The present invention relates to a system, method and article of manufacture wherein a plurality of objects, components, programming interfaces and user interfaces are defined to facilitate a universally applicable editing, testing and execution system for a plurality of configurable data processing systems and the edit-time data that drives them. A meta-model provides for the specification of formations of edit-time data and constraints thereof and meta-model data specifies the allowable formations of edit-time data. Coded logic steps interpret meta-model data together with edit-time data to cause a user interface to visually represent edit-time data to the user in a specified formation. The system is comprised in such a way as to not require source code changes to support varied and unanticipated edit-time data models resulting from different instantiations of the meta-model into meta-model data.

A typical background art "processor" system involves a processing module with processing instructions coded into the module. Typically, the process is comprised of the following steps:                A) Loading data from a data store into the module,        B) Signaling the module to process the data,        C) Exposing the results of the processing either by updating the run-time data or writing the results to a display, a data store, a printer output, or some other output representation.
A well known enhancement the background art "processor" called a "processor with options" includes enhancing the processing module to accept optional parameters to alter the run-time behavior of the processing module.
A lesser known enhancement to the background art "processor with options" called a "configurable processor" includes enhancing the processor module to be comprised of very flexible and loosely-coupled processing instructions that can be executed, ignored, or executed repeatedly in arbitrary combinations. Which instructions are executed, how frequently, and in what sequence and combination is specified in a formation of data that is specified at edit-time and conforms to a specification that is interpretable by the "configurable processor" module. Those skilled in the art have called the technique used in a "configurable processor" Dynamic Object Technology, Agent-Based Heuristic technology, and Dynamic Algorithm Technology, among other names.
The "processor with options" typically supports a list of optional parameters sometimes called 'flags' or 'switches'. A very simple example of a "processor with options" is the 'xcopy' module in a popular disk operating system. 'xcopy' can copy a file or a directory of files from one location on a computer storage medium to another. The 'xcopy' module is signaled to begin processing with a command such as:                "xcopy c:\rootdir\*.* c:\otherdir".
This indicates that the module should copy all files in "C:\rootdir\" and place the copies in "c:\otherdir\".
The behavior of the 'xcopy' module can be altered with optional parameters. The 'xcopy' module can alternately be signaled with the command:                "xcopy c:\rootdir\*.* c:\otherdir\/D02-13-99".
This indicates that the module should only copy files in "C:\rootdir\" that were modified on or after Feb. 13, 1999 and place the copies in "c:\otherdir\". The 'xcopy' module can furthermore be signaled with the command:                "xcopy c:\rootdir\*.* c:\otherdir\/D02-13-99/F".
This indicates that the module should only copy files in "C:\rootdir\" that were modified on or after Feb. 13, 1999, place the copies in "c:\otherdir\". The "/F" option further indicates that 'xcopy' should display the names of the files as they are being copied. The 'xcopy' module supports nearly two dozen optional behaviors in this way.
This pattern of "processor with options" is useful where there is a relatively small number of optional behaviors available and where the optional behaviors are to be applied globally to the process. When more sophisticated behavioral control is required, the pattern quickly becomes unwieldy and a "configurable processor" is called for. For example if it is necessary to be able to specify different optional behaviors at different subdirectories a "processor with options" pattern command might look like:                "xcopy c:\rootdir\*.* c:\otherdir\/D02-13-99 /X-c:\rootdir\childdir D02-19-99 /X-c:\rootdir\otherchilddir D01-14-99/F".
This indicates that the module should copy files from "c:\rootdir\" to "c:\otherdir\". Files in "c:\rootdir\childdir" should only be copied if they were modified after Feb. 19, 1999, Files in "c:\rootdir\otherchilddir" should only be copied if they were modified after Jan. 14, 1999, all other files should only be copied if they were modified after Feb. 13, 1999. Finally, the names of all copied files should be displayed as they are copied.
In this toy example, the configuration is still comprehensible and it is easy to see how the same results could be achieved by issuing multiple separate command signals. However, real production situations requiring a "configurable processor" typically make use of a large amount of configuration data that is difficult for a human to specify in a "processor with options" format. Furthermore, the behaviors are typically interdependent and cannot be broken into multiple distinct signals that are easier to manage.
A more effective and visual way of representing the command above might be:
1.xcopy c:\rootdir\*.* c:\otherdir\2./D02-13-993./F"4./X-c:\rootdir\childdir5.D02-19-996./X-c:\rootdir\otherchilddir7.D01-14-99
Where lines 1–7 represent configuration data with line 1 being the base directive for the "configurable processor". Lines 2 and 3 represent optional configuration parameters for the base directive. Lines 4 and 6 represent additional localized directives and lines 5 and 7 represent optional configuration parameters of the 4 and 6 directives respectively.
Extrapolating from this example one can see that an appropriate and effective way to represent configuration data for a "configurable processor" is with a system of software objects. In the example, one Class of software object would represent a directive and a different Class of software object would represent an optional configuration parameter. Multiple directive objects and configuration parameter objects can be specified in a tree formation of arbitrary depth and breadth, allowing the user to exert great control over 'xcopy' operations. A real "configurable processor" might make use of dozens of different Classes of software objects in this way to support rich functionality that is very flexible and scales to a high degree of sophistication.
Restated, this technique facilitates the encapsulation of particles of functionality into a "configurable processor" which can be controlled with configuration data to exhibit a wide range of very sophisticated behaviors at runtime without the need change any source code.
In most cases a "configurable processor" requires configuration data to conform to a specification that it can interpret. This means that the configuration data must contain software objects that the "configurable processor" is aware of, and that the software objects must be connected with one another only in ways that the "configurable processor" is aware of.
Stated generally, for the universe of existing and unanticipated "configurable processors", specific formations of edit-time configuration data consist of a network of software objects instantiated and connected in a way that conforms to a specification required by the "configurable processor".
For non-trivial "configurable processors", the number of allowable Classes of software objects and the constraints placed on their connections and values makes the specification of valid edit-time data formations very complex. A supportive editing environment is necessary for humans to be able to specify valid edit-time data formations effectively. Unfortunately, editing environments of this type are typically many times more effort-intensive to create than the "configurable processor" engines themselves. This dilemma hampers innovation and limits the value of using a "configurable processor" to automate a complex task.
What is needed is facility for specifying, editing, validating, managing, testing, and deploying formations of configuration data for a multiplicity of edit-time data models. This will have the benefit of reducing the total effort and cost of employing "configurable processors".


The present invention encompasses an expression vector that is capable of generating a virus from a segmented genome. In particular, a single expression vector may be utilized to produce influenza virus in cultured cells. The expression vector can be delivered in a purified DNA form or by a suitably designed bacterial carrier to cells in culture or to animals. This invention increases the virus generation efficiency, which benefits vaccine development. The bacterial carrier harboring such a plasmid encoding an attenuated virus may be used as a vaccine against corresponding viral disease.

Influenza virus has caused three recorded pandemics. The 1918 influenza pandemic, also known as Spanish influenza, caused at least 675,000 deaths in the U.S. alone and up to 50 million deaths worldwide (1, 34). The 1957 influenza pandemic caused at least 70,000 deaths in U.S. and 1-2 million deaths worldwide (2, WHO). The 1968 influenza pandemic caused about 34,000 deaths in U.S. and 700,000 deaths worldwide (2, WHO). Since 2003, there were 411 human cases and 256 deaths of avian influenza from 15 countries (WHO). The estimated mortality is more than 60%, making the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus a potential candidate for the next influenza pandemic. The economic consequences of such a pandemic due to morbidity and health care delivery would be staggering.
The annual economic burden of influenza epidemics is also enormous. During a typical year in the United States, 30,000 to 50,000 persons die as a result of influenza virus infection, and the global death toll is about 20 to 30 times higher than the toll in this country (26). Based on the 2003 US population, annual influenza epidemics result in an average of 610,660 life-years lost, 3.1 million hospitalized days, and 31.4 million outpatient visits with the total direct medical costs averaging up to $10.4 billion annually. Projected lost earnings due to illness and loss of life amounted to $16.3 billion annually. The total economic burden of annual influenza epidemics using projected statistical life values amounted to $87.1 billion (20). The aforementioned socio-economic factors make influenza one of the critical infectious agents and hence a vaccine to prevent the resulting pandemics is highly warranted.
The three-recorded pandemics and most yearly global outbreaks of influenza are caused by influenza A virus (3, 13, 31, 32, 35). The virus belongs to the family Orthomyxoviridae, and contains a segmented negative-strand RNA genome. Influenza viral RNAs (vRNAs) associate with influenza RNA polymerase complex (PBI, PB2, PA), and nucleoprotein (NP) to make up a set of ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) (14, 21, 25). RNPs are both critical and essential constituents that mediate transcription or replication of vRNA. RNP can be reconstituted in vitro by incubating purified influenza polymerase and nucleoprotein with vRNA transcribed from template DNA (17). The reconstituted RNP has catalytic properties very similar to those of native viral RNP complexes. In the presence of influenza helper virus the recombinant RNP can be amplified and packaged into virus particles in a eukaryotic host cell, a process commonly known as RNP transfection (17) that also enables site-directed mutagenesis of any single component of the influenza virus genome (8). However, the need to select recombinant virus from the mixture of helper viruses and low viral yield demand more sophisticated approaches for the construction of recombinant influenza virus for the production of vaccines that need to be modified annually.
Effort to construct recombinant influenza virus using modern genetic tools for potential application in vaccines has escalated since the early 1990's. The primary objective is to generate influenza virus from plasmid constructs that can be transfected into a broad range of host cells to provide high viral yields with minimum selection from helper virus. In vivo synthesis of vRNA-like molecules was introduced by using RNA polymerase I (Pol I) dependent transcription of viral RNA (24, 37). In a typical plasmid construct, influenza cDNA is inserted precisely between the murine Pol I promoter and terminator sequences. Upon transfection, vRNA synthesized in the cells is bound by influenza polymerase and nucleoprotein that are provided by helper viruses. However, one major disadvantage in this technique is the cumbersome process of selecting recombinant influenza from the mixture containing the helper viruses. By combining intracellular synthesis of vRNAs and proteins, two reverse genetics systems free of helper virus were established by co-transfection of 12-17 plasmids (9, 23). Both systems utilize eight plasmids to encode vRNAs and four plasmids to encode three viral polymerase subunits and a nucleoprotein. The addition of plasmids expressing the remaining viral structural proteins led to a substantial increase in virus production. Thus, limiting the number of plasmid constructs to generate influenza virus still remained a challenge.
The "ambisense" approach that utilizes two promoters on a bidirectional transcription vector is the first major breakthrough to reduce the number of plasmids required for virus generation (11). In this approach, a Pol I promoter drives the synthesis of vRNA from a cDNA template, whereas, RNA polymerase II (Pol II) promoter drives the synthesis of mRNA from the same template in the opposite direction. A system with eight plasmids (i.e., an eight-plasmid system) was developed using the dual promoter technique, which successfully recovered influenza virus from Vero cells (11). A unidirectional Pol I-Pol II transcription system was also reported, however, it suffers from lower viral yield (11). A much-improved method is the generation of influenza virus using a three-plasmid based reverse genetics system (22). Here, one plasmid carries eight Pol I promoter-driven vRNA transcribing cassettes, another plasmid encodes the three viral polymerase subunits and the third plasmid encodes the nucleoprotein. This three-plasmid system, although arduous to construct, yields higher titers of influenza virus than any of the earlier approaches (22). Use of this technique to generate seed for influenza vaccine would thus require two plasmids individually providing HA and NA from epidemic virus, and three plasmid constructs together to provide the remaining components, making it a "2+3" approach.
Vaccines are necessary to prevent influenza outbreaks. To date, the inactivated and attenuated influenza vaccines commercially available for humans are administered either by injection or by nasal-spray. Influenza vaccine seeds are generated by DNA constructs based on reverse genetics system using the "2+6" strategy, where the HA and NA segments are taken from the circulating strain of influenza virus and the remaining 6 structural segments are taken from either the high productive strain PR8 (A/PR/8/34) or the cold-adapted strain (e.g. A/AA/6/60) (4, 10, 12). The current technology in making influenza vaccines relies on using embryonated eggs, which is time-consuming (takes up to four months), has low viral yield and is a cumbersome procedure.
Use of bacterial species to deliver plasmid DNA encoding viral components in the target host cell is an economical and less cumbersome approach to develop vaccines against influenza virus. However, the challenge would be to minimize the number of plasmid constructs so that it would be much easier to ensure the down stream processes involved in virus generation in a eukaryotic host cell.
The above-mentioned factors present a strong need for a single plasmid system for generating influenza virus to develop an inexpensive, ease of manufacture, quickly modifiable and needle-free influenza vaccine. The present invention addresses the design of a single expression vector for generation of virus, and a bacterial carrier based virus generation system, which could be used to develop vaccines against corresponding viral diseases.

Single expression vector for generation of a virus with a segmented genome

Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University


A mannequin head for use in make-up practice instead of a human body. The mannequin head has at least one human-face-like face section either on the rear or front surface thereof. With the single mannequin head of this invention, a variety of make-up practice can be done. With this single mannequin of this invention, the make-up practice can be effectively done and a user can have an economical benefits.

This invention relates to a mannequin head for use in repeated make-up practice, which is used instead of a human body.
Making up eyes and lips symmetrically and balancedly is especially difficult even to a make-up specialist. Consequently, a large amount of repeated practice is required for a make-up specialist as well as an ordinary people.
In many make-up academies, apprentices do eye and lip make-up practice repeatedly to acquire such difficult skill.
Doing make-up practice with a human face is not desirable because of the following reasons.
At first, skin will easily get rough, due to the chemical property of cosmetics. Secondly, it is difficult for a make-up model to maintain a stationary motion for comparatively a long time. Thirdly, it is difficult for a make-up artist to freely move to her desired location.
In view of the above, a mannequin is widely used in such make-up academies.
The conventional mannequin or mannequin head has been used for make-up practice.
Such a mannequin or mannequin head is easy to carry and may be used repeatedly for several times. However, it is monotonous and not efficient.
That is, a make-up for men and women is different. Accordingly, a beauty artist or disguise artist should do a various make-up practice according to the subject people. For example, the kind of make-up varies with the size of eye, and the thickness and length of eyebrow.
With a mannequin of a predetermined shaped lip, various kinds of make-up practice can not be done.
Furthermore, the prior art mannequin having a motonous face should be cleaned whenever the practice is finished, for next practice. The cleaning process requires a large amount of time. Furthermore, it is impossible to compare one make-up face with another one, whereby a make-up skill can not be improved.
Accordingly, for improving the make-up technology with the prior art mannequin, a number of different mannequins have to be purchased, thus increasing expense. Furthermore, it is inconvenient to keep carry the number of the mannequins and a user should bear a heavy burden.

Mannequin head for use in make-up practice and method of use


Client side based data synchronization and storage is accomplished through a smart way of data off-lining coupled with a synchronization technique implemented on the client side that does not require any modifications to the server side. The customized client utilizes the server as a temporary placeholder for document synchronization. Attached documents to an item will be off-loaded from the client based on a predetermined policy. The clients make off-line copies of the items and documents. The server will maintain only the document store skeleton or metadata for such processed items. Any client which has not made an off-line copy of an item will pass a synchronization request via the server to the other clients so that at least one of its peers may upload the document onto the server. The requesting client can then retrieve the item from the server and synchronize/off-line that item on its local store.

This application relates to shared data store implementations, such as a mailbox or public folders, and more particularly, to a client side based data synchronization and storage solution to problems currently facing such shared data store implementations.
In a typical shared data store implementation, such as a mailbox or public folders, the updated data store structure and the contents are kept available and updated by a server. The clients' document stores are synchronized with their associated server(s). This architecture requires a huge server storage capacity and fast data access to support a typically large client base. As the client base continues to grow over time, it becomes increasing difficult to provide a large storage quota on the server for each client.
The server is responsible for managing a large number of accounts associated with the clients it serves. As the number of clients and associated accounts grow, maintaining a workable storage allotment for each client becomes problematic, requiring ever increasing hardware resources and increased expense. As clients begin to reach their storage limits, they may be required to spend time managing their account through periodically archiving data, and possibly establishing smart rules to help handle the storage load. However, once account items are moved to an archive, a majority of the online useful functionalities for those items is lost.
Another aspect compounding this problem is that a user may access his or her account from more than one client. The user may access his or her account from a desktop computer or laptop computer while in the office, a home computer or laptop computer when at home, or a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), laptop computer, or other portable computing device when traveling. Synchronization between the different clients can be problematic.
Analysis has shown that an average of between 70-80% of the storage space in a typical account is consumed by attachments for items stored in the account. These attached files and/or other types of attachments are the major consumers of space allotted for the account. For example, in a typical email server/client case a typical text/html email message without any attachments may require around two KB of memory, while the size of an average attachment requires around one MB of memory. Statistically, if the one MB attachment were removed, additional space would be freed up for storing approximately 600 more email messages. This condition is even worse if the mailbox contains multimedia attachments to the emails. Multimedia attachments are typically meant to be viewed once and deleted, but in most cases, they remain in the mailbox holding storage space equivalent to thousand of email messages. Also, users often tend to be undisciplined with management of the emails, such that the mailbox size may reach the maximum limit at inopportune times, forcing the user to stop what they are doing in order to delete or archive messages from their mailbox so that they can receive new items. Typically clients work on a single off-line data file, like an ".ost" file for Microsoft® Outlook®. This file grows with mailbox storage usage and the off-line features that are set. Working with such a single large off-line data file does not deliver high client performance. Also, this situation is not highly scalable.


A film of a polyethylene produced by polymerization catalysed by a single site catalyst and comprising as comonomers to ethylene at least two C4-12 alpha olefins, preferably but-1-ene and hex-1-ene.

Polyethylene (PE), in particular linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), films are widely used for packaging products, for example foodstuffs, liquids (e.g. detergent refills), etc. In such uses, the sealing properties of the film are particularly important. To address this, it is known to incorporate a comonomer in the PE in order to provide a lower melting point component in the polymer and so increase the hot tack property of the film. In this regard, it is known that incorporation of a hexene-ethylene copolymer in the LLDPE provides superior sealing properties to an LLDPE incorporating a butene-ethylene copolymer and that incorporation of an octene-ethylene copolymer provides superior properties to an LLDPE incorporating a hexene-ethylene copolymer.
The use of higher α-olefin comonomers, i.e. C4 or greater α-olefins, however increases the cost of the polymer product and, generally, the efficiency of comonomer incorporation decreases as the carbon content of the comonomer increases, i.e. hexene is less efficiently incorporated than butene and octene is less efficiently incorporated than hexene, etc.
We have now surprisingly found that by incorporating two different α-olefin comonomers a polyethylene film product may be produced which has superior sealing properties to the polyethylenes produced using either of the comonomers as the sole comonomer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


This invention relates to a microstrip to slotline transition circuit operating on two frequency bands, in which a first filtering circuit is connected between a first portion of microstrip line and a first input/output port, said first circuit and the portion of microstrip line being adapted to accept the frequencies from a first frequency band and reject the frequencies of a second frequency band, a second filtering circuit is connected between a second portion of microstrip line and a second input/output port, said second circuit and the portion of microstrip line being adapted to accept the frequencies from the second frequency band and reject the frequencies from the first frequency band, and the slotline is sized to provide an impedance that is substantially equal to the impedance of an open circuit at the coupling zone between the microstrip line and the slotline.

Wireless communication systems integrated into a gateway or a decoder are increasingly multi-mode and multi-standard. They can function on at least two different frequency bands. This therefore allows them to more effectively use the spectrum of available frequencies and satisfy growing needs for capacity and robustness. To meet these needs, in wireless systems based on the IEEE-802.11a/b/g standard, the usual solution is to use two radio bands at the same time, the first operating on the 2.4 GHz band to transmit only data and the second operating on the 5 GHz band to transmit only video.
To allow both transmission channels to coexist in a single device, both frequency bands must be isolated by about 40 dB in the RF front-end circuitry, as is normally requested. The most common solutions for providing the required isolation are shown by solutions A, B, and C in FIG. 1.
Schematically, solution A consists of using two antennas, marked Antenna #1 and Antenna #2, radiating in a relatively narrow band. These antennas can be physically separated on the device's circuit board to allow maximum isolation. Each antenna is connected to a specific processing circuit on ports F1 and F2 and through a filter 1 or 2. Filters 1 and 2, which are respectively a low pass filter for filter 1 and a high pass filter for filter 2, in the shown embodiment, improve the isolation between the two antennas. The main disadvantage of this solution is its size, which is not acceptable for dual-band MIMO systems that require multiple antennas.
Solution B shows a broadband antenna, marked A3, which is connected by a single transmission line to a diplexer 3 used for separating the two bands and transmit them to the processing circuit by means of input/output ports F1 and F2. This solution is less cumbersome than solution A. However, the design of the broadband antenna is more difficult, and the 40 dB isolation is obtained by filters, which are more complex to achieve than the filters in solution A.
In solution C, a broadband antenna A4 is also used, but in this case, the antenna is connected by two access lines to the diplexer. At the two access terminals F1, F2, an isolation of about 15 to 20 dB can be obtained, which reduces the constraints on filtering.
In a known manner, a broadband antenna can be realized by using a slot antenna, such as a TSA antenna (tapered slot antenna) or Vivaldi antenna. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a Vivaldi antenna is realized on a substrate S equipped with a ground plane formed by a metal layer in which is etched a slot 10 whose ends open out toward the edges of the substrate. This slot 10 can be fed by a microstrip line 11 on the substrate at a predetermined distance from the ground plane. This microstrip line 11 extends from an input/output port P1 and crosses the slot 10 substantially perpendicular to said slot, as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the Vivaldi antenna is fed by electromagnetic coupling along a microstrip/slotline transition circuit, known as a Knorr transition. To achieve the solution C described above, one can feed a Vivaldi type slot antenna 10 with two microstrip lines 12, 13 crossing the slotline extending the Vivaldi antenna into two different coupling zones, as shown in FIG. 3. A slot antenna, such as what is shown in FIG. 3, was described in the patent application published under no. WO 06/108567. To obtain proper isolation between the two input/output ports P′1 and P′2 and normalized impedance at the coupling zones to allow the Vivaldi antenna to operate on two bands, specific dimensions between the microstrip lines 12, 13 and the coupling zone must be respected, as described in the application mentioned above.
The solutions described above have a certain number of disadvantages. Solution B, which involves cascading a conventional microstrip-to-slotline transition, as described with reference to FIG. 2, with a diplexer, causes an increase in insertion losses, namely insertion losses due to the Knorr transition and insertion losses due to junctions shared with the diplexer.
With regard to solution C, it is complicated to implement because it is based on the use of multiple quarter-wave and half-wave lines, which leads to limitations in frequency bandwidth and distance between bands.

Dual-band microstrip-to-slotline transition circuit


In an embodiment of a ring laser gyroscope, a hollow bandgap fiber is filled with a gas or material that will generate laser beams within the fiber upon being excited by an energy source. A detector coupled to the fiber detects a standing wave pattern within the fiber, wherein changes in the detected standing wave pattern indicates a corresponding change in the orientation of the fiber.

This invention relates in general to gyroscopes and more specifically to ring laser gyroscopes.
Navigational systems represent an important use of gyroscopes since it is important to know and/or maintain a specific orientation of a vehicle or movable device relative to another location or object. A gyroscope outputs information related its change in orientation and hence can determine the orientation of the vehicle to which it is mounted. This output information can be processed and displayed to provide a measurement of the orientation of the vehicle and can also be used as a feedback signal coupled to a propulsion system to maintain a specified orientation of the vehicle.
Conventional gyroscopes with a spinning wheel make use of the effect of precession in which the spinning wheel maintains its orientation relative to the plane in which the wheel spends. Although spinning wheel gyroscopes have been effective, such gyroscopes have limitations in accuracy and durability due to friction and mechanical aspects associated with the spinning wheel.
The ring laser gyroscope represents an improvement over the spinning wheel gyroscope by eliminating the need for moving parts. The Sagnac effect is a relativistic effect related to the rotation of a closed optical path. The Sagnac effect in a ring laser results in a frequency difference between counter rotating laser beams (modes) when the ring is rotated such frequency difference being proportional to the angular rate about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the beam path. A conventional ring laser gyroscope uses a series of mirrors to reflect two free-space laser beams in opposite directions around a "ring". The ring consists of a triangle, rectangle, or other closed multiple-sided geometric configuration in which mirrors are disposed at the corners to reflect the laser beams along the adjacent straight legs in the configuration. The two laser beams create a virtual interference pattern or standing wave around the ring which remains stationary in inertial space. The movement of a ring laser gyroscope about the plane of the ring causes a shift of the position of the body of the gyroscope relative to the standing wave depending on the direction of the movement of the gyroscope. A detector coupled to the ring measures the position of the detector/ring relative to the standing wave and provides an output signal related to the change in orientation of the ring.
Extremely high-quality mirrors are required for conventional ring laser gyroscopes and must be made to exacting standards of flatness, high reflectivity, and low dispersion. Producing the mirrors to such exacting standards results in high manufacturing costs that must be reflected in the total cost of the gyroscope. Thus, there exists a need for an improved gyroscope that can substantially overcome the difficulties and costs associated with requiring multiple mirrors.

Ring laser gyroscope that does not require mirrors


A method of microwave assisted chemical reaction includes providing a microwavable reaction vessel which contains at least one material in a sample. The sample is heated by microwave energy to elevate the temperature of the reagent and at least partially volatilize the sample to establish a gas phase within the vessel followed by positive cooling of the gas phase to reduce the temperature and responsively reduce the pressure of the gas phase without effecting substantial cooling of the liquid phase. The method may involve employing cooling exteriorly of and adjacent to the gas phase containing portion of the vessel or cooling by means of a coolant flowing within coils disposed in the interior of the vessel or both. The process is preferably a continuous process. The apparatus may be a vessel transparent to microwave energy for receiving the sample. The vessel has space overlying the liquid phase containing portion for a gas phase. Structures for cooling means for positively cooling the gas phase to reduce the pressure of the gas phase without effecting substantial cooling of the reagent are provided. These structures for cooling may be contained within the vessel, exteriorly of the vessel or modification of the vessel configuration to facilitate gas phase cooling or combinations thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of microwave assisted chemical reactions, such as sample preparation, synthesis, derivatization or extraction which involves reduced pressure within the vessel and associated apparatus for accomplishing this objective.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of microwave energy in analytical chemistry to provide heat to assist chemical reactions has been known for approximately 15 years. See, generally, Mingos et al., Applications of Microwave Dielectric Heating Effects to Synthetic Problems in Chemistry, Chem. Soc. Rev. 1991, 20, pp. 1-47.
It has been known to employ such microwave heating in sample preparation. See, Kingston et al., Comparison of Microwave Versus Conventional Dissolution of Environmental Applications, Spectroscopy 7 (9) November/December 1992, pp. 20-27. One approach involves an open-vessel approach in which the result is achieved with the assist of microwave heating. An alternate approach is the so called "closed-vessel" microwave sample preparation.
It has been know to use microwave energy for various types of environmental processes. For example, microwave energy, such as that produced by a nominal or high intensity microwave oven, has been employed to extract pesticides from sediment samples. See, Onuska et al., Extraction of Pesticides from Sediments Using a Microwave Technique, Chromatographia, Vol. 36, pp. 191-194 (1993). Microwave heating has also been employed in effecting hydrolysis of proteins. See, Margolis et al., The Hydrolysis of Proteins by Microwave Energy, Journal of Automatic Chemistry, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 93-95 (May/June 1991).
It has also been known to employ microwave energy in a closed vessel digestion system wherein a closed Teflon PFA vessel has an organic sample, an inorganic sample or a combination subjected to acid decomposition under the influence of microwave energy. See, Kingston et al., Microwave Energy for Acid Decomposition at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures Using Biological and Botanical Samples, Anal. Chem., 58, pp. 2534-2541, (October, 1986).
In such closed vessel microwave sample preparation techniques, typically, one or more materials which will become the sample are mixed or dissolved in a suitable liquid reagent. The liquid reagent occupies a portion of the volume of the relatively small vessel and is subjected to chemical alteration under the influence of the microwave heating, thereby creating a gas phase in addition to the liquid phase within the vessel. The microwave heating results in increased temperatures and pressures within the vessel which can present a potential safety hazard through vessel failure. The increased temperature is required for advancement of the reaction rate, but the pressure is a property of the heat flow characteristics of the vessel and microwave interaction.
It has been known to control heat loss from the vessel by providing a jacket of thermal insulation around the vessel which also acts to strengthen the vessel. See, generally, Mingos et al., Applications of Microwave Dielectric Heating Effects to Synthetic Problems in Chemistry, Chem. Soc. Rev., 1991, 20, pp. 1-47 and Chapter 6, Introduction to Microwave Sample Preparation Theory and Practice by Kingston et al., American Chemical Society, 1988, pp. 93-154.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,715 discloses a method of digesting materials which are dispersed in an acid digesting medium, which dispersion is subjected to microwave heating in a first chamber and then both the gas and liquid phases of the dispersion are cooled in another chamber. There is no segregated cooling of the gas phase while heating the liquid phase. There is also no recognition of the pressure relationship between the gas phase and liquid phase during microwave radiation.
In prior art practices, pressure within the vessel has been permitted to form at whatever natural level occurred due to the specific reagents, temperature, reaction products, microwave interaction and heat flow of the vessel.
There remains, therefore, a very real and substantial need for a more efficient and safe means of microwave sample preparation in a closed vessel.

Method and apparatus for microwave assisted chemical reactions


There is provided a plasma processing apparatus which compares a plurality of patterns detected using an interference light intensity pattern using a wavelength from at least one preset film of the plurality of film layers as a parameter and an intensity pattern using a wavelength of light from the other film as a parameter and an light intensity pattern from inside the processing chamber which is detected during processing of the film to be processed; and compares a film thickness corresponding to one of the plurality of patterns having a minimum difference obtained by the comparison and a target film thickness; and determines that the thickness of the film to be processed reaches the target film thickness.

The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus or a plasma processing method for processing a substrate sample such as a semiconductor wafer disposed in a processing chamber inside a vacuum container using a plasma generated in the processing chamber, and more particularly to a plasma processing apparatus or a plasma processing method for processing the sample while determining the thickness or depth of a film during processing using light from a sample surface.
For semiconductor wafer fabrication, dry etching is widely used to remove a layer made of various materials formed on a wafer surface and particularly to remove a layer made of a dielectric material or to form a pattern thereon. The dry etching device plasmarizes a process gas introduced in the processing chamber inside the vacuum container to form ions and radicals, which are made to react with a wafer for wafer etching processing.
In a dry etching process of a semiconductor wafer, emitted-light intensity of a specific wavelength in plasma light changes with progress of etching of a member to be processed. In view of this, there is a conventional method of detecting a semiconductor wafer etching end point, in which a change in emitted-light intensity of a specific wavelength is detected from a plasma during the dry etching process and based on the detection results, the etching end point where the member to be processed is completely removed by etching is detected.
For example, there is a process of applying a mask material on the wafer and then etching a silicon substrate to form a groove for electrically isolating elements on the wafer in the silicon substrate. In this case, it is important to etch the silicon substrate to a predetermined depth amount before terminating the process.
Examples of the method include a method in which when plasma light is observed using optical emission spectroscopy, silicon depth increases with etching progress; light dispersed thereby forms an interference waveform, and an interference signal corresponding to the interference waveform is used to measure the depth.
There is known a method disclosed in JP-A-2010-34582, where a known light beam from outside is incident on a wafer, the wavelength of three light beams reflected from the wafer are observed, and a frequency analysis is performed thereon to calculate the etching depth.
There is known another method disclosed in JP-A-2003-83720, where interference light produced by plasma light reflected by the member to be processed is observed and the interference waveform is separated into a mask component and a step component by a wavelength band to calculate the etching depth.

Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method


Various systems and methods for determining micro-shorts are disclosed. For example, some embodiments of the present invention provide battery systems including a determination of potential micro-shorts based on rate of change of state of charge. Such battery systems include: a battery, a processor, and a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes instructions executable by the processor to: determine a rate of change of the state of charge of the battery; compare the rate of change of the state of charge of the battery against a threshold; and indicate a potential failure where the result of the comparison is beyond the threshold.

The present invention is related to battery monitoring, and more particularly to systems and methods for detecting internal battery degradation.
A number of electronic devices utilize rechargeable batteries and associated charging systems. A rechargeable battery may be repeatedly charged and discharged over the course of its useful life. The process of charging and discharging is generally performed without incident other than the typical operational degradation of the battery over the course of operation. Indeed, most battery failure mechanisms operate to gradually decrease useful battery life and do not cause a safety hazard.
At times one or more mechanisms may come into play that result in the catastrophic battery failure. For example, during operation manufacturing defects or gradual structural or chemical degradation may result in the separation of small metallic particles or other conductive particles inside of a battery. These particles can cause internal short circuits that in some cases may result possible fire or explosion of the battery. Such a catastrophic battery failure may thus result not only in loss of the battery itself, but may result in considerable property damage and personal injury.
Some electronic devices employ an external protection circuit to detect increasing battery temperature or overheating. When an overheating event is detected, the battery may be disconnected from a circuit to which it is connected. This approach offers some ability to limit damage to an external circuit due to undesirable battery behavior, however, at times the overheating is a sign of an irreversible process that ultimately results in a fire or explosion regardless of any process disconnecting the battery from surrounding circuitry. Thus, while the aforementioned external circuits offer some level of protection, the possibility of fire or explosion still remains.
Thus, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems, circuits and methods for determining potential battery failure.

Systems, methods and circuits for determining micro-short


In a network including a relay apparatus, a relay apparatus management part, a communication management server for controlling communication between communication terminals including a mobile communication terminal, and a messaging server, a communication support system that supports an establishment of connection between communication terminals includes a communication information acquiring part for, in a case where communication cannot be established between a mobile communication terminal and a partner-side terminal due to the congestion of communication, receiving terminal data thereof, a relay apparatus specifying part for specifying an alternative relay apparatus, and a message control part for causing a messaging server to perform processing of transmitting an inquiry message for inquiring about a possibility of movement to a coverage area of the alternative relay apparatus and processing of transmitting a content of a response message. The communication support system enables a rapid transition to a state in which communication between the mobile communication terminal and the partner-side terminal can be established, by allowing information to be exchanged between both the terminals, even in a case where the communication between the terminal and the relay apparatus is congested.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication support system, a communication support method, a communication support program, and a communication terminal for supporting the establishment of connection between communication terminals including a mobile communication terminal in a computer network used by a mobile communication terminal that performs wireless transmission.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, for example, as in an IP telephone via a wireless local area network (LAN), a mobile communication terminal that provides a telephone function via wireless network has become widespread. The mobile communication terminal that provides a telephone function via wireless network enables a telephone function with a terminal on a partner side by performing wireless transmission with a relay apparatus (e.g., an access point of a wireless LAN, etc.). In such a wireless data transmission system, a plurality of mobile communication terminals exist in a coverage area of a relay apparatus, whereby a plurality of mobile communication terminals perform wireless transmission with a relay apparatus simultaneously. In this case, a plurality of mobile communication terminals share a transmission bandwidth available in the relay apparatus, and perform wireless transmission respectively. Therefore, in the case where the number of mobile communication terminals that provide telephone functions simultaneously via one relay apparatus increases, the transmission bandwidth becomes insufficient. Consequently, at a mobile communication terminal, delays in audio transmission from a terminal on a partner side is increased, and a noise such as a sound break occurs. This problem may occur in the case of streaming data such as music or a moving picture by streaming, as well as in the case of providing a telephone function.
In order to prevent the shortage of a transmission bandwidth in a relay apparatus, for example, a method has been adopted for rejecting the establishment of a telephone connection via the relay apparatus when the amount of a transmission bandwidth unoccupied by mobile communication terminals in the relay apparatus is not sufficient. Furthermore, in the case where a mobile communication terminal transmits a request for establishing a telephone connection, and the transmission bandwidth unoccupied in the relay apparatus is small, the following method is adopted: the mobile communication terminal is notified of a relay apparatus in which an enough transmission bandwidth for other telephone connections remains sufficiently (for example, see JP 2005-33707 A).
However, the above-mentioned conventional example is effective only when the transmission bandwidth in a relay apparatus of a mobile communication terminal on a calling side is insufficient. In the case where the transmission bandwidth in a relay apparatus of a mobile communication terminal on a receiving side is insufficient, a telephone connection cannot be established. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the following method is adopted: communication is started by moving to a coverage area of the relay apparatus in which an available transmission bandwidth remains sufficiently, followed by retransmitting. However, a mobile communication terminal of a partner, with which the above-mentioned mobile communication terminal desires to provide a telephone function at a time of reconnecting, may have moved outside of the coverage area. In order to establish a telephone connection, it is necessary to set up conditions for starting the communication at both the mobile communication terminals on a transmitting side and a receiving side. For this purpose, it is desired that requested information on the establishing of a telephone connection be delivered to both the mobile communication terminals.

Communication support system, communication support method, communication support program, and communication terminal


Provided are systems for transferring a composition, the systems comprising a transparent grid substrate; lines on a surface of the transparent grid substrate, the lines comprising symmetrical grid lines and a proportional border around the symmetrical grid lines; said symmetrical lines being of an equal number vertically as horizontally, creating rectangles in the same proportion as the proportional border, thereby making a proportional grid. The systems further comprise a substantially uninterrupted transparent surface that receives a composition related to a scene, the scene viewed through the substantially uninterrupted transparent surface and the transparent grid substrate. The transparent grid substrate and substantially uninterrupted transparent surface are coupled such that the symmetrical grid lines and proportional border facilitate drawing the composition directly on the substantially uninterrupted surface in direct proportion to the size of a final substrate. Also provided are methods, the methods comprising selecting a scene; framing the scene with a transparent proportional drawing grid comprising a transparent grid substrate, the scene viewed through the drawing grid. The methods further comprise sketching a composition of the scene on a substantially uninterrupted transparent surface, the sketching directed on the substantially uninterrupted transparent surface by a proportional border and symmetrical grid lines affixed to the transparent grid substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention herein relates generally to a method and system for transferring an artist's composition to a drawing pad or canvas. More specifically, a method and system for more quickly, easily, and accurately sketching a composition of a scene and proportionally transferring the composition to a drawing pad or canvas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drawing and painting on location can be very frustrating, especially creating a quality composition and then fitting the composition properly on paper or canvas. Grids have been primarily designed and used for copying and transferring a scene to a final substrate. Most grids to date have been somewhat complicated to set up, are not easy to transport, and/or are not effective for most applications, therefore, they are not commonly used.
Artists generally have not succeeded in reducing uncertainties associated with the processes of, first, sketching a composition and, second, transferring the composition to the final drawing pad or canvas. Currently artists primarily use the naked eye when sketching the scale and spatial relationships of different features from a scene to a composition. Similarly, artists also primarily use the naked eye when transferring and scaling a composition to the final drawing pad or canvas.
Thus, a need persists for ways of more quickly, easily, and accurately sketching a composition of a scene, and proportionally transferring the composition to a drawing pad or canvas.

Composition transfer proportional drawing grids


A method of protecting a part of a surface of an aircraft against contamination with insect residues and/or against icing is described. The method includes the following steps:                a) coating the part of the surface to be protected with a coating that can, within a period of ≦3 hours from take-off of the aircraft and in normal flying conditions, reduce the adhesion to the part of the surface to be protected until detachment occurs on the basis of (i) temperature change and/or (ii) UV radiation and/or (iii) addition of a decomposing component and/or (iv) difference in air humidity, and        b) exposing the part of the surface to be protected to (i) a temperature change and/or (ii) UV irradiation (iii) and/or addition of a decomposing component and/or (iv) a difference in air humidity, so that the coating together with any contaminants and/or icing thereon detaches.

It is desirable, for economic and ecological reasons, for aircraft to have the lowest possible fuel consumption. Aircraft of the current generation are as a rule operated with kerosene, and it is assumed at present that kerosene-based fuels will also be the predominant fuel source in future. The costs for corresponding fuels are expected to rise further in future.
There are several approaches for lowering the fuel consumption of aircraft: For example, the use of new materials leads to weight reduction and therefore also to a decrease in fuel consumption. An important approach for lowering fuel consumption is to reduce the air resistance of aircraft. The total drag is greatly influenced by the flow behavior on the wing surfaces. Laminar and turbulent flows can occur on the wing. Laminar flows ensure much less drag compared with turbulent flows. There are two approaches for achieving laminar flow: on the one hand, it is possible to use wings that permit natural laminar flow. On the other hand, a laminar flow profile can also be achieved by means of so-called hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC):
In HLFC, a laminar flow profile is achieved by suction of the air flow through a porous surface. The suction stabilizes the boundary layer and makes laminar flow on the surface possible. This approach involves relatively high energy expenditure.
As already mentioned, it is sensible both ecologically and economically to reduce fuel consumption. In the case of aircraft, from the ecological standpoint decreased fuel consumption not only offers the advantage that there is less emission of greenhouse gases and saving of resources, but also that a decrease in fuel consumption has an especially beneficial effect, as aircraft produce their exhaust gas emissions at altitudes that are particularly sensitive to pollution.
Attainment of laminar flow profiles is already technically achievable. In practice, however, the laminar flow profile is often disturbed by contaminants. The contaminants are deposited on the surface and thus result in a rough surface. The roughness leads to turbulence, which disturbs the laminar flow. To ensure a laminar air flow in operating conditions, the resultant contaminants must be removed or at least greatly reduced. In the case of aircraft, the contaminants in question are mainly insects and possibly also icing. Contamination with insects occurs on the ground and in particular during take-off and landing, when insects collide with the aircraft and adhere to it.
Insects vary in size from 1 to 2 mm in the case of aphids and 20 mm in the case of moths. Insects can weigh up to 40 g. They consist essentially of two components, the exoskeleton and the hemolymph. The exoskeleton forms the protective shell and consists mainly of the polysaccharide chitin and the structural proteins sclerotin and resilin. The internal organs of insects are located in a free-flowing blood-like fluid, the hemolymph.
The hemolymph consists of proteins, which can coagulate and act like glue. As a result, parts of the exoskeleton adhere to surfaces [O'Donoghue et al., 2002].
For the occurrence of insects, mainly three factors are important:                vertical distribution        temperature and season        wind speed.
It should be borne in mind that most insects are found at relatively low altitudes. In contrast, at the usual cruising altitude of scheduled planes there is little likelihood of encountering insects.
Croom and Holmes suggested that protection against insect contamination would only be necessary up to an altitude of 152.4 m (500 ft), because in the authors' opinion hardly any insects occur at higher altitudes. According to Coleman, however, altitudes up to 1524 m (5000 ft) should also be considered: during a typical flight of an aircraft, 54% of the insects have already been collected on the ground, 33% between take-off and an altitude of 304.8 m (1000 ft) and the remaining 13% at an altitude of 304.8 m to 1524 m. The authors Maresh and Bragg agree that most insects are collected on the ground and while climbing.
Insect activity depends on the temperature. Activity is greatest in a temperature range from 21° C. to 27° C. Elsenaar and Hasnoot reported that insect density is highest in summer and in spring.
At high wind speeds there is a sharp drop in insect density.
As well as insects, icing of the wings can also lead to a change of the aerodynamics. In contrast to insect contamination, icing is also a safety problem. Thus, icing of parts of the aircraft not only leads to termination or hampering of laminar flow, but the ice itself can also lead to a marked weight increase.
A number of approaches are already known in the prior art for protecting aircraft against insect contamination and/or icing in particular on the ground and against contamination, in particular by insects, during the take-off phase:
One basic approach is to cover the surfaces of aircraft requiring protection with a removable device. This can be provided e.g. by a layer of paper, which is removed after take-off or by the use of a deflector, e.g. a Krueger flap, which is retracted after passing through the insect zone.
Thus, DE 35 29 148 proposes providing a film to protect aircraft against insect strikes. This film is removed as a whole after take-off and drawn in by means of a retracting device.
Moreover, DE 39 46 403 A1 proposes a similar principle, wherein a protective cover is provided with an active solution device.
DE 20 59 492 describes a mechanically destructible protective cover.
This approach has the disadvantage that the protective devices permanently increase the weight of the aircraft, as the protective devices, for example the Krueger flap, must remain on the aircraft permanently or alternatively, in the case when they are discarded after fulfilling their function, they cause considerable disposal problems owing to their size. Moreover, application of the corresponding covers (especially when they are not integral with the aircraft) is as a rule very laborious.
An alternative approach is to use cleaning devices, which can also perform their function during flight. This category includes scrapers and wipers and deluge sprinklers, for washing-away insect contamination. Examples of such applications are disclosed e.g. in DE 40 20 585 and in DE 40 16 850.
These systems have the disadvantage that the cleaning action they provide is inadequate. Attainment of laminar flow can be disturbed by the presence of just one insect contamination with a height ≧40 μm per running meter, so these mechanical cleaning systems are inadequate for many applications. In addition, they also increase the weight of the aircraft to a considerable extent, and permanently.
A third approach known in the prior art is the application of a coating that remains permanently on the surface to be protected and should prevent or reduce contamination owing to the nature of their surface. One approach in this connection is the use of elastic coatings, which as it were "reflect" the contaminants, as proposed for example in GB 2 299 280 A. A corresponding approach is also used in DE 1 190 342.
These protective layers have the disadvantage that they increase the weight of the aircraft permanently and as a rule provide unsatisfactory protective action against contamination. It has to be borne in mind that, especially during take-off, insects are impacted with high force on the aircraft surfaces. Furthermore, these protective layers only offer inadequate protection against icing, in particular while waiting on the ground.
In earlier research, water-soluble films were described for preventing insect contamination (Coleman, W. S.: Wind Tunnel Experiments on the Prevention of Insect Contamination by means of Soluble Films and Liquids Over the Surface. Rep. To the Boundary Layer Control Committee, BLCC Note 39, 1952). In later research these approaches were rejected on the grounds of complexity and impracticability (e.g. application of water in possibly cold conditions) (Cynthia C. Croom and Bruce J. Holmes, "Insect Contamination Protection for Laminar Flow Surfaces", NASA Langley Research Center Hampton Va.).

Method for protecting the surface of an aircraft against contamination with insect residues and/or icing


An oscillator includes a converter, an oscillation transistor, a resistor, a capacitor and a primary coil of a transformer, and a rectifier includes a secondary coil of the transformer, resistors, capacitors, and a rectifying transistor. Control of the converter is carried out by the configuration of a capacitor, resistors and a transistor. A ripple filter includes a choke coil and ripple capacitors, and a converter activation part comprises a switch interlocked with a power supply switch and an activation diode. A ripple capacitor is also provided on the primary side of the converter. The battery is directly coupled to the primary side of the transformer.

The present invention relates to a power supply circuit using a battery as a power supply and raising the voltage of this battery, and more particularly relates to a power supply circuit for a wireless transmitter which keeps supplying power to a load for a prescribed period of time after a switching off operation of the power supply circuit.
In recent years, the progress towards compact, portable electronic equipment has been accompanied by the widespread need for power supplies to be comprised of a single battery. However, in spite of developments which have been enabling electronic components or IC's etc. to be operated with a voltage of a single battery, few electronic equipments are capable of controlling all of their operations with a low voltage of, for example, 1.5 volts. Consequently, power supplying in most of such equipments has been carried out by boosting this low voltage up to the high-voltage required for their circuits.
Further, electronic equipment also exists where, when the power supply is turned off after use, it is necessary for the circuits to be made to operate for a prescribed time so that all circuit operations can be completed. For example, in the case of a wireless transmitter, when use is over, a signal indicating that "the transmission side power supply is OFF" is sent from the receiving side when the power supply is turned OFF, the receiver audio mute circuit is made to operate and the occurrence of unnecessary noise is prevented, i.e. after the power supply is OFF, a voltage is maintained for a prescribed period of time and the transmitter is made to operate, and demands for power supplies having a function where the voltage is maintained for a prescribed period of time after the power supply is OFF are therefore increasing.
Next, the aforementioned related power supply circuit example is described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.
First, in a first related example shown in FIG. 1, a transistor Q11 is provided across a battery 4 and a DC-DC converter 13, with the DC-DC converter 13 being controlled by the transistor Q11.
When the power supply is on so that a power supply switch S11 is turned ON, a capacitor C11 starts to charge, with a charge voltage VC11 finally reaching a battery voltage EQ. Further, a base voltage VB of a transistor Q12 becomes the voltage VC11 divided by a resistor R13 and a resistor R14 (the internal resistance of the battery is considered to be 0 for simplicity) in a manner such that the voltage VB becomes: EQU VB=VC11.multidot.R14/(R13+R14) (1).
Here, the transistor Q12 becomes ON when this base voltage VE exceeds a voltage VBE across the base and emitter of the transistor Q12, current is drawn out from the transistor Q11, transistor Q11 is made to go ON, and a voltage is supplied to the DC-DC converter 13. This supplied voltage is then converted to a prescribed voltage and supplied to the load circuit.
Next, when the power supply switch S11 is put OFF in order to break the power supply, the discharge of the load stored at the capacitor C11 starts via resistors R13 and R14. At this time, the discharge voltage VC11 becomes: EQU VC11=E0exp-1/C11(R13+R14)!t (2),
and the base voltage of the transistor Q12 becomes the voltage VC11 divided by resistor R13 and resistor R14 so as to become: EQU VB=E0exp-1/C11(R13+R14)!t.times.R14/(R13+R14) (3).
The transistor Q12 then goes off when this base voltage VB becomes lower than the voltage VBE across the base and emitter of transistor Q12 after a time t1. The transistor Q11 therefore also becomes OFF and the operation of the DC-DC converter 13 is halted.
Namely, at the power supply circuit of the aforementioned configuration, after the power supply switch S11 goes OFF, the operation of the DC-DC converter 13 continues until the passage of time t1, and the supplying of power to the load circuit is possible.
Here, it is necessary for a base current of Ib to flow in order to make the transistor Q11 functioning as an electronic switch go ON. However, it is necessary for the relationship: EQU Ib.times.hfe>Ic (4)
hfe: current amplification factor to be fulfilled in order for a sufficient current Ic to flow under stable conditions.
When the DC-DC converter 13 is activated, a rush current several times larger than under normal conditions flows and a base current Ib therefore has to be set to maintain this activation. Further, because hfe fluctuates a great deal, this margin has to be maintained and a base current Ib having a margin with respect to the temperature characteristics has to be made to flow. This effectively usually means that a null current flows and power supply efficiency is lowered.
Next, in a second related example shown in FIG. 2, the transistor Q11 of the first related example is replaced with a Field Effect Transistor (hereinafter referred to simple as "FET") Q21, with other aspects of the configuration and operation then being the same as the first related example. An FET is a voltage-controlled element and control current can therefore be reduced when compared with transistors. The null current is therefore lowered and the efficiency of the power supply can therefore be improved. There is, however, a problem whereby efficiency deteriorates if the ON resistance of the FET is made large so that the input voltage of the DC-DC converter falls. It is therefore difficult to drive current general-purpose FETs using a voltage from a single battery because the VGS ON voltage of current general-purpose FETs is high.
In the aforementioned related example, a transistor Q11 or an FET Q21 for switching use is added to a primary side input path but resulting voltage drops cannot be prevented and power supply efficiency deteriorates, particularly when the primary power supply voltage is low.
A configuration where a battery is directly connected to the primary side input can also be considered. In this case, efficient utilization of the input power is possible but there is the fear of current leaking to the secondary circuitry. Namely, when rectification is carried out by a simple diode, a current path can still be made from the battery 4 to the secondary circuitry via the diode as a result of the voltage of the battery 4 even when the power supply switch 11 is OFF and the operation of the DC-DC converter 13 is halted. When the power supply switch S11 is OFF over long periods of time the battery 4 is consumed quickly.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a power supply circuit capable of efficiently raising the efficiency of a low voltage of a battery etc. used as a power supply in electronic equipment for use with load circuitry within the electronic equipment operating at a higher voltage rather than the low voltage and capable of supplying a voltage to the load circuitry for a prescribed period of time after the power supply has been switched off.


Mechanisms for more efficiently and accurately performing anti-aliasing techniques. A bounding box for a line can be generated that includes both a central region of the line and one or more boundary regions that have various levels of opacity. Vertices for the bounding box can be provided to any of a variety of appropriate entities to interpolate pixel locations within the bounding box and to determine various levels of opacity for pixels, such as vertex shaders and/or pixel shaders. Various techniques can be used to determine a pixel's membership value within one or more of the boundary regions of a bounding box, such as using a distance from an edge of a central region to a center of the pixel and/or an area of the pixel that is located inside the boundary region.

Computer displays have used arrays of pixels to render and visually output information to users. With such arrays of pixels, angled lines that are presented on displays can have "jaggy" artifacts that result from representation of a line using discrete pixels. Anti-aliasing techniques have been used to represent some pixels having partial coverage with regard to a line by using various levels of opacity.


A memory system includes: a memory controller configured to change data to be stored in memory cells according to an address of a weak cell in order to store changed data having a lower program level than a highest program level among a plurality of program levels in peripheral cells adjacent to the weak cell; and a memory device configured to execute a program loop in order to store the changed data in a selected page.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a memory system, and more particularly, to a memory system storing data.
2. Related Art
In order to store the large amount of data in a predetermined area, a method of increasing an integration degree or increasing the number of bits of data stored in each unit cell has been applied. However, as the number of times of program/erase is increased together with an increase in an integration degree, an electrical characteristic of a memory cell deteriorates. Accordingly, a circuit or an operating method capable of supplementing the deterioration of the electric characteristic has been demanded.


A solid-state imaging element including: a photoelectric conversion layer, a first electrode and a second electrode opposed to each other with the photoelectric conversion layer interposed therebetween, a semiconductor layer provided between the first electrode and the photoelectric conversion layer, an accumulation electrode opposed to the photoelectric conversion layer with the semiconductor layer interposed therebetween, an insulating film provided between the accumulation electrode and the semiconductor layer, and a barrier layer provided between the semiconductor layer and the photoelectric conversion layer.

A solid-state imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor has been used in a solid-state imaging device. The solid-state imaging element is provided with, for example, a photoelectric conversion layer including an organic photoelectric conversion material (see, e.g., PTL 1).

Solid-state imaging element and solid-state imaging device

SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION


An airbag device is provided to reduce the deployment force of an airbag when a vehicle occupant or a child seat is positioned adjacent to an airbag device or a vehicle-body component adjacent to the airbag device. In one form, a passenger-seat airbag device is set in an instrument panel and includes a bracket which is fixed to a vehicle-body member with, for example, a bolt. A strain gauge is attached to the bracket. If a vehicle occupant or a child seat is positioned adjacent to the airbag device, and when an airbag in the process of inflation comes into contact with, for example, a vehicle occupant, the opposing force is transmitted to the bracket via a retainer, such that a strain which is different from that of the normal deployment process is generated in the bracket and detected by the strain gauge for reducing airbag deployment force.

When a vehicle provided with an airbag device is involved in a collision, an airbag is inflated to restrain a vehicle occupant.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-30367 discloses an airbag device which is capable of controlling the inflation of an airbag when a vehicle occupant or a child seat, for example, is positioned adjacent to the airbag device. According to such an airbag device, two inflators are provided for inflating the airbag. The first inflator is activated to inflate the airbag, and a pressure sensor detects the gas pressure in the airbag. If the gas pressure changes gradually in a predetermined manner, the second inflator is subsequently activated. In contrast, if the gradual change in the gas pressure is higher than usual, the second inflator is prevented from operating.
According to the airbag device in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-30367, the gradual change of the gas pressure in the airbag being inflated is determined by monitoring, but it is extremely difficult to perform such determination without allowing errors.


A lighting fixture assembly includes a housing assembly that forms an interior. A valve mechanism is associated with the housing assembly and is configured to automatically vent fluid from the interior to the atmosphere when the pressure in the interior exceeds a threshold level. Otherwise, the valve mechanism seals the interior from the atmosphere. The lighting fixture also includes a pressure-equalization mechanism, separate from the valve mechanism, which is also associated with the housing assembly. The pressure-equalization mechanism is configured to, upon activation, substantially equalize the interior pressure with the atmosphere pressure and to otherwise seal the interior from the atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to lighting fixtures, and more particularly, to sealed lighting fixtures comprising a valve mechanism that allows for the venting of air from within the fixture, and a pressure-equalization mechanism that allows for the equalization of the air pressure in the fixture with the atmosphere.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of lights in outdoor applications is commonplace. These applications generally require a sealed or near-sealed lighting fixture to prevent moisture from entering the light housing, lamp or electrical circuit components of the lighting system to prevent damage or injury that can result from moisture contact with an electrical system. The typical outdoor lighting fixture has a housing assembly that attaches to a junction box or other source of electricity. The housing assembly includes a housing shell and a cap or faceplate assembly that connects to the housing shell to form an interior that encloses the lamp. Gaskets are typically utilized between the various members of the lighting fixture to prevent the intrusion of moisture.
Despite the significant operational and safety advantages of using a completely sealed housing, the sealing of the housing makes assembly and disassembly of the lighting fixture very difficult. In order to assemble the lighting fixture, the faceplate assembly or cap must be placed on the housing and locked into place. If the housing is sealed such that the completed assembly will be airtight, the action of placing the cap on the housing compresses the air inside the housing and makes placement of the cap on the housing difficult. Once the cap is in place on the housing, the high internal pressures that exist make locking the cap to the housing very difficult. Brute force or some type of mechanical advantage must be used in order to seal the cap onto the housing. Once the cap is installed, the sealed lighting fixture must be able to withstand the increased internal pressure that results from the heating of the air inside the fixture when the lamp is on. The problems with utilizing a sealed housing are compounded with larger size lighting fixtures which generate more heat.
To avoid the problems described above, most lighting fixtures are manufactured so they are not completely air-tight. Fixtures that are not air-tight have a mechanism to vent the pressures that result from assembling the lighting fixture and the pressure that results from the heating up of air inside the housing during operation.
Unfortunately, while the air inside the housing is cooling after the lamp is turned off outside air is drawn inside the housing as the pressure inside the housing lowers. This drawing in of outside air brings moisture and contaminants that are also in the air (such as salt for installations near salt water) inside the housing. The resulting moisture inside the housing can cause condensation that can result in corrosion and/or problems with the electrical components. To avoid these problems, the internal components must be manufactured out of materials that can withstand corrosion and moisture must be prevented from entering into moisture-sensitive areas. Some manufacturers utilize chemical materials inside the lighting fixture to absorb the moisture that enters as a result of the above process.
As an alternative to the non-sealed lighting fixtures described above, some manufacturers of lighting fixtures create a vacuum inside the lamp housing during the manufacturing process. The vacuum inside the housing solves the problems with moisture and contaminates getting inside the housing and reduces or eliminates the problem with condensation. However, due to the vacuum, the owner of such a lighting fixture can only replace the lamp by removing the entire lamp housing and shipping it to the manufacturer for replacement. This creates significant difficulty and expense for the system owner.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,258, assigned to B-K Lighting, Inc., discloses a sealed lighting fixture having a complex mechanism that includes a valve feature that vents pressure from inside the fixture housing to the atmosphere during operation of the light. The valve also provides for the creation of a vacuum within the fixture when the light is turned off. The mechanism also includes a pressure equalizing feature that can be manually actuated to eliminate the vacuum and equalize the pressure inside the housing with the atmosphere so the housing can be disassembled and the lamp replaced.

Sealed lighting fixture having mechanisms for venting and equalizing interior air pressure


An adjustable ring according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a ring portion having an outer surface and an inner surface defining an opening for receiving a finger therethrough; a movable segment coupled to the ring portion and movable between a first position and a second position; and a spring element coupled to the ring portion and the movable segment to allow movement of the movable segment between the first position and the second position. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the adjustable ring further includes an insert portion coupled to an inner surface of the ring portion, the insert portion having an opening; and the movable segment coupled to the insert portion and having a surface movable through the insert portion opening.

Determining a person's ring size is often a difficult proposition because ring sizes vary over time. For example, while an individual might be measured for a given ring size when purchasing a ring on a particular day, various factors ultimately affect a person's actual ring size on a given day. For example, various physiological conditions are known to affect ring size. A person's fingers might swell as a result of hormonal changes or water retention. Water retention might be exacerbated by other factors such as the amount of salt intake as part of a person's diet. Weight gain and weight loss over a period of time also affect a person's ring size. Even weather conditions on a given day may affect ring size. Additionally, often a person's knuckles are greater in size than the person's ring size. As a result, it is often difficult to get a properly sized ring placed over a person's knuckle.
As a result of some or all these factors, a person's ring size may vary greatly from one day to the next, from one season to the next, and from one year to the next. Since people often purchase jewelry to be worn frequently, or even daily, over a large period of time, these changes in ring size have proven to be annoying, costly and extremely problematic. For example, if a person's ring is too tight on a given day, the person might not be able to place the ring on his or her finger that day and might be forced to leave it at home. This is very annoying to a person who purchased the ring to wear every day, or who merely wanted to wear the ring on that particular day. Similar problems may arise if the ring is too loose on a given day and a person is forced to leave the ring at home or alternatively risk losing the ring if it falls off the person's finger unexpectedly.
Various methods have been developed to address this problem in the past. One common method, mentioned above, is to not wear a piece of jewelry that is too tight or too loose on a particular day. This is not practical or ideal for a person who purchased the jewelry to wear on a daily basis or who merely wanted or needed to wear the item of jewelry on that day. Another common method is to purchase jewelry (either the same item or different items) having different sizes. In that way, if a person's fingers were to swell or contract on a given day, the person could merely substitute a different sized ring on that day. However, this solution is extremely impractical and costly for most individuals to utilize.
Another common solution is to go to a jeweler and have the ring re-sized. While this option is frequently used, it too presents a number of problems. Enlargement of a ring can be accomplished in various ways. One way is through mechanical stretching, such as by placing the ring on a mandrel and striking it with a mallet to enlarge the opening. This can only be done if the amount of stretching required is small. Another, more intrusive way is to insert an extra piece of metal into the band. The insertion of additional material is more costly, may introduce imperfections into the metal, and often results in seams or areas of the ring that don't match. No matter how sophisticated the jeweler or the tools used, any stretching stresses the metal and there is always a risk of the ring snapping. Moreover, there is a limit to how far a ring can be stretched. Further, where stones are included in the ring, the stones must often be removed before the stretching can take place. Any time the stones are removed there is a risk of damage and/or loss.
Sizing down a ring can also be accomplished in a variety of ways. Where the change is small, the size can be made smaller by mechanically compressing the ring. If the ring is made of several metals (such as white and yellow gold), compression is typically not used as it might result in breaking the two metals apart. Where the change of size is greater, or where stones are included in the ring, sizing down the ring requires removing any stones, cutting out a portion of the ring, and then re-soldering the remaining portions together. This method is more costly and provides a greater risk of damaging the ring.
There are a number of problems with using a jeweler to re-size a ring. While this method is often useful for infrequent and small size adjustments, it is still costly and time consuming. Most importantly, it is completely impractical for addressing the day to day variations in ring size that most people typically encounter. For example, it would be almost useless to size a ring up a quarter size one day because a person's fingers are swollen, only to size it back down a few days later when the person's fingers return to a less swollen state.
Various adjustable size rings are also described in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,956 to Levy, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a variable sized hinged ring that may be worn in a closed position or in a number of open positions. The ring includes a center shank member and first and second side shank members, each of which is hinged to the center shank member and an elongated sizing section that has a plurality of stops for determining the circumferential ring size. Thus, the ring can be opened and closed by the wearer to provide several different ring sizes. One problem with this system is that it can only accommodate the ring sizes corresponding to the stops provided. Another problem is that is must be manually opened and closed by the user. Further, once the ring size is expanded, the interior surface of the ring no longer presents a smooth, uninterrupted surface to the wearer and is thus very uncomfortable to wear. Additionally, once the ring size is expanded, the finger opening no longer has a generally constant shape and therefore the appearance to the user and others is much less attractive than a standard shaped ring.
Another ring adjustment mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,882 to Erb, which is incorporated herein by reference. Erb discloses a self sizing adjustable ring including a U-shaped shank member and a bridge member permanently connected to the shank member but movable up and down the shank member to adjust for the size of a user's fingers. The bridge member is manually adjustable by the user over a variety of different positions and is held in place using a frictional force created between the bridge and the shank member. One problem with this system is that it can only be used with U-shaped ring bodies. Another problem is that the bridge member is kept in place using frictional forces. It would be quite easy for the bridge member to disengage and move unintentionally. Additionally, the disclosed ring design requires a securement member attached to the bridge member to frictionally engage the exterior surface of the shank member. This results in an unattractive appearance to the user and others because the disclosed ring does not provide the appearance of an ordinary ring.
Yet another ring adjustment mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,334 to Miller, which is incorporated herein by reference. Miller discloses a finger ring size adjusting device and method including a ring shank and a cradle which is biased radially inward from the shank and is moveable between a retracted position and an adjusted position for reducing ring size. The cradle may be biased inwardly toward the adjusted position by a leaf spring in one embodiment, and by a lever arm in an alternate embodiment. One problem with this system is that the disclosed system includes only one cradle at the bottom of the ring shank. Only two possible ring sizes are provided—a smaller ring size and a larger ring size. There is no accommodation of a variety of ring sizes. Additionally, when the cradle is in its inward position, the ring does not provide a unitary, smooth, generally round inner surface. The inner surface would include gaps in which a user's skin could become pinched. Moreover, the appearance of the ring is less attractive as the lever or spring is visible through the opening in the ring.
Despite the various ring adjustment systems and methods known in the art, there still remains a need for a ring having a size that can be adjusted simply and easily by the wearer to account for day to day fluctuations in a person's ring size and to account for variations in finger size such as those caused by a larger knuckle region. There also remains a need for an adjustable ring that can accommodate a variety of different ring sizes within a specified range. Additionally, there is a need for an adjustable ring such that a jeweler can stock rings in fewer sizes.


Described and claimed are compounds of formula (I) wherein Y is a polypeptide, R.sub.1 is bonded to the N-terminus of Y and is hydrogen or a branched or linear, substituted or unsubstituted, C.sub.1-21 alkyl, alkene, or alkyne group, R.sub.2 is a side chain of a naturally occurring amino acid, and X is (a), (b), (c). Such compounds are useful as haptens and immunogens for the elicitation of antibodies which catalytically enhance the rate of formation or hydrolysis of primary amide bonds. Also described and claimed are methods employing the compounds and antibodies.

Various documents are cited parenthetically throughout the text of this disclosure, with full citation to these documents appearing as a list immediately preceding the claims. Other documents are cited parenthetically, in full, throughout the text of this disclosure. These documents pertain to the field of this invention, and each of these documents is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
One of the most frequently cited goals of catalytic antibody research is the generation of antibodies capable of efficient, specific hydrolysis of amide bonds (1-14). This goal partly results from the scientific challenge of generating an antibody to catalyze a relatively kinetically inert reaction and partly from the potentially vast range of practical applications for proteolytic antibodies.
Until now, no haptens have been designed which have demonstrably elicited antibodies that hydrolyze unactivated amides without cofactor assistance.
The difficulty in eliciting amide-hydrolyzing antibodies stems primarily from the difficulties associated with screening the antibodies for catalysis. The uncatalyzed rate (k.sub.uncat) of amide hydrolysis (with a half-life on the order of 7 years at neutral pH (15)) is much slower than that of typical esters (16), carbonates (17), or activated amides (8, 18). Correspondingly, it is much more difficult to detect antibodies that catalyze amide hydrolysis. If two separate reactions of different uncatalyzed rates (k.sub.uncat) are catalyzed by two antibodies with identical rate enhancements (k.sub.cat /k.sub.uncat), it will be more difficult to detect the antibody that is slower in absolute terms (k.sub.cat). There are two main reasons for this. One reason is that in the slower reaction there will be fewer turnovers per unit of time and the assay system must be able to detect extremely low levels of formed product. The second reason is that reactions with slower k.sub.uncat values typically require longer periods of antibody-substrate incubation (days or weeks) than do faster reactions (minutes or hours). Long incubation periods may lead to false results because of the possible appearance of by-products, the antibody may denature, especially at non-neutral pH values, and traces of adventitious enzymes may catalyze the reaction in question.
As mentioned above, until now no catalytic antibodies have been generated that are capable of unassisted catalytic hydrolysis of an unactivated amide bond. Documentation of rationally-designed catalytic antibody transformations of amide bonds have been limited to antibodies capable of activated amide hydrolysis (8), metallo-cofactor-assisted amide hydrolysis (20), and amide bond rearrangement (21). Also, naturally-occurring peptide hydrolysis by autoantibodies have been reported (22). It should be pointed out that in the last example the reported antibody activities were discovered rather than designed. Here we describe the first successful design of a catalytic antibody capable of unassisted hydrolysis of an unactivated amide bond.
In nature, the most commonly encountered amide bonds are found in peptides and proteins. Three principle types of amide bonds are found in peptide and proteins: as peptide bonds linking individual amino acids, in asparagine and glutamine amino acid side chains, and at the C-terminus of some peptides (i.e. C-terminal carboxamide). Hydrolyses of both types of amide bonds, peptide bonds and primary amide bonds (asparagine, glutamine and C-terminal amides), have the same or very similar Gibbs free energies of activation (23-25). Hence, they require the same amount of transition state stabilization to be catalyzed with similar rate enhancements.
Amidated peptide hormones that are important in disease states include: calcitonin (29), calcitonin gene-related peptide (30,31), big gastrin (32,33), and bombesin-like peptides BLP, otherwise known as bombesin-related peptides (BRP) or gastrin-releasing peptides (GRP)! (34,35). Elevated calcitonin levels have been associated with several disease states including medullary thyroid carcinoma, C-cell hyperplasia, chronic renal failure, pancreatitis, mineral and bone disorders, and hyperthyroidism (29). Elevated gastrin is associated with gastrinomas, BLP with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (33). Experimental treatments are underway to neutralize the effects of these hormones in disease states using monoclonal antibodies (anti-BLP) (36), neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (BLP hydrolysis) (37), and synthetic antagonists (BLP) (38-41).
Also of potential therapeutic relevance are peptides and proteins containing amino acids with amide side chains (e.g., asparagine and glutamine). Administration of bacterial asparaginase, which hydrolyzes the side chain carboxamide of free asparagine, has been shown to be an effective anti-leukemia agent (42).
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 190,271 of which this application is a continuation-in-part, describes analogs of peptide bonds and methods for eliciting catalytic antibodies which hydrolyze such peptide bonds. The analogs and antibodies described therein are directed towards the modification of peptide bonds which are secondary amide bonds whereas the present application is related to modification of primary amide bonds.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/007,684 which is a continuation-in-part of International Application WO Serial No. 92/01047 (PCT/GB91/01134) describes the isolation and production of catalytic antibodies displayed on bacteriphage and the isolation and production of human catalytic antibodies. The disclosures of both of these applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Based on the observations described above, it is desired to develop transition state analogs of primary amides to elicit catalytic antibodies which can cleave primary amide bonds in peptides and proteins.
It is desired to employ catalytic antibodies which catalyze the hydrolysis or formation of primary amide bonds as therapeutic agents by administration to living organisms. Modification of primary amide bonds in target peptides and proteins would expectedly alter their physiological function and therefore provide beneficial therapeutic effect on the living organisms.

Catalytic antibodies which hydrolyze primary amides and methods for eliciting such antibodies


A robot navigation system includes a robot, a navigation beacon, and a cover structure. The robot includes a chassis, an omni-directional receiver, and at least one directional receiver. The navigation beacon includes an omni-directional infrared emitter and at least one directional infrared emitter. The cover structure is configured to block infrared transmissions between the at least one directional infrared emitter and the directional receiver while simultaneously permitting transmissions between the omni-directional infrared emitter and the omni-directional receiver. The cover structure may be made of a black silicone material.

Autonomous robots are robots which can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. Many kinds of robots are autonomous to some degree. Different robots can be autonomous in different ways. An autonomous coverage robot traverses a work surface without continuous human guidance to perform one or more tasks. In the field of home, office and/or consumer-oriented robotics, mobile robots that perform household functions such as vacuum cleaning, floor washing, patrolling, lawn cutting and other such tasks have been widely adopted.
Navigation beacons are used to bound an area in which the robot operates. Bounding an area may be done, for example, to restrict a robot from entering or leaving an area. However, even when robots are restricted to a bounded area, it is often inconvenient to remove all items from an area in which the robot is performing tasks. It would be useful to have a way to deter a robot from entering a designated area within its bounded territory, in order to prevent the need to remove items that may suffer damage or otherwise not benefit from a physical impact with a robot.

System and method for implementing force field deterrent for robot