Internal combustion engine with exhaust gas recirculation and turbocharger. The branch (9) connecting the exhaust duct (4) and the inlet duct (5) is situated upstream of the exhaust turbine (6) and downstream of the inlet compressor (7). This branch (9) discharges into the inlet duct via a venturi (10). The regulation of the quantity of exhaust gas is controlled by controlling the exhaust-pressure-regulating devices. These may comprise a turbine with variable geometry.

Such an internal combustion engine is disclosed in German Offenlegungsschrift 4,319,380 and can be used either for a diesel or an otto engine.
Exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) is a known technique for reducing, in particular, the NO.sub.x emission of combustion engines. In the case of EGR, some of the exhaust gases are fed back to the inlet of the engine. Especially in the case of turbo-charged engines (engines provided with turbo-compressor) and turbo-charged engines with intermediate cooling (or intercooling; cooling of the compressed inlet air), this can be done in a number of different ways. The most well known are:
a) feedback of exhaust gas from downstream of the turbine to upstream of the compressor, PA0 b) feedback from upstream of the turbine to downstream of the compressor and PA0 c) feedback from upstream of the turbine to upstream of the compressor. PA0 a) compressor and intercooler are not exposed to the EGR gas contamination, and PA0 b) the mass flow through compressor and intercooler does not increase if EGR is used.
An advantage of design b) is that no contamination can occur of the compressor and the intercooler optionally connected downstream thereof.
A problem in the case of exhaust-gas recirculation is the metering of the quantity of exhaust gas in the inlet duct. This determines the emission of the respective internal combustion engine. In order to limit the NO.sub.x discharge, sufficient exhaust gas has to be recirculated. On the other hand, an unduly large addition has the consequence that the power of the internal combustion engine is adversely affected if this is at the expense of the quantity of air. With an excess EGR flow, the particle emission also increases. In addition, a pump loss is produced by the implementation of an EGR flow by the bleed points, which adversely affects the efficiency.
As a result of the efficiency loss, there are still hardly any EGR systems at present which can effect EGR in the high/maximum load range. To generate EGR in this range, use is fairly often made of a back-pressure valve in the exhaust system. In general, this results in a significant increase in fuel consumption.
EGR systems are in fact frequently used in the lighter diesel engines. As a result of the official exhaust-gas emission test procedures for this category of engines, where the stress is on low and moderate engine load, it is possible to make do with EGR at low and moderate engine load. In this case, `replacement` EGR is also involved; some of the inlet air is replaced by EGR gas. In the case of low/moderate load, this generally produces no substantial deterioration in the performance because, even after replacement, an adequate excess of air is still present. In these systems, it is generally possible to make do with fitting a simple throttle valve (between compressor and EGR introduction location) in order to effect the required EGR flow.
In the design according to German Offenlegungsschrift 4,319,380, a regulable back-pressure valve is sited downstream of the turbine. As this back-pressure valve is further closed, the back-pressure upstream of the turbine will also increase, as a result of which (more) exhaust gas flows towards the inlet via the bleed. Since turbine work and compressor work do not change or hardly change as a result of this design and in view of the usual compressor characteristic, the (fresh) air flow through the engine will drop. This is `replacement` EGR. As a result of the consequently lower excess of air, the efficiency of the engine will drop and the smoke emission will increase.

Exhaust-gas recirculation system for a turbocharged internal combustion engine

Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO


The present invention provides a process for eliminating effectively ATP in a sample, using adenosine phosphate deaminase alone or in combination with at least one enzyme selected from the group consisting of apyrase, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, hexokinase and adenosine triphosphatase, a process for determining biological cells contained in foods and beverages in convenient and precise manner in combination with bioluminescence method, and a reagent for the determination thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an eliminator of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (referred to hereinafter as ATP), a process for eliminating ATP therewith, a reagent for measuring biological cells and a process for measuring biological cells therewith.
More particularly, the present invention relates to the evaluation of the biological contamination of samples such as foods and drinks, or the half-products or materials thereof by treating the samples with the ATP eliminator and then measuring ATP in contaminant microorganism cells contained in the samples by the bioluminescence method.
2. Description of Related Art
The measurement of biological cells such as Escherichia coli, yeast, and lactic acid bacteria is very important in the fields including food hygiene, biotechnology, clinical laboratory tests, medicine, super pure water and environment.
Biological cells are generally measured by severals methods such as microscopic instrumentation with a hematocytometer (microscopic method), turbidimetry, gravimetry, packed volume measuring method, and colony counting method (referred to hereinafter as pour culture method).
The microscopic method, the turbidimetry, the gravimetry and the packed volume measuring method, however, have disadvantages of low sensitivity or inability to distinguish unviable cells and viable cells, while the pour culture method is not suitable for the cases which are desired to obtain the result quickly since it requires the culture of cells and thus usually requires a period of time for one or more days.
The counting of cells in the aforementioned fields requires the rapid measurement with high sensitivity; the test of microbial contamination of products is essentially required for their shipping in the field of food hygiene. The test has been conventionally carried out by the pour culture method, which requires a period of time for one or more days, so that the products must be stored in a warehouse until the products are guaranteed by the test. This causes not only a problem in the point of logistic efficiency, but also the risk increased of microbial contamination in food products such as milk with the prolonged time of storage. In addition, microorganisms which become an issue for the contamination of foods are generally in a low level, so that a test with high sensitivity is required.
The method for measuring the level of microorganisms which satisfies the requirements described above includes the bioluminescence method of measuring ATP which is present in all of viable microorganisms. This is a method for measuring cells by placing a sample containing the cells into contact with an extraction reagent containing surfactants, trichloroacetic acid (TCA), a Tris-buffer, ethanol or a lytic enzyme to release intracellular ATP out of the cells, placing the ATP into contact with a luminescent reagent which contains luciferin as a substrate of luminescence in a firefly and the enzyme luciferase for producing bioluminescence as a result of the enzyme reaction of luciferin, luciferase and ATP, and measuring the amount of luminescence produced for the determination of the intracellular ATP.
However, ATP is originally present in varying amounts in all of biological cells including not only microorganisms but also unicellular organisms as well as animal and plant tissues in which it is present as the so-called somatic cells. Furthermore, ATP is also present in the free form in the surroundings of biological cells.
Thus, even if it is intended to detect ATP which is contained only in a certain biological cell from a sample containing biological cells, ATP in the biological cells is detected together with free ATP in the neighborhood of the biological cells. In other words, if ATP is intended to be used as an index for the measurement of the biological cells, the free ATP other than that in the biological cells described above is measured as the background luminescence level (noise) together with ATP in the biological cells, and thus such a measurement has a defect of lowering the detection sensitivity of ATP.
As the techniques for eliminating the free ATP, several methods are currently employed including the membrane filter method in which ATP is eliminated from the sample through a membrane filter, the centrifugation method in which it is eliminated by centrifugation, the method for eliminating ATP with an enzyme such as apyrase, adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), hexokinase, or ATP pyrophosphatase (referred to hereinafter as enzymatic method) (Monthly Food Chemical, SHOKUHIN KAGAKU SHINBUN-SHA, May, 1995, pp. 55-63; Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 65800/1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,907; Analitical Biochemistry, 218, 20-25, 1994; Bulletin of the Japanese Society of Scientific Fisheries, 52 (9), 1695, 1986; PROC. N.A.S. Vol 52, 1580-1586, 1964; PCT WO 94/28169; and Marine Ecology-Progress Series, 13, 305-309, 1983).
The membrane filter method has however disadvantages in that it is complicated in operation, inferior in filtration ability and insufficient of the ATP eliminating effect.
The centrifugation method also has a disadvantage in that it is complicated in operation and solid components in samples are sedimented and separated together with bacteria, so that it cannot realize the measurement at high precision.
Furthermore, the enzymatic method has also a disadvantage in that it is difficult to lower the background due to the sample, and the ATP eliminating effect remains in unsatisfactory levels.

ATP eliminator and the process for determining biological cells


A method and apparatus for applying a protective coating onto a substrate comprises a power supply for generating an amplitude-modulated alternating electromagnetic field in a vacuum chamber. A silicon-organic compound is supplied in a gaseous state into the vacuum chamber and is plasma polymerized onto the substrate in the chamber without powdery portions. Another process parameter for controlling coating rate is adjusted to be at a high level so that when the amplitude modulation is stopped, powdery portions do appear in the coating. Thus at high coating rates amplitude-modulation according to the invention avoids such powdery portions.

The present invention relates in general to a method of forming a protective coating on a substrate by means of plasma polymerization with at least one gaseous silicon-organic compound, in which a plasma is generated in a vacuum chamber and a gas with the compound is fed thereto for the production of the coating. The invention relates further to a coating apparatus with a coating chamber, a source arrangement which, for the generation of a plasma, generates an electromagnetic alternating field, a pumping arrangement connected to the chamber, and a controlled gas inlet arrangement for the infeed of gas into the chamber.
In the technology of protective coatings it is generally known to provide substrates, specifically non-planar substrates such as reflectors for automobile or other headlights, floodlights, etc. with corrosion proof or wiping resistant, protective coatings.
Plasma polymerization which, as is generally known, is used for this task, and which is a plasma enhanced chemical deposition method operative at comparatively low substrate temperatures, permits metal substrates or previously coated metal layers, specifically aluminum vapor coated substrates, to be coated with siloxane, a silicon-organic compound.
Because a plasma is generated for this procedure by direct current, as disclosed, for example, in the German patent publication DE-OS 22 63 480 or French patent reference FR A 21 690 072, a new metal encasement must be furnished from time to time, around at least one of the metal electrodes used for the coating process and between which the plasma is generated after every coating process. This is because an insulating coating is produced at relatively high coating rates on the electrode during coating with siloxane. Without this new metal encasement, the longer the process continues, the more dielectric coating is formed on the electrode. This would lead to an unstable plasma with flashovers through the insulating coating and contamination of the coating process area, sputtering-off until, finally, a disruption or break down of the plasma discharge takes place.
This problem remains if, according to German reference DD A 272 773, a pulsed DC-plasma is used. According to DD A 272 773, an alternating voltage of selected frequency is rectified in one direction and is used for the plasma generator. By means of a superimposed DC-voltage, the total voltage is raised causing the plasma discharge to intensify which, it is said, increases productivity. It is also stated in the reference that an upper limit for this DC-voltage exists, above which the discharge becomes continuous. This pulsed switching of a discharge with a non-pulsed operating voltage (a rectified voltage) can no longer support pulsed DC-discharge operation. A pulsed DC-discharge is used according to DD A 272 773 for preventing arcing, which, as is known, is often encountered in pure DC-discharge operation.
Due to the necessity of having to reencapsulate the mentioned electrode, relatively long maintenance intervals occur due to which a production plant must often shut down for prolonged time spans. This can not be tolerated with in-line production plants, for example.
It is noted that the parameters for a plasma polymerization method depend very strongly on the gaseous compounds used and which will thus form the process coating. It is known from European patent reference EP A 207 767, to pulsate RF plasma, during a surface treatment-etching or coating by plasma enhanced reactive processes. Without any specific selection, a large number of different materials are proposed for processing in this reference, e.g., Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, TiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, BN, SiO.sub.2, B.sub.4 C, SiC, HC, TiC, TiN, BP. All of these coating materials are not produced by polymerization.
In case of the plasma polymerization of silicon-organic compounds, it is known, e.g. from EP A 0 299 754 to generate the plasma by means of an electormagnectic alternating field. It is further known that, when using certain non-silicon organic gaseous compounds such as methane, higher deposition rates can be obtained by pulsing the electromagnetic alternating field, and at the same time applying average power.
How the coating process behaves, as noted above, depends on plasma modulation, and to a large extend, on the specific gaseous compound supplied for the coating operation.
Regarding the recognition that it is possible to reach, in certain cases, higher coating rates by a pulsed electromagnetic alternating field for the generation of the plasma at the same average electrical power applied also under the same process conditions, reference is made to:
Vinzant J, Shen M, Bell A, ACS SYMP.SER; SHEN BELL 108 p. 79 (1979), "Polymerization of Hydrocarbons in a pulsed plasma";
H. Yasuda, T. Hsu: J. Polym Sci, Polym Chem ed 15, 81, (1977), or
H. Yasuda "Plasma polymerization" Academic press (1985), p.103-105; and
Lloret A, Bertran E, Andujar J, Canillas A, Morenza J, J.APPL.PHYS. 69, p. 632 (1991), "Ellipsometric study of a-Si:H thin films deposited by square wave modulated rf glow discharge".
Further, that a lower heat loading of the substrate takes place by the application of a pulsed electromagnetic alternating field for the generation of the plasma follows from:
GB A 2 105 729 (1981), ITT Industries Ltd., London-GB; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,956 (1990), Anelva Corp., Tokyo, Japan.
It is furthermore, also known that new coating properties are realized by the application of a pulsed electromagnetic alternating field for the generation of a plasma. Reference is made in this respect to:
JP 62 103 371 (1985), Hitachi K K;
DD 264 344 A3 (1986), VEB ZFT Mikroelectronik.
Improvement in the purity of the layer or a reduction of powdery layer portions is known:
in relation to the depositing of diamond or graphite out of methane, from JP 62 123 096 (1985), Showa Denko K K;
for silane (SiH.sub.4) from: Watanabe Y, Shiratani M, Kubo Y, Ogawa I, Ogi S, APPL.PHYS.LETT. 53, - p. 1263 (1988), "Effects of low frequency modulation on rf-discharge chemical vapor deposition";
with reference to the deposition of amorphous carbon from methane, from Hossary F, Fabian D, Webb A, THIN SOL.FILM 192, p.201 (1990), "Optical properties of amorphous carbon films formed by rf-plasma deposition from methane"; and
again with reference to silane (SiH.sub.4) further reference is made to: Watanabe Y, Shiratani M, Makino H, APPL.PHYS.LETT. 57, p. 1616 (1990), "Powder-free plasma chemical vapor deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon with high rf power density using modulated rf discharge."
All of the above documents are to be taken as an integrated part of the present description and are to be considered as incorporated in the present description by reference.


A microcapsule contains a pharmaceutically effective amorphous water-soluble 2-piperazinone-1-acetic acid compound or salt thereof and a polymer binder and a method of preparing said microcapsule. The microcapsule is produced by dispersing in an aqueous phase a dispersion of the amorphous water-soluble 2-piperazinone-1-acetic acid compound or salt thereof in a solution of a polymer in an organic solvent to give an s/o/w type emulsion and subjecting the emulsion to in-water drying. The sustained-release microcapsule entraps 2-piperazinone-1-acetic acid compound or the salt thereof, as a drug, in high concentration, and in reducing the initial release of the drug, thereby reducing undesirable side effects of the drug.

Many reports have been made on sustained-release microcapsules of various low-molecular water-soluble drugs e.g. JPA S57(1982)-118512, J. Pharm. Sci., 75, 750-755 (1986)!. Most of the microcapsules so far reported have the following drawbacks: (1) in the manufacturing process, the amount of the water-soluble drug leaked to the outer aqueous phase is relatively large to result in a relatively low entrapment ratio of the drug, and (2) the resulting microcapsules are generally porous and cause a relatively large initial drug release. Thus, at the present stage, sustained-release of water-soluble drugs over a sufficiently desirable long period have not yet been successfully prepared.
On the other hand, in recent years, novel peptides or low-molecular compounds having excellent cell-adhesion regulating or inhibiting actions have been found and are expected to be used as therapeutic agents of various diseases. For example, compounds having GPIIb/IIIa antagonistic activity remarkably inhibit platelet aggregation or suppress the metastasis of tumor cells and are expected to be clinically useful drugs. (Sci., 233, 467-469 (1986); Sci., 238, 1132-1134 (1987); Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 87, 2471-2475(1990)!. As examples of such compounds, linear or cyclic peptides containing the amino acid sequence, -Arg-Gly-Asp-(RGD) have been known e.g. J. Biol. Chem., 262, 17294-17298 (1987); JPA H2(1990)-174797!. And, non-peptide compounds having an anti-thrombotic activity are disclosed in JPA H4(1992)-264068 and EPA No.505868, in which having 4- to 7-membered cyclic alkyleneimino such as a pyrrolidine ring and compounds having e.g. piperidine ring are respectively described. Further, compounds having piperidinone ring, which have cell-adhesion inhibiting activity, are disclosed in EPA No.529858.
These known compounds are not satisfactory from the viewpoint of the potency of their activity, undesirable side effects (e.g. prolonging bleeding time), absorbability, stability or durability of the action. Circumstances being such as above, there are problems still to be solved for clinical application of these compounds.
Recently, novel 2-piperazinone-1-acetic acid derivatives were synthesized and were found to possess, based on the chemical structural characteristic feature, a potent platelet aggregation inhibiting activity and, at the same time, are safely administrable, i.e. there are few undesirable side effects such as prolongation of bleeding time. These compounds are expected to be applied to a variety of circulatory diseases (e.g. thrombosis, transient cerebral ischemic attack, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, peripheral obstruction and arteriosclerotic obliteration), tumors, inflammatory diseases, or prevention of reobstruction and restenosis of coronary arteries after PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty), prevention of reobstruction and restenosis after surgical operation for coronary artery bypass and secondary prophylaxis after re-opening of infarction. Especially, for patients of chronic diseases, administration of drugs for a long period is required. While preparations capable of sustained-release for a long period are desired, no report on sustained-release microcapsules of the above-mentioned novel compounds has been found.
Exploitation of a method of preparing sustained-release microcapsules which demonstrates a high entrapping ratio of a 2-piperazinone-1-acetic acid compound and a low initial release of the drug is expected.

Microcapsule containing amorphous water-soluble 2-piperazinone-1-acetic acid compound


A system and a method of playing rich internet applications on remote computing devices by using a certifying player to invoke server-side web services through a single, secure, certifying intermediary server. The application player resides in the remote computing device and is configured to be executed by the remote computing device. The intermediary server is configured to communicate with the remote computing device via a network connection and to receive message requests from the application player and to send message responses to the application player. The intermediary server provides access of the RIA to the remote computing device by accessing an application server, where the RIA resides, via a single, secure and access-controlled network connection. The application player requests functionality of the RIA from the intermediary server via message requests and interprets the message responses received from the intermediary server. The message requests and responses may be Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) messages.

Desktop applications provide rich user interface experience, are not complex or difficult to develop and use local hardware and software resources which allow them to be responsive and to interact with other connected devices. One example of a desktop application is Microsoft Outlook™ an application designed for checking e-mail, managing a calendar and contact information. On the other hand, web-based applications are applications accessed with a web browser over a network. One example of a web-based application is Hotmail™, a website for checking e-mail. Web-based applications are easy to deploy and manage and can be deployed even on mobile devices that are sporadically connected to a network. Smart-client applications are applications that combine the best of the desktop applications and web-based applications. They use local hardware and software resources and provide a rich user interface experience. They are connected applications that exchange data on the Internet or any other enterprise network. They are also capable of running offline and can be easily deployed and updated. Smart-client applications are poised to replace traditional web-based applications on desktop computing devices and eventually on remote mobile devices because computer users are accustomed to a rich media experience and expect to have a similarly rich experience when they use web-based applications, even on mobile devices. When we use the term desktop applications we specifically include both applications developed for the desktop and applications developed for remote devices using traditional desktop methodologies.
Rich Internet Applications (RIA) are smart-client web-applications that have the functionality of traditional desktop applications, but transfer the processing necessary for the user interface to the web client while maintaining the state of the program and keeping the bulk of the data back on the application server.
Mobile remote devices include mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), point of sale (POS) devices, tablets, pagers and laptop computers, among others. Mobile remote devices are usually underpowered, only sporadically connected to a server and usually via a limited bandwidth connection. Mobile devices have extremely limited storage and processing capacity and are often out of their areas of coverage, or not connected to the network for other reasons. Furthermore, mobile devices are susceptible to loss and/or theft, have varying capabilities, and usually run on varying platforms and operating systems. Applications for remote mobile devices (i.e., mobile remote applications) are difficult to develop and deploy due to the varying platforms and operating systems. Mobile applications are also difficult to certify and control once deployed. They are inherently insecure due to the remote device's mobility and susceptibility to theft/loss and due to the fact that they are usually developed based on assumptions and/or methodologies valid for the desktop environment.
Historically, mobile application development has been performed by highly trained programmers. However, more and more lay people are attempting to develop applications, but the currently available development languages and environments make the task difficult for non-highly trained programmers. The intermittent connectivity of mobile devices makes downloading and deploying of applications an error-prone process, which becomes more error-prone the richer and larger the application becomes. In addition, mobile devices often require the use of device-specific mechanisms to install applications above and beyond the effort needed to get the actual bytecodes onto the device. High-value applications, such as mobile payment applications, often have to be certified by a neutral third party to adhere to best security practices. The certification process for wireless applications is extremely lengthy, involving certification of all elements of the application, such as the server software, the client software, the communications protocol, among others. In some cases, certification can last several years, so that the majority of the development cycle is spent waiting. Once an application is deployed in a mobile device, it is difficult to control it because one can not assume that the device is in a single physical location and/or under the control of the 'the person who usually sits at that location'. Applications deployed on mobile devices are inherently insecure due to the mobility of the device and the ease of becoming lost. Data stored on a lost mobile device can be intercepted by people for whom they were not intended and the device itself is easily 'intercepted'. Enterprise desktop applications are designed to run on a physical desktop contained within the physical enterprise as a logical node on the enterprise network. Their physical security is contained within the physical security of the enterprise and their network activities are bounded by whatever restrictions the enterprise network administrator chooses to impose on them. On the other hand, mobile applications run outside the physical boundaries of the enterprise and are logical network nodes on the public network and thus typically not subject to any restrictions as to what other network nodes they might contact. Therefore, mobile devices are insecure in practice when running applications developed for the desktop or applications developed using traditional desktop methodologies.
Ideally, rich internet applications (RIAs) designed to run on mobile devices must address all of these limitations. Furthermore, it is desirable for applications to be platform independent, allowing an enterprise to deploy it on its mobile devices as well as its desktop machines and other devices. However, existing client pieces for delivering RIAs are too heavy for cellphones, and existing smart client solutions require programming knowledge, which excludes many potential developers. Prior art smart-client solutions include the following:                J2ME, the Java 2 Micro Edition is a pared-down version of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) designed to run on cell-phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other mobile devices. However, J2ME solutions are not secure when networked as J2ME does not address the issue of how to restrict devices from promiscuous/dangerous network connectivity. J2ME is an enabling technology and platform. JVM type solutions require custom client-side programming, network programming, and server-side integration.        NET Compact Framework s a version of the .NET Framework that is designed to run on mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. The .NET Framework is a key Microsoft offering, and is intended to be used by most new applications created for the Windows platform. Similar to the J2ME, it is an enabling technology and platform, but lacks security when networked.        AJAX, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is a collection of technologies used to bring RIAs to browsers. AJAX applications are complex to develop and deploy, and impossible to access-control. Furthermore AJAX calls can go anywhere, which makes it not suitable for enterprise.        FLEX is a combination of a simplified XML language translated into flash and integrated with server components FLEX can call any URL, web-service oriented or not, and so is not bound by or compliant with any web-service standards, and thus sacrifices security.        Flash Lite is a pared-down version of the Macromedia Flash Player designed to run on cell-phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other mobile devices. Flash solutions are not inherently secure when networked as Flash does not address the issue of how to restrict devices from promiscuous/dangerous network connectivity. Flash again is an enabling technology, a platform upon which an application player can run.        LAZSLO, a development platform for RIAs that incorporates the Lazslo server. LAZSLO lacks security focus and addresses only a single aspect of the problem, i.e., how to deliver the same application to multiple device types.        Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser-type applications. WAP is an open international standard for applications that use wireless communications for providing Internet access to a mobile device. WAP sites are websites written in Wireless Markup Language (WML) and are accessed via a WAP browser. WAP based solutions have limited off-line capabilities, make bandwidth demands proportional to the sophistication of the UT, require custom server-side integration, and suffer from the security vulnerabilities of non-stated, open-endpoint network applications. They also have severe restrictions with respect to which client-side peripherals they can access.
Therefore there is a need for a method of delivering RIAs to a variety of devices, including both desktop and mobile devices that overcomes the above mentioned security, access control, computing power, bandwidth and platform problems.

System and method for playing rich internet applications in remote computing devices


An information processing apparatus includes a storing unit configured to store a past history storing table for storing information indicating operations performed on one or more electronic files.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure generally relates to an information processing apparatus and especially to an information processing apparatus for suggesting operations of a user performed on an electronic file.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various types of operations that can be performed on electronic files stored in a computer.
Such operations on electronic files include direct operations on electronic files such as copying, transfer, deletion, and the like, operations performed on applications such as transmission of an attachment to an electronic mail message, printing using an application, and the like, operations on electronic files performed by applications such as editing using a document editor, compression for reducing a file size, and the like.
Description of operations performed on electronic files also involve various conditions such as a transfer destination of an electronic file, a transmission destination of a file-attached electronic mail message, the number of printing of an electronic file, and the like.
Because of such a diversity of operations, computers have many functions of which users are unaware. For example, when it is possible to directly transmit electronic files in a computer via facsimile transmission, users unaware of such a function print a document on paper and then transmit the printed document via a facsimile, so that only a printing function is used on the computer.
Such a possibility that users do not recognize functions in this manner is increased in proportion as new functions are added and functions are more complicated. In view of this, the following methods have been frequently employed in order to suggest functions to users so as to make effective use of the computer.
One method is referred to as "Office Assistant". Office applications such as word processing software, spreadsheet software, and the like, display functions which might be useful for users in a certain situation in a text message form.
The other method displays a window message for suggesting application functions as "useful functions" when starting an application.
However, these methods have the following problems.
Firstly, whether suggestion is suitable for a specific situation is uncertain. In particular, display upon starting up is mere suggestion of functions, so that whether such suggestion is necessary has no grounds.
Secondly, convenience of the suggestion is uncertain. When the display of functions is useful in a specific situation, operations such as clicking on a mouse, for example, are necessary in order to obtain the suggestion. Further, although the suggestion of functions is displayed, it is necessary to actually perform a displayed operation so as to accept the suggestion, so that users may feel that performing such an operation in accordance with instructions is inconvenient.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to suggest necessary functions on the scene in accordance with a user situation. In addition, functions to be suggested preferably include those functions users are unaware of.
Some electronic program guides of TV programs gather not only information on personal preference but also information on preference of others (preference of other users in the same home, in particular) and recommend TV programs (refer to Patent Document 1, for example) to users.
Patent Document 1: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/966,414
However, information processing apparatuses such as computers generally pose a problem in that the same operations are repeatedly suggested from an operation history of a single user, for example.


An apparatus is provided for forming field coils on a stator stack including a plurality of slots defined by stator teeth. The apparatus includes a stator nest for holding a stator stack and a winding tool extending through the stator nest for locating wire in the stator stack. The winding tool includes a wire feed aperture for feeding wire into slots of the stator stack. A drifting tool is supported on the winding tool and includes radially extending drift blades for extending into the slots of the stator stack for forming or shaping wire coils that are wound on the stator teeth by the winding tool. Longitudinal movement of the winding tool causes the drifting tool to move into and out of engagement with the stator stack.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to stator winding and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for forming wound coils on stator stacks for dynamo-electric machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Field winding coils for stators are generally placed on the radially inwardly extending teeth of a stator stack by either pre-forming the coils and then pressing the pre-formed coils over the stator stack teeth, or by winding the coils directly onto the stator stack teeth. In the process where the coils are pre-formed, the coils are pushed onto the stator stack by a coil pusher which forcibly pushes the coils over the teeth of the stator stack, and a forming tool, or forming tools, may be provided to shape the wire in the stator stack slots and around the ends of the teeth in order to compactly position the coils on the stator stack. In such a construction, excess wire must be provided for the pre-formed coils in order to accommodate the necessary distortions of the coils as they are pressed over and around the stator stack teeth. Accordingly, such a construction has been found to provide an inefficient amount of wire, as well as result in a larger stator dimension as a result of the excess coil wire extending around the end faces of the teeth for the stator.
In the alternative construction for field winding, wire is fed from a winding spindle or winding tool directly onto a stator stack wherein the wire is successively wound around the stator stack teeth, and the efficiency of the winding operation is substantially dependent upon the ability to direct the wire to desired locations on the teeth as it is fed from the winding spindle. Such a device for feeding wire onto the stator stack to form the coils directly thereon is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,082.
When the wire being wound into the stator stack slots is of a relatively thick gauge, particular problems arise in the feeding and formation of wire coils on the teeth of the stator stack. In particular, such thick gauge wire does not typically readily conform to the contour of the slot such that the slot fill provided by thick gauge wire may be reduced relative to thinner more flexible gauges of wire.
Further, a winding operation in which pairs of wires are wound into the same slot simultaneously introduces additional difficulties not addressed by prior art machines in that the position of each wire in the pairs of wires must be properly coordinated relative to each other in order to ensure sufficient space for all required windings. The difficulty of providing efficient placement of wires is compounded when multiple sets or pairs of wires are placed in the stator stack simultaneously.
In addition, it has been observed that an additional area for improvement in the winding operation relates to a wire forming operation performed on wire placed within the slots of the stator stack. Specifically, it is known to move a forming tool having radially extending blades into one end of the stator stack for the blades to form the wire toward the respective stator stack teeth around which the wire is wound. For example, the forming tool may be provided with an actuator for moving the forming tool in synchronism with the winding tool. That is, the forming tool may move into the stator stack as the winding tool is moved in a direction out of the stator stack. Typically, an end portion of the winding tool closest to the forming tool remains within or closely adjacent to the end of the stator stack, limiting the ability of the forming tool to approach that end of the stator stack. Accordingly, in such a winding system, at least a portion of the wound wire may not be formed within the stator stack slots.

Method and apparatus for winding field coils for dynamo-electric machines


A differential device includes a differential case which is supported in a housing so as to be rotatable around an axis of the housing by a conical roller bearing including plural conical rollers provided between an outer race and an inner race. In the differential device, a wave spring having a predetermined elastic force is provided between the outer race and the housing. Also, the differential device includes a stopper mechanism which stops movement of the outer race before the wave spring is completely contracted due to movement of the outer race in an axial direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a support structure for a rotation body provided in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle, various rotation bodies are provided. Such a rotation body is supported in a housing so as to be rotatable around an axis of the housing by a rolling bearing including plural rolling elements provided between an outer race and an inner race. One example of the rotation body is a differential case provided in a differential device. As the rolling bearing, a conical roller bearing or an angular ball bearing is used. An appropriate preload needs to be applied to the conical roller bearing or the angular ball bearing in order (1) to position the rotation body in a radial direction and in an axial direction, (2) to provide sufficient rigidity of the bearing, and (3) to prevent vibration and resonance in the axial direction and the radial direction, and abnormal noise.
A method of adjusting the preload is well known, in which a shim is provided between the outer race of the bearing and the housing. There are variations in a space between the outer race of the bearing and the housing, due to machining tolerances of the outer race and the housing. Therefore, in the case where the preload is adjusted by providing the shim between the outer race of the bearing and the housing, several kinds of shims having different thicknesses are prepared, and a shim which is appropriate for the actual space between the outer race of the bearing and the housing is selected among the prepared several kinds of shims.
In this method, several kinds of shims need to be prepared. In addition, size of the space needs to be measured and the optimal shim needs to be selected in an assembly process. Therefore, a large number of components need to be prepared, and it takes much time to perform the assembly process.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP 2003-343692 A discloses that a disc spring is used, instead of the shim. In the case where the disc spring is used, even if there are variations in the space between the outer race of the bearing and the housing, the disc spring can always fill the space since an axial length of the disc spring can be increased and decreased. Therefore, only one kind of disc spring needs to be prepared, and therefore size of the space does not need to be measured during the assembly process.
However, in the case where the disc spring is used for adjusting the preload as in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP 2003-343692 A, when a driving force is transmitted to the differential case, and accordingly the differential case is moved with respect to the housing in the axial direction, the disc spring may be plastically deformed. As a result, an appropriate preload may not be applied to the bearing. Also, the disc spring has a linear contact with the members between which the disc spring is provided. Therefore, when the differential case is repeatedly moved with respect the housing, the differential case, the housing, and the disc spring may be worn out.
The aforementioned problems may occur not only in the differential device, but also in other rotation bodies to which an appropriate preload needs to be applied, such as a counter shaft.


A system and method for coordinating processing of a cardholder present financial transaction between the cardholder and a merchant system. The system collects a transaction amount of the financial transaction associated with merchant identification information of the merchant system. The system sends an authentication request using a wireless communication protocol configured for proximity communication between a communication interface of a computer device and a wireless communication enabled integrated circuit (IC) chip of a payment card, the authorization request including an IC command expected by computer hardware of the IC chip. The system receives an authentication response from the computer hardware of the IC chip by the wireless communication protocol, the authentication response including an encrypted value generated by the computer hardware of the IC chip.

Until the introduction of Chip and PIN, all face-to-face credit or debit card transactions used a magnetic stripe or mechanical imprint to read and record account data, and a signature for verification. Under this system, the customer handed their card to the clerk at the point of sale, who either "swiped" the card through a magnetic reader or made an imprint from the raised text of the card. In the former case, the account details were verified and a slip for the customer to sign was printed. In the case of a mechanical imprint, the transaction details were filled in and the customer signed the imprinted slip. In either case, the clerk verified that the signature matches that on the back of the card to authenticate the transaction.
The magnetic of mechanical imprint systems proved reasonably effective, but had a number of security flaws, including the ability to steal a card in the post, or to learn to forge the signature on the card. More recently, technology has become available on the black market for both reading and writing the magnetic stripes, allowing cards to be easily cloned and used without the owner's knowledge. A further disadvantage of these systems is that they do not allow for Card Present (CP) transactions for on-line or over the telephone purchases, as there is no way in such a remote transaction for the merchant to be able to satisfactorily verify, according to payment card company standards, that the cardholder was actually present at the time of remote order placement. This is a disadvantage for merchants providing remote order placement, as transaction fees for CP transaction are lower than for Card-not-present (CNP) transactions.
Due to the exploding popularity of on-line shopping in recent years, CNP transactions, where neither the card nor its holder are physically present at the point of sale with the merchant (e.g. orders by mail, telephone, fax or the Internet) are becoming more common and increasingly popular with customers. Unfortunately, CNP transactions are also appealing to criminals because you have no opportunity to physically check the card or the identity of the cardholder, there is always some risk. The fact that a transaction is authorised and an authorisation code is issued does not guarantee payment, it simply means that the card has not been reported lost or stolen and that there are sufficient funds in the account at the time of authorisation. It does not guarantee that the address given to the merchant by the cardholder during the remote order placement is correct. If the sale is fraudulent, the full amount may be charged back to the merchant.
Even for face-to-face transactions using chip and PIN enabled cards, where the customer and their card are with them at the point of sale, a further disadvantage with this is that the customer must use the keypad of the merchant terminal to enter in their PIN information. Fraudulent incidences are on the rise where PIN information has been stolen through the use of fraudulent merchant terminals designed for this purpose. Accordingly, cardholders are currently experiencing a decreased sense of payment security, especially in those situations where the merchant is considered by the cardholder as possibly suspect such as in foreign countries or for stores in which the cardholder is unfamiliar.

System and method for wireless communication with an IC chip for submission of pin data


In order to allow files structures at different locations to be synchronized, a folder tree descriptive of each set of folders is created and stored at a plurality of locations. On subsequent interconnection of the two locations a new tree is created for each location and the earliest of the old trees is used to determine which files, folders or paths of the two locations have been amended. This enables deletion or re-synchronization of files between the two locations even though files may have been worked on at different locations and at different times.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to file synchronisation and more particularly to a method of synchronising files and folders held in a plurality of locations.
2. Related Art
Users of data files often need to be able to work with the files in more than one location. While files may be remotely accessed and operated upon it is not always possible to effect a suitable network connection to a data warehouse or file server on which working files may be stored. Accordingly, a typical user may have portable computer apparatus in which copies of files with which the user works are held and a similar set of files are held in a network accessible location or in a desktop computer. While it is possible to synchronise files worked upon in a single location by copying across all of the files from the portable computer, for example, to a file server or vice versa, this may not be effective where multiple locations are involved. Other synchronisation programs having a limited functionality restricted to two locations require significant manual intervention from a user if more than one set of files has been altered. In general computer file systems, for example, the Window™ FAT (file allocation table) store very limited date and time information in relation to a file. Thus, windows FAT stores data defining date and time on which a file is modified, accessed or created, the FAT system does not recognise a file which is renamed or moved.
In a conference paper from Mobicom 98, Proceedings of the 4th Annual ACM/IEE international conference on Mobile Computing and Networking, Dallas Tex., Oct. 25-30, 1998, pages 98-108 there is disclosed a file synchronizer which purports to maintain a plurality of file stores in step. However, in common with many such synchronizers, the synchronization is by master-slave relationship. Accordingly in a conflict between data files in the master/slave relationship either the master will always prevail or manual intervention will be required. The system disclosed is also not suitable for maintaining more than two file stores in synchronization since any update in one file store results in a new "master" store having conflicting information for a third file store.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,689 (Ryzin) uses two lists and comparison of temporal information for the purposes of isolating conflicts but refers such conflicts to user for resolution. U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,686 (Gauvin et al) discloses a synchronizer for web pages but operates by assuming that the server on the World Wide Web is always more up to date than the cache therefore updating in a pure master/slave relationship.

British Telecommunications public limited company


The contoured gutter end cap has front and end walls with contours that correspond to the contours on the front wall of a length of standard gutter and thereby forms a more attractive gutter end when attached to the end of the gutter. It is formed with a bottom and three adjoining walls—a front wall, end wall and back wall. The back wall is substantially flat to allow for positioning against a vertical surface of a house or other structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rain gutters, and more particularly, to a rain gutter end cap with front and end walls contoured to correspond to the contours of an attached gutter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rain gutters are commonly used to carry rainwater from the roof of a house or other structure to a desired location on the ground. Typically, they are continuous lengths of metal formed with an open top, a front wall, a bottom and a back wall. The back wall is normally positioned flush against a vertical surface on the house or other structure such that the open top is positioned under the bottom edge of the roof. For aesthetic purposes, the front wall is usually formed with at least one decorative ridge or crease extending the length of the gutter.
End caps are used to close off the ends of a gutter where the gutter does not extend completely around the periphery of a house. These end caps consist of a flat vertical wall with edges that mate with the bottom and walls of the gutter. Unfortunately, these end caps suffer one well-known drawback. Because the flat vertical surface of an end cap contrasts sharply with the contoured surface of a front wall, the end caps are conspicuously unsightly.
Examples of gutter end caps that are comprised of a flat vertical wall are provided by U.S. Design Pat. No. 297,561 issued on Sep. 6, 1988 to P. P. Leisemann; U.S. Pat. No. 1,460,733 issued on May 25, 1922 to T. Rigby; U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,370 issued Mar. 6, 1979 to L. G. Giordano; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,097 issued on Oct. 4, 1983 to J. H. Allen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,800 issued Sep. 21, 1993 to R. G. Davenport teaches a gutter end cap having a curved outside end wall and interior sloped flat walls to help the flow of water into the gutter. However, the interior walls of this end cap present at least four known drawbacks. First, the interior walls add time and expense to the manufacture of the end cap. Second, the interior walls increase the time and complexity of installation of the end cap. Third, the interior walls prevent the end caps from being easily stacked, stored and transported. And fourth, the interstice between the interior and outer walls provide an ideal nesting location for bees and other insects.
Consequently, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a gutter end cap solving the aforementioned problem is desired.


A connector assembly includes a terminal crimped to an electrical conductor. The terminal is retained in a terminal area of a connector housing. A cable seal is positioned within an opening of the connector housing that leads to the terminal area. A spacer at a rear side of the connector housing provides a mechanical barrier to prevent injected thermoplastics from entering the terminal area during an overmolding process.

This invention generally relates to an electrical connector assembly, and more particularly to an electrical connector assembly that includes a spacer that provides a mechanical barrier to an injected thermoplastic or rubber material.
Connector assemblies are utilized to provide an electrical connection to various electronic devices found throughout a vehicle. Typically, a connector assembly and a cable jacket that houses electrical conductors are overmolded in thermoplastic or rubber by an injection mold to provide a barrier against moisture ingress. The connector assembly is assembled by crimping a pair of terminals onto the electrical conductors. The electrical conductors (including the crimped terminals) are then inserted into a plastic housing. Cable seals provide a moisture seal between the housing and the electrical conductors. The connector assembly is placed into an injection mold where a thermoplastic or rubber material is injected around and over the housing to complete the overmolded connector assembly.
The pressures during the overmolding process can be overpowering such that an amount of the thermoplastic or rubber material passes by the cable seals and enters the housing. Disadvantageously, thermoplastic or rubber material that passes through the cable seals and enters the terminal area may interfere with proper connection and function of the connector assembly.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved electrical connector assembly that is easy to assemble and that blocks injected thermoplastic or rubber material from interfering with terminal connections.


A light source module includes a substrate, a circuit, at least one first light source unit, and at least one second light source. The circuit is disposed on the substrate and includes a first signal channel and a second signal channel. The first light source unit is disposed on a bearing surface, wherein the first light source unit has a first A pin and a first B pin having different polarity from the first A pin. The second light source unit is disposed on the bearing surface and is adjacent to the first light source unit, wherein the second light source unit has a second A pin and a second B pin having different polarity from the second A pin, and the second A pin is adjacent to the first A pin of the first light source unit and has a same polarity with the first A pin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates a light source module; particularly, the present invention relates a light source module which can decrease the cost and increase the brightness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional light source module, wherein a light source unit 2A and a light source unit 2B are disposed on a substrate 3. Each of the light source units 2A and 2B has a width W and a spacing G exists between the light source units 2A and 2B. The pitch P of the light source unit 2A and the light source unit 2B is a distance between an edge 21A of the light source unit 2A and an edge 21B of the light source unit 2B. The pitch P can also refer to a sum of the width W and the spacing G. It is noted that the spacing G represents a width allowing the disposition of a layout area between the light source unit 2A and the light source unit 2B. The amount of the light source units allowed to be disposed on the substrate can be directly estimated from a relation between the length of the substrate 3 and the pitch P of the adjacent light source units. In addition, a positive electrode end and a negative electrode end of the light source unit 2A are respectively connected with a pad 4 and a pad 5; a positive electrode end and a negative electrode end of the light source unit 2B are respectively connected with a pad 6 and a pad 7.
It is noted that the pads are connected with a circuit (not shown) through the conducting wires 8. Particularly, the R&D people need to reserve the spacing between the adjacent light source units on the substrate 3 for the layout of the conducting wires 8. As shown in FIG. 1, the conducting wire 8 on the substrate 3 has a wire space width L. In practical applications, there is a gap between adjacent conducting wires 8 (i.e. the wire has a certain distance to the adjacent wire) for avoiding the noise. The wire space width L is a major factor to influence the magnitude of the pitch P. However, in the present design structure, it is difficult to decrease the width of the conducting wire 8 and the spacing between adjacent conducting wires, so that the pitch P is difficult to be decreased. Particularly, in the case that the substrate 3 has a given area, the increase in amount of light source units is limited, so that the overall brightness of the light source is restricted. In addition, the conducting wire 8 connected with the pad 5 has a negative electrical signal, and the conducting wire 8 connected with the pad 6 has a positive electrical signal, so the two conducting wires 8 cannot share a common wire. As a result, the pitch P cannot be further decreased.
For instance, the length of the light source module for a 10-inch tablet is about 216.81 mm. If the width W of the light source unit is 3.8 mm and the spacing G is 1.5 mm (i.e. the pitch P is 5.3 mm), the amount of light source units allowed to be arranged is merely about 40. In addition, if the width W of the light source unit is 2.8 mm and the spacing G is 1.8 mm (i.e. the pitch P is 4.6 mm), the amount of light source units allowed to be arranged is merely about 48. In these two cases, the amount of light source units is insufficient to increase the brightness, and the overall brightness of the light source module cannot be increased.


The present disclosure provides ink sets and related methods mix color gloss uniformity. The ink set can include a black ink with a black pigment having a particle size of about 14 nm to about 16 nm, a DBP absorption of about 80 ml/100 g to about 350 ml/100 g, and a BET surface area of about 160 m2/g to about 1600 m2/g. The ink set can also include pigmented magenta ink, pigmented cyan ink, and pigmented yellow ink. As a whole, the ink set can have a mix color gloss uniformity of at least 7.

There are several reasons that ink jet printing has become a popular way of recording images on various media surfaces, particularly paper and photo media substrates. Some of these reasons include low printer noise, capability of high-speed recording, and capability of multi-color recording. Additionally, these advantages can be obtained at a relatively low price to consumers. With respect to ink jet ink chemistry, the majority of commercial ink jet inks are water-based. Thus, their constituents are generally water-soluble, as in the case with many dyes, or water dispersible, as in the case with pigments. Furthermore, ink jet inks have low viscosity to accommodate high frequency jetting and firing chamber refill processes common to thermal ink jet architecture.

Ink set having mix color gloss uniformity

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


In the present invention, when a backlash control operation is being performed, the position of a zoom lens at the time of image capturing and the captured image are stored in association with each other. Subsequently, an image processing section trims the periphery of the captured image in accordance with the focal length of a target position (WIDE end) and the focal length of the position of the zoom lens associated with the captured image, and enlarges the trimmed image to a normal size (size for use in a live view or a size of the image before being trimmed). Then, a display section displays the image subjected to the image processing as a live view image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having an optical zoom mechanism, a viewing angle correction method therefor, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a digital camera having an optical zoom mechanism where the operating range of the zoom lens is defined as a range from a WIDE end to a TELE end, when the zoom lens is to be moved to the WIDE end or the TELE end, it is in some cases difficult to stop the zoom lens at these or one of these endpoints without the zoom lens straying off the defined operating range (backlash). In these cases, a backlash control operation is required to be performed by which the zoom lens is once moved by an extra distance toward the WIDE side or the TELE side from the endpoint and then moved back to the end point.
When the zoom lens is being moved by an extra distance toward the WIDE side, images having a viewing angle wider than the original viewing angle at the wide angle end of the lens enter, and whereby the zoom operation includes a bouncing sort of movement.
If an image exposed at this point is outputted to a display device as it is, the bounce in the zoom operation may directly be displayed. In a range wider than the WIDE end, noise, vignetting, and the like around the lens may be displayed. To prevent these problems, a technology has been proposed which reduces the bounce in the zoom operation due to the backlash control operation and the display of noise, vignetting, and the like around the lens in the wide-angle range.
However, for example, in a technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 2004-023580, display update is stopped at the time of backlash. Therefore, a real view image freezes during the stop (approximately one second), which makes a user feel a sense of incongruity.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 05-103243 discloses a technology for seamlessly performing optical zooming and digital zooming, whereby an operation delay due to backlash can be solved. However, with this technology, the bounce in the zoom operation due to the backlash control operation and the display of noise, vignetting, and the like around the lens in the wide-angle range cannot be reduced.

Imaging apparatus having optical zoom mechanism, viewing angle correction method therefor, and storage medium


A method in a wireless device (900) of transmitting uplink reference signals from the wireless device (900) in a wireless communication network (100) to enable network-centric measurements comprises obtaining power control information defining a time-dependent power control setting for said uplink reference signals. The method also comprises determining transmit power values for the uplink reference signals according to the time-dependent power control setting, to provide uplink reference signals of different transmit power values at different time instants. The method further comprises transmitting the uplink reference signals with the determined transmit power values according to the time-dependent power control setting.

There is a wide variety of different wireless communication networks. A few examples of modern networks include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access/High Speed Packet Access (WCDMA/HSPA), and Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The 3rd-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is continuing development of the LTE network technologies. Improved support for heterogeneous network operations is part of the ongoing specification of 3GPP LTE Release 11 (Rel-11), and further improvements are being discussed in the context of new features for Rel-11. In heterogeneous networks, a mixture of cells of different sizes and overlapping coverage areas are deployed.
One example of such a deployment is seen in a system where several pico-cells, each comprising a base station or low-power transmitting/receiving node with a respective coverage area, are deployed within the larger coverage area of a macro-cell, which comprises a base station or high-power transmitting/receiving node. As will be discussed in further detail below, the large difference in output transmit power, e.g., 46 dBm in macro-cells and 30 dBm or less in pico-cells, results in different interference scenarios from those that are seen in networks where all base stations have the same output transmit power.
Throughout this document, nodes or points in a network are often referred to as being of a certain type, e.g., a "macro-" node, or a "pico-" point. However, unless explicitly stated otherwise, this should not be interpreted as an absolute quantification of the role of the node or point in the network but rather as a convenient way of discussing the roles of different nodes or points relative to one another. Thus, a discussion about macro- and pico-cells could just as well be applicable to the interaction between micro-cells and femto-cells, for example.
One aim of deploying low-power nodes such as pico base stations within the macro coverage area is to improve system capacity, by means of cell-splitting gains. In addition to improving overall system capacity, this approach also allows users to be provided with a wide-area experience of very-high-speed data access, throughout the network. Heterogeneous deployments are in particular effective to cover traffic hotspots, i.e., small geographical areas with high user densities. These areas can be served by pico-cells, for example, as an alternative deployment to a denser macro network.
The most basic means to operate heterogeneous networks is to apply frequency separation between the different, so-called layers. For instance, the macro-cell and pico-cells can be configured to operate on different, non-overlapping carrier frequencies, thus avoiding any interference between the carrier frequencies, e.g. layers. With no macro-cell interference towards the under-laid cells, i.e., the cells having coverage areas falling substantially or entirely within the coverage area of the macro-cell, cell-splitting gains are achieved when all resources can simultaneously be used by the under-laid cells.
One drawback of operating layers on different carrier frequencies is that it may lead to inefficiencies in resource utilization and energy consumption. For example, if there is a low level of activity in the pico-cells, it could be more efficient to use all carrier frequencies in the macro-cell, and then basically switch off the pico-cells. However, the split of carrier frequencies across layers in this basic configuration is typically done in a static manner.
Another approach to operating a heterogeneous network is to share radio resources between layers (interpreted as carrier frequencies). Thus, two or more layers can use the same carrier frequencies, by coordinating data and/or control transmissions across macro- and pico-cells. This type of coordination is referred to as inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC). With this approach, certain radio resources are allocated to the macro-cells for a given time period, whereas the remaining resources can be accessed by the under-laid cells without interference from the macro-cell. Depending on the traffic situations across the layers, this resource split can change over time to accommodate different traffic demands. In contrast to the earlier described static allocation of carrier frequencies, this way of sharing radio resources across layers can be made more or less dynamic depending on the implementation of the interface between the nodes. In LTE, for example, an X2 interface has been specified in order to exchange different types of information between base station nodes, for coordination of resources. One example of such information exchange is that a base station can inform other base stations that it will reduce transmit power on certain resources.
Time synchronization between base station nodes is generally required to ensure that ICIC across layers will work efficiently in heterogeneous networks. This is of particular importance for time-domain-based ICIC schemes, where resources are shared in time on the same carrier.
Before an LTE terminal can communicate with an LTE network it first has to find and acquire synchronization to a cell within the network, a process known as cell search. Next, the user equipment (UE) has to receive and decode system information needed to communicate with and operate properly within the cell. Finally, the UE can access the cell by means of the so-called random-access procedure.
In order to support mobility, a terminal needs to continuously search for, synchronize to, and estimate the reception quality of both its serving cell and neighbor cells. The reception quality of the neighbor cells, in relation to the reception quality of the current cell, is then evaluated in order to determine whether a handover, for terminals in connected mode, or cell re-selection, for terminals in idle mode, should be carried out. For terminals in connected mode, the handover decision is taken by the network, based on measurement reports provided by the terminals. Examples of such reports are reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal received quality (RSRQ). Alternatively, a network-centric approach may be used, wherein the network performs measurements such as RSRP and RSRQ on uplink signals transmitted by the UE.
The results of these measurements, which are possibly complemented by a configurable offset, can be used in several ways. The UE can, for example, be connected to the cell with the strongest received power. Alternatively, the UE can be assigned to the cell with the best (i.e. largest) path gain. An approach somewhere between these alternatives may be used.
These selection strategies do not always result in the same selected cell for any given set of circumstances, since the base station output powers of cells of different type are different. This is sometimes referred to as link imbalance. For example, the output power of a pico base station or a relay node is often on the order of 30 dBm (1 watt) or less, while a macro base station can have an output power of 46 dBm (40 watts). Consequently, even in the proximity of the pico-cell, the downlink signal strength from the macro-cell can be larger than that of the pico-cell. From a downlink perspective, it is often better to select a cell based on downlink received power, whereas from an uplink perspective, it would be better to select a cell based on the path loss.
From a system perspective, it might often be better, in the above scenario, for a given UE to connect to the pico-cell even under some circumstances where the downlink from macro-cell is significantly stronger than the pico-cell downlink. However, ICIC across layers will be needed when the terminal operates within the region between the uplink and downlink borders, i.e., the link imbalance zone.
The concept of a "point" is heavily used in conjunction with techniques for coordinated multipoint (CoMP). In this context, a point corresponds to a set of antennas covering essentially the same geographical area in a similar manner. One transmitting/receiving node, such as an LTE base station, might control one or several points. Thus, a point might correspond to one of the sectors at a base station site, but it may also correspond to a site having one or more antennas all intending to cover a similar geographical area. Often, different points represent different sites. Antennas correspond to different points when they are sufficiently geographically separated and/or have antenna diagrams pointing in sufficiently different directions. Techniques for CoMP entail introducing dependencies in the scheduling or transmission/reception among different points, in contrast to conventional cellular systems where a point is operated more or less independently from the other points, from a scheduling point of view.
When downlink (DL) CoMP is applied, the network needs to dynamically or semi-statically determine which transmission points are to serve each UE in the DL. Additionally, the network needs to determine a set of points for which receiving feedback from the UE would be beneficial. Such a set of points for feedback reception is typically selected in a semi-static fashion (i.e., they are typically constant for several subframes) and the corresponding feedback may be employed for scheduling, link adaptation and dynamic selection of the transmission points within the set of points for which feedback is available. The set of suitable transmission points for a UE typically changes dynamically, e.g. as the UE moves through the network. The network therefore needs to select, and continuously update, a set of candidate transmission points for the UE. The UE then sends more detailed feedback, e.g. pre-coding information, for the points in the candidate set, thereby enabling the network to select the best downlink transmission points. The techniques mentioned above will be collectively referred to as "point selection" in the following.
The points in the candidate set may be determined in a UE-centric manner, wherein the UE performs measurements on downlink signals (e.g. reference signals provided for generating channel state information (CSI-RS), see also the appendix for a more extensive description) and reports the results to the network. Alternatively, a network-centric approach may be used for point selection, wherein the network performs measurements, e.g. pathloss, on uplink signals transmitted by the UE. For example, sounding reference signals (SRS) may be used for this purpose. A description of SRS and other reference signals (RS) can be found in the appendix.
Uplink (UL) power control (PC) for SRS is currently based on UL PC for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), with the exception of a power offset parameter (see also the appendix for a more extensive description). Typically, SRS are power controlled in order to reach the DL transmission point(s) in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) network, in case channel reciprocity is exploited, and the UL reception point for link adaptation, in case of both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and TDD.
On the other hand, in order to enable network-centric CoMP points selection and/or mobility measurements, SRS need to be received with sufficient quality at all points that are potentially involved in the CoMP operation. Such a set is likely larger than the set of points exploited for actual DL and/or UL CoMP operations. Such a mismatch may result in difficulty, or even impossibility, of estimating pathloss for certain UEs that are poorly received at nodes potentially suitable for DL CoMP transmission.
One possible solution would be to increase SRS power. However, this would result in increased interference as well as increased energy consumption for the UEs.
Another possible solution would consist of increasing the size of Downlink Control Information (DCI) formats to include independent closed loop (CL) PC bits for SRS and PUSCH or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). However, such a solution has the undesirable drawback of increasing the signaling overhead, resulting in problems in terms of backwards compatibility as well as in reduced coverage and capacity for control channels.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide improvements related to uplink reference signals and network-centric measurements in a wireless communication network, for example estimation of received UE energy, such as pathloss estimation, or estimation of RSRP and/or RSRQ which can then be used for channel estimation. Such a mechanism would be beneficial e.g. for downlink transmission point selection and/or mobility and DL/UL link adaptation purposes. It would be particularly advantageous to be able to increase the estimation reliability and/or accuracy, while at the same time limiting the increase in interference and UE power consumption.

Reference signals in wireless communication


A method of operating a push-to-talk service over a mobile wireless communication network, where a user of a mobile wireless terminal may select an automatic or manual answer mode for incoming session invitations for at least some other users. The method comprises including in the push-to-talk session invitation sent from a calling party to a called party, a manual answer mode request, upon receipt of the session invitation at a push-to-talk server serving the called party, forwarding the invitation including the manual answer mode request to the called party regardless of any auto-answer mode setting for the called party, and receiving the invitation at the called party, and generating a ringing alert at the called party's terminal.

The Industry group know as the Open Mobile Alliance has developed a Push to talk Over Cellular (PoC) specification aimed at enabling the provision of services over standard mobile wireless communication networks which resemble walkie-talkie services, i.e. at the push of a button a subscriber can be instantly connected to one or more other subscribers. PoC is currently defined in the documents published by the Open Mobile Alliance: "Push to talk over Cellular (PoC)—Architecture", Candidate Version 1.0—17, Mar. 2005, and "OMA PoC Control Plane", Candidate Version 1.0—17, Mar. 2005. According to the PoC standards, voice data comprises talk "bursts" carried over a packet network, whilst the signalling used to establish and control PoC sessions comprises Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signalling, also carried over the packet network. PoC relies upon the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) infrastructure provided within the networks of mobile operators. PoC is a specific implementation of the general push-to-talk (PTT) services.
FIG. 1 illustrates in very basic terms the PoC infrastructure which facilitates a PoC session between a pair of wireless terminals (SIP clients) identified as UE-A and UE-B. The UEs are attached to respective radio access networks (RAN-A and RAN-B), which in turn are connected to a packet-switched core network including an IP backbone. SIP signalling is routed through the IMS which includes SIP application servers acting as PoC servers. The UEs are registered with respective PoC servers (although it is possible that both UEs are registered with the same PoC server).
The basic concept underlying PoC is the desire to allow one user to be almost instantaneously connected to another user, so that a user just has to press a call button and begin talking, with his or her voice being played out immediately on the other user's terminal. However, it was appreciated at a very early stage in the development of push-to-talk services that this may not always be desireable, at least from the point of view of the called party. Provision was therefore made for the playing of a ringing alert at the called terminal, in much the same way as is provided for with conventional telephone calls (push-to-talk services would still establish the session extremely quickly, much more quickly than conventional telephone calls can be established), with users being given the option to select either the auto-answer mode or the manual (ringing) answer mode.
According to the latest versions of the PoC standards, it is possible for a user (UserB) to register with his local PoC server, a "white" list of other user identities (UserA) for which the user wishes to apply the auto-answer mode. In the event that a PoC session is requested by one of the users on the white list, this is recognised by UserB's local PoC server, and that PoC server includes an auto-answer flag in the SIP INVITE message that is forwarded to UserB. UserB's terminal detects the flag, and automatically returns the SIP 200OK (answer) message. The session is established. If the calling user is not on the white list (or no white list has been defined), a manual flag is included in the SIP INVITE forwarded to UserB's terminal. This is detected by the terminal, and a ringing alert played. The SIP 200OK is not sent by the terminal to its local PoC server until the user answers. IETF draft "A Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Event Package and Data Format for various settings in support for the Push-to-talk Over Cellular (PoC) service", Miguel-Angel Garcia-Martin, draft-garcia-sipping-poc-isb-am-01, describes a method for notifying the local PoC server of the answer mode applicable to users on the white list. A user switches between the manual and auto-answer modes by signalling the desired mode to the PoC server using the SIP PUBLISH message as defined in the PoC standards.
This signalling process, including auto-answer mode setting and session establishment, is illustrated in FIG. 2. Signalling flows in the user plane (e.g. the exchange of Talk Burst Control Protocol messages) is not shown in the Figure. The steps illustrated in the Figure are as follows:                1. The PoC Client B configures automatic mode in the network by means of a PUBLISH request.        2. The PoC Server B acknowledges the automatic answer mode setting by means of a 200 "OK" response and stores the 'auto' setting.
When the PoC User A presses the PoC button, the steps are as follows:                3. The PoC Client A decides to invite PoC User B to a PoC Session and sends an INVITE request to the PoC Server A.        4. The PoC Server A sends the INVITE request to the PoC Server B in the PoC User B Home Network.        5. The PoC Server B authorizes the PoC User A and selects the configured answer mode and sends a 183 "Session progress" response to the PoC Server A.        6. The PoC Server A sends a 200 OK response to the user A and the PoC User A receives an indication that he can start to speak.        7. The PoC Server B sends an INVITE request to the PoC Client B. The INVITE request includes the request for automatic answer mode.        8. The Client B accepts the invitation without prompting the PoC User B.        9. The PoC Server B forwards the 200 OK to the PoC Server A.
The PoC standards define a mechanism for allowing a caller to override a manual answer mode setting specified by a called user. This involves the inclusion of a "MAO" parameter in the SIP INVITE message sent by the calling user to initiate the PoC session. Upon receipt of an INVITE containing the MAO parameter at the called party's terminal, that terminal automatically determines whether manual override is allowed for the calling user. If so, then the 200OK answer is automatically returned to the local PoC server, and the INVITE forwarded to the called user including the MAO parameter. If not, a ringing alert is played, and the answer message only sent out if and when the called user answers.

Answer modes in push-to-talk mobile communication services


A folding wagon comprising a collapsible wagon basket, a folding wagon frame comprising folding ends and folding sides, wherein the folding ends and the folding sides connect at four corners, each corner comprising a vertical frame element, wherein the vertical frame elements are extendable to enable the folding the wagon to transform from an extended configuration to a collapsed configuration, a folding base formed by a plurality of base support elements that are hingedly attached to the vertical frame elements and hingedly attached to a central base element, wherein the hinged attachments of the base support elements to the vertical frame elements are multi-directional hinges allowing multiple degrees of freedom in the movement of the base support elements when the folding wagon is transformed from the extended configuration to the collapsed configuration, a handle attached to the first folding end, and a plurality of wheels.

It is known for basket-carrying wagons to be folded and unfolded between extended and collapsed configurations. However, foldable wagons only collapse in one dimension, typically lengthwise. Collapsing only the longest dimension of the wagon does not achieve the smallest possible footprint for the folding wagon, so the collapsed wagon fills takes up more room during transportation and storage. Storage space in the user's home and space in the user's vehicle during transportation, is typically packed with various other items used during outdoor activities. Making more space available to more easily store and transport these items is desirable.
The space consumed by conventional folding wagons is typically restricted by folding mechanisms, specifically, by the supports that form the frame of the wagon and the hinges that enable the wagons to fold. Wagons are designed having a longer dimension along the length of the wagon and a shorter dimension across the width of the wagon. While this configuration is highly functional when the wagon is deployed, it only allows folding in one dimension of the wagon, because conventional hinges employ pins or rods which only allow for one degree of freedom in movement of the hinge. Attempting to design a conventional folding wagon that collapses in the longer dimension and the shorter dimension creates a misalignment between the direction or folding and the motion of one or more of the hinges used to fold the wagon.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have available an improved folding wagon that overcomes the disadvantages that are described above and remain common to conventional folding wagons.


A liquid discharge apparatus includes: an integrated circuit device that includes a modulation portion which generates a modulation signal by pulse-modulating a source signal; a feedback circuit; a transistor that generates an amplified modulation signal which is obtained by amplifying the modulation signal; a low-pass filter that generates a drive signal by demodulating the amplified modulation signal; and a piezoelectric element that is displaced by applying the drive signal, wherein the feedback circuit generates a feedback signal on the basis of the drive signal, and feeds back the feedback signal to the modulation portion through a feedback terminal, the modulation portion includes a first circuit block and a second circuit block, and the integrated circuit device is configured to separate the first circuit block from the second circuit block by a triple-well structure.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid discharge apparatus, a head unit, a capacitive load drive circuit, and an integrated circuit device for capacitive load drive.
2. Related Art
In a liquid discharge apparatus such as an ink jet printer which prints an image or a document by discharging an ink, a liquid discharge apparatus using a piezoelectric element (for example, a piezo element) is known. The piezoelectric elements are respectively arranged by correlating with a plurality of nozzles in a head unit, and each thereof are driven in accordance with a drive signal. Thereby, a predetermined amount of the ink (liquid) is discharged at a predetermined timing from the nozzle, and dots are formed. Since the piezoelectric element is a capacitive load such as a capacitor if being electrically viewed, there is a need to supply a sufficient current in order to operate the piezoelectric element of each nozzle.
Therefore, in the liquid discharge apparatus described above, a configuration of driving the piezoelectric element by supplying the drive signal which is amplified by an amplification circuit to the head unit (ink jet head), is made. As an amplification circuit, a system of performing the current amplification of a source signal before the amplification by a Class AB amplifier or the like is used, but since energy efficiency is poor, a Class D amplifier is offered in recent years (see JP-A-2010-114711).
In order to obtain the discharge accuracy (an output waveform is made to be highly accurate) in the Class D amplifier for the ink jet head, a high oscillation frequency (1 MHz to 8 MHz) which is 20 times or more in comparison with the Class D amplifier for an audio, is necessary. However, there is a feature of being likely to be affected by various types of noises due to the high oscillation frequency. Therefore, the inventors of the invention have been found that a component layout of an IC of which importance to be checked is small in the Class D amplifier for the audio, is important for a noise reduction in the Class D amplifier for the ink jet head.

Liquid discharge apparatus, head unit, capacitive load drive circuit, and integrated circuit device for capacitive load drive


A video processor integrates the processing of video and graphics data by restructuring the discrete blocks of luminance and chrominance component data associated with video image data (Y,U,V) into composite pixel values (YUYV), and performing the subsequent processing, in particular motion compensation, upon this composite data form. The discrete blocks of video image data are queue and processed in parallel to form a composite pixel value associated with each pixel within the image areas represented by the discrete blocks. By forming composite pixel values for reference data and error term data, common processing elements can be optimized and used for both video and graphics image processing. For example, the trilinear interpolator commonly used for 3-D graphics filtering and texturing can be used to form predicted macroblocks for motion compensation, and the specular adder used for graphics lighting effects can be used to process the motion compensation error terms.

Conventionally, the creation and animation of computer generated graphic images employ the use of special purpose hardware and software. The display of a realistic looking changing scene, such as a scene of walking figures, requires the computation of changing lighting and visibility factors as the figures pass through shadows, or pass in front of and behind each other. The textured surfaces forming the image, such as the figures' clothing, must be rendered in a realistic fashion, and these renderings are dependent upon the changing lighting and visibility factors. Algorithms and techniques have been developed to optimize the creation and processing of graphics images, and special purpose hardware and software devices and systems have been developed to efficiently and effectively utilize these algorithms and techniques.
The algorithms and techniques used for graphics image processing are, in general, picture-element (pixel) based. A composite pixel value, such as an RGB composite, is associated with each pixel forming the image. A pixel's composite value includes sufficient information to display the pixel without regard to other parameters, or other pixel values. An RGB composite, for example, contains an indication of the amount of Red, Green, and Blue color components that are to be contained in the displayed pixel. This is sufficient information to display each particular pixel. In some systems, a fourth parameter, A, is included in an ARGB composite, where A contains an indication of the translucency of the colors forming the pixel.
Video image processing, for example, the display of a motion picture recorded on a video disc, is, in general, block based, using discrete blocks of data to represent each component's values (such as the luminance component, or the chrominance component) within a frame or portion of a frame. Each frame of an image is encoded in a format optimized for transmission or storage, such as an MPEG (Motion Picture Expert Group) stream. These frames can be further split into fields by separating even and odd lines. For further discussion the term frame includes either full frames or fields. Sequential scenes in a motion picture are efficiently encoded by encoding a reference frame, and then merely encoding the differences from one frame to the next. Additional efficiencies are gained by encoding the differences from one frame to the next as a set of movements of macroblocks of image information in the reference frame. That is, each frame is partitioned into macroblocks, and each subsequent frame is encoded as a relocation of an arbitrary group of pixels that are the size of the macroblock, with interpolation to allow for relocation at a sub-pixel resolution. The relocated macroblock is termed a predicted macroblock. The change of a macroblock's location from the reference frame to the subsequent frame is termed a motion vector, because the change is typically caused by the motion of an object in the changing scenes. Further efficiencies can be provided by encoding a reference frame and a future, or predictor, frame, and encoding intermediate frames as movements of macroblocks from either the reference or the predictor frames, or a combination (average) of these two frames, or from within the same frame. For ease of understanding, the terms reference frame and reference macroblock are used herein to mean any frame or macroblock to which motion vectors are applied to create other frames or macroblocks. In addition to the motion vectors, each subsequent frame includes a set of error terms that describe the difference between the predicted macroblock and the actual image being encoded. A number of transformations are applied to the error terms to minimize the time and bandwidth required to communicate the error terms. These transformations are well known to one of ordinary skill in the art and are not presented herein. The encoding of MPEG frames via these transformation is not necessarily loss free, and therefore the received error terms are an approximation. The reconstruction of a frame image by applying motion vectors and error terms to reference frames is termed motion compensation. It is estimated that motion compensation accounts for more than 30% of the processing of MPEG streams.
Video images are typically encoded using luminance (Y) information (the brightness), and chrominance (U,V) information (the redness and blueness). The human visual system is more sensitive to a change of brightness than to a change of color. Therefore, the encoding of video images includes the encoding of luminosity changes at a higher rate or higher resolution than chrominance changes. The luminance information and chrominance information are each encoded separately and distinctly, to allow for this difference in rate or resolution, and also to optimize the motion vector and error terms encoding, because the luminance of a scene may change without a corresponding change in color, and vice versa. The three components Y, U, and V are treated as separate image planes and encoded separately. To account for the different spatial resolution of the pixel components, each macroblock encoding contains a different number of samples for each component as defined by the video standard being used. Each of these separate image planes is partitioned into macroblocks. The MPEG stream contains macroblock encodings of each of the three separate components Y, U, and V, rather than a composite of the Y, U, and V components forming each pixel or macroblock. For the group of components Y, U, and V, there is one set of motion vectors describing a common source of prediction.
Increasingly, the same video processing system is being called upon to perform both video and graphics processing. Computers of today are expected to be able to display motion pictures; and televisions of tomorrow will be expected to provide animated graphic imaging. Because the encoding of video images utilizes discrete blocks of luminance and chrominance component data, and the encoding of graphic images utilizes pixel based composite values, systems that support both video and graphics image processing conventionally employ separate processing techniques and devices for each. The need for separate processing also incurs additional secondary requirements for memory and interface devices coupled to the separate processing devices. As the demands for image processing increase, and the functionality expected of a video processing system increases, each of these separate processing techniques and devices can be expected to become increasingly more complex and increasingly more expensive.
Therefore, a need exists for integrating the processing of both video and graphics data, and in particular the integration of video motion compensation and graphics processing, to optimize the use of available resources, and to minimize the cost of video processing systems.

Video processor with composite graphics and video picture elements