In one embodiment, an example method is provided and includes sending link data from a node to a control entity; querying the control entity for a Many Tree assignment; receiving the Many Tree assignment from the control entity at the node; and joining a Many Tree based on the Many Tree assignment.

Communication networks generally function to move data from a source to a destination through a network of nodes interconnected by point-to-point links. The links may be bi-directional communication paths between two connected nodes within the network. Data may be transmitted in packets and routed through intermediate nodes (e.g., routers and switches from a source to a destination in the network). Routing protocols implemented within the nodes of a network allow one or more components, devices, or modules of the node to correctly direct data to its appropriate next destination. The transmission of data from a source to a destination in a network may be part of a point-to-point communication in which the source is directing the transmission at a single destination. The transmission of data to a source may also be part of a multicast transmission in which the source is directing the transmission to multiple destinations.
Multicast traffic in a multicast transmission is implemented so that data packets are routed from one source through a network to multiple destinations using resources and bandwidth as efficiently as possible. This is done by transmitting single packets meant for multiple destinations on a single path through the network as far as possible and only replicating the packet for transmission on multiple paths to the multiple destinations when the network topology requires use of the multiple paths to reach the multiple destinations. As the multicast packets traverse the network, the network nodes replicate the packet only when necessary to pass it on to the multiple destinations.
In today's data center network topologies, which are mainly equal cost multipath (ECMP), multicast transmission is being used more and more, for more and more applications which include transmission of data for financial services, multimedia videos, etc. In ECMP, routing each path is assumed to incur the same cost as far as latency, congestion, etc., as compared to any other path when being assigned. Multicast networks commonly use a Shared Tree or a Shortest Path Tree multicast routing scheme. In Shortest Path multicast routing the multicast distribution tree is a source tree with its root at the source and branches forming a spanning tree through the network to the destination receivers. The shortest path routing scheme tree uses the shortest path through the network. In Shared Tree multicast routing, unlike shortest path, a shared tree uses a single common root placed at some chosen point in the network. This common shared root is called a Rendezvous Point (RP).
Shortest path and shared tree multicast transmission may be effected adversely because the data path assignments in those schemes are unpredictable from the viewpoint of data traffic congestion, latency, or other similar effects on a network. This unpredictability may cause, for example, congestion on one link of a transmission using shortest path or shared tree multicast transmission while another link in the network might be completely un-utilized.

Dynamically optimized many tree multicast networks


A reformer-liquid fuel manufacturing system that utilizes an engine to generate hydrogen-rich gas is disclosed. The engine operates at very rich conditions, such as 2.5<φ<4.0. In doing so, it creates an exothermic reaction, which results in the production of syngas. In addition, the system utilizes the energy from the exothermic reaction to rotate a shaft and also utilizes the heat in the syngas to heat the reactants. A mechanical power plant is in communication with the rotating shaft and can be used to produce oxygen, provide electricity or operate a compressor, as require. The hydrogen-rich gas is supplied to a chemical reactor, which converts the gas into a liquid fuel, such as methanol.

Conventional methanol and other gas to liquid (GTL) production systems use natural gas or other hydrocarbon gasses as input fuels and produce liquids, such as, for example, methanol, gasoline or diesel fuel. The feedstock is first converted to syngas (a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, referred to as "hydrogen-rich gas") in a fuel reformer. These reformers are catalytic reactors which may use, for example, steam reforming, dry reforming (using CO2), partial oxidation or autothermal operation. These techniques include both exothermic conversion reactions, such as partial oxidation, or endothermic ones, such as steam reforming or dry reforming. These systems are typically of substantial size in order to minimize cost, due to substantial economies-of-scale.
Commercial manufacturing plants tend towards the size of "megaplants," producing, in the case of methanol more than 1 million tons of methanol per year, or in the case of diesel, up to 100,000 barrels/day. There are issues with these very large plants, including long construction periods, with substantial cost overruns (particularly for plants that produce diesel fuel) and construction delays, and difficulty in predicting markets over the long construction period. In addition, to create this amount of methanol, the plant must be supplied with a considerable amount of reactant. Thus, the commercial plants are typically supplied by a pipeline which deliver the necessary reactant gas, or next to natural gas wells of substantial productivity.
For natural gas or biomass based feedstock that are difficult or expensive to transport, conventional commercial manufacturing plants cannot be used. Therefore, it may be desirable to make smaller, lower cost reformers in order to minimize the transportation distance from the collection site. Gaseous streams include natural gas (from shale or other sources) that may be difficult or impossible to introduce into a pipeline. Other examples include small scale isolated gas production, natural gas generated in off-shore drilling rigs and biogas, produced from landfills or from anaerobic digesters.
Therefore, there is a need for lower cost, smaller scale reformer systems to be used in the distributed conversion of gas to methanol and other gas to liquid (GTL) products. This need is particularly strong to fully exploit the increased availability of low cost natural gas.
Furthermore, in order to minimize the cost of the reformer and the complete GTL plant, it would be desirable to integrate the components, including compressors, generators and motors, reformer, gas clean up units, and catalytic reactor for making the fuels such as methanol or Fischer-Tropsch diesel.
In some embodiments, such as partial oxidation and other type of reformers, it would also be attractive to recover a fraction of the energy produced in the process. This energy can be used to make the unit self-reliant in energy, reduce the cost of other subsystems in the GTL plant or converted into electricity for external sale. In addition to the production of fuels, the same system can be employed to produce other chemicals, such as ammonia, in a similar manner.

Engine reformer systems for lower cost, smaller scale manufacturing of liquid fuels


A memory system includes: a first non-volatile memory used for storing data to be accessed in block units; a second non-volatile memory used for storing data to be accessed in word units in random accesses to the second non-volatile memory; and a control section configured to control operations of the first and second non-volatile memories, wherein error correction codes to be applied to data stored in the second non-volatile memory are held in the first non-volatile memory.

The present disclosure relates to a memory system making use of a non-volatile memory and relates to an operation method of such a memory system.
In the past, there has been used a memory system (also referred to as a storage system) which reads out programs, data and the like from a memory functioning as a storage device (also referred to as an auxiliary storage apparatus) into a work memory (also referred to as a main storage apparatus) implemented by typically a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) in an operation called a loading operation. In this memory system, an NVM (Non-Volatile Memory) is generally used to serve as the storage device which is required to operate at a high speed.
The non-volatile memory can be a flash memory or an NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory). The flash memory has a large storage capacity. Data stored in the flash memory is accessed in block units. On the other hand, high-speed random accesses can be made to data stored in the NVRAM in word units. A representative example of the flash memory is a NAND-type flash memory. On the other hand, representative examples of the NVRAM are a PCRAM (Phase-Change Random Access Memory), an MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) and a ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory).
Since the flash memory has a low bit cost and a large storage capacity, the flash memory is used in high-speed storage applications. On the other hand, the NVRAM has a high bit cost in comparison with the flash memory. However, the NVRAM has the following merits. The NVRAM has an excellent performance of allowing high-speed accesses to be made in word units. In addition, since a CPU (Central Processing Unit) is capable of making direct accesses to the NVRAM, the NVRAM is used as a non-volatile cache memory for the storage device in order to allow the operation of the memory system to be carried out expectedly at a high speed.
Typical examples of a memory system making use of such a flash memory and such an NVRAM are described in documents such as JP-T-2004-506256 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-236304 as well as Shuhei Tanakamaru and four coauthors, "Post-manufacturing 17-times Acceptable Raw Bit Error Rate Enhancement, Dynamic Codeword Transition ECC scheme for Highly Reliable Solid-State Drives, SSDs," Memory Workshop (IMW), 2010 IEEE International, p. 1-4. The memory system is also referred to as a non-volatile memory system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Memory system and operation method thereof


An IC chemical mechanical planarization (cmp) process incorporating slurry temperature control. Specifically, there is a VCMP process which requires small holders 18. The VCMP process incorporates small quantities of chemicals in the holder, and utilizes a system of closely regulating the heating and cooling of the chemical component of the VCMP process to increase and decrease the chemical reaction, and therefore the speed of the chemical removal of tungsten material.

Historically, chemical mechanical planarization, also known as "CMP," has been developed for many uses in the semiconductor industry, like removing a thin top layer material from a semiconductor die.
A utilized VCMP machine, is illustrated in FIG. 1, and comprises: a wafer carrier 10 holding a semiconductor wafer 12 in a chemical slurry 14 presses against a course polishing pad 16 mounted on a platen or holder 18.
In operation, a VCMP machine works like a sanding machine and acid bath combined. To mechanically remove wafer material, wafer 12 is positionally fixed and held against pad 16 while platen or holder 18 vibrates. Slurry 14 is used to chemically remove the wafer material. Thus, it is understood why the process is called a vertical chemical mechanical planerization process.
FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of a wafer 12 comprising: a tungsten material 20 having a top layer 23, a few silicon-type material sections 22, and a wafer base 24.
FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section of wafer 12 that demonstrates the goal sought when removing the top layer of material 23; leaving a desired smooth level top surface.

IC chemical mechanical planarization process incorporating slurry temperature control


A plasmapheresis device includes a column or other flow mechanism in which plasma flows following separation of the plasma from cellular components like blood cells, platelets and the like. The column includes a moiety, such as an antibody, which selectively binds to galectin-3. By removing galectin-3 from the blood stream of a mammal by at least 10%, improvements in the treatment of inflammation, suppression of the formation of fibroses, and a variety of cancer treatments can be effected or improved. The device provides for multiple columns to remove a variety of elements but includes one which selectively removes galectin-3 from the blood flow. Other agents may be added to the plasma before recombination with the cellular components of the blood, and before returning the recombined flow to the patient.

Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to devices to perform apheresis of mammalian blood, including the selective removal of some percentage of circulating galectin-3 (gal-3) from the blood. The device has the capability to not only remove galectin-3 (or other galectins) from the blood, but other potentially harmful factors, and introduce to the blood additional factors that are therapeutic or beneficial on return of the blood to the mammalian patient.
Background of the Invention
This invention is related to the subject matter disclosed and claimed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/629,932 filed Sep. 28, 2012 and Ser. No. 14/141,509 filed Dec. 27, 2013. The disclosure of both these cases is incorporated herein-by-reference. Where permitted by law, Applicant claims the benefit of the filing date of these two applications.
Galectin-3 has become the focus of a variety of studies looking to explain mechanisms giving rise to inflammation, fibroses and various forms of cancer in mammals. By "mammals" in this application applicant intends to describe humans, of course, but also mammals of sufficient value worth investing in their health, including companion mammals like dogs and cats, and commercial mammals, like cows, horses, goats and pigs. Higher order mammals such as monkeys, which may serve as research models as well as companion animals are also included with this term. The invention of course focuses on humans.
Galectins are a family of lectins (sugar binding proteins) that are characterized by having at least one carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) with an affinity for beta-galactosides. These proteins were recognized as a family only recently, but are found throughout the animal kingdom, and are found in mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, sponges, nematodes and even fungi.
Galectins mediate and modulate a wide variety of intracellular and extracellular functions, and thus are both expressed within the cell and frequently targeted to a specific cytosolic site, and secreted from the cell, for distribution extra-cellularly, as a component of human plasma. Among the many functions that are mediated by extracellular galectins are inflammation, fibrosis formation, cell adhesion, cell proliferation, metastatic formation, angiogenesis (cancer) and immunosuppression.
Galectins are a family of fifteen (15) carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) highly conserved throughout animal species. Most galectins are widely distributed, though galectin-5, -10 and -12 show tissue-specific distribution. While galectins are variably expressed by all immune cells, they are upregulated in activated B and T cells, inflammatory macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, and FoxP3 regulatory T cells. Galectins contain a variety of structural arrangements, but a relatively conserved carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). The majority of galectins display a single CRD, and are biologically active as monomers (galectin-5,-7 and -10), or require homodimerization for functional activity (galectin-1,-2,-11,-13,-14 and-15). Alternatively, tandem-repeat-type galectins (galectin-4,-8,-9, and -12) contain two CRDs separated by a short linker peptide, while galectin-3 (chimeric type) has a single CRD fused to a non-lectin domain that can be complexed with other galectin-3 monomers to form an oligomeric pentamer. Of note, some galectins, such as galectin-10, bind to mannose-containing glycans. Among the family of galectins, -1, -3, and -9 are particularly important as potential therapeutic targets, and -2,-4,-5,-6,-7,-8,-10, -11,-12,-13,-14, and -15 also appear implicated in a variety of biological pathways associated with morbidity and mortality.
Thus, galectin-7 has been implicated in the development of certain forms of cancer. St. Pierre et al, Front. Biosci., 1:17, 438-50 (2012) and in a variety of specific cancers, including gal-2, -4 and -8 in the context of colon and breast cancer, Barrow et al, Clin. Cancer Res, 15; 17 (22) 7035-46 (2011). Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, Alves et al, Pathol. Res. Pract. 15; 207 (4) 236-40 (2011) has been shown to be associated with elevated levels of gal-1, -3 and -7, while cervical squamous carcinoma has been shown linked to gal-7 levels, Zhu et al, Int. J. Cancer, (August, 2012). A number of galectins, including gal-15, gal-13 and gal-10 have been demonstrated to be linked to implantation and pregnancy concerns. See, e.g., Than et al, Eur. J. Biochem. 271(6) 1065-78 (2004), Lewis et al, Biol. Reprod. 77(6); 1027-36 (2007). A number of galectins, including gal-2, 3, 8 and others have been identified as correlating with various autoimmune disorders, such as lupus. Salwati et al, J. Infect. Dis. 1; 202(1) 117-24 (2010), Pal et al, Biochim. Biophys. Acta., 1820 (10) 1512-18 (2012) and Janko et al, Lupus 21(7):781-3 (2012). Elevated levels of a number of galectins, including gal-3, are associated with inflammation and fibroses encountered in wound healing and the like. Gal et al, Acta. Histochem. Cytochem. 26:44(5); 191-9 (2011). Quite obviously, mediation of inflammatory and fibrotic pathways makes galectins critical elements of a wide variety of disease, injury and trauma related phenomena. In many cases, the presence of unwanted concentrations of galectins can aggravate a disease condition or trauma situation, or interfere with attempts to treat diseases, such as cancer or congestive heart failure. Among the family of galectins recognized as active in humans, galectin-1, galectin-3 and galectin-9 are of particular interest. As indicated above, these proteins are generally referred to, and referred to herein as, gal-1, gal-3 and gal-9. A wide variety of conditions in humans, ranging from problems in conceiving to asthma to chronic heart failure to cancer to viral infection to stroke and beyond are mediated or aggravated by higher than normal concentrations of galectins. Thus, among other galectins, gal-3 is particularly prominent in fibrosis, inflammation and cell proliferation, while gal-1 also plays a role in the immunosuppression required for a successful pregnancy. Gal-1 is also thought to be involved in the differentiation of nerve cells. Gal-9 has been shown to be involved in the control of lesions arising from immunoinflammatory diseases, and is generally implicated in inflammation—gal-9 apparently plays a role in eosinophil recruitment in inflammatory sites. It also appears to mediate apoptosis in certain activated cells. While the discussion herein is applicable to circulating active gal-1, gal-3 and gal-9, and galectins in general, where elevated circulating galectin levels are associated with disease or injury conditions, more has been elucidated about the role of gal-3 in disease and trauma progression than any of the other galectins, and so it is exemplified herein. More specifically, this invention focuses on the removal of active gal-3 from mammalian, particularly human, plasma. Gal-3 has been shown to be involved in a large number of biological processes, many of which are related to disease states of various kinds. Binding and blocking activity of gal-3 in the circulation, or removal of large amounts of gal-3 from circulation may therefore improve existing medical treatments, suppress and/or reduce inflammation and fibrosis resulting from others, and make it possible to intervene in various disease states not otherwise easily treated. The invention is equally applicable to the reduction in circulating levels of other active galectins to address conditions mediated by those galectins. By "active" galectins, what is referred to is biologically active molecules. As noted, for example, gal-3 can be active, that is, mediate mammalian responses to various traumas and conditions, as a monomer and as an oligomer. In any mammal, at any given time, significant amounts of gal-3 and other galectins are present in an inactive state—that is, they are either tissue bound or ligand bound in such fashion as to inhibit molecular interaction. While such galectins molecules may become active, and may be or become the target of removal by the invention disclosed herein, when monitoring patient conditions and controlling responses, the focus of the invention is a device suitable for the removal of active galectins from the blood stream. This invention makes use of plasmapheresis, sometimes referred to as Apheresis, and/or therapeutic plasma exchange, to control levels of gal-3, and more specifically biologically active galectin, in circulation. Whole blood is first separated into its cellular and plasma components. Plasma is then led through a fluid pathway and either intermixed with a gal-3 binding agent which can be separated from the plasma, or returned to the body with blocked inactivated gal-3, or led past a solid support which binds gal-3, the plasma being subsequently returned to the body with a reduced level of gal-3. Thus, this invention can be used to remove bound gal-3 as part of a strategy to reduce total gal-3 content. The focus, in this application, however, is to remove active or unbound gal-3 as a therapeutic measure.


A battery pack including a secondary battery and a frame for mounting the secondary battery therein. A mounting ledge protrudes from one portion of the frame and a guide member protrudes from another portion of the frame. A circuit section is installed at a portion of the frame and inserted between the mounting ledge and the guide member so as to be connected to the secondary battery. A fixing part is provided in the frame and the circuit section in order to fix the circuit section to the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack. More particularly, the present invention relates to a secondary battery pack for improved accommodation of a secondary battery.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, electronic appliances having compact sizes with light weight, such as cellular phones, notebook computers and camcorders, have been actively developed and produced. Such electronic appliances are equipped with battery packs so that users can use the electronic appliances in various places even if electric power sources are not separately provided for the electronic appliances. The battery pack includes at least one battery capable of outputting an operational voltage to operate the electronic appliances for a predetermined period of time.
Secondary batteries, which are rechargeable batteries, are currently employed in a secondary pack due to the economical advantages of a battery pack. The secondary batteries include Ni—Cd batteries, Ni-MH batteries and Li secondary batteries, such as Li batteries or Li-ion batteries.
Most secondary batteries include an electrode assembly consisting of a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The electrode assembly is accommodated in a can made from aluminum or an aluminum alloy and the can is sealed by means of a cap assembly. After the can has been sealed by the cap assembly, an electrolyte is injected into the can through an electrolyte injection hole, and then the electrolyte injection hole is sealed, thereby completing the fabrication of the secondary battery. Although iron can be used as a material for the can, if the can is fabricated by using aluminum or an aluminum alloy, the secondary battery has a light weight and is resistant to erosion even if the secondary battery is used for a long period of time under high voltage.
A battery pack is constructed by using a plurality of secondary batteries. In general, a battery pack includes a pack case having an insulation property. In addition, a plurality of batteries, wiring circuits for electrically connecting the batteries to each other, safety devices and contact terminals are accommodated in the pack case for the secondary battery.
For instance, a sealed secondary battery connected with the battery accessories and the safety device, such as a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) device, a thermal fuse and a protective circuit module (PCM), are accommodated in the battery pack. Alternatively, when the secondary battery is connected to the PCM and battery accessories, molding resin is used to fill in gaps formed between the above elements in such a manner that the secondary battery, the PCM and battery accessories may be dad with the molding resin or fixed together, thereby forming the battery pack.
Safety devices are connected to positive and negative electrode terminals of the secondary battery through a predetermined conductor structure called a "lead" in order to prevent the secondary battery from malfunctioning by the interruption of current applied to the secondary battery when the voltage of the secondary battery suddenly rises due to, for example, high temperature in the secondary battery or over-charge/over-discharge of the secondary battery.
However, a conventional pack case for a secondary battery pack is often sized slightly larger than that of products installed in the pack case in order to allow the products, such as the secondary battery, the protective circuit module and the safety device, to be easily installed in the pack case.
For this reason, when the secondary battery, the protective circuit module and other battery accessories are installed in the pack case, they may be jarred when external force is applied to the pack case. If the secondary battery is suddenly moved within the pack case due to external impact applied thereto, the secondary battery may become disconnected from the protective circuit module.

Secondary battery pack with frame for battery mounting


A virtual computing environment service may receive a request from a customer to provision a virtual computing environment and join the virtual computing environment to a managed directory. The virtual computing environment service may provision the virtual computing environment and uses a set of administrator credentials from the customer and a set of credentials corresponding to the environment to access the managed directory and request joining of the environment to the managed directory. In response, the managed directory may create a computer account corresponding to the environment and which enables the environment to be used to access the managed directory. The virtual computing environment service may then enable the customer to specify one or more users that may utilize the virtual computing environment to access the managed directory.

Virtual computing environments are often configured to join one or more managed directories to enable users of these environments to access particular data. For instance, an administrator of a virtual computing environment may use a set of credentials to authenticate himself/herself and perform one or more actions to join a virtual computing environment to a managed directory. An administrator can utilize environment deployment tools or server imaging tools to perform the domain join between the managed directory and the particular virtual computing environment. Alternatively, this process can be performed manually, wherein the administrator uses his/her credentials through a graphical user interface or other application to join the virtual computing environment to a managed directory. However, the process of performing the domain join between the virtual computing environment and a managed directory can be labor intensive, adding expense and potential for error in the process.

Domain join and managed directory support for virtual computing environments


A flood light mounting plate is provided including an upper extent having a hollow extension coupled to a recipient surface of a house structure and extending therefrom for coupling with a light assembly at an end thereof. Also included is a lower extent defining a flange extended from a bottom end of the extension for encompassing a vinyl soffit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light mounting devices and more particularly pertains to a new mounting light plate for mounting a light anywhere along the 45 degree juncture of a vinyl soffit at the corner of a residence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of light mounting devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, light mounting devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art light mounting devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,774; U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,953; U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,710; U.S. Pat. Des. 318,139; U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,139; U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,764; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,858.
In these respects, the mounting light plate according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of mounting a light anywhere along the 45 degree juncture of a vinyl soffit at the corner of a residence.


A method, system and program product for merging cloned and original circuit shapes such that a union thereof does not include a notch. The invention determines, for a cell including an original circuit shape and at least one overlapping clone of the original circuit shape, whether each clone corner point of each overlapping clone is within a threshold distance of a corresponding original corner point of the original circuit shape; and generates, in the case that each clone corner point of each overlapping clone circuit shape is within a threshold distance, a union of each overlapping clone and the original circuit shape such that the union does not contain a notch. The union is generated using a point code that sets a new position for a union corner point to remove a notch based on the original shape's direction and the edge orientations previous to and next to the corner point.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to circuit design, and more particularly, to a method, system and program product for merging cloned and original circuit shapes.
2. Related Art
Hierarchical technology migration is an integral part of integrated circuit (IC) design methodologies and design optimization. One challenge with migration is addressing multiple orientations of identical sub-circuits within a single design. For example, FIG. 1 shows the eight (8) possible orientations for an "F" shaped element 10 of an IC design 12. Some implementations of hierarchical technology migration cannot handle situations where a sub-circuit exists in multiple orientations simultaneously. For example, most implementations cannot handle situations where a sub-circuit exists in rotated and non-rotated forms. The restrictions arise because it may be necessary to move a single shape in different directions due to the orientations of the owning sub-circuit. The algorithms required to handle these cases can either require "sum constraints" or they cause X and Y variables to become entangled, preventing one-dimensional optimization of the problem. FIG. 2 shows a sub-circuit 14 including an F-shaped element 10 and another circuit shape 16 (also labeled S) that will be used to describe the potential problems. Each shape 16 includes a left edge Xsl, a right edge Xsr, a top edge Yst and a bottom edge Ysb.
With regard to sum constraints, FIG. 3 shows two sub-circuits 14A, 14B that are placed such that they are adjacent one another. That is, one sub-circuit 14A, and another 14B, mirrored about the Y-axis 18. Sub-circuits 14A, 14B are located at an origin Xo. In this example, a circuit shape 16B of sub-circuit 14B that is close to the boundary of sub-circuit 14B has a spacing constraint applied to it. The spacing constraint may be, for example, a minimum separation distance (G) required between shapes 16A and 16B, within two sub-circuits 14A, 14B. Edge Xsl (the leftmost edge of a circuit shape 16 as shown in FIG. 2) is located at Xo+Xsl for sub-circuit 14A and Xo−Xsl for sub-circuit 14B. These two edges must be separated by more than minimum separation distance G. Accordingly, the following equations must be met:Xo+Xsl−(Xo−Xsl)>GXo+Xsl−Xo+Xsl>GXsl+Xsl>G.
These equations represent a "sum constraint" that cannot be solved by some solution techniques used in technology migration because they can only handle equations which are the difference of two variables.
FIG. 4 illustrates a 9° rotation of a sub-circuit 14C relative to a sub-circuit 14D, which has caused a swapping of the X and Y directions of movement for sub-circuit 14C. In particular, there are two origin placements for the sub-circuits 14D, 14C: one at X1, Y1 and another at X2, Y2, respectively. As a result of the rotation, minimal separation distance G is now applicable between a left edge Xsl of circuit shape 16D and a top edge Yst of circuit shape 16C. Accordingly, the following equations must be met:X2−Yst−(X1−Xsl)>=GX2−Yst−X1+Xsl>=G.
Since this constraint contains both X and Y values, it cannot be solved by one-dimensional technology migration methods.
In order to address the above-identified problems, clones of sub-circuits are created. The clones of a sub-circuit 14 are copies of the sub-circuit in all of the used orientations of the sub-circuit, e.g., as shown for F-shaped element 10 in FIG. 1. The clones are substituted in the hierarchy for the mirrored and rotated copies of sub-circuit 14, and this modified hierarchy is migrated. In this case, the original sub-circuit 14 may have been copied into as many as seven (7) additional sub-circuits, each representing a unique orientation. Unfortunately, cloning results in an increase in data volume. That is, the cloning into as many as seven (7) additional sub-circuits results in the worst case in a 7× increase in data volume. In addition, any manual design change that needs to be made to a sub-circuit must be made to all of its clones, which makes it more difficult for designers to deal with the post-migrated data. Furthermore, certain checking programs might not be able to handle these clones.
In order to minimize the impact of the cloning, it is desirable to combine the clones back into the original circuit shape, where possible, to form a single circuit shape. However, generating a single circuit shape that encompasses the original and clones is difficult due to slight differences that are created between the original and clone. FIG. 5 shows an illustrative rectangular 20A and upside-down L 22A original circuit shapes, and FIG. 6 shows overlapping clones 20B, 20C of rectangular circuit shape 20A, and overlapping clones 22B, 22C of upside-down L circuit shape 22A. The slight differences are caused by the differences in each clones" respective environment (e.g., the shapes surrounding each copy) and round-off errors caused by conversions between floating point and integer representations of shape, edge and circuit locations. In particular, when data is scaled, the coordinates of edges, which are integers, are multiplied by a scaling factor that is a floating point. The resulting floating point number must be converted back to an integer. Within a hierarchy, the location at each level of the hierarchy is subjected to this conversion, as is the final shape position within the cell, i.e., lowest hierarchy level. At each of these levels, there is a rounding taking place. These roundings may push edges one grid point in opposite directions, i.e., one may round up and one may round down, resulting in a mis-registration of two grid points. In addition, each of the clones has differing neighboring shapes, which may result in the clone's shapes needing to move differently when compared with the other clones. As a result, the original cannot be substituted for the clones without creating ground rule errors.
When all of the slightly different clones and original circuit are combined in a straightforward manner, the minor differences cause notches in the merged circuit shapes that are illegal. FIG. 7 illustrates a combining of rectangular circuit shapes 20A, 20B, 20C into rectangular shape 26 and upside-down L circuit shapes 22A, 22B, 22C into upside-down L shape 28 according to a straightforward one-dimensional method. Note the introduction of notches 24 into the shapes. These notches are the result of mis-registration, instances where the shapes were moved a small distance from their original location. These notches are undesirable and most likely are illegal.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for an improved method, system and program product for merging cloned and original circuit shapes.

Cloned and original circuit shape merging

International Business Machines Corporation


A device for playing audio clips, a method of playing audio clips and a data storage medium having stored thereon computer code means for instructing a computer system to execute a method of playing audio clips. The device comprising a processor scalable in voltage, frequency, or both; a switch for selecting one of a plurality of output modes of the device; and a controller for controlling the processor to decode input joint/MS stereo mode encoded audio data representing said audio clip based on the selected output mode; wherein each output mode defines a number, m, of subbands of an M channel and a number, s, of subbands of an S channel of the joint/MS stereo mode encoded data; and the controller controls the processor to decode and store only data from the m and s subbands for playback.

Power consumption is a critical constraint in the design of both hardware and software for portable embedded systems. Many portable embedded systems are targeted towards streaming multimedia applications such as audio and video decoding. Typically, these multimedia applications exhibit a high variability in their computational demand.
Existing dynamic voltage/frequency scaling and dynamic power management techniques exploit this variability and slow down or switch-off the processor during periods of low demand in order to save energy. These techniques rely on predicting the variation of the computational demand and often using control-theoretic feedback schemes. However, such feedback schemes are computationally expensive and prone to errors.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a technique or scheme that seeks to address at least one of the above-mentioned problems.

Device and a method of playing audio clips


An object to be imaged or detected is illuminated by a single broadband light source or multiple light sources emitting light at different wavelengths. The light is detected by a detector, which includes a light-detecting sensor covered by a hybrid filter. The hybrid filter includes a multi-band narrowband filter mounted over a patterned filter layer. The light strikes the narrowband filter, which passes light at or near the multiple wavelengths of interest while blocking light at all other wavelengths. The patterned filter layer alternately passes the light at one particular wavelength while blocking light at the other wavelengths of interest. This allows the sensor to determine either simultaneously or alternately the intensity of the light at the wavelengths of interest. Filters may also be mounted over the light sources to narrow the spectra of the light sources.

There are a number of applications in which it is of interest to detect or image an object. Detecting an object determines the absence or presence of the object, while imaging results in a representation of the object. The object may be imaged or detected in daylight and/or in darkness, depending on the application.
Wavelength-dependent imaging is one technique for imaging or detecting an object, and typically involves detecting one or more particular wavelengths that reflect off, or transmit through, the object. In some applications, only solar or ambient illumination is required, while in other applications additional illumination is needed. Light is transmitted through the atmosphere at many different wavelengths, including visible and non-visible wavelengths. Thus, the wavelengths of interest may not be visible.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of the spectra of solar emission, a light-emitting diode, and a laser. As can be seen, the spectrum 100 of a laser is very narrow, while the spectrum 102 of a light-emitting diode (LED) is broader in comparison to the spectrum of the laser. And solar emission has a very broad spectrum 104 in comparison to both the LED and laser. The simultaneous presence of broad-spectrum solar radiation can make detecting light emitted from an eyesafe LED or laser and reflected off an object quite challenging during the day. Solar radiation can dominate the detection system and render the relatively weak scatter from the eyesafe light source small by comparison.
Additionally, the object being detected may not remain stationary during successive measurements. For example, if a human being is the object, the person may shift position or move during the time the measurements are taken. If measurements made at different wavelengths are made at different times, movement of the object during successive measurements can distort the measurements and render them useless.

Method and system for wavelength-dependent imaging and detection using a hybrid filter


An ultra-hard and metallic construction comprises an ultra-hard component that is attached to a metallic component via a braze joint. The braze joint is interposed between the ultra-hard component and the metallic component, and comprises a first braze material bonded to a surface of the ultra-hard component. The braze joint includes an intervening layer in direct contact with the first braze material, and that is formed from a rigid material. The braze joint further comprises a second braze material that is interposed between the intervening layer and the metallic component, and that is different from the first braze material.

The use of constructions comprising ultra-hard and metallic components that are joined together is well known in the art. An example of such can be found in the form of cutting elements comprising an ultra-hard component that is joined to a metallic component. In such cutting element embodiment, the wear or cutting portion is formed from the ultra-hard component and the metallic portion of the cutting element is attached to the wear and/or cutting device. In an example embodiment, the ultra-hard component can be formed from a polycrystalline material such as polycrystalline diamond (PCD), polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PcBN), or the like, that has a degree of wear and/or abrasion resistance that is greater than that of the metallic component. In particular examples, the ultra-hard component can be formed from PCD that has been formed or treated so that it is substantially free of a catalyst material that is used to form the same and comprises bonded-together diamond crystals.
Conventionally known constructions, comprising such ultra-hard and metallic components, are typically attached to one another using a braze material. The use of a braze material to attach the two components is needed to provide a desired attachment bond as the ultra-hard and metallic components are not themselves capable of forming an adequate bond to one another, e.g., when subjected to high-pressure/high temperature conditions. However, the use of a single-type of braze material to attach the two different components together does not provide a satisfactory degree of attachment for certain demanding wear and/or cutting applications, e.g., where the construction is provided in the form of a cutting element that is attached to a bit used for drilling subterranean formations. This is because a single-type of braze material is not capable of accommodating the vast differences in thermal expansion characteristic for the ultra-hard and metallic component.
Further, using a single-type of braze material makes it very difficult to provide an attachment bond to each of the ultra-hard and metallic components that are equal in strength. Since the ultra-hard and metallic components have different material properties and chemistries, any single-type of braze material that is used to form an attachment therebetween will provide a bond having a compromised degree of bond strength, e.g., where the single-type of braze material can be formulated to provide a strong bond to one component but at the expense of a weakened bond to the other component.
An attempt to address the need to provide an optimized attachment bond within constructions comprising ultra-hard and metallic components has involved the use of an intermediate material interposed between the ultra-hard and metallic components. This attempt involved the formation of a braze joint design that made use of an intermediate material formed from a refractory metal, and use of the same type of braze material interposed between the ultra-hard component and the intermediate material, and interposed between the metallic component and the intermediate material.
While the use of such braze joint design, comprising an intermediate layer and the same type of braze material, has been somewhat helpful in addressing the differences in the thermal expansion characteristic of the ultra-hard and metallic components, and in achieving an improvement in bond strength within the construction, such improvements are still not sufficient to meet the demands of certain wear and/or cutting applications, e.g., when the construction is used as a cutting element in a drill bit for drilling earthen formations where it is subjected to extreme conditions of heat and impact.
It is, therefore, desired that constructions comprising ultra-hard and metallic components be engineered in a manner having an improved braze joint that is specially designed to provide a desired level of ductility to address any differences in expansion characteristics between the ultra-hard and metallic components. It is further desired that such braze joint be capable of providing an optimum level of bond strength within the construction to enable the construction to withstand use in certain demanding wear and/or cutting applications, thereby extending the services life of such constructions when compared to ultra-hard and metallic constructions configured having a conventional braze joint.

Ultra-hard and metallic constructions comprising improved braze joint


A conformal vacuum cup provides a machine tool attachment fitting usable in a flexible-track drill system. Using multiple, independently articulated stiffeners, the conformal vacuum cup conforms to the contour of complex aerostructure surface shapes. The individual stiffeners are decoupled from each other to some extent by grooves and slots molded into resilient overmolding material to support long-axis curving. Spacing pins employ a domed shape consonant with the elastic deformation of the workpiece surface under load. The pins employ a hard material to prevent particle embedment in use and to control position tolerance for drill heads and other tools traveling on the flexible track. Partial holes in each vacuum cup are blocked by diaphragms. Interconnection from a vacuum system manifold to the vacuum cups can be realized by penetrating the diaphragms and inserting barbed fittings connected by vacuum tubing.

Portable, vacuum-cup-attached systems for drilling or fastening sections of aircraft fuselage or wing structures, as well as for other manufacturing operations, for other vehicle types, and for static structures, have been developed previously, but have generally been most practical for use only on workpiece areas where the contour is zero or very small in the longitudinal direction of the device. For example, some prior art vacuum cup systems could be attached readily along the flight direction of a cylindrical or otherwise highly curved fuselage, particularly where the fuselage has a long, essentially straight extent (i.e., a contour near zero), but attaching such a system to the fuselage in the circumferential direction, or fore-and-aft along a curving wing rib, would tend sometimes to produce uncertain results.
Prior art systems that use small numbers of large vacuum cups have been used, but have tended to be unable to conform smoothly to severe contours. Prior art systems with large numbers of small vacuum cups can follow a contour to some extent, but tend to be limited in the available retaining force by the necessity of having physical clearance around each vacuum cup, and by the limited available length-to-width ratio of an individual cup.
Prior art rail-mounted machine tool systems can possess the capability to advance a tool attached to a rail using a motor and gear apparatus integrated with the tool. Measurement apparatus, likewise integrated with the tool, allows the position of the tool to be determined with considerable precision. Nonetheless, prior art systems tend to be limited in their ability to conform to generalized surfaces, being best suited to positioning along low-contour paths.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus that provides attachment of a rail system that can conform to surfaces with comparatively large contour in the longitudinal direction of traversal by the rail system and by tools carried thereon.

Conformal vacuum cup apparatus and method


An information processing apparatus is disclosed that includes a system acquisition data conversion unit that converts system acquisition data acquired as information for use by one or more applications installed in the information processing apparatus into universal data, and an application usable data conversion unit that converts the universal data into application usable data usable by the one or more applications. The universal data are independent of the data structure of the system acquisition data and the data structure of the application usable data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus including a data interface between a system and an application.
2. Description of the Related Art
FA equipment and OA equipment are often used in complex system environments, raising issues related to procedures and formats for exchanging data. It is therefore important to study a data flow before constructing a system. However, even if careful study is made prior to system construction, systems today face rapid environment changes after being installed and often require installation of devices with new data interfaces (I/Fs).
In view of the foregoing, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-251120 (Patent Document 1) discloses an FA equipment I/F integrating device capable of facilitating update of an I/F upon introduction of new FA equipment or upon software upgrade.
Information processing apparatuses used in such a system environment not only handle complex data but also employ complex procedures and formats for exchanging the data between programs after loading the data through a data I/F. Similarly, procedures and formats used by an image processing apparatus for exchanging loaded data between programs are becoming complex.
Image processing apparatuses today have multiple functions such as printer, copier, facsimile and scanner functions, and include a control unit, a display unit, a printing unit and a scanner unit integrated in a single casing. Such an image processing apparatus realizes printer, copier, facsimile and scanner functions through execution of corresponding function programs by a control unit.
These functions of the image processing apparatuses use various types of information such as, for example, user information. User information may include user specific data such as user name, authentication password, mail address for use by the scanner function of the image processing apparatus, and facsimile number for use by the facsimile function of the image processing apparatus (For a method of managing user information in an image processing apparatus, see Japanese Registered Patent No. 3715629, for example).
The image processing apparatuses acquire various types of data (such as user information) in different formats from information (data) storage locations present in the environment surrounding the image processing apparatuses according to respective data access methods. Examples of a storage location include a local database (DB) in the hard disk (HD) of the image processing apparatus, an SD card (Secure Digital memory card) as an external storage medium, and an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server connected via a network (for an information processing apparatus using information acquired from an LDAP server, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication NO. 2004-274486, for example).
As one method for facilitating data management upon adding a new function (i.e. upon installing a new application) or upon being connected to a new storage location, a data format and a data access procedure used in the image processing apparatus may be integrated into one module as a data conversion rule by using the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. The data conversion rule defines conversion between a data structure of system acquisition data acquired by the image processing apparatus and a data structure of application usable data (e.g. user information) usable by various function applications.
This method, however, has the following problems.
For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the user information used in the image processing apparatus includes data items acquired from plural storage locations such as a local DB, an SD card and an LDAP server. This user information is generated by using data conversion modules each having a function for converting a data structure of the corresponding data item into a data structure usable by applications according to the data format and the data access method handled by the corresponding storage location and the data structure of the user information. However, if an application for an e-mail transmission function is removed from the image processing apparatus, the data structure of the user information is changed to exclude the e-mail address. With this change, the data structure of the user information becomes different from one that is known to data converters, resulting in an error when the data converters generate the user information.
This method is highly dependent on the data structure and therefore has the following disadvantage. If the data structure of the application usable data is changed due to installation or uninstallation of an application or the like, since it is not clear which part of the data conversion module is dependent on the data structure and which part is not (i.e., since the part dependent on the data structure and the part independent of the data structure are not clearly separated from each other), the data structure change affects a great part of the data conversion function (i.e. a data I/F function), requiring changes therein. The same applies to the case where the data structure of the system acquisition data is changed by the storage location. These factors make it troublesome to develop and introduce a new extension function that uses a new data structure.

Information processing apparatus, image processing apparatus, data conversion method, and computer-readable medium storing data conversion program


The robot hand holds a wire harness having a long harness main body and a connector connected to an end of the harness main body. The robot hand includes a fixed holding portion which holds the harness main body a vicinity of the end thereof, a pressing portion movable relative to the fixed holding portion in a longitudinal direction of the harness main body held by the fixed holding portion, and a driving unit which moves the pressing portion in a direction away from the fixed holding portion such that the pressing portion presses the connector outwardly in the longitudinal direction of the harness main body.

An assembly process of various devices includes a connecting operation in which a wire harness is transferred and a connector of the wire harness is connected to a counterpart connector. In recent years, the connecting operation has become increasingly automated (cf., PTLs 1-3). According to PTLs 1-3, the connector is connected to the counterpart connector by having the connector be held by a robot hand and moving the robot hand.


An electrolytic sensing system for measuring a blocking signal allows for controlled translocation of a molecule, such as DNA, through a fluid channel. A substantially constant electric field supplied by a DC source is applied across the fluid channel and induces translocation of the molecule within the system. An oscillating electric parameter (e.g. current or voltage) supplied by an AC source is also applied across the fluid channel as a means for measuring a blocking signal. The substantially constant electric field can be altered to provide more detailed control of the molecule and, optionally, run a select portion of the molecule through the channel multiple times to provide numerous signal readings. A temperature control stage cools the system, providing further control of molecule translocation. A modified or non-modified protein pore may be utilized in the fluid channel. The system allows for long DNA strands to be sequenced quickly without amplification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of measuring the physical configuration of a molecule and, more particularly, to sequencing individual monomers of a polymer via measuring the change in ionic current that is produced by the polymer when it passes through a narrow constriction within a fluid channel.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There has been considerable interest in recent years in measuring the interaction kinetics of single molecules with ion channels and associated protein pores by the method of recording the momentary change in the ionic current that passes through the channel while the molecule is present. In general, the molecule partially blocks the current flow with an amplitude and duration that are characteristic of the particular physical size and configuration of the molecule, and its chemical interaction with active sites within the channel. Efforts are underway to apply this current blocking method as the basis of a sensor system that identifies the presence of individual target molecules within a background of typical environmental chemical species.
A particular application of the current blocking method is to identify individual monomers within a polymer and, in the ideal case, is sequence the individual bases of complex biological polymers such as DNA and RNA. One of the most promising methods being investigated under the Human Genome Project is to drive single stranded DNA (ssDNA) through a nanoscale channel and attempt to measure the characteristic current change through the channel for each nucleotide base. These methods have been implemented using either a naturally occurring pore, such as alpha hemolysin (aHl), suspended in a bilayer, or using nanometer scale pores in a substrate such as silicon. However, advancements with both designs have been unable to successfully, rapidly sequence DNA because the DNA translocates through the pore too quickly for the electronics to measure the rapid and small changes in current produced by each nucleotide base.
Translocation rates for single stranded polymers under 120 millivolt (mV) applied voltage at 25° C. are on the order of 100 micrometers per second (μm/sec) to 500 μm/sec, providing an average time to measure the signal corresponding to an individual monomer of DNA or RNA (i.e. localize to the spatial extent to a single base) in the order of 0.8 to 4 microseconds (μs) per base. The electric field force on the DNA is balanced by an average force produced by hydrodynamic drag and the molecular interaction with the channel, resulting in a translocation velocity that is proportional to the applied force. Thus, if the applied voltage that produces the electric field is reduced from 100 mV to 10 mV, the velocity of the polymer is reduced ten fold, giving times ranging from 8 μs to 40 μs per base. Reducing the applied voltage thereby offers a means to increase the time a given DNA base is located in the appropriate region of the pore. Increasing the available time allows a number of measurements to be made and averaged in order to improve the accuracy of the measurement. However, in conventional systems, the applied voltage also produces the current that gives the signal characteristic of the particular blocking event. This creates the conflict that if the applied voltage is reduced the current is reduced in direct proportion. Conversely, if the applied voltage is increased to produce a larger current, the DNA translocates faster, giving less time to measure the signal.
Ideally, the molecular translocation rate is reduced to a very low level to allow measurement times on the order of 1 millisecond (ms) per base. However, as the molecule translocates more slowly, the relative effect of thermally induced (Brownian) motion on the molecule will increase. The net distance traversed due to Brownian motion scales as the square root of the total time interval. Thus, a molecule that resides at a nominal point for 1 ms will move an average net distance away from that point due to thermal motion that is 32 times further than if it resided for 1 μs. In the case of sequencing DNA, random thermally induced motion sets a limit to how much the measurement time can be practically increased by merely slowing down the translocation rate of the DNA: attempts to measure a single monomer over long time periods allow random thermally induced motion to blur the results by mixing in contributions from neighboring monomers.
Methods developed that attempt to slow down the rate of DNA translocation include the use of hairpins captured in the entry of the channel that stop DNA translocation and unzip slowly, as well as polymerases and exonucleases that act as molecular machines to draw the DNA through the channel base-by-base during the enzyme cycle. In both cases, diffusional motion of DNA is reduced by the tension within the DNA caused by the electric field force pulling against the translocation limiting mechanism. However, the DNA hairpins can only be used as short strands of DNA, and the enzyme methods have not yet advanced to the point that they can control the translocation rate of a molecule.
Recently, variations in the hairpin approach have allowed the detection of distinct, individual blocking signals for all four DNA bases, with signal differences in the order of ˜1 picoamp (pA) to 4 pA (at 120 mV bias). In addition, detection of a single base change within a polybase chain has been shown, indicating that only a single base is needed for measurement. Based on these measured signal amplitudes, present ionic current recording technology is in the order of 100 times too insensitive at the detection bandwidths (short measurement durations) that are required.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method to reduce the translocation velocity of a molecule through a detection channel and the diffusional motion of the molecule, while translocating, that is not limited to short molecular lengths and, in addition, does not inherently act to reduce the current blocking signal of interest.

Controlled translocation of a polymer in an electrolytic sensing system


The invention is a method and a circuit for detecting the carrier-to-noise ("CN") ratio of a quaterary phase-shift keying ("QPSK") signal. A binary signal including in the QPSK signal is reproduced by a converting circuit including a QPSK demodulator and a difference converter. The binary signal is then error-controlled by an error detecting circuit and the detection of a double-error. The occurrence number of the double-error is counted during a predetermined time period which is long enough to compare with the occurrence time when two successive double-errors occur. A microcomputer stores a conversion table corresponding to the theoretical relation between the CN ratio and the occurrence number. The microcomputer computes the CN ratio from the detected occurrence number. The theoretical relation is formulated based on the assumption that noise distributes isotopically around the QPSK signal in the signal space in accordance with the nomal distribution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a circuit for detecting a carrier-to-noise ratio (CN ratio), and more particularly to a CN ratio detecting circuit used for adjusting a satellite broadcast receiver at an installation of an antenna and also for checking receiving conditions of satellite broadcast signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a prior art CN detecting circuit for a satellite broadcast signal. In the figure, variable resistor 1 is directed to adjusting the input level of a frequency-demodulated signal FD of a received satellite broadcast signal. Wide-band amplifier 2 has a pass-band width wider than 10 MHz. The noise component included in the output of wide-band amplifier 2 passes through band-pass filter (BPF) 15 with a center frequency of approximately 9 MHz, and is amplified by noise amplifier 16. The gain of noise amplifier 16 is adjusted in advance with variable resistor 17 so that the value of the CN ratio to be determined has a predetermined relation to a detected noise level. The output level of noise amplifier 16 is next detected through smoothing or averaging by noise detector 18, and then converted to a digital noise signal by analog-to-digital (A-D) converter 19. A-D converter 19 is typically a 4 bit converter capable of representing the converted digital signal in 16 steps. Microcomputer 20 calculates the CN ratio in accordance with a predetermined program from the digital noise signal and delivers the calculated result to a given display device.
Wide-band amplifier 2 also provides an output OF, to be delivered to a transmission line. The output of wide-band amplifier 2 is converted so that the output impedance matches with the 75 .OMEGA. characteristic impedance of the transmission line by means of impedance converting circuit 21 which transmits the impedance-matched output to the transmission line as the frequency-demodulated output OF.
The problem encountered in the CN ratio detecting circuit described above is that, because of dispersions in the gain and of the signal-to-noise ratio of both the noise amplifier and the noise detector, and also because of errors caused by temperature variations and non-linear distortions in the circuit characteristics, it is difficult to adjust the gain of the noise amplifier so as to cause the detected noise level to have a predetermined correlation with the CN ratio of the frequency-demodulated signal. This involves a difficulty in obtaining a precise CN ratio through analog processing of the received signal, which results in a difficulty in adjusting and checking the satellite broadcast receiving system.
Another problem encountered is that using expensive parts such as an A-D converter, in the analog CN-ratio detecting circuit brings about an increase in the cost of the circuit.

Method and circuit for detecting CN ratio of QPSK signal


To compensate a waveform distortion by using a nature that a spectral shape is perfectly retained even if all the linear distortions occur on a time-axis. An optical pulse transmitted from an optical pulse transmitter (1) via an optical fiber transmission line (2) is transmitted. An optical Fourier transformer (3) receives an optical pulse, and optically Fourier-transforms an optical pulse on a time-axis onto a frequency-axis to reproduce the frequency spectrum of an optical pulse on a time-axis be effecting switching between frequency and time, thereby compensating a waveform distortion by a linear effect on the optical fiber transmission line (2). A photodetector (4) receives an optical pulse from the optical Fourier transformer (3) and transforms this into an electrical signal to thereby obtain a pulse waveform before a transmission over the optical fiber transmission line (2).

It is widely known that linear effects such as wavelength dispersion and polarization dispersion in an optical fiber lead to distortions in a time-domain waveform such as broadening of a pulse, ripples, and a shift in position of center time. Especially in ultrahigh-speed time-division multiplexed transmission at a speed higher than or equal to 40 Gb/s per channel, waveform distortions resulting from third-order or higher-order dispersion and polarization-mode dispersion have a great effect.
Compensation for second-order dispersion by a dispersion compensating fiber or a grating, simultaneous compensation for second-order and third-order dispersion by a reverse-dispersion slope fiber, compensation for dispersion through the use of a phase-conjugate element, and others have been put forth to compensate for the effects of linear distortions in an optical fiber transmission line, and a dispersion-flattened fiber transmission line has been equivalently implemented.
Conventional technologies reported by Pelusi et al. compensate for third-order and fourth-order dispersion by applying a linear chirp to a signal by means of a fiber having an appropriate amount of second-order dispersion before transmission and then performing sinusoidal phase modulation or cosine phase modulation depending on the magnitude of third-order or fourth-order dispersion of the transmission fiber (see patent document 1, non-patent documents 1 and 2). It has been reported that other conventional technologies can compensate for third-order and fourth-order dispersion of a transmission line simultaneously by selecting appropriate amplitude and timing of cosine phase modulation (see non-patent documents 3 and 4). With these technologies, 1.28 Tb/s−70 km optical time-division multiplexed transmission can be successfully performed. Use of an optical Fourier transform has been suggested to compensate for group delay resulting from polarization-mode dispersion (non-patent document 5) to (patent document 2, non-patent document 5).
Patent document 1: JP 2001-111490A
Patent document 2: JP 2002-541720A
Non-Patent Document 1
M. D. Pelusi, Y. Matsui, and A. Suzuki, "Phase modulation of stretched optical pulses for suppression of third-order dispersion effects in fiber transmission," Electron. Lett. Vol. 34, pp. 1675-1677 (1998)
Non-Patent Document 2
M. D. Pelusi, Y. Matsui, and A. Suzuki, "Fourth-order dispersion suppression of ultrashort optical pulses by second-order dispersion and cosine phase modulation," Opt. Lett. Vol. 25, pp. 296-298 (2000)
Non-Patent Document 3
T. Yamamoto and M. Nakazawa, "Third- and fourth-order active dispersion compensation with a phase modulator in a terabit-per-second optical time-division multiplexed transmission," Opt. Lett. Vol. 26, pp. 647-649 (2001)
Non-Patent Document 4
M. Nakazawa, T. Yamamoto, and K. R. Tamura, "1.28 Tbit/s−70 km OTDM transmission using third- and fourth-order simultaneous dispersion compensation with a phase modulator," ECOC 2000, PD. 2.6
Non-Patent Document 5
M. Romagnoli, P. Franco, R. Corsini, A. Schffini, and M. Midrio, "Time-domain Fourier optics for polarization-mode dispersion compensation," Opt. Lett. Vol. 24, pp. 1197-1199 (1999)

Optical transmission method and optical transmission apparatus


A variable valve device for an internal combustion engine comprises a first switching oil passage which is formed along an axial direction in one of a rocker shafts, the first rocker arm being switched to the first mode by applying oil pressure to a first rocker arm through the first switching oil passage, and a second switching oil passage which is formed along an axial direction in the other rocker shaft, a second rocker arm being switched to the first mode by applying oil pressure to the second rocker arm through the second switching oil passage. The first switching oil passage and the second switching oil passage are formed in a ladder shape in which the first switching oil passage and the second switching oil passage communicate via a plurality of relay oil passages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable valve device for an internal combustion engine in which at least one kind of switching oil passages are provided in a pair of rocker shafts while oil pressure of the switching oil passage of one of the rocker shafts is introduced to the switching oil passage of the other rocker shaft to switch rocker arms located in the rocker shafts at the same time.
2. Description of the Related Art
The engine which is switched from a normal state to a high-speed mode or a cylinder suspension mode using the variable valve device with the rocker arm is being developed to balance improvement of output characteristics and reduction of fuel consumption in an automobile-mounted reciprocating engine (internal combustion engine). When the engine enters a high engine revolution speed range, the engine is switched to the high-speed mode suitable to the high engine revolution speed range. The engine is switched to the cylinder suspension mode in which some of cylinders are suspended, when the engine enters a running condition in which large output is not required.
In the cylinder suspension mode, frequently lifts (open and close) of inlet and exhaust valves of the cylinder are stopped to decrease pumping loss. Therefore, in most variable valve devices, the inlet valve is driven by a hydraulic rocker arm which can switch the inlet valve among the normal mode (low-speed mode), the high-speed mode, and the cylinder suspension mode, the exhaust valve is driven by a hydraulic rocker arm which can switch the exhaust valve between the normal mode (low-speed mode) and the cylinder suspension mode, and the rocker arms are driven by the different oil-pressure systems. For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-90408 discloses this kind of technique.
Specifically, as disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-90408, in the inlet and exhaust rocker shafts (pair), two kinds of switching oil passages for high-speed mode and cylinder suspension mode are formed in an axial direction in the inlet-side rocker shaft. The switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode is formed in the axial direction in the exhaust-side rocker shaft.
Further, two oil-pressure systems are used. One oil-pressure system comprises the switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode of the exhaust-side rocker shaft and the switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode of the inlet-side rocker shaft. These passages are connected in series. Another oil-pressure system is used for high speed switching.
In the two oil-pressure systems, when the oil pressure does not act on the switching oil passage for high-speed mode and the exhaust-side switching oil passage, the low-speed mode (cam selection suitable to the normal running) is selected in both the inlet-side and exhaust-side rocker arms.
When the oil pressure is applied only to the switching oil passage (for high-speed mode) of the inlet-side rocker shaft, the inlet-side rocker arm is switched to the high-speed mode (cam selection suitable to the high-speed running). When the oil pressure is applied only to the exhaust-side switching oil passage (for cylinder suspension mode), the inlet-side and exhaust-side rocker arms are switched to the cylinder suspension mode (the lift of inlet and exhaust valves is suspended) in which the cam displacement is not transmitted to the valve.
In the variable valve device, because the mode is frequently switched according to the running state of the engine (automobile), there is demanded a performance of rapid mode switching in all the cylinders of the engine within predetermined switching time, i.e., a switching property.
As disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-90408, in the system in which the oil pressure is introduced from one of the rocker shafts to the other rocker shaft, a large area of the passage is secured because the exhaust-side switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode is provided only in the exhaust-side rocker shaft.
However, the inlet-side switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode is arranged parallel to the switching oil passage for high-speed mode in the inlet-side rocker shaft, so that the area of the passage becomes smaller than that of the exhaust-side switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode due to a structure.
Therefore, in the structure disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-90408, in which the oil pressure is supplied in series from the exhaust-side switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode to the inlet-side switching oil passage for cylinder suspension mode, although the oil pressure is rapidly delivered to the exhaust-side rocker arm, the oil pressure is prevented from being easily delivered to the inlet-side rocker arm due to the difference in area of the passage.
Therefore, the inlet-side rocker arm, particularly the inlet-side rocker arm located at the end of the oil-pressure system is operated while delayed with respect to the exhaust-side rocker arm (at the start or end of the switching to the cylinder suspension mode).
The delay decreases the switching property during the cylinder suspension mode. Sometimes a switching fluctuation caused by the delay generates a noise and vibration. Furthermore, the influence of the delay narrows a range where the cylinder suspension mode is performed in engine.

Variable valve device for internal combustion engine

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


Provided is a method of fabricating a near-field optical probe adapted to a near-field scanning optical microscopy and a near-field information storage device, in which a cantilever and an optical tip are provided in one body and the optical tip is arranged to face the upper portion of the substrate. High-concentrated boron ions are implanted into an uppermost silicon layer of a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate, and a silicon layer into which boron ions are implanted while the silicon inside the tip is etched to form the hole to act as an etch stop layer, thereby easily removing the silicon inside the tip even with the cantilever exposed, and simplifying the process due to the simultaneous fabrication of the cantilever and the tip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a near field optical probe employed to a near field scanning optical microscopy and near field information storage device and, more specifically, to a method of fabricating a near-field optical probe in which a cantilever and an optical tip are provided in one body and the optical tip is arranged to face the upper portion of the substrate.
2. Discussion of Related Art
After an atomic force microscopy was invented, a research has been widely conducted on applications of a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) capable of measuring optical, electrical, and magnetic characteristics of a sample in a nanometer resolution. The atomic force microscopy is supported by a cantilever and has a sharp tip of several nanometers. For a near-field scanning optical microscopy, the near-field light is output from the end of the tip made of a material transparent to the wavelength of the incident light to transmit the light, so that the optical characteristics of a sample can be checked through an interaction between the near-field light and the sample.
A cantilever-type near-field optical probe is mainly fabricated with the silicon substrate, and is classified into two structures according to a shape of the tip, i.e., a structure where the tip faces up in the direction perpendicular to the substrate and a structure where the tip faces down in the direction perpendicular to the substrate.
An example of a near-field optical probe having the structure where the tip faces down will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a groove in a reverse pyramid is formed on a silicon substrate 1 of the portion where a probe is to be formed, by using an anisotropic etching characteristic according to an orientation of the silicon, and then, a silicon oxide layer 2 and a metal layer 3 are formed all over the surface.
Referring to FIG. 1B, when a back side of the silicon substrate 1 is etched by using a predetermined mask until the metal layer 3 of the probe is exposed, a cantilever made of the thin silicon substrate 1 and a probe made of the silicon oxide layer 2 at the end of the cantilever are formed. Here, the silicon substrate 1 of the other end of the cantilever is not etched, thereby serving as a supporting frame. Next, the metal layer 3 is removed to form a hole 4 at the center of the probe, and a metal 5 is deposited at the backside of the cantilever and the probe to block light the transmission of light.
As another example, it is proposed that the optical tip is made of the silicon oxide layer, and the cantilever is made of the silicon nitride layer and the silicon oxide layer. [S. S. Choi et al., "Fabrication of subwavelength-size aperture for a near-field optical probe using various microfabrication procedures", J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B. Vol. 21(1), p.p. 118-122, 2003]. In this method, silicon inside the optical tip is first etched, and an oxide layer is deposited. Here, a thick silicon oxide layer is grown in (111) direction due to the difference of growth rate of the oxide layer based on the orientation of the silicon. By using the silicon oxide layer as a mask, the hole of the optical tip is fabricated through an anisotropic plasma etching and an isotropic etching using HF.
However, the near-field probes having the arrangement described above has a chance that the substrate supporting the cantilever and the sample may be collided when the cantilever is moved and the probe is close to the sample.
Further, the near-field probe having a face-up tip can be fabricated in two methods. One method is to couple the cantilever and the tip, fabricated on the different substrates, respectively [Yasuhiro Shimada et al., "Probe with tip having micro aperture for detecting or irradiating light, near-field optical microscope, recording/reproduction apparatus using the probe, and method of fabricating the probe", U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,226, 2001 Mar 13]. In this case, a process of arranging and aligning the tip and the cantilever is further required, which accompanies the difficulty in the process.
The other method is to fabricate the outer shape of the tip by etching the surface of the silicon substrate, and then, etch the backside of the silicon substrate to fabricate cantilever and remove the silicon inside the tip [P. Grabiec et al., "SNOM/AFM microprobe integrated with piezoresistive cantilever beam for multifunctional surface analysis", Microelectronic Engineering, Vol. 61-62, p.p. 981-986, 2002Jul. 9. ]. In case that the near-field probe is fabricated in this method, the substrate supporting the cantilever and the sample is not collided when the probe is close to the sample. However, there is a difficulty in etching the silicon inside the tip or boring the hole of the tip. In other words, though it is necessary to maintain a constant thickness of the substrate during the silicon process, there is a difficulty in proceeding the process since the backside of the tip should be patterned after the most portion of the backside of the substrate is removed to form the cantilever. Further, with a focused ion beam (FIB), the hole of tip can be accurately bored. However, in this case, the high-cost apparatus is required.
In case that the near-field optical probe is used in the optical information storage device, the optical recording is enabled only when the transmittance of the near-field light transmitted from the end of the probe is high. With respect to this, researches have been made on improvement of the transmittance by fabricating a parabolic-type tip end using a bird's beak [K. Song et al., "Fabrication of a high-throughput cantilever-style aperture tip by the use of the bird's beak effect", Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 42, Part 1, No. 7A, p.p. 4353-4356, 2003 July. ].
Recently, a research was conducted over a method of fabricating the probe using an optical fiber. In the method, the optical fiber is dangled such that a width of an end of the optical fiber is several nanometers. Using an interaction between the end of the optical fiber and the sample to maintain the close distance, a microscopic optical characteristic of the sample is checked by measuring the interaction between the sample and the near-field light emitted from the end of the optical fiber. However, with the probe comprising the optical fiber, the arrangement of the probe is mechanically weak, and it is difficult to fabricate the multiple probes.

Method of fabricating near field optical probe

Electronics and Telecomunications Research Institute


This invention is directed to multiple sealing bars to seal articles moving on a conveyor (2) inside a sleeve (4) that forms a continuous film tube (5). Retracting conveyors act to collapse the tube between the articles so that the collapsed portion of the tube can be sealed. The synchronization of the sealing bars with the movement of retracting conveyors allows for a continuous motion machine where the products inside the film do not stop.

The use of a single sealing bar on film wrapping machine is well known in the art. In order to seal and separate the articles in the tube, a section of the tube between the articles needs to collapse so that the sealing bar can pinch and seal the collapsed tube while the articles are moving on a conveyor. During the sealing process the section of the collapsed tube is separated thereby forming an article inside a tube that is sealed at each end. To collapse the tube a conveyor needs to be slowed to increase the slack in the tube. This reduces the productivity of the machine.


A digital telephone for use as a PBX station includes a display for displaying information such as called number and call duration as well as messages from other stations or from a message center associated with a PBX system. The station includes a printer mechanism having the capability to print information corresponding to what is currently displayed on the display as well as messages from other stations or from the message center. Provision of the printer enables a hard copy printout of messages and calling information to be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to private branch exchange (PBX) telephone systems and more particularly to PBX telephone systems having a station messaging capability.
A PBX system generally operates with at least one attendant console and a number of individual telephone stations. The PBX system includes the ability to route calls internally from station to station as well as providing each station with access to an outside telephone line. All calls originating from outside the PBX system are initially received at the attendant console and routed by an attendant to the appropriate station.
2. Description of Related Art
Many PBX systems currently used are fully digital and incorporate digital stations. Such stations often have operational capabilities beyond a mere telephone speech transmission. In particular, it is now common for digital PBX stations to be provided with an alphanumeric display for the purpose of providing information to the station user. The display is typically a liquid crystal display (LCD) of a relatively small size such as four rows of thirty characters each. The displays can provide information such as clock/calendar, call duration, dialed number and calling number. In addition, the displays may be used to register messages from a message center associated with the PBX system (for example controlled by the attendant console) or from other stations. Digital signals are transmitted either along the telephone line itself or along a separate dedicated line and employed to drive the display to register a message. For example, when a caller from one station calls another station and there is no answer, the caller may register a message at the called station indicating the name/number of the caller and requesting that the call be returned. Similarly, calls from outside of the PBX system may be taken by the attendant and an appropriate message may be transmitted to the station display.


A novel ErbB-4 ligand, referred to herein as Neuregulin-4 (NRG-4) is disclosed as well as polynucleotide sequences encoding NRG-4, oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide analogs derived from polynucleotide sequences, a display library displaying short peptides derived from NRG-4, antibodies recognizing NRG-4, peptides or peptide analogs derived from NRG-4, and pharmaceutical compositions and methods of employing peptides or peptide analogs, oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide analogs, and/or polynucleotide sequences to up-regulate or down-regulate ErbB-4 receptor activity (signaling).

The present invention relates to a novel ErbB-4 ligand, referred to herein as Neuregulin-4 (NRG-4), to polynucleotide sequences encoding said NRG-4, to oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide analogs derived from said polynucleotide sequences, to a display library displaying short peptides derived from said NRG-4, to antibodies recognizing said NRG-4, to peptides or peptide analogs derived from said NRG-4, and to pharmaceutical compositions and methods of employing said peptides or peptide analogs, said oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide analogs, and/or said polynucleotide sequences to up-regulate or down-regulate ErbB-4 receptor activity and to treat or prevent various diseases, conditions and syndromes.
Cell-to-cell signaling is an essential feature of multi-cellular organisms, playing important roles in both the unfolding of developmental diversification as well as mediating the homeostasis of vastly different cell types. A large number of tyrosine kinase growth factor receptors play key roles in this process. Type-1 tyrosine kinase receptors, also known as ErbB/HER proteins, comprise one of the better-characterized families of growth factor receptors, of which the epidermal growth factor receptor (ErbB-1) is the prototype [reviewed in (Burden & Yarden, 1997)]. The ErbB family constitutes four known receptors which dimerize upon ligand stimulation, transducing their signals by subsequent autophosphorylation catalyzed by an intrinsic cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, and recruiting downstream signaling cascades.
The ErbB receptors are activated by a large number of ligands. Depending upon the activating ligand, most homodimeric and heterodimeric ErbB combinations can be stabilized upon ligand binding (Tzahar et al., 1996), thus allowing a complex, diverse downstream signaling network to arise from these four receptors. The choice of dimerization partners for the different ErbB receptors, however, is not arbitrary.
Spatial and temporal expression of the different ErbB receptors do not always overlap in vivo, thus narrowing the spectrum of possible receptor combinations that an expressed ligand can activate for a given cell type (Erickson et al., 1997; Gassmann et al., 1995; Lee et al., 1995; Pinkas-Kramarski et al., 1997; Riethmacher et al., 1997).
Furthermore, a hierarchical preference for signaling through different ErbB receptor complexes takes place in a ligand-dependent manner. Of these, ErbB-2-containing combinations are often the most potent, exerting prolonged signaling through a number of ligands, likely due to an ErbB-2-mediated deceleration of ligand dissociation (Karunagaran et al., 1996; Tzahar et al., 1996; Wang et al., 1998).
In contrast to possible homodimer formation of ErbB-1 and ErbB-4, for ErbB-2, which has no known direct ligand, and for ErbB-3, which lacks an intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity (Guy et al., 1994), homodimers either do not form or are inactive.
Heterodimeric ErbB complexes are arguably of importance in vivo. For example, mice defective in genes encoding either NRG-1, or the receptors ErbB-2 or ErbB-4, all result in identical failure of trabeculae formation in the embryonic heart, consistent with the notion that trabeculation requires activation of ErbB-2/ErbB-4 heterodimers by NRG-1 (Gassmann et al., 1995; Lee et al., 1995; Meyer & Birchmeier, 1995).
At the biochemical level, the known ErbB ligands fall into several categories (Riese et al., 1996b). One category, the ErbB-1 ligands, includes EGF, Transforming Growth Factor α (TGFα), Epiregulin, Amphiregulin, Betacellulin and the Heparin-binding EGF (HB-EGF) (Higashiyama et al., 1991; Marquardt et al., 1984; Shing et al., 1993; Shoyab et al., 1989; Toyoda et al., 1995). To different extents, these ErbB-1 binding ligands can also activate other receptors of the ErbB family, and hence may mediate distinct signaling outputs for a given cell type [reviewed in (Tzahar & Yarden, 1998)].
Another category of ErbB ligands comprises the Neuregulin (NRG) family. NRG-1 [also named Neu differentiation factor (NDF), Heregulin, Glial Growth factor, and Acetylcholine Receptor Inducing Activity] was first identified by its ability to indirectly phosphorylate ErbB-2 (Holmes et al., 1992; Peles et al., 1992; Wen et al., 1992). Subsequently, NRG-1 was found to directly bind ErbB-3 and ErbB-4 and to sequester ErbB-2 by receptor dimerization (Peles et al., 1993; Plowman et al., 1993; Sliwkowski et al., 1994; Tzahar et al., 1994). Multiple isoforms of NRG-1 exist which amongst other roles, permit heterogeneous binding affinities to different ErbB complexes (Tzahar et al., 1994). The NRG family now includes also two isoforms of NRG-2 (Busfield et al., 1997; Carraway et al., 1997; Chang et al., 1997; Higashiyama et al., 1997), of which the alpha isoform is a pan-ErbB ligand (Pinkas-Kramarski et al., 1998), and NRG-3, a ligand of ErbB-4 (Zhang et al., 1997).
The multiplicity of genes encoding ErbB-1 ligands, contrasting with the small number of known genes encoding ligands for ErbB-3 or ErbB-4 (namely: NRGs), led the inventors of the present invention to believe in the existence of additional NRG genes in the genome of mammals.
A fourth Neuregulin, denoted NRG-4, which acts through the ErbB-4 receptor tyrosine kinase is reported herein. In addition to its novel structure, this growth factor displays a pattern of expression different from other EGF-like molecules.

Growth factor which acts through erb b-4 rtk