An electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising a conductive substrate having thereon a photosensitive layer as the uppermost layer, in which the photosensitive layer contains two charge transporting materials different in ionization potential, a charge transporting material having a higher ionization potential is present in the amount equimolar to or in an amount less than the equimolar amount to the other charge transporting material having a lower ionization potential. A laminate type electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising a conductive substrate having thereon a charge generating layer and a charge transporting layer, in which the charge generating layer comprises a binder resin and a charge generating material dispersed therein, the charge transporting layer comprises a binder resin and at least two charge transporting materials including a first charge transporting material and a second charge transporting material, the amount of the first charge transporting material is at least 60 wt % based on the total amount of the charge transporting materials, the difference between the highest ionization potential and the lowest ionization potential the charge transporting materials is not more than 0.4 eV, provided that (1) the ionization potentials of all the charge transporting materials are lower than the ionization potential of the charge generating material, or (2) the ionization potential of the first charge transporting material is lower than the ionization potential of the charge generating material, and the ionization potential of the second charge transporting material is higher than the ionization potential of the charge generating material by at least 0.2 eV.

A separate function type (laminate type) electrophotographic photoreceptor having a laminate photosensitive layer composed of a charge generating layer and a charge transporting layer for performing the respective functions have undergone many improvements in charge retention, optical response, spectral characteristics, mechanical strength, and the like, and various proposals have been made with respect to the respective layers.
A charge transporting layer generally comprises a charge transporting material either alone or in combination with a film-forming binder resin. A number of charge transporting materials have been proposed to date, including pyrazoline compounds, hydrazone compounds, benzidine compounds, and polyvinylcarbazole compounds.
The separate function type electrophotographic photoreceptor is known to involve the following disadvantages upon repeated use: (1) They are susceptible to influences of corona charge products, such as ozone oxidation products, during charging processing, copying processing, etc. to cause an image blur. (2) Reductions in electrophotographic characteristics, such as an increase in residual potential and an increase in exposure potential (highlight potential), occur. It has therefore been demanded to overcome these problems.
In order to solve the above problems, an electrophotographic photoreceptor using two charge transporting materials, in which one has a higher ionization potential than that of the charge generating material and the other has a lower ionization potential than that of the charge transporting material, as in JP-A-2-293853. (The tern "JP-A" as used herein means an unexamined published Japanese patent application.)


The present invention relates to a method for preparing a porous scaffold for tissue engineering. It is another object of the present invention to provide a porous scaffold obtainable by the method as above described, and its use for tissue engineering, cell culture and cell delivery. The method of the invention comprise the steps consisting of a) preparing an alkaline aqueous solution comprising an amount of at least one polysaccharide and one cross-linking agent b) freezing the aqueous solution of step a) c) sublimating the frozen solution of step b) characterized in that step b) is performed before the cross-linking of the polysaccharide occurs in the solution of step a).

Tissue engineering is generally defined as the creation of tissue or organ equivalents by seeding of cells onto or into a scaffold suitable for implantation. The scaffolds must be biocompatible and cells must be able to attach and proliferate on the scaffolds in order for them to form tissue or organ equivalents. These scaffolds may therefore be considered as substrates for cell growth either in vitro or in vivo.
The attributes of an ideal biocompatible scaffold would include the ability to support cell growth either in vitro or in vivo, the ability to support the growth of a wide variety of cell types or lineages, the ability to be endowed with varying degrees of flexibility or rigidity required, the ability to have varying degrees of biodegradability, the ability to be introduced into the intended site in vivo without provoking secondary damage, and the ability to serve as a vehicle or reservoir for delivery of drugs, cells and/or bioactive substances to the desired site of action.
A number of different scaffold materials have been utilized, for guided tissue regeneration and/or as biocompatible surfaces. Biodegradable polymeric materials are preferred in many cases since the scaffold degrades over time and eventually the cell-scaffold structure is replaced entirely by the cells. Among the many candidates that may serve as useful scaffolds claimed to support tissue growth or regeneration, are included gels, foams, sheets, and numerous porous particulate structures of different forms and shapes.
Among the manifold natural polymers which have been disclosed to be useful for tissue engineering or culture, one can enumerate various constituents of the extracellular matrix including fibronectin, various types of collagen, and laminin, as well as keratin, fibrin and fibrinogen, hyaluronic acid, heparin sulfate, chondroitin sulfate and others.
Other common polymers that were used include poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG). PLG are hydrolytically degradable polymers that are FDA approved for use in the body and mechanically strong (Thomson R C, Yaszemski M J, Powers J M, Mikos A G. Fabrication of biodegradable polymer scaffolds to engineer trabecular bone. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 1995; 7(1):23-38; Wong W H. Mooney D J. Synthesis and properties of biodegradable polymers used as synthetic matrices for tissue engineering. In: Atala A, Mooney D J, editors; Langer R, Vacanti J P, associate editors. Synthetic biodegradable polymer scaffolds. Boston: Birkhäuser: 1997. p. 51-82.). However, they are hydrophobic and typically processed under relatively severe conditions, which make factor incorporation and entrapment of viable cells potentially a challenge.
As an alternative, a variety of hydrogels, a class of highly hydrated polymer materials (water content higher than 30% by weight), have been used as scaffold materials. They are composed of hydrophilic polymer chains, which are either synthetic or natural in origin. The structural integrity of hydrogels depends on cross-links formed between polymer chains via various chemical bonds and physical interactions. Hydrogels used in these applications are typically degradable, can be processed under relatively mild conditions, have mechanical and structural properties similar to many tissues and the extracellular matrix, and can be delivered in a minimally invasive manner (Lee K Y, Mooney D J. Hydrogels for tissue engineering. Chem Rev. 2001 July; 101(7):1869-79.). Various polymers have therefore been used to process hydrogels. For example, those polymers include collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid (HA), and chitosan.
Use of natural polysaccharides represents also a promising alternative for making scaffolds based on hydrogels, because they are non antigenic and non immunogenic, and some of them present antithrombotic effects and interactions with vascular growth factors. Furthermore, due to their plasticity properties, those polysaccharides based hydrogels may be shaped in various forms to allow the design of therapeutic implant or graft biomaterials.
For example, Chaouat et al. (Chaouat M, Le Visage C, Autissier A, Chaubet F, Letourneur D. The evaluation of a small-diameter polysaccharide-based arterial graft in rats. Biomaterials. 2006 November; 27(32):5546-53. Epub 2006 Jul. 20.) designed a novel polysaccharide based scaffold prepared by using a mixture of pullulan and dextran. Chemical cross-linking of polysaccharides was carried out using the cross-linking agent trisodium trimetaphosphate (STMP). Thereafter, the effectiveness of an arterial material prepared with this scaffold was demonstrated in vivo.
However, despite the advantageous of using polysaccharides for preparing scaffolds as described in Chaouat et al. (2006), the default of porosity of the resulted scaffold remains a drawback to envisage an effective use for therapeutic purposes. Actually, porosity is an essential feature to allow the proliferation, integration and differentiation of the cells inside the scaffold, so that the material can be used as a cell reservoir to reconstruct in vivo the tissue or organ.
Therefore there is still an existing need in the art to develop a method for preparing porous scaffold matrices that can be used for therapeutic purposes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for preparing porous scaffold for tissue engineering

INSERM (INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE)


System and methods are described for efficient monitoring of network traffic in a public cloud computing environment. In one implementation, a method comprises: generating flow log records of network traffic in the public cloud computing environment; identifying a data packet that presents a potential security risk; identifying a captured data packet (PCAP) record corresponding to the identified data packet; and transmitting the PCAP record to a computing device for network traffic analysis.

"Cloud computing" services provide shared resources, software, and information to computers and other devices upon request or on demand. Multi-tenant environments are a type of cloud computing architecture that often manage large quantities of incoming data from multiple sources and allocate computing resources among numerous users on a daily basis. In monitoring network activity of multi-tenant environments, current systems typically utilize one of two approaches: metadata-based monitoring, where metadata in data packet headers is analyzed, and full packet capture monitoring, where the data packet payload is analyzed. While each approach can be used successfully protect against security threats with its own advantages and disadvantages, current systems generally utilize one or the other while treating them as mutually exclusive approaches.

Efficient monitoring of network activity in a cloud computing environment


A method for automatic matching of planar point patterns in a reference pattern with a test pattern includes course mating, calculation of a mated possibility for one point in each pattern, preliminary selection of mated pairs based on these possibilities, and calculation of a similarity value based upon the number of mated pairs, the mated rate of the reference and test patterns, and the average mating possibility and average distance between mated points.

The matching of two or more planar point patterns in a computer system is an important technique in the field of computer vision and in the image processing technology. When an image is input into a computer in a digitized format, the "feature points" of the image can be abstracted with the conventional feature abstracting technologies, according to the characters of the image or to the purposes of the processing. The feature points, more concretely, the coordinates and other characters of the points, so obtained can be used in the recognition of the image. For example, by matching the distribution of the feature points of two images patterns, the similarity of the patterns comprising the feature points can be decided. Thus, the similarity of the images can be determined.
A good example of the application of the pattern matching technology is the matching of fingerprints. When the image of a fingerprint is scanned by an image scanner, the image is digitized and input to a computer. The computer uses a software or a circuit to abstract the distribution of the feature points of the fingerprint, usually the end points and the cross points of the lines and curves of the fingerprint. By matching two patterns comprising feature points obtained (scanned) in different time or places, whether the two fingerprints came from the same finger, can be determined.
Another application for the matching technology is the recognition of hand-written characters. Such technology is also called "optical character recognition--OCR" and is especially applicable to the recognition of Chinese characters or Japanese "kanji".
In the matching of two planar point patterns so obtained, several problems will be faced. First, the number of feature points of two patterns could be different, even if they were abstracted from a same image or the same image source. Another problem is, the possibility that each feature point exists at the same position in both patterns can not be forecast. Thirdly, while the images (patterns) were obtained at different time and/or places, the distribution of the feature points in one pattern could be shifted, rotated and/or distorted (enlarged or reduced), in relating to the other pattern.
Taiwan patent application No.79109743 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,367) related to a "Method and Device for the Automated Matching and Recognition for Planar Pattern Points" wherein a "fuzzy relaxation" approach was introduced.
According to said Taiwan patent, the matching of two planar point patterns are conducted in two steps. The first step is to mate the points of one pattern (the reference pattern) with the points of another pattern (the test pattern). The second step is to calculate the similarity of the two patterns, according to the result of the mating. Here, mating means, for every point (feature point) in the test pattern, locating one only point in the reference pattern, such that the two mated points are overlapped or with very short distance, if they were in the same coordinate system. The reason for the mating includes that, when two patterns are similar, most points of one pattern will be mated with the points of the other.
In the mating process, a "course matching" is used to exclude pairs of points that are impossible to be mated. The initial "mated possibility" of one point from the reference pattern to be mated with one point from the test pattern is set at 0 for those pairs that can not be mated and is set at 1 for other pairs. The mated possibility of a pair is then adjusted by the "fuzzy relaxation" method. In this Taiwan patent, the mated possibility of a pair is adjusted according to "the value of other mated pairs to support such mating, given that such one pair is mated". The mated possibility of one mated pair is adjusted by the following equation: ##EQU1##
wherein S.sup.(r) (pi,qj) represents the mated possibility of points pi and qj, when it is adjusted for the r.sup.th time; pi represents a point from the test pattern P wherein i=1, 2, . . . , m; qj represents a point from the reference pattern Q wherein j=1, 2, . . . , m; Cij(h, k) represents the possibility that another pair ph and qk are mated (ph is a point of Pattern P, h=1, 2, . . . , m, h.noteq.i, qk is a point of Pattern Q, k=1, 2, . . . , m, k.noteq.j) and ##EQU2## l's represent distances between pi and ph or between qj and qk and m represents the least number of points in patterns P and Q.
While the mated possibility of every point from the reference pattern with every point from the test pattern is calculated under the "fuzzy relaxation" method, the best mated pairs, i.e., the pairs with the highest mated possibilities, can be selected under a "sequential forward selection method".
In the second step, the similarity of the reference pattern and the test pattern can be calculated employing the following components. They are: the mated rate (number of mated pairs/least number of points of the two patterns), the average mated possibility, the average distance of mated pairs and the scaling factor.
In order to solve the problem of distortion, including shift, rotation and proportional scaling, a "least mean-square-error" value was introduced to adjust the distribution of the test pattern.
Although the above-said patent taught an automatic matching method for planar point patterns with high efficiency, it inherits the problem of relatively high rejection rate. If the "false acceptance rate--FAR" is set at 0.1%, in matching 800 fingerprint images, its "false rejection rate--FRR" will be about 25%. This means, when two images are from the same fingerprint, the possibility that the system decides they are not from the same fingerprint is 25%.
Nevertheless, the processing under this conventional art takes relatively long time. Matching of two planar point patterns takes approximately 0.45 second in average.
It is then necessary to develop an automatic matching device and method for planar point patterns wherein the FRR can be reduced. It is also necessary to have an automatic matching device and method that match planar point patterns with higher speed.

Method and device for automatic matching of planar point patterns


An upgrade system, an upgrade type of which may be adaptively changed, and an upgrade method includes a server, an upgrade type of which may be adaptively changed, a client, an upgrade type of which may be adaptively changed, and a ticket controlling apparatus. The server includes: a server interface unit receiving information relating to an upgrade from a ticket controlling apparatus comprising a ticket; a pushing unit in which at least one client to be upgraded is registered; and a pushing scheduling unit connecting to the ticket controlling apparatus, receiving the information relating to the upgrade from the server interface unit, and scheduling an upgrade of the at least one client by using the pushing unit based on the received information relating to the upgrade. The ticket comprises information about a distribution strategy, information about the upgrade type, and information about a module to be distributed.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the following description relate to an upgrade system and method having adaptive changeable upgrade processes, and more particularly, to an upgrade system and method capable of changing an upgrade process into a push type, a polling type, and half-push/half-polling type upgrade without configuring an additional system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the client/server model has been a principle model for conception of network computing. Most business programs that have been made recently adopt the client/server model, and so does TCP/IP, which is a dominant protocol for data communications on the Internet. For example, in the case of the Internet, a web browser may be considered as a kind of client program that requests a Web server at a certain location in the Internet to transmit Web pages or files. In a general client/server model, a server program that is generally referred to as daemon waits for requests of a client in an activated state, and a plurality of client programs generally share one server program.
In the client/server model, data transmission is generally performed in a polling type, a push type, and half-push/half-polling type.
According to the polling type data transmission, clients regularly check the version of a module of the server, and download upgrade files for upgrading the module from the server, when the version of the module on the server is updated.
According to the push type data transmission, the server visits an IP address of a client based on client information managed by the server and transmits data directly to the client according to options set by the client. That is, the server manages the version of the module of the client and selects the client module to be upgraded, and then, notifies the client that the module is to be upgraded.
In order to address problems of the polling type or the push type data transmissions, the half-push/half-polling type data transmissions has been suggested. For example, according to the half-push/half-polling type data transmission, the push and the polling type data transmissions are combined appropriately to support the upgrade of the client so that the client may perform the upgrade by using update time distribution of the server and a scheduling method.

Upgrade system and method having adaptive changeable upgrade process


An article of footwear, such as a work shoe, is worn by miners. The footwear includes a location determining module which is able to locate its position by means of the timing and data contained in signals sent by it to locator devices which are placed at known locations throughout the mine, and which respond to transmissions made by the locator module. The footwear also contains a low frequency RF module which enables it to selectively transmit an alarm signal encoded with its location upon the selective activation by the wearer. In various embodiments, the invention can include sensors which are able to monitor physiological data of the wearer or the survivability of the ambient conditions where the footwear is located. Embodiments of the invention also provide the wearer with two-way communications capability. The various electronic components of the invention, can be formed in as a flexible modular unit which can be attached to existing footwear, or formed to new footwear during the manufacturing process, or thereafter.

The present invention relates to an article of footwear, such as a work shoe. In particular, the present invention relates to a piece of footwear which includes a location determining and identifying means, such as a module which interacts with portable, or hardwired, locators which are placed in known locations throughout the mine and which are used to periodically update the location of the footwear, together with means for selectively activating an alarm signal encoded with location and identification data, whereby the wearer of such footwear can selectively send out a distress, or "find me" signal to monitoring personnel.
Underground mines, which are characterized by their tough working conditions and hazardous environments, require a fool-proof mine-wide communication system to provide for the smooth functioning of mine operations and to provide communications means to be employed between miners underground and personnel on the surface in order to provide for the safety of the underground miners. Existing systems based on hard-wired communication systems are unable to withstand the very disaster conditions which endanger miners who may be trapped due to a cave-in or other action which traps miners and simultaneously cuts any wired lines. Mine topology and the complexity of mine tunnels and structures further hinds the survivability of hard-wired line communications systems.
While numerous disasters, wherein miners have been trapped underground, often with tragic consequences, have been reported, no known means for locating miners trapped underground, other than the boring of holes, often without positive results, is generally utilized.
In part, the failure to provide a means for locating miners trapped underground has been a problem with finding a technology which can work in the hostile underground environment of mines in which radio signals do not, generally, propagate well. Yet another problem which exists, but which is often unmentioned, in providing apparatus able to locate miners has been the reluctance on the part of miners, themselves, to use a system which permits their every move to be tracked and followed, and which thereby instills in them a feeling that they are under constant watch, even when carrying out their normal work duties.
Thus, while the West Virginia legislature unanimously passed legislation in January 2006 requiring miners to wear tracking devices and to carry wireless emergency communications equipment when working underground, as a legislative response to the deaths of fourteen miners in two separate incidents in the first three weeks of that year, the legislation included a provision to protect miners' privacy while they are wearing wireless tracking devices, by prohibiting the firing of or discrimination against any miner whose location is being tracked during non-emergency monitoring.
Similarly, there have been attempts at federal legislation to improve miners' safety by providing means for tracking the location of underground miners, so that swift emergency response can be provided in the event of a mining disaster.
As noted, there are two primary problems in providing devices which can enable the location of miners trapped underground. The first is one of technology, while the second is one involving the reluctance of miners to be tracked, unless they are actually in danger.

Covert alarm and locator apparatus for miners


Methods, systems, and computer readable media for unifying fixed and mobile devices via third party call control (3PCC) are disclosed. The method is performed at a dedicated application server (AS) that supports a third-party call control (3PCC) interface. According to one method, a call addressed to a unified subscriber identifier associated with a terminating subscriber is detected, where the terminating subscriber is associated with two or more terminating endpoints. The call is offered to each of the terminating endpoints by initiating signaling to each of the terminating endpoints using the 3PCC interface. One of the terminating endpoints used to answer the call is detected and the call is redirected to the terminating endpoint used to answer the call. Signaling messages are sent to all of the terminating endpoints other than the terminating endpoint used to answer the call for instructing the terminating endpoints to release resources associated with the offered call.

As the number of communications devices has increased, and with it the number of network identities associated with individual users, there exists an increased desirability for a single identity that can be used in sessions across all of a user's communication devices, both fixed and mobile, along with a consistent set of voice and multi-media applications that can be leveraged for all devices.
One conventional solution for providing such a single identity in SIP-based pre-IMS networks, as well as 3GPP-based IMS networks, includes having both the fixed and mobile devices register with the same application server. For example, all fixed and mobile clients may be required to register with SIP application servers using the same identity. However, this solution has several drawbacks such as inflexibility in the identities selectable by a user and interoperability difficulties between various types of networks and devices. Additionally, while third party call control interfaces currently exist on PBX and other end office nodes, these interfaces are not currently used to create a single identity for subscribers across both fixed and mobile devices.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties, a need exists for improved methods, systems, and computer readable media for unifying fixed and mobile devices without excessive use of telephony resources.


A curtain consists of a web of temperature resistant material forming a web surface and may be unwound from a coil arranged on a coil core. The coil is supported by a bearing arrangement including at least one supporting surface so that the coil core, at least on one of its ends, is supported adjustably in height within a guidance. Alternatively or in combination, the curtain is guided by lateral guide bars including an arrangement for preventing the inserted curtain edge to be drawn out. Another feature is that at least two curtain webs the surfaces of which face each other have a common end bar forming a weight for the curtain.

In case of a fire, a dangerous element is constituted by the flames and the relatively high temperatures themselves. Simultaneously, there is also another potential danger from developing fumes or smoke having, certainly, also a higher temperature which, however, will not be as high as that of the blaze's source. This smoke, which, due to its higher temperature, will generally pass through the upper regions of a room, has the tendency to spread in large rooms and to cool down on cooler walls. Then it will fill also the lower regions of the room so as to deprive people, and animals as well, of breath.
Therefore, an endeavor has to be to prevent the smoke from spreading and to draw it off in such a manner that it no longer constitutes a hazard for breathing air in lower regions of a room. Admittedly, an arrangement to provide surfaces for drawing off or blocking the smoke is difficult, because such surfaces should not obstruct the normal use of a room.
From DE-A-23 38 352, a curtain with the characteristics of the introductory part of claim 1 is known by which draw off surfaces without any obstruction are provided, such surfaces being optionally adapted to shield against a blaze (fire-resistance). A disadvantage of this known attempt resides in that the curtains, by virtue of their support and by the arrangement of loose webs which are movable relatively to each other, are difficult to maintain in tight condition so that they do not result in effectively drawing off or shielding in case of a fire with the resulting air current developing thereby.

Curtain arrangement for preventing spread of smoke


A hydraulic fluid storage apparatus for a transmission has a main sump and a secondary sump. The secondary sump is connected with the main sump through a restricted flow passage. The fluid within the main sump is subjected to centrifugal forces by rotating components within the transmission, such that at high speeds and high levels in the main sump, the restricted passage is closed by a centrifugal dam thereby resulting in fluid storage within the secondary sump. The fluid storage in the secondary sump returning to the main sump when the speed of the rotating components is reduced.

Power transmissions employ a hydraulic fluid circuit to provide lubrication and hydraulic power to various components within the transmission, such as gears, clutches, brakes, etc. These transmissions therefore need a storage area for the hydraulic fluid that is not in transit during transmission operation.
The total hydraulic fluid within the transmission is equal to the transmission that is in the transmission sump, the transmission fluid that is currently stored within a component, such a servomechanism for a clutch or brake, and the hydraulic fluid that is in transit between the transmission pump and the sump.
It is desirable to make the transmission sump volume as small as possible in order to maintain a smaller overall package for the transmission. The volume of the sump oil is required to be large enough to keep the hydraulic pump primed under all conditions and to allow for some expansion for the oil under operating conditions wherein the oil temperature is increased or under elevated speed conditions wherein the volume of fluid that is in transit is decreased. It is desirable that the sump be large enough to prevent the oil level from being operated on by the rotating parts in the transmission. These rotating parts include drums, gears, and shafts, to name a few. The continuous operation of the rotating parts beneath the level of the sump oil reduces the overall efficiency of the transmission as well as causing foaming within the transmission fluid at elevated speeds. Both of these conditions are undesirable.
Prior art transmission structures have employed external reservoirs to store excess fluid and/or thermally controlled reservoirs, which provide for fluid storage at elevated temperatures or permit the fluid to return to the basic sump when the temperature decreases, such as when the transmission sits for a long period of time without operation. Both of these additional sump or reservoir systems require valving and control mechanisms so that the main sump is always provided with a minimum amount of oil.

Hydraulic fluid storage apparatus for a transmission


Methods, systems, circuits, and devices for power-packet-switching power converters using bidirectional bipolar transistors (BTRANs) for switching. Four-terminal three-layer BTRANs provide substantially identical operation in either direction with forward voltages of less than a diode drop. BTRANs are fully symmetric merged double-base bidirectional bipolar opposite-faced devices which operate under conditions of high non-equilibrium carrier concentration, and which can have surprising synergies when used as bidirectional switches for power-packet-switching power converters. BTRANs are driven into a state of high carrier concentration, making the on-state voltage drop very low.

The present application relates to bidirectional bipolar transistors, and more particularly to power converters which incorporate bidirectional bipolar transistors, and also to related methods.
Note that the points discussed below may reflect the hindsight gained from the disclosed inventions, and are not necessarily admitted to be prior art.
Power Packet Switching Converters
A new kind of power converter was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,599,196 entitled "Universal power conversion methods," which is incorporated by reference into the present application in its entirety. This patent describes a bidirectional (or multidirectional) power converter which pumps power into and out of a link inductor which is shunted by a capacitor.
The switch arrays at the ports are operated to achieve zero-voltage switching by totally isolating the link inductor+capacitor combination at times when its voltage is desired to be changed. (When the inductor+capacitor combination is isolated at such times, the inductor's current will change the voltage of the capacitor, as in a resonant circuit. This can even change the sign of the voltage, without loss of energy.) This architecture is now referred to as a "current-modulating" or "Power Packet Switching" architecture. Bidirectional power switches are used to provide a full bipolar (reversible) connection from each of multiple lines, at each port, to the rails, i.e. the internal lines across which the link inductor and its capacitor are connected.
The conventional epitaxial base NPN transistor has an N+ region over the entire back surface. This necessarily prevents the structure from having the same electrical characteristics in each direction when operated as a bidirectional transistor. These structures are therefore not well-suited to acting as bidirectional switches in power-packet-switching power converter architectures.
Semiconductor statistics under high level non-equilibrium carrier densities can be quite different from low level carrier densities. Conventional recombination is generally less relevant with high level carrier density than in low level conditions. Typical definitions of carrier lifetime are also less relevant. Carriers can often interact directly in high level conditions through Auger interactions. The beta (ratio of emitter current to base current) will therefore normally decrease as a bipolar transistor is driven into high level non-equilibrium carrier densities. These densities can be, for example, more than two orders of magnitude above intrinsic carrier density.
The voltage drop under conditions of high level non-equilibrium carrier concentration will be low, even if the resistivity under small currents is large. Thus a device can be optimized to withstand high voltages (e.g. 1200V or more) while still achieving a forward voltage drop of less than a Volt.

Bidirectional two-base bipolar junction transistor devices, operation, circuits, and systems with diode-mode turn-on and collector-side base driven


A method and apparatus are provided for detecting data races that overcome the limitations of the prior art. In some embodiments, this is accomplished by detecting a first access to an object, determining whether the first access is associated with a suspicious pattern, automatically refining a pattern detection granularity from the object to a memory location within the object if a determination is made that the first access is associated with the suspicious pattern, and reporting the data race if a second access associated with the suspicious pattern occurs at the memory location after the pattern detection granularity is refined.

A data race is a type of problem that may occur in multi-threaded programs or multiple programs accessing the same data which may lead to anomalous behavior of the program(s). Data races may occur where a shared variable can be accessed by various threads/programs simultaneously. Threads/programs "race" to access a shared variable and, depending upon which access occurs first, program results may vary unpredictably. Conventional solutions to this problem attempt to detect data races before they occur. This is partially due to the fact that data races are unpredictable and thus extremely difficult to reproduce during the debugging process. Indeed, any anomalous behavior caused by a data race is dependent on the precise timing of separate threads/programs accessing the same memory location and may thus disappear if that timing is altered during the debugging process.
Conventional solutions for data race detection monitor lock acquisition and memory accesses, computing an access pattern for each memory location and memory access. These solutions then evaluate the access pattern to memory locations to detect suspicious access patterns that may indicate a potential data race. An access pattern is "suspicious" if a memory location is shared among multiple threads without a common lock that may be used by individual threads/programs to govern access to the memory locations. Locks may be used to prevent data races from occurring where suspicious activity is detected.
A lock is a software construct that enables at most one thread/program to access a shared variable at a certain point in time. A locking discipline (i.e., a way of using of a lock) may require that a lock for a shared variable must be acquired before accessing the shared variable. Once a thread/program has completed its access to the shared variable, the lock is released. Locks are "acquired and released," enabling only one thread to access a particular shared variable at any given time. Locks and locking disciplines typically follow an access pattern.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional access pattern state diagram. Here, a series of states 102–112 and "superstates" 114–116 are described to illustrate conventional techniques for detecting potential data races. "Exclusive" describes those states where only one thread/program may access a variable at any given time. "Shared" refers to variables that may be accessed simultaneously by multiple threads/programs, unless one of the threads/programs is performing a write operation, which indicates a suspicious pattern (i.e., a potential data race). States 102–112 represent a particular state of an item during an access. Each item is initially in a "virgin" state 102, then moves to an exclusive first state 104 when a thread in a multi-threaded program (or a program) first accesses the item. When a second thread/program accesses the item (previously accessed by the first thread/program), the item moves to an exclusive second state 106. The separation of exclusive superstate 114 into an exclusive first state 104 and an exclusive second state 106 prevents generation of a false alarm. If a program is designed to allow a first thread/program to initialize an object, handing it over to a second thread/program without ever performing any simultaneous shared access, a false alarm indicating a potential data race may be generated.
When a different thread accesses an item in exclusive second state 106, the item moves to shared superstate 116. If the access is a read operation ("read"), then the item enters shared read state 108. In the event that the access is a write operation ("write"), the item enters shared modify state 110. This is an example of a "first shared" access. Subsequent accesses are also referred to as "shared" accesses. Also, if the shared access is a write and the item is in shared read state 108, the item moves to shared modify state 110. Entering a shared state (e.g., shared read state 108 or shared modify state 110) also initiates computation of a set of locks ("lockset") that are common to shared accesses to an item. The first lockset is set to the set of locks held by the accessing thread when the first shared access occurs. On every subsequent shared access, the item's lockset is reduced to the intersection of its lockset and the set of locks held by the accessing thread.
An access pattern's lockset can only decrease over time, as subsequent accesses occur. However, a shared modify access pattern with an empty lockset indicates a suspicious pattern. When a suspicious access pattern is first detected, conventional implementations generate a warning (e.g., warning state 112) of a potential data race. Typically, when a warning of a potential data race is generated, the stack of the thread associated with the suspicious pattern is dumped, enabling a user to diagnose a copy of the thread whether a potential data race exists while still permitting the program to run. A "warning" state 112 is entered if suspicious patterns are detected.
FIG. 2 illustrates conventional encoding of access patterns. As an example, conventional techniques encode information relevant to access patterns using 32-bit words that include state information. In each state, except virgin state 102, information in addition to the state name must be stored. In an exclusive state (e.g., exclusive states 104–106), an identifier for a thread exercising exclusive access is stored. In a shared state (e.g., shared states 108–110) a set of common locks is stored. In order to store an access pattern in one word, typically a few bits (e.g., bits 202–210) are used to encode the state name. Fields 212–220 are used to store remaining bits for a thread identifier or an index in a table of locksets.
One problem with conventional solutions is that a program's memory requirements are significantly increased. For each memory location used by a program to store data, another memory location is required to store an access pattern. Other conventional solutions for locking discipline combine the accesses to all memory locations in an object and require only one additional memory location to store the access pattern for an entire object. However, these solutions work only if every memory location (e.g., all elements in an array) follows the same locking discipline, which is often not the case. Another problem with conventional locking disciplines is that even if an object access pattern is stored, applying it to individual memory locations is a time consuming and labor intensive process and is typically applied only during the debugging process.
Thus, what are needed are systems and methods for refining the detection of potential data races without the limitations of conventional techniques.

Adaptive granularity refinement in detecting potential data races


In an elevator door apparatus, landing fire protection members having engaging portions extending in a direction parallel to an opening and closing direction of landing doors are fixed at door recess portions of an entrance. Further, door side fire prevention plates extending in a direction perpendicular to the opening and closing direction of the landing doors are fixed to side end portions of the landing doors. Insert holes in which the engaging portions are inserted when the doors are closed are provided in the door side fire prevention plates. When a fire occurs, the engaging portions are brought into contact with the side edge portions of the insert holes, which restricts warping of the landing doors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an elevator door apparatus, particularly to an improvement in the fire protection construction thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 is a horizontal cross sectional view showing a conventional elevator door apparatus. In the drawing, an entrance 2 is provided in a landing wall 1. A jamb 3 is fixed to side edge portions and an upper edge portion of the entrance 2. End portions of the jamb 3 close to a hoist way 4 are bent in an L-shaped manner toward an inner portion of a door recess portion 5 to constitute a landing side engaging portion 3a. A pair of landing doors (fireproof doors) 6 for opening and closing the entrance 2 are provided at the inner side of the entrance 2. A fire protection member 7 is fixed to each opening side end portion of the landing doors 6. A door side engaging portion 7a having a U-shaped cross section is formed in each fire protection member 7 in such a manner as to oppose both surfaces of the landing side engaging portion 3a when the doors 6 are closed.
Next, FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view showing a deformed state of the landing doors 6 shown in FIG. 7 when there is a fire, and FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along a line IX--IX in FIG. 8. When a fire occurs in the landing entrance side, the landing doors 6 are deformed by heat in the manner shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. At this time, the door side engaging portions 7a are brought into contact with the landing side engaging portions 3a, so that the deformation (warping) of the landing doors 6 is restricted. Accordingly, a large gap is prevented from developing between the landing entrance and the hoist way 4 due to the warping of the landing doors 6 and the fire is prevented from entering the hoist way 4. Here, the warp of the landing doors 6 is exaggerated in FIGS. 8 and 9 for easier understanding.
In the conventional elevator door apparatus having the above construction, since the door side engaging portions 7a project from the side end portions of the landing doors 6 in the direction that the doors open, in order to secure a clearance c with respect to the side wall of the hoist way 4 in the door open state (broken lines in FIG. 7), the width d.sub.o of the hoist way 4 must be increased at least twice the distance e (for example, 100 mm) that the door side engaging portion 7a projects compared to when fire protection members 7 are not used, so that the area of the building that the hoist way 4 occupies increases. Furthermore, it is necessary to determine if fire protection members 7 are to be provided at the building design stage, and this decreases design flexibility.


A vaporized fuel processing apparatus has a casing defining an adsorption chamber therein and having a tank port, a purge port, and an atmospheric port. The tank port is connected to a fuel tank. The purge port is connected to an internal combustion engine. The atmospheric port is open to the atmosphere. A heater is disposed between the adsorption chamber and the atmospheric port and has a fin heat exchanger and a heating element. The heating element is configured to generate heat by electricity supply. The fin heat exchanger is joined to the heating element. The surface area of the fin heat exchanger between the heating element and the adsorption chamber is larger than the surface area of the fin heat exchanger between the heating element and the atmospheric port.

This disclosure relates to a vaporized fuel processing apparatuses having an adsorption chamber, a tank port, a purge port, an atmospheric port and a heater. The adsorption chamber is filled with an adsorbent capable of adsorbing and desorbing fuel vapor vaporized in a fuel tank. The tank port is communicated with the tank port. The purge port is configured to discharge the fuel vapor, which has been desorbed from the adsorbent, to the outside of the adsorption chamber. The atmospheric port is open to the atmosphere. The heater is disposed between the adsorption chamber and the atmospheric port.
The vaporized fuel processing apparatus, which is also referred to as "canister", is mounted on a vehicle such as automobile in order to prevent leakage of fuel vapor, which has been vaporized in a fuel tank, to the outside of the vehicle. In detail, the fuel vapor, which has been vaporized in the fuel tank, flows into the adsorption chamber via the tank port and is selectively adsorbed into the adsorbent disposed in the adsorption chamber. However, the adsorbent has an adsorption capacity for the fuel vapor and cannot adsorb the fuel vapor over this adsorption capacity. Thus, it is necessary to periodically desorb the fuel vapor from the adsorbent in order to recover adsorption ability of the adsorbent. Accordingly, an atmospheric air is introduced into the adsorption chamber via the atmospheric port as purge air due to negative pressure in an intake pipe connected to an internal combustion engine and the like in order to desorb the fuel vapor from the adsorbent. The desorbed fuel vapor is discharged to the outside of the adsorption chamber via the purge port.
The adsorbent has a characteristic that the higher the temperature is, the lower the adsorption capacity for the fuel vapor is, and that the lower the temperature is, the higher the adsorption capacity for the fuel vapor is. Thus, when desorbing the fuel vapor from the adsorbent, the higher the temperature is, the larger the desorption amount of the fuel vapor is, and the lower the temperature is, the smaller the desorption amount of the fuel vapor is. Accordingly, when desorbing the fuel vapor from the adsorbent, it is preferable that the temperature is as high as possible in order to improve desorbing efficiency (recovery efficiency of the adsorbent). However, when desorbing the fuel vapor from the adsorbent, the temperature of the adsorbent tends to decrease due to heat of vaporization of the fuel vapor. Thus, the desorbing efficiency can be improved by providing a heater at the upstream of the adsorption chamber and heating the purge air.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-102722 discloses a vaporized fuel processing apparatus having a heater for heating purge air. The heater has a heating element, which generates heat by electricity supply, and a fin heat exchanger, which is joined to the heating element and extends from the heating element both to the tank port side and to the adsorption chamber side. With respect to the heater, the heating element is positioned at a center of the fin heat exchanger with respect to a flowing direction of the purge air. The fin heat exchanger has a plurality of fins arranged in parallel to each other at regular intervals.
In the vaporized fuel processing apparatus of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-102722, a diffusion plate having a plurality of diffusion holes is provided between the heater and the atmospheric port in order to radially diffuse the purge air introduced from the atmospheric port and to uniformly supply the purge air to the entire heater. The diffusion holes of the diffusion plate are arranged such that the opening area of the diffusion holes at the center area just below the atmospheric port is the smallest, and such that the opening area of the diffusion holes gradually increases from the center area toward a circumferential edge of the diffusion plate.
The purge air is introduced from the atmospheric port via the heater into the adsorption chamber. Thus, with respect to the flowing direction of the purge air, heat exchange efficiency upstream of the heating element is lower than heat exchange efficiency downstream of the heating element. That is, the heat exchange efficiency by a part of the fin heat exchanger, which extends from the heating element to the atmospheric port side, is lower than the heat exchange efficiency by another part of the fin heat exchanger, which extends from the heating element to the adsorption chamber side. Accordingly, at the upstream of the heating element, the fin heat exchanger cannot exert its maximum performance. In the case of the vaporized fuel processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-102722, because the heating element is positioned at the center of the fin heat exchangers with respect to the flowing direction of the purge air, heating of the purge air by the heater is inefficient. Further, this decreases the space efficiency for the fin heat exchangers.
Sometimes, the canister is horizontally disposed such that a flow passage for gas within the adsorption chamber extends horizontally. In this case, because the specific gravity of the fuel vapor is heavier than that of air, the adsorption amount of the fuel vapor at a lower area within the adsorption chamber tends to be large. Thus, when the canister is disposed horizontally, it is preferable that the heating efficiency of the purge air by the heater increases toward the bottom. In the case of the vaporized fuel processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-102722, the fins of the fin heat exchanger are arranged at regular intervals, so that it would be difficult to preferentially heat a lower area within the adsorption chamber.
Sometimes, the atmospheric port is formed at a position eccentric relative to the center of the adsorption chamber in the radial direction at an end of the adsorption chamber facing the atmospheric port. In the case of the diffusion plate disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-102722, because the opening area at the center is the smallest, the position of a portion having the smallest opening area of the diffusion plate is deviated from the position of the atmospheric port in the radial direction. This cannot uniformly supply the purge air to the heater, so that the desorbing efficiency is low.
When the canister traps the fuel vapor generated in the fuel tank, gas flows within the adsorption chamber from the tank port toward the atmospheric port. Thus, the fuel vapor concentration in the gas flowing through the adsorption chamber decreases from the tank port toward the atmospheric port. Accordingly, the adsorbing efficiency for the fuel vapor decreases toward the atmospheric port. In the case of the vaporized fuel processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-102722, the adsorption chamber is divided into a plurality of compartments, and the compartments are filled with the same adsorption material. Therefore, there has been a need for improved vaporized fuel processing apparatuses.


A streaming media cache comprises a mass storage device configured to store streaming media data, a cache memory coupled to the mass storage device, the cache memory configured to store a subset of the streaming media data in a plurality of locations, and configured to provide the subset of the streaming media data to the processor, and a processor coupled to the mass storage device and to the cache memory, the processor configured to use a first retirement algorithm to determine a first location within the cache memory that is to be retired, configured to copy data from the mass storage device to the first location within the cache memory, configured to monitor a cache memory age, wherein the cache memory age is determined in response to an age of data in at least a second location within the cache memory, configured to use a second retirement algorithm to determine a third location within the cache memory that is to be retired when the cache memory age falls below a threshold age, and configured to copy data from the mass storage device to the third location within the cache memory.

The present invention relates to streaming media. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for serving of streaming media with increased performance.
Typical file caching methods include a cache receiving a file from a file server, and storing the entire file. Later, when a client desires the file, instead of serving the file from the file server, the file is served from the cache. Because the cache is typically a server that is closer to the client or has higher bandwidth than the file server, the file is served to the client quickly from the cache.
It has been discovered by the inventors, that attempting to apply typical file caching methods to files that include streaming media data, raises many new problems. For instance, serving a streaming media data file from a cache requires much more processing by the cache than with classical file transfers over the web. For example, during normal playback, the cache may need to perform a significant quantity of processing such as packet modifications, packet resequencing, packet retiming, packet assembly and other computationally intensive functions. As another example, the cache may be called upon to perform random access within the streaming media data file as a result of a client "rewind" or "fast forward" operation. Because, classical caching is typically file-based, such a random access would involve moving within a very large data file.
Another drawback is that since streaming media data files are very large, a huge penalty is incurred if the streaming media data file is deleted. Typically if a file cache determines that it needs more disk space for new files, it will first delete older files, regardless of the size. As an example, if an older file is a streaming media data file that stores an hour-long program, the entire hour-long program is deleted even if the cache only needs to free up the equivalent of 1 minute of space.
Another drawback is that many different streaming media formats exist, each with its own specific streaming requirements. Thus in contrast to classical file transfer over the web, where the files are essentially opaque to the file cache and for streaming data to clients, a streaming media cache needs to process the actual contents of the file beyond mere storage and retrieval.
An additional drawback is that typical cache retirement schemes are often not suited for streaming media data. In particular, schemes where locations within a fast cache memory are retired and replaced with "fresh" data may degrade performance of a streaming media cache. As an example, one cache retirement scheme includes removing data from a fast cache memory if the data is not used or seldom used. In contrast, it has been discovered by the inventors that data identified by such a retirement scheme represents data that will probably be required in the future. In other words, such a retirement scheme would delete data that is needed. In another example, a FIFO retirement scheme might be used in a traditional cache, i.e. the oldest data is slated for retirement. However, it has been discovered by the inventors that such a retirement scheme may delete data from the fast cache memory that could be advantageously provided to other clients from the fast cache memory.
In light of the above, what is required are improved methods and apparatus for serving streaming media to client systems with increased performance capabilities. Further, what is required are methods and apparatus for providing such solutions in economical ways.

Dynamic streaming buffer cache algorithm selection


An image forming apparatus having a revolving type developing device including a plurality of monochrome developing members for developing a latent image formed on an image carrier with monochrome developer and a plurality of toner storing members for separately storing different toners. The apparatus includes a plurality of toner supplying members disposed in the revolving type developing device for supplying toner from one of the toner storing members to a corresponding one of the plurality of monochrome developing members. A plurality of density sensors are separately disposed in each of the monochrome developing members for sensing density of monochrome developer and generating a signal indicative of density of the monochrome developer. A light beam generating member is disposed inside the revolving type developing device for generating and irradiating a light beam with a density signal obtained by one of the density sensors. A light beam receiving member receives the light beam from the light beam generating member and is disposed at a portion of a body of the image forming apparatus in which the light beam receiving member faces the light beam generating member. A controller controls one of the toner supplying members to supply toner to a corresponding monochrome developing member facing the image carrier to keep a density of the monochrome developer stored in the monochrome developing member within a predetermined range based upon the signal received by the light beam receiving member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a full-color image forming apparatus, for example, a full-color copier, a full-color facsimile and a full-color printer, capable of making a full-color developer image by using a revolving type developing device for developing latent images with a plurality of monochrome developers. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical communicating device for optically communicating a signal between the revolving type developing device and a body of an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a full-color image forming apparatus, a revolving type developing device is generally used.
Such a revolving type developing device generally includes four monochrome developing rooms for developing a latent image with monochrome developers, for example, yellow developer, magenta developer, cyan developer and black developer. The developing rooms are disposed around an axis of the revolving type developing device and each room separately stores one of the monochrome developers therein. A latent image is repeatedly formed on an image carrier to be separately developed by each of the plurality of monochrome developers and then separately developed by a corresponding one of the monochrome developers in a predetermined order and finally superimposed on a copy sheet, thereby obtaining a full-color developer image.
In such a conventional developing device, since a density of each of the monochrome developers has to be kept within a predetermined range to obtain a full-color copy of good quality, a density sensor is generally provided in the developing rooms and is generally utilized to sense density. Such a density sensor generates a signal indicative of density and the signal is sent to a controller for controlling a developer supplying device for supplying new monochrome developer to a corresponding developing room to keep a density of the developer within a predetermined range.
Thus, the density signal is generally sent from the revolving type developing device to a controller disposed in a body of the image forming apparatus. As shown in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application Number 08-69144, to send a density signal from a revolving type developing device to a body of an image forming apparatus, a plurality of optical beam generating members are provided on a side plate of a revolving type developing drum. Each member communicates density information from a sensor provided in a corresponding developer storing room of the drum to the body of the image forming apparatus. Each member irradiates a light beam indicating a density sensed by the corresponding density sensor disposed in the corresponding developer storing room. The plurality of optical beam generating members are generally disposed on a circumference circle on a side plate and around an axis of rotation of the revolving type developing device with a predetermined interval therebetween (e.g., at 90.degree. intervals).
To receive light beams generated by the optical beam generating members, a photoreceptor is disposed at a portion of a body of the image forming apparatus which faces one of the optical beam generating members, when the revolving type developing device is rotated to a predetermined position. The photoreceptor is capable of receiving a light beam irradiated from one of the optical beam generating members, each time the revolving type developing device rotates through an angle of 90.degree..
A density signal received by the photoreceptor is input to a controller for controlling a monochrome developer supplying device for supplying new monochrome developer into a corresponding developing room to maintain the density of the monochrome developer stored therein within a predetermined range. In this way, the density signal is optically communicated from the revolving type developing device to the body of the image forming apparatus.
However, such a conventional optical sensing device is excessively costly, since it requires the use of a plurality of optical beam generating members, a complex control system for controlling the sensors to start sensing density and difficulties in providing a precise arrangement of the optical beam generating members on the side plate of the revolving type developing device.
As shown in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application Number 08-267627, an optical signal is communicated from a revolving type developing device to a body of an image forming apparatus. In this device, a light emitting diode (LED) for generating a light beam having density information relating to one of the monochrome developers is disposed in an opening of a shaft which extends from a side of the device and on the axis of rotation of the revolving type developing device.
To receive such a light beam, a photo-transistor is disposed at a portion of a body of the image forming apparatus so that the photo-transistor faces the LED. Density information is thus optically communicated from the LED to the image forming apparatus, when the LED irradiates a light beam. However, such an arrangement does not allow for mutual communication of optical information between the revolving type developing device and the body of the apparatus. In addition, the shaft in this unit extends a distance from the end of the revolving type developing device, thus making the size of the unit relatively large.
The above described apparatuses are not particularly suited for use with an optical communicating system for mutually communicating information between the image forming apparatus and the revolving type developing device. As shown in FIG. 1, an optical communicating system for mutually communicating optical information includes a first unit plate mounting a light beam generating member 501a for generating a light beam and a photoreceptor 501b for receiving a light beam. A second unit plate mounts a light beam generating member 502a for generating a light beam toward the photoreceptor 501b of the first unit plate and a photoreceptor 502b for receiving a light beam irradiated from the light beam generating member 501a of the first unit plate.
The reason that such an optical communicating system cannot be readily used in the above-described apparatuses is that the optical communicating system cannot be disposed on a side plate 504 on a center line extending from the axis of the revolving type developing device. For example, as shown in FIG. 1b, if the first unit plate mounting the light beam generating member 501a and the photoreceptor 501b is disposed on the side plate 504 on the center line of the axis of the revolving type developing device, optical communication can only be performed when the unit plates are aligned at predetermined positions. That is, although the light beam generating member 501a inherently has a predetermined diffusion angle, the light beam generated thereby is not capable of covering a corresponding photoreceptor 502b mounted on the second unit plate which is attached to the body 506 of the apparatus when the revolving type developing device rotates, until the first unit plate has rotated to the position as shown in FIG. 1a.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1c, if both units are disposed sufficiently far from each other to enable the light beams generated by the light beam generating members to cover the corresponding photoreceptors, an image forming device necessarily becomes too large.

Optical communication device communicating information between revolving type developing device and image forming apparatus


The invention relates to a cylindrical electrode for gas evolution comprising a non-activated conductive core whereto an easily detachable and replaceable component provided with catalytic activation is secured, for instance an undulated sheet or a mesh.

The utilisation of electrodes of cylindrical geometry is known in several sectors of electrochemistry. Cylindrical electrodes, in the majority of cases concentrically disposed inside hollow cylindrical counter-electrodes, are currently employed in electrodialysis, water electrolysis, ozone production, and other applications. The most important processes making use of cylindrical-type, mostly coaxial, electrodic geometries are for the recovery of metals from aqueous solutions and the treatment of waste water (industrial wastes, civil waters and others), for the potabilisation or purification thereof from various contaminants. The cylindrical geometries, especially on small-size electrochemical cells, offer substantial advantages particularly in terms of fluid distribution. Depending on the process under consideration, the cylindrical electrodes can be both anodes or cathodes. In the majority of cases, such electrodes are suitable for gas evolution reactions, for instance hydrogen cathodic evolution or oxygen, ozone or chlorine anodic evolution. The gas-evolving reactions, in particular the anodic ones, must be catalysed in order to take place with a sufficient efficiency. The cylindrical electrodes of the prior art, therefore, consist of a metal cylindrical conductive support (usually titanium or other valve metal, in the case of anodes) coated with catalysts usually based on metal oxides, depending on the type of the gas to be evolved and of the required potential, as widely known. The application process of the catalytic coating to the cylindrical support provides painting the latter with a precursor, and the subsequent conversion of the precursor by means of a high temperature thermal treatment (350-700° C.). The painting of metallic electrodes with precursor solutions is preferably carried out by electrostatic spraying processes. The cylindrical geometry is, in this case, less favourable than the planar one in terms of homogeneity of application. Furthermore, the catalytic coatings have a limited operative lifetime (indicatively 1 to 5 years depending on the applications). Once the original coating is exhausted, it must be completely removed by mechanical means and restored. The coating removal operation is particularly onerous for cylindrical geometries, especially for those of small size. In any case, the prolonged times required for restoring the catalytic activity of the electrodes lead to undesirable limitations to the plant operation, alternatively imposing a temporary interruption of the production, an oversize of the whole plant to allow a planned cyclic electrode reactivation, or the need of storing a remarkable amount of replacement electrodes, which is a very onerous solution from the investment cost standpoint.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a cylindrical electrode for electrochemical processes overcoming the limitations of the prior art. It would be further desirable to provide a cylindrical electrode allowing an increased easiness of application or of restoring of the catalytic coating. It would be still further desirable to provide an improved method for the catalytic reactivation of a cylindrical electrode in terms of process management efficiency.


A method for producing a carbon nanotube array element includes the steps of: providing a first substrate coated with a conductive paste layer; forming an array of thin film blocks of catalyst on a second substrate; forming each of the thin film blocks into islands of catalyst; forming carbon nanotube bundles on the islands of catalyst, each of the carbon nanotube bundles including a plurality of carbon nanotubes and having a free end portion; pressing the second substrate toward the first substrate such that the free end portions insert into the conductive paste layer; solidifying the conductive paste layer; and removing the second substrate together with the islands of catalyst from the carbon nanotube bundles, thereby forming an open end for each of the carbon nanotubes. A carbon nanotube array element for a field emission cathode device is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for producing a field emission cathode device, more particularly to a method for producing a carbon nanotube array element of a field emission cathode device and the carbon nanotube array element produced therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
Carbon nanotube (CNT) has excellent electrical, mechanical, chemical, physical, and thermal properties because of inert and perfect graphene structure and high aspect ratios. In particular, CNT is applied to produce a field emission display device because of low turn-on and threshold voltage. CNT grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques is used as an electron emission source. After externally applying a voltage, electrons are emitted from CNT tips and hit an anode (e.g., indium tin oxide substrate having phosphor coating) to generate light. Under an applied voltage of 3 V/μm, the current density is 1 mA/cm2, and the lifetime is up to ten thousands hours. Moreover, compared to other displays, the field emission display (FED) has advantages of high brightness, wide view angle, small thickness, and low energy consumption.
Presently, a vertically aligned CNT array element of a field emission cathode is produced using a template forming method or a screen-printing method.
The template forming method includes providing a substrate having a porous surface, depositing a catalyst layer on the porous surface of the substrate, and placing the substrate with the catalyst layer in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace with proper controlling of temperature, pressure, and concentration of hydrocarbon gas. Parallel carbon nanotube bundles can be found on the substrate. Examples of the template forming method can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,512,235 B1 and 6,339,281 B2. Although the carbon nanotubes produced by this method have good alignment, adhesion between the CNTs and the substrate is poor and might result in separation during the field emission operation at high voltage (600 V or more).
To overcome the adhesion problem encountered in the template forming method, a screen-printing method is proposed. A CNT paste consisting of organic bonding agent, resin (e.g., epoxy), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and silver powder is coated on a substrate using a screen-printing method so as to produce a carbon nanotube field emission cathode having a plurality of electron emitters. The relevant information can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,436,221 B1, 6,342,276 B1, and 6,146,230. Although the adhesion problem is solved, the precision of the field emission cathode produced by the screen-printing method is easily degraded due to inappropriate thickness of an slurry, inappropriate pressure and improper viscosity of the CNT paste. Moreover, the CNTs in cathode made by the screen-printing method have a random arrangement, rather than a regular array.
In consideration of the adhesion and the arrangement of CNTs, US 2005/0264155A1 discloses a method for producing a carbon nanotube field emission device 100. As shown in FIG. 1, a catalyst film 20 made from Fe, Co, or Ni is deposited on a substrate 10. The substrate 10 having the catalyst film 20 is placed in a reaction furnace at a temperature ranging from 500 to 800° C. to grow a carbon nanotube array 30 thereon. An adhesive 40 is injected into the carbon nanotube array 30. Furthermore, the surfaces of the carbon nanotube array 30 are treated by laser to remove the adhesive 40 so as to ensure exposure of each carbon nanotube. Finally, the carbon nanotube field emission device 100 having improved field emission property is obtained. However, the adhesive 40 coated on the carbon nanotubes can reduce the service life of the device 100.
In addition, Zhu L. et al. (NANO LETTERS, Vol 6, No. 2, pp 243-247, 2006) discloses a transfer method for a carbon nanotube including the following steps: forming a copper foil on a FR-4 board, sputtering an under bump metallization (UBM) layer on the substrate, stencil-printing an eutectic tin-lead solder having a thickness of 100 μm on the UBM layer, transferring a carbon nanotube film on a Si substrate onto the eutectic tin-lead solder, and removing the Si substrate. During transferring, the Si substrate and the FR-4 board were disposed in a reflow oven at 270° C. such that the eutectic tin-lead solder is melted. The melted eutectic tin-lead solder soaked into the carbon nanotube film so as to improve the adhesion between the carbon nanotube film and the FR-4 board. Although the adhesion is improved, the requirement for the reflow oven increases complexity and difficulty of the process. Moreover, only a current density of 5 mA/cm2 was obtained under the test conditions of less than 10−5 Torr and 180 μm spacing between the CNT tip and an anode when an electric field of 3.4 V/μm was applied. The field emission property is insufficient for application and needs further improvement.

Carbon nanotube array element and method for producing the same


Provided is a high-performance sliding seismic isolation device with a slider that realizes a contact pressure of 60 MPa. The device includes an upper shoe 1 and a lower shoe (2) having sliding surfaces 1a and 2a with curvatures, respectively; and a columnar steel slider (7) disposed between the upper shoe (1) and the lower shoe (2), the slider having an upper surface 4a and a lower surface 4b that are in contact with the upper and lower shoes, respectively, and have curvatures. The upper surface 4a and the lower surface 4b of the slider (7) have double-woven fabric layers (5) and (6), respectively, each double-woven fabric layer containing PTFE fibers and fibers with higher tensile strength than that of the PTFE fibers, and the PTFE fibers being arranged on the sides of the sliding surfaces 1a and 2a of the upper shoe (1) and the lower shoe (2).

In Japan, which is an earthquake-prone country, a variety of quake resistant techniques, seismic isolation techniques, and vibration control techniques, such as techniques against seismic force and techniques for reducing seismic force on buildings, have been developed for a variety of constructions, such as buildings, bridges, elevated roads, and single-family houses, and have been applied to a variety of constructions.
In particular, seismic isolation techniques, which are the techniques for reducing seismic force on constructions, can effectively reduce vibrations in constructions when earthquakes occur. According to the seismic isolation techniques, a seismic isolation device is provided between a base, which is a lower structure, and an upper structure so that transmission of vibration of the base, which occurs due to an earthquake, to the upper structure is reduced and vibration of the upper structure is thus reduced. Thus, the structure stability is ensured. Such a seismic isolation device is effective not only when an earthquake occurs but also for reducing the influence of traffic vibration, which always acts upon the construction, on the upper structure.
Examples of seismic isolation devices include devices with a variety of configurations, such as a lead plug-containing laminated rubber bearing device, a high damping laminated rubber bearing device, a device that combines a laminated rubber bearing and a damper, and a sliding seismic isolation device. Above all, the sliding seismic isolation device will be exemplarily described with reference to its general structure. A sliding seismic isolation device typically includes upper and lower shoes each having a sliding surface with a curvature, a columnar slider interposed between the upper and lower shoes and having upper and lower surfaces that are in contact with and have the same curvatures as the upper and lower shoes, respectively. Such a sliding seismic isolation device is also referred to as a seismic isolation device with slidable upper and lower spherical surfaces or a double-concave seismic isolation device.
In this type of seismic isolation device, the operation performance of the upper and lower shoes is dominated by the coefficient of friction between the upper and lower shoes and the slider interposed between them or by frictional force that corresponds to the coefficient of friction multiplied by the weight.
By the way, in the conventional sliding seismic isolation device, the reference contact pressure of a slider is less than or equal to 20 MPa. Therefore, when the weight of a construction is increased by an increase in the height thereof or the like, there is no way other than increasing the size of the sliding seismic isolation device correspondingly so that the device has planar dimensions that can withstand the load of the construction. This results in lower cost competitiveness of the device in comparison with other types of seismic isolation devices, such as laminated rubber seismic isolation devices. Thus, such a sliding seismic isolation device has come to be used less frequently.
It should be noted that when a slider formed of steel is applied, the slider can be machined with high precision as it is mechanically machined. However, as there is a large variation in the coefficient of friction, and as the contact pressure dependence and the velocity dependence of the coefficient of friction are high, the range between the upper and lower limits of the coefficient of friction is large. Thus, the earthquake response is likely to vary, which is problematic. Therefore, even if such a slider can prevent collapse of a building, the slider is difficult to be a constituent member of a high-performance seismic isolation device that can have PML (probable maximum loss) that is close to zero and can cause no damage to furniture and fixtures and the like.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a sliding seismic isolation device including substrates, each of which has a laminated body of fiber woven fabric-reinforced thermosetting synthetic resin, and a slider having surface layer materials that are integrally joined to the upper and lower surfaces of the respective substrates.
Such a slider is formed by superposing plain-woven PTFE fibers or by superposing plain-woven PTFE fibers, a woven fabric, and a plain-woven cotton cloth. A slider with such a structure is expected to have reduced frictional properties derived from PTFE.
However, as is clearly shown in the experimental conditions disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the contact pressure of the slider disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is also 19.6 N/mm2 (19.6 MPa), which is less than 20 MPa. Thus, it would be impossible to solve the problem resulting from the low contact pressure of the slider described above.

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineering Co., Ltd


A lens barrel having a holder member that holds an imaging device package and allowing one or more structure members other than the holder member to be disposed around the package. The imaging device package in which an imaging device is housed is held by the holder member having planar portions that are disposed parallel to the package and that are coupled to each other through raised bent portions. The raised bent portions of the holder member are disposed so as to be overlapped with and inside the package as seen from an optical axis direction, thereby obtaining a free space around the package, in which one or more structural members other than the holder member can be disposed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging device holding unit and a lens barrel each having a holder member that holds an imaging device package, an image pickup apparatus having the imaging device holding unit, and an image pickup apparatus having the lens barrel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an imaging apparatus has been proposed that includes a lens barrel in which an imaging device is held by a holder member formed into a shape that surrounds peripheral four sides of the imaging device (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-135217).
However, when an imaging device or an imaging device package that incorporates an imaging device is held by a holder member formed into the aforesaid shape, most space around the imaging device or around the imaging device package is occupied by the holder member. This poses a problem that a structural member other than the holder member cannot be disposed around the imaging device or around the imaging device package. Such problem becomes noticeable especially in an image pickup apparatus that is made compact in size.

Imaging device holding unit and lens barrel each having holder member for imaging device package, and image pickup apparatus having holding unit or lens barrel


A muffler comprises a housing enclosed to form a hollow cavity, the cavity comprises a cylindrical chamber and a rectangular parallelepiped chamber, wherein one of bottom surfaces of the cylindrical chamber is connected with a first surface of the rectangular parallelepiped chamber, the cylindrical chamber communicates with an interior of the rectangular parallelepiped chamber, and the cylindrical chamber is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet.

Freshness of food in a refrigerator is closely related to temperature, humidity and gas environment, wherein oxygen is an important factor causing spoilage, deterioration and bacteria multiplication of the food. A preservation period of the food may be significantly prolonged by pumping oxygen in the compartment to control a nitrogen-to-oxygen ratio of the refrigerator.
Oxygen may be pumped out from a specific space via a vacuum pump, and discharged outside the refrigerator. However, when gas, as a medium for conducting a sound, conducts noise in the refrigerator to an external space of the refrigerator during the discharge, thereby causing noise interference.


A nasal spray (drop) for treating fever/cold, and its preparation. The nasal spray (drop) is made by: obtaining a liquid by boiling Bupleurum Scorzonerifolium Willd, Radix Lastidis Lndigotica and Folium Lastidis for a long time in water, and then mixing the liquid thus obtained with Vitamin C. The nasal spray (drop) can be directly applied to the nasal cavity, and absorbed by the nasal mucosa to clear heat and sore, to release influenza symptoms such as head ache, stuff nose, coughing, sore throat, sneezing, nose-dropping and whole-body pain, and to treat fever due to infection of upper respiratory tract.

The present invention relates to a nasal spray (drop) for treating fever/cold, and its preparation. The nasal spray (drop) is made by: obtaining a liquid by boiling Bupleurum Scorzonerifolium Willd, Radix lastidis Indigotica and Folium lastidis for a long time in water, and then mixing the liquid thus obtained with Vitamin C. The nasal spray (drop) can be directly applied to the nasal cavity, and absorbed by the nasal mucosa to clear heat and sore, to relieve influenza symptoms such as headache, stuff nose, coughing, sore throat, sneezing, runny nose and whole-body pain, and to treat fever due to infection of upper respiratory tract.
Most people see influenza (cold) as an insignificant disease. Actually, influenza (cold) is an acute infectious disease generally accompanied by a fever, stuff nose, headache, dry or sore throat. Many virus may cause influenza. Influenza virus are tiny, and can easily pass through the filter in the nasal passage into the inside of the body. The filter in the nasal passage can only catch virus of bigger size. Rapid multiplication of virus attacks nose and throat, causing influenza symptoms, and a complication such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Improper treatment of influenza may cause the patient to die. Influenza is indeed a common disease that cannot be ignored.
In Western medicine, it is recommended to take antibiotics for removing heat, cortisone for releasing stuff nose and antihistamine for freeing from influenza symptoms, as well to drink much water and to rest. Normally, Western medicine shows its effect rapidly. However, the use of Western medicine produces toxic chemical substance that is harmful to the internal organs of the body. Further, these chemical medicines are not satisfactory in use in releasing and preventing fever. Regular chemical influenza medicines are commonly made in capsules, tablets, suppositories, oral liquid, or spray (drop).
In Chinese medicine, influenza treating medicines are commonly symptom relieving medicines used to relieve symptoms indicating that the exterior of the human body has been attacked by exogenous harmful factors. Symptoms relieving medicines have effects in three ways, namely, (1) sweating the patient to relieve symptoms and expel external causes and to prevent external causes from affecting the internal organs of the body, (2) relaxing muscles to relieve symptoms from the muscles, and (3) letting out carbuncles. External causes include cold factors and febrile factors. Because symptoms may show the deficiency of vital energy of the patient, or indicate that the exterior of the human body or the internal organs have been affected, symptom relieving medicines include medicines to relieve symptoms caused by the cold factors, medicines to relieve symptoms caused by febrile factors, and medicines to relieve symptoms showing the deficiency of vital energy of the patient. Chinese medicines are safe in use, and produce little by-effect. They can be made in the form of a powder medicine and herb soup. However, Chinese medicines are inconvenient in use, and take much time to show the effect.
Chemical medicine and herbal medicine achieve certain effect in fever relieving and heat clearing. Physical temperature dropping methods include applying ice to the surface of the body, rubbing the skin with alcohol, washing away of bowels by injecting icy water, etc. These methods are clinically effective. However, in certain cases, the body temperature increases after the application of the aforesaid methods. The method of applying ice to the surface of the body and the method of rubbing the skin with alcohol are inconvenient to perform, further they cause the patient to feel severely chilly.
In general, the aforesaid conventional fever/cold treating measures by means of Western medicine, Chinese medicine, or physical treatment still have drawbacks.

Nasal spray (drop) for treating fever/cold, and its preparation

No 2, Alley 16, Lane 41, Sec 2, Nan-Ching E. RD.


An electrical interconnector for interconnecting two circuit members wherein the interconnector comprises a dielectric member and at least one conductive element. The conductive element includes a base portion retained within the dielectric and at least one projecting helical portion for engaging a conductor of one of the circuit members. Preferably, dendritic elements (e.g., palladium) are formed on the terminal ends of the helical portions for providing debris removal. The form of connection between the helical portion and the conductor is of the non-wiping type. An electrical assembly including this interconnector is also described.

As defined herein, the present invention is particularly adaptable for use in the information handling systems (computer) field wherein high density connections have become the norm. In such use, the formed interconnections must satisfy high standards of reliability. Further, to assure effective repair and/or replacement, e.g., for upgrade purposes, it is also often desired that such connections be separable and reconnectable in the field within the final product. Such separability is also desirable during assembly of the various products which will utilize these connectors to facilitate testing thereof. Still further, the final structures for such interconnectors should be tolerant of dust and other debris which may accumulate during the life of the connection. When interconnecting two circuit members, such as between a printed circuit board and a module, there also exists the possibility of nonplanarity of the surfaces of the conductors (and the structures includinq such conductors), which nonplanarity must be compensated for in order to assure effective and reliable connections between such members.
One known method for providing various interconnections is referred to as a wire bond technique, which involves the mechanical and thermal compression of a soft metal wire, e.g., gold, from one circuit to another. Such bonding, however, does not lend itself readily to high density connections because of possible wire breakage and accompanying mechanical difficulty in wire handling. Another technique involves strategic placement of solder balls or the like between respective circuit elements, e.g., pads, and reflowing the solder to effect interconnection. While this technique has proven extremely successful in providing high density interconnections for various structures, this technique does not allow facile separation and subsequent reconnection. In yet another technique, an elastomer has been used which included therein a plurality of conductive paths, e.g., small diameter wires or columns of conductive material, to provide the necessary interconnections. Known techiques using such elastomeric materials typically possess the following deficiencies: (1) high forces are usually required per contact; (2) relatively high electrical resistance through the interconnection between the associated circuit elements, e.g., pads; (3) sensitivity to dust, debris and other environmental elements which could adversely affect a sound connection; and (4) limited density, e.g., due to physical limitations of particular connector designs.
Attention is directed to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,173,732, 3,960,424, 4,161,346, 4,655,519, 4,295,700, 4,664,458, 4,688,864 and 4,971,565 for various techniques for providing electrical interconnections for a variety of electrical circuit members. As understood from a reading of these patents, the techniques described therein include many of the aforedefined disadvantages, e.g., potential misalignment, low density, etc. as well as others, e.g., relatively complex design, costly to manufacture, etc.
It is believed that a high density electrical interconnector capable of providing effective, reliable connections wherein such connections are repeatable (such that connection and reconnection can readily occur), and which provides the other advantageous features discernable from the following description, would constitute a significant advancement in the art.

Electrical interconnector with helical contacting portion and assembly using same

International Business Machines Corporation


A lock with a core rotatable in an intermediate shell that is rotatable in an outer shell of the lock's body resists attack by the application of excessive torque to the keyway or drilling into the core.

The present invention relates to a lock and, more particularly, to a lock providing improved security and resistance to attack.
The primary function of a lock is to deter individuals seeking unauthorized access to property. A lock typically comprises a core, sometimes referred to as a cylinder or a plug, which is selectively rotatable in the lock's body or casing to releasably secure a bolt or shank to the body of the lock. Typically, one or more locking pin(s), movable in the core, are arranged to selectively engage the body and prevent the core from turning in the body unless a correctly coded input moves the locking pin(s) to a position enabling rotation of the core. In a pin tumbler lock, for example, the locking pins comprise tumbler stacks which extend across the shear line separating the rotatable core from the body. When a correctly bitted key is inserted into the keyway, the tumbler stacks are moved to positions where the separation between the top and bottom tumblers of the stacks are all aligned with the shear line enabling rotation of the core and release of the bolt. Pin tumbler locks may be attacked by "picking," mechanically manipulating the tumblers to their unlocked positions, permitting the lock to be operated without access to the correct key.
The correctly coded input for an electronic lock is typically a sequence of electrical signals transferred between the lock and a key. The sequence of signals is typically interpreted by a logic unit of the lock, or logic units of the lock and the key, and if the sequence matches a correct sequence, an actuator is energized to release the bolt or shank from the body.
While electronic locks are not subject to attack by manual tumbler picking, they are subject to attack by other methods that are also used to attack mechanical locks. Manually operated locks, including electronic locks, typically comprise a keyway into which a key is inserted. If the key includes the correct code, the core is released and the user can rotate the unlocked core by applying torque to the key. A lock may be attacked by inserting an object into the keyway and applying torque to the keyway in an attempt to overload and fail the locking mechanism. Another method of attacking a lock is to drill into the face of the core to destroy the components of the locking mechanism and free the core to rotate and release the bolt. What is desired, therefore, is a lock that is resistant to attack by drilling into the core or by applying excessive torque to the keyway.