Methods and systems are provided for reducing late burn induced cylinder pre-ignition events. Forced entry of residuals from a late burning cylinder into a neighboring cylinder may be detected based on engine block vibrations sensed in a window during an open exhaust valve of the late burning cylinder. In response to the entry of residuals, a pre-ignition mitigating action, such as fuel enrichment or deactivation, is performed in the neighboring cylinder.

Under certain operating conditions, engines that have high compression ratios, or are boosted to increase specific output, may be prone to low speed pre-ignition combustion events. The early combustion due to pre-ignition can cause very high in-cylinder pressures, and can result in combustion pressure waves similar to combustion knock, but with larger intensity. Late burn combustion events wherein the combustion is later than intended can also lead to pre-ignition combustion events. Specifically, the late combustion can lead to high exhaust manifold pressures and temperatures, as well as higher than intended exhaust residuals, which raises the probability of pre-ignition events.
The Applicants herein have recognized that in turbocharged engines, late burning cylinder combustion events can raise pressures in the exhaust manifold significantly. During some conditions, the elevated exhaust manifold pressures generated in a late burning cylinder can overcome the exhaust valve spring pressure and potentially open exhaust valves on adjacent cylinders. The resulting filling of a neighboring cylinder with hot exhaust residuals can lead to a pre-ignition event on the adjacent cylinder. The problem can be exacerbated in small volume exhaust manifolds that are specifically designed to reduce turbo lag in turbocharger boosted engines.
Thus in one example, some of the above issues may be at least partly addressed by a method for an engine comprising, in response to a sensed block vibration in a window during an open exhaust valve of a first cylinder undergoing a late combustion event and after exhaust valve closing of a second cylinder, performing a pre-ignition mitigating action in the second cylinder. In this way, late burn induced pre-ignition events can be better detected and appropriately mitigated.
In one example, a first cylinder may be under a late combustion event with spark timing retarded from maximum brake torque (MBT) to provide transient torque control. A controller may then assess the output of one or more knock sensors coupled to an engine block in a (first) window that is adjusted to be during an open exhaust valve event of the first cylinder. The window may be adjusted to be after exhaust valve closing and after intake valve opening of a second cylinder that could receive exhaust residuals from the first cylinder but before intake valve closing and before a spark ignition event in the second cylinder. The sensor output may be filtered in the window. For example, the sensor output may be filtered through a first band-pass filter to filter out a first range of frequencies. In response to the filtered sensor output in the first window being larger than a threshold, it may be determined that an exhaust valve of the second cylinder has been forced open due to elevated exhaust manifold pressures, and that the sensor output was indicative of the cylinder exhaust valve slamming upon return to the exhaust seat. Herein, the high exhaust manifold pressure is due to the late combustion event in the recently firing first cylinder that generates a large amount of hot exhaust residuals and the exhaust valve slamming represents the (unintended) delivery of the hot residuals into the neighboring cylinder via forced opening of the exhaust valve. Based on the identity of the recently firing cylinder, the identity of engine cylinders that have their exhaust valves at a base circle of an exhaust camshaft, and a timing of the knock sensor output, the second cylinder receiving the hot residuals from the late burn event may be identified. An engine controller may then perform a pre-ignition mitigating action in the affected cylinder. For example, the controller may disable fuel injection or enrich fuel injection to the second cylinder receiving the hot residuals so as to reduce a temperature of the hot residuals, in situ, and thereby reduce a likelihood of late-burn induced pre-ignition.
It will be appreciated that the controller may also use the same knock sensors to identify cylinder knock and pre-ignition events in other cylinders. For example, by filtering the sensor output through a second, different band-pass filter to filter out a second, different range of frequencies, and by assessing the filtered sensor output in a second, earlier window, the controller may determine if knock or pre-ignition has occurred in a third cylinder firing immediately after the first cylinder.
In this way, vibrations detected during an open exhaust valve of a late combusting cylinder can be used to detect elevated exhaust manifold pressures and forced entry of residuals into a neighboring cylinder. By performing a pre-ignition mitigating action in the affected cylinder, a temperature of the received charge can be rapidly cooled to reduce abnormal cylinder combustion events. By improving detection of unintended exhaust valve opening and receipt of hot residuals, mitigating actions can be performed in a timely manner and engine degradation due to late burn induced pre-ignition events can be reduced. In addition, the sensed vibrations can be used to detect cylinder knock and pre-ignition events in firing cylinders. By using the same knock sensors to detect and distinguish cylinder knock, pre-ignition, and forced exhaust residual entry, component and cost reduction benefits are achieved.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Method and system for pre-ignition control


A system and method mediate transfer of encrypted data files between local applications and external computer systems. Application containers perform cryptographic operations using stored credentials to decrypt data coming from these external systems and configurably forward them to the local applications, and to encrypt data sent from the local applications to the external systems. Access to this encryption-as-a-service (EaaS) functionality is gated by a fingerprint service that classifies requests by security level, and detects anomalous requests. Security classification is performed by a supervised machine learning algorithm, while anomalous request detection is performed by unsupervised machine learning algorithm. Stored keys are monitored, and when they near expiration or are damaged, embodiments proactively undertake key renewal and key exchange with the external computer systems. Containerization enables key storage in multiple vaults, thereby making such storage vendor-agnostic.

Computer systems often communicate over public data networks, such as the Internet, using cryptographic mechanisms to prevent third parties from accessing sensitive data. As the mathematical operations of encrypting and decrypting may be decoupled from the processes that generate the underlying data, cryptography may be provided in a cloud-based, service-oriented architecture ("SOA") as a service, commonly referred to as Encryption-as-a-Service ("EaaS"). Architectures that provide EaaS enable seamless encrypting of data before sending to an external system.
Despite their advantages, architectures that provide EaaS often suffer from various disadvantages. In the most common situation, each external computer system that communicates encrypted data uses its own cryptographic algorithm and/or cryptographic keys, so the architecture must provide several encryption services, each tightly coupled to a particular algorithm or key system that is itself determined by an external party. The complexity and cost of system maintenance increases as the number of external computer systems. Moreover, a cryptographic service often is presented as a standalone "solution" to the problem of data security, when in fact a consideration of broader architecture design principles such as service availability and restricting service use to only authorized users reveals that merely having EaaS does not provide optimal data security.

Encryption as a service with request pattern anomaly detection


A self propelled personal mobility vehicle lift operable in a stored configuration and a deployed configuration operatively mounted to the rear portion of a vehicle to selectively lift and remove a self propelled personal mobility vehicle into and from the rear portion of the vehicle, the self propelled personal mobility vehicle lift includes a stanchion or tower assembly pivotally mounted to a lift mounting assembly secured to the vehicle, a boom assembly to support a hoist assembly and a lift support assembly to support the self propelled personal mobility vehicle lift when deployed telescopingly coupled to the upper and lower portions of the stanchion or tower assembly respectively, the hoist assembly includes a hoist mechanism having a flexible hoist element to couple the self propelled personal mobility vehicle lift to the self propelled personal mobility vehicle when the self propelled personal mobility vehicle lift is in the deployed configuration to selectively lift or lower the self propelled personal mobility vehicle into or from the rear portion of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
A self propelled personal mobility vehicle lift operatively mounted to the rear portion of a vehicle to selectively store a self propelled personal mobility vehicle in the rear of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous lifts and hoists have been designed to maneuver wheelchairs into and out of the rear of vehicles. Unfortunately, such devices generally require extensive electrical wiring, complex mechanical modification and usually occupy a significant portion of limited available trunk space. Thus there exists a need for an externally mounted wheelchair lift requiring a minimum of electrical and mechanical conversion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,580 teaches a portable crane for hoisting electric scooters, wheel-chairs and the like which includes a column assembly, a boom assembly, a base assembly and a winch assembly. The column assembly is removably and pivotally mounted between an opened vehicle trunk lid and a trunk floor. The column assembly includes top and bottom pivot pins which rotatably engage pivot pin receiving holes and about which the boom assembly rotates. The column assembly and boom assembly are collapsible so as to allow the trunk lid to close.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,200 discloses an apparatus for hoisting a wheelchair into and out of an enclosure including a swivel base having a stationary section that may be secured within the enclosure and a section rotatable on the stationary section about a vertical axis. A motor mount is positioned above and is connected to the rotatable section of the swivel base. An angled arm is pivotally connected to the motor mount and is capable of standing rigidly upright when in use and capable of folding down when not in use. A cable, attached to a reel at one end, has a series of pulleys located on the angled arm to guide the cable over the angled arm. The reel is formed to the motor mount and is connected to a motor on the motor mount through use of gearing. A hook is formed at the other end of the cable for use in hoisting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,263 shows a telescoping hoist assembly normally stored in the rear bumper area of a pickup truck including a boom telescoping into and out of a mast pivotally anchored at one end of the pickup bumper structure. A power winch operated by the pickup electrical system is axially mounted on the outward end of the boom. With the boom extended out of the mast the cable is connected with the anchored area of the mast for a hoist self erecting action interrupted, when the mast is vertical, by stop members at the base end of the mast. A mast stored jack structure supports hoist loads independently of the pickup suspension system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,574 teaches a device for lifting and loading objects into and out of a storage space of an automobile for transportation thereby. The device is fully contained within the storage space and is adapted to be mounted directly to the chassis of the automobile. The device is particularly suited to assist disabled individuals who may be unable to lift, load and transport such objects otherwise.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,120 relates to a system designed to enable equipment mounted on the outside of a motor vehicle to swing away from the mounting point when access to the vehicle is necessary while, at the same time, protecting people in the area from undesired and/or inadvertent operation of the equipment when not properly secured to the mounting point.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,379 discloses a lifting device adapted to be mounted within an automobile trunk having a rigid boom mounted for free pivotal movement about both vertical and horizontal axes. The lifting device includes a motordriven lift mounted at the distal end of the boom. A counterbalance member is employed to counterbalance the gravitational force biasing the boom in downward movement about its horizontal axis so that the boom may be easily pivoted upwardly or downwardly by a handicapped person. A prop assembly may be manually moved into position to positively maintain the boom in an elevated lifting position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,864 shows a swingable boom-type hoist which is characterized by a forwardly-projecting tongue of rectangular cross section that telescopes into the box-beam style drawbar of a conventional trailer hitch carried by the load-carrying vehicle thus cooperating therewith to maintain the stanchion from which the tongue projects in an upright position. The boom on the upper end of the stanchion can swing through a complete circle and is preferably vertically adjustable. An important feature is the retractable foot on the lower end of the stanchion which can be raised off the ground while the load in the load-carrying vehicle is transported from one place to another without having to dismount the hoist. A conventional winch is used to raise and lower the load.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,594 teaches a collapsible hoisting apparatus comprising an upright member having a shoe at one end and a swivel pin mounted in the shoe and adapted to pivotally seat in a socket. A boom head affixes one end of a boom to the other end of the upright member for rotation from a position in which the boom is parallel to the upright member in the plane of the boom and the upright member to a position in which the boom is at right angles to the upright member in the plane. A trolley device is movably mounted on the boom for movement along the length thereof. A cable winding device is rotatably mounted on the trolley device. A cable having a hook at one end thereof and affixed to the cable winding device at the other end thereof is wound on the cable winding device. A turning device coupled to the cable winding device extends beyond the boom head for selective manual winding and unwinding of the cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,038 shows a foldable hoist assembly with an elongated column with a boom pivotally mounted at its outer end to be movable from a stored position alongside the column to its operating position. A spindle with radial and thrust bearings in the support column base provides rotary support so that loads suspended from the boom can be swung over and away from the load bed. The base of the support column is also pivotally mounted on a horizontal support structure affixed to the vehicle chassis, preferably in the position of a bumper below the rear edge of the load bed. With boom stored alongside, the support column is rotated from its upright operating position to be supported horizontally within the support structure leaving the load bed unobstructed.


A system and method for automatically reusing document text (e.g. repeated phrases or lists) in a newly created document having a predetermined document type (e.g. medical record). The present invention determines whether business rules exist for the predetermined document type associated with the newly created document. If business rules for the predetermined document type exist, the present invention determines whether the user has previously requested document text reuse for the newly created document. If the user has not previously requested document text reuse for the newly created document, the present invention selects document text from one or more stored documents in accordance with the business rules for the predetermined document type corresponding to the newly created document. The present invention then automatically inserts the selected document text into the newly created document.

The present invention relates generally to a system and method for the automatic reuse (hereafter referred to simply as "auto-reuse") of data and/or document text (hereafter referred to simply as "document text" or "text"). Although one envisioned application for the present invention is for the reuse of document text in medical reports, it will be appreciated that the application of the present invention is not limited to the field of medicine.
The present invention is intended to solve the problems encountered by document creators in high volume document workflows where the document creators wish to reuse text contained in preexisting documents or other information sources. Document creators often find it expedient to insert information contained in preexisting documents. Information for which reuse typically is desired includes often-repeated phrases, boilerplate text, and lists. For example, in the field of medicine, the desired information may be lists of a patient's current problems, medications, allergies, procedures, and/or a history of a patient's present illness. Medical personnel dictating medical reports may need to repeat such information in several documents, resulting in a high volume of document creation.
Some existing solutions for the reuse of document text allow users to search documents stored in a repository and reuse certain text from the stored documents when creating new documents. Other existing solutions utilize a template document structure wherein stored documents are subdivided into defined sections, which may be reused in new documents having similar sections. Still other existing solutions allow users to create documents based on querying a database containing stored documents and reusing the results of the query in the new documents.
One disadvantage of existing solutions is that they are ill-equipped to simultaneously insert information from a database, such as boilerplate text, and query and insert information from a preexisting document repository. Another disadvantage of existing solutions is that they do not enable users to create business rules to designate which sources of information are suitable for inclusion in creating documents with reused text. Because of this, users must manually pick and choose the appropriate text to be reused for each new document, making text reuse only slightly less work than retyping the text in the first place.
Therefore, a need exists for a flexible document creation system that is capable of responding better to the needs of document creators, particularly in high volume document situations. For example, there exists a need to provide medical personnel with an efficient document creation system that will save valuable time in the dictation of medical reports that often contain information present in preexisting documents residing in several sources.

System and method for auto-reuse of document text


The communication device according to the present invention includes a communication condition detection unit that detects communication conditions with regard to communication with other communication devices, a link adaptation decision-making unit that makes a decision as to whether or not link adaptation needs to be executed in correspondence to the communication conditions, a link adaptation parameter selection unit that selects a link adaptation parameter to be used for the link adaptation when the link adaptation is judged to be necessary, a transfer rate decision-making unit that makes an advance decision as to whether or not the data transfer rate is to become, lower compared to the pre-link adaptation state if the link adaptation is executed based upon the selected link adaptation parameter and a link adaptation unit that executes the link adaptation based upon the selected link adaptation parameter if the data transfer rate is judged not to become lower.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication method and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
The "link adaptation" technologies have come to be recognized in recent years in the area of wireless communication as effective means for improving the communication state by controlling the communication method in correspondence to the communication conditions under which a plurality of communication devices communicate with one another. A given communication device may execute link adaptation by adjusting the transfer rate (PHY rate) for a physical layer, the packet size, the modulation method or the transmission power as the communication environment becomes poor and the error rate increases. By executing such link adaptation, the communication device is able to improve the communication environment, including an improvement in the throughput and a reduction in power consumption.
For instance, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3,774,464 teaches an art related to a wireless communication system that includes a wireless terminal and a base station apparatus able to communicate with each other through a time-division multiple access technology. Moreover, the publication discloses a technology, for improving the communication quality by adjusting the slot length. The base station apparatus in the wireless communication system reduces the PHY rate and increases the time slots allocated to the transfer data as the communication conditions become poor, so as to sustain the communication quality at a desired level.

Communication device, communication method and program


A method of treating a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore, comprising introducing a chemical packer composition into the wellbore, wherein the chemical packer composition comprises water, a suspending agent, a gelling agent, and a sealant composition and wherein the chemical packer composition has a pH greater than 9, and allowing the chemical packer composition to form a plug, wherein a portion of the wellbore below the plug is isolated from fluid communication with a portion of the wellbore above the plug.

It is well known that wellbores pass through a number of zones within a subterranean formation other than the particular hydrocarbon zones of interest. Some of these zones may be water producing, gas producing, or both. Undesired water production, gas production, or both can affect the economic life of hydrocarbon producing wells and can potentially induce other types of problems, such as sand production, scale, and corrosion of tubulars. One of the most common methods of eliminating, or at least slowing, water and/or gas production is to introduce chemical sealants into one or more zones within the wellbore and surrounding formation. After identification of the offending zone(s), chemical sealants can be pumped into place and allowed to gel, thus stopping the in-flow of water and/or gas into the wellbore. Focusing these treatments on the water and/or gas producing zone is important because the chemical sealants are extremely efficient in terms of plugging the permeability/porosity of the formation and can damage hydrocarbon production if placed in a wrong zone (e.g., if inadvertently placed in a hydrocarbon producing zone). Most of the chemical sealants are relatively low in terms of viscosity and tend to slump, or be easily diluted. Thus in order to treat zones producing undesired fluids (water and/or gas) with chemical sealants, the zones may need to be isolated, especially in non-vertical (e.g., deviated or horizontal) portions of the wellbore.
Mechanical isolation is often a reliable method. For example, in vertical wells, sand plugs and mechanical packers can be used to isolate zones below the water and/or gas zone, while cement retainers can be used above the water and/or gas zones. However, mechanical isolation often is not feasible, either due to time, cost or wellbore constraints. For example, many horizontal wells are completed with open holes, slotted liners, or gravel packs; these completions, coupled with the often long horizontal lengths, make mechanical isolation of water and/or gas zones extremely difficult. In such cases, chemical packers may be the best option.
Therefore, a need exists for a chemical packer composition that can be pumped downhole and placed at a desired location, that has delayed viscosity/thixotropy to allow for said pumping and placement, that eliminates slumping in horizontal/deviated wellbores, and that minimizes mixing with wellbore fluids which could dilute the chemical packer system and compromise gel strength thereof.

Chemical packer composition and methods of using same for isolation of water/gas zones


An electronic detonator (10) which includes a housing (12) which contains an explosive charge (18), an initiating element (20), a control circuit (24), at least one coil (32) having a plurality of windings (30) in a tubular configuration, and a magnet (40) wherein passage of the magnet (40) through the coil (32) creates voltage to which the control circuit (24) is responsive, and a connector (46) for connecting a shock tube (48) to the housing (12).

This invention relates to an electronic detonator.
An electronic detonator typically includes a timer which is capable of executing a time delay with a degree of accuracy which is not attainable with a pyrotechnic device. This allows for improved blasting and fragmentation of rock.
Various techniques exist for initiating an electronic detonator. In one approach an end of a shock tube is exposed to one or more sensors which are included in a detonator. These sensors, in response to a genuine shock tube event, commence a process for initiating the detonator. A benefit which is associated with the use of a shock tube to initiate a detonator, is that some of the problems associated with traditional wired electronic blasting systems, such as wire breakage or current leakage in harsh environments, are obviated.
One kind of shock tube-initiated, electronic detonator employs a piezoelectric element which, in response to a pressure wave produced upon ignition of a shock tube, generates electrical energy. In a different approach, used for example in a detonator known as the ISKRA-T, electrical energy is produced by a magnetic pulse generator which is operated in response to a pressure wave from a shock tube event.
Although the aforementioned detonators do away with the need for interconnecting conductive wires, their usage is limited in one respect namely that each detonator is programmed under factory conditions with a predetermined delay time. This means that a blasting practitioner must keep in stock a number of different detonators with different time delays to cater for common blasting requirements.
Another drawback which is linked to a detonator which makes use of a magnetic generator is that the quantity of electrical energy which is produced by the generator may be limited and this would restrict the duration of the time delay interval to about 3 seconds (in the case of the ISKRA-T).
South African patent application No. 2010/04911 proposes a shock tube-initiated, electronic detonator system in which delay times are programmable in the field. South African patent application No. 2011/06918 describes the use of a radio frequency identity tag in which RFID techniques are used for communicating with an electronic detonator. The use of an optical communication path to a detonator is described in South African patent application No. 2011/06962. Another approach, disclosed in the specification of South African patent application No. 2009/06891, is to cause a battery to be moved inside a detonator, in response to a shock tube output, to initiate a timer.
A detonator which has an on-board battery, as a power source, inherently has a limited shelf life. The battery does, however, allow for an accurate determination of a relatively long time delay. By way of contrast magnetically and piezo-powered detonators do not have a battery-imposed shelf life limitation but, as noted, are not normally capable of executing a long time delay.
An article entitled "Modelling, Design and Testing of an Electromagnetic Power Generator Optimized for Integration into Shoes" describes an optimised design for a magnetic generator for harvesting power produced during walking. The document is silent on the use of the techniques disclosed therein in a detonator application.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic detonator which, at least to some extent in a preferred embodiment, addresses the aforementioned factors.


A source generates a medium key (KM) and a media secret table including a plurality of entries, each entry including (KM) encrypted by a public key (PU-PD) of a plurality of devices, obtains the medium ID of a medium therefrom, generates a content key (KD) for a piece of content, encrypts the content with (KD) to result in (KD(content)), encrypts (KD) with (KM) to result in (KM(KD)), generates a package for the content including (KD(content)), (KM(KD)), the medium ID, and a signature based on at least the medium ID and verifiable with (KM), and copies the generated package and the media secret table to the medium. Thus, a device with the medium and a private key (PR-PD) corresponding to an entry of the media secret table can access and render the content.

As is known, and referring now to FIG. 1, a rights management (RM) and enforcement system is highly desirable in connection with digital content 12 such as digital audio, digital video, digital text, digital data, digital multimedia, etc., where such digital content 12 is to be distributed to users. Upon being received by the user, such user renders or 'plays' the digital content with the aid of an appropriate rendering device such as a media player on a personal computer, a portable playback device, or other user computing device 14.
Typically, a content owner distributing such digital content 12 wishes to restrict what the user may do with such distributed digital content 12. For example, the content owner may wish to restrict the user from copying and re-distributing such content 12 to a second user, or may wish to allow distributed digital content 12 to be played only a limited number of times, only for a certain total time, only on a certain type of machine, only on a certain type of media player, only by a certain type of user, etc.
However, after distribution has occurred, such content owner has very little if any control over the digital content 12. An RM system 10 allows the controlled rendering or playing of arbitrary forms of digital content 12, where such control is flexible and definable by the content owner of such digital content. Typically, content 12 is distributed to the user in the form of a package 13 by way of any appropriate distribution channel. The digital content package 13 as distributed may include the digital content 12 encrypted with a symmetric encryption/decryption key (KD), (e.g., (KD(CONTENT))), as well as other information identifying the content, how to acquire a license for such content, etc.
The trust-based RM system 10 allows an owner of digital content 12 to specify rules to be satisfied before such digital content 12 is allowed to be rendered. Such rules may include those aforementioned and/or others, and may be embodied within a digital license 16 that the user/user's computing device 14 (hereinafter, such terms are interchangeable unless circumstances demand otherwise) obtains from the content owner or an agent thereof, or such rules may already be attached to the content 12. Such license 16 may for example include the decryption key (KD) for decrypting the digital content 12, perhaps encrypted according to another key decryptable by the user's computing device or other playback device.
The content owner for a piece of digital content 12 would prefer not to distribute the content 12 to the user unless such owner trusts that the user will abide by the rules specified by such content owner in the license 16 or elsewhere. The user's computing device 14 or other playback device is provided with a trusted component or mechanism 18 that will not render the digital content 12 except according to such rules.
The trusted component 18 typically has an evaluator 20 that reviews the rules, and determines based on the reviewed rules whether the requesting user has the right to render the requested digital content 12 in the manner sought, among other things. As should be understood, the evaluator 20 is trusted in the RM system 10 to carry out the wishes of the owner of the digital content 12 according to the rules, and the user should not be able to easily alter such trusted component 18 and/or the evaluator 20 for any purpose, nefarious or otherwise.
As should be understood, the rules for rendering the content 12 specify whether the user has rights to so render based on any of several factors, including who the user is, where the user is located, what type of computing device 14 or other playback device the user is using, what rendering application is calling the RM system 10, the date, the time, etc. In addition, the rules may limit rendering to a pre-determined number of plays, or pre-determined play time, for example.
The rules may be specified according to any appropriate language and syntax. For example, the language may simply specify attributes and values to be satisfied (e.g., a DATE later than X), or may specify the performance of functions according to a specified script (e.g., IF DATE greater than X, THEN DO Y).
Upon the evaluator 20 determining that the user satisfies the rules, the digital content 12 is rendered. In particular, to render the content 12, the decryption key (KD) is obtained from a pre-defined source and is applied to (KD(CONTENT)) from the content package 13 to result in the actual content 12, and the actual content 12 is in fact rendered.
In an RM system 10, content 12 is packaged for use by a user by encrypting such content 12 and associating a set of rules with the content 12, whereby the content 12 is renderable only in accordance with the rules. Because the content 12 is only rendered in accordance with the rules, the content 12 may be freely distributed. Significantly, the content 12, the rules, and an encrypted version of the decryption key (KD) are communicated to the computing device 14 or other playback device. Moreover, in preparing at least the encrypted version of the decryption key (KD), it would be useful to tie the decryption key (KD) to an object in such a manner that the encrypted version of the decryption key may not be accessed to decrypt and render the content 12 except in the presence of such object. Thus, the content 12, the rules, and the encrypted version of the decryption key (KD) may not be redistributed in a manner so that the content 12 may be rendered widely and in contravention to the wishes of the content owner. As may be appreciated, such object to which the encrypted decryption key (KD) is tied to may be a computing device 14 or other playback device or may be a storage medium such as a disk drive, an optical or magnetic storage disk, or the like.
Accordingly, a copy protection system for personal computers, consumer electronic devices, and other computing devices that is secure, simple, lightweight, and affordable is desired to address one or more of these and other disadvantages.

Encryption and data-protection for content on portable medium


An engine including a stationary housing; a cylinder bank rotatably mounted to the housing about a central longitudinal axis, the cylinder bank having a plurality of cylinders therein radially distanced from and parallel to the central longitudinal axis, each cylinder having a cylinder wall, an intake port, an exhaust port, a valve assembly governing the opening and closing of the intake port and the exhaust port, a piston moveable within the cylinder between an up position and a down position, and a connecting member having an inner end connected to the piston and an outer end; a torque plate operatively connected to the outer ends of the connecting members, the torque plate being rotatably mounted in a torque plane defined by the outer ends of the connecting members and which makes an oblique angle to a plane perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis, so that as the cylinder bank rotates the torque plate sequentially guides each piston from the up position to the down position during a first portion of a rotation of the cylinder bank and then sequentially guides each piston from the down position to the up position during a second portion of the rotation of the cylinder bank; and a synchronizing member operatively connected to the cylinder bank and the torque plate so that the cylinder bank and torque plate rotate at the same speed.

The present invention relates to engines of all sorts. More particularly, the present invention relates to an engine having a rotating cylinder bank.
Internal combustion engines have been around for a long time and include, primarily, the Otto-type and Wankel engines. The Otto-type engine is a four-cycle engine in which a piston linearly reciprocates within a cylinder combustion chamber. The cylinders are typically arranged in one of three ways: a single row (in line) with the centerlines of the cylinders vertically oriented; a double row with the centerlines of opposite cylinders converging in a V (V-engine); or two horizontal, opposed rows (opposed or pancake engine). Beginning in the early part of the twentieth century, the conventional Otto-type reciprocating engine began to assume dominance as the most practical approach, even though it was recognized that a large portion of the energy developed through combustion of fuel was wasted in decelerating and accelerating the pistons on their reciprocating strokes. The Wankel engine, which is also known as a rotary engine, is denoted as such because it utilizes a triangular rotating disc which forms combustion chambers as it rotates within a fixed cylinder. The Wankel engine is also a four-cycle engine, and while it has several advantages over the Otto-type engine, it lacks torque at low speeds which leads to greater fuel consumption.
It is desirable that a practical internal combustion engine have one or more, and preferably all, of the following advantageous features not heretofore provided: (1) a smooth, relatively vibration-free engine; (2) no energy lost in accelerating and decelerating reciprocatingly moving pistons; (3) multiple power take-off points; (4) a plurality of ignition systems optional; (5) an option of employing conventional supercharger and fuel injector-spark plug ignition or compression ignition of air and fuel injection analogous to a diesel engine; (6) improved central fuel/air injection in which the fuel/air is moved outwardly through the engine by centrifugal force to afford a more nearly uniform combustion mixture and complete exhaust through a peripherally disposed discharge port; (7) an unusual high-power-to-weight ratio; (8) a mechanical efficiency curve that becomes more advantageous to doing meaningful work earlier in the power stroke, than in the conventional Otto-type engine, in order to take advantage of the higher cylinder pressures at that time which results in increased torque and more power; (9) an ability to change the cubic displacement and therefore the torque potential of the engine while it is running thereby giving it the ability to respond to varying power needs; (10) an ability to take advantage of a four-cycle progression which includes intake, compression, ignition-power, and exhaust, in a rotary configuration; and (11) the option of altering the mechanical efficiency curve to virtually any configuration.
In the early 1970's a two-cycle rotary vee engine was invented as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,830,208; 3,902,468; and 3,905,338. In essence, the rotary vee included six cylinders in each end of a housing, the middle of which was bent at a vee angle of 110°. The pistons in each cylinder at one end of the housing were fixedly attached to the respective piston in the opposite end of the housing, and the entire cylinder-piston arrangement revolved. The advantages of the rotating cylinder banks of the vee engine were in the substantial increased power and efficiency when compared to a linearly reciprocating Otto-type engine or Wankel engine. However, the design structure of the vee engine failed because the torque developed by the second cylinder bank was transmitted through the first via a violent twisting motion which scored the pistons and cylinder walls whenever a large load was applied. The other problem with the vee engine was that it was a two-cycle oil-in-fuel mixture design which is less reliable and less clean burning than a four-cycle configuration.
It is therefore desirable to provide a new rotary engine with a rotating cylinder bank like the vee engine, but with improved fuel efficiency, lower emissions, smaller size, and/or greater power and which has the advantageous features mentioned above.


A laboratory centrifuge has a housing which can be closed by a casing cover and having in the housing a rotor chamber which contains a motor-driven vertical-axis rotor to accept test tubes. During operation, the test tubes are warmed by friction. To cool the centrifuge, cooling air is pulled in through openings in the lower side of the housing and upward into the rotor chamber by the fan action created by the rotation of the rotor. The air is guided out of the rotor chamber through an air exit in a direction of flow tangential to the perimeter of the rotor in a manner that ensures low turbulence and, thus, low noise. In particular, a slit-like air exit opening is arranged between the casing cover and the top side of the housing. In the annular gap between the rotor and the rotor chamber, an aerodynamically shaped displacement body is provided in a position at the side of the area of the air exit opening such that it directly follows the area of the air exit opening when viewed in the direction of rotation of the rotor. The displacement body is put on a molded part for attaching to the inside surface of the casing cover of the centrifuge such that the displacement body projects from the inside surface of the casing cover into the annular gap to thereby permit the cooling air to be guided out of the centrifuge with low turbulence and low noise.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a laboratory centrifuge having a rotor chamber which can be closed by a casing cover and a housing which contains a motor-driven vertical-axis rotor to accept test tubes and which, during operation, has cooling air flowing through the housing upward into the rotor chamber.
2. The Relevant Technology
Laboratory centrifuges are well known. An exemplary laboratory centrifuge is provided, for example, in EP 0 455 876 A2. The laboratory centrifuge disclosed is arranged in a housing and has a motor driving a vertically oriented drive shaft. The test tubes, which are warmed by friction during operation of the centrifuge, are cooled by forced-air cooling which sucks in air in the direction of the axis of the shaft. In order to create a simple and economical air-cooled centrifuge in which it is certain that the cooling air neither carries suspended matter into the samples nor carries suspended matter out of the rotor housing, even if a test tube should break, the rotor is surrounded by an air-tight container. A fan wheel is set on the driven end of the shaft and air is sucked through openings in the floor surface of the housing below the fan wheel into the housing to be guided along upward to the walls of the air-tight container and to be axially distributed through operation of the fan wheel.
A centrifuge is also known from German patent DE 39 13 792 A1 in which noise from empty test tube holders is suppressed. The centrifuge is a conventional centrifuge having a rotor with a plurality of holders to accept test tubes set in the rotor in a circular configuration. The whistling noise produced by empty holders is suppressed by a flexible flap which has a fixed or stationary end attached to the rotor by an adapter and a free end lying opposite. In the non-rotating or non-operative state of the rotor, the free end extends radially inward in the direction toward the center of the rotor. In the rotating state of the rotor, the free end becomes folded over or backwards by the centrifugal force in such a way that it covers the opening of the empty test tube holder(s). Thus, the covering of the opening(s) by the flexible flap prevents the occurrence of the undesired high-pitched shrill whistling noise which would otherwise be produced by the holder if it is rotating without a test tube set in it.
A laboratory centrifuge is also known from DD 265 754 A3 which provides for air guided in a casing cover to cool the rotor. The centrifuge rotor sweeps away the air located in the rotor chamber and throws it outward. The air put under pressure in this manner is pressed through an opening located in the annular gap between the rotor and the rotor chamber and, thus, into an exit channel to be guided out to the surrounding atmosphere. The negative pressure formed in the rotor chamber is equalized by supplying air through an air entry channel also arranged in the area of the casing cover. This design requires a specially manufactured casing cover and, thus, increases the cost of the centrifuge.
A problem with air cooling of centrifuges is that, particularly in the area above the rotor, the air is very turbulent and produces significant noise. It would be an advance to provide a laboratory centrifuge that permitted air to flow around the rotor at flow rates which produce sufficient cooling yet demonstrated low turbulence and low noise.

Laboratory centrifuge having a casing cover and rotor chamber adapted to exhaust circulated air


Particles which provide a foodstuff binding agent which is dispersible in hot water and hot milk have a farinaceous or proteinaceous material core, an emulsifier coating layer about the core and a fat coating layer about the emulsifier layer, the emulsifier being, in particular, a phospholipid or a sucroglyceride and the fat being one which has a melting point of above 35.degree. C. The particles are prepared by dissolving an emulsifier in an apolar lipid composition, including a liquid oil, and spraying the lipid composition containing the emulsifier onto farinaceous and/or protein particles to coat the particles and thereafter, (a) melting an edible fat and spraying the melted fat onto the coated particles to coat the emulsifier-coated particles with the fat or and then, cooling the twice-coated particles, or (b) combining a ground particulate fat with the coated particles and coating the coated particles with the fat in the solid state.

This invention relates to coated particles suitable as a binding agent for a foodstuff which is dispersible in hot water and hot milk. This invention also relates to methods for preparing said coated particles.
Binding agents form the base of many dried food products such as sauces, soups and gravies. These dried food products usually contain other ingredients such as dried vegetables, meat extracts, yeast extracts, sugars, salt, fats, oils and the like, but it is the binding agent that usually gives the food, once rehydrated, its consistency and creamy sensory appeal. The idea is for the binding agent to simulate the roux used in traditional cooking.
Like roux, the binding agents are usually prepared from a starch material and a fat. The starch material is usually in the form of a flour of some sort, particularly wheat flour, although other flours are also used. Nowadays the fat is usually a hardened vegetable fat. The starch material and the fat are combined, often dehydrated, and then added to the remaining ingredients of the dried food product. However, severe problems have arisen in providing a binding agent which, when hot water and/or hot milk is stirred into the dried food product, does not result in lumping or clumping. If the product is intended to be an "instant food", it is important that the dried food product rehydrate rapidly upon the addition of hot water without lumping or clumping.
This problem was addressed in several documents of the prior including Great Britain Complete Patent Specification No 1 478 843, which relates to a process for producing a binding agent or thickener wherein particles of a farinaceous material are first mixed with a small amount of water to form aggregates which are subsequently coated with fat. The coating step is performed by mixing in a planetary mixer or a bowl chopper or, if liquid oils are involved, by spray coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,551 refers to a process for preparing a binding agent wherein a high melting point fat is heated to melt it and this is then mixed with a starch material, particularly wheat flour, to form a homogeneous dough. A small amount of water is then mixed in. The dough is then heated to a temperature above 90.degree. C. and maintained at the elevated temperature, under continuous mixing, until the moisture content reduces to below 7%. The dough is then cooled to room temperature and ground up to form a free-flowing, dehydrated binding agent. The binding agent is described to disperse readily in boiling water without the formation of lumps.
PCT Patent Application Publication No. WO 96/03893 describes a process for the preparation of binding agents for a foodstuff comprising a core of a farinaceous material coated with a layer of edible fat. The binding agents described therein which may be produced by a process not requiring the use of high temperatures are readily dispersible in water.
Although the binding agents of the prior art are readily dispersible in hot water, their dispersibility is not fully satisfactory in boiling milk, especially when low shear rates are used, as is the case with stirring with a spoon. In addition, in order to obtain a satisfactory dispersibility even in water, it was necessary to add high amounts of fat (>40%). When such high concentrations of fat are used, however, the thickening properties of the resulting binding agent are lowered.

Layered foodstuff binding agent dispersible in hot water and milk and preparation thereof


A photosensitive resin composition for cast molding, which has an ultraviolet transmittance of 0.05-5% as measured at a 1-mm thickness.

Small-number duplication of trial manufacture model and small-amount production of duplicate model have heretofore been conducted by producing a mold from a silicone rubber with a master model, casting a thermosetting resin into the mold in vacuum, and thermosetting the cast resin. This thermosetting resin is ordinarily a two-pack type and the time from mixing of the two packs to the start of setting (curing) is short; therefore, there have been problems that the casting of the thermosetting resin into the silicone rubber-made mold must be conducted in a short time and moreover, even if the casting is conducted with care, curing starts during the casting operation to generate defective in some cases. There have also been problems that the container used for mixing or casting of the thermosetting resin must be washed each time after the use before the resin is cured (this requires a complicated operation) and, moreover, a long time of about 2 hours is required for the heat-curing of the thermosetting resin (this restricts the times of duplication per day).
Meanwhile, JP-A-58-80587 discloses a method for duplication of plastic case for watch by casting an ultraviolet-curing one-pack type synthetic resin for cast molding into a transparent mold made of a silicone rubber or the like and applying an ultraviolet light under vacuum. In this method, as the ultraviolet-curing resin, there are used a synthetic resin (e.g. spiran resin) for cast molding containing benzophenone as sensitizer, a reaction accelerator-containing unsaturated polyester resin, etc.
Further, JP-A-3-114711 proposes a method for casting a photosensitive resin into a transparent silicone rubber mold and applying an ultraviolet light to cure the resin, wherein the photosensitive resin is a mixture of diacrylate of bisphenol A-ethylene oxide adduct, acrylate of phenyl glycidyl ether and a photopolymerization initiator.
Further, JP-A-7-124962 proposes a method for producing a plastic molded article, which method comprises the steps of casting, into a transparent silicone rubber made mold, an active energy ray-curing liquid resin composition comprising a urethanepoly(meth)acrylate having at least two (meth)acryloyloxy groups, a particular diallyl compound, an aliphatic polythiol compound having at least two thiol groups, and an active energy ray polymerization initiator, and irradiating the above liquid resin composition with an active energy ray to cure the resin composition.
Furthermore, the present applicant proposed a photosensitive resin composition wherein the cracking tendency of the above photosensitive resins is alleviated (JP-A-8-244044 and JP-A-8-323778).
While duplicate models produced by cast molding are required to have a high dimensional accuracy, there have remained a problem that the dimension of duplicate model produced with a photosensitive resin is smaller than the dimension of master model because the photosensitive resin gives rise to shrinkage during ultraviolet curing. The shrinkage can be made up for by making a master model of larger size, but production of a trial manufacture model for initial shape evaluation and a master model used for duplication, in different dimensions results in low efficiency, which has restricted the applications of such an approach.
Duplicate models of trial manufacture model are desired, in some cases, to have, for example, an opaque white color such as possessed by ABS, depending upon the application. However, addition of, for example, titanium oxide, carbon black or the like to a photosensitive resin in order to allow the resin to have an opaque color results in reduced photosensitivity, which restricts the maximum possible thickness of duplicate model; thus, allowing a photosensitive resin to have opaqueness with no problems has been difficult. Coloring of duplicate model by coating has also been conducted. This, however, has had problems in that the coating step increases the number of total operational steps and the chipping, flaking, or peeling of coating applied, when occurring, makes the duplicate model look bad.
When the photosensitive resin composition casted into a silicone rubber mold is irradiated, for curing of the resin composition, with an ultraviolet light emitted from an exposure apparatus whose light sources are provided above and below the mold, such as used in production of printing plate, there has been a problem in that the portions of the resin composition corresponding to the sides of model produced are not sufficiently cured, generating defectives.
In producing a mold with a silicone rubber, a long time of 10 hours or more is required to cure the mold. Therefore, a silicone rubber curable in a shorter time has been desired by model producers who wish to produce and evaluate duplicate models in a period as short as possible after the designing of trial manufacture model.
Objects of the present invention are to provide, in a method for production of duplicate model by producing an ultraviolet-transmittable silicone rubber-made mold using a master model, casting a photosensitive resin composition into the mold, and applying an ultraviolet light to cure the resin composition, a photosensitive resin composition for cast molding which enables production of a duplicate model having high dimensional accuracy, high hardness and cracking resistance, and also a photosensitive resin composition for cast molding which enables production, by ultraviolet curing, of even a duplicate model having an opaque color and yet a large thickness. Other object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive resin composition for cast molding which is suitable for production of a duplicate model in a simple operation in a short period. Still other object of the present invention is to provide a method for production of a duplicate model, which uses an exposure apparatus capable of producing a completely cured three-dimensional model.

Photosensitive resin composition for photo-cast-molding


The present invention provides integrated circuits with improved logic cells. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit having a plurality of logic cells (LC) is provided, each LC comprising: a lookup table having a LUT output terminal; and, a first multiplexer; wherein, a first multiplexer input terminal is connected to of a first input terminal of the LC, a second multiplexer input terminal is connected to the LUT output terminal, a multiplexer output terminal is connected to a first output terminal of the LC, and a multiplexer select terminal is connected to a second input terminal of the LC so as to select which of the signals appearing at the first and second multiplexer input terminal to pass through; wherein, by coupling in chain the first input terminal of one LC to the first output terminal of another LC, a WLUT chain is formed.

FPGA is an integrated circuit whose functionalities are designated by users of the FPGA. A FPGA consists generally of a great number of logic cells.
A basic FPGA logic cell (referred below as LC) is shown as in FIG. 1, which comprises a look-up table (LUT) 102 and a D flip-flop (DFF) 108. The 4-input LUT 102 is shown to have a set of 16 configuration memory cells, which can be configured or programmed to compute any 4-input combinational logic function. Note that as the details of such programming circuitry is not relevant to this type of invention, it is not shown in FIG. 1. The output of the LUT 102 is not only directly connected to an output of the LC, but also fed into the D input terminal of DFF 108, the Q output of which is available as another LC output. Also not shown, the flip-flop 108 may also be provided with clock enable terminal, set terminal and/or reset terminal. Within the logic cell, multiplexers (MUX) and other logics may be provided to allow the Q output terminal of the flip-flop be connected to some input terminal of the LUT. In addition, output signals of logic cells may be routed to input terminals of logic cells via some general-purpose interconnection network, in order to build any given digital logic circuit.
The basic logic cell is logically complete. However, there exist demands for more area and timing efficient and/or placement-friendly logic cells and integrated circuits therefrom.

Integrated circuit with improved logic cells


Various embodiments include a method for binding a secure software application to a mobile device wherein the mobile device includes a processor and a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, including transmitting, by the processor, an authentication challenge to the SIM card; receiving an authentication response from the SIM card; verifying the authentication response from the SIM card; and enabling the secure software application when the authentication response from the SIM card is verified.

The Internet provides users with convenient and ubiquitous access to digital content. Because the Internet is a powerful distribution channel, many mobile devices strive to directly access the Internet. The mobile device may include a mobile telephone, smart phone, tablet, mobile hotspot, or any other device that is capable of accessing a mobile network. The use of the Internet as a distribution medium for copyrighted content creates the compelling challenge to secure the interests of the content provider. Increasingly, mobile devices operate using a processor loaded with suitable software to render (playback) digital content, such as audio and/or video. Control of the playback software is one way to enforce the interests of the content owner including the terms and conditions under which the content may be used. Previously many mobile devices were closed systems. Today more and more platforms are partially open. Some users may be assumed to have complete control over and access to the hardware and software that provides access to the content and a large amount of time and resources to attack and bypass any content protection mechanisms. In the case of mobile devices with subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, the attacker does not have control of the SIM card. As a consequence, content providers must deliver content to legitimate users across a hostile network to a community where not all users or mobile devices can be trusted.
Typically, digital rights management systems use an encryption technique based on block ciphers and a encryption/decryption key that process the data stream in blocks using a sequence of encryption/decryption steps, referred to as rounds. During each round, a round-specific function is performed. The round-specific function may be the same round function in each round but each round may use a different round-specific sub-key. For many encryption systems, the round function may be specified using mapping tables or look-up tables. Frequently tables are used for different parts of the function for efficient execution in software of encryption/decryption functions. Look-up tables may be implemented that combine multiple functions of the round. Further, instead of distributing user-specific keys, user-specific algorithms that incorporate a user-specific key may be distributed instead of keys for encryption or decryption algorithms. These algorithms have to be obfuscated (hidden) in order to prevent redesign or prohibit obtaining the user-specific key. Accordingly, the encryption/decryption function may be carried out using tables accompanied with some computer code.
Content providers must deliver content to legitimate users across a hostile network to a community where not all users or devices can be trusted. This has lead to the development of white-box cryptography. In the white-box cryptography scenario it is assumed that the user has complete control of the hardware and software that provides access to the content, and an unlimited amount of time and resources to attack and bypass any content protection mechanisms. The secure software code that enforces the terms and conditions under which the content may be used should be tamper resistant. The general approach in digital rights management for protected content distributed to mobile devices is to encrypt the digital content using for example, DES (Data Encryption Standard), AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), or using other known encryption schemes, and to use decryption keys to recover the digital content.
The two main areas of vulnerability of digital rights management relying on encryption are the software modules which enforce the terms and conditions under which the content may be used, and the key distribution and handling. Typically, the software module enforces the terms and conditions under which the content is to be used. An attacker aiming to bypass these terms and conditions may attempt to achieve this through tampering of the program code of the software module.
Regarding key distribution, a media player has to retrieve a decryption key from a license database in order to play back the media. The media player then has to store this decryption key somewhere in memory for the decryption of the encrypted content. This leaves an attacker two options for an attack on the key. First, an attacker may reverse engineer the license database access function allowing the attacker to retrieve asset keys from all license databases. In this situation the attacker does not need to understand the internal working of the cryptographic function. Second, the attacker may observe accesses of the memory during content decryption, thus the attacker may retrieve the decryption key. In both cases the key is considered to be compromised.
The widespread use of DRM has given rise to the need for secure, tamper-resistant software seeks to complicate tampering with the software, but various other applications may require the use of secure, taper-resistant software as well. Various techniques for increasing the tamper resistance of software applications exist. Most of these techniques are based on hiding the embedded knowledge of the application by adding a veil of randomness and complexity in both the control and the data path of the software application. The idea behind this is that it becomes more difficult to extract information merely by code inspection. It is therefore more difficult to find the code that, for example, handles access and permission control of the secure application, and consequently to change it.
As used herein, white-box cryptography includes a secure software application that performs cryptographic functions in an environment where an attacker has complete control of the system running the white-box cryptography software. Thus, the attacker can modify inputs and outputs, track the operations of the software, sample and monitor memory used by the software at any time, and even modify the software. Accordingly, the cryptographic functions need to be carried out in a manner that prevents the disclosure of secret information used in the cryptographic functionality. Further, the cryptographic functions carried out by the white-box cryptography system are any type of cryptographic function, for example, encrypting/decrypting data using symmetric or asymmetric methods, executing hash functions, calculating digital signatures, performing key exchange protocols, performing authentication protocols, etc. White-box cryptography functions may be implemented in various ways. Such methods include: obscuring the software code: using complex mathematical functions that obscure the use of the secret information: using look-up tables: or any other methods that carry out cryptographic functions but hide the secret information needed for those cryptographic functions. Typically a white-box implementation will also contain components to bring anti-debugging and tamper-proofing properties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Binding mobile device secure software components to the SIM


The present invention provides a light-emitting element, a light-emitting device and an electronic device in which an optical path length through which generated light goes can be changed easily. The present invention provides a light-emitting element including a light-emitting layer between a first electrode and a second electrode, and a mixed layer in contact with the first electrode; in which the light-emitting layer includes a light-emitting substance; the mixed layer includes a hole transporting substance and a metal oxide showing an electron accepting property to the hole transporting substance, and has a thickness of 120 to 180 nm, and when a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode such that a potential of the first electrode is higher than that of the second electrode, the light-emitting substance emits light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light-emitting elements which emit light by current excitation, and light-emitting devices and electronic devices using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In EL displays which have been commercialized recently, images are displayed by changing and combining luminance, emission time or the like of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) luminescences. R, G and B luminescences can each be obtained by driving a light-emitting element in which a light-emitting layer is formed between a pair of electrodes. In such light-emitting elements, at least one of the electrodes is formed of a transparent conductive film such as ITO (indium tin oxide) so that visible light can pass therethrough.
In such light-emitting elements, when a distance between a light-emitting layer and an electrode through which light passes is not suitable (in other words, an optical path length is not controlled suitably), colors are changed strangely or an extraction efficiency of luminescence decreases. In order to solve such problems, a technique shown in Reference 1 has been proposed, for example (Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-102175).
Forming a metal doping layer to be in contact with a cathode as described in Reference 1 is thought to be effective. However, a problem remains with the technique as described in Reference 1 in that a distance between a light-emitting layer and an anode cannot be adjusted. In addition, a metal such as Mg or Li as described in Reference 1 can be a cause of reduction of a light-transmitting property.

Light-emitting element, light-emitting device, and electronic device

SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.


A cardiotonic composition includes micronized digoxin, hydrophilic polymer(s) and optionally pharmaceutically acceptable excipient(s) in the form of a tablet that releases not more than 50% digoxin in 5 minutes and at least 85% digoxin in 60 minutes.

Digoxin, one of the cardiac (or digitalis) glycosides, is known for use in the treatment of congestive heart failure. When administered at the proper therapeutic dosage level, digoxin exerts a direct cardiotonic effect on the myocardium to increase the force of contraction and improve cardiac tone. It has a narrow therapeutic index, i.e. the dose producing the toxic or other undesirable side effects is not much greater than the therapeutically effective dose. Several side effects encountered in the treatment with cardiac glycosides are related to a peak in plasma concentration often occurring a few hours after administration of a dose. Very rapid initial rate of release results in higher peak plasma levels and therefore more side effects. On the other hand, if digoxin is released too slowly from tablets into gastrointestinal fluids then incomplete absorption occurs. The United States Pharmacopoeia [USP XXIV & NF XIX (The United States Pharmacopoeia Convention, Inc., Rockville, Md. 1999)] sets a specification for digoxin tablets requiring that at least 85% digoxin be released in 60 minutes.
German Patent DE 1467788 discloses compositions that contain digoxin in solution, sodium alginate and polyacryahnide for gradual and controlled release of digoxin. The patent relates to a liquid composition and does not teach or disclose the preparation of a tablet dosage form providing the desired release profile of the present invention.
Prior art compositions either relate to improving the solubility or dissolution rate of digoxin to enhance its bioavailability or relates to enteric coated compositions that do not release digoxin in acidic gastric fluids or relate to controlled release of digoxin over much longer periods than stipulated herein in the present invention. Whereas very rapid initial rate of release results in higher plasma level and more side effects, prior art does not discuss or disclose a composition that releases not more than 50% digoxin at 5 minutes when tested in vitro in United States Pharmacopoeia Type I Dissolution apparatus using 500 ml of 0.1N HCl at 120 rpm for 60 minutes at 37° C. The commercial tablets marketed under the name Lanoxin® releases more than 50% digoxin at 5 minutes when tested under these conditions.


A guide wire includes a wire body, a first coil, a second coil, and an elongate member. The first coil has a helical shape, and is disposed on a distal end side of the guide wire. The second coil has a helical shape, and is disposed on a distal end side of the first coil. The elongate member has a section that extends a longitudinal direction of the wire body. At least a portion of the section is located inside the second coil, and the elongate member is formed integrally with the first coil or the second coil.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a guide wire used for introducing a catheter into a body cavity such as a blood vessel.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in case when a catheter is introduced into a blood vessel in the vicinity of the heart, such as the coronary artery, a guide wire is inserted through the catheter and the distal end of the guide wire goes ahead of the catheter while a desired path is properly selected whenever the guide wire meets a diverging point of blood vessels as branching off like a labyrinth.
Such a guide wire was disclosed by the gazette of U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,622. The guide wire is equipped with a wire body, which is a cylindrically shaped element, a first metal coil, a second coil, and a rounded structure. The first coil is fixed to the distal end of the wire body. The second coil is fixed to the distal end of the first coil. The rounded structure is fixed to the second coil. The jointed part of the first and the second coils is fixed to the wire body, which is inserted through the coils, by means of a soldering or brazing material. The brazing material and the rounded structure is bridged by a safety ribbon (refer to FIG. 2 and others of the above gazette).
It is found that a doctor who uses such a guide wire often bends the distal end of the guide wire in a certain desired shape in order to match the shape of the distal end of the catheter with the shapes of blood vessels or in order to guide it more smoothly around the branching points of blood vessels. Bending the distal end of the guide wire in a desired shape is called shape giving, or reshaping.
In case of the guide wire of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,622, the safety ribbon is a separate component independent from the first coil and the second coil. Therefore, it presents a shortcoming that the fixed end of the safety ribbon may come loose when the safety ribbon is under a tensile strength during the reshaping process. When there is a concern for the safety ribbon to come off, the distal end of the guide wire cannot be formed into a desired shape and a sufficient reshaping effect may not be achieved.
When the wire body is made of Ni—Ti alloy for the benefit of super elasticity, the reshaping process is particularly difficult. Thus, it is necessary to provide a safety ribbon made of a material that can be reshaped easily such as stainless steel separate from the wire body.
Moreover, if the wire body is made of a Ni—Ti alloy, the wettability of soldering is poor, thus resulting in poor joint strength. Therefore, although the safety ribbon is provided, the fixation of the wire body and the coil or others can come loose, so that the safety ribbon, which is provided independently, can also come loose due to the force applied during the reshaping process.
In order to increase the joint strength of soldering, it is necessary to use a special procedure of covering the area with a preliminary tin while shutting out the contact with air after removing the oxide layer on the metal surface of the Ni—Ti alloy. This requires additional time and labors in the manufacturing process.
Those are the reasons why the selection ranges of the materials for the wire body and the safety ribbon are substantially narrowed. This makes it difficult to achieve the objective of reshaping, especially, in maintaining an appropriate flexibility in the distal end of the guide wire.


A method for releasing viruses includes the steps of: preparing a first negatively charged complex, comprising a plurality of viruses, a plurality of polyethyleneimine particles, and a copolymer; transferring the complex to an acidic region, thereby transforming the complex into a positively charged complex to release a portion of the viruses in the acidic region; and transferring the complex to a non-acidic region, thereby transforming the positively charged complex into a negatively charged complex. One embodiment of the copolymer has the following chemical formula:

The carrier or vehicle with pH-sensitive property has been cited frequently as a promising vector for controlled drug delivery when the system is turned to respond to change in a window of physiologically relevant condition. The pH-responsive vectors utilizing the acidic intracellular environment via proton buffer effect or reversible PEG shielding were extensively synthesized in the past. However, successful development of such a technology involves individual components that are not only capable of sensing minute physiologically changes in environment but that can also respond to such changes in the vectors. Therefore, the pH-responsive vehicle is a valuable component of stimuli-responsive mechanisms to trigger the charge reversal and size oscillation of delivery systems with subsequent drug release in response to changes in situ.
Controlled gene transfer is a highly anticipated objective in the clinical application of gene therapy. Accurate delivery is the key, as delivery of vectors away from their targets could cause a variety of problems, including reduced effectiveness of gene transfer, ectopic gene expression in multiple sites, and the risk of eliciting a severe immune response. Non-viral vectors as an alternative strategy for gene delivery have thus attracted much attention for their potential of limited immunogenicity, accommodation and delivery of large-size genetic materials, and ease of surface modification. However, the much lower transgene efficiency of non-viral vectors is not likely to be raised to a level similar to that of viruses.
Recently, a number of studies suggested that viral vectors combined with polymeric scaffold either through encapsulation within the scaffold or immobilization onto a scaffold surface can increase the viral residence time, and are potentially capable of localized delivery, enhanced transformation, and extended gene expression duration. This strategy was followed to stimulate tissue regeneration while the polymeric scaffolds with virus encoding growth factor were used in the large area of wounds for localized delivery. This is particularly useful for implementation of physiological cues. Promising results using the combined tissue-engineering therapy and gene therapy in cutaneous wound healing and bone graft healing have been reported.
In another approach of packed virus delivery, physical or chemical modification of virus with biomaterials was employed to modulate the tropism of viruses or reduce inflammatory and immune responses. The polymer coating of virus increased its plasma circulation kinetics, affording the possibility of active and passive targeting to tumors. The major challenges to implementing this approach are the non-specific binding and the low internalization via polymer-mediated endocytosis pathway due to the viral receptor hidden by the coating of the polymer layer. The resulting loss of efficiency of endosome/lysosome depended on the polymeric coated layer.

Copolymer, complex and method for releasing viruses using pH-dependence of the copolymer

Abstract: wherein R1 represents aliphatic compounds or aromatic compounds, and R2 includes at least one negatively charged group.


A device with automated device temperature control is described. In one example, the device includes a processor and a weather forecast engine coupled to the processor. The weather forecast engine obtains weather data of a geographical location in which the device is located. The weather data includes values of environmental parameters. The weather data is then shared with a prediction engine. The device further includes a control engine coupled to the processor. The control engine receives a first threshold operating temperature determined for the device based on the weather data, a device model, and a mapping table from the prediction engine. The control engine then initiates a temperature control device, connected to the device, to cool the device if a current device temperature of the device is greater than the first threshold operating temperature.

Electronic devices, such as laptops, computer systems, mobile phones, routers, servers, Automated Teller Machines (ATM), televisions, and display devices include numerous components that produce heat when performing intended functionalities. The heat thus generated may interfere with functioning of the components and the electronic device. For instance, overheating of the components may degrade the working and health of the components and may eventually damage the electronic device.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.

Device temperature control based on a threshold operating temperature determined for the device based on a weather data, a device model, and a mapping table

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The present invention exploits the discovery that certain single base changes in the gacA gene coding sequence, which result in certain single amino acid changes in the encoded GacA protein, render it LemA-independent. The present invention therefore provides DNA that encodes mutant GacA proteins that do not require phosphorylation by LemA in order to be active as transcriptional activators.

Many Pseudomonas strains produce antifungal metabolites that have been implicated in the control of fungal pathogens in the rhizosphere. For example, Howell et al. (Phytopathology 69: 480-482 (1979)) disclose a strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens that produces an antibiotic substance antagonistic to Rhizoctonia solani. In addition, other strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens having enhanced biocontrol activity against plant pathogenic fungi such as Rhizoctonia and Pythium have been more recently been disclosed. Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CGA267356 (also known as both MOCG134 and BL915) has been shown to be effective in controlling plant pathogenic fungi such as Rhizoctonia and Pythium. Strain CGA267356 is one of the subjects of U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,742, incorporated herein by reference. Two mutants of CGA267356, strains CGA321730 (a.k.a. MOCG134-8392) and CGA319115, have been constructed and shown to demonstrate even better biological control (biocontrol) of these phytopathogens. CGA321730 and CGA319115 are the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,547, incorporated herein by reference.
A particularly effective antibiotic against fungal pathogens is pyrrolnitrin, which is biosynthesized from tryptophan. Pyrrolnitrin is a phenylpyrrole derivative with strong antibiotic activity that has been shown to inhibit a broad range of fungi. Pyrrolnitrin was originally isolated from Pseudomonas pyrrocinia, but has since been isolated from Myxococcus species, Burkholdaria species, and several other Pseudomonas species such as P. fluorescens. The compound has been reported to inhibit fungal respiratory electron transport and uncouple oxidative phosphorylation. It has also been proposed that pyrrolnitrin causes generalized lipoprotein membrane damage. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/729,214, incorporated herein by reference, describes the cloning and characterization of the pyrrolnitrin biosynthesis genes from P. fluorescens, P. pyrrocinia, Burkholdaria cepacia, and Myxococcus fulvus.
Two genes have been isolated from strain CGA267356 that encode proteins that regulate the synthesis of several antifungal compounds produced by the strain, including pyrrolnitrin. These are the lemA gene and gacA (a.k.a. gafA) gene that encode sensor kinase and response regulator proteins, respectively, which function as a typical two-component bacterial regulatory system. In a normal regulatory system and under the proper conditions, the LemA protein phosphorylates GacA. In the phosphorylated state, GacA activates transcription of genes involved in the synthesis of antifungal compounds, i.e, the pyrrolnitrin biosynthesis genes. The lemA and gacA genes and their use to activate biocontrol activity in biocontrol strains are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,350, incorporated herein by by reference. The lemA and gacA regulatory genes and the pyrrolnitrin biosynthetic genes have been utilized to genetically modify P. fluorescens strains to construct altered strains that demonstrate enhanced production of antifungal metabolites, i.e. pyrrolnitrin, and accordingly enhanced biocontrol activity.

DNA encoding lemA-independent GacA and its use in activating gene expression


A system for simultaneously inspecting the frontsides and backsides of semiconductor wafers for defects is disclosed. The system rotates the semiconductor wafer while the frontside and backside surfaces are generally simultaneously optically scanned for defects. Rotation is induced by providing contact between the beveled edges of the semiconductor wafer and roller bearings rotationally driven by a motor. The wafer is supported in a tilted or semi-upright orientation such that support is provided by gravity. This tilted supporting orientation permits both the frontside and the backside of the wafer to be viewed simultaneously by a frontside inspection device and a backside inspection device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to contamination inspection for semiconductor wafers and the like and in particular to a system which inspects both the frontside and backside of a semiconductor wafer without manual or automatic inversion of the wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tools used in the semiconductor wafer manufacturing process must periodically be checked to determine whether they must be replaced or are still in usable condition. The condition of a tool is checked by inspecting wafers processed by that tool for defects. Bare wafers are typically routed through the process tool with the frontside facing up, and wafer defects detected optically by illuminating portions of the wafer and measuring the amount of illuminating light scattered by defects on the wafer surface.
Previously, systems which performed inspection of wafers did so in two discrete stages. First, the frontside of the wafer was scanned for contamination caused by the process tool. If the defect rate on the frontside of the wafer was acceptable, the wafer was then turned over to inspect the backside for further particle contamination and other defects. The process tool was considered usable if the defect rate on the backside of the wafer was also acceptable.
Inspection of both sides of a wafer by these procedures accordingly required time for inspection of one side, examination of the one side, inverting the wafer without excessively damaging the wafer, scanning the reverse side, and examining the results of the second side scan. In addition to this excessive amount of time required for examination, the process of flipping the semiconductor wafer had a tendency to contaminate the edges of the wafer due to surface or edge contact with a gripping device. In some processes, when the wafer was flipped over to inspect the backside, the front side of the wafer could be contaminated by the flipping process. The resulting contamination of the frontside of the wafer tends to render the wafer unsuitable for further processing. Thus, all test wafers were usually scrapped after each inspection, reducing overall productivity and increasing pet unit cost.
Edge handling of wafers has also complicated the problem. As wafers tend to suffer from contamination or other degradation when handled by wafer orientation systems, the handling of a wafer requires special care. Although previous wafer orientation systems have included multiple drive rollers, radially inwardly-biased contact rollers, and a tiltable wafer-supporting table with an air-bearing mechanism, each of these handling methods have benefits and drawbacks. Systems without multiple drive rollers and radially inwardly-biased or spring-loaded contact rollers cannot maintain steady wafer rotation rate during the portion of a cycle in which the drive roller is not in contact with the round edge of the wafer because the drive roller loses traction along the wafer edge.
In inspection equipment, it is important to maintain steady rates of wafer rotation to avoid errors in defect detection, such as errors in detecting defects where none exist, or simply failing to detect defects. Previous systems which supported semiconductor wafers through direct contact with a solid surface present special problems during inspection since contact with the support surface may increase contamination or move defects from one location to another in ways that render the wafer unsuitable for future processing.
It is therefore an object of the current invention to provide a system for minimizing the time required for full inspection of both the front side and back side of a wafer.
It is another object of the current invention to provide an arrangement which minimizes overall wafer contamination during the inspection process, particularly when inspecting both front and back sides of the wafer.
It is a further object of the current invention to minimize edge handling concerns, such as contamination, during the inspection of the front side and back side of a wafer.
It is still a further object of the current invention to minimize the number of defects missed or falsely detected by the inspection system.

Backside contamination inspection device


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A wireless device such as a user equipment (UE) may receive a first downlink shared channel transmission over a first set of frequency resources in a first transmission time interval (TTI); receive a downlink control transmission including a grant of a second set of frequency resources of a second TTI for a second downlink shared channel transmission, the downlink control transmission including an indication that a demodulation reference signal of the first downlink shared channel transmission is reused for the second downlink shared channel transmission; determine to rate match the second downlink shared channel transmission around resources of the second set of frequency resources that are not part of the first set of frequency resources, and receive the second downlink shared channel transmission over a subset of the second set of frequency resources.

The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to shortened physical downlink control channel (sPDCCH) reuse indication constraint under demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sharing.
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
In some wireless communications systems, the smallest unit of resources (e.g., frequency and time resources) that may be allocated to a user may be referred to as a resource block (RB). A UE capable of communicating over shortened Transmission Time Intervals (sTTIs) may be allocated a resource block (RB) set, including one or more RBs, which the UE may use for receiving control information. In some cases, the UE may identify its grants (e.g., downlink grant) in the allocated RB set. For instance, the downlink grant included in downlink control information (DCI) or shortened DCI, may provide an indication of a resource allocation for downlink data transmissions over a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a shortened PDSCH (sPDSCH). Challenges may arise with use and allocation of sDCI and sPDSCH resources.

SPDCCH reuse indication constraint under DMRS sharing


The system and method generally include identifying whether an utterance spoken by a user (e.g., customer) is a complete or incomplete sentence. For example, the system may include a partial utterance detection module that determines whether an utterance spoken by a user is a partial utterance. The detection process may include providing a detection advice code that gives a recommendation for handling the utterance of interest. If it is determined that the utterance is an incomplete sentence, then the system and method can identify the type of utterance. For example, the system may include a partial utterance classification module that predicts the class of a partial utterance. The classification process may include providing a classification advice code that gives a recommendation for handling the utterance of interest. Once a partial utterance is detected and classified, the system and method can further determine what the user meant by the utterance and can recommend a response to the user's utterance that further advances a conversation between the user and a virtual agent.

Spoken (or natural) language understanding systems interpret the word sequences of user utterances. For example, spoken language understanding systems are used by virtual agents, such as task-oriented virtual agents. Virtual agents are computer-generated agents that can interact with users. Goal- or task-oriented virtual agents may communicate with human users in a natural language and work with or help the users in performing various tasks. The tasks performed by a virtual agent can vary in type and complexity. Exemplary tasks include information retrieval, rule-based recommendations, as well as navigating and executing complex workflows. Informally, virtual agents may be referred to as "chatbots." Virtual agents may be used by corporations to assist customers with tasks such as booking reservations and working through diagnostic issues (e.g., for solving an issue with a computer). Using virtual agents may offer a corporation advantages by reducing operational costs of running call centers and improving the flexibility with which a company can increase the number of available agents that can assist customers.
Spoken language understanding systems help virtual agents determine what the human user desires. The spoken language understanding system converts the word sequences of user utterances to a hidden state representation of its meaning that the virtual agent can utilize. Then, the spoken language understanding system assigns a meaning to the hidden state representation that a downstream component of the virtual agent, such as a dialogue management system, can use to respond to the human user. Typically, a spoken language understanding system used in the context of task-oriented virtual agents can only understand complete sentences and does not have a way of handling partial utterances. Partial or non-sentential utterances have one or more words omitted from them which if otherwise present would have formed a complete, sentential form. Partial utterances present a problem in spoken language understanding because these types of utterances do not provide enough information. For example, a user just saying "yes" makes no sense without any context. Thus, such a partial utterance makes it difficult for a spoken language understanding system to do its job of determining what a human user desires. Also confusing are partial utterances with more than one word. For example, it is difficult for a spoken language understanding system to determine what a human user desires if the user says, "breaks up" without saying what is breaking up.
Dialogue management systems of virtual agents have difficulty responding to partial utterances. It is important for the virtual agent to advance a conversation with a user to identify what the user desires and to deliver what it is the user desires. It is also important for the virtual agent to maintain a natural-sounding conversation with users. However, accomplishing these tasks is difficult if the virtual agent does not understand what a user means by her utterances and does not know how to advance the conversation to identify and deliver the same.
There is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses the shortcomings discussed above.

System and method for analyzing partial utterances