An information handling system may include at least one processor; and a non-transitory memory coupled to the at least one processor. The information handling system may be configured to: receive health information for a plurality of node information handling systems; determine, based on the received health information, a score for each of the plurality of node information handling systems; determine an upgrade ordering for the plurality of node information handling systems based on the respective scores for the plurality of node information handling systems; and cause the node information handling systems to perform an upgrade procedure according to the upgrade ordering.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As used herein, the term life cycle management (LCM) refers to an approach for upgrading components within a cluster of information handling systems (e.g., containing some number 2 to N of individual node systems). Such clusters may comprise hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) clusters in some embodiments. In these and other embodiments, individual nodes may be geographically distributed elements of a networked architecture.
During an LCM event, typically each node of a cluster may be upgraded in turn, with upgrade components such as firmwares, drivers, application software, etc. until the entire cluster reaches the same system version. In some embodiments, a single bundle package may be used to upgrade an entire cluster appliance as a whole.
Due to differences between nodes in a cluster (e.g., the health state of each node, the workload, hardware endurance, etc.), complex consequences may result for LCM procedure performance. For example, some nodes may successfully update without issue, while some may fail to update until after some technical support intervention. Such interventions require additional time and money, and so improving the success rate of LCM procedures is important.
In some clusters, a failure tolerance setting may be available to determine how many nodes may fail before the cluster enters a degraded state. Typically, many users may specify FT=1, such that if even one host fails, the cluster enters a degraded state. Such a setting would cause the LCM event to stop after the first host fails.
There is currently no fixed or predefined sequence to determine the order in which nodes are upgraded. Further, with FT=1, the LCM event may be stopped by the first node which fails to upgrade in the queue. The success rate of an LCM event may be calculated by the ratio of upgraded nodes/total number of nodes. For example, the failure rate is 100% if the LCM event fails and stops at the first node, while the success rate might approach (or exceed) 99% if it fails only at the last node. Accordingly, the success rate may be improved by optimizing the order in which nodes are upgraded.
It should be noted that the discussion of a technique in the Background section of this disclosure does not constitute an admission of prior-art status. No such admissions are made herein, unless clearly and unambiguously identified as such.


This invention provides isolated nucleic acids encoding mammalian SNORF25 receptors, purified mammalian SNORF25 receptors, vectors comprising nucleic acid encoding mammalian SNORF25 receptors, cells comprising such vectors, antibodies directed to mammalian SNORF25 receptors, nucleic acid probes useful for detecting nucleic acid encoding mammalian SNORF25 receptors, antisense oligonucleotides complementary to unique sequences of nucleic acid encoding mammalian SNORF25 receptors, transgenic, nonhuman animals which express DNA encoding normal or mutant mammalian SNORF25 receptors, methods of isolating mammalian SNORF25 receptors, methods of treating an abnormality that is linked to the activity of the mammalian SNORF25 receptors, as well as methods of determining binding of compounds to mammalian SNORF25 receptors, methods of identifying agonists and antagonists of SNORF25 receptors, and agonists and antagonists so identified.

Throughout this application various publications are referred to by partial citations within parentheses. Full citations for these publications may be found at the end of the specification immediately preceding the claims. The disclosures of these publications, in their entireties, are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which the invention pertains.
Neuroregulators comprise a diverse group of natural products that subverse or modulate communication in the nervous system. They include, but are not limited to, neuropeptides, amino acids, biogenic amines, lipids, and lipid metabolites, and other metabolic byproducts. Many of these neuroregulator substances interact with specific cell surface receptors, which transduce signals from the outside to the inside of the cell. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent a major class of cell surface receptors with which many neurotransmitters interact to mediate their effects. GPCRs are characterized by seven membrane-spanning domains and are coupled to their effectors via G-proteins linking receptor activation with intracellular biochemical sequelae such as stimulation of adenylyl cyclase.
Vitamin A1 (all-trans-retinol) is oxidized to vitamin A1 aldehyde (all-trans-retinal) by an alcohol dehydrogenase. All-trans-retinal is critical for the synthesis of rhodopsin in retinal cells, where it plays a key role in the visual system. All-trans-retinal can also be converted to all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) by aldehyde dehydrogenase and oxidase in other cell types (Bowman, W. C. and Rand, M. J., 1980).
Historically, ATRA and the other active metabolites of vitamin A, 9-cis-retinoic acid (9CRA), were thought to only mediate their cellular effects through the action of nuclear retinoic acid receptors (RARα, β, γ) and retinoid X receptors (RXRα, β, γ) (Mangelsdorf, D. J., et al, 1994). These receptors are members of a superfamily of ligand-dependent transcription factors, which include the vitamin D receptor (VDR), thyroid hormone receptor (TR), and peroxisome proliferator activator receptors (PPAR). They form heterodimers and homodimers that bind to DNA response elements in the absence of ligand. In response to ligand binding the dimer changes conformation which leads to transactivation and regulation of transcription of a set(s) of cell type-specific genes (Mangelsdorf, D. J., et al, 1994; Hofman, C. and Eichele, G., 1994; and Gudas, L. J. et al, 1994).
Since retinoic acid produces a wide variety of biological effects, it is not surprising that it is proposed to play an important role in various physiological and pathophysiological processes. Retinoids control critical physiological events including cell growth, differentiation, reproduction, metabolism, and hematopoiesis in a wide variety of tissues. At a cellular level, retinoids are capable of inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing differentiation, and inducing apoptosis (Breitman, T. et al, 1980; Sporn, M. and Roberts, A., 1984, and Martin, S., et al, 1990). These diverse effects of retinoid treatment prompted a series of investigations evaluating retinoids for cancer chemotherapy as well as cancer chemoprevention. Clinically, retinoids are used for the treatment of a wide variety of malignant diseases including: acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), cutaneous T-cell malignancies, dermatological malignancies, squamous cell carcinomas of skin and of the cervix and neuroblastomas (Redfern, C. P. et al, 1995 for review). Retinoids have also been examined for their ability to suppress carcinogenesis and prevent development of invasive cancer. 13-cis retinoic acid reverses oral leukoplakia, the most common premalignant lesion of the aerodigestive tract, and is also used in the chemoprevention of bladder cancer (Sabichi, A. L. et al, 1998, for review). Also, 13-cis retinoic acid treatment as adjuvant therapy after surgery and radiation in head and neck cancer caused a significant delay in the occurrence of second primary cancers (Gottardis, M. M. et al, 1996, for review).
Interestingly, retinoids also have an effect on pancreatic function. It has been demonstrated that retinoic acid (or retinol) is required for insulin secretion from isolated islets (Chertow, B. S., et al, 1987) and from RINm5F rat insulinoma cells (Chertow, B. S., et al, 1989). Retinoic acid may also have an effect on cell-to-cell adhesion and aggregation (Chertow, B. S., et al, 1983). In addition, a single intragastric administration of 9CRA (but not ATRA) induced a wave of DNA synthesis in the pancreatic acinar cells and in the proximal tubular epithelial cells of the kidneys (Ohmura, T., et al, 1997). Therefore, retinoic acid could play a role in the normal pancreatic function and possibly in the development of diabetes. There is also some evidence that retinoids could be useful in the treatment of pancreatic malignancies (El-Metwally, T. H. et al, 1999; Rosenwicz, S. et al, 1997; and Rosenwicz, S. et al, 1995).
Retinoids have been shown to affect epidermal cell growth and differentiation as well as sebaceous gland activity and exhibit immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, retinoids have been increasingly used for treatment of a variety of skin disorders including: psoriasis and other hyperkeratotic and parakeratotic skin disorders, keratotic genodermatosis, severe acne and acne-related dermatoses, and also for therapy and/or chemoprevention of skin cancer and other neoplasia (Orfanos, C. E., et al, 1997 for review).
Retinoids are also involved in lung development. Fetal lung branching leading to development of the alveolar tree is accelerated by retinoic acid. Currently, prematurely delivered infants who have immature lungs are treated with vitamin A, but other applications may exist that require further investigation (Chytil, F., 1996).
Lastly, there is some evidence that suggests that retinoids may play a role in schizophrenia (Goodman, A. B. 1998) and Alzheimer's disease (Connor, M. J. and Sidell, N., 1997).
The extensive list of retinoid-mediated effects indicate that retinoic acid receptors (non-nuclear) are attractive as targets for therapeutic intervention for several disorders and would be useful in developing drugs with higher specificity and fewer side effects for a wide variety of diseases.
Platelet-Activating Factor (PAF) is a lipid mediator with multitude of physiological and pathophysiological effects. Originally recognized as a 'soluble factor' responsible for serotonin secretion (Henson, 1970), its chemical identity was revealed in 1979 when Demopoulos et al. demonstrated that a semisynthetic phospholipid 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine had properties identical to PAF. Naturally-occurring PAF is in fact a mixture of phospholipids containing the alkyl side chains of varying lengths. The exact composition of naturally-occuring PAF is dependent on the site of biosynthesis. A wide variety of cells, such as leukocytes, neutrophils, endothelial cells, platelets and macrophages, can synthesize PAF (Chao and Olson, 1993).
PAF can be generated via two pathways: de novo and remodeling pathways (Maclennan et al., 1996). The precursor in the de novo pathway is 1-alkyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphate which is, several enzymatic steps later, converted to PAF. Alternatively, in the remodeling pathway, PAF is synthesized from 1-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine via the actions of the enzymes phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and acetyltransferase. The intermediates in this pathway are free polyunsaturated fatty acid, such as arachidonic acid, and lyso-PAF. A critical difference between the de novo and remodeling pathways is that, while the former pathway may be responsible for physiological levels of PAF, the latter pathway is believed to be activated only upon stimulation of cells leading to abnormally high levels of PAF. Some of the potent stimuli for PAF secretion involve thrombin, bradykinin and tumor necrosis factor. Additionally, PAF itself can enhance its own synthesis and secretion.
PAF binding has been observed in numerous cell types, suggesting that specific PAF receptors exist in different cells (Chao and Olson, 1993). Platelets from several species exhibit high affinity binding sites for [3H]-PAF with the Kd values ranging from 0.5 nM to 37 nM. In contrast, rat platelets show only nonspecific binding to [3H]-PAF, perhaps explaining the lack of platelet aggregating response to PAF in these cells (Sanchez-Crespo et al., 1981). Specific binding sites for [3H]-PAF are also present on smooth muscle cells, leukocytes, macrophages, and Kupffer cells (Chao et al., 1989; Hwang et al., 1983; Ng and Wong, 1988; Valone, 1988). The [3H]-PAF binding on human neutrophils reveals two binding sites, a high affinity site with the Kd value of 0.2 nM and a low affinity site with the Kd value of 500 nM (Chao and Olson, 1993). [3H]-PAF binding is observed also in the CNS-associated cells such as NG108-15 cells as well as in the CNS areas such as hypothalamus and cerebral cortex (Chau et al., 1992; Hosford et al., 1990; Junier et al., 1988; Marcheselli et al., 1990). Interestingly, high affinity sites on rat cerebral cortex correspond to intracellular sites on microsomal membranes while the low affinity site is present on the plasma membrane (Marcheselli et al., 1990).
PAF produces a diverse array of intracellular actions. Several cell types release arachidonic acid in response to PAF stimulation. This action of PAF may involve the heterotrimeric G-protein and PLA2 since it is blocked by pertussis toxin and the PLA2 inhibitors (Nakashima et al., 1989). Importantly, some physiological actions of PAF are mediated through arachidonic acid metabolites such as leukotrienes and prostaglandins. For example, PAF induced coronary vasoconstriction in the isolated perfused rat heart through the release of LTC4 (Piper and Stewart, 1986). Similarly, PAF-mediated pulmonary vasoconstriction and edema in isolated lungs were accompanied by increased LTC4 and LTD4 levels in the lung effluent perfusate (Voelkel et al., 1982). In addition to arachidonic release, PAF also induces phosphoinositide turnover and increase in intracellular calcium in a wide variety of cells such as platelets, neutrophils and macrophages (Chao and Olson, 1993). Hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate may involve a specific phospholipase C, leading to formation of two second messengers, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate and diacylglycerol. Prpic et al. (1988) demonstrated that PAF-induced increase in intracellular calcium in macrophages was the result of inositol phosphate generation. However, in rabbit platelets, PAF induces elevation of intracellular calcium via influx of extracellular calcium through calcium channels since the calcium channel blocker could block the PAF action (Lee et al., 1981; Lee et al., 1983). Other biochemical effects of PAF include stimulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins and induction of immediate early genes such as c-fos and c-jun (Chao and Olson, 1993).
Several studies have linked the PAF binding and signaling to the heterotrimeric G-proteins. PAF stimulated GTPase activity in platelets, and GTP caused a shift in PAF binding (Shukla, 1992). Additionally, injection of an inactive GTP analogue reduced PAF-induced chloride current in oocytes (Shimizu et al., 1992). These evidences suggested that PAF might produce its cellular effects via a GPCR. This was confirmed upon cloning of a PAF receptor from guinea pig lungs in 1991 (Honda et al., 1991). This receptor and its species homologues are predicted to have seven transmembrane-spanning regions and contain several highly conserved amino acids present in other GPCRs (Bito et al., 1994; Honda et al., 1991; Nakamura et al., 1991). In a heterologous expression system, the PAF receptor activates primarily the Gq family of G-proteins, although the stimulation of Gi class of G-proteins has also been suggested (Honda et al., 1994).
Through the cloned PAF receptor and possibly through as yet unidentified other PAF receptors, PAF produces a diverse array of physiological and pathophysiological effects. As the name suggests, PAF is a potent activator of platelet aggregation in many species, the notable exception being rat platelets, and enhances secretion of thromboxanes from platelets (Chao and Olson, 1993). It also stimulates aggregation of monocytes and leukocytes (Ford-Hutchinson, 1983; Yasaka et al., 1982), synthesis of leukotrienes from leukocytes (Gorman et al., 1983), and degranulation of eosinophils (Bartemes et al., 1999). In addition, it behaves as a chemotactic factor for several cell types such as monocytes and eosinophils (Del Sorbo et al., 1999; Liu et al., 1998). When injected intravenously, it can cause thrombocytopenia and leukopenia (Demopoulos et al., 1981).
PAF has potent effects on cardiovascular parameters. When given systemically, it causes vasodilation and hypotension (Handa et al., 1990; Yamanaka et al., 1992). However, its effect on coronary and pulmonary circulations is dependent on the dose (Goldstein et al., 1986). It also increases vascular permeability, allowing plasma extravasation. When infused into the carotid artery, PAF causes a decrease in cerebral blood flow (Kochanek et al., 1988). Similarly, PAF administration reduces spinal cord blood flow (Faden and Holt, 1992). These effects of PAF are independent of any direct action on cerebral vasculature, but may be the result of the change in blood-brain barrier (Kumar et al., 1988). PAF contracts other smooth muscles such as gastrointestinal, uterine and pulmonary smooth muscles directly as well as via release of other mediators (Martinez-Cuesta et al., 1996; Pritze et al., 1991; Zhu et al., 1992). It also contracts the airway smooth muscle, increasing airway resistance and responsiveness to other bronchoconstrictors (Austin and Foreman, 1993; Nagase et al., 1997). This mechanism may contribute to the role of PAF in asthma.
In addition to several effects in periphery, PAF plays an important role in various CNS-associated processes (Maclennan et al., 1996). It has been suggested that PAF is involved in long-term potentiation (LTP) (Bazan, 1998). Application of PAF antagonist inhibited the development of LTP, and PAF induction of LTP prevented subsequent high-frequency stimulation-induced LTP (Del Cerro et al., 1990; Wierraszko et al., 1993). Furthermore, PAF increases glutamate release in the brain, a property expected in a retrograde messenger involved in LTP (Kato et al., 1994). Administration of PAF also modulates levels of adrenocorticotrophic hormone, beta-endorphin and corticosterone (Maclennan et al., 1996). Furthermore, PAF can regulate neuronal differentiation in cultured rat cerebral neurons and NG 108-15 cells (Kornecki and Ehrlich, 1988; Ved et al., 1991).
Due to its varied biological properties, PAF has been suggested to play a pivotal role in many pathophysiological processes, for example, inflammation and allergy, and ischemia-reperfusion injury (Maclennan et al., 1996). PAF acts directly on leukocytes as well as promotes interaction of leukocytes and endothelial cells, leading to the activation of leukocytes and release of inflammatory mediators, such as oxygen radicals, cytokines, prostaglandins and leukotrienes. Some of the inflammatory diseases that may involve PAF as a mediator are acute and chronic pancreatitis, acute renal failure, chronic bowel inflammation, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, sepsis and septic shock, cutaneous inflammation, bacterial meningitis, inflammatory bullous diseases and acute endotoxemia (Fink, 1998; Gardner et al., 1995; Heller et al., 1998; Johnson, 1999; Konturek et al., 1992; Lopez-Novoa 1999; Loucks et al., 1997; Stack and Hawkey, 1997; Zhou et al., 1990). PAF also produces pathological features characteristic of asthma (Heller et al., 1998; Page, 1992). It constricts bronchial tissue, produces tracheal and bronchial edema, stimulates secretion of mucus and causes bronchial hyperresponsiveness. PAF also produces many signs and symptoms of anaphylactic shock, suggesting its potential role in this condition (Lefort et al., 1992). Furthermore, PAF may play an important role in ischemia-reperfusion injury in various tissues such as heart and brain (Loucks et al., 1997; Maclennan et al., 1996). And finally, it has been suggested that PAF is an HIV-1-induced neurotoxin and plays a role in HIV-associated dementia (Maclennen et al., 1996).
In summary, PAF is a potent lipid mediator with a variety of biological actions. It is suggested to play a pivotal role in various pathophysiological conditions. Therefore, any ligand targeted towards altering PAF synthesis, biological actions and degradation may provide useful pharmacological therapies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A DC-DC converter includes an error amplifier that includes an operational transconductance amplifier (OTA), a compensation circuit, and a fast transient controller. The OTA includes a compensation resistor, a compensation capacitor of Cz, and a Miller circuit. The equalization capacitance generated by the compensation capacitor and the Miller circuit is (1+k) Cz. The Miller circuit includes three transistors operated in the triode region. The ratio of the current through the transistors is 1:mk:(1−m)k. The current through the compensation capacitor in a second mode is (1+mk) times that in a first mode. The fast transient controller switches the Miller circuit between the first and second modes according to a feedback voltage dependent on the output voltage of the DC-DC converter.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to DC-DC converters and error amplifiers thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and portable multimedia entertainment players, are powered by batteries. A DC-DC converter is required to convert the battery voltage to the required voltage level.
The DC-DC converter comprises an error amplifier, which requires a large compensation capacitor. The compensation capacitor, however, limits the response time of the error amplifier and the stabilization time of the DC-DC converter. The compensation capacitor is too large to be integrated in a chip, and thus connecting wires between the external compensation capacitor and the chips resultingly act as parasitic capacitors and resistors.
In another conventional DC-DC converter, the compensation capacitor is charged or discharged by a large current provided by the error amplifier to speed response of the error amplifier. However, the large charge/discharge current results in more power consumption.
An error amplifier with fast response and low power consumption is thus called for.

DC-DC converter and error amplifier thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


Kits for biological control of leaf-cutting ants are disclosed. The kits comprise at least two granulated bait formulations, each formulation containing a) a biologic control agent for the ants, and b) one masking substance for the control agent and/or one attractant, wherein the control agent is the same in all formulations, and wherein the masking substance and/or attractant are different in each formulation.

Among social insects, ants constitute one of the main pests that adversely affect human activities. For instance, leaf-cutting ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex (Order Hymenoptera, Family Formicidae, Subfamily Myrmecinae, Tribe upper Attini) are endemic of the Neotropics. These ants cut pieces of fresh plant matter (leaves, flowers, fruits), which are then transported to the ant nests and used as substrate for growing of the symbiotic Leucoagaricus fungus that these ants use as their main source of food. Leaf-cutting ants are the main herbivores of the Neotropics, and their impact in agriculture has been estimated in billions of US dollars every year, both by directly attacking crops and plantations and by competing for pastures with livestock (Robinson S. W. and H. G. Fowler (1982). Foraging and pest potencial of paraguayan grass-cutting ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) to the cattle industry. Z. Angew. Ent 93: 42-54; Hölldobler, B. and Wilson, E. O. (1990) The ants, Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Mass., USA; Della Lucia T. M. C. (ed.) (1993). As formigas cortadeiras. Bib. Cent. Univ. Fed. Viçosa Brasil.). Beyond the economic loss infringed every year for its damage to plantations of native and exotic species, to crops of citrus, yerba mate, and vegetables, people perceives them negatively because they destroy ornamental plants in the gardens.
Combat of social insects, as ants, presents challenges that are different from controlling solitary organisms. For instance, there is a difference in the concentration of individuals of the pest species (a single organism versus thousands to millions of individuals in a colony). Furthermore, in social insects the queen is the only colony member that reproduces, and is very well protected. As an example, in leaf-cutting ants the queen is the first one to escape in case of danger, carrying with her a piece of the Leucoagaricus fungus that these ants use as source of food and founding a new colony at a different site.
The fact that leaf-cutting ant colonies build their nest well protected underground makes it difficult under usual conditions to directly apply poisons or pesticides which could result in an effective control of the whole colony. With this in mind, the more efficient control is achieved by insufflating a controlling agent through every entrance/exit of the nest. However, this procedure is labor-consuming and requires the use of special equipment, which raises costs, and even then it can be ineffective as the controlling agent might not reach the queen due to the large underground dimensions and the numerous chambers that a giant nest may have. For countering this problem, advantage has been taken of the characteristic behavior of the leaf-cutting ants of carrying pieces of leaves to the nest interior by using baits impregnated with pesticides of long-lasting residual effect, which are carried by the ants to places otherwise inaccessible within the nest, thus affecting the health of the colony in a more efficient way. Nevertheless, social insects, and especially leaf-cutting ants, also present complex cleaning behavior. Leaf-cutting ants can learn to recognize a particular food item, and as a result come back for more or reject it (Knapp J, Howse P. E y A. Kemarrec. 1990. Factors controlling foraging patterns in the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex octospinosus. In Applied Myrmecology: a world perspective, Eds. R. K. Vander Meer and K. Jaffé, pp 382-409, Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press; Herz H, Höldobler B and F. Roces. 2008. Delayed rejection in a leaf-cutting ant after foraging on plants unsuitable for the symbiotic fungus. Behavioral Ecology 19: 575-582; Saverscheck N, Herz H, Wagner N y F. Roces. 2010. Avoiding plants unsuitable for the symbiotic fungus: learning and long-term memory in leaf-cutting ants. Animal Behaviour 79: 689-698). Regarding rejection, workers can inspect a food source and leave it without carrying it, they can start to eat or carry it just for leaving abandoned afterwards, they can carry the resource to the nest but reject it at subsequent times, or they can carry a same resource to the nest several times but at a decreasing rate in time. It has been also demonstrated that these ants can associate. Thus, leaves usually attractive for the ants, impregnated in a fungicide which affects the Leucoagaricus gardens may be carried to the nest at first, but then will appear in the colony's refuse dump, as these leaves are removed from the fungus growing chamber. Moreover, when baits infected with a mycopathogenic fungus are accepted, the ants later reject the same bait, even if it is not infected with the pathogen. This memory-associated rejection can start 24-48 hours after the damaging resource is offered and last from 18-30 weeks. Because the effective control of a pest often requires repeated exposure of the target organism to the controlling agent, the delayed rejection mechanism displayed by leaf-cutting ants reduces the efficiency of using baits for fighting them (Ridley P, Howse P. E. and C. W. Jackson. 1996. Control of the behavior of leaf-cutting ants by their symbiotic fungus. Experientia 52: 631-635).
Traditionally, social insect's pest control has relied upon the use of chemical pesticides. Several well-known problems are associated to the use of pesticides, such as negative impact on human health, persistence in the ecosystem, and lack of specificity, incidentally adversely affecting many non-damaging organisms, including those which could be beneficial for combating the very same pest whose control is desired. The use of many pesticides of common use in the past has been banned by local authorities around the world for the risk that they pose to the people and the environment, and many other became ineffective as pest populations developed resistance and became immune to them. Moreover, chemical control of ants is highly inefficient since the queen is seldom adversely affected and then the colony being fought can relocate to a nearby location.
An alternative to the use of pesticides is biological control of pests. Biological control, or biocotrol, utilizes the natural enemies of the pest for controlling its populations. For instance, fungi which are insect pathogens have been used for controlling unwanted insects, as disclosed in Patent Applications WO9102051, WO9424871 WO9525430, WO0228189, WO2006121350 y WO2004052103, and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,951,389 y U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,085. Use of fungi which are pathogens of other fungi is discussed in WO016974 y WO9618722A2, which use strains of Trichoderma for combating phytopathogenic fungi, and there is even a commercial product (Attacebo) which uses Trichoderma for destroying the Leucoagaricus gardens grown by leaf-cutting ants. However, biological control usually requires repeated exposure of the target organism to its pathogen, and the delayed rejection mechanism makes the use of baits as carriers in methods of biological control of leaf-cutting ants particularly inadequate because their memory and associative ability.
From the foregoing it is clear that new methods for fighting leaf-cutting ants are needed which eliminate them in spite of the protection provided by ant nests. In particular, methods for fighting leaf-cutting ants by using baits are needed whose efficiency is not hindered by the delayed rejection mechanism.

Methods for controlling leaf-cutting ants


The present invention provides an antenna control method and an antenna device. The method includes (A1) defining a plurality of rough scanning sectors in a signal region; (A2) rotating the antenna to each rough scanning sector to measure a first evaluation signal; (A3) selecting one of the plurality of rough scanning sectors in accordance with the first evaluation signals; (A4) defining a plurality of fine scanning sectors; (A5) rotating the antenna to the plurality of fine scanning sector corresponding to the selected rough scanning sector to measure a second evaluation signal; (A6) selecting one of the plurality of fine scanning sectors in accordance with the second evaluation signals; (A7) rotating the antenna to the selected fine scanning sector.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an antenna control method and an antenna device using the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Following with the progress of electronic technology, a variety of portable electronic devices are widely used in our daily life. For connecting the portable electronic devices to the network and increasing the transmitting/receiving ability to provide better communication quality, the type and design of an antenna of a network access point have been gradually emphasized.
Rotary antennas are widely used because they are rotatable to adjust the direction of the antenna for making the antenna head toward a better direction having stronger signal and/or less interference to enhance the transmitting/receiving ability. However, users have to adjust the antenna to several directions manually, with many tries to find out the best direction. This kind of approach is time consuming and inconvenient. Moreover, the antenna is very likely unable to have the best performance since the manual adjustment is coarse and subjective.

Antenna control method and antenna device using the same


The present invention generally provides methods for enhancing transport and direction of materials in fluidic systems, which systems utilize electroosmotic (E/O) flow systems, to affect that transport and direction. The methods generally comprise providing an effective concentration of at least one zwitterionic compound in the fluid containing the material that is to be transported or directed.

There has been a growing interest in the development and manufacturing of microscale fluid systems for the acquisition of chemical and biochemical information, in both preparative and analytical capacities. Adaptation of technologies from the electronics industry, such as photolithography, wet chemical etching and the like, has helped to fuel this growing interest.
One of the first areas in which microscale fluid systems have been used for chemical or biochemical analysis was in the area of capillary electrophoresis (CE). CE systems generally employ fused silica capillaries, or more recently, etched channels in planar silica substrates, filled with an appropriate separation matrix or medium. A sample fluid that is to be analyzed is injected at one end of the capillary or channel. Application of a voltage across the capillary then permits the electrophoretic migration of the species within the sample. Differential electrophoretic mobilities of the constituent elements of a sample fluid, e.g., due to their differential net charge or size, permits their separation, identification and analysis. In order to optimize the separation aspect of the CE applications, researchers have sought to maximize the electrophoretic mobility of charged species relative to each other and relative to the flow of the fluid through the capillary resulting from, e.g., electroosmosis. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,350, to Wiktorowicz, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,405 to Petersen et al.
In comparison to these CE applications, the technologies of the electronics industry have also been focused on the production of small scale fluidic systems for the transportation of small volumes of fluids over relatively small areas, to perform one or more preparative or analytical manipulations on that fluid. These non-CE fluidic systems differ from the CE systems in that their goal is not the electrophoretic separation of constituents of a sample or fluid, but is instead directed to the bulk transport of fluids and the materials contained in those fluids. Typically, these non-CE fluidic systems have relied upon mechanical fluid direction and transport systems, e.g., miniature pumps and valves, to affect material transport from one location to another. See, e.g., Published PCT Application No. 97/02357. Such mechanical systems, however, can be extremely difficult and expensive to produce, and still fail to provide accurate fluidic control over volumes that are substantially below the microliter range.
Electroosmotic (E/O) flow systems have been described which provide a substantial improvement over these mechanical systems, see, e.g., Published PCT Application No. WO 96/04547 to Ramsey et al. Typically, such systems function by applying a voltage across a fluid filled channel, the surface or walls of which have charged or ionizeable functional groups associated therewith, to produce electroosmotic flow of that fluid in the direction of the current. Despite the substantial improvements offered by these electroosmotic fluid direction systems, there remains ample room for improvement in the application of these technologies. The present invention meets these and other needs.

Methods and systems for enhanced fluid transport


A vehicle handlebar grip for use in a bicycle or motorcycle is disclosed  to include a plastic grip body peripherally covered with a flexible covering, the grip body having an axially extended mounting hole for mounting onto the vehicle handlebar, two annular end grooves at two ends, and two radial through holes in communication with the annular end grooves, two locating rings respectively fitted into the end grooves of the grip body, the locating rings each having a radial screw hole, and two tightening up screws respectively inserted through the through holes of the grip body and threaded into the screw holes of the locating rings to fix the locating rings and the grip body to the vehicle's handlebar.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicles, such as bicycles motorcycles, tricycles, etc., and, more specifically, to a grip for the handlebar of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc., has handlebars for the holding of the rider's hands. Regular vehicle handlebars are commonly made of metal and mounted with a flexible grip for the holding of the hand comfortably. The grip of a regular vehicle handlebar is a tubular rubber member of diameter slightly smaller than the handlebar. During installation, an air compressor is operated to drive forced air into the tubular rubber grip so as to expand the inner diameter of the tubular rubber grip, enabling the tubular grip to be sleeved onto the metal handlebar. After installation, the elastic material property causes the tubular rubber grip to return to its former shape, and therefore the tubular rubber grip is positively secured to the handlebar. When removing the grip from the handlebar, it is necessary to drive forced air into the inside of the grip again and to apply lubricating oil to the gap in between the inner diameter of the grip and the outer diameter of the handlebar. These grip mounting and dismounting procedures are complicated and require special tools and techniques.


The technology disclosed relates to an end-to-end neural network for question answering, referred to herein as “dynamic coattention network (DCN)”. Roughly described, the DCN includes an encoder neural network and a coattentive encoder that capture the interactions between a question and a document in a so-called “coattention encoding”. The DCN also includes a decoder neural network and highway maxout networks that process the coattention encoding to estimate start and end positions of a phrase in the document that responds to the question.

The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in this section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves can also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
Several deep learning models have been proposed for question answering. However, due to their single-pass nature, they have no way to recover from local maxima corresponding to incorrect answers. To address this problem, the technology disclosed provides a so-called "dynamic coattention network (DCN)" for question answering. The DCN first fuses codependent representations of a question and a document in order to focus on relevant parts of both. Then, the DCN iterates over potential answer spans. This iterative procedure enables the DCN to recover from initial local maxima corresponding to incorrect answers.
On the Stanford Question Answering Dataset (SQuAD) dataset, a single DCN model outperforms the previous state of the art from 71.0% F1 score to 75.9% F1 score, while an ensemble DCN model outperforms the previous state of the art from 78.1% F1 score to 80.4% F1 score.

Dynamic coattention network for question answering


A liquid ejecting head includes a flow passage formation section and a sealing section. The flow passage formation section includes a plurality of nozzle openings, ejecting liquid therefrom, a plurality of pressure generation parts, corresponding to the nozzle openings respectively, a plurality of liquid supply passages, communicating with the pressure generation parts respectively for supplying liquid thereto, and a plurality of partition wall parts, each separating one liquid supply passage and its corresponding pressure generation part from another liquid supply passage and its corresponding pressure generation part. The sealing section seals the flow passage formation section. The partition wall parts respectively include liquid supply passage partition wall parts which separate adjacent liquid supply passages. The sealing section has a thick part and a thin part. The sealing section which seals an area of the partition wall parts and the liquid supply passage of the flow passage formation section has a thick part and a thin part.

This invention relates to a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid, such as a record head used with an image record apparatus such as a printer, a color material ejection head used for manufacturing a color filter of a liquid crystal display, etc., an electrode material ejection head used for electrode formation of an organic EL display, an FED (surface light emission display), etc., or a biological organic substance ejection head used for manufacturing a biochip, and a general liquid ejecting apparatus using the liquid ejecting head.
A related ink jet record head (simply, record head) for ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings by movement of piezoelectric vibrators such as expansion and contraction, etc., has been used with a printer for recording an image and text on record paper. (For example, refer to JP-A-2001-277524.)
FIG. 24 is a schematic exploded perspective view to show a record head 10 in a related art.
As shown in FIG. 24, the record head 10 has a flow passage unit 1, which has a nozzle plate 3 having a large number of nozzle openings 8. A flow passage board 4 is placed so that it is sandwiched between the nozzle plate 3 and a sealing plate 5 (described later).
Pressure generation chambers 7a are provided on the flow passage board 4. Also, ink supply passages 7b are formed so as to communicate with the pressure generation chambers 7a. The ink supply passages 7b are further communicated with an ink reservoir 9.
Ink is supplied to the ink reservoir 9 through ink supply holes 5c in FIG. 24.
That is, ink is guided from an ink cartridge (not shown) through the ink supply holes 5c In the sealing plate 5, etc., into the ink reservoir 9, the ink supply passages 7b, and the pressure generation chambers 7a.
The pressure generation chambers 7a and the ink supply passages 7b are placed on the flow passage board 4 like comb teeth as shown in FIG. 24 and are partitioned by partition walls 7c and are sandwiched between the sealing plate 5 and the nozzle plate 3, whereby a kind of dosed space is formed. Each of the partition walls 7c has an ink flow passage partition wall 7e and a pressure generation chamber partition wall 7d as later shown in FIG. 25.
The sealing plate 5 is provided with a film-like resin thin film 5a on the side of the flow passage board 4 and a metal thin film 5b is deposited on the resin thin film 5a.
The resin thin film 5a of the sealing plate 5 is fixedly secured to the flow passage board 4 with an adhesive, etc., and the metal thin film 5b of the sealing plate 5 is fixedly secured to a head case 2 shown in FIG. 24 with an adhesive, etc.
Piezoelectric vibrators 6 shown in FIG. 24 are housed in the head case 2.
FIG. 25 is a schematic representation to show a state in which the sealing plate 5 is bonded, etc., above the pressure generation chambers 7a and the ink supply passages 7b formed like comb teeth and further the head case 2 is bonded above them. FIG. 26 is a schematic sectional view taken on line A-A′ in FIG. 25.
As shown in FIG. 25, the head case 2 in FIG. 24 is bonded onto the ink supply passages 7b of the flow passage board 4 through the sealing plate 5. In FIG. 25, solid hatching indicates the metal thin film 5b and dashed hatching indicates an area where the head case 2 is bonded.
Specifically, the head case 2 is bonded on the top of the metal thin film 5b of the sealing plate 5 formed on the ink flow passage partition walls 7e separating the ink supply passages 7b as shown in FIG. 26.
However, the head case 2 generally is made of a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, etc., and the flow passage board 4 of the ink flow passage partition walls 7e is made of silicon, etc. Therefore, the head case 2 and the flow passage board 4 are largely different in linear expansion coefficient.
Unlike the flow passage board 4, the head case 2 is made of a resin, etc., and thus easily expands because of water absorption.
Thus, distortion occurs between the head case 2 and the ink flow passage partition wall 7e shown in FIG. 26 because of the difference in the linear expansion coefficient, the presence or absence of expansion on water absorption, etc.
In FIG. 26, the distortion largely acts on between the resin thin film 5a of the sealing plate 5 and the ink flow passage partition wall 7e, a portion wherein the adhesive force is comparatively weak corresponding to the portion where the metal thin film 5b is placed, rather than between the head case 2 and the metal thin film 5b of the sealing plate 5, a portion wherein the adhesive force is comparatively strong. Therefore, peeling easily occurs between the resin thin film 5a and the ink flow passage partition wall 7e.
The peeling between the sealing plate 5 having the resin thin film 5a and the ink flow passage partition wall 7e results in ink leakage between the ink supply passages 7b, etc., separated by the ink flow passage partition walls 7e, causing the record head 10 to fall, etc.; this is a problem.
Next, referring to FIGS. 27 and 28, an ink jet record head of a second related ink jet record apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2001-277524 is described.
The second related ink jet record apparatus has a roughly similar configuration to that of the first related ink jet record apparatus described above, and therefore components identical with those previously are denoted by the same reference numerals and a description will be omitted.
FIG. 27 is a schematic representation to show the relationship between the pressure generation chambers 7a and the ink supply passages 7b formed like comb teeth and the metal thin film 5b of the sealing plate 5 and the like. FIG. 28 is a schematic plan view to show the relationship between the pressure generation chambers 7a and the ink supply passages 7b and the metal thin film 5b of the sealing plate 5 and the like.
As shown in FIG. 27, the pressure generation chambers 7a are formed at the depth of grooves like comb teeth (right in the figure) and the ink supply passages 7b are formed so as to communicate with the pressure generation chambers 7a.
The ink reservoir 9 is placed to the left of the ink supply passages 7b.
The ink supply passages 7b are formed on the flow passage board 4, and the sealing plate 5 shown in FIG. 28 is placed thereon.
The hatched portion in FIG. 27 indicates the metal thin film 5b of SUS, etc., of the sealing plate 5, and the transparent portion is the resin thin film 5a made of a polyphenylene sulfide film, for example of the sealing plate 5.
That is, the unhatched portion of the metal thin film 5b of the sealing plate 5 is deleted by etching, etc. Above the pressure generation chambers 7a of the flow passage board 4, the metal thin film 5b not etched and left is formed, for example, like ellipses placed as island parts 5d.
An end part of a piezoelectric vibrator (not shown) is fixedly secured to the island part 905d. The piezoelectric vibrator is expanded in the length direction (up and down direction in FIG. 27) by a drive signal.
Thus, as the piezoelectric vibrator is expanded, the island part 905d is pressed, causing the pressure in the pressure generation chamber 7a to be raised for pressing ink in the pressure generation chamber 7a downward (in the nozzle opening direction), thereby ejecting ink from the nozzle opening in FIG. 13.
However, if the piezoelectric vibrator is thus expanded and the pressure in the pressure generation chamber 7a is raised, the pressure not only pushes ink in the pressure generation chamber 7a into the nozzle opening 8, but also affects the ink supply passage 7b communicating with the pressure generation chamber 7a, pressing ink in the ink supply passage 7b into the ink reservoir 9 side.
The ink reservoir 9 is sealed with the resin thin film 5a of the sealing plate 5 and ink pushed back from the pressure generation chamber 7a also flows into the ink reservoir 9 and in the adjacent ink supply passage 917b directions like an arrow A shown in the figures.
In the arrow A flow, the metal thin film 5b exists in the path and the portion cannot be deformed and thus pressure is directly propagated. Further, if ink flows into the ink reservoir 9, pressure is absorbed as the resin thin film 5a becomes deformed; however, slight pressure that cannot be absorbed as the resin thin film 5a becomes deformed flows in the different ink supply passage 17b direction and pressure is propagated. In this case, for example, when ink is ejected through ail nozzles except one in the multiple nozzle configuration, the pressure that cannot be absorbed in the ink reservoir 9 concentrates on the one nozzle and large pressure propagates.
Such a phenomenon is called crosstalk. The face of the surface tension of ink called a meniscus formed on the nozzle is displaced or vibrates as unintended, causing defective ejection in which ink cannot be jetted at the normal timing, in the normal amount, or in the normal direction from the nozzle, the case where ink is erroneously ejected by propagated pressure although an ejection signal is not sent at the worst, or an accident such as non-section of ink although an ejection signal is sent.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a liquid ejecting head wherein peeling between a sealing section and a passage partition wall is hard to occur and a failure caused by liquid leakage beyond the partition wall part is hard to occur, and a liquid ejecting apparatus using the liquid ejecting head.
Also, an another object of the invention is to provide a liquid ejecting head for making it possible to prevent crosstalk, which means that pressure applied to one pressure generation part acts on a different pressure generation part, and prevent liquid from being erroneously ejected from the nozzle part corresponding to the different pressure generation part, and a liquid ejecting apparatus using the liquid ejecting head.

Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus


One embodiment includes a method for selecting, by a mobile unit, one of a plurality of control information reporting modes based on at least one of a control information transmission type and a payload size. The method further includes transmitting, by the mobile unit, one or more UCI report(s) to the base station using the selected UCI reporting mode.

Embodiments relate to transmitting channel state information (CSI) and/or acknowledgement information in a wireless network, for example, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network.
The 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) represents a major advance in cellular technology. LTE is designed to meet carrier needs for high-speed data and media transport as well as high-capacity voice support well into the next decade. LTE encompasses high-speed data, multimedia unicast and multimedia broadcast services.
The LTE physical layer (PHY) is an efficient mechanism for conveying both data and control information between an enhanced base station (e-NodeB) and mobile user equipment (UE). The LTE PHY employs some advanced technologies to cellular applications. These technologies include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) data transmission. In addition, the LTE PHY uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) on the downlink (DL) and Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) on the uplink (UL). OFDMA allows data to be directed to or from multiple users on a subcarrier-by-subcarrier basis for a specified number of symbol periods.
In 3GPP LTE Rel-10 carrier aggregation (CA), dropping of CSI that is configured to be sent periodically occurs in the following cases: (1) when multiple Channel State Information (CSI) report(s) collide in the same sub-frame, only one CSI report is transmitted, and the others are dropped; and (2) when CSI report(s) collides with Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) in the same sub-frame, CSI report(s) are dropped.
Enhancements are desirable to improve or avoid CSI dropping in CA. One option that has been proposed is to use a data channel, the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), to carry CSI that is configured to be sent periodically. Since PUSCH can carry a much bigger payload than Physical Uplink Control Channel PUCCH, multiple CSI reports (up to 5 component carriers, as defined in CA currently) can be carried in the same sub-frame without any report being dropped.
The problem is how to make best use of PUSCH to provide as much useful CSI information as possible in an efficient way, given that the smallest unit of resource that can be allocated on PUSCH is significantly larger than the amount of CSI that is typically transmitted periodically.
There are a few known solutions on how to use PUSCH to carry CSI:
(1) The e-NodeB can request the UE to report a single individual aperiodic CSI report (which conveys more CSI than a periodic one). This is already supported in Rel-10. The drawback is that for each aperiodic CSI request, the e-NodeB needs to send a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message on Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). This can result in significant overhead on PDCCH.
(2) Use higher layer signaling to configure periodic resource on PUSCH, and reuse existing periodic reporting modes. Existing periodic modes have relatively smaller payload size, up to 55 bits for 5 component carriers. This can be an inefficient way of using one Physical Resource Block (PRB) on PUSCH since one PRB is significantly larger than this.
(3) Define a different reporting mode for periodic CSI on PUSCH with more comprehensive CSI feedback (thus larger payload) in each sub-frame. One possible way is to reuse the existing aperiodic reporting formats, but sent periodically instead of as single individually-requested reports. This can better take advantage of the one-PRB resource on PUSCH. The disadvantage is that when the CSI reports occur together with UL data, CSI needs to be multiplexed with UL data, and when the CSI payload is large, the impact on UL data is larger because it takes more resource away from UL data.
(4) Largely reuse the aperiodic CSI mechanism in 3GPP LTE Rel-10 (as in the first option), but allow dynamic triggering of small or large payload size CSI reporting. This is achieved by re-defining the meaning of CSI request field in the DCI format. It has the same drawback as the first option, namely, large overhead on PDCCH.
In 3GPP LTE Rel-10, HARQ-ACK bundling, either in time domain or spatial domain, is applied in certain cases in order to reduce the payload size of HARQ-ACK to fit into the PUCCH transmission formats. When HARQ-ACK bundling is performed, there is a loss in downlink throughput as a result of some unnecessary negative acknowledgements due to bundling.
Both CSI and HARQ-ACK are considered as uplink control information (UCI).

Method and apparatus for multi-mode control information on uplink channel


Systems and processes for unified language modeling are provided. In accordance with one example, a method includes, at an electronic device with one or more processors and memory, receiving a character of a sequence of characters and determining a current character context based on the received character of the sequence of characters and a previous character context. The method further includes determining a current word representation based on the current character context and determining a current word context based on the current word representation and a previous word context. The method further includes determining a next word representation based on the current word context and providing the next word representation.

Conventional electronic devices implement various predictive typing mechanisms to ensure a more accurate and efficient user experience. In many cases, for example, such mechanisms provide for auto-correction, auto-completion, and word prediction, though these aspects are usually implemented using different techniques. For instance, auto-correction typically relies on large curated lexicons of surface forms and a string edit metric (e.g., Levenshtein distance), auto-completion typically relies on one or more prefix trees having leaf weights that allow for efficient filtering of vocabulary as each character of a word is received, and word prediction typically relies on use of an n-gram model. As a result of the heterogeneity in the manner in which each of these aspects is employed, there is a challenge in providing a single mechanism that simultaneously provides prediction, auto-completion, and auto-correction.

Unified language modeling framework for word prediction, auto-completion and auto-correction


An element grouping method for Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis is implemented in a computer to group elements forming an analyzing mode. The method automatically obtains nodes of specific elements having a common parameter from the elements forming the analyzing model which is an analyzing target, and automatically groups nodes having a referring number which is a predetermined value or less. The specific elements belonging to the grouped nodes are automatically grouped as edge elements. A check is made to determine whether or not all specific elements in an edge portion of the analyzing model are grouped as the edge elements. Specific elements, other than the specific elements in the edge portion which are grouped as the edge elements, are automatically grouped as the in-plane elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to element grouping methods for the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis and computer-readable storage media, and more particularly to an element grouping method for grouping elements such as glass, plastic and ceramic when carrying out the FEM analysis, and to a computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to execute such an element grouping method.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, when designing an electronic apparatus by Computer Aided Design (CAD), the FEM analysis is used. An analyzing model that is created by the FEM analysis is subjected to various tests and evaluations. For example, the evaluation of the strength of the electronic apparatus is one of such evaluations.
When evaluating the strength of a housing of the electronic apparatus, for example, a break test is carried out with respect to each portion of the housing by simulation. In this case, it is necessary to judge whether or not a break occurs in the elements forming the analyzing model under predetermined conditions. When judging whether or not the break occurs in the elements made of a breakable material such as glass, plastic and ceramic, a threshold value that is used as a reference in judging the break takes a different value between an edge portion and a surface portion which is other than the edge portion. For this reason, glass elements, for example, need to be grouped into the edge elements forming the edge portion of the analyzing model, and in-plane elements forming the surface portion other than the edge portion of the analyzing model. The judgement to determine whether a break occurs is made separately with respect to the group of edge elements and the group of in-plane elements. In the case of the conventional CAD using the FEM analysis, a user manually groups the glass elements of the analyzing model into the edge elements and the in-plane elements, in order to evaluate the break in the portion of the analyzing model made of glass.
Because the conventional CAD using the FEM analysis requires the user to manually group the glass elements of the analyzing model into the edge elements and the in-plane elements, the grouping process is troublesome to perform and the load on the user is large. In addition, because the grouping process is performed manually by the user, an erroneous grouping process may be perform if the user makes an erroneous operation or makes an erroneous judgement. Furthermore, the user must manually perform a similar grouping process every time the analyzing element (or part size or element size) changes, and it is difficult to improve the efficiency of the grouping process.
Therefore, in the conventional CAD using the FEM analysis, there was a problem in that it is difficult to perform the grouping process, which groups the glass elements of the analyzing model into the edge elements and the in-plane elements, for example, by reducing the load on the user and efficiently and accurately performing the grouping process.

Element grouping method for finite element method analysis, and computer-readable storage medium


A system for granting access to agents at a communication center in response to requests for connection from network-level entities starts a fairness timer having a fairness time period when a first request is received for and agent, monitors any other requests for the same agent during the fairness time, and executes an algorithm at the end of the fairness time to select the network-level entity to which the request should be granted. In a preferred embodiment the fairness time is set to be equal to or greater than twice the difference between network round-trip latency for the longest latency and shortest latency routers requesting service from the communication center. In some embodiments an agent reservation timer is set at the same point as the fairness timer to prevent calls to the same agent, and has a period longer than the fairness timer by a time sufficient for a connection to be made to the agent station once access is granted, and for notification of the connection to be made to network-level entities.

Telephone call processing and switching systems arc, at the time of the present patent application, relatively sophisticated, computerized systems, and development and introduction of new systems continues. Much information on the nature of such hardware and software is available in a number of publications accessible to the present inventors and to those with skill in the art in general. For this reason, much minute detail of known systems is not reproduced here, as to do so may obscure the facts of the invention..
At the time of filing the present patent application there continues to be remarkable growth in telephone-based information systems. Recently emerging examples are telemarketing operations and technical support operations, among many others, which have grown apace with development and marketing of, for example, sophisticated computer equipment. More traditional are systems for serving customers of large insurance companies and the like. In some cases organizations develop and maintain their own telephony operations with purchased or leased equipment, and in many other cases, companies are outsourcing such operations to firms that specialize in such services.
A large technical support operation serves as a good example in this specification of the kind of applications of telephone equipment and functions to which the present invention pertains and applies, and a technical support organization will be used from time to time in the current specification for example purposes. Such a technical support system, as well as other such systems, typically has a country wide or even a world wide matrix of call centers for serving customer's needs. Such call center operations are more and more a common practice to provide redundancy and decentralization. However, the components of the present specification can apply to a single call center as well, and t home agent systems.
In a call center, a relatively large number of agents handle telephone communication with callers. Each agent is typically assigned to a telephone connected to a central switch, which is in turn connected to a public-switched telephone network (PSTN), well-known in the art. The central switch may be one of several types, such as Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), or a Private Branch Exchange (PBX).
An organization having one or more call centers for serving customers typically provides one or more telephone numbers to the public or to their customer base, or both, that may be used to reach the service. The number or numbers may be published on product packaging, in advertisements, in user manuals, in computerized help files, and the like.
There are basically two scenarios. If the organization providing the service has a single call center, the number will be to the call center, and all further routing to an agent will be at the call center. If there are several call centers, the organization may provide several numbers, one for each call center, and the customer may be expected to use the number for the closest center, or for the center advertised to provide specifically the service he or she might need. In some cases the number provided will connect the caller with a first Service Control Point (SCP) which is adapted to pre-process incoming calls and forward the calls to other call centers.
Routing of calls, then, may be on several levels. Pre-routing may be done at SCPs and further routing may be accomplished at individual call centers. As described above, a call center typically involves a central switch, which may be, for example, an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), or a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) or other equivalent (IP is switch less per se). The central switch is connected to the PSTN network, well known in the art. Agents, who are trained to handle customer service, use telephones connected to the central switch. This arrangement is known in the art as Customer Premises Equipment (CPE).
If the call center consists of just a central switch and connected telephone stations, the routing that can be done is very limited. Switches, although increasingly computerized, are limited in the range of computer processes that may be performed. For this reason additional computer capability in the art has been added for such central switches by connecting computer servers adapted to run control routines and to access databases. The processes of incorporating computer enhancement to telephone switches is known in the art as Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and the hardware used is referred to as CTI equipment.
In a CTI system telephone stations connected to the central switch may be equipped also with computer terminals, so agents manning such stations may have access to stored data as well as being linked to incoming callers by a telephone connection. Such stations may be interconnected in a network by any one of several known network protocols, with one or more servers also connected to the network one or more of which may also be connected to a processor providing CTI enhancement, also connected to the central switch of the call center. It is this processor that provides the CTI enhancement for the call center.
When a call arrives at a call center, whether or not the call has been pre-processed at a SCP, typically at least the telephone number of the calling line is made available to the receiving switch at the call center by a telephone carrier. This service is available by most PSTNs as caller-ID information in one of several formats. If the call center is computer-enhanced (CTI) the phone number of the calling party may be used to access additional information from a database at a server on the network that connects the agent workstations. In this manner information pertinent to a call may be provided to an agent.
It is known to the inventors that more recently Data Network Telephony (DNT) communication has been integrated into the call center environment. Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT), which is a subset of DNT, is most often used in today's DNT-capable call centers. Computer simulated telephony is now being practiced in many CTI call centers. In many cases, equipment is altered or modified to handle both Connection-Oriented-Switched-Telephony (COST) and DNT telephony simultaneously and in a seamless fashion. Because of added communication capabilities existing in today's call centers, a more appropriate term of communication center will hereinafter be used in this specification.
In a very large communication center, it is desired that all incoming calls whether from a COST network or from an IPNT network be handled efficiently by available agents. In some cases calls are routed from network level to a call center, and then further routed to agents at the communication center. Calls are typically distributed to such agents based on availability of the agent, and in this system availability of agents is tracked at the call center level. In other systems, employing what the inventors term agent-level routing, Service Control Points (SCPs) in the network route calls to agent level at call centers. In this arrangement agent availability is typically tracked at the network level, and updated from the call-center level. In either system If a first agent is unavailable, a caller must wait for the agent to become available, or be transferred to another available agent. When incoming calls to a communication center are from different routing systems in a telephony network it becomes difficult to insure equal and fair access to agents for all of the callers. This is due to various states of latency that exist in separate routing systems.
Latency factors such as equipment speed and line speed can vary greatly over large geographical regions within a service network such as a public network. This is due to partly to the fact that older equipment is upgraded to new equipment on a gradual basis. The same is true with network lines and connections. Because of this inconsistency over large portions of a telephony network, some callers or groups of callers to a communication center may inadvertently get much better service because of the fact that they are being routed over faster lines with better equipment. In considering DNT networks, similar latency conditions exist that may cause some callers or groups of callers to receive poor service compared to those routed in over superior connections with superior equipment.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus that eliminates inadvertent unequal access associated with regional groups of callers that may exist because of unequal latency factors in their portion of a network. A system such as this would insure that all callers receive comparable service from a communication center regardless of the latency factors.

Method and apparatus for providing fair access to agents in a communication center

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.


A filter core unit comprising various number of segments having a wall with a plurality of holes and a means to attach one segment to a second segment whereby the length of the filter core unit can be varied by adding and subtracting segments. A method of connecting one segment to another is also disclosed.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for creating a multi-length plastic tube for use in a water filter and more particularly, to the use of the multi-length plastic tube section in EDM (Electric Discharge Machining) apparatus water filters.
2. Description of the related art
Electric Discharge Machining systems utilizes water to cool and/or transport metal and other debris or shavings created during the machining of a workpiece. In most EDM machines, there is a pumping system that takes water, especially in a closed loop system, applies it to the working area to cool the surroundings and pick up debris and heat, and remove them from the area. The water then flows through a filter assembly to clean the water of such shavings and debris. Such filtered water is then available for reuse.
A problem in the art is that with current EDM filters having metal type cylindrical cores, there is a possibility of corrosion of such metal cores. The water normally utilized in EDM machining is de-ionized to maintain a substantially non-conductive property. As the filter, with an iron core, is utilized, interaction may be created between the metal shavings and debris with the metal center core, to cause corrosion thereof. Such corrosion of the metal core alters the water, making it somewhat conductive, thereby making the EDM process less efficient. In some EDM applications where higher precision machining is necessary, such corrosion problems and corresponding reduction of EDM efficiency is an important concern.
Different attempts have been made to combat this corrosion problem such as plating the iron core with certain non-corrosive ingredients, which becomes expensive or labor intensive. Further solutions of the problem include the use of creating plastic cores and plastic end-caps.
The use of plastic extruding technology has been tested but to date it has been impossible to obtain a wall thickness heavy enough to withstand the fluid hydraulic pressure seen by the EDM filter assembly during use.
Although the initial operating pressure of the typical water pumping system in EDM machines is approximately 18-20 PSI, as the filter material becomes saturated with debris, fluid pressures have been observed of up to 85-95 PSI. Furthermore, the current extruded plastic cores, when cut perpendicular to their longitudinal length, loses strength because of insufficient strength between core openings.
A problem with production of injection molded, plastic filter cores is the inability to vary the length of a plastic core unit on the fly. For creating injection molded plastic cores, each different length of the plastic core needs a different mold. Huge costs would thereby be created by making molds for the different size cores needed to satisfy all of the requirement of the different size EDM filter assemblies currently available.
The present invention solves the particular problem of eliminating the need for different sizes of injection molds for plastic filter cores and column systems.


A method and apparatus for scaling the bitstream of a compressed video signal includes partial decoding hardware (38, 41) to permit excising of higher frequency AC DCT coefficients or re-quantizing quantized data with a coarser quantization factor. The scaling is performed on a block (macroblock) basis in a manner which linearly scales the amount of compressed data per block. An analyzer (40) generates a profile of cumulative partially decompressed data over a video frame, and bitstream scaling (42) is performed in a manner which insures that a profile of the scaled signal substantially comports with the profile of the original data.

The moving picture experts group (MPEG) video coding standard has been proposed for a variety of applications for video transmission and storage. Several applications such as Video On Demand and Trick-Play on Track Digital VTRs, for example, are more easily facilitated with a compressed signal having a lesser bitrate than that provided in certain of the MPEG profiles. The different applications have slightly different signal requirements, however a similar scaling apparatus may serve to reduce an original bitrate to a rate conducive to a respective application.
An MPEG coding standard has now been developed for a variety of applications which include terrestrial high definition television (HDTV), teleconferencing, satellite communication, direct broadcasting systems (DBS) and multimedia workstations. An MPEG-2 compressed bit stream may represent a compressed HDTV bit stream of relatively high data rate. If this signal is to be utilized on relatively narrow band channels it is necessary to reduce or scale its data down to a lower bit rate.
Consider a Video On-Demand system wherein a video file-server includes a storage device containing a library of MPEG encoded bit streams. The bit streams stored in the library are originally coded at a high quality (e.g. studio quality). A number of clients may request retrieval of any of these video programs at one particular time. The number of users and the quality of video delivered to the users is constrained by the outgoing channel capacity. This outgoing channel, which may be a cable bus or an ATM trunk for example, must be shared among the users who are granted service. Different users may require different levels of video quality, and the quality of a respective program will be based on the fraction of the total channel capacity allocated each user.
To simultaneously accommodate a plurality of users, the video file server may scale the stored bit streams to a reduced bit rate before they are delivered over the channel to the respective users. The quality of the resulting scaled bit stream should not be significantly degraded compared to the quality of a hypothetical bit stream obtained by coding the original source material at the reduced rate. Complexity and cost is not a critical factor because only the file server has to be equipped with the scaling hardware, not respective users.
In Trick-play on Track Digital VTR systems, the video is scaled to create a side track on video tape recorders. This side track contains very coarse quality video sufficient to facilitate trick-modes on the VTR (e.g. fast forward and reverse scan at different speeds). Complexity and cost of scaling hardware included in these devices is of significant concern, because the VTR is a mass consumer item subject to mass production.
Another application of scaling is Extended-Play Recording on Digital VTRs. In this application, video is broadcast to users' homes at a certain broadcast quality (.about.6 Mbps for standard definition video and .about.24 Mbps for high definition video). With a scaling feature in their video tape recorders, users may record the video at a reduced rate, akin to extended play, EP, mode on today's VHS recorders, thereby recording a greater quantity of video program material onto a tape at lower quality.
In scaling, the higher quality of the information in the original signal should be exploited as much as possible, and the resulting image quality of the new signal with a lower bit rate should be as high as possible, or as close as possible to one created by coding the original source video at the reduced rate. It is assumed that for a given data rate the original source is encoded in an optimal way.

Method and apparatus for scaling a compressed video bitstream


A method is presented for reducing the light output capacity of light emitting components (C1, C2, C3), each with a different absorption band, of an OLED device (1). By irradiating at least a portion of each light emitting component (C1, C2, C3) with light (L) having a wavelength within at least one of the absorption bands, the light output capacity of the irradiated portion (P, P1, P2, P3) of each organic light emitting component having a light absorption band in which the wavelength of the light (L) is included is reduced. An OLED device (1) is also presented.

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are in many ways considered as the future in many lighting applications. For instance, patterning of OLEDs is an attractive feature for e.g. ambient lighting. Full 2-dimensional images can be made using a single OLED device, while maintaining intrinsic advantages of OLEDs, such as attractiveness, a diffuse area light source, etc.
It is known to alter light emitting properties of an OLED device during the fabrication of an OLED device, using photolithography.
US 2003/0186078 discloses RGB-patterning of OLED devices for the fabrication of an electroluminescent display. Individual color pixels are formed by doping a common blue-emitting host with two or more photo-bleachable dopants, such as red and green organic materials. Light at wavelengths proximate to the maximum absorption peaks of the guest materials to be photo-bleached is radiated onto the surface of the material in the presence of oxygen. The combination of light and oxygen bleaches the desired emitting species and renders it non-emissive, thus changing the color of the mixture of emitting species.
However, a drawback with this solution is that it is complicated in that there need to be specific conditions for the patterning.


A scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus are provided. The scanning apparatus includes a scanner body including a platen on which a document is placed, a platen cover that is pivoted between a closed position where the platen is covered and an open position where the platen cover is separated from the platen, a hinge unit that pivotably connects the platen cover to the main body between the closed position and the open position, an elastic member that provides a first elastic force such that the platen cover does not fall due to a self-weight of the platen cover in a first pivot section, and a damping spring that applies to the platen cover a second elastic force that mitigates a fall impact of the platen cover onto the closed position due to the self-weight of the platen cover in a second pivot section.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a scanning apparatus reading images from a document and an image forming apparatus employing the scanning apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A scanning apparatus is an apparatus to irradiate light onto a document and receiving light reflected from the document to read images recorded on the document. The scanning apparatus may be classified as a flatbed type, in which a document is located at a fixed position and a scanning member such as a contact type image sensor (CIS) or a charge coupled device (CCD) reads images while moving, a document feed type, in which a scanning member is fixed at a location and a document is moved to be read, and a combined type thereof. A scanning apparatus may be used alone or as a multifunction printer in which a scanning apparatus and a printer or a copier that includes a printing unit printing images on a paper are combined.
The scanning apparatus includes a main body including a platen on which a document is placed and a platen cover that covers the platen. The platen cover may be pivoted between an open position and a closed position. The platen cover may be pivoted to the open position and a document placed on the platen, and the platen cover may be pivoted again to the closed position.
To prevent the platen cover from falling from the open position to the closed position due to its self-weight, a damper structure may be provided in the scanning apparatus. The damper structure gives pivot resistance to the platen cover such that the platen cover does not fall to the closed position in a section at a predetermined opening angle or greater (free stop section). Thus, in a section at an angle less than the predetermined opening angle, the platen cover falls due to its self-weight to thereby be pivoted to the closed position.

Scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus employing the same


A method and apparatus for providing data communication between a source station having multiple connections to a first switch and a destination station having multiple connections to a second switch. A trunk identifier to each port on the first switch and each port on the second switch. A data frame is encoded with the trunk identifier for an ingress port on the first switch. The data frame is sent to the second switch from the first switch. A list of egress ports for the destination station is obtained from a station list contained in the second switch. An egress port is selected from the list of egress ports based upon the source address, destination address and trunk identifier. The data frame is sent to the destination station through the selected egress port.

This invention relates generally to data communications networks, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for trunking of physical ports that reside on different switches within the network.
Computer networks are used to interconnect many computing resources, including computers, workstations, servers, printers, modems, and storage devices. For example, two or more computers may be connected together through a network. Network users are able to share files, printers and other resources, send messages and run applications on remote computers. An important part of any computer network includes the physical components or network communications devices used to interconnect the computing resources.
One network communications device used to interconnect multiple computing resources is a chassis-based system designed to accommodate a number of internal cards. The computing resources such as computers are coupled to the internal cards of the chassis-based system. Once the computers are coupled to the internal cards, the computers are coupled to the network. To accommodate network growth, additional internal cards may be purchased and added to the chassis-based system. With the additional internal cards installed, additional computing resources may be added to the network. A disadvantage of these chassis-based systems is that there is a relatively large initial investment when purchasing the chassis because of the large amount of overhead associated with chassis-based systems.
An alternative to expensive chassis-based systems is the use of less expensive standalone network communications devices or units that have a fixed number of ports for connecting computing resources or stations to the network. Such standalone network communications devices include stackable switches or the like. Although additional ports can not be added to each individual standalone unit, separate standalone units can be stacked, cascaded or coupled to accommodate network growth. As a result, there is a lower startup cost when establishing a computer network with the standalone units in comparison with chassis-based systems. Furthermore, network administrators still have the flexibility to increase the size of the network with the less-expensive standalone units.
FIG. 1 illustrates multiple network communications devices 103, 105, 107, 109 and 111 coupled together to form a computer network 101. Multiple computing resources (not shown) are coupled to each network communications device 103, 105, 107, 109 and 111. In one embodiment, network communications devices 103, 105, 107, 109 and 111 are stackable switches coupled together through bus 113. Bus 113 is used to tie together the switch network fabric of computer network 101. It are noted by one of ordinary skill in the art that the utilization of bus 113 is an extension of the chassis-based designs discussed earlier. The internal cards of the chassis-based systems are commonly coupled to high speed buses within the chassis-based systems.
The use of stackable switches allows network administrators to build systems having multiple physical ports to a computing resource with a high data bandwidth requirement, such as a network file server. Multiple physical ports to a single resource is known as multi-link trunking, and allows load balancing, where the network traffic to a single computing resource can be shared across the physical ports to the resource.
Known systems allow trunking to a single computing resource only if the multiple physical ports to the resource are all connected to the same network switch. However, it is common for a single computing resource to have physical ports to more than one switch. If the physical links on different switches cannot be trunked, the available bandwidth of the extra links is often wasted. In addition, unless data frames can be sent through local trunks, bandwidth is wasted because duplicate frames typically must be sent to all switches on the network. Therefore, there is a need to enable trunking of physical ports that reside on different switches within the network. There is a future need to forward data frames through local trunks.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing data communication between a source station having multiple connections to a first switch and a destination station having multiple connections to a second switch. A trunk identifier to each port on the first switch and each port on the second switch. A data frame is encoded with the trunk identifier for an ingress port on the first switch. The data frame is sent to the second switch from the first switch. A list of egress ports for the destination station is obtained from a station list contained in the second switch. An egress port is selected from the list of egress ports based upon the source address, destination address and trunk identifier. The data frame is sent to the destination station through the selected egress port.

Distributed multi-link trunking method and apparatus


Methods and compositions for identifying an agent (e.g., a gene product or small molecule compound) that modulates a Parkinson's disease phenotype are provided. In practicing the subject methods, a non-mammalian animal model, such as Drosophila melanogaster, that includes a mutant parkin gene and at least one other mutant gene are evaluated for a Parkinson's disease phenotype. Also provided are kits, and systems for practicing the subject methods, as well as methods of use of agents identified in the screening method of the invention.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. There is evidence for oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, aberrant proteolytic processes and dysfunctional immune surveillance playing roles in the pathogenesis of PD, however the molecular mechanisms of the involvement of these processes are currently unclear. Although most PD is sporadic, recent work has led to the identification of heritable forms of this disorder. The identification of genes associated with these heritable forms of PD has shed light on processes thought to be important for degeneration in sporadic PD, and analysis of genes that are mutated in heritable forms of PD has begun to further define molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis.
Loss-of-function mutations in the parkin gene have been shown to be a major cause for early onset PD, and there is increasing evidence for the role of Parkin in late-onset and sporadic PD as well. Parkin has been shown to be an E3 ligase in the ubiquitin protein degradation pathway, which suggests that accumulation of Parkin substrates leads to the death of dopaminergic neurons.
It has been demonstrated that Drosophila parkin null mutants exhibit flight muscle degeneration with accompanying mitochondrial pathology (Greene et al., PNAS, 100(7):4078-4083 (2003)). The most striking phenotype resulting from loss of Drosophila parkin function is apoptotic muscle degeneration. Ultrastructural analysis of Drosophila parkin mutants demonstrated profound mitochondrial pathology in flight muscle and the male germline. Parkin mutants also show partial pupal lethality and locomotor phenotypes which are rescued by expression of a parkin cDNA in muscle tissue.
To date, nine substrates of Parkin have been identified, pointing to a variety of hypotheses about the role that Parkin plays in the cell. Some of the identified substrates implicate specific cellular pathways in parkin etiology. For example, the putative G-protein coupled receptor Pael-R was identified as a substrate of Parkin. As accumulation of Pael-R induces the unfolded-protein response/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, this suggests that ER stress plays a role in Parkin pathology. Cyclin E has also been identified as a Parkin substrate, and a buildup of Cyclin E could lead to inappropriate activation of the cell cycle and subsequent apoptosis of DA neurons. Metabolism of Lewy body components has also been suggested as a role for Parkin by the demonstration that an o-glycosylated form of α-synuclein and the α-synuclein-interacting protein Synphilin can be Parkin substrates as well. Though the identification of Parkin substrates suggests pathways which may be important in pathology, the roles of these factors in Parkin pathogenesis is not well defined. The number of substrates identified and the lack of correspondence in studies investigating some of these factors further confounds any conclusions to be drawn about their role in Parkin pathogenesis.
Accordingly, there remains a need in this art for developing non-human animal models and methods for identifying agents that affect the PD phenotype, including methods for screening agents for use in treating Parkinson's disease, and the like. The present invention addresses this need.

Methods and compositions for screening for modulators of Parkinson's disease


A spinning reel includes a rotor rotatable relative to a reel body and supporting a bail. The rotor defines a plurality of teeth on an inner peripheral wall thereof. The reel body has a pawl mounted in a forward position thereof for engaging the teeth. The pawl is controllable by a cam rotatable through a wire spring interlocked to a rotor drive shaft. The cam retracts the pawl from the teeth when the drive shaft rotates in a line winding direction, and allows the pawl under a spring load to engage one of the teeth when the drive shaft rotates in a line unwinding direction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to spinning reels, and more particularly to a technique for preventing backward rotation of a rotor supporting a bail.
2. Description of the Related Art
A spinning reel having a device for stopping backward rotation of a rotor is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1988-64, for example. This prior reel includes a ratchet wheel mounted on a drive shaft for taking up a fishing line, and a cam-like control element operable through a friction structure. When the drive shaft rotates in a direction to take up the fishing line, the drive shaft changes the position of the control element. As a result, pawls become disengaged from the ratchet wheel, thereby stopping sounds of contact therebetween.
This prior construction has the advantages of being quiet at a line winding time and reducing wear of the pawls and the like. However, since the ratchet wheel is mounted on the drive shaft interlocked to a line winding handle, the ratchet wheel must have a limited number of teeth. When the angler swings a fishing rod in an attempt to land a fish, for example, the rotor often rotates backward due to a distance between adjacent teeth of the ratchet wheel.
This allows the fishing line to be unwound at least by an amount corresponding to an amount of backward rotation of the rotor, which results in a delay in the timing of fish landing action, and produces a shock. Thus, there is room for improvement.

Spinning reel having a device for preventing backward rotation of a rotor