method. By the use of such a crystal growing method, the n-GaAs buffer layer 2, the n-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 3, the Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P active layer 4, the p-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 5, and the p-Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P layer 6 are grown upon the n-GaAs substrate 1 in this order. Next, by photolithography and etching, the p-Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P layer 6 and a portion of the p-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 5 are etched so as to form a stripe-shaped ridge having a trapezoidal cross-section in the p-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 5. Then, by an MOVPE method or the like, the n-GaAs current confining layer 8 is selectively grown on the outside of the stripe, and the p-GaAs contact layer 9 is further grown.
In accordance with a semiconductor laser of the above-mentioned configuration, a current can be confined into a relatively narrow stripe-shaped region of the Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P active layer 4 by the n-GaAs current confining layer 8. Moreover, during the etching of a portion of the p-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 5 into the stripe-shaped ridge having a trapezoidal cross section, the effective refraction indices inside and outside the stripe-shaped ridge can be ensured to have a difference which satisfies requirements of a single lateral mode by optimizing the height and width of the trapezoid. As a result, light can be effectively contained in a predetermined region of the Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P active layer 4, the predetermined region being under the stripe-shaped ridge of the p-(Al.sub.0.6 Ga.sub.0.4).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer 5. A typical width of the stripe-shaped ridge is about 5 .mu.m.
However, according to -the above-mentioned configuration, the longitudinal mode tends to be stabilized as a single mode. As a result, noise is likely to occur when the semiconductor laser is applied to an optical disk or the like. The noise is categorized into a returned light-induced noise, a mode-hopping noise, and the like, as described below:
The returned light-induced noise is defined to be noise that occurs when laser light emitted from a semiconductor laser is reflected by a lens, an optical disk, or the like so as to be fed back into a cavity of the semiconductor laser. Laser Light emitted from a semiconductor laser oscillating in a single longitudinal mode has a high degree of coherency. Therefore, depending on the positions of reflecting surfaces such as a lens and an optical disk and/or intensity of the reflected laser light, the optical output power of the semiconductor laser may fluctuate, and the spectrum of the optical output of the semiconductor laser may fluctuate (i.e. mode hopping), whereby noise is generated.
The mode-hopping noise is most likely to occur when the thermal circumstances of the semiconductor laser change. Specifically, the mode-hopping noise may occur when a given order of longitudinal mode shifts to a next order (i.e. when a mode hopping occurs) due to change in the thermal circumstances, resulting in repetition of randomly alternating oscillations of different orders of longitudinal modes and/or fluctuation of optical output power due to different optical output powers of the longitudinal modes.
The returned light-induced noise and the mode-hopping noise equally constitute a problem in practice, e.g. when applied to an optical disk, because it may degrade the quality of the reproduced sound and image information carried on the optical disk.
In view of the above problems, a configuration for improving the noise characteristics is proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-39084. This semiconductor laser includes, as is shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, an n-GaAs substrate 201, an internal current confining layer 203, a buffer layer 204, an n-cladding layer 205, an active layer 206, a p-cladding layer 207, a p-GaAs layer 208, a p-side electrode 209, and an n-side electrode 210. This semiconductor laser is composed essentially of AlGaAs.
As shown in FIG. 2C, in region B (including line B-B' in FIG. 2A) in the vicinity of an end face of a cavity, the semiconductor laser has a bent waveguide configuration. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, the stripe width is made large in region A (including line A-A' in FIG. 2B) in a central portion of the cavity. The internal current confining layer 203 ensures that an injected current is led to a predetermined region of the active layer 206. The dimensions of the semiconductor laser are as follows: the cavity length is about 300 .mu.m; the length of region B is about 30 .mu.m; the width of region B is about 2.5 .mu.m; the length of region A is about 240 .mu.m; and the width of region A is about 8 .mu.m.
In the above-described semiconductor laser, a multitude of longitudinal modes are realized in region A, so that the noise characteristics of the semiconductor laser are improved.
However, in cases where an internal current confining layer is provided on the n-GaAs substrate side of the active layer, as in the configuration shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the electron mobility is so large that an injected current may spread in an excessively large area along a direction parallel to a direction in which each layer of the semiconductor laser extends (hereinafter, this direction will be referred to as the "horizontal direction"). This makes it difficult to inject the current into the predetermined region of the active layer 206. As a result, the lateral mode may become unstable, and the driving current for the semiconductor laser may increase.
On the contrary, if the current confining layer 203 is provided on the p-cladding layer 207 side of the active layer 206, the heterojunction for holes between the p-cladding layer 207 and the p-GaAs layer 208 (which is provided so that the p-electrode 209 can be provided thereon) is so large that holes injected from the p-side electrode 209 may spread in an excessively large area in region A. As a result, the driving current for the semiconductor laser may increase, and the distribution of the injected holes may fluctuate as with the changes in the thermal circumstances. These problems are particularly eminent in cases where an AlGaInP type material is used for the configuration shown in FIG. 17, since the heterojunction in the valence band thereof is larger than that of an AlGaAs type material. For example, in the case of a red-light semiconductor laser capable of oscillating in the 670 nm band, the injected holes spread about 50 .mu.m along the horizontal direction, so that the driving current increases, indicative of poor practicality. Moreover, because of the presence of region A, where the stripe width is made large so as to have little control over the lateral mode, stable lateral-mode optical output power cannot be realized at a high level.

Semiconductor laser and a method for producing the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system is provided for shifting, according to an amount of stacked sheets that has been stacked in a sheet stacking device, a state of a power to be supplied to the sheet stacking device from a first power state to a second power state where power consumption is less than that in the second power state.

1. Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relates to a printing system, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reducing power consumption of printing devices such as digital multi-function processing machines which perform image forming processing has been strongly demanded. To satisfy the demand, the digital multi-function processing machines in recent years have been mounted with various types of low power consumption functions. As one of the low power consumption functions, an automatic sleep function is adopted. After the digital multi-function processing machine has finished a job such as printing, when the job is not performed for a predetermined time, the digital multi-function processing machine automatically shifts to a sleep mode to reduce the power consumption. In the sleep mode, in addition to stopping a toner fixing heater and energization of an engine motor, the digital multi-function processing machine stops a central processing unit (CPU) for controlling the machine to reduce the power consumption. Another power saving function is an automatic shut-down function. Similarly to the automatic sleep function, the automatic shut-down function automatically turns off the power source when a predetermined time elapses after the job has been finished. With this function, the power consumption can become almost zero.
As a conventional technique, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-157530 discusses a control method for stopping sheet discharging action when it is detected that a sheet discharge port is fully loaded with discharged print sheets. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-157530 discusses that, in a device for reading a paper document as electronic information by a scanner, when it is detected that the discharged sheets that have been scanned are fully loaded, and when a finishing process is selected, the sheet discharging action is finished. Further, when waiting is selected as the processing method, the device is controlled to be set to a waiting state and wait for release of a fully loaded state of the sheet discharge port. In the waiting state, when an image reading device is in an energy saving mode, a driving unit of the image reading device can be stopped.
However, according to the conventional technique, the power saving function such as the automatic sleep function and the automatic shut-down function shifts to a power saving mode after a previously set time elapses. Thus, even when the print sheets being fully mounted is detected and the print action cannot be performed, until the set time elapses, the device cannot shift to a low power consumption state. Therefore, even when the printing device cannot be used, an unnecessary power is consumed. Further, according to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-157530, even though fully loaded discharged sheets are detected and thus the driving unit is stopped, since the energization is continued through units other than the driving unit, the unnecessary power is consumed more than in the low power consumption state.

Printing system, control method thereof, and storage medium


The invention relates to a method for arranging local operations in a management system, the method comprising: defining a management command addressed to a first node in a management structure of the managed device such that it comprises a command for performing a local operation for a second node of the management structure in the managed device, transmitting the management command to the managed device, defining at least one required local operation on the basis of the received management command, and initiating the defined local operation.

As different data processing devices, such as mobile stations, become more complex, the significance of device management becomes more pronounced. Devices require several different settings, such as settings related to Internet access points, and setting them manually by the user is arduous and difficult. To solve this problem, for instance, device management solutions have been developed so that the administrator of a company's information system or a teleoperator can set an appropriate configuration for a device Device management generally refers to actions by which a person typically not using a device can change the configuration of the device; for instance change the settings or even a protocol used by the device. In addition to device-specific settings, it is also possible to transmit user-specific data, such as user profiles, logos, ringing tones, and menus with which the user can personally modify the settings of the device, or the modification takes place automatically in connection with device management.
One of the device management standards is OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) DM (Device management), which is partly based on the SyncML (Synchronization Markup Language) protocol. For instance, a personal computer (PC) can act as a device management server in a device management protocol and a mobile station as a device management client. In terms of device management, the device management client, possibly on the basis of a triggering message from the device management server, transmits information concerning itself in a session initiation message to the device management server, and the device management server replies by transmitting its own information and server management command. The device management client replies to this command with status information, after which the server can end the session or transmit more server management commands. If the server transmits more server management commands, the client is to reply to them with status information. The server can always, after receiving status information, end the session or continue it by transmitting more server management commands. Device management can also be implemented by first transmitting queries to the user about what (s)he wishes to update, and information on the user's selections is transmitted to the server. Next, the server can in the next packet transmit the updates/commands the user desires.
The items managed in the device management client are arranged as device management objects. The device management objects are entities that can be managed by server management commands in the device management client. The device management object can for instance be a number or a large entity, such as background image or screensaver. At least some of the device management objects can be standardized; the OMA DM device management standards include three standardized management objects at the moment.
In OMA device management, device management objects are arranged in a management tree, which is illustrated in FIG. 1. The management tree is made up of nodes and defines at least one device management object formed of one or more nodes or at least one parameter of a node. The following examines nodes that form the device management objects. The node can be an individual parameter, a sub-tree or a data collection. For instance, a "Vendor" node is an interior node, because it has child objects, "ScreenSaver" and "RingingTones". "ScreenSaver" is a leaf node, because it does not have child objects. "RingingTones" is also an interior node, because it has child objects. A node may comprise at least one parameter that may be a configuration value or a file, such as a background image file in the node "ScreenSaver". The content of the node can also be a link to another node. Each node can be addressed by a uniform resource identifier (URI). URI of a node is formed starting from the root "/", and when proceeding along the tree, each node has a name that is added to the earlier ones using "/" as the separator. For instance, the node "RingingTones" can be addressed by URI "Nendor/RingingTones/". The nodes can be fixed or dynamic. The device management client or server can add dynamic nodes to the management tree by device management command "ADD".
Current device management systems enable manipulation of application and device specific configuration parameters, i.e. configuration management. However, a need exists for more versatile management systems.

Arranging management operations in management system


A communication apparatus is provided which comprises: extraction means for extracting a virtual path identifier and a virtual channel identifier stored in a first header of first cells output from a terminal; preparation means which, based on the extracted virtual path identifier and virtual channel identifier, refers to a conversion table to prepare a second header containing a corresponding identifier; cell generation means for generating second cells containing the prepared second header and the user information of the first cells; multiplexing/generation means for multiplexing the generated second cells so as to have a fixed length, thereby generating third cells; and send means for sending the generated third cells to other communication apparatus through a virtual channel. By virtue of this construction, the usage charge of communication lines, such as ATM lines, can be reduced.

Regarding data transmission, there is a conventional ATM method wherein all data to be sent are divided into 53-byte ATM cell units which are then sent/received at high speed. Specifically, data to be sent (user information) is stored in the payload of the exchange unit in the ATM cell, and destination information and the like on the send destination of data are stored in the header of the ATM cells, followed by transmission using preset ATM connection to perform data communication.
In this case, for example, a virtual path identifier/virtual channel identifier (VPI/VCI) is used as the destination information, and, according to these identifiers, the ATM cells are transmitted through a predetermined ATM line within an ATM network.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the construction of a conventional ATM cell communication system. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional ATM cell communication system comprises: a plurality of terminals, such as personal computers; ATM communication apparatuses 1, 3 provided respectively with adaptors 4, 5 for ATM cells (hereinafter referred to as "cells") multiplexing or demultiplexing; ATM exchanges 6, 7 for performing switching between the plurality of terminals and the ATM communication apparatuses 1, 3; and an ATM network 2 composed of a virtual path for connecting the ATM communication apparatuses 1, 3 to each other
For example, as soon as cells are output from any terminal connected to the ATM exchange 6, the cells are input through the ATM exchange 6 into the ATM communication apparatus 1. In the ATM communication apparatus 1, the received cells are multiplexed in the adaptor 4, followed by send to the ATM communication apparatus 3 side through the ATM network 2 composed of a virtual path. In the ATM communication apparatus 3, the received multiplexed cells are separated, and the separated cells are input into the ATM exchange 7. The ATM exchange 7 sends the received cells to the send destination terminal.
Here the virtual path is a path between end points, which enable a large quantity of simultaneous connections, and a plurality of virtual channels are defined in the virtual path. In this connection, it should be noted that, for communication entrepreneurs for providing ATM lines, it is common practice to set an accounting system which depends upon the number of virtual channels. This means that the usage charge for the ATM line increases with increasing the number of contract virtual channels.
Accordingly, in order to reduce the usage charge for the ATM lines, the contract virtual channel has been changed to a virtual channel having a higher data transfer rate, and a plurality of virtual channels are multiplexed in the virtual path to reduce the number of contract virtual channels.
In order to reduce the number of contract virtual channels through multiplexing of a plurality of virtual channels within the virtual path, however, processing for the change is necessary on the ATM cell communication apparatus side, and this process requires the cost of equipment. That is, the conventional method cannot reduce the usage charge for the ATM lines,

Communication apparatus and system comprising the same


Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to receive the execution status of a user application, and to transmit the state of a dynamic user status indication, based on the execution status, to a user status reporting application. The state may be changed according to a system administration policy configuration. In some embodiments, activities include changing the state of a dynamic user status indication (included as part of a user status reporting application) based on the execution status of a user application. Changing the status may be conducted according to a user-specified configuration policy or a system administration policy configuration. Further activity may include transmitting the state to at least one additional application to enable display of the state across a network. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Some application programs, such as instant messenger programs and network telephony programs, can display the status of an individual user that reflects the status as it was last set by that user. This static indicator, subject to manual updates by the user, is unaffected by actions of the system administrator.
For example, an employee that sets their instant messenger status to "at work" is perceived by others to in fact be working in their office. Unfortunately, if the employee forgets to change the status to "at home" at the end of the day, then the status indicator will remain set to the state of "at work" for the rest of the evening, on into the next day. Co-workers and others that conduct their work operations according to the static indication of status posted by others, such as their supervisor, may be disappointed in their work efforts, perhaps sending messages to team members that are in no position to receive them. Errors in determining whether others are indeed available to work may lead to lost efficiency, and decreased work environment satisfaction.


Disclosed is a combination of a bracelet and a device for assisting in attaching a bracelet of the type having a clasp at one end and a receiver at the other end and being flexible between such ends. The device comprises a dangling member attached to the bracelet, which dangling member is of sufficient length so that at least one finger of the wearer's involved hand can engage the dangling member against the involved hand and thereby position said receiver at or near the wrist while the wearer's other hand manipulates the clasp at the other end of the bracelet so as to bring such clasp into proximity with the receiver and then so as to attach the bracelet. In another embodiment of the invention, a detachably attachable dangling member is disclosed that can be retrofitted to a typical bracelet. In another embodiment of the invention, the dangling member is permanently attached near one end of the bracelet and is detachably attachable elsewhere on the bracelet.

It has long been a problem to quickly and easily attach a bracelet or similar device (hereafter collectively, "bracelet") around the wearer's wrist when such bracelet attaches with a clasp or clip or other attaching means (hereafter collectively, "clasp"). Many inventions exist to assist in such effort.
Examples of devices for assisting in the attachment of such bracelets are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,890 (Hlavac); U.S. Pat. No. 3,242,540 (Mitchell); U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,141 (Longo et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,066 (Fakier); U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,035 (Glass); U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,217 (Gorham, Jr.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,526 (Rosenbaum et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,065 (Wofford et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,346 (Idelberger); U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,444 (Miller); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,625 (Tedeschi).
Hlavac '890 assumed and taught that "Since during this operation the hand of the wrist involved is not available for use, the attaching of the bracelet is of necessity a one-handed proposition." However, Mitchell '540, Glass '035, Gorham, Jr. '217, Wofford '065 and Miller '444 all teach of devices in which the hand of the wrist involved with wearing the bracelet holds the device that assists in the effort to attach the bracelet. It is problematic that any of these devices could be misplaced or otherwise not available when the wearer wishes to put on his or her bracelet. Idelberger '346 attempts to solve this problem by combining a display rack for bracelets with a device for assisting in the attachment of a bracelet. However, all of these devices are separate from the bracelet, itself. Even the device on the Idelberger '346 display rack generally would not be available if the wearer of the bracelet were away from home or other customary place where the display rack was kept.
There is a need in this art for a simple device, self-contained within and an integral part of the bracelet, itself, to assist in the effort of attaching the bracelet. If the device is to be an integral part of an ornamental bracelet, the device may be similarly ornamental.

Self-contained bracelet attaching device and bracelet containing same


The present disclosure provides compositions and methods for making and using methanotrophic proline auxotrophs.

Methylotrophic bacteria utilize carbon substrates that contain one or more carbon atoms but no carbon-carbon bonds as their sole sources of carbon and energy. These substrates include methane, methanol, and other methylated compounds. Methanotrophic bacteria are methylotrophs that can utilize methane as a sole source of carbon and energy. Methanotrophs as a group are generally not well characterized, and even with the sequencing of the genomes of some species, their metabolic processes are not well understood. For example, even though the genome of the methanotroph Methylococcus capsulatus has been sequenced, it does not provide a complete picture of the organism's active metabolic pathways. For example, although all the functions that should allow the microorganism to grow on sugars are encoded, it is incapable of growth on multicarbon compounds. Chistoserdova et al., Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 63:477-499 (2009).
Molecular biology tools, such as auxotrophic hosts, that might facilitate the genetic manipulation of such organisms are relatively sparse compared to well characterized bacteria and yeast. Auxotrophs of methylotrophic bacteria have been described in the literature, and in some instances, challenges in making the auxotrophs have been observed. Kim et al. (Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 48:105-108 (1997)) concluded that no mutation technique had been previously described that consistently produced stable auxotrophy of the methylotroph, Methylophilus methylotrophus. Id. Kim et al. reported that the ineffectiveness of UV irradiation in methylotrophs had been hypothesized to involve the lack of an SOS repair system (citing Higgins et al., Nature 286:561-564 (1980)), and that chemical mutagens had not been effective possibly due to their inability to permeate the membrane (citing de Vries et al., FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 39:235-258 (1986) and Holloway et al., Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 53:47-53 (1987)).
Yomantas et al. experienced similar difficulties using standard molecular biology methods for generating auxotrophic mutants of Methylophilus methylotrophus. Appl. and Environmental Microbiology, 76(1):75-83 (January 2010). Despite applying various forms of mutagenesis using N-methyl-N′-nitrosoguanadine (MNNG), Yomantas et al. were unable to find any auxotrophs that were deficient in aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. Id. They postulated the reason for this result was the failure of the corresponding amino acids added to the medium to permeate the microorganism cytoplasmic membrane in quantities sufficient for mutant growth. Id. Yomantas et al. addressed the low membrane permeability issue by introducing an E. coli gene, AroP, into M. methylotrophus that encodes a permease that transports Phe, Tyr, and Trp across the inner membranes of E. coli microorganism. As a consequence, the desired auxotrophs were subsequently isolated. Based on this success, Yomantas et al. recommended the introduction of foreign amino acid transporter genes for the isolation of other desired methylotrophic auxotrophs. Id.
Though progress has been made in the development of molecular biology tools for engineering methylotrophs, more are needed in order to develop engineered methylotrophic strains suitable for commercialization of desired products.


Apparatus for analysing a sample comprises:

The present invention relates to apparatus for analysing a sample and in particular to apparatus for performing energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence.
Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) is a powerful analytical technique that is capable of simultaneous analysis of a wide range of elements in a variety of different sample types.
EDXRF uses an X-ray spectrometer which includes an X-ray tube for generating primary X-rays which are used to expose a sample material. The spectral output from the X-ray tube usually consists of characteristic X-ray lines of the anode material superimposed on a background continuum. The sample emits fluorescence radiation characteristic of the materials within the sample and an X-ray detector is then used to detect this radiation.
However, the detector, with its associated electronics, has to process the entire X-ray spectrum emitted from the sample and the measurement efficiency decreases with increasing count rate. The primary X-rays incident on the sample material can be scattered from the sample so as to also impinge on the detector. These scattered X-rays then contribute to the overall count rate detected by the detector, thereby reducing the measurement efficiency and thus the precision of the measured readings of the sample composition. This is especially true for low atomic number samples such as organic materials or oxides where the matrix will very efficiently scatter radiation. In most cases it is possible to reach the count rate limit of state-of-the-art processing electronics using only modest power levels from conventional X-ray tubes.
When using this direct excitation technique, it is possible to remove much of the background continuum by placing a suitable absorption filter between X-ray tube and sample to improve the quality of the primary excitation. This is usually the most efficient excitation method for the analysis of major and minor concentration levels. However, at trace levels the elements of interest may represent only a small proportion of the total spectrum and other methods are used to increase this proportion to improve the precision for trace element analysis.
A number of techniques are commonly used in EDXRF to improve analysis at trace levels, including primary filtration, secondary targets, polarisation and, crystal diffraction.
In the case of secondary targets, primary radiation from the X-ray tube is used to fluoresce a secondary target formed from a pure material, such as a metal. The secondary radiation emitted by the pure material is then used to excite the sample.
Because the secondary target is formed from a pure material, the emitted secondary radiation has a very specific profile which is characteristic of the target material and which is generally different from the anode material used in the X-ray tube. Furthermore, much of the primary radiation, including the background continuum, is absorbed by the secondary target. Accordingly, when compared with the primary radiation from the tube (which has continuum and characteristic radiation determined by the tube potential and the tube anode material), the secondary radiation is dominated by essentially monochromatic emission characteristic of the secondary target that is much more intense than the scattered continuum and characteristic radiation from the X-ray tube.
However, the secondary radiation usually has a much lower intensity, making secondary target excitation much less efficient than direct excitation. Furthermore, the range of elements efficiently excited by the monochromatic emission from the secondary target is limited. It is therefore usual to have a number of different secondary targets for general multielement analysis.
When the characteristic radiation from the secondary target strikes the sample it can also be scattered into the X-ray detector and this scattered radiation has to be processed by the detection system. This restricts the maximum count rate that can be achieved from the elements of interest. Furthermore, scattered radiation which has lost some energy compared to the incident radiation (xe2x80x9cinelastic scatterxe2x80x9d) contributes to the background on the low energy side of the scattered characteristic peak. These effects degrade the lower limit of detection for certain elements in light matrices.
The use of polarisation in X-ray spectrometry is described in detail by R. W. Ryon, J. D. Zahrt in xe2x80x9cPolarised Beam X-ray Fluorescencexe2x80x9d, Handbook of X-ray Spectrometry Ed1, Chapter 10 and is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,822. In this scenario X-rays become plane polarised after they are scattered through 90xc2x0. The two most common methods used in EDXRF to polarise the beam from the X-ray tube are Barkla scatter from a low atomic number material, and Bragg diffraction from a crystalline substance.
When the three beams from X-ray tube to polariser, polariser to sample and sample to detector are positioned in a Cartesian (xyz) geometry the polarised X-ray photons scattered from the polariser have a low probability of scattering at a right angle from the sample into the detector. However, characteristic fluorescence radiation from elements in the sample is not polarised and therefore will be detected.
In theory, this is a very effective method of eliminating background radiation. However the tight collimation required to constrain the 90xc2x0 beams can result in a very low intensity of radiation reaching the detector making it difficult to obtain precise measurements.
The degree of polarisation and intensity are inversely related. Accordingly, in practice, a compromise is usually necessary and complete polarisation is sacrificed by opening up the collimation to give a reasonable count rate but still a very significant reduction in scattered radiation.
The document entitled xe2x80x9cThe comparison of three excitation modes in EDXRFxe2x80x9d, Adv. X-ray Anal. 35 (1992), 1001-1007 by Kanngiesser et al compares different modes of excitation in EDXRF. One of the conclusions of this document was xe2x80x9cthe lower detection limits [for Barkla polarisation] were achieved in spite of the poorer peak-to-background ratios. The reason for this is the absence of the strong (Rayleigh and Compton) scattering peaks in the case of secondary excitation, which aggravate the electronics without contributing to the analysisxe2x80x9d.
Barkla polarisers must have a low atomic number and high density to give greatest scattering efficiency and materials such as B4C and C (amorphous graphite) are commonly used for low energy X-rays, whilst Al2O3 is used for higher energies. The scattered radiation is polychromatic and therefore suitable for multielement applications.
The choice of Bragg polarisers is more restricted because of the requirement to diffract X-rays at a Bragg angle (2xcex8) of 90xc2x0. One of the most promising materials is highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) which has an exceptionally high integral reflectivity. HOPG is particularly useful in combination with X-ray tube anode materials such at Rhodium (Rh) and Palladium (Pd) which are widely used in EDXRF. The Lxcex1 lines produced from these particular anode materials diffract at Bragg angles very close to 90xc2x0 i.e. Rh Lxcex1 (2.696keV) at 86.5xc2x0 and Pd Lxcex1 (2.838 keV) at 81.20. The polarised radiation diffracted from HOPG is essentially a series of monochromatic lines at multiples of the predominant first order energy. The higher order lines are weaker but extend the energy range for excitation. HOPG also acts as Barkla scatterer which increases its polarising properties. High energy Barkla scatter can be further enhanced by fixing the HOPG onto a pure Al or Al2O3 substrate.
Another very important property of HOPG is that it can be formed into various shapes using special techniques described by I. G. Grigorieva and A. A. Antonov in xe2x80x9cHOPG as a powerful X-ray Opticxe2x80x9d, Proceedings of European Conference on EDXRS-98, 115-119 (1998). Intensities can be increased by up to an order of magnitude by using a Johann semi-focusing geometry with singly bent (cylindrical) or doubly bent (spherical or toroidal) HOPG.
It has also been proposed to provide systems which allow different forms of excitation to be achieved. Thus, for example, the Cartesian geometry needed for polarisation also lends itself to secondary target excitation (but not vice versa). Accordingly, commercial instruments have been provided in which a number of secondary and polarisation targets are available for sequential measurements. In these instruments the different targets can be moved and brought into alignment with the X-ray tube beam.
Other instruments combine direct (and filtered) excitation with secondary targets. In this technique, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,548, the X-ray tube is rotated between two positions with the beam directed either at the sample or onto a secondary target.
A later U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,095 describes an alternative system to allow direct and secondary target excitation. This technique uses the fact that the beam from a conventional X-ray tube is broad enough to be directed at both a sample and a secondary target without having to move the tube. The mode of excitation is selected by a simple two position aperture in front of the tube. However, the configuration proposed in this patent is limited to use for direct and secondary target excitation and would not function for polarisation.
In accordance with the present invention, we provide apparatus for analysing a sample, the apparatus comprising:
a. A radiation source for generating a radiation beam;
b. A sample holder for holding the sample in use;
c. A polariser for polarising the radiation beam;
d. A radiation beam selector for selectively exposing the sample to either the radiation beam or the polarised radiation beam; and,
e. A detector for detecting radiation emitted by the sample.
Accordingly the present invention provides apparatus for analysing a sample in which direct (and filtered) excitation is combined with a polariser in a single analysis head.
This is achieved by using a polariser to generate a polarised radiation beam from the radiation source. A radiation beam selector is then used to selectively expose the sample either to the direct radiation beam or to the polarised radiation beam.
The development of a single analysis head has resulted from a study on the limits of detection in light matrices using various modes of excitation including secondary target excitation. The study concluded that, for the same power level in the X-ray tube, polarisation using doubly bent HOPG is best for multielement analysis in the range from sodium (Na) to sulphur (S), whereas direct excitation is favoured for multielement analysis at higher atomic numbers.
Preferably the radiation beam selector defines first and second beam paths, the first beam path directing the radiation towards the sample holder so as to expose the sample to the radiation beam, the second beam path directing the radiation beam towards the polariser so as to expose the sample to the polarised radiation beam.
The selector will usually comprise of an aperture positioned adjacent the radiation source, the aperture being movable between first and second positions to define the first and second beam paths respectively. As an alternative, the aperture could be positioned adjacent the sample holder to selectively block either the direct radiation beam or the polarised radiation beam.
Typically, the aperture is a simple linear sliding aperture. Alternatively the aperture may be formed from a rotating aperture device, or any suitable method of blocking one beam and allowing another beam to pass, such as a shutter system.
In the case in which an aperture is used, the radiation source is preferably adapted to generate a wide angle radiation beam incident on both the first and second aperture positions. This allows both the first and second aperture positions to be exposed without the radiation source having to be moved.
As an alternative however, the radiation beam selector could comprise the radiation source movable between first and second positions to generate a radiation beam along a respective one of the first or second beam paths.
The radiation source generates the radiation beam along a beam axis. In the case in which a stationary radiation source is used, the sample holder and the polariser are typically positioned within at least 30% of the beam axis. This ensures that the wide angle radiation beam can be incident on both the sample holder and the polariser.
In the case where the apparatus is adapted to perform X-ray analysis, the radiation source is an X-ray tube and in particular, usually an end window X-ray tube with the anode close to the exit window. This ensures that a wide angle radiation beam is produced.
Similarly, the detector is usually a Lithium drifted Silicon Si(Li) detector. Although any suitable detector such as Si, Ge, CdZnTe, HgI2, or a gas filled proportional counter can be used.
The polariser usually comprises an HOPG polariser designed to diffract the radiation beam towards the sample holder, thereby exposing the sample to polarised radiation. In order to achieve this, the direction from radiation source to the polariser, the direction from polariser to the sample, and the direction from sample to detector are typically orthogonal to each other to minimise the amount of scattered radiation reaching the detector relative to the fluoresced radiation from the sample.
Furthermore, the polariser is advantageously arranged in a Johann semi-focusing geometry to enhance the diffracted intensity.
The radiation source usually further comprises one or more filters for selectively filtering the radiation forming the radiation beam although this is not essential to the operation of the invention.


A novel polypeptide which is useful in screening of an agent for improving insulin resistance and an agent for improving glucose metabolism, a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide, an expression vector comprising the polynucleotide, and a cell transformed with the expression vector are disclosed. The polypeptide is a protein expressed in skeletal muscle. When the protein is overexpressed, incorporation of sugar into a cell is inhibited.

Insulin is secreted from β cells of pancreatic Langerhans islet, and lowers the blood sugar level by predominantly acting on muscle, liver and fat to allow sugar in blood to be incorporated into the cell, stored therein, and consumed. Diabetes is caused by insufficient function of the insulin, and there are two types of patients, i.e., type 1 having disorder in production and/or secretion of insulin, and type 2 having difficulty in acceleration of sugar metabolism by insulin. In either patient, blood sugar level is higher than that in healthy people. However, blood insulin is absolutely deficient in the type 1, while insulin resistance is developed in which the incorporation and consumption of blood sugar is not accelerated irrespective of the presence of insulin in the type 2. Type 2 diabetes is the so-called life-style related disease, which results from overfeeding, lack of exercise, stress and the like in addition to hereditary predisposition. In these days, the type 2 diabetic patients have increased rapidly as the caloric intake is elevated in advanced nations, and in Japan, such patients account for 95% of the diabetic patients. Thus, therapeutic drugs for diabetes should not only be simple hypoglycemic agents, but the necessity of studies of therapy targeted to type 2 diabetes has increased in which glucose metabolism is accelerated through the improvement of insulin resistance.
Currently, for the therapy of type 1 diabetic patients, an insulin injection formulation is prescribed. On the other hand, examples of known hypoglycemic agents prescribed for type 2 diabetic patients include: sulfonylurea hypoglycemic agents (SU agents) which act on pancreatic β cells to accelerate secretion of insulin; biguanide hypoglycemic agents having activity to increase utilization of sugar by anaerobic glycolytic activity, to suppress gluconeogenesis, and to suppress intestinal absorption of sugar; as well as α-glucosidase inhibitors which retard digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, in addition to insulin injection formulations. Although these agents indirectly improve insulin resistance, thiazolidine derivatives have been used as agents which directly improve insulin resistance, in recent years. Its activity is to incorporate glucose into the cells, and to accelerate utilization of the glucose within the cells. The thiazolidine derivative has been demonstrated to act as an agonist of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) (nonpatent document 1). However, the thiazolidine derivative has been known to exhibit not only the improving effect on insulin resistance but a side effect to cause edema (nonpatent documents 2–3). Since the induction of edema is a serious side effect which results in cardiac hypertrophy, for the purpose of the improvement of insulin resistance, useful target molecules for development of new drugs which can be an alternative to PPARγ have been desired.
Signal of the insulin function is transduced into a cell via an insulin receptor on the cell membrane. In the action pathway of insulin, there are two pathways, i.e., first and second pathways (nonpatent document 4). In the first pathway, the signal is sequentially transduced from the activated insulin receptor via IRS-1 and IRS-2, PI3 kinase, PDK1 to Akt1 (PKBα) or Akt2 (PKBβ), or PKCλ or PKCζ. As a result, incorporation of sugar from outside of the cell is accelerated by translocating a glucose transporter GLUT4, which is present within a cell, onto the cell membrane (nonpatent document 5). On the other hand, in the second pathway, the signal is sequentially transduced from the insulin receptor via c-Cbl and CAP to CrK II, C3G and TC10, and consequently, the incorporation of sugar by GLUT4 is accelerated (nonpatent document 6). However, details of the insulin signal transduction pathway are still unclear in part, and particularly, it is not clear which mechanism is finally involved in these signals to accelerate the cellular incorporation of sugar via the glucose transporter.
CAP is an adaptor protein which exists in the second pathway of the insulin signaling, and is highly expressed in liver, skeletal muscle, kidney and heart which are insulin sensitive tissues (nonpatent document 7). Furthermore, the expression of CAP has been known to be enhanced by a thiazolidine derivative which is a PPARγ agonist (nonpatent document 8). CAP binds to c-Cbl via an SH3 domain at its C-terminal side. The CAP/c-Cbl complex responds to the insulin signal, thereby activating TC10 via a CrkII-C3G complex to accelerate the translocation of the glucose transporter GLUT4 to the cell membrane. It was reported that although CAP having deficiency of SH3 which is a binding domain to c-Cbl (CAP ΔSH3) does not affect the PI3 kinase activity, it inhibits cellular incorporation of sugar (nonpatent document 9). From these findings, it is believed that CAP is a signal mediating factor which acts in incorporation of sugar into cells depending on the binding to c-Cbl, and that the inhibition of its function may result in insulin resistance through partial blocking of insulin signal transduction, thereby causing type 2 diabetic pathologic conditions.
Patent Document 1
    Pamphlet of International Publication No. 01/75067Patent Document 2    Specification of U.S. patent Publication No. 2002/0119919Patent Document 3    Pamphlet of International Publication No. 00/58473Nonpatent Document 1    The Journal of Biological Chemistry, (USA), 1995, Vol. 270, pp. 12953–12956Nonpatent Document 2    Diabetes Frontier, (USA), 1999, Vol. 10, pp. 811–818Nonpatent Document 3    Diabetes Frontier, (USA), 1999, Vol. 10, pp. 819–824Nonpatent Document 4    The Journal of Clinical Investigation, (USA), 2000, Vol. 106, No. 2, pp. 165–169Nonpatent Document 5    The Journal of Biological Chemistry, (USA), 1999, Vol. 274, No. 4, pp. 1865–1868Nonpatent Document 6    Nature, (United Kingdom), 2001, Vol. 410, No. 6831, pp. 944–948Nonpatent Document 7    Molecular and Cellular Biology, (USA), 1998, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 872–879Nonpatent Document 8    The Journal of Biological Chemistry, (USA), 2000, Vol. 275, No. 13, pp. 9131–9135Nonpatent Document 9    The Journal of Biological Chemistry, (USA), 2001, Vol. 276, No. 9, pp. 6065–6068Nonpatent Document 10    Molecular and Cellular Biology, (USA), 2002, Vol. 22, No. 11, pp. 3599–3609

Abstract: A method for screening of an agent for improving insulin resistance and/or an agent for improving glucose metabolism in which the polypeptide is used, and a method for producing a pharmaceutical composition for insulin resistance and/or glucose metabolism improvement comprising a substance obtained according to the method for screening as an active ingredient are also disclosed.


A self-sharpening pyramidal shaped insert of a refractory hard metal for use as a leading penetrating element of a soil opener member of an agricultural tool. The insert includes a boss member of a generally frustoconical shape including a circular bottom and outwardly curved side surface extending upwardly from the circular bottom and terminating in a flange, and a penetrating tip having four nonparallel triangular sides, each triangular side having a common leg with a bordering triangular side and a third leg contiguous the flange. The triangular sides converge to a common vertex. The insert inhibits wear of the agricultural tool and contributes to proper soil flow as the agricultural tool cuts a slice in the soil.

This invention is concerned with improving the performance of high wear agricultural tools which form furrows or slices in the soil such as agricultural fertilizer knife assemblies and hoe drill shoes.
Agricultural tools such as fertilizer knives and hoe drill shoes, more fully described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,919,951; 4,132,181 and 4,750,440, typically include a soil opener member. Depending upon the particular application, the soil opener member may be in the form of a shoe member or a hoe member capable of passing through the soil. The soil opener member, generally streamlined in configuration and having a pointed leading end, provides a furrow for the passage of substances such as fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, seeds and the like to the subsoil beneath the surface of the ground.
In operation, as the soil opener member advances, the pointed leading end penetrates the subsoil and the slicing edge of the member neatly divides the subsoil providing a furrow or slice of a uniform symmetrical V-shape having firm smooth sidewalls. Because of the penetrating, smoothing and firming action rendered by the soil opener member, a very well defined V-shape furrow is formed in the subsoil so that material discharged through a tube following behind the soil opener member may be uniformly positioned within the furrow.
It will be appreciated that as the soil opener member advances within the subsoil, the soil opener member encounters various high wear objects such as high silica soil, rocks, debris and the like. These high wear objects have a tendency to blunt the point of the soil opener member thereby producing a furrow having uneven and/or rounded sidewalls full of loose clods of soil. Accordingly, any material which is placed in the furrow is necessarily placed in random orientation and/or in an inappropriate position. In addition, it will be appreciated that a soil opener member having a blunt leading end has a tendency to "bull doze" the soil producing random air cavities within the subsoil and compressing and compacting the soil thereby generally destabilizing the agricultural tool. In view of the foregoing, there is a significant need for an improved agricultural soil opener member that resists wear, is durable in construction, and is economical to manufacture.
To alleviate the aforementioned problems I have invented a novel self sharpening pyramidal shaped insert of a refractory hard metal for use as a leading penetrating and slicing element of an agricultural soil opener member for applying material beneath the surface of the ground. The insert of the present invention inhibits wear of the soil opener member thereby contributing to proper soil flow, V-shape furrow formation and improved material placement as the soil opener member slices a furrow in the subsoil.

Pyramidal shaped, hardened insert for an agricultural tool


A quilting template system and a method for selecting a template to facilitate quilting a border-like area of a craft-work with length-sides and width-sides meeting at corners. The template system includes a set of templates each having an edge of repeated patterns of equal pattern-length but differing in pattern-length from template to template, and a correlator indicating which template(s) of the set are usable for the craft-work without fractional-pattern use on either the length-sides or the width-sides thereof. The method includes a sequence of steps for selecting a template by using the correlator to indicate which templates are usable for quilting the entire border-like area without fractional-pattern use. The system preferably includes groups of templates, templates of each group each having patterns of equal pattern-length but differing in pattern-shapes from template to template within the group. Another aspect of the invention involves assemblages of templates on trays in uniplanar organized arrangement with adjacent templates having complementary edges. Yet another aspect involves a template for establishing a continuous stitch-line of repeated portions each with halves of inverted symmetry.

A traditional method of making quilts is to make pieced blocks using a variety of fabrics and patterns. The blocks are then joined into rows by stitching a complementary piece of fabric between two blocks, called sashing. Similarly rows are joined together using more sashing fabric, creating a lattice effect. The intersection of the sashing pieces is called the sashing square or cornerstone. Once the main body of the quilt is completed, one or more borders are frequently added to frame the work.
The size of the borders will vary. If the quilt is square, all four borders will be the same size. If the quilt is rectangular, they will differ. When quilting a border area, it is important that the chosen quilting design symmetrically fill the space and be identical in each corner area. Finding quilting designs that work when the length-side and width-side are different and that flow around the corners consistently is difficult and requires many adjustments.
The size of the sashing strips will also vary depending on the size of the pieced blocks, the desired size of the finished quilt top, or even the amount of the fabric that is available. As with border areas for an entire craft-work (e.g., a bedspread), when quilting a sashing area it is important that the chosen quilting design symmetrically fill the space and be identical in each cornerstone area.
It is highly desirable to have a template system for choosing the right size design that will be repeated along unequal border destances and still go around the corners perfectly.
When the quilting is done by hand or using a regular sewing machine, the quilts are usually marked with lines for the quilting design and then stitched along the marked lines. The design may need to be adjusted to fit the area during the marking process. When using a long-arm quilting machine, following the marking lines is very difficult. Thus, it is desirable to have a template that makes final quilting with the long-arm quilting machine easier, more accurate and faster.
Most long-arm machines include a circular guard called a hopping foot surrounding the stitching needle. On most long-arm machines the hopping foot is dimensioned such that there is either ¼ inch or ⅜ inch from the needle to the outer edge of the hopping foot. When the machine is guided along any template, the hopping foot touches the template and the stitch line is a ¼ inch or ⅜ inch away from the template. This offset needs to be considered when using the templates to mark a quilt. Thus it is desirable to have a template that makes the final quilting with the long-arm quilting machine easier, and which can still be used for marking the quilt in advance.
While a variety of template devices have been developed, it would be highly desirable to have templates that can be stored in an organized fashion and in a minimum amount of space. This would facilitate choosing and using appropriate templates to facilitate accurate quilting operations.


A system and method of distributing a file by email is described: receiving a first email in a server, wherein the first email includes a first attachment; storing the first attachment on the server; converting the first attachment to create a converted attachment; outputting the first email to an addressee, wherein the first email includes the converted attachment and further wherein the first email is received in a client comprising the addressee; receiving a forward email message in the server from the addressee, the forward email message containing the converted attachment and a forward addressee; identifying the first attachment in response to receiving the forward email message, wherein identifying the first attachment comprises using an attachment identifier to identify the first attachment from a plurality of stored attachments, wherein the attachment identifier includes the converted attachment; attaching the first attachment to the forward email message; and forwarding the forward email with the first attachment to the forward addressee.

Electronic mail (email) is used by many people. Often an email includes a file attachment (attachment) so that the attachment can be distributed to the addressees/recipients of the email. Attachments can include any type of file such as data, computer applications, graphics, text documents, and other files. Typically, an attachment is distributed to one or more persons or computers. The attachment can be viewed or otherwise used by the recipients of the email. Email is a preferred method of distributing attachments that more than one person needs access to.
The recipients can also reply to or forward the email and can opt to include the attachment as part of the replying or forwarding function. Forwarding the email includes creating a new email that includes the contents of the original email to additional addressees/recipients. The forwarding party (i.e. the recipient of the original email) can also edit the email. Replying to the email includes forwarding the email to one or more of the other addresses and/or the sender of the email.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical email. The email includes an addressee's email address "firstname.lastname@example.com" in the addressee field 104, a carbon copy (CC) addressee's email address "email@example.com" in the carbon copy (CC) addressee's field 106, the author/sender's email address "firstname.lastname@example.com", in the author/sender's field 102. The addressees and CC addressees are often referred to generally as the addressees. The email can also include other types of addressees. The email also includes a message window 110 that shows a message 111 from the author to the addressees and a signature block 112 from the author. In addition, an attachment is attached to the email. A small icon 115 represents the attachment in the email. Typically the icon 115 also includes a file name 116. The attachment shown is a Microsoft Excel (MSExcel) spread sheet as can be seen from the file extension ".xls" of the file name 116.
One of the deficiencies of using email as a file distribution system is that attached files can be very large. A very large attachment can severely burden many email systems as the email server creates a different email to route to each addressee. For example if the email has ten addressees and an attachment size of that is 325 k, then the email server must manage at least 3250 k (325 k* 10) of data throughput. Then the email server must distribute this 3250 k of data through the various output channels available to the server and thereby consume a large quantity of bandwidth available to the email server.
FIG. 2 shows a process of receiving an email and forwarding the email on to additional addressees. First, the email is received in block 205. The email also includes an attachment. Second, in block 210, the email is forwarded to one or more addressees. The forwarded email can also be considered a "new" email. The forwarded email also includes the attachment.

System and method of distributing a file by email


A method and apparatus for closed loop, automatic processing a loan, including completion of the application, underwriting, and transferring funds, includes use of a programmed computer to interface with an applicant, obtain the information needed to process the loan, determine whether to approve the loan, and effect electronic fund transfers to the applicant's deposit account and arrange for automatic withdrawals to repay the loan. Information is received from the applicant preferably by using voice recognition technology but alternatively by entering the alpha-numeric information using a personal computer keyboard or using the buttons on a telephone. The loan approval determination is made using a neural network with input obtained in part from the applicant and in part from databases accessed by the computer, such as a credit bureau, to obtain a credit report. The loan agreement is transmitted by facsimile to and from the applicant when the applicant has access to a facsimile machine or datafile to be printed or to an agent who delivers the agreement to the applicant when the applicant does not have access. In a preferred embodiment, the applicant accesses the computer from a kiosk where the complete transaction can take place as the applicant waits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to closed loop financial transactions. More specifically, the present invention is a method and apparatus for processing loans automatically, beginning with the loan application and continuing through to transfer of funds to the borrower and to arranging for repayment.
2. Discussion of Background
Borrowed money is essential to facilitate commerce and personal finance. Individuals and businesses borrow money on both a short term and a long term basis for better management of their day-to-day financial transactions and to obtain the goods and services they need when they need them. If the need to borrow money is anticipated, the arrangements for borrowing can be made in advance of the need. But financial needs are sometimes not foreseen, and the extent of a financial need is not always known or knowable in advance. Furthermore, these arrangements are usually somewhat of a necessary inconvenience because they take time and effort to complete.
When an individual needs to borrow money, the lender will not only expect repayment but will also want to have confidence that the amount lent can be repaid on time. The effort by the borrower to provide the lender with this confidence level will depend on the amount lent. For example, a loan of less than one hundred dollars might be made simply on the basis of knowing that the individual to whom the money is lent has a job. For lending millions of dollars, the lender may want to take a security interest in assets that have a value in excess of the amount lent to cover fluctuations in the values of those assets during the time the loan is being repaid.
Not only will the borrower have an obligation to convince the lender that the borrower is creditworthy, the lender also has obligations to the borrower. For example, in consumer loans, laws require the lender to carefully explain certain aspects of the terms of the loan.
When time and foresight permit advance arrangement of loans, the act of borrowing can be made much simpler. When time is short and the need for the loan was not anticipated, the act of going through the process of borrowing may be so time-consuming that obtaining the loan may not be possible at all.
Typically, a business and an individual will either borrow relatively small amounts using credit cards, with pre-approved credit limits, or go to a lending institution for larger sums, where the process of completing documentation for borrowing money takes longer and is subject to conditions that must be fulfilled before the loan can be made. Naturally, for large loans, the safeguards for the lender take time. But for smaller loans, those above credit-card limits but still below a level where there might be a significant concern of the ability of the lender to repay the loan, there exists a need for greater convenience.

System and method for real time loan approval


A suspension system for a tilting vehicular chassis based on more than three wheels separates a tilting component of the chassis from a non-tilting component. The non-tilting component provides a means for powering the vehicle with automotive-type engine and drive train options, while the tilting component provides the turning stability necessary for a narrower wheel base. The narrower wheel base benefits fuel economy. The multiplicity of wheels, and the breadth of platform thus enabled, permits shelter and comfort features for the occupant not otherwise available on a typical two-wheel chassis.

Motorcycles exhibit handling characteristics which are superior in many ways over automobiles, and have less aerodynamic drag and reduced rolling resistance as compared with standard automobiles and automobile tires. Reduced aerodynamic and rolling resistance result in improved fuel economy and vehicle performance. The preferred embodiment of the invention has four tires and is therefore capable of carrying a higher gross weight than a typical motorcycle with two tires. The vehicle can accommodate a larger and heavier engine, heavier fuels and loads such as batteries, more cargo, and the weight of an enclosed aerodynamic body to protect the occupants from the elements and from crashes, while reducing aerodynamic drag.
A vehicle designed around this concept can be constructed as narrow as a motorcycle, which is important because frontal area and shape are significant determinates of aerodynamic drag. The combination of minimal frontal area, an enclosed aerodynamic passenger/cargo compartment, and low rolling friction (drag) motorcycle tires yields improved fuel economy.
Such a vehicle would not require computers, sensors, or mechanical systems to lean the vehicle or to keep it upright at speed. The only lean control mechanism required is a simple combination of bracing which will lock the vehicle in an upright position when parked or at slow speeds, such as when backing or otherwise maneuvering with feet on the ground.
The vehicle's suspension system can be softer and provide a smoother ride than motorcycles and many non-tilting vehicles such as autos, trucks, and ATVs. Typical motorcycle suspension systems are thirty to fifty percent stiffer than those of non-tilting vehicles because motorcycles experience all of the lateral acceleration or "G" force loading occurring during turning maneuvers. The proposed suspension system experiences none of the lateral acceleration of a motorcycle because the suspension system does not lean while turning. It remains in and acts only in the vertical like the suspension system of a typical non-leaning vehicle. Suspension systems of non-tilting vehicles must resist the forces causing the vehicle to lean to the outside of a turn and the resulting outward weight transfer. The proposed suspension system experiences no lateral weight transfer while turning because the vehicle's center of mass is moved to the inside of the turn similar to that of a motorcycle during a balanced turn.
Compared with a typical two-wheeled motorcycle, the preferred embodiment will have twice the traction, thereby promoting shorter braking distances, improved cornering, and the ability to accommodate more powerful engines. Due to the relatively smaller contact patch of motorcycles, the vehicle is less susceptible to hydroplaning than automobiles and trucks. Having the same overall width of a motorcycle makes a vehicle easier to maneuver, requires less parking space, and has access to car pool lanes.
With two front wheels, this design has inherently better front wheel traction, is more stable, and safer than vehicles with one tilting or fixed front wheel. As weight shifts forward as a vehicle slows and stops, front wheel traction is critical for stopping quickly, thus providing a major safety factor.
The prior art is replete with three-wheel tilting chassis. Two exemplary references are U.S. Patent Application 2007/0176384 to Brudeli and U.S. Patent Application 2006/0255550 to Pfeil. In both of these cases, which are typical of the genre, the drive system tilts with the rear, or driven, wheel. Such a tilt of the drive system, however, would not be compatible with an engine and drive train connected to driven wheels through a differential, as might be desirable for the reasons discussed above. If the differential were to be tiltable, the rotation of the drive shaft would bias the tilt attitude while creating complex angles with the driven axles.
Other references, such as U.S. Patent Application 2008/0238005 to James, disclose feedback mechanical systems to control lean. This may be an over-complication, however, considering the case of a motorcycle where no control other than that provided by the rider is needed. A motorcyclist, when provided with handlebar steering, will have a sense of balance while leaning and will know to counter-steer in order to initiate a turn.
U.S. Patent Application 2008/0197597 to Moulene discloses a four-wheel tilting chassis. All components of Moulene's chassis, however, also tilt. Moulene does not disclose sufficient detail of the drive mechanism to understand how it would operate in the context of a tilt.
What is missing in the prior art is a non-tilting component to a tilting chassis structure whereby a power transmission system comparable to an automobile is enabled for the benefits of the same combined with those of a motorcycle.


A cable comprising one or more electrical conductors or communications media, or a core of two or electrical conductors or communications media, each electrical conductor, communications medium, or core being surrounded by a composition comprising:. (A) about 40 to about 93 percent by weight of at least one resin selected from the group consisting of ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene/ethyl acrylate copolymer, and an ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer having a density equal to or less than 0.915 gram per cubic centimeter. PA1 (B) about 5 to about 50 percent by weight of a linear ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer produced by using a single-site metallocene catalyst and having a melt flow rate of about 0.5 to about 50 grams per 10 minutes; a density of 0.86 to 0.91 gram per cubic centimeter; and an Mw/Mn ratio equal to or less than about 3.0; PA1 (C) about 2 to about 40 percent by weight of an ethylenic resin modified PA1 (D) about 50 to about 250 parts by weight of an inorganic flame retardant; and PA1 (E) about 0.05 to about 10 parts by weight of silicone oil.. with a compound or compounds containing a functional group, and PA2 for each 100 parts by weight of components (A), (B), and (C), combined,

Polyolefin resins are commonly used as a material for the insulation and the sheath layers of wires and cables. Recently a higher degree of flame retardance has been demanded in accordance with, for example, a vertical tray test, which can be referred to as the "70,000 Btu per hour" test. Flame retardants such as organic halogen compounds; flame retardant aids such as antimony trioxide; or flame retardant resins such as poly (vinyl chloride) and chlorinated polyethylene can be blended into polyolefins to render them flame retardant; however, these additives cause dripping, smoking, and/or the emission of harmful gases when subjected to burning, and can also cause metals to corrode.
To solve these problems, addition of inorganic flame retardants such as metal hydroxides to the polyolefin resins was proposed and the composition was applied as insulating and sheath layers to various wires and cables. This composition, however, requires a considerable amount of inorganic flame retardant, which unfavorably affects the polyolefin resin insofar as extrudability, mechanical properties, heat resistance, flexibility, and low temperature performance are concerned.


Disclosed are a liquid crystal display device having touch and three-dimensional display functions and a method for manufacturing the same. The liquid crystal display device includes a touch and three-dimensional image display panel adhered to a liquid crystal panel through an adhesive layer, wherein the touch and three-dimensional image display panel includes a lower substrate provided with first and second electrodes for realizing a three-dimensional image, a upper substrate provided with third and fourth electrodes for sensing touch and a common electrode for realizing the three-dimensional image, and a liquid crystal display filled between the upper and lower substrates.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device having touch and three-dimensional image display functions, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In keeping with dramatic advances in information technology, displays to visualize electronic information signals have been rapidly developed. Various slim, lightweight, and low-power flat display devices are commonly used as alternatives to conventional cathode ray tubes (CRTs).
Examples of flat display devices include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), field emission displays (FEDs), electroluminescent displays (ELDs) and the like. These flat display devices necessarily require a flat display panel to realize an image wherein the flat display panel has a structure in which a pair of transparent insulating substrates are joined such that an inherent luminous or polarized material layer is interposed between the substrates. Among flat display devices, liquid crystal display devices control light transmittance of liquid crystals using an electric field to display an image. For this purpose, an image display device includes a display panel including liquid crystal cells, a backlight unit to irradiate light to the display panel and a driving circuit to drive the liquid crystal cells.
The display panel is formed such that a plurality of gate lines cross a plurality of data lines to define a plurality of unit pixel regions. The display panel includes a thin film transistor array substrate and a color filter array substrate that face each other, a spacer interposed between the thin film transistor array substrate and the color filter array substrate to maintain a predetermined cell gap, and a liquid crystal inserted into the cell gap.
The thin film transistor array substrate includes a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines, a thin film transistor formed as a switching device at each intersection between the gate line and the data line, a pixel electrode arranged in each liquid crystal cell and connected to the thin film transistor, and an orientation film coated on the resulting structure. The gate lines and data lines receive signals from driving circuits through respective pad portions.
In response to scan signals supplied to the gate lines, the thin film transistor transfers pixel voltage signals from the data lines to the pixel electrode.
In addition, the color filter array substrate includes color filters arranged in respective liquid crystal cells, a black matrix to partition the color filters and reflect external light, a common electrode to supply a reference voltage to the liquid crystal cells, and an orientation film coated on the resulting structure.
The thin film transistor substrate and the color filter array substrate thus separately formed are arranged and then joined such that the two substrates face each other, liquid crystal is injected into a region provided between the substrates and the region is sealed, thereby completing fabrication of the liquid crystal display device.
There is an increasing need for the liquid crystal display device thus fabricated including a touch panel, wherein a predetermined portion is touched by the hand or a separate input means and separate data can be transferred in response to the touch, and a three-dimensional image display panel to display a three-dimensional image. The touch panel and the three-dimensional image display panel are applied to the liquid crystal display by adhering the same to the outer surface of the liquid crystal display.
A conventional liquid crystal display wherein a touch panel and a three-dimensional image display panel are mounted on a liquid crystal display device will be described with reference to the annexed drawings.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a conventional liquid crystal display device including a touch panel and a three-dimensional image display panel.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional liquid crystal display device including the touch panel and the three-dimensional image display panel broadly includes a liquid crystal panel 50, a three-dimensional image display panel 60 and a touch panel 70 formed in this order from the bottom. The liquid crystal panel 50, the three-dimensional image display panel 60 and the touch panel 70 are adhered to one another through a first adhesive layer 55 and a second adhesive layer 65. Here, the first and second adhesive layers 55 and 65 comprise double-sided adhesives.
The liquid crystal panel 50 includes first and second substrates 10 and 20 that face each other, a liquid crystal layer 25 filled between the first and second substrates 10 and 20, color filter layers 21 (21a, 21b, 21c) formed on the second substrate 20, and a first polarizing plate 31 and a second polarizing plate 32 formed on the outer surfaces of the first and second substrates 10 and 20.
Also, the three-dimensional image display panel 60 includes a third substrate 41 provided with electrodes made of a transparent material, a fourth substrate 42 provided with a black matrix layer (not shown), and a liquid crystal layer 45 filled between the third and fourth substrates.
An inner configuration of the touch panel layer 70 is changed into various forms according to driving mode of the touch panel.
The conventional liquid crystal display device including a touch panel and a three-dimensional image display panel have the following problems.
First, as described above, the three-dimensional image display panel and the touch panel are adhered to the liquid crystal, display device through an adhesive, thus increasing a thickness and a weight of the liquid crystal display.
Second, the respective panels should be adhered through an adhesive, thus making the overall manufacture process complicated.
Third, the respective panels use separate substrates and the overall process is complicated, thus increasing manufacture costs.

Liquid crystal display device having touch and three-dimensional display functions and method for manufacturing the same


In a camera system, a lens CPU controls the operation of an interchangeable lens at a control instruction from a camera body. In the camera body, a subject formed on an imaging element by using the interchangeable lens is photographed at a specified frame rate and image data is generated. A camera body communication circuit transmits a timing signal in accordance with the frame rate to the lens CPU through a main body CPU. The main body CPU acquires lens characteristic data stored in non-volatile memory by a communication with the lens CPU, determines the transmission period of the timing signal according to the acquired lens characteristic data, and controls the camera body communication circuit on the basis of the determined transmission period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a synchronous communication between a lens of a lens interchangeable camera system and a camera body, and more specifically to a synchronous communication performed when a lens operation is controlled.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of the auto-focus control methods in photography, a method using a vertical synchronizing signal of an imaging element is proposed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-258718. In practice, a synchronous communication is performed by transmitting a synchronization signal having the period of or an integer multiple period of a vertical synchronizing signal from a camera body to an interchangeable lens to start and stop driving of a focusing lens in synchronization with the synchronization signal or to change the driving speed and method, thereby controlling the driving of a focusing lens in autofocusing.

Controlling communications in a camera system including a camera body and an interchangeable lens


A apparatus to prevent insect intrusion through window weep holes includes a long filled tube which may be placed in the open track of a window. The apparatus is most effective when the window is open. The apparatus seals the window track to prevent bugs from intruding into the interior of the building. Its size and length may vary depending on the size of the window. Its shape may vary based on the design and the materials it is made of or filled with.

Almost every building has windows and almost every building has windows which may be opened to ventilate the interior. Almost every ventable window also has a screen designed to keep insects and other pests from entering the interior of the building. Basic window design should accommodate an efficient method for directing water out of the window frame during a storm.
When a storm event or heavy rain occurs, water may penetrate the screen and wash down the glass into the window track. A facility should be provided in the track to prevent the water from backing up into the sill and into the interior of the building. While designs vary for meeting such needs, such designs generally end up providing an open hole into the interior of the building. The size of the hole and the design of how water is removed from the window track vary widely. For example, many windows manufactured today have so-called "weep" holes that are approximately ¼ inch high by two inches long.
FIG. 2 illustrates a common household sliding window with weep holes 11 provided at the bottom of the window track 12. The window sash (not shown) has been opened by sliding it out of view of FIG. 2. Note that although discussed here as a sliding window, the apparatus of the present invention may also be used with single and double-hung windows, casement windows, and other window types where weep holes 11 or the like may be present.
Window sill 13 is located at the bottom of the window while the vertical wall 7 surface is also illustrated. Window frames 6 include recesses to allow the window sash (not shown) to slide in a track 12 at the bottom edge of a sliding window. For single or double hung windows this track may also be present. Vertical track 8 securely holds the window when closed. Window screen 9 is illustrated as a tight mesh and may be held in place by the window screen frame 10.
Window weep hole 11 is illustrated and is not obstructed by the screen frame. There may be more than one weep hole per window. Weep hole designs vary and this illustration is intended to be an example of one such window manufacturer design. The present invention may be applied to other window designs having differently shaped weep holes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. While such weep holes may efficiently drain water from the window track, they also provide a path of migration for intrusive insects and other pests.
Preventing insects and other pests from entering the interior of a building is a substantial business. Millions of dollars are spent every year in insect and pest eradication. Insects in particular can carry various diseases, some of which can be life threatening for individuals that have weakened immune systems. Diseases such as West Nile Virus, for example, can be readily spread by the Asian Tiger Mosquito. Termites and other boring insects can cause thousands of dollars of damage to a building in a short period of time.
Insect intrusion can also lead to the unsightly display of dead insect bodies strewn about window sills and in light fixtures. Light fixtures in particular are difficult to clean, especially if they are mounted high above one's head.
In recent years there has also been heightened awareness of toxic mold. Poorly ventilated buildings often nurture such mold conditions. More people are heeding warnings about mold and choosing to ventilate their homes and businesses by opening windows more often.
However, when leaving windows open for long period of time, insects and the like may migrate into a home though the weep holes provided in the window frame for water drainage. Insects may even be able to pass by weep holes provided with hinged covers, flaps, or the like designed to prevent insect intrusion. Covering or plugging the weep holes (e.g. with duct tape, caulk, or the like) is not a viable option, as the window channel will tend to fill with water and possibly leak into the house, causing water damage.
Thus, it remains a requirement in the art to provide a means for preventing insect intrusion though weep holes or the like while still allowing water to drain from the weep holes.

Device to prevent insect intrusion through window weep holes


A data transfer apparatus includes a first memory, a second memory, a search unit, and a data transmitting/receiving unit. The first memory holds information that associates a search key with an address. The second memory holds information that associates the address with verification information which is generated by a predetermined generation method based on at least a portion of the search key. The search unit generates the search key based on the received data, obtains, from the first memory, the address that is associated with the generated search key, obtains, from the second memory, the verification information that is associated with the obtained address, and verifies the verification information that is generated by the predetermined generation method based on at least a portion of the generated search key with the verification information obtained from the second memory. The data transmitting/receiving unit executes processing based on a result of the verification.

This invention relates to a data transfer apparatus.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-117171 is given as background art of a technical field to which this invention belongs. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-117171 describes a packet transfer unit "including a search key storing part for storing a search key for the transfer destination of a packet and verification information generated from the search key in association with the storage location of transfer information stored in a transfer information storing part, and a transfer information obtaining part searches the search key storing part with the use of a search key generated based on the header information and with the use of verification information generated from the search key, obtains storage location information of transfer information from the search key storing part when the search key and the verification information match those stored in the search key storing part, and obtains transfer information stored in the transfer information storing part based on the obtained storage location information, and a transfer part transfers a packet based on the obtained transfer information".

Data transfer apparatus and data transfer method


An absorbent paper product comprising indicia wherein the indicia comprise L*a*b* color wherein the L*a*b* values are outside of the boundary described by the following system of equations:{a*=−29.0 to −5.2; b*=14.0 to 49.5}→b*=1.4916 a*+57.2563{a*=−5.2 to 35.3; b*=49.5 to 38.9}→b*=−0.261728 a*+48.139{a*=35.3 to 38.3; b*=5.3 to 38.9}→b*=−11.2 a*+434.26{a*=38.3 to 36.3; b*=5.3 to −0.70}→b*=3 a*−109.6{a*=36.3 to 11.3; b*=−0.70 to −26.0}→b* =1.012 a*−37.4356{a*=11.3 to −20.0; b*=−26.0 to −29.3}→b*=0.105431 a*−27.1914{a*=−20.0 to −29.0; b*=−29.3 to 14.0}→b*=−4.81111 a*−125.522wherein L* is from 0 to 100.

Absorbent paper products are a staple of everyday life. Absorbent paper products are used as consumer products for paper towels, toilet tissue, facial tissue, napkins, and the like. The large demand for such paper products has created a demand for improved aesthetics, visual effects, and other benefits on the surface of the product, and as a result, improved methods of creating these visual effects.
Many consumers prefer absorbent paper products that have a design, or other artwork, printed thereon. For example, during specific holidays, consumers sometimes choose a paper towel product that compliments that holiday.
In the art of absorbent paper products, printed indicia may be provided onto the substrate surfaces using process printing processes which often offer an overall positive consumer response. However, typical prior art process printing methodology and apparatus for absorbent paper products is often limited to having four colors as the basis for generating the resulting color palette. The prior art process printing allows producers and manufacturers with the benefit of absorbent paper products with the ability to print on absorbent paper product substrates at a speed that is commercially viable. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the substrates used for many absorbent paper products, especially through air dried and other formed substrates, have properties such as a relatively low modulus, a highly textured surface, and other physical properties that make such a substrate difficult to print on using conventional high-speed printing processes/apparatus. While practical, the prior art processes for printing on absorbent paper product substrates are held to a four color base for printing, and, as a result, are unable to capture as wide of a color palette as a process/apparatus that takes advantage of a larger number of base colors. Without wishing to be limited by theory, it is thought that providing an absorbent paper product with a color palette that exceeds the prior art color palette (i.e., a product having more vibrant, intricate, or bright printed pattern thereon) will delight the consumer.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a printing process and apparatus for providing an absorbent paper product that has a relatively wide color palette.

Absorbent paper product having printed indicia with a wide color palette


A digital circuit implementing pulse width modulation controls power delivered in what one can model as a second order or higher order system. An exemplary control plant could embody a step-down switch mode power supply providing a precise sequence of voltages or currents to any of a variety of loads such as the core voltage of a semiconductor unique compared to its input/output ring voltage. One of several algorithms produce a specific predetermined sequence of pulses of varying width such that the voltage maintains maximally flat characteristics while the current delivered to the load from the system plant varies within a range bounded only by inductive element continuous conduction at the low power extreme and non-saturation of the inductor core at the high power extreme. The specific pulse width modulation sequence controls a plant such that the voltage maintains maximally flat characteristics in one embodiment without a feed-forward or feedback loop physically embodied in the control system thereby reducing the parts cost or control semiconductor production yield cost while enhancing noise immunity and long term reliability of the control system. Several specific algorithms maintain maximally flat voltage despite extreme load variations therewith control plant element parameters otherwise exacerbating excessive voltage fluctuation during the given current transients.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally in the field of control systems. More specifically, the present invention is in the field of use of pulse width modulation in a control system. This specification herein exemplifies the present invention in a digitally controlled power supply embodying voltage regulation in the presence of a broad range of current transients.
2. Background Art
Recently, advances in semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication processes have given rise to integrated circuits requiring separate power supplies for various parts including a voltage for the input/output pad ring, and a second, unique power supply voltage for the digital core. While this advancement brings the advantage of reduced core power consumption, there arises the problem of regulation of these additional voltages. With the advent of system-on-chip technologies, designers of these devices have only begun to address this requirement for regulating multiple power supply domains on-chip. U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,189 addresses an implementation of a digital open loop pulse width modulation control system as an optimal means to reduce costs and enhance power efficiency of the total system-on-chip solution. The aforementioned reference patent does not address the problem of overshoot in the step response of the switch mode power supply powering the core voltage domain. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/549,586 introduces a pulse width modulation sequence generating a near critical damped step response that addresses the problem of overshoot during transitions in voltage along with suggesting use for the same algorithm for current transitions. However, limitations in the range of current transients and range of plant component parameters exist beyond which the algorithm within the reference patent application Ser. No. 11/549,586 maintains a less than maximally flat voltage.
Therefore, there exists a need for a novel pulse width modulation algorithm serving a broadened range of plant component values and greater magnitudes of change in output current and thus overcome the problem of voltage instability in response to current transients thereby providing a maximally flat voltage to power loads typically requiring precise regulation such as semiconductor cores.

Pulse width modulation sequence maintaining maximally flat voltage during current transients


Methods for creating, arranging, and leveraging an ad-hoc collection of heterogeneous organization components are provided. In one example, a method includes the steps of displaying a scratchpad affordance associated with a scratchpad, and detecting an update to the scratchpad based on an input associated with a first organization component of the one or more organization components and the scratchpad affordance. The method includes the additional step of updating the scratchpad based at least in part on the input.

Traditional methods for arranging and presenting sets of information to a user in a graphical user interface include lists and tables. These methods may be easy for programmers to implement and for computers to generate, but provide users little to no insight or greater context about the data being presented. Furthermore, such lists or tables typically present a static snapshot of data, oblivious to ongoing changes in the data being presented.
Such traditional lists and tables miss opportunities to present data to users in ways that take advantage of a user's visual processing skills. Thus there is a need for new methods to arrange a collection of organization components.