When image forming is performed by a photosensitive drum according to operating conditions corresponding to an image forming mode selected out of a predetermined plurality of candidates, an actual cumulative number of printed sheets Pi is corrected and recorded based on the image forming mode (monochrome mode or color mode; low-temperature and low humidity ambience mode or other ambience mode) selected at the time of each image forming (S7) and an adjustment volume (ko×Pia) of a charging applied voltage Ey is calculated and the charging applied voltage Ey is set based on a corrected cumulative number of printed sheets Pia (S5). As a result, the charging applied voltage Ey to a charging unit is changed according to a cumulative number of printed sheets and at the same time, a pace of change thereof is adjusted based on the image forming mode.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus configured as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a multi-functional machine, and the like writes an electrostatic latent image by irradiating a light onto a photosensitive drum (a typical example of an image bearing body) charged by a charging unit, develops the electrostatic latent image as a toner image (forming the toner image) by having a toner supplied to the photosensitive drum by a developing unit, transfers the toner image onto a predetermined recording material such as recording paper directly or on to the recording material through an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt, and ultimately fixes on the recording paper or the intermediate transfer member by heating the toner image with heating rollers provided in a fixing unit. In the above process, a predetermined voltage is applied to the charging unit. The applied voltage to the charging unit is hereinafter referred to as a charging applied voltage.
Some of such image forming apparatuses have an image forming mode selected and set out of a predetermined plurality of candidates and carry out an image forming process according to the operating conditions corresponding to set image forming mode. Furthermore, some apparatuses set a rotating speed of the photosensitive drum according to the selected image forming mode to ensure a constant image quality.
Some of such image forming apparatuses has an image forming mode selected and set out of a predetermined plurality of candidates and carry out an image forming processing according to the operating conditions corresponding to the set image forming mode. Furthermore, some apparatuses set a rotating speed of the photosensitive drum according to the selected image forming mode to ensure a constant image quality.
For example, an image forming apparatus having, as the image forming mode, a monochrome image forming mode of forming a monochrome image and a color image forming mode of forming a color image sets (controls) the rotating speed (circumferential velocity) of the photosensitive drum slower when the color image forming mode is selected than when the monochrome image forming mode is selected.
Another image forming apparatus having, as the image forming mode, a low-temperature and low-humidity mode to be selected when the temperature and the humidity of the ambience in which the photosensitive drum is installed are less than the predetermined level and other ambience modes (standard mode, high-temperature and high-humidity mode, etc.) to be selected in other cases sets the reference level of the charging applied voltage higher when the low-temperature and low-humidity mode is selected than when the other ambience modes are selected. The reason is as follow. Namely, since, in the low-temperature and low-humidity ambience, a phenomenon of the toner charge volume becoming greater occurs and a charge potential of the photosensitive drum becomes difficult to enhance, a sufficient image density can not be obtained by ordinary developing. Therefore, by setting the level of the charging applied voltage high, a sufficient image density can be ensured.
On the other hand, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H08-179594 describes an image forming apparatus that counts the number of printed sheets (typed sheets) and sets the charging applied voltage at a rather high voltage initially and then gradually decreases the voltage as the number of printed sheets increases, while the number of printed sheets is still below a predetermined number of sheets, namely, until when the number of printed sheets has exceeded the predetermined number of sheets and charging capability of a charger roller has settled down to a constant level. This technology has an object of keeping a constant charged potential of a photosensitive drum irrespective of a degree of use of the charger roller and ambient conditions.
While a photosensitive layer is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum, the photosensitive layer deteriorates due to abrasion as the number of times of use (namely, the number of times of image forming) of the photosensitive drum increases. This deterioration is hereinafter referred to as coat thinning. As the coat thinning of the photosensitive drum advances, electrostatic capacity of the photosensitive layer becomes larger and charge amount becomes greater, but if the electric field intensity remains the same, a decrease of the charge potential of the photosensitive drum adversely becomes larger due to the advance of the coat thinning. As a result, there was a problem that the volume of toner attached to the photosensitive drum decreases, that a toner image of low density is formed, and that image deficiency occurs.
A degree of coat thinning (amount of coat thinning) of the photosensitive drum is not only proportional to the number of times of use (may be the number of times of execution of image forming or the number of printed sheets) but also subject to the rotating speed (circumference velocity) of the photosensitive drum and ambient conditions such as temperature and humidity.
On the other hand, the technology described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H08-179594 is not intended to prevent the above-mentioned developing deficiency by appropriately setting the charging applied voltage in accordance with the degree of coat thinning of the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drum.
In this connection, it is conceivable that, when the coat thinning is caused to the photosensitive drum, the developing deficiency can be prevented by adjusting the charging applied voltage according to the degree of the coat thinning. Then it is conceivable to apply the technology described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H08-179594 as measures against the developing deficiency attributable to the coat thinning of the photosensitive drum and to adjust the charging applied voltage according to the cumulative number of printed sheets. In this case, however, the following problems remain.
As described above, the degree of coat thinning of the photosensitive drum is also subject to factors other than the number of printed sheets. As a result, there remains a problem that when other factors than the number of printed sheets have changed, the technology described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H08-179594 can not set the appropriate charging applied voltage corresponding to the degree of coat thinning and can not secure the appropriate image density.

Changing the charging applied voltage control in an image forming apparatus based on an increase in the cumulative number of times of execution of image forming


The present invention provides a synchronization establishing device and method for establishing synchronization at a high speed in a receiver. This synchronization establishing device includes a storage unit that accumulates reception data, and a matched filter that reads out the reception data accumulated in the storage unit in parallel and determines a correlation value by obtaining correlation between a common code and the reception data in parallel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a synchronization establishing device that establishes synchronization in a receiver, and a method of establishing synchronization. The present invention also relates to the receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a receiver that employs a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system, the top of a slot (one group of data) contained in a reception signal is searched for by detecting the strength of a synchronization signal. This is called "cell search". A pattern contained in the slot is then detected to search for the top of a frame made up of 15 slots. This is called "second code search". The reception signal, of which cycles have been roughly grasped through the above searches, is more precisely detected so as to maintain synchronization. This is called "path search". Thus, the data contained in the reception signal can be received.
In the second code search, a spreading code is conventionally used. An example of such a spreading code is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the spreading code is an (N×M)-bit spreading code generated by multiplying a common code Z that comprises N codes a(0) to a(N−1) by an intrinsic code that comprises M code bn(0) to bn (M−1) (a bit string). The N code will be also referred to as "N chips", and the M code will be also referred to as "M chips". The (N×M)-bit spreading code will be referred to as "(N×M) chips".
FIG. 2 shows the structure of a conventional synchronization establishing device used in the second code search. As shown in FIG. 2, this synchronization establishing device comprises a random access memory (RAM) 101, a correlator 102 for correlating a common code, and correlators 103a to 103d for correlating intrinsic codes. The correlator 102 is connected to the RAM 101, and the correlators 103a to 103d are connected to the correlator 102 in parallel with each other.
In the synchronization establishing device having the above structure, the RAM 101 temporarily stores a reception signal, and the correlator 102 reverse-diffuses common code parts in the reception signal supplied from the RAM 101 in accordance with a supplied common code. The correlator 103a reverse-diffuses the reception signal supplied from the correlator 102 in accordance with an intrinsic code 0, thereby generating a code-0 correlation value. Likewise, the correlators 103b to 103d each reverse-diffuse the reception signal supplied from the correlator 102 in accordance with one of intrinsic codes 1 to n, thereby generating the correlation value of each of the codes 1 to n.
FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the operation performed by the conventional synchronization establishing device shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3A, the correlator 102 for the common code carries out despreading (integration) in the N process cycles at the timing indicated by the arrows, in accordance with the common code made up of the N chips. As shown in FIG. 3B, the correlators 103a to 103d for intrinsic codes carry out integration M times at the timing shown by the arrows, in accordance with the intrinsic code made up of the M chips. Accordingly, the conventional synchronization establishing device requires the N×M process cycles for the despreading process through the second code search. As for a receiver employing a CDMA system, however, there is a demand for high-speed synchronization establishment through the detection of code phases of reception signals.

Synchronization establishing device, method of establishing synchronization, and receiver


A masking film has a unique polymeric binder in the imageable layer that enables the imaged film to be readily solubilized in non-chlorinated developers when it is used to form a relief image in a radiation-sensitive element, such as a UV-sensitive flexographic printing plate precursor. The polymeric binders in the imageable layer are resins that can be dissolved or dispersed in cyclohexane at 10% solids at 23° C. within 24 hours.

Radiation-sensitive elements having a laser-ablatable mask layer on the surface are known in the art. A relief image can be produced in such elements without the use of a digital negative image or other imaged element or masking device. Films with a laser-ablatable mask layer can be formed by first imagewise exposing the film with laser radiation (generally an infrared radiation laser under computer control) to selectively remove the mask layer in the exposed areas. The masking film is then placed in contact with a radiation-sensitive element and subjected to overall exposure with actinic radiation (for example, UV radiation) to cure the masking layer in the unmasked areas and to image the radiation-sensitive element through the mask. The film containing the mask layer and the imaged radiation-sensitive element (such as an imaged printing plate precursor) are then subjected to solvent development. The unexposed printing plate areas and the mask layer are completely developed off, and after drying, the resulting imaged element is useful, for example as a flexographic printing plate.
While flexographic printing plates having an integral laser-ablatable mask layer allow direct imagewise exposure using a laser and do not require a separate masking device, the time for imaging is generally too long since the system sensitivity to imaging radiation is low. Various attempts have been made in the industry to overcome this problem by increasing the infrared sensitivity of the mask layer. However, obtaining higher sensitivity has been a challenge due to the widely varying quality criteria that must be simultaneously satisfied. In addition, this approach requires the use of high-powered laser-equipped imaging apparatus that is especially configured for imaging flexographic articles. Because of the need for varying the thickness of flexographic plates depending upon the specific intended uses, more than one imaging apparatus may be required for the integral-mask approach.
An important advance in the art of making and using masking films is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2005/0227182 (Ali et al., hereinafter cited as U.S. Pat. No. '182). The described method provides a mask image in significantly less time due to greater imaging sensitivity.

Digital mask-forming film and method of use


The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for application to the mucosa to be used in drug therapy comprising a water-insoluble and/or water-low soluble substance, a medicament, and an aqueous medium, and having an osmotic pressure of less than 290 mOsm. This composition is superior over conventional pharmaceutical compositions for application to the mucosa, due to efficient and high permeability to the blood at the mucosa. The present invention further provides a pharmaceutical composition for application to the mucosa comprising a hemostatic agent and a medicament. This composition is superior over conventional pharmaceutical compositions for application to the mucosa, due to permeability and retentivity at the mucosa.

Application to the mucosa as a method of drug therapy has been recognized as a useful means of medication for such reasons as (1) it permits direct application to the affected area for diseases of local areas such as nasal mucosa, oral mucosa, and vaginal mucosa, (2) its immediate effects for systemic diseases can be expected as in the case of a nasal spray to the nasal mucosa and a suppository to the rectal mucosa, and (3) its application is easy compared to injection, as represented by an oral drug targeted at the intestinal mucosa, and the like. For example, pharmaceutical preparations for application to the mucosa have already been commercially available due to reason (1) in the case of nasal sprays for treatment of allergic rhinitis, and due to reason (2) in the case of suppositories to alleviate pain.
As pharmaceutical preparations for local mucus diseases, Saunders et al., (WO 92-14473), for example, provides a suspension preparation containing Tipredane as the main drug as the pharmaceutical preparation for treatment of allergic rhinitis. Also, Helzner (WO 97-01337) provides a pharmaceutical preparation comprising an antihistamic drug, a steroid and water as the pharmaceutical preparation for treatment of allergic rhinitis. As the pharmaceutical preparation for local mucus diseases, furthermore, Kim et al., (WO 98-00178) provides a suspension preparation having a thixotropic property as the pharmaceutical preparation for application to the nasal mucosa. Suzuki et al. (Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 60 (1985)-34925) also provides a sustained release pharmaceutical preparation for administration to the nasal cavity that permits the efficient supply of the drug at a concentration sufficient to obtain a therapeutic effect.
As the pharmaceutical preparations for systemic diseases, several methods have been provided that enhance absorption of drugs through the mucosa. Osada et al. (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 63 (1988)-303931), for example, provides a method of applying to the nasal cavity a growth hormone-releasing factor in liquid form having an osmotic pressure ratio of 1 (an osmotic pressure of 290 mOsm) or lower as a method for enabling quick and efficient absorption of the growth hormone-releasing factor through the nasal mucosa to the blood circulation. Furthermore, Ohwaki et al. (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60 (1985)123426) provides a method of applying to the nasal cavity a solution of secretin having an osmotic pressure ratio of 1 to 5 (an osmotic pressure of 290-1450 mOsm) and a pH of 2 to 5 as a method for enabling quick absorption of secretin through the nasal mucosa to blood circulation. Furthermore, Awatsu et al. (Pharm. Res. Vol. 10, No. 9, 1372-1377, 1993) provides a method of applying to the nasal mucosa a pharmaceutical solution to which polyoxyethylene 9-laurylether was added as an absorption enhancer as a method for enabling efficient absorption of a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor through the nasal mucosa to blood circulation.
However, when these pharmaceutical preparations are given to the mucosa, liquid-dripping can occur, or the pharmaceutical preparations are quickly excreted to the outside of the mucus tissue due to a mucociliary clearance function etc. before being adequately transported or permeated to the mucosa tissue. Because of this, the transport of an adequate amount of drug into the blood cannot be effected when systemic administration through transport to the blood circulation is attempted. Furthermore, the method of using an absorption enhancer is yet to be realized because the absorption enhancer has the problem of irritating the nasal mucosa. On the other hand, when local administration is attempted through retention of the drug in the mucosa tissue, an adequate amount of the drug cannot be retained at the tissue. In addition, even if the problem of retentivity has been solved, permeation into the mucosa tissue is not adequate.
Thus, it is strongly desired to develop a pharmaceutical preparation for application to the mucosa, that allows the transport of an adequate amount of the drug through the mucosa to the blood circulation after the application to the mucosa. Alternatively, it is strongly desired to develop a pharmaceutical preparation for application to the mucosa that enables the transport to and retention in the mucosa tissue of an adequate amount of the drug when applied to the mucosa.

Pharmaceutical composition for application to mucosa


A cross-coupled circuit provided between first and second bit lines that form a bit line pair includes first to fourth fin transistors of p-channel type. The first transistor has its source connected to a first power supply and its gate connected to the second bit line. The second transistor has its source connected to the first power supply and its gate connected to the first bit line. The third transistor has its source connected to the first transistor's drain and its drain connected to the first bit line. The fourth transistor has its source connected to the second transistor's drain and its drain connected to the second bit line.

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor storage device with a transistor having a fin structure.
Recently, it has been proposed to utilize transistors with a fin structure (hereinafter referred to as a "fin transistor") in the field of semiconductor devices. FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a fin transistor. Unlike a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor having a two-dimensional structure, its source and drain have a raised, three-dimensional structure called "fin." Its gate is disposed so as to wrap around a channel region defined between the source and drain in this fin.
In this fin structure, the channel region is defined by three surfaces of the fin, thereby improving channel controllability significantly compared to conventional ones. As a result, various advantages, including reducing the leakage power, increasing the ON-state current, and lowering the operating voltage, are achieved. This leads to improving the performance of the semiconductor integrated circuit.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-323950 discloses a semiconductor storage device in which a cross-coupled circuit is provided between two bit lines that form a bit line pair. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-93174 discloses an example of a sense amplifier circuit provided in a memory.

Semiconductor storage device and sense amplifier circuit


Two massive databases, having differing numbers of partitions within a MapReduce process, may be compared within a map-stage of the MapReduce process without the need for a reduce stage of the MapReduce process. Custom input functions may be used to coordinate the reading of data from the partitions. By taking advantage of the fact that the database are divided and sorted in a consistent manner, the input functions may coordinate the matching of records from the two databases for use within a MapReduce process. By taking advantage of the consistent grouping and sorting of the data within the partitions, the map stage of the MapReduce process may generate includes the desired final data (e.g., the differences between the two databases) without the need to transfer partitioned intermediate results between the map stage and a reduce stage of the MapReduce process.

Many companies and other organizations operate computer networks that interconnect numerous computing systems to support their operations, such as with the computing systems being co-located or instead located in multiple distinct geographical locations (e.g., connected via one or more private or public intermediate networks). For example, data centers housing significant numbers of interconnected computing systems have become commonplace, such as private data centers that are operated by and on behalf of a single organization and public data centers that are operated by entities as businesses to provide computing resources to customers. Some public data center operators provide network access, power, and secure installation facilities for hardware owned by various customers, while other public data center operators provide "full service" facilities that also include hardware resources made available for use by their customers. As the scale and scope of typical data centers has increased, the tasks of provisioning, administering, and managing the physical computing resources have become increasingly complicated.
Examples of such large-scale systems include online merchants, internet service providers, online businesses such as photo processing services, corporate networks, cloud computing services, web-based hosting services, etc. These entities may maintain computing resources in the form of large numbers of computing devices (e.g., thousands of hosts) which are hosted in geographically separate locations and which are configured to process large quantities (e.g., millions) of transactions daily or even hourly. Such large-scale systems may collect vast amounts of data that require processing.
One conventional approach to process data is the MapReduce model for distributed, parallel computing. In a MapReduce system, a large set of data may be split into smaller chunks, and the smaller chunks may be distributed to multiple compute nodes for an initial "map" stage of processing. Multiple nodes may also carry out a second "reduce" stage of processing based on the results of the map stage. The results from the map stage may be "shuffled" to other nodes to use as input for the reduce stage. In other words, the intermediate results may be reorganized and grouped differently for the reduce stage and may be transferred across a network to the reduce nodes. The use of network resources in this manner may be expensive, and the shuffle operation may be time-consuming.
Within a MapReduce implementation most computations involve applying a user-specified map operation to each logical "record" in the input in order to compute a set of intermediate key/value pairs, and then applying a user-specified reduce operation to all the values that shared the same key. Thus, the MapReduce computation takes a set of input key/value pairs and produces a set of output key/value pairs. The user of the MapReduce library expresses the computation as two functions: a map function and reduce function. The user-written map function receives a pair of input key-values pairs and produces a set of intermediate key/value pairs. The reduce function, also written by the user, receives and merges together the intermediate values
Although Java™ code is commonly used with MapReduce, virtually any programming language may be used to implement the map and reduce functions.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended examples. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the examples. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning "having the potential to"), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning "must"). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean "including, but not limited to."

Calculating differences between datasets having differing numbers of partitions


An input/output (IO) circuit is provided that reduces stress on a driver without using an additional reference voltage. The IO circuit receives an overshoot voltage and an undershoot voltage in a receive mode. The IO circuit includes a driver circuit. The driver circuit includes an NMOS transistor coupled to a PMOS transistor. A pad is coupled to the driver circuit. A PMOS protect circuit is coupled to the driver circuit and the pad. An NMOS protect circuit is coupled to the driver circuit and the pad. The NMOS protect circuit is configured to be activated only for a duration of the overshoot voltage received at the pad during the receive mode and the PMOS protect circuit is configured to be activated only for a duration of the undershoot voltage received at the pad during the receive mode.

An integrated circuit (IC) includes core logic circuits and input/output (IO) circuits. The core logic circuits perform a desired function and require a low voltage termed as core supply voltage. The IC communicates with other ICs or external devices (filters, sensors etc.) at high voltage range termed as the IO supply voltage. The IO circuits acts as interface between core logic circuits and external devices. The IO circuits are connected to external devices through board traces or metal wires, called transmission lines. An IO circuit includes a driver that drive signals on a PAD to interface with the external devices. A bidirectional IO circuit has a driver used for sending signals to the external devices (transmission mode) and a receiver for receiving signals from the external devices (receive mode). The increasing complexity and performance requirements of portable media devices call for effective IO circuits with high voltage drivers that provide the voltage transition between the IO supply voltage devices and logic circuits operating at core supply voltages. The high speed LVCMOS (low voltage complementary metal oxide semiconductor) bidirectional IOs face reliability issues arising due to the overshoot voltages and the undershoot voltages at the IO circuit interface caused by impedance mismatch between the external device and the transmission line.
The difference between the core supply voltage and IO supply voltage is large at advanced technology nodes. Hence, it is difficult to fabricate IO circuits and core logic circuits on the same IC without compromising on device density. At advanced technology nodes, the aim is to reduce the cost of the mask and increase the device density. Therefore, low voltage devices are used to fabricate IO circuits and the reliability concerns are addressed either through design engineering, device engineering or both. The IO circuit typically has a driver built from MOSFETs (Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors). The MOSFETs are low voltage devices and can withstand higher supply voltages received from the external devices only to an extent, and any small increase in the supply voltage thereafter results in severe reliability concerns. Hence, the overshoot voltage and the undershoot voltages at the pad during the receive mode tend to significantly overstress the MOSFETs thereby increasing the failure rate of the IC. There are several mechanisms in the literature which are used to clamp the voltages received at the pad above the rail voltages (i.e. VDDS and GND). However, these mechanisms require a reference voltage generated internally on the IC. This adds additional power consumption and complexity to the IO circuit design.

Scheme to reduce stress of input/ output (IO) driver


An addressing scheme enables mobile web-service providing devices located within private address domains to be contacted by other devices located on the same LAN segment regardless of whether or not the two devices are located in the same private IP address domain, providing a working network path can be identified directly or indirectly between the two devices. In this way, if a device-label (such as a telephone number which is associable with an addressed device) is provided by an addressing device to an addressing server, the server is able to resolve the device-label to a private address via which the addressing device can contacted. The private address is utilized by the web-browser application to seamlessly and transparently obtain a requested web-service from the addressed device using any suitable communications channel, e.g. WiFI, Bluetooth, etc, that provides a working path between the two devices.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an addressing scheme for accessing application servers in a communications network and to related aspects. In particular but not exclusively to a scheme for addressing the host server of a third party web service running on a mobile communications device from a web browser application. In particular, but not exclusively, the addressing scheme enables mobile devices located within private address domain(s) to be contacted by other devices on the same LAN segment.
In particular, but not exclusively, the addressing scheme according to the invention seeks to enable mobile web-service providing devices located within private address domains to be contacted by other devices located on the same LAN segment regardless of whether or not the two devices are located in the same private IP address domain, providing a working network path can be identified directly or indirectly between the two devices. In this way, if a device-label (such as a telephone number which is associable with an addressed device) is provided by an addressing device to an addressing server, the server is able to resolve the device-label to a private address via which the addressing device can contacted. The private address is utilized by the web-browser application to seamlessly and transparently obtain a requested web-service from the addressed device using any suitable communications channel, e.g. WiFI, Bluetooth, etc, that provides a working path between the two devices.
The term "LAN segment" refers here to an area within which a device can use an Address Resolution Protocol request to look up and resolve the local address of other device (regardless of whether or not both devices are located in the same private address domain or in different private address domains).
2. Related Art
Network address translation (NAT) devices are known to enable reuse of the Internet Protocol (IP) address space by separating private IP address domains from public IP address domains. NAT techniques establish and maintain Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network and/or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) connections traversing NAT gateways. NAT techniques are used for client-to-client networking applications such as Voice-over-IP ("VoIP") and peer-to-peer applications (for example, file-sharing). When one or both devices (i.e., the client/service providing device) are mobile and have only intermittent connectivity however, NAT can cause problems as it disrupts the end-to-end connectivity. Several NAT control protocols exist, including Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) which typically used in a home/small office environment.
NAT enables private IP addresses to be used on home and corporate networks (internal networks) behind routers which present a single public IP address to the public Internet. When a networked device located in the private IP address domain behind the NAT gateway/router communicates with a device in the public network, the NAT device changes the source address of any outgoing requests the network device generates to the NAT device's own address.
The number of devices participating as servers whose IP addresses are allocated in the private domain behind a NAT device is increasing. The use of applications such as peer-to-peer file sharing (for example, BitTorrent™ or Gnutella™), interactive applications such as video conferencing, VoIP (for example, Session Initiation Protocol or SIP), as well as electronic gaming is also increasing. Whilst the NAT technique works well for devices which function as clients and initiate communications, as the outgoing request enables replies received by the NAT device to be forwarded back to the originating device using an appropriate method, the NAT device has no automatic method for determining from an incoming communication seeking to initiate contact with a server which device located in the private address domain is actually providing that server functionality.
The growing use of mobile devices offering services has further complicated this scenario. As has the increased use of web applications which integrate a number of services provided by multiple independent web sites within a single browser application, known in the art as "Web-based mash-ups". For example, the use of the Google™ Maps application within a unrelated application allows location and other information generated by the unrelated application to be displayed on a map generated using the Google™ Maps application.
Service integration is conventionally implemented either by integrating the third party service in the origin server, or in the web browser itself. Where the third-party service is integrated from the origin server, a variety of network protocols are available for use to support the service integration, for example, the SOAP™ based WebServices protocol. Where service integration take places in the web browser, background mechanisms which rely on dynamic <script> tag loading can be used, for example, an eXtensible MarkUp Language HyperTextTransferProtocol request (XMLHTTPRequest) or a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) based interface.
Known service integration schemes require the address of the hosting web server to be known in advance by the web application author and hard coded into the web content. When a web-browser application running a device runs a web application with the third party content address hardcoded in a particular HyperText Markup Language (HTML) page, providing the browser security policy has been configured to authorize the web application to request content from the address of the third-party content, the requested third party web service accessed via that address will be integrated into the HTML page running in the web browser application on device.
Local networked appliances within the home are becoming more prevalent and such appliances are now capable of providing web based interfaces to allow the user to manually configure and control the appliance remotely. The local area network (LAN) device addresses for such domestic appliances are typically allocated dynamically according to the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) configuration of the LAN router.
If a LAN device is a mobile device and only intermittently connected to a LAN, its IP address will not be static and can change on a frequent basis. In order to enable devices on the LAN to detect each other and determine their address a number of different schemes have been proposed such as Universal Plug And Play (UpnP), Bonjour™, etc which use multicast broadcast packets to announce the availability, address of particular devices as well as the type of services these devices offer. These protocols provide address discovery to allow client applications on a LAN to discover the address and name of a dynamically available device in order to connect to it.
In UPnP the URL of the web services provided by the device is included in the service announcements. These URLs can be displayed by the UPnP aware clients and can be passed to a web browser application as the initial address to fetch the HTML content from.
Web browser applications such as Internet Explorer™ and FireFox™ use the hierarchical Domain Name System (DNS) address lookup scheme to resolve the domain name of a hosted web service to the actual Internet Protocol (IP) address and port to connect to of the server which is hosting the web service. For example, Internet Explorer makes a DNS lookup query for Type A records (hostname) addresses. These requests are first resolved in the DNS cache of the host machine, before being passed to the local DNS server for the LAN (typically hosted in the router) before being referred by the router to the parent DNS server if unresolved. If the hostname is not defined in the DNS cache or local DNS server then the web service will be unreachable.
This imposes a constraint on the way web-services are integrated. In order for a web application to be developed which integrates Wide Area Network (WAN) and LAN web services essentially two mechanisms are available. Either when running the application provides a prompt for user input to enter the IP address of the local device which is hosting the desired third party LAN or WAN web-service or a plug-in application such as an ActiveX or Java applet which implements an address discovery protocol such as UPnP or Bonjour™ must be integrated into the web application together with a JavaScript Application Program Interface (API) to allow this information to be conveyed into the HTML execution context of the web-browser.
A user may not be able to identify the host name or UPnP name of the device hosting the desired third-party service. A default address for a third-party service may have no association with a device which is apparent to a user. The name may bear no relation to a user's concept of a device name and may also assume that the user has actually configured a unique name for the device and not relied on some default naming convention adopted by the device manufacturer.
An exception is when the LAN device hosting the third-party service is a telephone-type device, as the unique device ID is the phone number associated with the phone device, which a user may be aware of and if not, can usually determine.
Accordingly, if a user is prompted for a telephone number for a device to enable that device to provide a web-service to the user's device, it is likely that the correct telephone number may be provided. This means a web content author can realistically develop a web application which includes a prompt for a user to enter a phone number for a device which is to provide a required third-party web service in order to integrate that web service at the runtime of the web application, providing the phone number entered by the user is capable of being converted into a IP address on the local LAN of the device which is hosting the third-party web-service.
It is well known that certain predefined names can map to specific devices. For example, "localhost" is a well known name that matches to the 127.0.0.1 IP loopback address of the current device. This is utilized by plugin's such as the http://developer.garmin.com/web-device/garmin-communicator-plugin/ which provides a Javascript API to a web browser plugin that allows a web application to talk to a Global Positioning Service (GPS) device connected on a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port to the device hosting the web browser application. The Apple™ proprietary Bonjour™ and the UPnP standard both use multicast DNS to broadcast the IP address of a named device to other computers on the same LAN as the named device. However, both of these systems require that an application which needs to perform device name to IP address conversion is either Bonjour™ or UPnP aware.
The DNS service discovery (DNS-SD—see, for example, http://files.dns-sd.org/draft-cheshire-dnsext-dns-sd.txt for more details), provides a mechanism to find services on a local LAN using DNS. This system uses service (SRV) type records (see Request For Comment (RFC) 2782 available from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards body for more information about locating services using DNS and SRV records) in the local DNS database to provide a service to IP address and port lookup mechanism.
In order to use DNS-SD, an application incorporating a third party web-service must be aware that the address it has obtained for the third party server hosting that third party web-service is not correct in order to trigger a request to perform a SRV lookup. As web browser applications are conventionally configured to automatically assume when accessing a web-service that a given web-service address host name is the correct for that web-service, the application will automatically use the given hostname to perform a lookup on the hostname field in the DNS database, regardless of whether that hostname is accessible or not or whether it is the correct hostname or not for the requested service. As a result, existing web browsers do not trigger the DNS-SD SRV lookup procedure.
RFC3761 describes a standard mechanism for converting a telephone number into a domain name. Essentially the number is reversed, the digits separated by "." and postfixed with the .e164.arpa domain. This RFC ensures that unique phone numbers can be converted to unique domain names but then relies on standard DNS to resolve the *.e164.arpa domain to an IP address.
Dynamic DNS (DDNS) provides a mechanism for devices to dynamically update the IP address to domain name mapping via a internet resident server. This server ensures that only authorized clients are allowed to change the IP address for a domain. DDNS is typically used for supporting remote access to home networks where the public IP address of the home router is dynamically allocated by the ISP.
The DDNS client is responsible for automatically detecting the IP address change and update the DDNS server. However, the new IP address must then propagate across the internet to other domain name servers in the internet and as such only becomes reliably available after a period of time has passed. The amount of time varies as it depends on the rate at which DNS updates are disseminated across the domain name servers in the internet.
The delay between the update occurring and it being made available is set by the TimeToLive (TTL) value set by the DDNS name server. This would typically be 1 hour, however since name lookups are not made to the DDNS server but typically to an Internet Service Provider's ISPs DNS server, the time for a new IP address change to percolate depends on both the TTL and whether other DNS servers respect the TTL.
DDNS services also allow client to register private IP addresses, however such private IP addresses are only valid if the device requesting the lookup and the server are on the same LAN segment.
United States Patent Application US20070214209 describes a DDNS style service in which an addressing database holds additional information relating to a device address. However, US20070214209 does not consider the criteria for providing an IP address for a device located on the same LAN segment as the address querying device. US 20070214209 considers the geographical proximity between the querying device and the device whose address is being queried, however, geographical proximity between two devices does not imply they are on the same LAN segment. For example, two devices may be connected on a 3G wireless communications network and be physically adjacent to each other in the same location despite one device not being connected to a LAN which the other device is connected to. Even if both devices are connected to the same physical wireless network, for example, if both devices are connected to a WiFi LAN via the same WiFi Access Point, one device may not be capable of addressing another if the WiFi access point implements wireless client separation. WiFi hotspot routers will enforce wireless client separation by not indicating a route can be established between two devices so that even where two devices are on the same WLAN their presence is not automatically indicated to each other.

BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY


A medical notification apparatus and method for use with a preexisting healthcare facility nurse call system are disclosed. The apparatus sends a message signal to the healthcare facility call system when the apparatus receives and identifies an acoustic signal indicative of a medical device alarm or other parameter. The apparatus comprises an acoustic sensor, a signal processing unit, and an interface unit. A band pass filter, timing gate, and a processor are configured in one embodiment to process the received acoustic signal to identify an acoustic alarm. A memory device may be used to store a set of identification criteria for identifying a variety of acoustic alarms, and to store a set of message signals. The sent message signal is selected from among the stored set of message signals.

In a patient healthcare environment, such as a hospital room, certain patient monitoring devices and treatment devices provide acoustic signals indicative of status. Some of those signals can relate to a patient condition or can relate to a medical device condition for which a clinician should be called or alerted as soon as possible. Other acoustic signals are of lesser importance and should not be the basis for interrupting a clinician in the performance of other tasks. Additionally, there may be other acoustic signals generated in a patient hospital room that are completely unrelated to patient care and for which no clinician attention should be given. For example, patient visitors may bring mobile telephones that emit unusual acoustic sounds or signals, or visitors may have other electronic devices, such as portable computers, that emit acoustic signals, none of which should form the basis for alerting the healthcare staff. Televisions, radios, and intercoms in patient rooms may also emit sounds which should be distinguished from acoustic signals from medical devices.
An example of a medical device acoustic signal is that given by an infusion pump when the tubing of the medication administration set becomes occluded downstream of the pump so that the infusion of medical fluid to the patient is interrupted. Most infusion pumps will provide an acoustic signal that will communicate to a clinician that there is a problem with the infusion. These acoustic signals can be quite loud and are meant to attract attention. However, there are times when the person charged with supervising the medical device is not close enough to the medical device to hear the acoustic alarm signal. Making the acoustic alarm signal louder so that it may be heard from a greater distance is undesirable since it would disturb patients in other rooms.
In prior attempts to solve this problem, some medical devices were configured to communicate directly, via wired or wireless means, to a preexisting healthcare facility communications network or "nurse call" system. However, wires may be cumbersome and present a hazard, especially when the medical device is located at a significant distance from a nurse call communications port. Wires are also inconvenient because they must disconnected when the medical device is moved out of a patient's room. Furthermore, wires are undesirable because they may inadvertently remain disconnected when the medical device is returned to the room. Many facilities do not include a wireless nurse call system and when they do, in some cases the wireless communications protocol may differ from that of the medical device thereby preventing an operable connection. Whether wired or wireless means are used, a medical device designed to operate with a particular nurse call system of a healthcare facility must incorporate communications hardware and software which make the device more expensive. A healthcare institution may be unwilling to replace older medical devices with newer, more expensive devices that incorporate such necessary communications hardware and software. The increased expense may be prohibitive especially when multiplied by tens or hundreds of medical devices in a healthcare facility.
As shown in FIG. 1, typical nurse call systems in healthcare facilities often include a panel 100 on the wall of a patient's room 102. The panel is often located near the patient's bed and typically comprises a jack or connector 104 of some type that accepts a plug 106 with a long cable 108 terminating in a nurse call button or switch 110 at the patient's bedside. The patient 112 manually actuates the nurse call button whenever the patient needs assistance from a clinician 114 who may be located at a remote clinician station 116. The patient may also actuate the nurse call button whenever a medical device 118 in the patient's room generates an acoustic alarm to alert the clinician of the alarm.
When the nurse call signal is activated by the patient, the clinician can determine from which room the signal originated because the rooms are individually displayed at, typically, the clinician workstation 117 in the clinician station. The clinician workstation 117 can also have an acoustic alarm in combination with a visual indicator that alert a clinician that a nurse call has been initiated. More sophisticated workstations are capable of being programmed to contact a nurse-in-charge who has a portable communication device. Portable communication devices include, without limitation, pagers, personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), and mobile telephones. Some healthcare facilities include an Ethernet network system to which the nurse call system is connected. Such nurse call systems can send text or other coded messages to the clinician.
As previously mentioned, clinicians are not always present in the same room as a patient and the medical devices connected to the patient. In addition, a medical device emitting an acoustic alarm that is not heard and responded to by a clinician for any period of time may cause anxiety in patients. Furthermore, it may be difficult for a clinician to immediately pinpoint which room or patient has a medical device that is emitting an alarm in situations where there are many patients connected to numerous medical devices. Another consideration is that there are times when the patient is asleep, unconscious, or is physically unable to actuate the nurse call button.
Hence a need has been recognized by those skilled in the art for an automatic apparatus and method for notifying a clinician of an acoustic alarm generated by a medical device. There is also a need for a simple and inexpensive means of automatically sending a signal or message to an existing nurse call system in response to medical device acoustic alarms. To lessen the chances of a false alarm and to allow customization to suit the needs of a clinician, there is a further need for such an apparatus and method to distinguish between acoustic signals of no importance and those of importance to the clinician. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.

Medical notification apparatus and method


A primary piston of molded plastic material equipped with a metallic insert and having grooves, mounted in a master cylinder comprising at least a primary piston and a secondary piston mounted in the bore hole of the master cylinder. These pistons can create pressure, respectively, in a primary pressure chamber and in a secondary pressure chamber due to the action of a push rod on the primary piston.

Master cylinders known to the state of the art have a primary piston and a secondary piston generally made of aluminum, both of which are installed in series in an axial bore hole of a brake master-cylinder body, generally made of aluminum and machined. Such a master cylinder is discussed in document FR 2,827,244 and document DE 102,006,000,341 A1. A push rod placed in a cavity of the primary piston is used to actuate the displacement of the primary piston. The primary piston serves to pressurize a primary pressure chamber and the secondary piston serves to pressurize a secondary pressure chamber. Primary and secondary springs tend to push the pistons in the direction opposite displacement, thereby ensuring the increase in pressure.
The bore hole of the master cylinder is supplied with brake fluid from two supply access holes that are connected to a brake fluid reservoir. The supply access holes are used to supply the primary and secondary pressure chambers. These holes emerge in annular chambers; annular seals known as "cups" are provided on either side of the annular chambers.
The supply of brake fluid to the pressure chambers occurs when the pistons are at rest. The pistons are then in the position shown in FIG. 1. Supply occurs by passages provided in the piston walls and which then enable the supply access holes and the annular chambers to communicate with the interior of the primary and secondary pistons, emerging respectively in the primary and secondary pressure chambers. When the pistons are moved axially forward (direction of arrow D in FIG. 1), the piston passages cross the seals, isolating the supply chambers and enabling the establishment of brake pressure in the primary and secondary pressure chambers.
The master cylinder assembly is capable of being installed on a brake-assist servomotor.
When the pistons are displaced along the direction of arrow D by the push rod that exercises a selective force on the primary piston, cup 4 isolates the primary pressure chamber from the primary supply access hole and cup 6 isolates the secondary pressure chamber from the supply access hole. When the force on the push rod is released, the volume of brake fluid accumulated in the brakes and springs of the master cylinder pushes the pistons into rest position. At times, when the push rod is rapidly released, the brake fluid contained in the pressure chambers of the master cylinder can drop below atmospheric pressure due to the action of the springs, which push the pistons more rapidly than the capacity of brake fluid to pass through the master cylinder. When the pistons reach rest position, communication between the reservoir at atmospheric pressure and the chambers of the master cylinder is directly established and a sudden surge of brake fluid occurs, which generates noise in the master cylinder, known as a "fluid hammer."
To improve the performance of master cylinders, it is necessary to provide aluminum master-cylinder pistons with specific shapes, which shapes can result in significant additional costs due to the complexity of their manufacture.

Plastic primary piston with insert for a tandem penetration-type master cylinder and a master cylinder equipped with such a piston


The present invention relates to a structure for preventing a flame of an alternator for a vehicle which is capable of preventing an explosion due to the spark and a flame from being transferred to the engine room by forming the flowing path and discharging a fine dust of the brush without changing the structure of the brush assembly formed of a holder cap and a brush holder, Which are detachable. In the structure for preventing a flame of an alternator for a vehicle, the brush assembly includes a brush holder receiving a brush and a holder cap detachably engaged to the brush holder, and a first flow way is formed in an upper portion of the brush holder and the holder cap for passing through the air flown through an inlet hole formed in a sealing member, and a second flow way is formed at a side portion of the brush holder and the holder cap in an alternator for a vehicle which is formed of a brush assembly having a brush contacting with a slip ring inserted onto one end of a driving shaft installed in a front housing and a sealing member provided at a lower portion of the brush assembly, a flame prevention structure for an alternator of a vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for preventing a flame of an alternator for a vehicle, and in particular to a structure for preventing a flame of an alternator for a vehicle which is capable of preventing a flame due to a spark from being moved to the outside and discharging dust formed due to a friction of a brush.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, an alternator(alternating current generator) for a vehicle is formed of a stator, a rotor and a diode, When an agitation switch is turned on, a current of a battery is applied to a rotor coil through a voltage regulator for thereby generating a magnetic force line. When an engine is started, and a rotor is rotated, a power is generated in the stator coil for thereby generating a 3-phase alternating current. The thusly generated 3-phase alternating current is rectified by the diode. When the voltage of the terminal B is higher than the voltage of the battery, the battery is charged, and the current is applied to each load.
As shown in FIG. 1, the alternator includes a driving shaft 2 provided in a front housing 1 sealed using a rear cover 4 and having a slip ring 3, and a brush assembly 5 installed at one side of the driving shaft 2. The brush assembly 5 includes a brush 6 contacting with the slip ring 3, a brush holder 7 for receiving the brush 6, and a sealing member 10 disposed between the front housing 1 and the rear cover 4 for sealing the brush holder 7.
The brush holder 7 includes an extended portion 7b. A flowing path K is formed toward an outlet hole 7a of the extended portion 7b and the rear cover 4 based on an inlet hole 10a, and a net-shaped wire net 20 is formed in the outlet hole 7a.
Therefore, an external air is flown to the inside of the front housing 1 based on the flowing path K formed by the brush holder 7 and the sealing member 10. A fine dust of the brush 6 formed due to a friction with the slip ring 3 based on the rotation of the driving shaft 2 is discharged toward the outlet hole 7a through the flowing path K.
In a state that a certain gas is fully filled in an engine room for a ship, a flame generated by a spark of the brush 6 and the slip ring 3 is blocked by the wire net 20 provided in the outlet hole 7a of the brush holder 7 for thereby preventing the flame from being charged to the outside. In addition, the flame is not transferred to the engine room filled with the gas. Since the flowing path K is formed by the brush holder 7 and the sealing member 10, in order to form the flowing path K, the structure of the brush holder 7 must be changed, so that the fabrication process is complicated, and the cost thereof is increased.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure for preventing a flame of an alternator for a vehicle which is capable of preventing an explosion due to the spark and a flame from being transferred to the engine room by forming the flowing path and discharging a fine dust of the brush without changing the structure of the brush assembly formed of a holder cap and a brush holder. Which are detachable.
In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a structure for preventing a flame of an alternator for a vehicle in which the brush assembly includes a brush holder receiving a brush and a holder cap detachably engaged to the brush holder, and a first flow way is formed in an upper portion of the brush holder and the holder cap for passing through the air flown through an inlet hole formed in a sealing member, and a second flow way is formed at a side portion of the brush holder and the holder cap in an alternator for a vehicle which is formed of a brush assembly having a brush contacting with a slip ring inserted onto one end of a driving shaft installed in a front housing and a sealing member provided at a lower portion of the brush assembly, a flame prevention structure for an alternator of a vehicle.

Structure for preventing flame of alternator for vehicle

Valeo Mando Electrical Systems Korea Limited


A valve for metering a fluid (liquid or gaseous medium), in particular, a fuel injector for internal combustion engines, having a valve housing, an actuator accommodated in the valve housing and acting on a valve member, an electrical connector accessible on the outside of the valve housing, and an electrical supply lead that produces an electrical connection from the connector to the actuator and has two lead strands, each having a flexible strand section. To optimize the electrical supply lead to lower production costs, simplified valve assembly and anti-twist protection for the actuator, each lead strand is made of an electrical conductor provided with a plastic sheathing and having a front and rear, in each case elongated conductor section and a middle conductor section in between that has at least one meander-shaped curvature for realizing the flexible strand section, and a plastic bridge member, in one piece with the plastic sheathings in the area of the middle conductor sections of both electrical conductors, connects the two lead strands to form a torsionally stiff supply-lead module.

A fuel injector or fuel injection valve for the direct injection of fuel into the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine (as in DE 103 17 148 A1) has a valve housing, a piezoelectric, electrostrictive or magnetostrictive actuator mounted on gimbals which is accommodated in the valve housing and is in operative connection with a valve needle, an electrical connector, and a supply lead producing an electrical connection from the connector to the actuator. The supply lead has two lead strands. Each lead strand is made up of an electrical conductor secured in position on the housing side, a contact pin which projects from the actuator and is disposed diametrically relative to the conductor in the valve housing, and a flexible strand section connecting the conductor to the contact pin.
The electrical conductor is a sheathed round wire that is passed through an endpiece closing the valve housing and having an inlet for the fuel, and the bare contact pin projects from the actuator on the front side. The flexible strand section has the form of a spring leaf which extends transversely to the axis of the valve housing. The spring leaf is soldered or welded with angled leaf ends to the bare end of the sheathed round wire on the one side, and on the other side to the bare contact pin. The flexible strand sections in the two lead strands in the form of spring leaves extending transversely to the axis of the valve housing keep unavoidable axial movements of the actuator—which come about owing to energizing of the actuator, different thermal expansions and unavoidable hydraulic losses of a coupler possibly disposed between the actuator and endpiece—away from the sheathed round wires secured in position in the endpiece, and thus prevent bending stresses and abrasions of the round wires and increase the resistance of the valve to wear.


The subject invention concerns a method of introducing at least one gene encoding a product into at least one cell of a connective tissue of a mammalian host for use in treating the mammalian host including employing recombinant techniques to produce a DNA vector molecule which contains the gene encoding for the product and infecting the connective cell of the mammalian host using the DNA vector molecule using the gene coding for the product. A method is provided for introducing at least one gene encoding a product into at least one cell of a connective tissue of a mammalian host employing non-viral means. In a specific example, isolated synovial cells were infected with a retrovirus comprising a DNA sequence encoding IRAP and the transfected cells administered to an arthritic joint. A method to produce an animal model for the study of connective tissue pathology is also disclosed. Additionally, this invention provides a method of using in vivo a gene encoding and extracellular interleukin-1 binding domain of an interleukin-1 receptor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of introducing at least one gene encoding a product into at least one cell of a connective tissue of a mammalian host for use in treating the mammalian host. This method discloses employing DNA vector molecules containing a gene encoding the product and infecting the connective tissue cells of the mammalian host using the DNA vector molecule. This invention provides a method of introducing at least one gene encoding a product into at least one cell of a connective tissue of a mammalian host for use in treating the mammalian host including employing non-viral means for effecting such introduction.
The present invention discloses ex vivo and in vivo techniques for delivery of a DNA sequence of interest to the connective tissue cells of the mammalian host. The ex vivo technique involves prior removal and culture of target autologous connective tissue cells, in vitro infection of the DNA sequence, DNA vector or other delivery vehicle of interest into the connective tissue cells, followed by transplantation to the modified connective tissue cells to the target joint of the mammalian host, so as to effect in vivo expression of the gene product of interest. The in vivo technique bypasses the requirement for in vitro culture of target connective tissues cells; instead relying on direct transplantation of the DNA sequence, DNA vector or other delivery vehicle to the target in vivo connective tissue cells, thus effecting expression of the gene product of interest.
The present invention also relates to a method to produce an animal model for the study of connective tissue pathologies and systemic indices of inflammation.
The present invention further relates to a method of using a gene encoding a truncated interleukin-1 receptor to resist the deleterious pathological changes associated with arthritis. More specifically, this invention provides a method wherein a gene coding for an extracellular interleukin-1 binding domain of an interleukin-1 receptor is introduced into synovial cells of a mammalian host in vivo for neutralizing the destructive activity of interleukin-1 upon cartilage and other soft tissues. As an alternative, the patients own synovial cells are transduced in vitro and introduced back into the affected joint, using transplantation procedures such as for example, intra-articular injection.
As an alternative to the in vitro manipulation of synovia, the gene encoding the product of interest is introduced into liposomes and injected directly into the area of the joint, where the liposomes fuse with synovial cells, resulting in an in vivo gene transfer to synovial tissue. As an additional alternative to the in vitro manipulation of synovia, the gene encoding the product of interest is introduced into the area of the joint as naked DNA. The naked DNA enters the synovial cell, resulting in an in vivo gene transfer to synovial tissue.
As an another alternative, hematopoietic progenitor cells or the mature lymphoid or myeloid cells may be transfected in vitro, recovered and injected into the bone marrow of the patient using techniques known to the skilled artisan.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Arthritis involves inflammation of a joint that is usually accompanied by pain and frequently changes in structure. Arthritis may result from or be associated with a number of conditions including infection, immunological disturbances, trauma and degenerative joint diseases such as, for example, osteoarthritis. The biochemistry of cartilage degradation in joints and cellular changes have received considerable investigation.
In a healthy joint, cells in cartilage (chondrocytes) and the surrounding synovium (synoviocytes) are in a resting state. In this resting state, these cells secrete basal levels of prostaglandin E.sub.2 and various neutral proteinases, such as, for example, collagenase, gelatinase and stromelysin, with the ability to degrade cartilage. During the development of an arthritic condition, these cells become activated. In the activated state, synoviocytes and chondrocytes synthesize and secrete large amounts of prostaglandin E.sub.2 and neutral proteinases.
In efforts to identify pathophysiologically relevant cell activators, it has been known that the cytokine interleukin-1 activates chondrocytes and synoviocytes and induces cartilage breakdown in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, interleukin-1 is a growth factor for synoviocytes and promotes their synthesis of matrix, two properties suggesting the involvement of interleukin-1 in the synovial hypertrophy that accompanies arthritis. In contrast, interleukin-1 inhibits cartilaginous matrix synthesis by chondrocytes, thereby suppressing repair of cartilage. Interleukin-1 also induces bone resorption and thus may account for the loss of bone density seen in rheumatoid arthritis. Interleukin-1 is inflammatory, serves as a growth factor for lymphocytes, is a chemotactic factor and a possible activator of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). When present in a sufficient concentration, interleukin-1 may cause fever, muscle wasting and sleepiness.
The major source of interleukin-1 in the joint is the synovium. Interleukin-1 is secreted by the resident synoviocytes, which are joined under inflammatory conditions by macrophages and other white blood cells.
Much attention has been devoted to the development of a class of agents identified as the "Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs" (hereinafter "NSAIDs"). The NSAIDs inhibit cartilage synthesis and repair and control inflammation. The mechanism of action of the NSAIDs appears to be associated principally with the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis in body tissues. Most of this development has involved the synthesis of better inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase, a key enzyme that catalyzes the formation of prostaglandin precursors (endoperoxides) from arachidonic acid. The anti-inflammatory effect of the NSAIDs is thought to be due in part to inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis and release during inflammation. Prostaglandins are also believed to play a role in modulating the rate and extent of leukocyte infiltration during inflammation. The NSAIDs include, such as, for example, acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), fenoprofen calcium (Nalfon.RTM. Pulvules.RTM., Dista Products Company), ibuprofen (Motrin.RTM., The Upjohn Company), and indomethacin (Indocin.RTM., Merck, Sharp & Dohme).
In contrast, the studies upon which the present invention is based show that production of the various neutral proteinases with the ability to degrade cartilage occurs even if prostaglandin synthesis is completely blocked.
Therapeutic intervention in arthritis is hindered by the inability to target drugs, such as the NSAIDs, to specific areas within a mammalian host, such as, for example a joint. Traditional routes of drug delivery, such as for example, oral, intravenous or intramuscular administration, depend upon vascular perfusion of the synovium to carry the drug to the joint. This is inefficient because transynovial transfer of small molecules from the synovial capillaries to the joint space occurs generally by passive diffusion. This diffusion is less efficient with increased size of the target molecule. Thus, the access of large drug molecules, for example, proteins, to the joint space is substantially restricted. Intra-articular injection of drugs circumvents those limitations; however, the half-life of drugs administered intra-articularly is generally short. Another disadvantage of intra-articular injection of drugs is that frequent repeated injections are necessary to obtain acceptable drug levels at the joint spaces for treating a chronic condition such as, for example, arthritis. Because therapeutic agents heretofore could not be selectively targeted to joints, it was necessary to expose the mammalian host to systemically high concentrations of drugs in order to achieve a sustained, intra-articular therapeutic dose. Exposure of non-target organs in this manner exacerbated the tendency of anti-arthritis drugs to produce serious side effects, such as for example, gastrointestinal upset and changes in the hematological, cardiovascular, hepatic and renal systems of the mammalian host.
It has been shown that genetic material can be introduced into mammalian cells by chemical or biologic means. Moreover, the introduced genetic material can be expressed so that high levels of a specific protein can be synthesized by the host cell. Cells retaining the introduced genetic material may include an antibiotic resistance gene thus providing a selectable marker for preferential growth of the transduced cell in the presence of the corresponding antibiotic. Chemical compounds for inhibiting the production of interleukin-1 are also known.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,806 discloses a method of inhibiting the production of interleukin-1 by monocytes and/or macrophages in a human by administering through the parenteral route a 2-2'-1,3-propan-2-onediyl-bis (thio)!bis-1 H-imidazole or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. This patent discloses a chemical compound for inhibiting the production of interleukin-1. By contrast, in one embodiment of the present invention, gene therapy is employed that is capable of binding to and neutralizing interleukin-1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,470discloses a method of inhibiting the production of interleukin-1 by monocytes in a human by administering a 4,5-diaryl-2 (substituted) imidazole. This patent also discloses a chemical compound for inhibiting the production of interleukin-1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,114 discloses a method of inhibiting the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in a human by administering a diaryl-substituted imidazole fused to a thiazole, pyrrolidine or piperidine ring or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. This patent also discloses a chemical compound for inhibiting the production of interleukin-1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,101 discloses a method for inhibiting the release of interleukin-1 and for alleviating interleukin-1 mediated conditions by administering an effective amount of a pharmaceutically acceptable anti-oxidant compound such as disulfiram, tetrakis 3-(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionyloxy methyl!methane or 2,4-di-isobutyl-6-(N,N-dimethylamino methyl)-phenol. This patent discloses a chemical compound for inhibiting the release of interleukin-1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,436 discloses a process for the use of interleukin-1 as an anti-arthritic agent. This patent states that interleukin-1, in association with a pharmaceutical carrier, may be administered by intra-articular injection for the treatment of arthritis or inflammation. In contrast, the present invention discloses a method of using and preparing a gene that is capable of binding to and neutralizing interleukin-1 as a method of resisting arthritis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,343 discloses an immunoassay method for the detection of interleukin-1 beta that employs a monoclonal antibody that binds to interleukin-1 beta but does not bind to interleukin-1 alpha. This patent discloses that the monoclonal antibody binds to interleukin-1 beta and blocks the binding of interleukin-1 beta to interleukin-1 receptors, and thus blocking the biological activity of interleukin-1 beta. The monoclonal antibody disclosed in this patent may be obtained by production of an immunogen through genetic engineering using recombinant DNA technology. The immunogen is injected into a mouse and thereafter spleen cells of the mouse are immortalized by fusing the spleen cells with myeloma cells. The resulting cells include the hybrid continuous cell lines (hybridomas) that may be later screened for monoclonal antibodies. This patent states that the monoclonal antibodies of the invention may be used therapeutically, such as for example, in the immunization of a patient, or the monoclonal antibodies may be bound to a toxin to form an immunotoxin or to a radioactive material or drug to form a radio pharmaceutical or pharmaceutical.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,069 discloses a recombinant DNA cloning vehicle having a DNA sequence comprising the human interleukin-1 gene DNA sequence. This patent provides a process for preparing human interleukin-1 beta, and recovering the human interleukin-1 beta. This patent discloses use of interleukin-1 as an immunological reagent in humans because of its ability to stimulate T-cells and B-cells and increase immunoglobulin synthesis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,601 discloses a method for providing mammalian hosts with additional genetic capability. This patent provides that host cells capable of regeneration are removed from the host and treated with genetic material including at least one marker which allows for selective advantage for the host cells in which the genetic material is capable of expression and replication. This patent states that the modified host cells are then returned to the host under regenerative conditions. In the present invention, genetic material may be directly introduced (a) into host cells in vivo or (b) into synoviocytes in vitro for subsequent transplantation back into the patient's joints.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,607 discloses a DNA sequence encoding a mammalian interlelukin-1 receptor protein which exhibits interleukin-1 binding activity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,228 discloses a DNA sequence encoding both the murine and human interleukin-1 receptor. This patent also provides a process for the in vitro expression of said DNA sequences.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,812 discloses a substantially pure preparation of the human interlelukin-1 receptor protein.
In spite of these prior art disclosures, there remains a very real and substantial need for a method of introducing at least one gene encoding a product into at least one cell of a connective tissue of a mammalian host in vitro, or alternatively in vivo, for use in treating the mammalian host. Further, there is a need for a process wherein a gene encoding a truncated interleukin-1 receptor is used to resist the deleterious pathological changes associated with arthritis. More specifically there is a need for such a process where a gene coding for the extracellular interlelukin-1 binding domain of the interleukin-1 receptor, capable of binding to and neutralizing interlelukin-1 is expressed in host synovial cells in vivo. There is also a need to utilize one or more additional DNA sequences for delivery to and expression of a protein or protein fragment within a target host connective tissue cell, such as a synovial cell, so as to effect a treatment of various joint pathologies and concomitant systemic indices of inflammation.

University of Pittsburgh of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


A system and a method for driving a motor to rotate at a high speed are provided. The system includes a lookup table, a command detector, a pattern selector and a motor driver. The lookup table module is configured to store a reference waveform pattern and a modulated waveform pattern. An amplitude of the modulated waveform pattern is larger than an amplitude of the reference waveform pattern. The command detector is configured to receive a rotating speed command. The pattern selector is configured to receive the reference waveform pattern and the modulated waveform pattern, and select the reference waveform pattern or the modulated waveform pattern according to the rotating speed command. The motor driver is configured to output a driving signal to drive the motor according to the selected reference waveform pattern or modulated waveform pattern.

In recent years, with the rapid development of personal computers (PC), portable computers such as notebooks (NB) or work stations, operational chips such as central processor units (CPU) and digital signal processors (DSP) are capable of operating more quickly. A frequency of the chip increases with an increase of an operational speed of the chip such that the chip generates large amounts of heat. As a result, the chip can operate abnormally at high temperatures, thereby affecting surrounding circuits thereof. Therefore, it is important that the chip has better heat dissipation efficiency.
Generally, the motor obtains supplied power and is driven to rotate based on a driving waveform pattern (which is called a reference waveform pattern as used herein) during a duty cycle of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal. A rotating speed of the motor changes linearly with an amplitude of the driving waveform pattern. For example, when the duty cycle of the PWN signal is 50%, the amplitude of the driving waveform pattern is reduced by half and thus an output power of the motor is reduced by half. However, low and high rotating speed requirements cannot be realized by using common driving waveform patterns. Under the same load of the motor, when the duty cycle of the PWM signal of the motor is lower than a ratio such as 20%, the motor is intended to be driven to rotate at a low speed based on the driving waveform pattern to meet minimum heat dissipation and low noise requirements. For example, when the motor is driven based on third-order harmonic waveforms or sinusoidal waveforms, only low noise is generated. Conversely, when the motor of a fan is driven to rotate at a high speed to meet a maximum heat dissipation requirement, high noise is generated by a blade cutting into air. Therefore, when the duty cycle of the PWM signal of the motor is higher than a ratio such as 50%, the motor is driven to rotate at a high speed based on a driving waveform pattern (which is called a modulated waveform pattern as used herein) to meet high rotating speed requirements, instead of the low noise requirement. It is therefore apparent that a motor driver device must store different waveforms required for the motor operating at low and high rotating speeds.

System and method for driving a motor to rotate at a high speed


In a communications system wherein a broadcast signal is received by a plurality of antennas each connected to a receiver, the resulting plurality of received signals are jointly subjected to automatic frequency correction (AFC) before interference rejection combining (IRC) or maximal ratio combining (MRC) processing to output an estimate of the broadcast signal. The joint automatic frequency correction processing involves computing and applying a frequency offset on a sample by sample basis to each of the received signals to output corresponding frequency corrected received signals for IRC or MRC processing.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for interference rejection combining of received radio signals and, in particular, to the correction of a common frequency offset experienced with respect to the interference rejection combining process for radio signals received at multiple antennas.
2. Description of Related Art
Reference is now made to FIG. 1 wherein there is shown a block diagram of a communications system 10. An information symbol sequence s(k) is pulse shaped and modulated onto a radio frequency carrier by a radio transmitter 12. The modulated and transmitted signal passes through a radio frequency channel 14. Such a signal may be lost or degraded during such transmission due to the effects of multipath fading and interference. Multipath fading comprises two basic effects: flat fading and time dispersion. Flat fading arises from the interaction of the transmitted signal and reflections (echoes) thereof received at the same time. Time dispersion occurs when the echoes are delayed with respect to the transmitted signal. Interference arises from the existence in the radio environment of noise and of signal sources which are not orthogonal to the transmitted signal. Such signals are often emitted from radio transmitters operating on the same frequency as the transmitted signal (co-channel interference), or from transmitters operating on a neighboring frequency as the transmitted signal (adjacent channel interference).
The transmitted signal (including the echoes and interference) is received by a plurality of antennas 16. A receiver 18 associated with each antenna 16 filters and down-converts the received signal to a complex baseband received signal sequence r(k). A detector 20 collects and processes the plural signal sequences r(k) to produce an estimate s(k) of the originally transmitted information symbol sequence s(k).
Operation of the detector 20 in an Interference Rejection Combining (IRC) mode to output the estimate s(k) is well known in the art. For example, a number of implementations for the detector 20 are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,419, entitled "Method of and Apparatus for Interference Rejection Combining in Multi-Antenna Digital Cellular Communications Systems", Gregory Bottomley, inventor. In accordance with the foregoing disclosure, channel taps are estimated by the decoder 20 for each of the antennas 16. Impairment correlation properties are also estimated. Branch metrics are then formed in a processor using the received signals r(k), the channel tap estimates, and the impairment correlation estimates. The branch metrics are then employed in a sequence estimation algorithm to provide an estimate s(k) of the transmitted signal sequence s(k).
It is important in the system 10 that the transmitter 12 and receivers 18 be well synchronized (i.e., phase aligned). It is also important that the local frequency generator for each receiver 18 be locked very accurately to the transmission frequency of the transmitter 12. It is known in the art for each receiver 18 to implement an automatic frequency control (AFC) algorithm for the purpose of calculating a frequency and phase error for each sample of the received signal. Appropriate corrections to the local oscillator frequency of the receiver 18 and the phase of the received signal are then made. Such frequency and phase corrections are typically implemented as a part of a Viterbi equalizer/symbol detector provided within each receiver 18. For example, such a receiver 18 for a single antenna 16 system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,616, issued Aug. 4, 1992 to Paul W. Dent. In one implementation of such an automatic frequency control receiver, distinct frequency estimators are used for each Viterbi state. Alternatively, one frequency estimator corresponding to the best Viterbi state is used.
The foregoing single antenna implemented automatic frequency control process has been extended for use in multi-antenna communications systems, like the system 10 of FIG. 1, having interference rejection combining (IRC) processing. The use of independent automatic frequency control processing with respect to each one of a plurality of antennas 16 and receivers 18 (i.e., on each individual receiver chain) has, however, caused a degradation of system performance with respect to bit error rates (see, FIG. 5A and subsequent discussion). This degradation is especially prominent for received signals having low Doppler speeds. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved automatic frequency control processing method and apparatus suitable for use in conjunction with multi-antenna communications systems implementing interference rejection combining processing.

Interference rejection combining with frequency correction


It is an object of the present invention to provide a synchronized program delivery of training and self-paced learning a communication network. It is another object of the invention to create a virtual classroom available to clients over a distributed network, thus decreasing the cost of education by eliminating travel costs. The invention provides a delivery environment simulating a classroom including functions for synchronized viewing of multimedia content and shared multimedia objects. A system and method is provided for synchronizing and serving multimedia content in a distributed network. In one aspect there is a synchronization server, a content server, and at least one client. The synchronization server provides indication of an update to a multimedia resource to the client. The content server provides content information to the client based upon the indication provided by the synchronization server.

Many uses have arisen for distributed communication networks and systems, including viewing multimedia data such as documents, images, audio, and video from remote locations. Client-server systems operating over distributed networks have become a common solution for communicating information between people.
One such client-server system includes a multimedia server for distributing multimedia content to a number of clients. Generally, multimedia is provided by a server to clients using existing communication protocols such as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), such as on the Internet. A number of clients execute a multimedia application program which allows the clients to view multimedia content provided by the server.
An example use for multimedia in communication networks is for multi-user systems such as distance learning and conferencing systems and other collaborative tools. These multi-user systems allow a number of users to interact and share multimedia resources, saving travel costs and leveraging existing corporate communication resources. A distributed multimedia communication application that provides real-time communication should address the problem of delivering time-sensitive, mission-critical information and training to a geographically dispersed workforce. In addition, an effective online training delivery environment would enable corporate professionals to learn at their desks, mobilizing skills that keep businesses competitive.
One problem existing in multi-user systems includes the synchronization of shared resources, such as a whiteboard that may be updated by participants in real time. Another problem is that media data takes different forms, such as audio, text, application data, and the like, which introduces additional complexity to a synchronization mechanism. Also, with the emergence of the publicly-available TCP/IP networks, such as the Internet, it would be beneficial for a program to be able to communicate over the Internet using available computer languages and communication protocols.

Method and system for synchronizing and serving multimedia in a distributed network


An oil core replacing device includes a base pivotally provided thereon with a driving gear and three driven gears. The driven gears are annularly positioned around and meshed with the driving gear, respectively secured thereon with a clamping member with a rod body. A tubular body is annularly fitted around the outer circumferential side of each rod body, able to slide freely at the outer circumferential wall of the rod body. Thus, by having the tubular bodies sliding axially along the rod bodies and extending to the lower side of the rod bodies, the clamping members of the oil core replacing device can be adjusted in length for matching with different operation demands, convenient in operation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an oil core replacing device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, the space of an engine room of an automobile and a motorcycle is limited, and the space for locking an oil core is so cramped that there is not sufficient operating space for removing and replacing the oil core; therefore, disassembling tools must be used for demounting and replacing the oil core. A conventional oil core removing and replacing device includes a seat body, at least one rotating disc and at least three rotary members. The rotating disc and the rotary members can be rotated relative to the seat body, and the rotating disc is positioned between the rotary members and makes contact with the rotary members. When the rotating disc is rotated relative to the seat body, the rotary members will be driven to rotate together with the rotating disc. At least three clamping pieces rotatable and demountable manually are respectively fixed with the rotary members and hence, the clamping pieces can unlimitedly and axially rotate respectively relative to the rotary members. When the rotary members are rotated relative to the seat body, the distance between the clamping pieces will be changed but still will keep an equal distance.
When clamping pieces of different lengths must be used for meeting with operation demands of demounting and replacing different oil cores, the clamping pieces of the conventional oil core removing and replacing device have to be detached and replaced with new clamping pieces of different lengths, thus increasing trouble in operation. In addition, numerous different-sized clamping pieces have to be reserved for coping with different operation demands and such clamping pieces are likely to be lost in use.


A robot arm temporarily stops when a contact detector detects contact. A holding motion selecting unit then selects one of continuously stopped motion, directionally limited motion, and directionally unlimited motion in accordance with information including one or both of a distance between the robot arm and a contacted object and force applied to the robot arm by a person. A motion controller causes the selected motion to achieve holding motion.

Domestic robots such as nursing care robots and housekeeping support robots have been developed actively in recent years. Industrial robots including a robot cooperating with a person have been also developed actively due to increasing cell production plants and the like. Such an assisting robot cooperating with a person needs to coexist with a person, unlike a conventional robot configured to move in a robot operating area separated from a person staying area. The assisting robot is required to assure safety different from that required for the conventional industrial robots and the like. A power assisting robot for performing a task of conveying an object in cooperation with a person is in one of a state of conveying an object and a state of conveying no object, and needs to be safely switched between these two states. The robot needs to contact to hold an object when being switched from the state of conveying no object to the state of conveying an object. When the power assisting robot is made in contact with an object, a force detector detects force in a direction unintended by a person due to the contact. Upon the detection of force in a direction unintended by a person, the robot may move in an unintended direction or may be hard to be pressed against the object. The conventional assisting robots have such safety problems.
A conventional technique for such a power assisting robot configured to hold an object provides a method of controlling a held object (work) so as to move as desired by directionally limiting motion of an assisting device in accordance with a direction of operation force (Patent Literature 1).

Robot, robot control apparatus, robot control method, and robot control program

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.