A golf ball has a multiplicity of dimples formed in its surface. It is assumed that the ball has a phantom sphere and spherical surface when the ball surface is free of dimples. A tangent angle .theta. is 5.degree..ltoreq..theta..ltoreq.20.degree. wherein .theta. is defined between a tangent at an arbitrary point on an edge of an individual dimple to the phantom spherical surface and a tangent at that point to the actual ball surface. A percent dimple volume Vr is 0.8%.ltoreq.Vr.ltoreq.1.1% wherein Vr is the sum of the volumes of the entire dimples divided by the volume of the phantom sphere. This dimple design prevents lowering of spin susceptibility by repetitive hits without detracting from the dimple effect of increasing flight distance.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a golf ball which is durable against repetitive hits.
2. Prior Art
From the past, it has been desired to improve the aerodynamics of golf balls. Various attempts have been made to increase the flight distance of golf balls, for example, by optimizing the shape and size of dimples to reduce a coefficient of drag and increase a coefficient of lift of the ball in flight.
Golf balls are generally classified into two-piece golf balls and wound golf balls. In the recent years, two-piece golf balls have become more popular partly because they follow a relatively straight trajectory and cover a longer distance as compared with wound golf balls. In fact, the market share of two-piece golf balls is outstandingly increasing.
Wound golf balls have the advantages of better hitting feel and control than two-piece golf balls. For example, wound golf balls using balata rubber as a cover stock are susceptible to spin in approach shots so that the balls can be stopped on the green as desired.
Ionomer resins are used as a base of the cover of two-piece golf balls and some wound golf balls. A golf ball using ionomer resin in the cover has a higher hardness than a wound balata ball. As compared with the wound golf ball, this golf ball receives a less spin rate upon approach shots so that it may be rather difficult to stop the ball on the green. Then, for the purpose of increasing a spin rate upon approach shots, several attempts have been made to improve the cover by tailoring the ionomer resin. None of ionomer resin covers proposed thus far are comparable to the balata rubber cover.
Another means for improving spin is to improve the club. For example, it has been proposed to increase a spin rate by improving the shape of furrows in the face of a short iron. When a ball is hit with such an improved short iron, despite an increased spin rate, there arises a problem that the dimples on the ball surface are collapsed, deformed or damaged by the club. The ball will shortly lose spin susceptibility as the ball is repeatedly hit.
The inventors carried out a fixed point hitting test on a commercially available two-piece golf ball A having a low hardness ionomer resin cover, a commercially available two-piece golf ball B having a high hardness ionomer resin cover, and a dimple-free ball C having a high hardness ionomer resin cover. The test used a sand wedge having a loft angle of 57.degree., the ball was hit 10 times at the same point at a head speed of 25 m/s, and a spin rate was measured on every hit. The dimple-free ball C showed little lowering of spin rate whereas dimpled balls A and B experienced a substantial lowering of spin rate after repeated hits. It was thus acknowledged that the spin performance decline mainly by deterioration of the shape of the dimples.
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved golf ball wherein the configuration of dimples is improved to prevent the spin performance from lowering by repetitive hits without detracting from the dimples' own effect of increasing flight distance, that is, having improved flight performance stability and durability.


A pixel includes an organic light emitting diode, a first transistor configured to control an amount of a current flowing from a first power to a second power via a second node and the organic light emitting diode in response to a voltage of a first node, a first capacitor between the first node and a third node, a second capacitor between the second node and the third node, a second transistor between the third node and a data line and including a gate electrode coupled to a scan line, and a third transistor between the first power and the second node and including a gate electrode coupled to a first emission control line.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a pixel and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
With development of information technology (IT), the importance of display devices (i.e., a medium between a user and information) is recognized. In response, usage of display devices, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, organic light emitting display devices, etc. has increased.
Of the different types of display devices, the organic light emitting display device is configured to display an image using organic light emitting diodes emitting light by the recombination of electrons and holes, and has the advantages of quick response time and low power consumption.
An organic light emitting display device includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix at respective crossing regions of a plurality of data lines, a plurality of scan lines, and a plurality of power lines. The pixels generally include two or more transistors including a driving transistor, one or more capacitors, and an organic light emitting diode.
While the organic light emitting display device may consume less power, the amount of current flowing to the organic light emitting diodes changes according to the threshold voltage deviation of a corresponding driving transistor included in each pixel, resulting in display irregularity. In other words, the characteristics of the driving transistors included in the pixels vary according to production process variables. To overcome this problem, there has been proposed a solution in which the driving transistor is connected in the form of a diode (e.g., is diode-connected) to compensate the threshold voltage of the driving transistor. However, when the driving transistor is diode-connected in the form of a diode, there may be 2 or more leakage paths from a gate electrode of the driving transistor. Therefore, the voltage of the gate electrode of the driving transistor is changed through a leakage path during a driving period, thereby decreasing reliability of display quality.
In addition, when the driving transistor is diode-connected, high voltage is applied as a data signal in consideration of the threshold voltage of the driving transistor. Accordingly, high power consumption becomes an issue.

Pixel with supply-voltage insensitive drive current and driving method thereof


A prepreg which can meet a demand for thickness reduction is provided. The prepreg has first and second resin layers having different applications, functions, capabilities, or properties, and allows an amount of a resin composition in each of the first and second resin layers to be set appropriately depending on a circuit wiring portion to be embedded into the second resin layer. Further, a method for manufacturing the above prepreg, and a substrate and a semiconductor device having the prepreg are also provided. The prepreg according to the present invention includes a core layer including a sheet-shaped base member and having one surface and the other surface which is opposite to the one surface, the first resin layer provided on the one surface of the core layer and formed of a first resin composition, and the second resin layer provided on the other surface of the core layer and formed of a second resin composition, wherein at least one of a requirement that a thickness of the first resin layer is different from that of the second resin layer and a requirement that a constitution of the first resin composition is different from that of the second resin composition is satisfied.

A circuit substrate is formed using a prepreg obtained by impregnating a sheet-shaped base member, such as a glass fiber base material, with thermosetting resin. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-216784 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "Patent Document 1") discloses a method for manufacturing a prepreg by immersing a glass fiber base material having a thickness of about 50 to 200 μm into a thermosetting resin varnish.
In a prepreg obtained by such a method, a resin composition is supported by the glass fiber base material, and two resin layers formed of the resin composition are symmetrically provided on both surfaces (sides) of the glass fiber base material. More specifically, such a prepreg has a structure in which two resin layers formed of the same resin composition and having the same thickness are provided on both the surfaces of the glass fiber base material.
Meanwhile, in recent years, electronic parts, electronic devices and the like are becoming increasingly smaller and thinner, and therefore circuit substrates and the like used for them are also required to be smaller and thinner. This leads to necessity for forming a higher-density circuit wiring portion (circuit wiring pattern) in the circuit substrates.
In order to form such a higher-density circuit wiring portion, a multilayer circuit substrate is used. In addition, various attempts have been made to reduce a thickness of each layer of the multilayer circuit substrate.
From a viewpoint of redaction of a thickness of a multilayer circuit substrate, generally, such a multilayer circuit substrate is manufactured by preparing a plurality of prepregs each having a circuit wiring portion on one surface thereof, and laminating the prepregs so that the circuit wiring portion provided on the one surface of the prepreg is embedded into an opposite surface of another prepreg laminated on the prepreg.
In this case, the one surface of the prepreg, on which the circuit wiring portion is to be formed, is required to have plating adhesiveness, and the other surface of the prepreg, into which a circuit wiring portion of the other prepreg is to be embedded, is required to have embeddability (moldability) for filling gaps between wires constituting the circuit wiring portion.
However, as described above, the prepreg disclosed in Patent Document 1 has two resin layers formed of the same resin composition on both the surfaces of the base material. Therefore, it is difficult to select a resin composition which allows each resin layer to have both properties of the plating adhesiveness and the embeddability. Such a problem becomes particularly conspicuous in the case where an attempt is made to reduce the thickness of the prepreg.
Further, there is also a case that a circuit wiring portion is embedded into each of two resin layers of a prepreg.
However, in the case where two circuit wiring portions having a different size such as thickness are embedded into the prepreg disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a case that an amount of the resin composition constituting the resin layers becomes larger or smaller than a required amount of a resin composition to be filled in gaps between wires constituting each circuit wiring portion (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "gaps in a circuit wiring portion").
As a result, there is a problem in that the resin composition is squeezed out of an obtained substrate from a side surface thereof, the circuit wiring portion cannot be reliably embedded into the resin layer or the like.
As described above, it is difficult for the prepreg disclosed in Patent Document 1 to satisfy the following two requirements: (A) the prepreg has both properties of the plating adhesiveness and the embeddability; and (B) an amount of a resin composition can be set appropriately depending on a circuit wiring portion to be embedded thereinto.
Further, it is also difficult to manufacture a prepreg using a thin glass fiber base material by a conventional method.

Prepreg, method for manufacturing prepreg, substrate, and semiconductor device


A device incorporated in a facsimile transceiver or similar recording apparatus of the type using a roll of paper for removing the curl of the paper. The device has a regular transport path, an uncurl transport path, and a separator fixed in place at a position where the two transport paths branch off. The separator steers the paper to either of the two transport paths on the basis of the height of a curl existing at the leading edge of the paper. The separator has a generally triangular configuration which has an apex at the center in the widthwise direction perpendicular to an intended direction of paper transport and inclines from the apex toward opposite ends. As a result, the paper is admitted into the regular transport path or the uncurl transport path little by little from part of the leading edge thereof.

The present invention relates to an uncurling device incorporated in a facsimile transceiver or similar recording apparatus of the type using a paper roll for removing curls of the paper and, more particularly, to an uncurling device operable on the basis of the height of a curl.
It is a common practice with a facsimile transceiver, printer or similar recording apparatus to use a rolled paper. Since the rolled paper curls in the rolling direction, an uncurling device for removing the curl of the paper is incorporated in the recording apparatus. Uncurling devices of the type curling a paper with a curl in the opposite direction to the curl are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 33882/1988, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 88270/1990, 88271/1990, and 88272/1990. The problem with this type of uncurling device is that it uncurls a paper unconditionally with no regard to the degree of a curl and, therefore, causes a paper with a small curl to curl in the opposite direction.
In the light of the above, uncurling devices capable of uncurling a paper by a variable amount matching the varying diameter of the paper roll and the weight of the paper are taught in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 57019/1989, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 285556/1989 and 16969/1987, and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 119547/1986. However, since this type of uncurling device changes the uncurling amount, the structure is complicated and, since a movable uncurling section is essential, the reliability is low. During the uncurling operation, the device rubs the imaged surface of the paper to lower the image quality. Moreover, even when the roll diameter is the same, the degree of a curl depends on the paper property, print pattern, temperature and so forth, making the uncurling amount excessive or short. This is also apt to curl the paper in the opposite direction if the degree of the curl is low. In addition, this type of uncurling device is operable only with a paper in the form of a roll and not applicable to documents and cut sheets.
The uncurling device may be so constructed as to determine the degree of a curl of a paper and uncurl the paper in matching relation to the curl, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 124463/1986 and 48343/1981 by way of example. This kind of uncurling device, however, needs a curl sensor for determining the amount of a curl, and a movable separator for changing the uncurling amount, resulting in a disproportionate cost.


A high density plasma chemical vapor deposition process including exciting gas mixture to create a plasma including ions, and directing the plasma into a dense region above the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer, heating the wafer using an additional heat source, and allowing a material from the plasma to deposit onto the semiconductor wafer.

Chemical vapor deposition has a range of equipment reactor designs, with each producing slightly different types of film quality. Chemical vapor deposition reactors are broadly categorized based upon the reaction chamber pressure regime used during the operations: Atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) reactors and reduced-pressure reactors. The reduced-pressure chemical vapor deposition reactors are of two general types. First, there is low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) reactors where the energy input is thermal. Second, there are plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition reactors, either plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) or high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDPCVD) where the energy is partially supplied by a plasma as well as thermally.
APCVD generally operates in a mass-transport limited regime. At any given time, there may not be sufficient gas molecules present at the wafer surface for a reaction to occur. Therefore, the reactor must be designed to have optimum reactor gas flow to every wafer in the system. The most common use of APCVD is the deposition of silicon dioxide and doped oxides. These films have been used traditionally as an interlayer dielectric, as a protective overcoat, or to planarize a non-uniform surface. APCVD can be utilized to deposit silicon dioxide with silane typically at a low temperature of about 450 to 500° C. Silicon dioxide can also be deposited with TEOS-ozone at a temperature about 400° C.
LPCVD operates at a minimum vacuum of about 4.1 to 5 torr at temperatures ranging between 300 and 900° C. LPCVD reactors typically operate in the reaction-rate limited regime. In this reduced-pressure regime, the diffusivity of the reacting gas molecules increases so that the mass-transfer of the gas to the wafer no longer limits the rate of the reaction. Because of this transfer state, the gas-flow conditions inside the reactor are not important, permitting the reactor design to be optimized for high wafer capacity, for example, wherein wafers can be closely spaced. Films are uniformly deposited on a large number of wafer surfaces as long as the temperature is tightly controlled. LPCVD reactor designs favor a hot-wall reactor type so that the uniform temperature control is achievable of all over a large operating length.
Three major types of chemical vapor deposition equipment rely on plasma energy, in addition to thermal energy to initiate and sustain the chemical reaction necessary for chemical vapor deposition. The plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition reaction necessary to form a film occurs with RF power is use to breakup gas molecules in a vacuum. The frequency of the RF power depends on the application, with a typical frequencies found at about 40 kHz, 400 kHz, 13.56 MHz and 2.45 GHz (microwave power). The molecular fragments or radicals are chemically reactive species and readily bond to other atoms to form a film at the wafer surface. Gaseous byproducts are removed by a vacuum pumping system. The wafer is heated in order to assist the surface reactions and reduced the level of undesirable contaminants such as hydrogen.
Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) uses plasma energy to create and sustain the chemical vapor deposition reaction. An important difference between PECVD and LPCVD is the much lower PECVD deposition temperature. For instance, silicon nitride is deposited using LPCVD at 800 to 900° C. On the other hand, silicon nitride is deposited using PECVD at a temperature of about 350° C. The PECVD reactor typically is a cold-wall plasma reactor with the wafer heated in its chuck while the remaining parts of the reactor are unheated. Deposition parameters must be controlled to ensure the temperature gradient does not affect the film thickness uniformity. Cold-wall reactors create fewer particles and require a less downtime for cleaning.
High-density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDPCVD) is a high-density mixture of gases at low pressure that is directed towards the wafer surface in a reaction chamber. The main benefit of HDPCVD is that it can deposit films to fill high aspect ratios with a deposition temperature range of 300-400° C. HDPCVD was initially developed for interlayer dielectric applications, but it has also been used for deposition of ILD-1, shallow trench isolation, etch-stop layers, and deposition of low-k dielectrics. The HDPCVD reaction involves a chemical reaction between two or more gas precursors. To form the high-density plasma, a source excites the gas mixture with RF or microwave power and directs the plasma ions into a dense region above the wafer surface. There are different high-density plasma sources, such as electron cyclotron resonance, inductively coupled plasma, and Helicon. Much of the challenge for the use of high-density plasma is related not only to the performance of the plasma source but also to the details of the chamber designs so that the technology works in high-volume wafer fabrication. A particular problem is that the high-density plasma will increase the thermal load to the wafer. This condition leads to high wafer temperatures. As a result, HDPCVD reactors typically include a cooling system for the wafer, which typically includes applying a backside blanket of helium gas to the wafer through access ports in the electrostatic chuck. This action creates a thermally conductive path between the wafer and the electrostatic chuck, thus cooling the wafer and the chuck.
The HDPCVD oxide process usually uses silane as the silicon precursor and oxygen as the oxygen precursor. Argon is added in the process to enhance the sputtering etch effect. HDPCVD can also deposit PSG and FSG by reacting with phosphorus and silicon tetrafluoride.
Problems in this sputtering are continued to challenge those skilled in the art. FIG. 1 illustrates a high sputter rate process in which molecules 10 such as silicon dioxide are sputtered into a trench 12 to fill the trench and form a silicon dioxide layer 14. As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a high sputter rate process, the silicon dioxide molecules 10 often bounce off of the corner defining the trench 12 and tend to stick to the sidewalls 16 defined in the trench 12. As a result, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a birds peak 18 tends to develop along the sidewall 16 of the trench. Eventually, sidewall birds peaks 18 converge on each other creating a void 20 in the trench as illustrated in FIG. 3.
FIG. 4 illustrates a relatively low sputter rate process in which molecules 10, such as silicon dioxide are sputtered into a trench 12. However, in this process because the sputter rate is relatively low, the molecules 10 do not tend to stick to the sidewalls 16 of the trench, but tend to fall towards the bottom 22 of the trench 12. However, even using a relatively low sputter rate process, it's difficult to control the process without producing voids in the trench. FIG. 5 illustrates a void 20 formed in the trench when the deposition to sputter ratio is about 10 for silicon dioxide being deposited in the trench. FIG. 6 illustrates a void 20 that develops when the deposition to sputter ratio is increased to about 20 for silicon dioxide being deposited in the trench.
The present invention provides alternatives to the prior art.

High aspect ratio gap fill application using high density plasma chemical vapor deposition

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A method of facilitating paging in a wireless communications network includes generating, at a radio access network (RAN) element of the communications network, a select paging area for a UE which is improved or optimized by taking RAN and UE specific information into account, the select paging area including information indicating one or more cells from among cells of the communications network to which paging messages are to be sent when paging the UE; and sending the select paging area from the RAN element to a core network (CN) element of the communications network.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate generally to facilitating paging in a wireless communications network.
2. Related Art
A wireless communications network, for example a long term evolution (LTE) network, may include several cells. Once a user equipment (UE) within the communications network goes idle, the network may not know which of the several cells the UE is located in. Accordingly, when a network needs to communicate with an idle UE, the network may send information intended for the UE to several different cells. This process is called paging. The paging process is generally triggered by the mobility management entity (MME).

Radio access network defined paging area


A golf putterhead having a neck or hosel connecting said putterhead to a shaft. The hosel protrudes above and forward of the strike face on the vertical centerline plane of the putterhead and above the intended strikepoint also in said plane. Said hosel section in front of the strikeface being high enough so as not to interfere with a golf ball. Said hosel in one preferred embodiment extends forward of the strikeface approximately one half a golf ball diameter and has a user visible target oriented sight line on its' upper surface. Said sight line also extends substantially rearward of the strikeface, for most or all of said putterheads fore to aft depth on said vertical centerline plane, thereby creating an extended sight line for aiming said putter at a target. This forward hosel to shaft connection point concurrently increases putterhead static balance moment about said shaft and achieves face static balance thus improving dynamic stability during putterhead acceleration.

Many putters have some top marking or upper putterhead geometry indicating the intended strikepoint of the putterhead and/or the sighting aiming line (perpendicular to the strikeface). Golfers using putters without a highly visible aim line must draw an imaginary line perpendicular to the strikeface and through the golf ball to the intended target. For most golfers, a putterhead aim line provides more accurate aim than an imaginary perpendicular line from the putterhead strikeface. Generally, the longer (front to rear) and more visible the aim line is, the more accurately one can aim the putter at the target.
The Rules of Golf, as promulgated by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Scotland (the "Rules"), limit putterhead length to putterhead width. The Rules also prohibit putterhead protrusions, including those in front of the putterface and rearward from the putter face or putterhead solely for purposes of aim or alignment. Hosels or necks for connecting shafts to putterheads and bent shafts protruding forward of the strikeface are allowed. They have always been popular because it is advantageous to have the shaft axis in front of the clubhead center of gravity. This produces a static balance moment about the shaft axis which increases dynamic stability when a golfer accelerates the putterhead by applying a forward force to the shaft. This dynamic stability is most effective, by resisting putterhead rotation, when the putterhead center of gravity is directly behind the shaft axis (rather than towards the toe or heal side of it).
Since under the Rules, putterhead length (fore to aft) can not exceed putterhead width, and because the Rules do not allow appendages solely for sighting or alignment, the length of most putterhead aim lines have historically been limited to putterhead length.

Putterhead with center line forward offset hosel


A compound according to Formula (I):

The present invention relates to novel C3A receptor ligands, pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds and methods of using the present compounds to treat inflammation.
Anaphylatoxins are 74-77 amino acid bioactive fragments of C5, C3 and C4 that are generated in vivo during complement activation. Binding of the anaphylatoxins to specific cell surface receptors initiates and maintains the inflammatory process. The fragments are believed to elicit mast cell and basophil degranulation with release of histamine, cytokines and other inflammatory mediators and induce smooth muscle cell contraction. They are potent inflammatory mediators, inducing cellular degranulation, smooth muscle contraction, arachidonic acid metabolism, cytokine release, cellular chemotaxis. See Gerard, C., and Gerard, N. P. (1994) Annu. Rev. Immunol. 12, 775-808; Hugli, T. E. (1984) Springer Semin. Immunopathol. 7, 193-219; Bitter-Suermann, D. (1988) in The Complement System, Ed. by K. Rother and G. Till, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg 367-395.
The present fragments have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of inflammatory diseases. See Vogt, W. (1986) Complement 3, 177-188; Morgan, B. P. (1994) European J Clin Investigation 24, 219-228. Studies have demonstrated the presence of a C3A receptor (C3A-R) on guinea pig platelets, rat mast cells, human neutrophils, eosinophils and platelets (Bitter-Suermann, D. (1988) in The Complement System, Ed. by K. Rother and G. Till, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg 367-395). A single class of high affinity C3A binding sites has been characterized on human neutrophils and differentiated U937 cells (KIos, A., Bank, S., Gietz, C., Bautsch, W., Kxc3x6hl, J., Burg, M., and Kretzschmar, T (1992) Biochemistry 31, 112741-1282). Competition binding and functional desensitization studies are consistent with the presence of a receptor for C3A which is distinct from the C5A-R (Bitter-Suernann, D. (1988) in The Complement System, Ed. by K. Rother and G. Till, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg 367-395; Klos, A., Bank, S., Gietz, C., Bautsch, W., Kxc3x6hl, J., Burg, M., and Kretzschmar, T. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 11274-11282). However, there is evidence that C3A and C4A may bind to the same receptor as the two anaphylatoxins cross desensitize guinea pig ileal tissue (Hugli, T. E. (1984) Springer Semin. Immunopathol. 7, 193-219; Bitter-Suermann, D. (1988) in The Complement System, Ed. by K Rother and G. Till, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg 367-395), although other investigators using guinea pig macrophages indicate that there may be separate receptors (Murakami, Y., Yamamoto, T., Imamichi, T., Nagasawa, S. (1993) Immunol. Lett. 36, 301-304). Functional activity of the C 3A-R is sensitive to pertussis toxin, consistent with the binding site being composed of a GPCR (Klos, A., Bank, S., Gietz, C., Bautsch, W., kxc3x6hl, J., Burg, M., and Kretzschmar, T. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 11274-11282).
A complete understanding of the role of C3A in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory response has been hampered by the lack of the cloned receptor. The present invention provides methods of using and functional characterization of human C3A receptor. This same receptor was recently independently cloned from an HL-60 library by low-stringency screening with a fMetLeuPhe receptor probe and, lacking functional data, claimed to be an orphan receptor (AZ3B,8). Mouse L cells expressing AZ3B failed to bind and respond to the agonists examined, although C3A was not tested (Roglic, A., Prossnitz, E. R., Cavanagh, S. L., Pan, Z, Zou, A. and Ye, R. D. (1996) Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1305, 39-43). The present invention discloses compounds that antagonize C3A receptor function.
Clearly, there is a need for factors that mediate inflammation and their roles in dysfunction and disease. There is a need, therefore, for identification and characterization of compounds which antagonize C3A receptor function, and which can play a role in preventing, ameliorating or correcting dysfunctions or diseases.
Thus, C3A ligands offer a unique approach towards the pharmacotherapy of immune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer""s disease, psoriasis, gout, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, glomerulonephritis and adult respiratory distress syndrome.
The present invention involves compounds represented by Formula (I) hereinbelow and their use as C3A receptor ligands which are useful in the treatment of a variety of diseases associated with complement activation and or increased levels of anaphylatoxins, including but not limited to rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer""s disease, psoriasis, gout, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, glomerulonephritis and adult respiratory distress syndrome.
The present invention further provides methods for antagonizing C3A receptors in an animal, including humans, which comprises administering to an animal in need of treatment an effective amount of a compound of Formula (1), indicated hereinbelow.
The compounds of the present invention are selected from Formula (I) hereinbelow:
wherein:
A represents C1-4 alkylene, unsubstituted or optionally substituted by C1-4 alkyl or aryl; or
A forms a 5-8 membered fused aliphatic ring with the adjacent phenyl ring;
m is an integer from 1 to 3;
each R1 is independently selected from the group consisting of halo, C1-4 alkyl, methanesulfonyl, alkoxy, nitrile, dimethylamine, methylenedioxy and CF3; and
R2 is hydrogen or methyl.
Preferably, A represents phenethyl.
Preferably m is 0.
Preferably, R1 represents hydrogen.
Preferably, R2 represents hydrogen.
As used herein, xe2x80x9calkylxe2x80x9d refers to an optionally substituted hydrocarbon group joined together by single carbon-carbon bonds. The alkyl hydrocarbon group may be linear, branched or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated. Preferably, the group is linear. Preferably, the group is unsubstituted. Preferably, the group is saturated.
As used herein xe2x80x9ccycloalkylxe2x80x9d refers to 3-7 membered carbocyclic rings.
As used herein xe2x80x9cheterocycloalkylxe2x80x9d refers to 4-7 membered heterocyclic rings containing 1 to 2 heteroatoms selected from N, O and S.
As used herein, xe2x80x9carylxe2x80x9d refers to an optionally substituted aromatic group with at least one ring having a conjugated pi-electron system, containing up to two conjugated or fused ring systems. xe2x80x9cArylxe2x80x9d includes carbocyclic aryl, heterocyclic aryl and biaryl groups, all of which may be optionally substituted. A preferred aryl group is phenyl.
As used herein xe2x80x9cacylxe2x80x9d refers to alkylcarbonyl.
The compounds of the present invention may contain one or more asymmetric carbon atoms and may exist in racemic and optically active forms. All of these compounds and diastereomers are contemplated to be within the scope of the present invention.
Preferred compounds in the present invention include:
1-Naphthyloxyacetylarginine;
1-[7-(4-hydroxyphenylmethyl)naphthyloxy]acetylarginine;
(2,2-Diphenylethoxy)acetylarginine;
(2,2-Diphenylethoxy)acetyl-Nxcex1-methylarginine;
(3-Chlorobenzyloxy)acetylarginine;
2-Naphthyloxyacetylarginine;
(2,3-Dimethylphenoxy)acetylarginine;
8-(Quinolinyloxy)acetylarginine;
6-(Quinolinyloxy)acetylarginine;
2-(1-Bromonaphthyloxy)acetylarginine;
(4-Benzyloxyphenoxy)acetylarginine; and
2-(6-Methoxynaphthyloxy)acetylarginine.
More preferred compounds of the present invention include:
1-Naphthyloxyacetylarginine;
1-[7-(4-hydroxyphenylmethyl)naphthyloxy]acetylarginine;
(2,2-Diphenylethoxy)acetylarginine; and
2-Naphthyloxyacetylarginine.
The most preferred compounds of the present invention include:
1-Naphthyloxyacetylarginine; and
(2,2-Diphenylethoxy)acetylarginine.
An especially preferred compound of the present invention is (2,2-Diphenylethoxy)acetylarginine.
The present compounds can also be formulated as pharmaceutically acceptable salts and complexes thereof. Pharmaceutically acceptable salts are non-toxic salts in the amounts and concentrations at which they are administered.
Pharmaceutically acceptable salts include acid addition salts such as those containing sulfate, hydrochloride, fumarate, maleate, phosphate, sulfamate, acetate, citrate, lactate, tartrate, methanesulfonate, ethanesulfonate, benzenesulfonate, p-toluenesulfonate, cyclohexylsulfamate and quinate. Pharmaceutically acceptable salts can be obtained from acids such as hydrochloric acid, maleic acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfamic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, malonic acid, methanesulfonic acid, ethanesulfonic acid, benzenesulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, cyclohexylsulfamic acid, fumaric acid, and quinic acid.
Pharmaceutically acceptable salts also include basic addition salts such as those containing benzathine, chloroprocaine, choline, diethanolamine, ethylenediamine, meglumine, procaine, aluminum, calcium, lithium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, anmmonium, alkylamine, and zinc, when acidic functional groups, such as carboxylic acid or phenol are present.
The present invention provides compounds of Formula (I) above which can be prepared using standard techniques. An overall strategy for preparing preferred compounds described herein can be carried out as described in this section. The examples which follow illustrate the synthesis of specific compounds. Using the protocols described herein as a model, one of ordinary skill in the art can readily produce other compounds of the present invention.
All reagents and solvents were obtained from commercial vendors. Starting materials (e.g., amines and epoxides) were synthesized using standard techniques and procedures. The present invention provides compounds of formula (I) above which can be prepared using standard techniques. An overall strategy for preparing preferred compounds described herein can be carried out as described in this section. The examples which follow illustrate the synthesis of specific compounds. Using the protocols described herein as a model, one of ordinary skill in the art can readily produce other compounds of the present invention.
All reagents and solvents were obtained from commercial vendors. Starting materials were synthesized using standard techniques and procedures.
Aryloxyacetylarginines (eg. 5) can be prepared on solid phase. An appropriately protected arginine derivative such as Fmocarginine(Boc)2 (1) is coupled to chlorotrityl resin with an amine base such as diisopropylamine to give 2. Deprotection, and derivatization with bromoacetic acid yields the intermediate bromoacetamide 3. Reaction of this with arylalcohols under basic conditions such as potassium carbonate or amine bases in DMSO with heating yields the aryloxyacetyl product 4. Deprotection with TFA in the presence of a cation scavenger such as triisopropylsilane, dimethylsulfide, ethanedithiol, anisole, water, or some combination of these yields the cleaved product 5.
Alkyloxy and aryloxy derivatives can be prepared by coupling an appropriately protected arginine derivative such as Fmocarginine(Mtr) (6) to Wang resin. Deprotection and coupling with an alkyloxyacetic acid or aryloxyacetic acid yields the protected resin bound intermediate 7. Finally, deprotection with TFA in the presence of a cation scavenger yields the final product 8.
With appropriate manipulation and protection of any chemical functionality, synthesis of the remaining compounds of Formula (I) is accomplished by methods analogous to those above and to those described in the Experimental section.
In order to use a compound of Formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof for the treatment of humans and other mammals, it is normally formulated in accordance with standard pharmaceutical practice as a pharmaceutical composition.
The present ligands can be administered by different routes including intravenous, intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, intramuscular, oral, topical, transdermal, or transmucosal administration. For systemic administration, oral administration is preferred. For oral administration, for example, the compounds can be formulated into conventional oral dosage forms such as capsules, tablets and liquid preparations such as syrups, elixirs and concentrated drops.
Alternatively, injection (parenteral administration) may be used, e.g., intramuscular, intravenous, intraperitoneal, and subcutaneous. For injection, the compounds of the invention are formulated in liquid solutions, preferably, in physiologically compatible buffers or solutions, such as saline solution, Hank""s solution, or Ringer""s solution. In addition, the compounds may be formulated in solid form and redissolved or suspended immediately prior to use. Lyophilized forms can also be produced.
Systemic administration can also be by transmucosal or transdermal means. For transmucosal or transdermal administration, penetrants appropriate to the barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation. Such penetrants are generally known in the art, and include, for example, for transmucosal administration, bile salts and fusidic acid derivatives. In addition, detergents may be used to facilitate permeation. Transmucosal administration, for example, may be through nasal sprays, rectal suppositories, or vaginal suppositories.
For topical administration, the compounds of the invention can be formulated into ointments, salves, gels, or creams, as is generally known in the art.
The amounts of various calcilytic compounds to be administered can be determined by standard procedures taking into account factors such as the compound IC50, EC50, the biological half-life of the compound, the age, size and weight of the patient, and the disease or disorder associated with the patient. The importance of these and other factors to be considered are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Amounts administered also depend on the routes of administration and the degree of oral bioavailability. For example, for compounds with low oral bioavailability, relatively higher doses will have to be administered.
Preferably the composition is in unit dosage form. For oral application, for example, a tablet, or capsule may be administered, for nasal application, a metered aerosol dose may be administered, for transdermal application, a topical formulation or patch may be administered and for transmucosal delivery, a buccal patch may be administered. In each case, dosing is such that the patient may administer a single dose.
Each dosage unit for oral administration contains suitably from 0.01 to 500 mg/Kg, and preferably from 0.1 to 50 mg/Kg, of a compound of Formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, calculated as the free base. The daily dosage for parenteral, nasal, oral inhalation, transmucosal or transdermal routes contains suitably from 0.01 mg to 100 mg/Kg, of a compound of Formula(I). A topical formulation contains suitably 0.01 to 5.0% of a compound of Formula (I). The active ingredient may be administered from 1 to 6 times per day, preferably once, sufficient to exhibit the desired activity, as is readily apparent to one skilled in the art.
As used herein, xe2x80x9ctreatmentxe2x80x9d of a disease includes, but is not limited to prevention, retardation and prophylaxis of the disease.
Diseases and disorders which might be treated or prevented, include immune and inflammation-related diseases or disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer""s disease, psoriasis, gout, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, glomerulonephritis and adult respiratory distress syndrome.
Composition of Formula (I) and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts which are active when given orally can be formulated as syrups, tablets, capsules and lozenges. A syrup formulation will generally consist of a suspension or solution of the compound or salt in a liquid carrier for example, ethanol, peanut oil, olive oil, glycerine or water with a flavoring or coloring agent. Where the composition is in the form of a tablet, any pharmaceutical carrier routinely used for preparing solid formulations may be used. Examples of such carriers include magnesium stearate, terra alba, talc, gelatin, acacia, stearic acid, starch, lactose and sucrose. Where the composition is in the form of a capsule, any routine encapsulation is suitable, for example using the aforementioned carriers in a hard gelatin capsule shell. Where the composition is in the form of a soft gelatin shell capsule any pharmaceutical carrier routinely used for preparing dispersions or suspensions may be considered, for example aqueous gums, celluloses, silicates or oils, and are incorporated in a soft gelatin capsule shell.
Typical parenteral compositions consist of a solution or suspension of a compound or salt in a sterile aqueous or non-aqueous carrier optionally containing a parenterally acceptable oil, for example polyethylene glycol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, lecithin, arachis oil or sesame oil.
Typical compositions for inhalation are in the form of a solution, suspension or emulsion that may be administered as a dry powder or in the form of an aerosol using a conventional propellant such as dichlorodifluoromethane or trichlorofluoromethane.
A typical suppository formulation comprises a compound of Formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof which is active when administered in this way, with a binding and/or lubricating agent, for example polymeric glycols, gelatins, cocoa-butter or other low melting vegetable waxes or fats or their synthetic analogs.
Typical dermal and transdermal formulations comprise a conventional aqueous or non-aqueous vehicle, for example a cream, ointment, lotion or paste or are in the form of a medicated plaster, patch or membrane.
Preferably the composition is in unit dosage form, for example a tablet, capsule or metered aerosol dose, so that the patient may administer a single dose.
No unacceptable toxological effects are expected when compounds of the present invention are administered in accordance with the present invention.
The biological activity of the compounds of Formula (I) are demonstrated by the tests indicated hereinbelow.
Stable Expression of C3A Receptor in RBL-2H3 Cells
To prepare C3A receptor for expression in mammalian cells, a 1.6 kb cDNA fragment was obtained by PCR amplification that encompassed the entire C3A Receptor open reading frame. This fragment was subcloned into KpnI/Hind III sites of the mammalian expression vector, pCDN (Aiyar, N., et al (1994) Mol. Cell. Bio. 131, 75-86). Oligonucleotide primers used for PCR amplification were 5xe2x80x2-GA AGT GGT ACC ATG GCG TC-3xe2x80x2 and 5xe2x80x2-GC TCC AAG CTT TCA CAC AGT TG-3xe2x80x2 (the translation start and stop codons are underlined). RBL-2H3 cells were electroporated with C3A in the pCDN mammalian expression vector (Aiyar, N., et al (1994) Mol. Cell. Bio. 131, 75-86), exactly as described (DeMartino, J. A., et al (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 14446-14450). Individual G418 resistant (400 xcexcg/ml) colonies were isolated and expanded. Clonal cell lines expressing C3A receptor, as determined by ability of the cell line to respond to C3A in a calcium mobilization assay, were chosen for further functional and binding studies.
Preparation of Membranes
RBL-2H3 cells expressing the human C3A receptor (hC3AR) were cultured to confluency at 37xc2x0 C. in a humidified incubator with 5% CO2/95% air, in Earls MEM supplemented with non-essential amino acids, 10% fetal calf serum and 400 xcexcg/ml G418. Although this cell line is normally adherent, nonadherent cells are always present in cultures. The nonadherent cells were adapted to grow in suspension. Nonadherent cells from three T-150 flasks were centrifuged at 1,000xc3x97g for 10 min and resuspended in 50-ml of the above medium in a 250 ml shake flask and over 7-10 days the cells were expanded to 2.51 in a spinner flask. Cells were harvested by centrifugation, 1,000xc3x97g for 10 min at 4xc2x0 C., and membranes were isolated using a modification of the procedure of Ross et al., (1977). Briefly, the cell pellet was washed with PBS and resuspended in 30 ml of hypotonic membrane buffer (20 mM Tris, pH 7.5, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.1 mM EDTA, 1 mM DTT, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 1 xcexcM leupeptin, 1 xcexcM pepstatin A) and incubated on ice for 5 min. The cell suspension was homogenized in 40 ml Dounce homogenizer and centrifuged at 1,000xc3x97g for 15 min to remove nuclei and cellular debris. Cell membranes were pelleted at 100,000xc3x97g for 30 min at 4xc2x0 C. Membranes were resuspended in membrane buffer with 10% sucrose and layered over membrane buffer with 40% sucrose and centrifuged at 100,000xc3x97g for 90 min at 4xc2x0 C. Membranes at the interface were isolated and collected by centrifugation at 100,000xc3x97g for 30 min. The membrane pellet was resuspended in 5.0 ml of membrane buffer and aliquots stored at xe2x88x9280xc2x0 C. Protein concentration was quantified using the BCA protein assay reagent (Pierce, Rockford, Ill.).
Scintillation Proximity Assay
All assays are performed in a 96-well micro-titre plate format. The 96-well plates (1450-401) are obtained from Wallac, Turku, Finland. Human anaphylatoxin C3A was obtained from Advanced Research Technologies, San Diego, Calif. with Bolton-Hunter custom iodination being performed by NEN Research Products, Boston, Mass. with specific activity of 2200 Ci/mmol. Wheatgerm agglutinin SPA (Scintillation Proximity Assay) beads were obtained from Amersham Corp., Arlington Heights, Ill. The binding buffer consists of 20 mM Bis-Trispropane, 25 mM NaCl, 1 mM MgSO4, 0.1 mM EDTA at pH 8.0. Each reaction mixture contains: 125I C3A (25 pM, obtained from NEN, Boston Mass.), wheatgerm agglutinin SPA beads (0.1 mg), 0.35 xcexcgs of RBL-2H3 C3A receptor membranes (this may vary with quality of membrane preparation), 23 ug/ml BSA and 0.03% CHAPS in binding buffer.
The membranes were prebound to SPA beads for 30 minutes on ice while shaking. The mixture of membranes and beads were centrifuged for three minutes at 2000 rpm. The supernatant was removed and the pellet was resuspended to original volume in binding buffer with 50 ug/mL BSA. Samples of interest were dissolved in neat DMSO to yield a 20xc3x97 solution followed by a 1:1 mixture with H2O to yield a 10xc3x97, 50% DMSO working solution. The order of addition was 10 uLs sample, 45 uLs membrane bound SPA beads followed by 45 uLs of radiolabled ligand in binding buffer containing 0.06% CHAPS. The plates were covered with plate sealers from Dynex Technologies, Inc, and shaken for 20 minutes and incubated an additional 40 minutes at room temperature. The plates were then centrifuged for three minutes at 2000 rpm followed by counting on the Wallac 1450 Micro Beta Plus Liquid Scintillation counter.
Calcium Functional Assays
7TM receptors which are expressed in HEK 293 cells have been shown to be coupled functionally to activation of PLC and calcium mobilization and/or cAMP stimulation or inhibition. Basal calcium levels in the HEK 293 cells in receptor-transfected or vector control cells were observed to be in the normal, 100 nM to 200 nM, range. HEK 293 cells expressing recombinant receptors are loaded with fura 2 and in a single day  greater than 150 selected ligands or tissue/cell extracts are evaluated for agonist induced calcium mobilization. Agonists presenting a calcium transient are tested in vector control cells to determine if the response is unique to the transfected cells expressing receptor.
Calcium Mobilization: C3a-induced Response in RBL-2H3 cells carrying C3a receptor:
Bioassays:
The functional activity of an antagonist of the C3a receptor is demonstrated using the C3a-induced Ca2+ mobilization in RBL-2H3 cells stably expressing C3a (RBL-2H3-C3a).
RBL-2H3-C3a Cell Culture Conditions:
RBL-2H3-C3a cells were cultured to near confluence in T-150 flasks at 37xc2x0C. in a humidified incubator with 5% CO2/95% air in Earls MEM with Earls salts (Gibco) supplemented with non-essential amino acids and L-glutamate, with 10% fetal calf serum (Gibco) and 400 ug/ml G418 (Gibco).
Fluorescent Measurements-Calcium Mobilization:
The functional assay used to assess antagonist activity of compounds was C3a-induced calcium mobilization in intact RBL-2H3-C3a cells. Cells were washed with 50 mM Tris, pH 7.4 containing 1 mM EDTA. The [Ca2+]i was estimated with the calcium fluorescent probe-fura 2 (Grynkiewicz, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1985, 260, 3440-3450). The media was aspirated from RBL-2H3-C3a cells that were near confluence in T-150 flasks then 40 ml in Krebs Ringer Hensilet containing 0.1% BSA, 1.1 mM MgCl2 and 5 mM HEPES, pH 7.4 (buffer A) was added. The diacetoxymethoxy ester of fura 2 (fura 2/AM) was added at a concentration of 2 xcexcM and incubated for 45 min at 37xc2x0 C. Buffer A was aspirated off the RBL-2H3-C3a cells and 40 ml of Buffer A was added to the cells and incubated for an additional 20 min to allow complete hydrolysis of the entrapped ester. Buffer A was aspirated and cells covered with xcx9c5 ml of Delbeccos Phosphate Buffered Saline with 1 mM EDTA (no calcium or magnesium) for 5 min at 37xc2x0 C. Buffer is aspirated off and 40 ml of buffer A added to the cells which were then mechanically detached from the flasks. RBL-2H3-C3a cells were maintained at room temperature until used in the fluorescent assay which was performed within 3 hours.
The fluorescence of fura 2 containing cells was measured with a fluorometer designed by the Johnson Foundation Biomedical Instrumentation Group. The fluorometer was equipped with a temperature control and a magnetic stirrer under the cuvette holder. Wavelengths were set at 340 nm (10 nm band width) for excitation and 510 nm (20 nm band width) for emission. All experiments were performed at 37xc2x0 C. with constant stirring. For compound studies, fura 2 loaded cells were centrifuged and resuspended in buffer A containing 1 mM CaCl2 minus BSA at 106 cells/mL. For assessment of agonist activity, a 2 mL aliquot of RBL-2H3-C3a cells was added to a cuvette and warmed in a water bath to 37xc2x0 C. The 1 cm2 cuvette was transferred to the fluorometer and fluorescence was recorded for 15 seconds to ensure a stable baseline before addition of compound. Fluorescence was recorded continuously for up to 2 mins after addition of compounds to monitor for the presence of any agonist activity.
For antagonist studies, varying concentrations of compounds or vehicle were added to the fura 2 loaded RBL-2H3-C3a cells and monitored for 1 min to ensure that there was no change in baseline fluorescence followed by the addition of 1 nM C3a. The maximal [Ca2+]/fura 2 fluorescence was then determined for each sample. The [Ca2+]i was calculated using the following formula:             [              Ca                  2          +                    ]        i    =      224              xe2x80x83                  (      nM      )                          F        -                  F          min                                      F          max                -        F
The percent of maximal C3a (1 nM) induced [Ca2+]i was determined for each concentration of compound and the IC50 defined as the concentration of test compound that inhibits 50% of the maximal C3a response. Concentration response curves (5-7 concentrations) were run.
High-Throughput-Screening-Calcium Assay:
The calcium assay described above was converted to a high-throughput-screen (HTS) with the use of a 96 well Fluorescent Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) from Biomolecular Devices. This technology allows the measurement of the intracellular calcium mobilization in cells attached to the bottom of a 96 well plate.
For this procedure, cells were obtained from the T-150 flasks as described above. The cells were plated into the 96 well plate at 30,000 cells/well. With incubation in a humidified environment in a cell incubator at 37xc2x0 C. for 18-24 hours, the cells attached to the bottom surface of the 96 well plate.
The FLIPR works best with the visible wavelength calcium indicators, Fluo-3 and Calcium green-1. Both of these dyes have been used successfully for the HTS assay, but Fluo-3 was generally used. Typically 4 uM Fluo-3 was loaded into the cells for 1 hr at 37xc2x0 C. in cell media without fetal calf serum and with 1.5 mM sulfinpyrazone to inhibit dye release from the cells. The media is aspirated from the cells and fresh media was added for 10 min at 37xc2x0 C. to allow hydrolysis of the dye and remove extracellular dye. The media was aspirated and replaced with KRH buffer (buffer A above). After 10 min at 37xc2x0 C. the cells were placed in FLIPR apparatus for analysis.
FLIPR has 3-96 well plates. In addition to the plate with dye loaded cells, there is a plate containing varying concentrations of compound or vehicle and the third plate has the agonist at varying concentrations to establish agonist potency or a single concentration, e.g., 1 nM of C3a for antagonist activity. For antagonist studies, FLIPR obtains a baseline fluorescence for xcx9c30 sec, then it adds the compounds to all 96 wells simultaneously and begins to monitor changes in intracellular Ca2+. After 2 min, the contents or the agonist plate is added to the cells. The maximal Ca2+ response (in optical units) for 1 nM C3a in the presence of vehicle (100%) or the various concentrations of compound is determined. Inhibition curves were generated essentially as described for the single cuvette Fura-2 assay described above.

Abstract: A compound according to Formula (I):

Abstract: wherein:

Abstract: m is an integer from 1 to 3;

Abstract: each R1 is independently selected form the group consisting of halo, C1-4 alkyl, methanesulfonyl, alkoxy, nitrile, dimethylamine, methylenedioxy and CF3; and

Abstract: R2 is hydrogen or methyl is provided.


Polytetramethylene ether glycols (PTMEG) are fractionated with liquid propane in an extractor under high pressure. Fractions are separated by altering the extraction pressure, which alters the solvent power of the propane. The polydispersities of all extracted PTMEG fractions are generally below 1.3. The addition of a cosolvent, preferably tetrahydrofuran, can effectively lower the initial extraction pressure and increase the efficiency of the extraction.

Polytetramethylene ether glycols (PTMEG) are primarily used as chain segments in polyurethanes and polyesters. The most important uses are in the polyurethane art, i.e., the production of spandex fiber, elastomers, and thermoplastics. PTMEG with molecular weights of 1000 and 2000 are commercially produced and utilized on a large scale. PTMEG with molecular weights of 650 and 2900 are manufactured only on a small scale, and other grades are sometimes produced as specialty products. The polydispersity, or index of molecular weight distribution, of all grades of crude PTMEG products is usually about 2.0, a level which is generally not suitable for industrial use. Further treatments are often used to narrow the molecular weight distribution of PTMEG before it is utilized.
The most commonly used commercial treatment to narrow the PTMEG molecular weight distribution is solution extraction. A number of solution extraction procedures have been previously proposed for obtaining PTMEG or other polymerizates as fractions with smaller polydispersities. U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,553, issued to Dorai, teaches the extraction of PTMEG with methanol, water, and a non-polar cosolvent, where the cosolvent has a solubility parameter between 7.30 and 8.20. Japanese Patent No. 60-42,421 (1985), assigned to Mitsubishi, teaches the separation using methanol and water. The mixed solvent and PTMEG is used at a weight ratio of greater than 1.2. Japanese Patent No. 60-108,424 (1985), also describes a separation technique utilizing methanol and/or ethanol and water.
German Patent No. 3,607,946 A1 (1987) teaches the solvent separation of polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF) and tetrahydrofuran/alkylene oxide copolymers using a 1-4 C alkanol, preferably methanol or ethanol, a 4-12 C hydrocarbon, preferably cyclohexane or methylcyclohexane, and water. German Patent No. 3,728,613 A1 (1989) discloses a similar method, but a 4-12 C aliphatic hydrocarbon, especially a 4-7 C linear aliphatic hydrocarbon, is substituted for the cyclic hydrocarbons of DE 3,607,946.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,705 (1985), issued to Coplein, teaches the reduction of the oligomeric cyclic ether content of tetrahydrofuran or related polymerizate by contacting the polymerizate with an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon of 6-8 carbon atoms, and separating the two resulting phases. U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,705 (1985), also issued to Coplein, teaches the reduction of the oligomeric cyclic ether content of a tetrahydroran or related polymerizate by contacting the polymerizate with a gas in the supercritical state.
However, the above described solution extraction technology can only fractionate PTMEG or the related polymerizate into two, or at most, three fractions. The lowest obtainable polydispersity of these fractions is about 1.3. As a result, there are limits on the industrial use of PTMEG in polymer formation. In theory, more fractions and narrower molecular weight distributions could be achieved through application of this solution extraction technology. However, it is anticipated that the solvent recovery from each fraction would be difficult in practice, requiring large energy input. Therefore, there is a need for the development of an improved and industrially feasible method for producing fractions having polydispersities of less than about 1.3, preferably about 1.1.
A polymer consists of many similar macromolecules with different molecular weights. In any one solvent, these macromolecules have different solubilities. Fractions of the polymer with narrow molecular weight distribution can be obtained by extracting the polymer individually with multiple solvents chosen for their selective solvent power. Alternately, molecular weight fractions can be isolated using one solvent by differing the extraction conditions. It is this principle has been applied in developing the present invention. Liquid propane, which possesses different solvent powers at different operating conditions, is utilized for fractionating PTMEG.

Method of controlling molecular weight distribution of polytetramethylene ether glycol

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A method, a system, and a network for coordination between a data control plane and photonic control in a network include operating the data control plane with photonic control messaging included therein, wherein the data control plane is configured to at least establish end-to-end paths between a plurality of network elements at Layer 1; transmitting a photonic control message in or by the data control plane responsive to a requirement for photonic layer information; processing, via the data control plane, the photonic layer information received from photonic control responsive to the photonic control message, wherein the photonic control is configured to adjust photonic hardware responsive to a change at a photonic layer; and performing an action by the data control plane considering the photonic layer information.

In optical networks, optical control planes (or simply control planes as referred to herein) provide automatic allocation of network resources in an end-to-end manner. Exemplary control planes may include Automatically Switched Optical Network (ASON) as defined in G.8080/Y.1304, Architecture for the automatically switched optical network (ASON) (February 2005), the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference; Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) Architecture as defined in Request for Comments (RFC): 3945 (October 2004) and the like, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference; Optical Signaling and Routing Protocol (OSRP) from Ciena Corporation which is an optical signaling and routing protocol similar to PNNI (Private Network-to-Network Interface) and MPLS; or any other type control plane for controlling network elements at one or more layers, and establishing connections there between. As described herein, these control planes may be referred to as data control planes as they deal with routing signals at Layer 1, i.e. time division multiplexing (TDM) signals such as, for example, Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Optical Transport Network (OTN), Ethernet, and the like.
Conventionally, in the data control planes, a network path is considered to be available for a connection based on availability of nodes, links and sufficient bandwidth thereon. Examples of end-to-end signaled paths in control planes include sub-network connections (SNCs) in ASON or OSRP and label switched paths (LSPs) in GMPLS. All control planes use the available paths to route the services and program the underlying hardware. As services are added into photonic networks, i.e. the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) layer, photonic hardware, such as amplifiers, variable optical attenuators, etc., needs to be re-tuned or adjusted to accommodate the new services. That is, as the number of wavelengths on a link changes, the hardware requires re-tuning for the new power levels. To support wavelength changes, the photonic layer can include photonic control which, similar to the data control plane, can be referred to as a control plane or control loop which operates on the photonic hardware to optimize power settings and the like. Due to limitations of the photonic hardware, launched power, and modem type, a Layer 0 network (WDM) may or may not be able to handle the new service request at the data layer from the data control plane and may impact the existing services on the network.
Photonic control and data control planes conventionally are separate or loosely connected. By separate, these components have no interaction. For example, the data control plane simply performs data path computation based on available timeslots and/or wavelengths without regard to photonic layer setup. By loosely connected, the data control plane can perform data path computation with knowledge of wavelength count, loss, non-linear effects, etc. from a static perspective, i.e. the data control plane does a calculation for the photonic layer based on known variables. However, there is no real-time coordination conventionally. For example, the data control plane can, based on its knowledge of links and nodes, make a decision to route a service which from the perspective the photonic hardware may not be able to handle the service requests. An example of this can include where the photonic control is currently re-tuning a link and the photonic control cannot add or remove a wavelength until this process is complete. Thus, this link may look available in real-time to the data control plane, but is currently unavailable due to concurrent photonic control operation. Thus, there is a need for coordination systems and methods between a data control plane and photonic control.

Coordination systems and methods between data control plane and photonic control in optical networks


A mobile terminal and controlling method therein are disclosed, by which a memo can be written and utilized conveniently in a state that an access to the mobile terminal is restricted in part. The present invention includes entering a lock screen for restricting at least one partial function of the mobile terminal, writing a memo on the lock screen in response to an input of a 1st command, and if user authentication is performed in response to an input of a 2nd command, coping with an event occurring until cancellation of the display of the lock screen using the memo.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal and controlling method thereof. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for writing and utilizing a memo conveniently in a state that an access to the mobile terminal is restricted in part.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, terminals can be classified into mobile/portable terminals and stationary terminals. The mobile terminals can be further classified into handheld terminals and vehicle mount terminals according to possibility of user's direct portability.
As functions of the terminal are getting diversified, the terminal tends to be implemented as a multimedia player provided with composite functions such as photographing of photos or videos, playback of music or video files, game play, broadcast reception and the like for example.
To support and increase the terminal functions, it may be able to consider the improvement of structural parts and/or software parts of the terminal
Recently, as a mobile terminal of a smart type capable of storing various kinds of user's personal informations is released and used, a lock screen tends to be increasingly used due to a problem of privacy protection. While a lock screen is enabled, limited functions can be activated only until a specific command for cancelling a locked screen status is inputted. However, while prescribed functions are restricted at least like a locked screen status, a user may need to conveniently write a memo or a third party may need to write a memo for a user of a mobile terminal Hence, the demand for methods of writing such memos and utilizing the written memos is rising.

Mobile terminal and controlling method thereof


An apparatus is presented for drying wet ground fuel pellets for nuclear reactors, inspecting the surface quality of the pellets, and loading the inspected pellets on a tray for storage. The pellets are discharged from a wet grinder, and are charged one at a time into pellet pockets formed at the periphery of a rotation disc, with the pellet axis aligned in the direction of transport. The rotation disc changes the transport direction from an axial direction to a radial direction, at right angle to the pellet axis. The rotation disc is provided with a gas circulation device, which delivers a flow of air from in-ports to edge surfaces of the pellets and discharges the air from out-ports. The direction of the air flow is alternated so that both end surfaces of the pellets will be dried completely. The underside of the pellets is also dried by an air flow directed to the pellets from gas outflow port disposed at the bottom region of the pellet pocket. The end surfaces and the side surface of each dried pellet are inspected in the pellet inspection section by image processing techniques, and the machine-inspected pellets are further examined visually in the visual confirmation section. The inspected pellets are loaded onto a tray, and are stored in the tray storage rack.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for arranging short cylindrical bodies in general, and relates in particular to its application to a drying apparatus capable of changing the direction of transport of a plurality of pellets, and an associated inspection apparatus for inspecting the external surface quality of each pellet.
2. Technical Background of the Invention
In general, the pellets which are charged into nuclear fuel rods are made by pressing a fuel powder, such as uranium dioxide, into cylindrical pellets of a short rod shape, and sintering the pressed pellets. In the process of producing such pellets, surface chips and other surface defects are sometimes produced on the external surfaces of the pellets. It is therefore necessary to inspect the surface quality of the pellets for the presence of surface defects. Conventionally, such inspections have been performed visually on every sintered pellet to eliminate defective pellets so as to assure the reliability of the reactor operation.
However, such a manual inspection method is not only labor-intensive and time-consuming but also places a large mental stresses on the inspectors who carry out such tasks on a daily basis. To alleviate such problems, the present inventors have previously presented an inspection apparatus for inspecting the surface quality of the pellets based on image processing technology (U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,326).
The inspection apparatus is usually associated with a wet grinding device. The pellets subjected to wet grinding are discharged continuously from the wet grinder with the axis of the short rod-shaped pellets aligned in the transport direction. To inspect the surface quality of the pellets efficiently, it is necessary to quickly change the direction of movement of the pellet from its axial direction to its radial direction in the inspection apparatus so that both the end surfaces and the side surface of the short rod-shaped pellets can be inspected.
Also, for pellet handling purposes, the planar end surfaces of the pellets are provided with a pair of depressions (dish sections), which are prone to collecting moisture from the wet grinding operation. The moisture sometimes affects optical recording of the surface images, because of false surface signals from abnormal reflections and refractions caused by droplets of water collecting in the dish sections.
The presence of water thus interferes with the proper optical inspection of the wet ground pellets, and it is necessary that the pellets be dried completely before optical inspection.

Apparatus for arranging short cylindrical bodies


Compensation for beam separation of multiple laser beams of a laser printer simultaneously scanning a photoconductor drum is automatically made. The time for the lead beam to travel a predetermined distance is ascertained and then the separation time between the lead beam and one of the remaining beams is determined. When using only one light sensor, the time for the lead beam to travel the predetermined distance is the scan time of the lead beam. When using two light sensors, the time for the lead beam to travel the predetermined distance is the time for the lead beam to travel between the two light sensors, which define the predetermined distance, in the same scan. This determination of the time for the lead beam to travel the predetermined distance and its separation time from another of the remaining beams is continuously made for all of the remaining beams even during printing. If the beam separation time of each of the remaining beams from the lead beam is large enough for the one light sensor to generate distinct pulses for the lead beam and any one of the remaining beams during the same scan, the separation time for any one of the laser beams can be directly measured in only one scan.

It has previously been suggested to use a plurality of modulated laser or light beams for scanning a recording medium so that a plurality of lines is simultaneously recorded on the recording medium. Examples of this type of apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,528 to Yamamoto et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,852 to Sawada et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,819 to Kataoka et al.
The use of a plurality of laser beams enables the throughput of a laser printer, for example, to be increased. With a print resolution of 600 dots per inch (dpi) in both scan and process directions (the present industry standard), a process-direction laser beam separation of 42 .mu.m must exist. This separation, along with the optical magnification of the system, produces a spacing and tolerance between lasers not practical or desirable in manufacturing a semiconductor laser array.
Accordingly, a semiconductor laser array is manufactured to reasonable tolerances and then tilted until the required process-direction spacing of 42 .mu.m for 600 dpi is achieved. This tilting results in the lasers in the array no longer being aligned vertically. Therefore, the tilt of the array produces a separation in the scan direction between each of the laser beams so that one laser beam leads the other beams as they sweep across a recording medium such as a rotating photoconductor drum, for example.
Changes in beam separation in a multi-beam scan can occur due to temperature, laser power, mirror facet variation (speed of mirror motor, configuration of facets of mirror, and other periodic events involving the mirror), or other variables. When the separation drift occurs, image distortion on the rotating photoconductor drum can occur.

Method and apparatus for aligning multiple laser beams


An optionally substituted oligomer or polymer comprising a repeat unit of formula (I); wherein each Ar1 and Ar3 is the same or different and independently represents an optionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl; n is at least 1; Ar2 represents an optionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl comprising a linking ring to which the two nitrogen atoms are both directly linked; and at least one of Ar2 and either or both of Ar1 is substituted with at least one substituent.

Organic semiconductors have attracted a great deal of interest due to their wide range of applications in opto-electrical and switching devices and their ease of processibility as compared to inorganic semiconductors. One class of opto-electrical devices is that using an organic material for light emission (an organic light emitting device or "OLED") or as the active component of a photocell or photodetector (a "photovoltaic" device). The basic structure of these devices is a semiconducting organic layer sandwiched between a cathode for injecting or accepting negative charge carriers (electrons) and an anode for injecting or accepting positive charge carriers (holes) into the organic layer.
In an organic electroluminescent device, electrons and holes are injected into a layer of electroluminescent semiconducting material where they combine to generate excitons that undergo radiative decay. Holes are injected from the anode into the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the electroluminescent material; electrons are injected from the cathode into the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the electroluminescent material. An organic hole injecting material is commonly provided to assist injection of charge from the anode into the electroluminescent layer. In WO 90/13148 the organic light-emissive material is a conjugated polymer, namely poly(p-phenylenevinylene) ("PPV"). Other light emitting polymers known in the art include polyfluorenes and polyphenylenes. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,507 the organic light-emissive material is of the class known as small molecule materials, such as (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium ("Alq3"). Light emitting polymers such as polyfluorenes and polyphenylenes are advantageous in that they are solution processable. In particular, solution processable light emitting polymers may be inkjet printed as described in EP 0880303 to produce high information content displays, in particular full colour displays.
The preferred approach in forming full colour OLEDs requires red, green and blue electroluminescent materials. However, a drawback of many blue organic electroluminescent materials is that their emission is a relatively pale blue, due to an insufficiently large HOMO-LUMO bandgap, when compared to the standard blue as defined by 1931 CIE co-ordinates.
Hole transporting co-polymers containing triarylamine "TA" and bis(triarylamine) units "BTA" are disclosed in, for example, WO 99/48160 and WO 03/000773. Examples of these units are shown below:

These materials may be used as hole transporting materials and/or as blue electroluminescent materials. However, the above identified co-polymers have drawbacks. In particular, the HOMO levels of these materials are not ideally matched to the workfunction of the typical anode and/or organic hole injecting material, which negatively affects their hole transporting properties. Furthermore, the blue emission from these materials is a relatively pale blue.
There therefore exists a need for polymers having good hole transporting properties and a deeper blue colour.
EP 1304750 discloses a polymer of formula (A):

No significance is attached to the presence of the methyl substituents.
Likewise, Polymer Preprints (American Chemical Society, Division of Polymer Chemistry) (1997), 38(1), 396-397 discloses a hole transporting polymer of formula (B):

However, the present inventors have found that repeat units such as A and B which have a biphenylene unit between the two nitrogen atoms are not as effective as hole transporters when compared to such a unit with a phenylene unit between the two nitrogen atoms.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,763 discloses polymers containing BTA units which can be substituted on the pendant phenyl ring, but are unsubstituted on the phenyl rings which are incorporated in the main chain of the polymer.
WO 00/55927 discloses polymers which can also contain BTA units. However, the substitution of these units is only disclosed on the pendant aryl ring.
WO 99/32537 discloses substituted and unsubstituted triarylamines. However, these are defined low molecular weight compounds for use in organic electroluminescent devices based on small molecules. Corresponding polymers are not disclosed.
WO 99/32537 discloses polymers based on substituted and unsubstituted triarylamines. However, bis(triarylamine) units (BTA) are not disclosed in this application.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A molding condition optimizing system for an injection molding machine comprising plastic flow condition optimizing section and an operating condition determining section is disclosed. The plastic flow condition optimizing section carries out a plastic flow analysis on a molded part model, and determines an optimum flow condition in a filling stage and a packing stage of an injection molding process of the injection molding machine by repeatedly executing an automated calculation using the result of the plastic flow analysis and the plastic flow analysis itself. The operating condition determining section comprises an injection-side condition determining section for determining an optimum injection-side condition of the injection molding machine according to the optimum flow condition obtained by the plastic flow condition optimizing means and a knowledge database with respect to an injection condition, and a clamping-side condition determining section for determining an optimum clamping-side condition according to the molded part form data generated by the plastic flow condition optimizing means, the result of the plastic flow analysis, mold design data, and a knowledge database with respect to a mold clamping condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for injecting melt such as a melted plastic into a mold by using an injection machine, and relates in particular to a system for automatically determining the optimum molding conditions necessary to produce molded parts having a required quality.
2. Background Art
In one production method for molded parts, it is necessary to determine optimum molding conditions and to control an injection machine according to the optimum molding conditions thus determined.
Conventional methods for determining such optimum molding conditions, require a skilled-operator to determine the optimum molding condition, drawing upon his experience with respect to injection molding techniques. More specifically, the skilled-operator repeats the production of the molding parts and the evaluation of the produced molding parts modifying the condition of the injection molding machine and determines the optimum molding conditions through trial and error production.
In this method, whether or not preferred optimum molding condition is obtained depends on the skill of the operator who determines the molding conditions. Therefore, an apprenticeship training is very important. However, it is difficult to obtain such skilled operators. Therefore, a system in which an operator can easily obtain the optimum molding conditions, even if he is an amateur with no experience with injection molding, is desired.
On the other hand, a system is used for obtaining a good mold design. In this system, a model is made by a computer based on a form of a molding part to be produced. A plastic flow analysis is then carried out by the computer. In this analysis, the plastic flow under molding conditions which are inputted by an operator is simulated. The design of the molding part is then determined based on the result of the plastic flow analysis.
However, this system has no evaluation means for evaluating the result of the plastic flow analysis and the system provides only the plastic flow analysis result corresponding to the molding conditions inputted by the operator. Therefore, a person who has skill with respect to the injection molding technique should repeat the following steps in order to obtain the optimum molding conditions.
a. Evaluating the result of the plastic flow analysis obtained by the system PA1 b. Modifying the molding condition based on his knowledge referring to the result PA1 c. Inputting the modified molding condition to the system to obtain the next plastic flow analysis and returning to the evaluation of the next result of the analysis (step-a) PA1 a. Instead of the use of the molding condition optimization system described above, the plastic flow analysis is repeatedly carried out by using a flow analysis system, which is a software executed by a computer, under the control of a skilled-operator. PA1 b. An initial molding condition for actual molding and allowable ranges of parameters of the molding condition are determined according to the result of the reported analysis obtained from the flow analysis system and knowledge of the skilled-operator. PA1 c. A test-shot is carried out using an injection molding machine to produce molding parts. PA1 d. An information with respect to the defective molding of the molding parts is inputted to a condition improving system in a computer by a operator so as to obtain an improved molding condition. PA1 e. A test-shot is carried out again based on the improved molding condition. PA1 (1) The system provides only injection conditions as the optimum molding conditions. The optimum clamping side condition is not obtained from the system. Unskilled operators cannot determine the optimum clamping side condition and therefore cannot carry out the injection molding. PA1 (2) The optimum molding condition provided by the system Is obtained based on theory. Therefore, there are a few differences between the optimum molding condition provided by the system and the actual optimum molding condition to be set to the concrete injection molding machine. Thus, the operator should evaluate the effect of the injection molding based on the molding parts produced by the injection molding machine and carry out by his knowledge a modification or transformation on the optimum molding condition provided by the system based on the evaluation in order to obtain an actual optimum molding condition.
That is to say, a skilled-person is necessary in order to obtain the optimum molding conditions using this system.
Recently, a molding condition optimization system is developed in order to overcome the above problem. This system has an evaluation function for evaluating the result of the analysis and a modification function for automatically modifying the molding conditions according to the evaluation, and determines the optimum molding conditions by automatically repeating the calculation based on these functions.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Second Publication No. Hei 7-20651 discloses an injection molding condition setting system. This system determines the optimum molding condition by executing the following steps.
Not all the operations of this injection molding condition setting system are executed by the computer. The system makes good use of the judgment of the operator, who has some technical skill, in order to judge the result of the flow analysis, and makes good use of the operator'ss Judgment for detecting the defective molding of the molding parts obtained through the test-shot. The remaining operations are automatically executed by the computer. In this manner, the optimum molding condition is obtained by combining human operation and computer operation.
Comparing the two systems described above, it is clearly understood that the molding condition optimization system is superior to the injection molding condition setting system. This is because, the molding condition optimization system does not require the test-shot and the operator's judgment.
However in practice, when an unskilled operator uses the molding condition optimization system, it is impossible to obtain the actual optimum molding conditions and to carry out the injection molding. This is because the molding condition optimization system has the following problems.

Molding condition optimizing system for injection molding machine


A folding photo case includes a pair of exterior case members coupled to each other by a first hinge and a pair of interior frame members coupled to respective exterior case members by respective second and third hinges. The first, second and third hinges are preferably torsion bar hinges with the first hinge biasing the exterior case members to an open position and the second and third springs biasing the interior frame members toward interior surfaces of the exterior case members. One or both of the exterior case members are preferably provided with a latch structure which allows the folding case to be latched in a closed position. The dimensions of the folding case are preferably such that the case can be carried in a pocket or purse when it is folded into the closed position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to photo cases. More particularly, the invention relates to a folding photo case or picture frame incorporating a plurality of springs or other members which hold interior frame members in a closed position.
2. State of the Art
Folding picture frames are well known in the art. Generally, these frames are simply two picture frames coupled to each other by a hinge. By arranging the frames at an angle relative to each other they will stand upright on a flat surface such as a table top.
Folding picture frames are favored for traveling because they fold to seemingly occupy less room than two individual frames and because they can be rapidly displayed in a hotel room, a state room, or other temporary lodging.
Regardless of the convenience of folding picture frames, it is still relatively inconvenient to install a picture in the frame. Folding frames, like most other picture frames, include a removable backing and a piece of glass. In order to install a picture, the backing must be removed. The removal of the backing usually lets loose the glass which presents a hazard. After a picture is installed between the backing and the glass, it is impossible to align the picture in the frame without removing the backing once again.
Despite the general convenience of folding picture frames, they can sometimes be unstable. If the angle between the frames is not sufficiently less than 180°, it is possible for the frames to fall over, possibly breaking the glass in the frames.


An electronic timepiece which has storage means storing the positions of the pointers and controls the drive of the pointers.. A transfer means acts to transfer data between a first pointer position storage means and a second pointer position storage means. A drive-stopping means activates the transfer means. At this time, the transfer means transfers the positional data stored in the first pointer position storage means to the second pointer position storage means. If the output from a voltage comparator means indicates that the supply voltage exceeds a threshold voltage value set by a threshold voltage value-setting means, then a starting control means transfers the data stored in the second pointer position storage means to the first pointer position storage means.

The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece which has storage means storing the positions of the pointers and controls the drive of the pointers.
It is known that conventional electronic timepiece has means for storing the positions of pointers and means for providing control of the drive of the pointers and realize an electronic timepiece circuit system by a CPU core, a memory, and a peripheral pointer drive control circuit, as disclosed, for example in patent Laid-Open No. JP-A-77679/1990.
In these electronic timepieces, the presently displayed positions of the pointers used for display are stored in the storage means. The difference between the stored data about the presently displayed positions and the data about the positions to be displayed next is calculated. The pointers are driven according to the result of the calculation. This data about the displayed positions indicates positions relative to a reference position. Therefore, an initializing means for setting the reference position has been needed.
The pointer position storage means of the prior art electronic timepiece circuit system uses a static RAM as a data memory, the static RAM being a volatile memory. This static RAM is memory means adapted for electronic timepiece circuits, because the RAM and other circuit elements can be fabricated easily by the same process, and because the RAM consumes only a small amount of electric power.
However, this memory means has the disadvantage that it cannot retain data when the supply of electrical current is interrupted. As in the conventional instrument, even if data about the positions of the pointers are stored, data about the previous positions of the pointers are not stored when the electric battery is exchanged. Therefore, whenever such an exchange is executed, the initializing means must reset the reference position for the pointers.
When the battery is exchanged, the pointers display random positions. Much labor and long time are needed to drive the pointers by a switch means or the like in doing after-sale service.


Network packets are pre-processed and stored in network queues based on time sensitivity and other factors. More specifically, a specific application associated with a specific session of the network packets locally at the access point is determined. An ATR is adjusted based on a priority of the application with respect to time sensitivity. Other factors include throughput capability of a wireless device.

Wi-Fi standards continually evolve from legacy protocols such as IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g to newer protocols such as IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11 ac. To this end, wireless stations leveraging newer protocols are able to receive better network performance due to higher throughput and other improved conditions.
Problematically, access points serving a heterogeneous mix of legacy wireless stations and newer wireless stations are slowed down by the legacy devices. To overcome this issue, many wireless vendors implemented airtime fairness in a vendor-specific manner for clients. One common technique is to allocate a time slot, or a quantum (measured in micro seconds), to for channel access to each wireless station. The quantum is typically equal and constant for each client, allowing faster clients to have higher throughput within the quantum. On the other hand, there is no discrimination between different wireless stations.
Furthermore, different applications have different time sensitivities. The current processes nevertheless treat all of these applications the same.
Therefore, what is needed is a robust technique for extending application-specific airtime fairness in WLANS based on time-sensitivity of applications. Allocations can be based on, for example, applications in use, location, and roles and privileges.

Application-specific airtime fairness in WLANS (wireless local access networks) based on time sensitivity of applications