A distillation apparatus is capable of regenerating spent NMP from an on-site process for lithium ion battery electrodes. The distillation apparatus has a raw material tank, a side-cut distillation column, and a product tank. The distillation column has a top portion where a liquid to be treated is separated into a high-concentration NMP and water containing light-boiling components, a bottom portion where refluxed liquid in the distillation column is further distilled to separate the refluxed liquid into a high-purity NMP and the high-concentration NMP containing high-boiling components, and a mid-stage portion from which the high-purity NMP is withdrawn as side-cut vapor. The distillation column has, at a rear stage, a condenser for condensing the high-purity NMP withdrawn as the side-cut vapor, and a flow controller for regulating an amount of a liquid of the high-purity NMP withdrawn from the condenser to the product tank.

Upon production of lithium ion secondary batteries, a base material in the form of a metal foil is coated with an electrode material comprising an active substance such as a lithium compound, a binder such as polyvinylidene fluoride, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (hereinafter referred to merely as "NMP") as a solvent, and the resulting coated material is calcined to produce an electrode. Conventionally, the NMP generated in a gaseous state in the calcination step has been recovered by an adsorption method utilizing activated carbon or zeolite, or a water-absorbing method. The thus recovered NMP has been then transported to chemical plants by a tank lorry, etc. Thereafter, in the chemical plants, the recovered NMP is purified by conventionally known distillation methods to obtain a purified NMP having a purity of not less than 99.9% by weight, similarly to initial production of the NMP.
On the other hand, from the standpoint of reducing recycling cost, i.e., transport cost and treatment cost required in chemical plants for loading and unloading of the NMP in a tank and pretreatments for control of a concentration of the NMP, etc., the present inventors have previously proposed a distillation apparatus for NMP which is capable of purifying the NMP on-site. The distillation apparatus is equipped with a single tower-type distillation column, and is designed to reduce its size by reducing the number of equipments attached thereto, such as a boiling reboiler, a cooling condenser, a pump and other metering devices. The distillation column used in the distillation apparatus is a side-cut type distillation column which is constructed such that water comprising light-boiling components is removed from a raw NMP in a top portion thereof to separate a high-concentration NMP from the raw NMP, and high-boiling components are further removed from the high-concentration NMP in a bottom portion of the distillation column to obtain a purified high-purity NMP which can be then withdrawn as a side-cut liquid from a mid-stage portion of the distillation column. By using such a distillation column, it is possible to obtain the high-purity NMP having a purity of not less than 99.9% by weight at a recovery rate of about 85%. Furthermore, the distillation apparatus is additionally provided, as an automatic treatment function, with a start-up function for initiating a continuous treatment operation in which a reduced pressure operation and a circulation operation are sequentially performed for controlling the distillation column in a stationary state upon initiating the continuous treatment operation of the distillation apparatus; and an operational mode switching function in which upon conducting the continuous treatment operation, an operational mode of the distillation apparatus is switched again to the circulation operation according to a liquid level in a raw material tank or a product tank. With the provision of the automatic treatment function, the distillation apparatus can be operated in a simple and safe manner corresponding to the variation of throughput or water content in the raw material (refer to Patent Literature 1).

MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CORPORATION


A new and distinct variety of Zoysiagrass plant possessing a bluish deep green color, slow vertical growth, and minimal headings.

The present invention relates to the genus Zoysia japonica, species xe2x80x98Himenoxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct asexually reproduced variety of perennial Zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica).
This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Zoysiagrass plant that was discovered by the inventor growing among other cultivated Zoysiagrass varieties in the inventor""s lawngrass collection in Hiroshima, Japan. This new variety of perennial turf grass possesses a unique combination of desirable qualities such as slow vertical growth, minimal headings and a bluish deep green color.
For purposes of registration under the xe2x80x9cInternational Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plantsxe2x80x9d (generally known by its French acronym as the UPOV Convention) and noting sections 1612 of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, it is proposed that the new variety of Zoysiagrass of the present invention be named xe2x80x9cxe2x80x98Himenoxe2x80x99 Zoysiagrass.xe2x80x9d


A method for preparing a perovskite film includes the steps of applying a first solution on a substrate to form a film by spin coating and applying a second solution on the film made from the first solution by spin coating to form the perovskite film. The perovskite film is expressed by a general formula of ABX3. The solute of the first solution at least contains one of AX and BX2. The solute of the second solution at least contains one of AX and BX2. A method for preparing the solar cell using the perovskite film as the active layer (absorber) is also disclosed.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to the methods for preparing a perovskite thin film and a solar cell and, in particular, to the method for preparing the solar cell using the perovskite film as the active layer.
2. Related Art
Recently, with the issue of increasing energy consumption, rising oil price and global warming induced by fossil energy, searching an alternative energy without sequela becomes an important subject. The alternative energy under the spotlight nowadays encompasses hydraulic power, wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, etc. Among them, the solar cell (which converts solar energy to electricity) is one of the most attractive sources since it has several advantages such as low pollution, less environmental limitation and high safety.
Perovskite solar cell uses a perovskite film as the active layer (also called light-absorbing layer). Perovskite material has a strong absorption on the visible light and has a wide absorption range, therefore small amount of the material can produce high short-circuit current when it was applied in the solar cell. Perovskite solar cell also has a high open-circuit voltage, therefore has high power conversion efficiency (PCE).
The conventional method for preparing a high efficiency perovskite solar cell, the perovskite active layer is fabricated by an evaporation technique. However, an expensive evaporator and a high vacuum environment are required for the evaporation method and the procedure for making vacuum not only takes a lot of time and cost but also the property of the perovskite thin film is difficult to be accurately controlled.
Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a method for preparing the perovskite film and therefore the solar cell where the perovskite active layer is formed without using the evaporation technique and the property of the perovskite film can be accurately controlled and reproducible.

Method for preparing perovskite film and solar cell thereof


Systems and techniques for implementing adaptive video stream testing are presented. In particular, installation of a digital rights management (DRM) client is validated. Furthermore, a decrypted video stream at a particular bitrate is received in response to validating a DRM client. Data throttling is implemented to simulate one or more network speeds for the decrypted video stream. Additionally, video playback time is measured for a codec at the one or more network speeds and it is determined whether the video playback time for the codec exceeds a predetermined threshold value. A test report is generated that lists the codec and the video playback time for the codec at the one or more network speeds.

The amount of media content (e.g., video content) available on mobile devices is growing. However, a network often cannot provide constant bandwidth to a mobile device to play the media content over the network. As network speed and/or available bandwidth from a network varies, the quality of video content received on a mobile device can be reduced. One solution is to implement adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming which can be implemented to deliver different quality media content to a mobile device based on available bandwidth (e.g., the quality of video provided to a mobile device can be varied based on the available bandwidth of a network). For example, a lower bitrate and lower video quality can be presented to a mobile device when network bandwidth drops. Similarly, a higher bitrate and higher video quality can be presented to a mobile device for higher available network bandwidth.
However, testing ABR streaming on mobile devices brings various challenges. For example, different mobile devices can include multiple hardware configurations and/or multiple software customizations. As such, differences in hardware and/or software implementations in mobile devices can cause incompatibilities in video services provided to mobile devices. Furthermore, mobile devices are often required to meet guidelines to ensure adequate video quality for mobile device users. However, conventional methods of testing video quality for different mobile devices are inefficient and/or are often difficult to successfully implement.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A fixed-wing VTOL aircraft features a forward-swept wing configuration coupled with a tripod arrangement of the engines (two forward, one rear), a forward-swept empennage or tail assembly, and a forward canard. The engines and wings/empennage are located relative to each other such that the engine outlet nozzles, which pivot downwardly to provide lift-off thrust, are minimally covered by the wings/empennage, if at all. The wings and empennage may include lifting fans to supplement lift and provide pitch and/or roll control.

A number of configurations of fixed-wing VTOL aircraft have been proposed in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,618,875 and 3,388,878. The aircraft in those two patents utilize several lifting fans to elevate the aircraft off the ground and separate engines for forward thrust to produce lift-generating forward air speed. The lifting fans according to both references are powered by gas bled from the thrust-producing engines using fairly complex, and therefore fairly heavy, take-off ducting. As far as I know, no aircraft according to either reference has ever been built and flown successfully.
Rather, as far as I know, only two fixed-wing VTOL aircraft have been built and flown successfully in any meaningful numbers, namely, the AV8-B/Harrier "Jumpjet" and the Lockheed-Martin X-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" (currently in development). Although those two aircraft have proven themselves successfully, they both suffer from a number of design drawbacks or sensitivities. Using the Harrier for illustration purposes, I explain these deficiencies below.
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, at low forward velocity, airflow over the root of the wing is generally laminar. Flow over the mid-span portions of the wing, however, tends to be less stable, and flow over the tip portions of the wing becomes highly unstable to turbulent. As forward velocity increases, the region of laminar flow tends to spread or progress from the root of the wing toward the tip of the wing. The flow over the tip region of the wing, however, remains somewhat unstable. It is not until the aircraft reaches forward airspeeds on the order of 120 knots that flow along the entire span of the wing becomes laminar.
As one having skill in the art will appreciate, the greater the moment arm of the control forces that can be generated, the greater the degree of aircraft stability that can be maintained with the control forces. Therefore, because the flow over the wing of a conventional fixed-wing VTOL aircraft such as the Harrier is laminar generally only near the root of the wing in low-speed forward flight, control forces are generated only with relatively short moment arms relative to the aircraft datum center line in low-speed forward flight. Therefore, as the aircraft transitions from pure vertical take-off to forward motion, roll control is relatively "soft" or "mushy." Only after the conventional fixed-wing VTOL aircraft has attained a forward speed on the order of 70 knots will full roll controllability of the wing be realized. (To compensate for this, Harriers use a series of jet thrusters at their wingtips, which utilize bleed air from the engine; this adds complexity and weight and reduces thrusting power available for lift-off.)
In addition to the delay in achieving strong positive roll control, the configuration of a conventional fixed-wing VTOL aircraft also makes pitch control somewhat difficult. As the aircraft gains forward velocity and laminar flow progresses toward the wingtip, which is located rearward of the root, the mean aerodynamic center of pressure or center of lift progresses rearward. Because the mean aerodynamic center is located behind the center of mass of the aircraft, as the mean aerodynamic center moves rearward, it moves further away from the center of mass of the aircraft and its moment arm increases. Therefore, as the aircraft increases its forward velocity and the mean aerodynamic center moves further rearward, the pitch control surfaces have to compensate for this increased moment arm. This also increases static longitudinal instability of the aircraft. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to control the vehicle in transition from VTOL through horizontal flight through pitch control inputs.
Another phenomenon which occurs in conventional fixed-wing VTOL aircraft such as the Harrier is lift entrainment or "suck down," which is a phenomenon that occurs within about four feet to twelve feet of the ground and that is related to ground effect. In particular, in a conventional fixed-wing VTOL aircraft such as the Harrier, vertical lift-off is achieved by rotating two sets of nozzles to direct gas flow from the engine downwardly. The conventional configuration has those nozzles positioned generally right under the wings of the aircraft, as illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 1C. As further illustrated in those Figures, when the jet exhaust strikes the ground, it is diverted laterally and flows horizontally along the ground under the wings. Because the flow is hot gas, as soon as the gas is able to rise, i.e., as soon as it exits out from under the wings, it does so. Cooler, heavier air above, however, forces the flow back down on top of the wing, creating the circular flow pattern illustrated in FIG. 1B. Thus, there is increased pressure force on top of the wing, pressing the wing downward. Additionally, the horizontal, lateral flow of gas along the underside of the wing illustrated in FIG. 1C reduces pressure due to Bernoulli's principle, and that reduced pressure under the wing creates a suction force which retards vertical lift-off of the aircraft.
Thus, although the AV8-B/Harrier has been a generally successful fixed-wing VTOL program, and although the X-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" also should be a successful program, conventional fixed-wing VTOL aircraft are not without their design difficulties. As a result, they can be somewhat difficult or tricky aircraft to fly.

VTOL aircraft with forward-swept fixed wing


A semiconductor memory circuit selects one memory cell group in response to an address signal having block selection information, first and second significant bit information. First to third memory cell blocks respectively have memory cell groups each including memory cells. First to third decoder groups respectively have first decoders each coupled to one memory cell group in the first memory cell block, second decoders each coupled to one memory cell group in the second memory cell block, and third decoders each coupled to one memory cell group in the third memory cell block. First and second logic circuits respectively output a first common block selection signal with respect to the first and second memory cell blocks in response to the block selection information of the address signal, and a second common block selection signal with respect to the second and third memory cell blocks in response to the block selection information of the address signal. Third and fourth logic circuits respectively, in response to the second and the first information, apply first common decode signals to the first and second decoder groups upon the first common block selection signal being outputted, and a plurality of second common decode signals to the second and third decoder groups upon the second common block selection signal being outputted. In response to the first and second common decode signals, a second decoder in the second decoder group is activated so as to select one memory cell group in the second memory cell block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory circuit, and particularly to a semiconductor memory circuit of a type wherein an on-chip decoder circuit and on-board circuits related to the decoder circuit have been improved.
2. Description of the Related Art
A decoder circuit employed in a semiconductor memory circuit has been disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 60-138796, published on Jul. 23, 1985 of which the entire disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.
The disclosed semiconductor memory circuit is one of a type wherein decoder lines have been doubled for the purpose of achieving less power consumption and high-speed operations of decoder circuit. However, the disclosed decoder circuit needs many decoders. The patterns for the decoder circuit therefore require a larger lay out area when the decoder circuits are formed on a semiconductor chip. This is a clear disadvantage.


In a two-way radio communications system wherein subscriber units are provided with multiple features from the software running on a server, a user interface of the subscriber unit permits the subscriber unit user to change the control state of the server software depending on different types of actuations of the user interface. In the preferred embodiment, one, two or more “clicks” on a momentary input switch, as well as pushing and holding and releasing the input switch can be used to select or de-select between multiple services and applications provided to the subscriber unit by the server software.

Portable communication devices such as cellular telephones, pagers and two-way radios are now able to provide a plethora of services and applications in addition to the basic communication function that they were nominally intended to have. For instance, cellular telephones, the original purpose and function of which was to make telephone calls, now provide wireless access to web pages on the Internet. Third party service providers allow e-mail messages to be received by and read using a cell phone. Pagers, which originally provided only the ability to be summoned, now can provide services that include continuous stock market quotes, professional sports games data as well as the ability to generate a response to a paging message.
The services and applications that have been added to the now-ubiquitous wireless communications devices mandate increasingly more capable, yet easier-to-use human-to-device interfaces by which the ever-increasing feature sets are made more easily accessible to the user.

Multi-function, multi-state input control device


A method and apparatus providing remote access to server consoles in a network is disclosed. The method and apparatus provides remote access by utilizing a single server designated an access server, multiple serial port means attached to this single access server, and a plurality of additional servers coupled to this multiple serial port means. The method and apparatus couples the server console lines to the serial ports of the multiple serial port means as well as server console terminals. Remote access is accomplished by gaining access to the access server, which then provides access to any one of the serial ports associated with the access server, thereby providing remote access to any one of the plurality of server console lines coupled to the multiple serial port means. This capability is accomplished while local accessibility to the server console terminals is maintained.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for accessing through a single connection a plurality of server consoles coupled together via a computer network. The present invention has particular application to assessing and repairing computer network problems from a remote location.
2. Art Background:
A computer network serves to connect together a plurality of devices, e.g., terminals, computers, etc. Networks typically comprise a plurality of computers some of which function as servers to provide services to the other computers connected to the network.
The functions performed by a server vary depending on the network and the server's place within the particular network. For example, at least one server typically functions as a "file server" for the network. (See, generally, Rinzler and Gancher, The Computerland Guide To Local Area Networks, Computerland Books, Pleasanton, Calif. pp. 4-34). A computer functioning as a file server will usually have significantly more data storage capacity than the other computers connected to the network. The networked computers utilize this data storage capacity to store files and databases. Software executed by the file server controls access to these files and databases.
In addition to a fileserver, a network can include servers such as a print server, a data base server, or facsimile server. A print server typically provides access to a centralized printer shared by the network. A network user is able to send a print request to the print server where the request and data to be printed are stored, prioritized with respect to other print requests, and placed on a print queue until the printer is ready to print the job. A database server provides for the centralized storage of a database accessible to the network users. A facsimile server provides users connected to the network access to a facsimile capability located in a centralized facsimile server.
Each server in a network typically has a server console line through which system messages such as error messages are output, and communication with the server is achieved. Typically a terminal (TTY) device, such as a dumb terminal, is connected to the server console line where a user can monitor console messages and communicate with the console. When an error condition occurs on the server, an error message is typically output through the server console line. Remedial actions are frequently taken in response to these error messages. Responding to server error messages, and communicating with the server console, become important when an individual wishes to "troubleshoot" an error condition or when the individual wishes to reboot the server.
Typically, a computer manufacturer, or technicians associated with a computer manufacturer, are called upon to service a server. Unfortunately, the server is often at a remote location, far from the manufacturer or technician. Under such circumstances, the manufacturer or technician is essentially faced with three options.
The first option is to travel to the remote location and attend to the server. This option can be costly and present logistical problems. The second option is to work over the phone with an individual at the remote site, asking that individual to describe the error messages, communicate with the server over the console terminal, and take appropriate remedial actions. This option is prone to miscommunication, frustration, and resultant ineffective repair. The third option is to ask an individual at the remote location to recable the server such that the server itself can "communicate" over the telephone lines with the manufacturer or technician. This option is also prone to miscommunication and frustration, often exacerbating the problem through the inadvertent displacement or damaging of network cables.

Method and apparatus for remotely accessing a plurality of server consoles


The coil holding current of a contactor is regulated to the lesser of two measurements of coil current during each cycle of the full-wave rectified control voltage to compensate for induced flux in the coil generated by load current through the main contacts of the contactor, thereby preventing uncontrolled drop out of the contactor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of electromagnetic contactors and more specifically to a method of minimizing the magnitude of current flowing in the coil of an electromagnetic contactor yet maintaining sufficient coil current to ensure positive holding even in the presence of induced flux effects.
2. Background Information
Electromagnetic contactors are used for controlling large amounts of electrical power supplied to electrical motors having operating currents in the range of a thousand or more amperes. Electromagnetic contactors may be configured as simple switches or as motor starters having integral current sensors and overload control circuits. In its simplest form, an electromagnetic contactor is a high-current switch having bridging contacts which are actuated with a spring-biased solenoid. The bridging contacts are typically configured with a fixed contact and a movable contact coupled to the spring-biased solenoid. The spring biasing of the contactor mechanism utilizes a kickout spring and a contact spring. The kickout spring maintains the bridging contacts in a normally open position. To close the contacts, current is injected into the contactor coil to actuate the solenoid mechanism and to move the bridging contacts to a closed position. Before the bridging contacts can move between the open and closed positions, the solenoid must generate enough force to overcome the force exerted by the kickout biasing spring. The moveable contacts then accelerate toward the fixed contacts until the contacts touch. The force applied to the contacts in the closed position is controlled by the contact spring and current flowing in the contactor coil which in turn controls the solenoid actuator. Once the contacts are touching, the current in the contactor coil is maintained at a level sufficient to maintain the bridging contacts in the closed position. The current flow in the coil is then interrupted to return the contactor to the open, rest position.
In the past, electromagnetic contactors were constructed as open systems, wherein the currents delivered to the contactor coil were in ranges calculated to provide acceptable performance. Most often, the currents used to drive the contactor coil were far in excess of the actual current required to provide an operating margin thought to anticipate all worst-case operating conditions. This type of contactor design results in several problems. Since excess current levels are used, the contactor operates in an inefficient mode, resulting in wasted energy and excess heat. Furthermore, since large currents are delivered to the contactor coil when accelerating the contactor contacts to a closed position, the contacts often accelerate to a high speed, resulting in contact bounce when the contacts ultimately close.
One system designed to overcome these problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,102, incorporated herein by reference. This system provides a bounceless contact closing operation by sensing the amount of current flowing in the contactor coil on a half-cycle basis. Specifically, the contactor coil voltage is sensed by a contactor control system and compared against a memory menu of stored delay angles. The delay angles are applied to the conduction interval of a gating device which is coupled in series with the contactor coil to control the current flowing therethrough. Depending upon the voltage sensed, the current flowing through the coil is varied on a half-cycle basis by the control system. The energy supplied to the closing contacts is such that only sufficient energy is imparted to allow the contacts to move to the closed position with a decreasing velocity which approaches zero as the contacts come into contact with each other. Once the contacts are closed, the coil current is regulated at a predetermined holding level by varying the conduction angle of the gating device coupled to the contactor coil.
While this system provides a vast improvement over contactor systems used in the past, it is susceptible to certain failure modes in multi-phase systems. Specifically, it is known that the large currents flowing in the contacts may induce unwanted flux in the contactor coil. In a multi-phase contactor system, depending on coil orientation relative to the contacts, and the direction of the current flowing in the respective contacts, the induced flux can result in the partial cancellation of currents flowing in the contactor coil. This reduction in net holding current may result in unwanted contact "drop-out" even when the applied coil holding current is well above the calculated current range for providing stable contactor operation.
From the foregoing, no system is known which provides all of the advantages of the system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,182, while also eliminating contact "drop-out" due to unwanted induced flux effects.

Coil current regulator with induced flux compensation in an electromagnetic contactor system


A simple, relatively low cost wall mountable humidistat that continuously indicates the water vapor content of gas, most preferably air. The humidistat has a conductivity probe with electrodes extending into two interconnected vials containing lithium chloride solution. Moisture is absorbed by the solution from the humid ambient air whereby a change of the volume of the solution results and the level of humidity can be determined.

This invention relates to a humidity sensing apparatus employing lithium chloride solution whereby as moisture is transferred from the air to the solution, and the volume of the solution is increased, the level of humidity can be determined.
Measurement of humidity with high precision is still difficult compared with measurement of other physical variables of the atmosphere such as temperature and pressure. However, the need for easy and accurate measurement of humidity has increased in many fields such as food industries, agriculture, air conditioning and medical service, in order to control humidity, for humidifier or dehumidifier purposes.
Currently, there are several different types of apparatus to measure humidity. Electrical methods to measure humidity, where a change in humidity is detected by a change in electrical resistance as moisture is absorbed or desorbed by a deliquescent and/or hygroscopic substance, are widely known. However, apparatus employing these methods, i.e. those utilizing ionic conductivity, exhibit considerable drifting of the indications with passage of time by reason of polarization, eventually causing loss of calibration. Additionally, electrical indications are obtained from absorptions of various gaseous substances other than moisture. More importantly, such apparatus have not been fully satisfactory in their responsiveness, mode of hysteresis and the width of humidity range they can cover.
Another category of conventional electrical humidity sensors comprise a filament of an organic material such as human hair, nylon or polystyrene in combination with a strain gauge or microswitches so as to detect the deformation of the filament caused by absorption or desorption of moisture. These humidity sensors are traditionally unsatisfactory in their accuracy, responsiveness, hysteresis and heat resistance.
A still different type of conventional electrical humidity sensor utilizes swells of a synthetic resin containing fine particles of an electrically conductive material such as carbon or a metal but is characterized as being low in sensitivity, unsatisfactory in responsiveness and weak in high temperature.
Other sensors use a porous alumina layer to detect the change in humidity as a change either in electrical capacitance or impedance of the alumina layer resulting from absorption of moisture in the pores, or desorption therein. A drawback of this method is a considerable drifting of the dependence of the capacitance or the impedance on humidity with the passage of time.
While accurate measurements of humidity have been possible with apparatus utilizing the principle of ray absorption and transmission of wet and dry bulb hygrometers, these apparatus are considered too large scaled and costly to be of general use.
Thus, the humidity sensing devices now on the market all have certain drawbacks in their functional characteristics, resistance to environmental conditions, price, stability over a long period of time and/or convenience for usage and maintenance.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a humidity sensing apparatus that is high in accuracy and sensitivity, and yet is small in size and low in cost.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that will continuously indicate accurately the water vapor content of gas, most preferably air.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a humidity sensing device that is capable of activating and deactivating a dehumidification device for complete atmospheric control of humidity.


A mechanical transmission device to driving in rotation counter-rotating propellers of a dual-propeller turboprop, including: an epicyclic gear train having a sun gear carried on a sun gear shaft centered on a longitudinal axis and which is connected upstream to a turbine rotor of the turboprop driven in rotation; at least one planet gear meshing with the sun gear; a planet gear carrier carrying the planet gear free to rotate and which is carried by a planet carrier shaft connected downstream to a first set of propellers to drive it in rotation; and a ring gear meshing with the planet gear and which is carried on a ring gear shaft connected downstream to a second set of propellers to drive it in rotation, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to the general field of turbo-propeller (turboprop) engines equipped with two counter-rotating propellers driven in rotation by means of a single turbine. It relates more particularly to a mechanical transmission device used between the turbine rotor shaft and the two shafts for driving the two propellers in rotation.
In known fashion, a dual-propeller aircraft turboprop includes two counter-rotating unshrouded fan blade sets. In certain dual-propeller turboprop architectures, these fan blade sets are driven in rotation by a power turbine having two counter-rotating rotors. In other architectures more particularly related to the present invention, the fan blade sets are driven by one and the same rotor of the power turbine. Reference can be made for example to document FR 2,942,203 which describes an example of implementation of such an architecture.
The counter-rotating propellers of such a turboprop can be driven in rotation directly or indirectly through a mechanical transmission device constituting a speed reducer and including in particular an epicyclic gear train. Generally, this epicyclic gear train comprises in particular a sun gear shaft which is centered on the longitudinal axis of the turboprop and which is connected upstream to the power turbine rotor to be driven thereby. Downstream, this sun gear carries the sun gear of the epicyclic gear train and transmits through gears its rotary motion to the two sets of fan blades of the turboprop.
In operation, the turboprop undergoes distortions which can extend to the mechanical transmission device. Now if these distortions reach the epicyclic gear train of the mechanical transmission device, they threaten to cause misalignment of the different planet gears which constitute it, which then brings about premature wear of the teeth of these planet gears.

Mechanical transmission device for driving in rotation counter-rotating propellers of a dual-propeller turboprop


The present invention discloses a chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer, including a rotating disc assembly for carrying and thermal insulation of capillary tubes, an air-blowing assembly for removing residual liquid from the capillary tubes, a detection assembly for detecting the number of luminescent photons in the capillary tubes, and a bottom plate for installing the rotating disc assembly, the air-blowing assembly, and the detection assembly. The present invention further includes a charging and recycling system and a sample feeding assembly, wherein the charging and recycling system includes a fixed seat, a capillary tube push-out device, a storage device, a first driving device, and a waste liquid recycling device; the capillary tube push-out device is used for pushing capillary tubes out of the storage device and squeezing out reagents stored in the storage device; the storage device is used for storing the reagents and providing the coated capillary tubes.

The ChemiLuminescence (CL) method is a type of molecular luminescence spectrum analysis methods. It is mainly a trace analysis method of using analyzers to detect the chemiluminescence intensity of a system and determining the content of an analyte according to a principle that the concentration of an analyte in a chemical detection system and the chemiluminescence intensity of the system are in linear quantitative relationships under certain conditions. The chemiluminescence method is widely used in the analysis of trace metal ions and various types of inorganic and organic compounds as well as in biological fields.
Chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) is a technique of combining highly-sensitive chemiluminescence assays with highly-specific immune responses to detect and analyze various types of antigens, antibodies, hormones, enzymes, vitamins, drugs, and the like. It is an immunoassay technique developed after radioimmunoassay, enzyme immunoassay, fluoroimmunoassay, and time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay. The chemiluminescence method has advantages such as high sensitivity, high specificity, high accuracy, and wide detection range. Compared with the semi-quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, the chemiluminescence method is truly quantitative, and it detects faster and is more convenient to use. Meanwhile, the chemiluminescence markers are stable and the reagents have a long effective period, which greatly facilitates clinical applications.
An invention patent with the application number of CN201910774133.7 and the publication number of CN110514859A discloses a full-automatic chemiluminescence immunoassay method. According to the method, a capillary tube storage assembly, a capillary tube push-out assembly, a rotating disc assembly, an air-blowing assembly, a sample assembly, a reagent assembly, and a detection assembly need to be installed first. Then, the capillary tube push-out assembly is started to push capillary tubes out of the capillary tube storage assembly and into the rotating disc assembly. The rotating disc assembly rotates to convey the capillary tubes to the sample assembly, the air-blowing assembly, the reagent assembly, and the detection assembly. Therefore, automatic immunoassay is achieved. This invention uses capillary tubes as carriers instead of ELISA plates or microwell plates in the prior art, which greatly reduces the quantities of samples and reagents required, lowers the detection cost, and improves the detection efficiency.
The specification of the above invention also discloses an immunoassay device for implementing the assay method. However, the following defects still exist in the actual implementation.
1. Plenty of spaces inside the immunoassay analyzer are underutilized, the working positions are scattered, and the number of the working positions is large, so that the analyzer is oversized;
2. When blood samples are to be fed, a small number of samples will be fed, and they cannot be tested upon arrival and shall wait for testing;
3. When the capillary tubes are to be pushed out, the capillary tube push-out mechanism may collide with the capillary tube storage assembly during positioning, which may affect the position accuracy of each part after multiple times of use and cause malfunctions in the analyzer;
4. The capillary tube storage assembly is kept in communication with the interior of the analyzer, and dust may enter the capillary tube storage assembly from outside the analyzer, so that the cleanliness of the capillary tubes will be affected and errors will occur in the detection results.


Methods and devices for processing a request for connecting a first access network to a core network are disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods comprise receiving a request to hand over to the first network a communication that is set up on a second network, the request including an identifier of the communication, information about a media session associated with the communication on the first network, and information representative of treatment to be applied on the second network to a media session associated with the communication; identifying a second connection entity for connecting the second network to the core network and through which the communication on the second network is passing; transmitting the identifier and the information to the second entity; and transferring to the core network the request together with the information relating to the media session and an identifier of the communication in the core network.

The present invention relates to the general field of telecommunications.
It relates more particularly to managing the handover between two access networks connected to a core network of a communication (or a call in the general meaning of the term) set up by a terminal over one of the access networks.
The term "communication" is used herein to designate any multimedia data exchange between two terminals and managed via the core network, such as for example a telephone call or a video conference. In the meaning of the invention, a call is constituted firstly by the media session (i.e. media stream) conveying the multimedia data being exchanged, and secondly the communication signaling (i.e. the call signaling) needed for exchanging the data.
The invention applies in preferred but non-limiting manner when the core network is an IP network based on an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) architecture and using a signaling protocol of the session initiation protocol (SIP) type.
Most telecommunications operators are nowadays beginning to migrate their circuit switched (CF) telephone networks to packet switched (PS) IP core networks, such as for example voice-over IP networks.
In packet-switched networks, a given terminal, providing it is multimode (and/or multiband), may be connected to and registered with the IP core network via a plurality of accesses, such as a third-generation (3G) access network, a set of x digital subscriber line (xDSL), an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMax) network, etc.
A multimode terminal makes it possible for its user to select a network from among the various access networks that are compatible with the terminal for the purpose of setting up a communication. The selection criteria applied generally relate to the user or to the operator of the IP core network: operator charging policy, quality of communication, available bandwidth, etc.
The terminal also makes it possible for the user to hand over an ongoing communication from one access network (an "initial" network) to another access network (a "target" network) if, for example, the quality of transmission on the initial access network becomes poor. This is referred to as communication handover between the initial access network and the target access network, or indeed as PS-PS mobility. This handover may apply to some or all of the media streams associated with the communication and/or the signaling: there is then said to be total or partial transfer of the communication.
In order to guarantee continuity of service while the communication is being handed over and in order to make this operation transparent for the user, mechanisms have been defined for the IMS architecture in the documents 3GPP TS23.237 and TS24.237 (IP multimedia subsystem service continuity; stage 2, and IP multimedia subsystem service continuity, stage 3). These handover mechanisms rely on a dedicated application server known as a service centralization and continuity application server (SCC-AS) in the IMS network being engaged for the purpose of managing the signaling received from the terminal during the handover. FIG. 1 is a diagram of the operation of such a server.
In the example shown in FIG. 1, a terminal T1 is a two-mode terminal connected to and registered with an IP core network on two packet-switched access channels ANA and ANB. The IP core network has IMS architecture and it relies in particular on proxy-call session control function (P-CSCF) servers PA and PB, on a serving-call session control function (S-CSCF) server, on a telephone application server (TAS), and on a service centralization and continuity application server (SCC-AS) as defined in the documents 3GPP TS23.237 and TS24.237.
It is assumed that the terminal T1 has set up a communication with the terminal T2 over the network ANA. This communication is anchored at the server SCC-AS with corresponding media session information.
In accordance with document TS24.237, in order to cause this communication to be handed over from the access network ANA to the access network ANB, the terminal T1 sends an INVITE request over the network ANB containing the information about the media session associated with the communication over ANB (i.e. the characteristics of the media streams reserved for the communication over ANB) (step E10).
This INVITE request satisfies various constraints set by the standard (and described for example in the following documents: 3GPP TS24.229, IETF RFC 5627, IETF RFC 3891, and IETF RFC 4538), and relating in particular:                to the content of its uniform resource identifier (URI); and        to the presence of a "replaces" or a "target-dialog" header (as defined in documents RFC 3891 and RFC 4538), containing the references of the communication set up over the network ANA.
The INVITE request sent by T1 is conventionally relayed by the server PB to the server S-CSCF (step E20), and then routed by the server S-CSCF to the server SCC-AS (step E30).
On the basis of the information contained in the "replaces" or "target-dialog" header, the server SCC-AS sets up a correlation between the INVITE request and the communication set up between the terminals T1 and T2 over the access network ANA. It then interprets the INVITE request as a request to hand over the communication from the network ANA to the network ANB, and it updates the session information relating to the communication with the information contained in the request.
Thereafter it transmits a re-INVITE request containing this information to the terminal T2 (steps E40-E80).
Thereafter, numerous exchanges of signaling are performed by the server SCC-AS and by the terminals T1 and T2 to cause the communication to be handed over to ANB, and in particular to cause the media streams associated with the communication to be handed over (steps E90-E110). All of this signaling passes through and is processed by the server SCC-AS.
Thus, the handover solution presently proposed in the 3GPP standard is expensive and complex both in the IP core network and in the terminals.
In order to be capable of performing that technique, the terminals must comply with several standards relating in particular to how to construct the handover INVITE request (for example in order to comply with all of the standardized options, they must be capable of including both the "replaces" and the "target-dialog" headers).
In the core network, that solution requires a dedicated application server SCC-AS to be engaged for managing the signaling received from the terminals via the different access networks.
However, it is known that engaging a plurality of application servers, and a fortiori a dedicated server for managing a service, is expensive in terms of resources and processing for the server S-CSCF. This triggering also generates large amounts of signaling exchanges within the network, which phenomenon is amplified by the numerous exchanges needed between the terminals and the SCC-AS server.

Method of processing a request to hand over a communication between two access networks


A laminated structure having an electrode hard to peel off and a method of manufacturing the laminated structure. The laminated structure has: a backing substrate; a lower electrode including an adhesive layer containing a metal oxide and a conductive layer formed on the backing substrate with the adhesive layer therebetween; a dielectric layer disposed on the lower electrode; and an upper electrode disposed on the dielectric layer. Further, the method includes the steps of: (a) disposing a lower electrode by forming a conductive layer on a backing substrate with an adhesive layer containing a metal oxide therebetween; (b) disposing a dielectric layer by spraying powder of a dielectric material to the lower electrode for deposition; (c) heat-treating the dielectric layer; and (d) forming an upper electrode on the dielectric layer before or after step (c).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laminated structure, in which opposed electrodes are provided, to be used in piezoelectric pumps, piezoelectric actuators, ultrasonic transducers and so on, and further relates to a method of manufacturing the laminated structure and the piezoelectric actuator.
2. Description of a Related Art
Laminated structures in each of which dielectric layers of piezoelectric materials or the like and electrode layers are alternately stacked, are utilized, in various uses such as capacitors, piezoelectric pumps, piezoelectric actuators and ultrasonic transducers. As such laminated structure, not only a single-layer structure in which electrodes are formed on both ends of a dielectric layer, but also a multi-layer structure in which plural dielectric layers and electrode layers are alternately formed is used. By connecting the stacked plural layers in parallel, the capacitance between electrodes of the entire laminated structure can be enlarged even having a small size, and thereby, rise in electric impedance can be suppressed. In recent years, with the developments of MEMS (micro electromechanical systems) related devices and equipment, elements each having such a laminated structure have been microfabricated still further and packaged more densely.
By the way, in order to efficiently apply a voltage to the dielectric layer, it is important that the dielectric layer and the electrode layer are in close contact. In the case where an element employing a piezoelectric material as a dielectric is fabricated, generally, platinum (Pt) having low reactivity to a piezoelectric material is used as an electrode material. However, platinum provides low adhesion to a piezoelectric material, a substrate, or the like. Accordingly, it has been practiced to further provide a titanium (Ti) layer to make an electrode to have a double structure in order to bring platinum into close contact with an under layer material.
However, in the manufacturing process of an element, generally, firing of a piezoelectric material is performed, and, at that time, the adhesive layer of titanium or the like is oxidized by oxygen transmitted through the platinum. As a result, bonding force between the piezoelectric material and the adhesive layer becomes weak and the electrode peels off the piezoelectric material. Further, sometimes the electrode peels off the piezoelectric material due to difference between coefficients of thermal expansion of the piezoelectric material and the electrode material.
In order to prevent the separation at an interface between a piezoelectric film and an electrode, Japanese Patent Application Publication JP-P2001-156351A discloses a laminated structure electrode including a piezoelectric film formed on an Si substrate, on which an electrode film is disposed, according to a gas deposition method, characterized in that the electrode film is made of one or more kind of material(s) and has a thickness of more than 0.15 μm. In JP-P2001-156351A (page 1, FIG. 1), an electrode in which three kinds of metals of platinum, iridium (Ir) and tantalum (Ta) are stacked is used as a lower electrode of the piezoelectric film. That is, by inserting an iridium layer, through which oxygen is difficult to be transmitted, between a platinum layer and a tantalum layer as an adhesive layer to a substrate underneath, the oxygen transmitted through the platinum layer is prevented from penetrating the tantalum layer.
The electrode having such structure is effective when used as a lower electrode of a structure having a single-layered piezoelectric material layer. However, in the case where the electrode having such structure is used as an internal electrode of the laminated structure in which plural piezoelectric material layers are stacked, oxygen penetrates not only from the upper piezoelectric material layer but also from the lower piezoelectric material layer, and thereby, the electrode similarly peels off.


A combination dental floss dispenser and stand-up toothpaste container in which the dispenser is attached to the flip-open cap of the stand-up container, whereby the container, cap and dispenser are adapted to stand in the upright position on the dispenser.

Heretofore, it has been well known that flossing teeth is an important part of the teeth-cleaning process. Dentists highly recommend flossing at least once a day in conjunction with brushing to properly care for teeth and gums. While a large percentage of people brush daily, a much smaller percentage of people floss daily. This failure to floss daily leads to premature tooth decay and eventually the loss of teeth.
Numerous devices have been developed to remind and encourage people to floss during the brushing process. For example, dental floss dispensers have been attached to toothpaste containers in various forms. Exemplary of the type of devices heretofore known are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,858,134; 4,428,389; 4,673,106; and 4,827,951. These devices show dental floss dispensers attached to "standard" type toothpaste tube containers and "pump" type toothpaste tube containers.
The toothpaste industry has now developed a "new" flexible stand-up tube toothpaste container with a flip-open cap. This new stand-up container is significantly different from other containers because it is made from flexible plastic material and because the cap is constructed to form a base enabling the container to stand in an upright position. The industry has also developed a new stand-up container with a screw-on cap. No dental floss dispenser has been adapted to these types of containers to allow the container to still stand on its cap and contain the floss as well.

Combination dental floss dispenser and stand-up toothpaste container


Porositized/activated carbon processed from carbon or carbonaceous raw materials. The porositization process comprises: (1) loading porositizing agents; (2) thermal treatment; and (3) porous generation. In another embodiment, the porositization process comprises: (1) loading porositizing agents; and (2) thermal treatment wherein the carbon or carbonaceous materials undergo carbonization and self-activation during the thermal treatment. Activated carbon products that exhibit magnetic functionality.

Porositized carbon is considered a carbon material with a high amount of pores. Activated carbon is a main commercial product of the porositized carbon. Activated carbon is a crude form of graphite with a random or amorphous structure, which is highly porous with large internal surface area, exhibiting a broad range of pore sizes from visible cracks or crevices to slits of molecular dimensions. Generally, activated carbon has a surface area in excess of 500 m2/g as determined by the gas adsorption testing. In the adsorption analysis, non-polar gases, e.g. N2, CO2, Ar, CH4, etc., are used, and the N2 adsorption at 77 K is widely used.1
In the early 20th century, powder activated carbon was produced using wood as a raw material. With further development, different types of the conventional powder activated carbon have been produced, including granular activated carbon, pelletized activated carbon, and etc. These types of activated carbon allow for easy recycling and waste minimization. The feedstocks for activated carbons include coconut shells, wood char, and lignin, among other materials.1
Activation methods can be divided into two categories: (1) physical/thermal activation; and (2) chemical activation. Physical/thermal activation uses a mild oxidizing gas, e.g. CO2, water steam, etc., to eliminate the bulk of the volatile matters, followed by partial gasification. This method gives materials with higher porosity and more surface area than the chemical activation method.1 The chemical activation method employs chemicals (such as acid, strong base, or salt) to increase the surface area.2 The chemical activators for the activated carbon include potassium hydroxide (KOH)3, sodium hydroxide (NaOH)4, nitric acid (HNO3)5, sulfuric acid (H2SO4)6, hydrochloric acid (HCl)7, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)8, zinc chloride (ZnCl2)9, phosphoric acid (H3PO4)10, potassium carbonate (K2CO3)11, potassium phosphate dibasic (K2HPO4)12, and cobalt acetate (Co(OAc)2).13
Thermal activation can used for the activated carbon processed from biomass, such as wood, agriculture stems, and any other lignocellulosic based resources. Usually, the conventional thermal activation method is to use a mild oxidizing gas CO2, including two steps, 1) carbonization with flowing inert gas, and 2) activation by CO2. For instance, the biomass pyrolysis process happens at a pyrolysis temperature (e.g. 700° C.), followed by an activation process at a higher temperature (e.g. 800° C.) with flowing CO2 as an activating gas. During the carbonization process, the inert gas flow is used, and so that the generated gas components (including the CO2) due to the material decomposition are removed. During the activation process, usually at higher temperature, the additional CO2 can be introduced to initiate the activation process.
Mozammel et al. (2002)15 reported that activated carbon sales were estimated at 375,000 tons in 1990, not including the Eastern Europe and China. Sales could be over 450,000 tons if Eastern Europe and China were included. By late 1990s, the production of the activated carbon was estimated at about 700,000 tons/year, with a market growth of about 4-6%/year. In the Freedonia Group's report in 2012, "World Activated Carbon to 2016",16 the activated carbon demand worldwide is expected to increase more than ten percent per year to 1.9 million metric tons in 2016. The large market demand will contribute to the high gross sales. The global activated carbon market was about $1.8 billion in 2011 and was estimated to reach $3.0 billion by 2016.

Porositization process of carbon or carbonaceous materials


An electromagnetic fuel injection valve is provided in which a cylindrical magnetic body is welded to a valve seat member having at the rear end thereof a tubular press-fit portion press-fitted into a front portion of the cylindrical magnetic body, a valve body is housed in the valve seat member while being spring-biased in a direction that seats the valve body on a valve seat, and a movable core facing a fixed core is coaxially connected to the valve body, wherein the valve seat member (10) includes the tubular press-fit portion (10a), a large diameter portion (10b) that has substantially the same outer diameter as the outer diameter of the cylindrical magnetic body (9), and an annular shoulder portion (10c) that is formed as a flat face perpendicular to the outer peripheral face of the tubular press-fit portion (10a) and provides a connection between the tubular press-fit portion (10a) and the large diameter portion (10b), an annular abutment receiving face (9a) at the front end of the cylindrical magnetic body (9) is formed so as to define a right angle relative to the inner peripheral face of the cylindrical magnetic body (9), the annular abutment receiving face (9a) abutting against the annular shoulder portion (10c) over substantially the entire face, and the front end of the cylindrical magnetic body (9) and the abutment portion of the valve seat member (10) are welded together along the entire periphery. This enables the thickness of the cylindrical magnetic body to be reduced, thus making it small and improving the responsiveness.

An electromagnetic fuel injection valve is known from, for example, Patent Document 1, in which a large diameter hole is coaxially provided in a front portion of a cylindrical magnetic body so as to form an annular step portion facing forward, a ring-shaped stopper for restricting a moving end of a valve body on the side on which the valve body separates from a valve seat is inserted into the large diameter hole so as to abut against the annular step portion, a rear portion of a valve seat member is press-fitted into the large diameter hole so that the rear end of the rear portion abuts against the stopper, and corner portions formed from the front end of the cylindrical magnetic body and the outer periphery of the valve seat member are welded together along the entire periphery.
Patent Document 1:
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-89400


Disclosed is a method, system, and program for monitoring a device. A determination is made as to a first time, a current time, and a system-up time. The current time follows the first time and the system-up time indicates an elapsed time at the device since the last power cycle. A determination is then made as to whether the current time minus the first time is less than the system up time to determine whether the device has started a new power cycle since the first time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for monitoring a device to determine whether the device has rebooted or gone through a new power cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network printing systems generally comprise an assemblage of different printers, client computers, servers, and other components connected over a network. A network administrator or user may want to monitor the status of print jobs being printed or the general operational status of the printer. A computer may monitor a remote printer over a network using a network protocol, such as SNMP or TCP/IP, or a line connection such as a parallel port connection. Current printer software includes a print monitor component to monitor printer operations. For instance in the Microsoft Windows 95/98 systems, the user may display a queue of print jobs for the printer and a current status of the print jobs. The status usually indicates whether a particular queued job was sent to the printer and its status.
One print monitor protocol is the Line Printer Daemon (LPR) protocol, which is a component of the TCP/IP network protocol. LPR is used to communicate with printers across the network. LPR runs by executing a daemon on the host computer, which is then used to transmit commands, print jobs and other information to the printer and receive data and information from the printer. The LPR protocol allows a client application on one computer to send a print job to a print spooler service on another computer. The LPR daemon monitors a printer port to which it is assigned by xe2x80x9clisteningxe2x80x9d for messages from the client. The host computer would send a print command to the LPR daemon, which would then execute the command and communicate with the printer to cause the printer to follow the command. The LPR protocol includes a command to request the state of the printer, such as pages printer, queued jobs, etc. However, LPR is not capable of providing detailed error status information back to the client application.
Client computers may also communicate with network printers using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). A computer managing a printer may use the SNMP protocol to control the operation of the managed printer and determine job and print status for the printer. SNMP provides for a limited set of operations, including the get and set commands which, respectively, allow the managing computer to retrieve data and configure the printer. These commands may be used to monitor printer operations. Another SNMP command is the xe2x80x9ctrapxe2x80x9d command which causes the managed agent to send an event notification to the management system or printer manager identifying the occurrence of conditions such as threshold that exceeds a predetermined value. The managing computer registers a trap by writing information to the managed agent, which causes the managed agent to notify the registering computer of the event indicated in the registration.
SNMP is advantageous as a communication protocol because neither the agent nor manager rely on the other to continue operating. Thus, one may fail, and the other would carry on. SNMP further does not require the establishment of a communication path prior to the transmission of data. As a result, with SNMP, there is no guarantee that a transmission was received. Although most messages do transmit successfully, those that do not cannot be retransmitted. On the other hand, SNMP""s simplicity and connectionless communication also produce a degree of robustness. Neither the manager nor the agent relies on the other for its operation. Thus, a printer manager may continue to function even if the printer fails.
In certain cases, a power failure at a printer would erase all jobs that were pending in the printer. A printer monitor may find that the printer does not include any information on a print job previously sent. There may be many causes for the absence of a print job on the printer, including the occurrence of a power failure. For a printer monitor to provide fine grained monitoring of a device, the printer monitor would want to determine whether the absence of information is a result of a power failure. However, the lack of any information on a sent job at the printer after a power failure does not necessarily indicate that the job was lost as a result of power failure as the job may have completed printing or the job may not yet have been logged by the printer. There is thus a need in the art for providing a mechanism to determine whether the absence of information on a print job at the printer is a result of a power failure or some other event.
To overcome the limitations in the prior art described above, preferred embodiments disclose a method, system, and program for monitoring a device. A determination is made as to a first time, a current time, and a system-up time. The current time follows the first time and the system-up time indicates an elapsed time at the device since the last power cycle. A determination is then made as to whether the current time minus the first time is greater than the system-up time to determine whether the device has started a new power cycle since the first time.
In further embodiments, the device is capable of receiving and processing tasks. The first time indicates a time when the task was sent to the device and determining the system-up time comprises querying the device to determine the system-up time. For instance, the device being polled may be a printer, and the device, such as a computer, performing the polling, may use the SNMP protocol to communicate with the printer.
In further embodiments, the device maintains information on tasks the device is processing. The device is polled to obtain information on a polled task previously sent to the device and a response from the device is received in response to the polling. An indication is made, such as by setting a flag, that the device includes information on the polled task after determining that the response indicates that the device includes information on the polled task. Another polling operation on the polled task is performed after determining that the response indicates that the device includes information on the polled task.
Preferred embodiments provide a mechanism for determining whether a power failure, i.e., initiation of a new power cycle, has occurred since the last time the device was monitored. In this way, if the device did not include information on the task previously sent and a determination is made that a power failure occurred, then an assumption can be made that the device does not include information on the task as a result of the power failure. If a determination is made that a power failure did not occur at the device, then the absence of information on a previously sent task would indicate that either the device has not yet recorded information on the previously sent task or that the task has completed and information thereon has been removed. In referred embodiments, the system monitoring the device may have set a flag in a previous polling operation indicating that the device had information on the task. If in the subsequent poll, no power failure was determined and the flag was set, then it can be assumed that the device completed processing the task and removed information on the completed task.
With the preferred embodiments, a system monitoring the device can determine the reason for the absence of information on a task sent to the device from the device and take appropriate action based on such determination.

Method, system, and program for monitoring a device to determine a power failure at the device

International Business Machines Corporation


A sub-harmonic mixer comprising a mixer circuit with input ports for RF and LO signals, and an output port for the product of the signals at the input ports, and an LO switching stage with input ports for an LO signal and the LO signal phase shifted 180 degrees. The LO switching stage comprises a third input port to which the output port of the mixer circuit is connected and a first output port for the product of the signal at its third and first input ports, and a second output port for the product of the signal at the third and second input ports with the same amplitude as the first output signal 180 degrees phase shifted. In the sub-harmonic mixer the mixer circuit comprises a transconductance mixer.

In systems for the receiving and/or transmitting electromagnetic signals, such as, for example, radio, TV or radar systems, conversion of the electromagnetic signal's frequency is a common occurrence, for which so called mixers are used.
In such systems, mixers are used in order to shift from a radio frequency, RF, to a lower frequency, usually a so called intermediate frequency, IF, signal. Naturally, a mixer can also be used in order to shift in the other direction, i.e. from an IF signal to an RF signal, so called "up-conversion", as opposed to "down-conversion".
In the case where a mixer is used for shifting from an RF signal to an IF signal, the mixer is provided with two input signals, the RF signal and a local oscillator, LO, signal, and the mixer produces the IF signal as its output signal. The frequency of the IF signal, i.e. the IF frequency, fIF, is determined by the RF frequency, fRF, and the LO frequency, fLO, as described by the equation fIF=fRF−fLO. As those skilled in the field will know, a "sum frequency" fRF+fLO is also obtained in the mixer, but this frequency is usually not used.
A subharmonic mixer is a special kind of mixer, which operates using the equation fIF=fRF−2fLO. Since the LO frequency here is multiplied by two, a lower LO frequency can be used than in mixers which employ the LO signal "multiplied by one", as in the equation fIF=fRF−fLO. The use of a lower LO frequency is often beneficial in that it gives the subharmonic mixer lower phase noise and higher output power than with the use of a higher LO frequency, which is used in mixers which use the equation fIF=fRF−fLO.
Key parameters in a sub-harmonic mixer are the conversion gain and linearity.
A subharmonic mixer's linearity is often measured by a so called two-tone test in which two RF signals with a small frequency separation between them are input to the subharmonic mixer and the intermodulation components at the output of the subharmonic mixer are measured. The amplitudes' intensities of the second-order and third-order intermodulation components are indicative of the mixer's linearity.
Known kinds of subharmonic mixers include Gilbert-type subharmonic mixers and passive subharmonic mixers. Gilbert-type subharmonic mixers exhibit poor linearity, while passive subharmonic mixers exhibit poor conversion gain.


A developing cartridge includes: a casing; a drive gear; a first gear; and a second gear. The casing is configured to accommodate developing agent therein. The first gear is configured to receive a driving force from the drive gear. The first gear is rotatable about a first axis extending in an axial direction in accordance with rotation of the drive gear. The first gear includes a first protrusion. the second gear is configured to receive the driving force from the drive gear. The second gear is rotatable about the first axis. the second gear includes a second protrusion. A rotational speed of the second gear is faster than a rotational speed of the first gear.

There have been known image forming apparatuses including developing cartridges. One of such image forming apparatuses is capable of determining whether or not the developing cartridge is attached or identifying a specification of the developing cartridge. For example, a prior art discloses a developing cartridge including a detection gear and protrusions movable together with rotation of the detection gear. In this configuration, the image forming apparatus detects the protrusions by means of a sensor to determine whether the developing cartridge is attached.

Developing cartridge including drive gear, first gear, and second gear


A photopolymerizing composition and a photopolymerizing recording medium manufactured using the composition, wherein the photopolymerizing composition contains: 1.0-99.0% by weight of at least one kind of polymerizable compound; 0.05-0.5% by weight of at least one kind of photosensitizer selected from among photochromic compounds that change color by incoherent UV light irradiation; 0.2-6.0% by weight of a coinitiator that is activated by visible light in the presence of a photoinduced form of the photochromic compound transformed by incoherent UV light to photopolymerize the polymerizable compound; 0-97.5% by weight of a polymer binding agent; 0-6.0% by weight of a plasticizer; and 0-3.0% by weight of a non-polymerizing solvent. The photopolymerizing recording medium has a high angular diffraction selectivity and thus can be effectively used to manufacture a 3D holographic optical memory with ultra high information storage capacity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photopolymerizing composition and a photopolymerizing recording medium manufactured using the same, and more particularly, to a photopolymerizing composition and a photopolymerizing recording medium that is manufactured using the composition and can be used to manufacture a 3D, ultra-high information storage capacity optical memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
Holograms, which are created by recording an interference pattern of coherent laser light on, for example, a photosensitive material, are multifunctional, so they have various applications in the optical memory, 3D-image display, image processing fields, etc.
In particular, optical memories can be manufactured by forming a deep hologram using a refractive index variation induced due to a variation in the density of a substance composing a thick photopolymerizing recording medium. The hologram can be generated by photopolymerizing a photosensitive recording layer, which contains a photopolymerizable monomer, of the recording medium by exposing the layer to a laser light of proper intensity. The degree of polymerization of the photosensitive layer depends on the intensity of incident active light. The generated image having a set of lines of different intensity is recorded based on a polymer density variation. The generated polymer, having a refraction factor that differs from the refraction factor of an initial monomer, will be characterized by a refraction factor depending on radiation intensity on different areas of the photosensitive layer. These differences are used for recovering an image using light wave phase recovery. A deep hologram can be recorded as a result of photobleaching of a photosensitive component in the recording medium, i.e., penetration of laser light into the recording medium, in a hologram recording process. Deep holograms recorded in the thick layer determine a high angular selectivity of holograms and image recovery. A higher angular selectivity leads to a larger high information storage capacity.
Photopolymerizing media using a monomer-oligomer composition and a photoinitiating system are widely known. A photopolymerizing medium further contains a photobleaching dye and a coinitiator (Carretero L., Blaya S., Mallavia R., et al., Appl. Opt. 1998. Vol. 37, p. 4496). Post-exposure and thermal treatments are required to obtain a phase hologram, thereby making it difficult to use an archive optical memory device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,986 discloses a photocurable composition composed of a free radical-polymerizable compound, an electron-donating coinitiator, and a photochromic benzospiropyran compound of formula (1) below. This benzospiropyran compound undergoes ring opening when exposed to a first actinic radiation or heat, forming a merocyanine compound of formula (II) below. This merocyanine compound generates free radicals when exposed to a second actinic radiation. The free radicals generated from the benzospiropyran compound induce photopolymerization of the polymerizable compound, thereby curing the composition.

In formulae (I) and (II), each of X1 and X3 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, iodo, nitro, cyano, bromo, chloro, fluoro, and amino, at least one of the two groups X1 and X3 is not hydrogen, and X2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkoxy, carboxy, ester, and amino.
Referring to the above reaction scheme, the benzospirane compound undergoes a reversible intramolecular transformation by UV light irradiation or heating and forms a merocyanine isomer. When the colored merocyanine form is irradiated by visible light in the presence of a reducing coinitiator and an olefinically unsaturated compound, polymerization initiating radicals are generated. The colored merocyanine form can act as a visible light photoinitiator. Photopolymerization can be achieved by visible light absorbed by the merocyanine isomer. A photopolymerizing recording medium using such a photopolymerizing polymer is spontaneously desensitized when UV radiation is interrupted or when cooling the photosensitive layer.
Disadvantageously, such a photopolymerizing recording medium requires an additional light source or heat energy when a hologram is recorded by visible laser light, thereby complicating the structure of a 3D imaging apparatus. Constant UV irradiation or heating maintains the concentration of the merocyanine isomer constant, thereby preventing deep light penetration into the recording medium and disabling recording of a deep hologram. As a result, both angular selectivity and information storage capacity decrease. In addition, a thermal distortion of interference patterns occurs as the recording medium is heated, thereby reducing resolution capability. Since the recording medium is in liquid state, a continuous post-exposure process is required after the recording of the hologram, thereby increasing power consumption and the optical memory formation time.
These disadvantages are caused due to an insufficient lifespan of the photoinduced structure of the photochromic compound, which is used as a photosensitizer in the photopolymerizing composition used to form a recording layer of the photopolymerizing recording medium. Moreover, the photopolymerizing composition does not contain a polymer binder or components that facilitate media photopolymerization during recording of a hologram.

Photopolymerizing composition and photopolymerizing recording medium manufactured using the same and used to manufacture 3D optical memory having ultra-high information storage capacity

Photochemistry Center of Russian Academy of Sciences


2'-Deoxy-2'-fluorocoformycin and 2'-deoxy-8-epi-2'-fluorocoformycin are synthesized in this invention through a multi-stage process via 3,5-di-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-.alpha.- and -.beta.-D-ribofuranosyl bromides. Further, according to this invention, 2'-deoxy-2'-epi-2'-fluorocoformycin and 2'-deoxy-8,2'-diepi-2'-fluorocoformycin are synthesized by a multi-stage process starting from 3,5-di-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-.alpha.-D-arabinofuranosyl bromide. These four 2'-fluoro derivatives of coformycin are novel compounds and have high enzyme-inhibitory activities against adenosine deaminase. In particular, these novel compounds are useful substances which exhibit therapeutic effects on acute lymphocytic leukemias due to their high enzyme-inhibitory activities above-mentioned. In addition, a variety of intermediates are obtained as novel compounds which are useful for the synthesis of the aforesaid novel 2'-fluoro derivatives of coformycin.

Adenosine deaminase is an enzyme which is widely present in vivo in mammals and which parcipitates in the conversion of adenosine to inosine in the course of the synthesis of purine and in salvage pathway. Adenosine deaminase is known to exist predominantly in lymphocytic cells.
Coformycin possesses an activity inhibitory to adenosine deaminase enzymes and is known as an antibiotic of nucleoside-type which is capable of enhancing the activity of formycin A having an antitumor activity see, for example, the specification of Japanese Patent Publication Sho-45-12278 and "The Journal of Antibiotics" A20, p.227(1967)!. Further, coformycin exhibits an antibacterial activity in the presence of formycin A. However, coformycin has such drawback that it is un-stable in its aqueous solution under acidic conditions (see the specifications of Japanese Patent Publication Sho-60-992 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,374).
Also known are 2'-deoxycoformycin (another name; pentostatin) and 2'-chloropentostatin as analogous compounds of coformycin which have the same molecular skeleton as that of coformycin see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,372, German Patent No. 2,517,596, "J. Org. Chem." 50, pp.1651-1656(1985) and "The Journal of Antibiotics" Vol.XXXVIII, No. 10, pp.1344-1349 (Oct. 1985)!.
These coformycin analogues are known to have the activities inhibitory to adenosine deaminase, and on the basis of this property they have antitumor activities, or have such biological activities that when they are co-currently used as antitumor agents or antiviral agents, they can maintain and enhance the actions of the other antitumor agents or antiviral agents see, for example, Spiers et al.'s report "Remissions in hairy cell leukemia with pentostatin (2'-deoxycoformycin)" New Engl. J. Med., 316, pp.825-830(1987)!; Daenen et al's report "Successful chemotherapy with deoxycoformycin in adult T-cell lymphoma-leukemia" Brit. J. Haematol., 58, p. 723(1984)!; Yamaguchi et al.'s report "Clinical consequences of 2'-deoxycoformycin treatment in patients with refractory adult T-cell leukemia" Leukemia Res., 10, pp.989-993(1986)!; Cass et al.'s report "Enhancement of 9-.beta.-D-arabinofuranosyladenine cytotoxicity to mouse leukemia L1210 in vitro by 2'-deoxycoformycin" Cancer Res., 36, pp.1486-1491(1976)!; Wilson et al.'s report "Purinogenic immunodeficiency disease; Differential effects of deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine on DNA synthesis in human T lymphoblasts)"J. Clin. Invest., 64, pp.1475-1484(1979)!; and Hershfield et al.'s report "Apparent suicide inactivation of human lymphoblast S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase by 2'-deoxyadenosine and adenine arabinoside: A basis for direct toxic effects of analogs of adenosine" J. Biol. Chem., 254, pp.22-25 (1979)!.
In particular, 2'-deoxycoformycin(another name; pentostatin) shows a strong activity inhibitory to adenosine deaminase and thus has an action to inhibit specifically lymphocytic cells containing a substantial amount of adenosine deaminase, so that it has been tried to use as a therapeutic agent in treatments of acute lymphocytic leukemias and adult T-cell leukemias see, "Therapeutics" 22, No. 2, pp.71-75(1989) and "Antiviral Agents" written by Onodera et al. pp.194-195, published by Gakkai Shuppan Center, on Feb. 20, 1991, First Edition).
It is also known, however, that coformycin and its analogues already known and referred to above are unstable in their acidic aqueous solutions and are of fairly high acute toxicity on mammals, so that they are often disadvantageous in their practical applications as medicines.
Consequently, earnest desire at present is to provide novel coformycin derivatives which possess strong enzyme-inhibitory activities against adenosine deaminase and are stable in acidic aqueous solutions and are of low toxicity.
In the meanwhile, we, the present inventors, have already succeeded in synthesizing 7-O-(2,6-dideoxy-2-fluoro-.alpha.-L-talopyranosyl)daunomycinone or -adriamycinone which have antitumor activities, and also found that these 2'-fluoro-anthracycline derivatives have a higher stability in acidic aqueous solutions and a higher anti-tumor activity than those of the corresponding 2'-iodo, 2'-bromo or 2'-chloro-anthracycline derivatives (see, Japanese Patent Application First-Publication KOKAI Sho-62-145097 and European Patent Application First-Publication No. 230,013A1). It is assumed that such superior properties of 2'-fluoro-anthracyline derivatives as above-mentioned are attributable to the 2'-fluoro substituent of the sugar moiety having a high electro-negativity. We have further had many experiences and findings on the synthesis of a variety of 2-fluoro-sugars in connection with the synthesis of 2'-fluoro-anthracyline derivatives above-mentioned.
Coformycin is a compound represented by the following formula(A): ##STR1## which is chemically named as (8R)-3-(.beta.-D-ribofuranosyl)-3,6,7,8-tetrahydroimidazo4,5-d! 1,3!diazepin-8-ol. Coformycin may be synthesized starting from 9-.beta.-D-ribo-furanosylpurine see, Japanese Patent Publication Sho-52-958 and "J.A.C.S." 96, p.4326(1974)!.
As another method for the synthesis of coformycin, there is also a known process of producing coformycin in which 5-amino-1-(2,3,5-tri-O-acetyl-.beta.-D-ribofuranosyl)-imidazole-4-carboxyl ic acid is used as the starting material, and is processed by multi-stage reactions to form an intermediate, 3-(.beta.-D-ribofuranosyl)-6,7-dihydroimidazo4,5-d! 1,3!diazepin-8(3H)-one, followed by reducing the latter intermediate see, H. J. Thomas et al.; "Nucleosides & Nucleotides" 5, No. 4, pp.431-439 (1986)!

Zaidan Hojin Biseibutsu Kagaku Kenkyu Kai


A dielectric waveguide has a dielectric member disposed between a pair of parallel conductor flat surfaces, such that a propagating region and a non-propagating region are formed. The spacing between the conductor flat surfaces in the non-propagating region is determined to be smaller than that in the propagating region. The above-mentioned spacings and the dielectric constant of the dielectric member are determined such that the cut-off frequency of the LSM.sub.01 mode propagating through the propagating region is lower than the cut-off frequency of the LSE.sub.01 mode and that electromagnetic waves of both the LSM.sub.01 mode and the LSE.sub.01 mode are cut-off in the non-propagating region, so that any transmission loss attributable to a mode conversion between the LSM.sub.01 mode and LSE.sub.01 mode occurring at, for example, a bend of the waveguide is eliminated so as to facilitate production of the waveguide having a desired bend angle and radius of curvature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dielectric waveguide suitable for use in a transmission line or an integrated circuit which operates in a millimeter wave band or a microwave band.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 26(A) to 26(D) show, in sectional views, four types of conventional dielectric waveguides which are known as NRD waveguides (non-radiative dielectric waveguides). The waveguide shown in FIG. 26(A) is of the type which is generally referred to as the "normal type", and has a dielectric strip 100 and a pair of parallel metallic plates 101 and 102 between which the dielectric strip 100 is disposed. The waveguide shown in FIG. 26(B) is of the so-called "grooved type", and has a pair of grooved metallic flat plates 101 and 102 and a dielectric strip 100 received in the grooves of the flat metal plates 101, 102. The waveguide shown in FIG. 26(C) is of the type known as the "insulated type" in which a dielectric strip 100 is interposed between conductive plates 105 and 106 through intermediaries of dielectric layers 103 and 104 of a small dielectric constant. The waveguide shown in FIG. 26(D) is of the type which is referred to as the "winged type", and has a pair of dielectric strips 107 and 108 each having wings, and conductors 109 and 110 which are formed on flat portions of the dielectric strips 107 and 108, the dielectric strips 107, 108 being adjoined such that they face in opposite directions.
A dielectric waveguide of the normal type is disclosed in, for example, JP-B-62-35281. A dielectric waveguide of the grooved type is disclosed in JU-A-59-183002. A dielectric waveguide of the insulated type is disclosed in JP-B-1-51202. A dielectric waveguide of the winged type is disclosed in JP-A-6-260814.
These known types of dielectric waveguides have their own respective advantages offered by their structural features. These dielectric waveguides can operate in two transmission modes, one of which is the LSM mode while the other is the LSE mode. Usually, the LSM mode, in particular the LSM.sub.01 mode, is preferentially used because of its small transmission loss. A magnetic field distribution pattern peculiar to the LSM.sub.01 mode and a magnetic field distribution pattern peculiar to the LSE.sub.01 mode are shown by way of example in FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B), respectively. It is to be understood that conductors such as metallic flat plates disposed on the upper and lower sides of a dielectric strip 100 are omitted. Solid curvilinear lines with arrows indicate electric lines of force, while broken curvilinear lines with arrows indicate magnetic lines of force. FIGS. 8(A), 8(B) and FIGS. 9(A), 9(B) respectively show, by way of example, dispersion curves obtained with known dielectric waveguides of the normal type and known dielectric waveguides of the grooved type (FIGS. 8(A) and 9(A)) respectively, as well as calculation modes (FIGS. 8(B) and 9(B)). From these Figures, it will be seen that the LSE.sub.01 mode is the mode of the lowest order, and that the LSM.sub.01 mode, which is the transmission mode to be used, is of a higher order. This poses a risk that the LSE.sub.01 mode may unexpectedly occur regardless of the frequency when the LSM.sub.01 mode is being used. It is therefore necessary to take suitable measures for eliminating any influence which may be caused by occurrence of the LSE.sub.01 mode.
For instance, occurrence of the LSE.sub.01 mode takes place when the electromagnetic wave impinges upon a discontinuous portion of a dielectric strip 100 which exhibits lateral asymmetry of the LSM.sub.01 mode, as in the case of a bend as shown in FIG. 27. Although an upper metallic flat plate 101 is spaced from the dielectric strip 100 in FIG. 27, it will be clear that the plate 101 is assembled together with the dielectric strip 100 and a lower metallic flat plate 102 when the dielectric waveguide is subjected to use. The cut-off frequency in the LSE.sub.01 mode is lower than that in the LSM.sub.01 mode, so that the wave in the LSE.sub.01 mode propagates through the dielectric strip, causing a periodic repetition of a process in which part of the transmitted electric power of the LSM.sub.01 mode is converted into the LSE.sub.01 mode at the discontinuous portion and is then completely converted back into the LSM.sub.01 mode. It is therefore possible to minimize the loss at the bend, by designing the bend such that the electric power is fully converted into the LSM.sub.01 mode at the end of the bend. Conditions for achieving such a design, however, are extremely restricted and, therefore, it has been extremely difficult to construct a bend having a desired bend angle and radius of curvature.
FIGS. 28(A) and 28(B) show, by way of example, a circulator which is composed of three dielectric strips 100 and a pair of ferrite discs 32 and which operates under a D.C. biasing magnetic field H.sub.OC. When an electromagnetic wave of the LSM.sub.01 mode propagates from a port P1 to a port P3 as shown in FIG. 28(A), propagation of an electromagnetic wave of the LSE.sub.01 mode towards a port P3 also takes place, resulting in an increase of the loss. In FIGS. 28(A) and 28(B), broken-line loops show distributions of magnetic fields, and upper and lower conductors which also are components of the circulator are omitted. An effective measure for eliminating the undesirable influence of the LSE.sub.01 mode is to provide each dielectric strip with a mode suppressor 109a as shown in FIG. 28(B). The mode suppressor 109a is provided in its core portion with a conductor which extends vertically as shown, and is operative so as to suppress or attenuate only the LSE.sub.01 mode. This measure, however, is not recommended, since it requires provision of suppressors which occupy considerable space.
Another problem is that, when it is desired to arrange, for example, a pair of dielectric strips in a mutually crossing manner, these strips have to be disposed at different heights or levels in order to eliminate interference between the electromagnetic waves propagating through these strips. Such a three-dimensional arrangement undesirably increases the dimensions of the whole device.

LSM and LSE mode dielectric waveguide having propagating and non-propagating regions