The present invention provides a telephone which can be reliably switched from a tabletop usage state to a wall-mount usage state by a simple operation. This telephone is equipped with a hook that protrudes when the telephone is mounted on a wall, and fits into a concave component provided to the handset. The hook is constructed such that it is able to slide, and does not protrude when the telephone is used on a tabletop. The hook is equipped with a locking mechanism on the inside, and the weight of the handset will not cause the hook to go down accidentally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communications device that can be used both in tabletop and wall-mount applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telephones, facsimile machines, and other such communications devices are widely used in the home and office, and are used under many different conditions. This type of communications device is sometimes placed on a desk and sometimes fixed to a wall. It is preferable for a communications device to be adaptable to any of these conditions. Prior art aimed at this goal included the following devices.
In Japanese Patent Publication 58-9629 is discussed a handset holding mechanism equipped with a movable plunger and constructed such that the plunger can be pulled out when the device is mounted on the wall. However, since springs and balls were used, the structure was complicated and reliable operation was less than certain.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 60-160759 is discussed a telephone that is equipped with a slidable handset cradle in which the handset is supported on a protrusion on the handset cradle when mounted on the wall. However, since the movement of the handset cradle was limited by just one protrusion, there was the danger that the handset cradle would be moved by a fairly large force and the handset would be jarred loose.
In Japanese Patent Publication 63-4741 is discussed an intercom device that is equipped with a movable hanger member, in which the handset is supported by making the hanger member protrude outward when the device is mounted on the wall, but this hanger member had to be rotated with a screw driver in order to vary the state of the hanger member, which was inconvenient. It would be preferable if there were a mechanism that was simple to operate and required no tools.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 1-231551 is discussed a structure that is equipped with a fan-shaped tab that is rotatably constructed, in which the handset is supported by making the tab protrude outward when the device is mounted on the wall, but the problem was that the construction was bulky and the structure complicated.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 4-108245 is discussed a hanger mechanism that is equipped with a slidable protrusion, in which the receiver is supported by the protrusion when the device is mounted on the wall, but the movement of the protrusion was limited only by a sheet spring, and the problem was that undesirable movement could result from the application of a fairly large force, or it could be difficult to pull out the recessed protrusion when the device was set up for tabletop use.
In Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application 2-75852 is discussed a telephone in which the hook is set to a protruding state when the telephone is mounted on the wall, but since the state of the hook was switched with a rotary button, a screw driver or another such tool was required and the button was not easy to operate.
In Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application 5-4656 and Japanese Utility Model Publication 7-33474 is discussed a wall-mount hook, but when the device was switched from tabletop to wall-mount use, the hook first had to be removed and turned over, so the operation was cumbersome, and there was also the danger that the user would lose the hook. There was also the danger that the user would stick the hook in backwards.
As discussed above, the problem with prior art was that the operation was complicated, or the structure was complex, or there was the danger that the user would lose the parts.

Communications device equipped with wall-mount hook mechanism


A variable capacitance circuit includes a first and a second capacitor. A switch having an associated first nonlinear capacitance, selectively couples the first and second capacitors. To compensate for the first nonlinear capacitance, a second nonlinear capacitance is coupled to the switch that has a capacitance value responsive to a change in voltage that moves in a direction of change opposite to a direction of change of the first nonlinear capacitance.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to oscillator circuits and more particularly to suppression of noise in oscillator circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) may be implemented using LC tank circuits. The oscillating frequency of the VCO is proportional to √{square root over (1/LC)}. Thus, it is common to use variable capacitance circuits to vary the capacitance (C) and thus the output frequency of the VCO. Voltage controlled oscillators are commonly found in such applications as phase-locked loop circuits. FIG. 1 illustrates a high level block diagram of a phase-locked loop 100. In the phase-locked loop 100 an input signal 101 and a feedback signal 103 are coupled to a phase/frequency detector 105 that determines the phase/frequency difference between the input signal 101 and the feedback signal 103. That difference is supplied to a loop filter 104, which supplies a control voltage on node 118 to vary the output of the VCO 110 in accordance with the control voltage.
An exemplary VCO circuit is shown in FIG. 2. The exemplary VCO circuit shown in FIG. 2 is an LC tank circuit and includes an inductor 122, a variable capacitance circuit 124, and a gain circuit 126. The output of the VCO can be varied by varying the capacitance circuit 124 in accordance with the control voltage supplied on node 118 (FIG. 1). One variable capacitance circuit utilized in a VCO is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,147,567, issued Nov. 14, 2000, naming Welland et al, as inventors, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The variable capacitance circuit 124 can have nonlinear capacitances associated both with elements that are used to vary the capacitance and the amplifier circuits. The nonlinear capacitance varies with the voltage seen by the nonlinear capacitor. The nonlinear capacitance can cause the instantaneous output frequency of the VCO to vary as a function of VCO amplitude, which can result in undesirable jitter or noise associated with the output of the VCO. It would be desirable to provide a way to compensate for nonlinear capacitance found in variable capacitor structures to improve oscillator performance.

Method and apparatus for noise compensation in an oscillator circuit


The present invention concerns a method for preparing metal borate.. The method consists in forming a metal ligand and a boron alkoxide and to react them to form a metal-borate precursor, which is then thermally treated to form an inorganic film on a substrate.. The method is especially useful to prepare beta barium borate layers which can serve in non-linear optical devices to produce second harmonics generation.

The present invention concerns a method for preparing metal borates and more particularly thin films of metal borate, e.g. barium borate and articles comprising such metal borates.
Beta-barium borate (.beta.-BBO) is one of the materials having non-linear optical properties, and more particularly having the capacity in a certain range of wavelength, to produce a second harmonic generation of frequency 2w when it is subjected to incident radiation of frequency w. Unlike most other materials with usual sources of incident radiation, this second harmonic generation (SHG) is of sufficient amplitude to be observed and manipulated.
Another advantage of .beta.-BBO is that its optical damage threshold is high, i.e. 3-4 times the threshold of potassium dihydrogenphosphate, which is used as a reference material in non-linear optics. This means that .beta.-BBO can be used with short pulse, high power lasers as sources of incident radiation without being damaged. Also, .beta.-BBO can be used for non-linear optics within a range of temperatures which is broader than for any other material.
To be actually usable in non-linear integrated optical devices, however, a material needs to be obtainable in single crystal or in crystalline thin film forms, on appropriate substrates.
Various methods are known to prepare such thin films on substrates. Most of these methods are complex, expensive, provide non-uniform films with uncontrolled stoichiometry and do not permit the easy introduction of dopants in a quantitatively controlled manner. Some of these problems may be partially overcome by tedious and time consuming trial and error combinations of the chemical elements in question in order to achieve thin films with the desired composition ratios. Finally, it is generally difficult to deposit thin film on irregular geometries.
Another well known approach for the deposition of thin films is by metallo-organic decomposition (MOD). MOD for preparing inorganic films is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,330,697 and 4,480,770. MOD consists in depositing a solution containing metal precursors in the desired ratios, onto a substrate. These precursors are then thermally decomposed to form an inorganic thin film. Further thermal treatments result in the formation of the desired phase. However, a requirement for the MOD method is to find precursors which decompose quantitatively and are not water-sensitive. MOD was thought not to be a good candidate for preparing thin films of .beta.-BBO, since materials generally known as boron precursors are water-sensitive and do not decompose quantitatively.
The present invention eliminates the above difficulties and provides a way to use the MOD method for preparing metal borates and especially thin films of metal borate such as .beta.-BBO with precise atomic ratios on various substrates and without requiring expensive and complex deposition systems or the preliminary preparation of powders of the desired material.

Metalorganic decomposition method for preparing a metal borate


A lighting module comprising a light source, electrical contacting means electrically connected to the light source and a heat spreader in thermal contact with the light source, the socket comprising at least a first set and a second set of socket contact means for providing an electrical interface with the electrical contacting means of the lighting module, wherein the socket is configured to retain the lighting module in a predetermined position in which electrical contact between the electrical contacting means of the lighting module and one of the first and second set of socket contact means is achieved and electrical contact between the electrical contacting means of the lighting module and the other one of the first and second set of socket contact means is prevented. A lighting module to be received in the socket and a luminaire comprising a lighting module mounted in a socket.

Light emitting diodes, LEDs, are employed in a wide range of lighting applications. As LEDs have the advantage of providing a bright light, being reasonably inexpensive and drawing very little power, it is becoming increasingly attractive to use LEDs as an alternative to traditional incandescent lighting. Furthermore, LEDs have a long operational lifetime. As an example, LED lamps may last 100 000 hours which is up to 20 times the operational life of an incandescent lamp.
However, even though LEDs have a long operational life, individual devices may fail and require early replacement or LED lamps may be replaced for reasons such as upgrading or alternating between different LED lamps. Therefore, serviceable and integrated LED modules with corresponding sockets for general lighting applications are introduced to the market, thereby enabling easy upgrades and replaceability of LED modules. Additionally, a modular system for LED devices provides the possibility to use LED modules from different suppliers.
Further, LED modules may be replaced and upgraded at the end of their operational life, or earlier, if e.g. a different color temperature is desired, without having to remove the reflector or open the ceiling.
One kind of LED module is the driver integrated LED module. The LED driver converts 120V (or other voltage) 60 Hz AC power to the low-voltage DC power required by the LEDs and protects them from line-voltage fluctuations.
The driver integrated LED modules are typically region specific, according to differences in legislation and the driver is designed specifically for the mains supply in a region. Typically 3 regions are defined: North America, Europe/APR and Japan, all having different mains supplies.
There is a risk involved by having different LED modules designed for different regions. If a region specific LED module is inserted in a holder in another region which has a different mains supply than the LED module is designed for, there is a risk of connecting a module to the wrong mains. This could happen if a module intended for Europe ends up in the US. In the least bad case the LED module just does not work, but in a worse case the LED module will be damaged. To mediate this risk, most prior art lighting products use a keying in the lamp holder and lamp base that differentiates between the different regions, resulting in a different lamp holder for North America, Europe/APR and for Japan. Besides this three-fold lamp holder development, the luminary maker also has to keep stock of lamp holders for each region it sells its products in.
Thus, there is still a need for a luminaire having a socket which can be used for two or more regions.

Lighting module socket that accomodates different voltages


A splicing system that establishes an electrical union between two segments of power cable having internal conductor wires. The splicing system is resistant to electrical failures and the harsh environment existing in subterranean environments during all phases of the hydrocarbon extraction process. The splicing arrangements comprise a protective housing, insulating sleeve and crimp splice working in cooperation to create a sealed power cable connection.

Substantial difficulty has heretofore been encountered in providing splice arrangements for connecting segments of power cable used to supply electricity to down hole submersible pumps and other equipment. Thus, there is a need for an effective and efficient means for splicing together down hole power cable.
Presently known arrangements for splicing electrical power cables use an electrical crimp splice and insulating tapes to establish and maintain electrical connections between the conductive wires of power cable segments. The protective tapes, such as high modulus and high temperature tape, are wrapped around individual crimps and the power cable in presently known arrangements.
Other known arrangements for splicing include attaching an expandable connector that permits lineal movement of the internal segments of a power cable as shown in McHugh et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,079.
The cable splice arrangements presently employed are complicated in that they are difficult and time consuming to install in the field and generally incapable of withstanding the subterranean environment of a well bore over a desired period of time. In particular, the arrangements presently in use may require frequent repair or replacement because the connections are subject to failure under the extreme pressure differential, temperature conditions and high voltage stress encountered in well bore operations.

Splice for down hole electrical submersible pump cable


An antifungal composition including an imidazole-type antifungal compound and a quaternary ammonium salt is a medicament having a far more potentiated activity of miconazole nitrate and a higher therapeutic effect, and is effective against both Trichophyton and Candida.

Imidazole-type antifungal compounds, as worldwide, leading antifungal agents, are those having an imidazole group in the chemical structure thereof. They have been believed to exhibit an antifungal activity mainly by damaging the cell membrane of fungi.
For those imidazole-type antifungal agents, there have been suggested as an active ingredient for OTC drugs clotrimazole, miconazole nitrate, econazole nitrate, bifonazole, oxiconazole nitrate, sulconazole nitrate, tioconazole and the like.
Clotrimazole has been applied as external preparations solely and is effective against Trichophyton and also Candida. If applied to the healthy skin, in vivo absorption of the agent can hardly be observed, while local side-effects such as irritating feeling, flare, anthema and the like in the skin are believed to be manifested as a direct irritating effect on the skin or allergic effect.
Bifonazole exhibits a similar action to that of clotrimazole and is effective for many human pathogenic fungi. It is said that this agent possesses a more excellent skin permeability in external use and a higher drug retention in the cutaneous tissues as compared with other imidazole-type antifungal agents. As is similarly seen with clotrimazole, local side-effects such as irritating feeling, flare, anthema and the like in the skin are manifested.
Miconazole nitrate and econazole nitrate exert an antifungal activity against Trichophyton, Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and others. When applied to the healthy skin, in vivo absorption of these agents can hardly be observed, while similar local side-effects to those of clotrimazole are observed and a very few systemic side-effects are observed, when applied externally in a conventional manner.
The term a quaternary ammonium salt as used herein refers to a cationic surfactant which is a quaternary ammonium salt. It may include benzethonium chloride, benzalkonium chloride, dequalinium chloride and the like. It has been supposed that the cation released from the quaternary ammonium salt might be adsorbed on the microbial surface and then carried into the cells to affect the cellular proteins, whereby an antifungal activity could be exerted.
Benzethonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride exert an antimicrobial activity against gram bacteria and fungi, while it is known that long term application of these agents to the skin brings about side-effects of hypersensitiveness such as chapped skin, flare, itching and others.
Dequalinium chloride has been reported to exert an antimicrobial activity against bacteria (especially, Staphylococcus aureus and hemolytic streptococci) and fungi. It has been dispensed mainly for buccal antifungal agents or antiodontalgic and antipyorrheal agents.
Although there has not yet been reported a medicament wherein an imidazole-type antifungal compound is blended or combined with a quaternary ammonium salt, U.K. Patent No. 2 208 598A discloses a combination of an imidazole-type antifungal compound with salicylic acid or benzoic acid.


Pipe insulation includes indicia thereon to facilitate differentiating the pipe insulation from other pipe insulation, even when a majority of the pipe insulation is not visible to a user.

Insulation is often applied around pipes and other cylindrical pipe-like members. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, pipe insulation 100 typically involves an insulating material 102 formed as an elongated cylindrical body 104. The insulating material 102 may be made from fiberglass. The insulating material 102 has a thickness t. The elongated cylindrical body 104 defines an inner cavity 106 having a diameter d. The inner cavity 106 is sized to fit around a pipe to be insulated. The insulating material 102 is often surrounded by a jacket 108 or similar outer covering. The jacket 108 may provide structural support for the insulating material 102. The jacket 108 may also act as a vapor barrier to protect the insulating material 102 from moisture.
To facilitate placement of the pipe insulation 100 around the pipe, a slit 110 is formed along a length of the elongated cylindrical body 104. The slit 110 extends through the insulating material 102 and, if necessary, the jacket 108. In some instances, a partial slit 112 is also formed along a length of the elongated cylindrical body 104, such as in a portion of the insulating material 102 opposite the slit 110. The partial slit 112 extends from the inner cavity 106 toward the jacket 108. The partial slit 112 does not extend through the entire thickness t of the insulating material 102 and, thus, does not reach the jacket 108. In this manner, the slit 110 and the partial slit 112 allow the elongated cylindrical body 104 to be fit around the pipe.
A size of the material forming the jacket 108 is greater than the circumference of the elongated cylindrical body 104, such that a flap 114 is formed. Once the pipe insulation 100 is situated around the pipe, the flap 114 extends over and seals the slit 110. The flap 114 may include an adhesive strip or other means of being fixed in place.
Because pipes come in many different sizes (e.g., diameters), pipe insulation also comes in many different sizes. For example, the diameter d of the inner cavity 106 of the pipe insulation 100 may vary depending on the size of pipe it is intended to insulate. Furthermore, the thickness t of the insulating material 102 in the pipe insulation 100 may vary depending on the desired properties of the pipe insulation 100. Furthermore, other differences may exist between pipe insulation products that otherwise have the same thickness t and diameter d. For example, the composition of the insulating material 102 in the pipe insulation 100 may differ for particular applications.
These variations in properties amongst different pipe insulation products may not always be readily apparent upon visual inspection. Thus, indicia 120 is sometimes provided on a pipe insulation product to provide information on one or more properties (e.g., size) of the pipe insulation product. In particular, indicia 120 in the form of alphanumeric characters may be printed on or otherwise affixed to the jacket 108 of the pipe insulation 100.
As shown in FIG. 2, the indicia 120 can be printed on the flap 114 of the jacket 108 along a side of the elongated cylindrical body 104 of the pipe insulation 100. In this case, the indicia 120 is oriented parallel to a lengthwise axis of the elongated cylindrical body 104. The indicia 120 could be printed on a portion of the jacket 108 below the flap 114, such that the flap 114 covers the indicia 120 after installation of the pipe insulation 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the indicia 120 can be printed on a portion of the jacket 108 near an end of the elongated cylindrical body 104 of the pipe insulation 100. In this case, the indicia 120 is oriented perpendicular to a lengthwise axis of the elongated cylindrical body 104.
Notwithstanding the provision of the indicia 120 on the conventional pipe insulation 100, it may still be difficult to quickly and easily identify variations in properties amongst different pipe insulation products through visual inspection. This is particularly true when the pipe insulation products are situated in a box or other container that completely or partially obscures the indicia. Thus, there is an unmet need for improved pipe insulation that is more readily distinguished from other pipe insulation, including improved systems for and methods of differentiating pipe insulation.

Systems for and methods of differentiating pipe insulation


In a microcomputer having two program execution states including a supervisor state and a user state, there is disposed a flag or a register having such a flag indicating whether or not a RAM area used in the supervisor state can be used in the user state by the CPU. A judge circuit determines whether or not the CPU has made an attempt to invalidly access the RAM in the user state based on the content of the flag or the register and that of the supervisor/user state specify bit in the status register. In a case of an occurrence of an access violation, a violation signal is sent to the CPU and the selection signal of the RAM is disabled (to be set to an ineffective state), thereby increasing the reliability of the system.

The present invention relates to a data processing technology, and in particular, to a technology that is particularly effective when applied to a data processor having a higher operation mode and a lower operation mode, for example, to a technology effectively applied to a control method of a memory in a microcomputer.
Conventionally, a processor may have two program execution states, an operation mode called a supervisor state and an operation mode called a user state, where the processor is capable of operating either of the two states. For example, microprocessors similar to the 16-bit microprocessor HD68000 of Hitachi Ltd. operate in this manner. (For details refer to page 52 of the "HMCS 68000 Hitachi Microcomputer System HD68000, HD68000Y, HD6800PHD, HD68000PS Micro Processing Unit (MPU)".)
The supervisor state is a higher state of the processor program execution states and the central processing unit (CPU) can use any instructions and can access any registers in this state. The user state is a lower state of the program execution states and the CPU is not allowed to use the instructions and registers which greatly affect the system in this state. Namely, in the supervisor state, the CPU can execute a predetermined instruction which the CPU cannot execute in the user state.
As described above, with the provision of two program execution states, the microprocessor can more efficiently execute a multitask processing and the like.
Incidentally, in microcomputers having the two program execution states as described above, a bit is ordinarily disposed in a status register of the CPU for the purpose of indicating whether the processor is in the supervisor state or the user state. This would be used to indicate the current program execution state.
However, in the case where for example, a data access device such as a RAM is integrated in a microprocessor having the two program execution states, the following problem may arise. Where a CPU uses the integrated RAM as the data area while in the supervisor state, it is feared that in some cases important data may be destroyed if the CPU mistakenly accesses this data area while in the user state.


The power consumption is lowered in an apparatus equipped with memories. Assuming that memories are, for example, of DRAM type, each usage circumstance of DRAM modules on a chip is observed by an observation circuit and a power supply control signal is made to be generated by a CPU in order to turn off the power supply to the DRAM modules actually in a vacant condition, in a disused condition or in an unnecessary condition according to that circumstance observed result. It becomes possible to lower the power consumption as a whole apparatus by turning off only DRAM modules in a disused condition and the like according to the power supply control signal in the power supply on/off circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply control circuit for memories and a method thereof where in a situation of being mounted on a same chip together with a plurality of memory modules, a power supply to each of these memory modules are controlled per module or per bank in the module and further relates to an apparatus equipped with memories where it becomes possible to control the power supply to each of a plurality of memory modules.
2. Description of the Related Art
With respect to an LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit), for example, such as a system LSI, a high-capacity memory was realized generally by mounting a plurality of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) modules. However, all of these DRAM modules are not always in a used condition as memories and it is an actual situation that the power supply is switched on for the DRAM modules even though they are not being used.
Incidentally, there is shown a technique in a Patent Reference 1 where refreshing intervals of the DRAM are controlled and the refreshing intervals are made possible to be fully prolonged.
<Patent Reference 1>
Japanese Registered Patent No. 3177207
As mentioned above, the power was consumed unnecessarily in the prior art, because the power supply was always switched on also for the DRAM modules which are not in a used condition even though all of the plurality of DRAM modules mounted in the system LSI are not always in a used condition. Generally as a current classification for the DRAM, a refreshing current for rewriting data which are charged in capacitors is to be cited first and there can be cited other than that such as a leakage current of a transistor and the like and a penetrating current in a biasing circuit. However, a fact can not be denied that the power is consumed unnecessarily, because a refreshing operation is performed even though the data are unnecessary or the data are not used for a long time and further because there exists a leakage current or a penetrating current even if a refreshing operation is not performed.

Power supply control circuit for memories, method thereof and apparatus equipped with memories


In a communications network, a node receives a transit packet. The priority assigned to the transit packet is determined and when it has a low priority then the transit packet is removed and a higher priority packet is inserted in the resulting vacancy.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a communications network, and in particular to a packet network and to nodes for use in such a network.
2. Related Art
In some currently proposed architectures for optical networks carrying packet traffic, packets are assigned different priorities in order, for example, to support different quality of service (QoS) levels. Packets originating at a node may be assigned to one of a number of different transmit queues, depending on their relative priority. In some previously proposed "drop and insert" node architectures, when a packet arrives at a destination node, it is removed from the network, and the resulting vacancy may be immediately filled by an outgoing packet from a transmit queue. Such an arrangement is disclosed, for example, in the paper by J. R. Sauer et al "A Soliton Ring Network" Journal of Lightweight Technology, Vol. 11, No. 12, December 1993, Pages 2182-2190.

British Telecommunications public limited company


The present invention relates to a polymerizable coating composition suitable for the manufacture of printing plates, which may be developable on-press. The coating composition comprises (i) a polymerizable compound and (ii) a polymeric binder comprising polyethylene oxide segments, wherein the polymeric binder is selected from the group consisting of at least one graft copolymer comprising a main chain polymer and polyethylene oxide side chains, a block copolymer having at least one polyethylene oxide block and at least one non-polyethylene oxide block, and a combination thereof. The invention is also directed to an imageable element comprising a substrate and the polymerizable coating composition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to negative-working printing plates which can be exposed by UV, visible, or infrared radiation. In particular, the present invention relates to printing plates comprising polymeric binders containing polyethylene oxide segments.
2. Background of the Invention
Radiation-sensitive compositions are routinely used in the preparation of high-performance printing plate precursors. There are primarily two ways of improving the properties of radiation-sensitive compositions and thus also of the corresponding printing plate precursors. The first way addresses improvement of the properties of the radiation-sensitive components in the compositions (frequently negative diazo resins or photoinitiators). The other way deals with improvement of physical properties of the radiation-sensitive layers through the use of novel polymeric compounds ("binders").
The latest developments in the field of printing plate precursors deal with radiation-sensitive compositions which can be imagewise exposed by means of lasers or laser diodes. This type of exposure does not require films as intermediate information carriers since lasers can be controlled by computers.
High-performance lasers or laser diodes which are used in commercially available image-setters emit light in the wave-length ranges of between 800 to 850 nm and between 1060 and 1120 nm, respectively. Therefore, printing plate precursors, or initiator systems contained therein, which are to be imagewise exposed by means of such image-setters have to be sensitive in the near IR range. Such printing plate precursors can then basically be handled under daylight conditions which significantly facilitates their production and processing.
There are two possible ways of using radiation-sensitive compositions for the preparation of printing plates. For negative printing plates, radiation-sensitive compositions are used wherein after an imagewise exposure the exposed areas are cured. In the developing step, only the unexposed areas are removed from the substrate. For positive printing plates, radiation-sensitive compositions are used whose exposed areas dissolve faster in a given developing agent than the non-exposed areas. This process is referred to as photo-solubilization.
Negative-working plates typically require after imagewise exposure a preheating step, as described for example in EP 0 672 544, EP 0 672 954 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,046 and EP 0 819 985. These plates require a preheating step within a very narrow temperature range which only causes a partial crosslinking of the image layer. To meet current standards regarding the number of printable copies and the resistance to press room chemicals, an additional heating step—referred to as a post bake step—is carried out during which the image layer is crosslinked further.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,745 describes photosensitive compositions comprising a dye absorbing between 300 and 900 nm and a trihalomethyl-s-triazine compound.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,903 and DE 196 48 313, photosensitive compositions are described which in addition to a dye absorbing in the IR range comprise borate co-initiators; also, halogenated s-triazines are described as further co-initiators.
Further photopolymerizable compositions with initiator systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,756,258, U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,676, U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,215, JP 11-038633, JP 09-034110, U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,134 and EP 0 522 175.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,486 discloses radiation sensitive printing plates, including on-press developable plates. However, this patent requires compositions having an IR ablatable mask layer over a UV addressable, negative-working, on press developable, free radical polymerizable layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,481 discloses IR-ablatable, UV-photopolymerizable two-layer compositions that require IR exposure followed by UV flood irradiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,650 discloses UV addressable, negative-working, on press developable printing plates based on free radical polymerization. This patent requires a free radical quencher polymer, specifically one containing nitroxide groups, in an overcoat layer to facilitate developability.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,675 discloses similar printing plates to U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,650 but additionally requires adding dispersed solid particles to the imaging layer to improve on-press developability or to reduce tackiness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,792 and WO 00/48836 describe IR-sensitive compositions comprising a polymeric binder, a free radically polymerizable system, and a specific initiator system. The compositions of WO 00/48836 require a preheat step after the exposure for sufficient hardening of the compositions. The printing plate precursors must be developed with an aqueous developer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,864,040 describes IR sensitive compositions containing leuco dyes additional to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,792 and WO 00/48836. U.S. Pat. No. 6,864,040 requires a preheat step after IR exposure and an aqueous development step for processing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,222 teaches a composition comprising polymerizable ingredients in conjunction with a polymer binder comprising a polyurethane main chain. The side chains of the polymer binder do not comprise a polyethylene oxide chain.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,965 teaches a composition, suitable for flexographic plates, comprising monomers of polyethylene glycol as polymerizable components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,102, also directed to flexographic plates, teaches a photopolymerizable composition comprising a graft copolymer having polyvinyl alcohol grafts on a polyethylene oxide (PEO) main chain polymer.
EP 1 117 005 discloses photopolymerizable compounds which contain polyethylene oxide chains having 1-10 ethylene oxide units. The invention is exemplified by the use of polymers having one ethylene oxide unit. With more than ten ethylene oxide units, both resolution and water resistance of cured products decrease. Binder resins having sufficiently long PEO segments in accordance with the present invention are not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,882 discloses graft copolymers comprising polyethylene oxide side chains, but does not teach a composition comprising polymerizable components or initiators. The side chains may further comprise a hydrophobic segment between the polyethylene oxide segment and the main chain, and a hydrophobic segment at the terminus of the polyethylene oxide side chains.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,614 discloses polyalkylene ether polymers and copolymers, including block copolymers of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide. However, the polyalkylene ether polymers and copolymers disclosed in this patent do not provide sufficient differentiation for developability of the unexposed areas and durability of the exposed image areas.
None of the above patents or patent applications disclose polymerizable compositions which contain binder resins having PEO segments in accordance with the present invention.
The present invention therefore satisfies the need in the art for a printing plate and process for preparing a printing plate that does not require a preheat step or a development step. As a result of substantial studies, it was found that polymerizable compositions, which contain certain polymeric binders having polyethylene oxide (PEO) segments, are readily developable in aqueous developers, including on-press developability with fountain solution and printing ink. Furthermore, following imagewise exposure to electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet, visible or infrared spectral regions, the exposed regions resist developability and serve as durable, ink receptive image areas, without the need for a predevelopment heating step. Thus, it was found that certain polymeric binders having PEO segments, surprisingly, enhance differentiation of the exposed and unexposed areas by facilitating developability of the unexposed areas together with enhancing durability of the exposed image areas.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Printing plates using binder resins having polyethylene oxide segments


A clamp for positioning a photocell adjacent to an ultraviolet light source including: a housing sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the photocell; a seal positioned about conductive members extending from the photocell and out of the housing against penetration of liquids into the housing; another seal connected to the housing and having an access opening to a detection end of the photocell; and spaced apart opposed arms extending from the housing and having portions sized and shaped to firmly receive an outer surface of the ultraviolet light source, wherein the detection end of the photocell is positioned at a predetermined distance from the light source.

Systems and apparatus for disinfection of water with ultraviolet light have rapidly developed in view of increased environmental awareness, the accompanying regulation associated with disposal and treatment of waste and potable water and the desire to avoid or reduce reliance on chemical treatment. This growing need has resulted in a similar requirement for producing more efficient and reliable systems for effectively and safely treating waste and potable water over prior art systems.
It is important in achieving this difficult task in ultraviolet treatment systems that all water to be treated, whether passing through an open or closed channel, conduits or the like, is fully treated by exposure to a minimum required quantity of ultraviolet light. Failure of the necessary ultraviolet light dose can result in untreated or improperly treated water and its undesirable consequences. It is accordingly necessary to monitor the ultraviolet light apparatus to insure full coverage of ultraviolet exposure. One means to accomplish this critical task is to directly monitor the intensity of ultraviolet light emanating from one or more ultraviolet light producing lamps utilized in the system. It is important that at least a representative sampling of ultraviolet light intensity be monitored on a continuous basis to ensure that the system provides the necessary dosage of ultraviolet light to the water to be treated.


A magnification measuring mark for measuring magnification compensation and correction values of multilayer patterns to be formed for a semiconductor device. The magnification measuring mark includes an inner box and a pair of measuring patterns respectively arranged on the left and right of the inner box or above and below the inner box. The measuring patterns are adapted to measure a pattern misalignment in X and Y axes. One of the measuring patterns is set as a reference measuring pattern for measuring a magnification of the other pattern not set as the reference measuring pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnification measuring mark for semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a magnification measuring mark adapted to measure the magnification of a pattern which is transferred to a wafer by use of a stepper in the fabrication of DRAM's, SRAM's or LCD's.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the fabrication of semiconductor devices, pattern overlap measuring marks are widely used to measure the overlay of a pattern mask layer disposed over another pattern mask layer.
Factors used to measure a pattern overlay include a misalignment value between two overlaying pattern layers, a pattern magnification value and a pattern rotation value.
Overlay measuring marks are mainly adapted to measure a misalignment value, thereby correcting a pattern overlay. It is very complex to calculate pattern magnification and rotation values. Moreover, it is impossible to know data used in the process of calculating those pattern magnification and rotation values.
For this reason, it is difficult for persons engaged in the fabrication of semiconductor devices to accurately know magnification values of all patterns formed in the fabrication of semiconductor devices.

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


A sliding window assembly, a cable drive system and methods of operating the same, are disclosed. The sliding window assembly includes a guide track and a sliding window movable relative to the guide track. A heating element is coupled to the sliding window for heating the sliding window. A drum of a drive assembly rotates and includes a conductive terminal connected to a power supply of the vehicle. A cable is coupled between the sliding window and heating element and the drum. The drum rotates to mechanically wind or unwind the cable for moving the sliding window. A conductive element is coupled to at least one of the drum and the cable and is electrically connected to the cable and is movable during movement of the sliding window. The conductive element contacts the conductive terminal to provide electrical current to the cable for energizing the heating element.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention generally relates to a sliding window assembly and a cable drive system and for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Window assemblies for vehicles are known in the art. One type of window assembly includes a first panel and a second panel each fixed to the vehicle. The first and second panels are spaced from each other to define an opening therebetween. A sliding window is disposed between the first and second panels and is movable relative to the first and second panels between an open position and a closed position to selectively cover the opening. A heating grid is conventionally coupled to the sliding window for defrosting or defogging the respective sliding window. As such, electrical wiring or electrical components are necessary to energize the heating grid.
The sliding window can be opened and closed manually or automatically. When the sliding window moves automatically, a motor is typically utilized to move the sliding window between the open and closed positions. More specifically, a cable is mechanically coupled to the motor and the sliding window for moving the sliding window between the open and closed positions in response to motor movement.
In such conventional configurations, electrical wiring that is entirely separate or independent from the cable is needed to energize the heating grid. In other words, electrical current that passes to the heating grid must flow through electrical wiring that is independent of the cable that mechanically moves the sliding window. Such separate electrical wiring requires additional wiring and components thereby increasing cost to the assembly and system. Moreover, such separate electrical wiring and components reduce valuable packaging space within the vehicle.


Methods and systems are disclosed for providing third party connectivity to installed software at a customer site through a broker infrastructure. A uniform facility for powerful and secure third party access to customer software installations is provided. Multiple TCP-based session types including source code debug and database sessions are supported. A target backend and session type are selected by an authorized agent logged into the broker infrastructure. A communication session is established between environments of the agent's frontend tool and the backend. The agent can perform maintenance or troubleshooting on the backend using the full capabilities of the frontend tool. Data exchange between frontend and backend utilizes TCP connections within the communication session, and is mediated by a connectivity framework within the broker infrastructure. Customer control over access to target backends is supported.

As software grows more complex, a software installation can incorporate numerous applications from different vendors, such as from a primary vendor, partners, or other third parties. For maintenance and troubleshooting, it can be desirable to provide vendors with controlled access to their installed applications. There is a tension between requirements for access, requirements for customer security and privacy, and requirements for protecting vendors' intellectual property.
Conventionally, vendor access has been limited in scope, e.g. to screen share sessions, which do not allow the vendor to exchange data with a target software installation. Data exchange can be required for live source code debugging, for example. As an alternative, more powerful vendor access can be negotiated individually for each vendor and application, which introduces a significant burden of management and oversight, a plethora of access points, and concomitant security risks. Accordingly, there remains a need for improved technologies for controlled, uniform, trusted access to installed software.

Broker-mediated connectivity for third parties


A wood boring bit for boring holes in wood and other similar work surfaces having a central longitudinal axis, a main body, a pilot screw tip and a partial flute with a cutting edge and a cutting spur. The flute portion may be defined by a partial helical section having a distal end joined to the main body and a lead edge disposed toward said screw tip. The distal end and the lead edge preferably do not overlap along the central axis and are equal to or less than 360° from one another around the axis. The partial flute provides improved waste removal and allows the user to access the cutting edge of the flute for maintenance purposes.

Drill bits are used by a variety of industries for a variety of purposes. For this reason there are many different types of drill bits that a user may choose from depending on the job that they intend to do.
Flat bits or spade bits are predominately used by electricians and plumbers to bore larger holes in wood for running electrical wire and water lines. Generally, speed, hole quality, and ease of use are important features of spade bits. Currently flat bits address only hole quality, leaving the user wanting a bit that is faster and easier to use.
An auger-type drill bit has a number of advantages over spade bits. For example, the auger bit generally has a screw tip which aides the user by making the drill bit self-feeding, thereby increasing the ease of use. Augers usually include a helical section-shaped flute that extends up the body of the bit to provide a mechanism for waste removal, thereby increasing the speed and efficiency of use.
The auger too has disadvantages, such as a flute that is too narrow or too long causing the waste material to get caught in the bit, a cutting edge that becomes dull, making the bit increasingly difficult to use, and unbalanced or poor hole quality. Therefore, it would be beneficial to combine the advantages of a spade bit and an auger bit that is capable making wood boring drill bits easier to use, more precise, and faster. In addition, it would be desirable to create a wood boring drill bit with a cutting edge that is not cumbersome to sharpen.

Wood boring bit with increased speed, efficiency and ease of use


Apparatus and methods are disclosed for providing a low power, low noise preamplifier, especially useful with a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensor array. Utilizing a differential amplifier, where one half of the differential pair is shared among a plurality of channels, the power consumption of the amplifier is effectively reduced. Such an arrangement also eliminates the need for bulky coupling capacitors used in ac-coupled, single ended amplifiers. In addition, cross-talk between sensor outputs caused by detector ground impedance is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to an improved preamplifier for use typically with a photoconductive sensor array.
2. Description of the Related Art
A scanning imaging system comprises a sensor array typically having 50 to 500 sensors which scan a desired scene and produce output signals which are then used to generate a video display of the scanned scene. Typically, the output signals from the sensors are initially fed through preamplifiers. Until now, however, there were many drawbacks with the preamplifiers, including physical size and power consumption.
For example, ac-coupled, single ended amplifiers require a physically large ac coupling capacitor. In addition to its size, the capacitor is the most unreliable component in the circuit and degrades system performance in several ways. First, the capacitor increases the system's sensitivity to microphonics. Second, on low frequency signals such as a scan of the sky, the charge on the capacitor will leak causing a change in the video display when in fact the detectors have sensed no change. Third, capacitors require long recovery times after an input overdrive. Further, with an ac-coupled, single ended amplifier, the bias signals for the detector are typically supplied by a separate circuit.
Even the traditional low noise differential amplifier which is dc-coupled to the detectors has limitations, including its level of power consumption and cross-talk. It would be advantageous to reduce the power dissipated by the differential amplifier, as well as reducing the cross-talk that occurs between sensor outputs.
Until now, the physical size and power consumption of the preamplifiers prevented the location of the preamplifiers adjacent to the sensors. It would be advantageous to have a preamplifier that is smaller and consumes less power. Such a preamplifier could be located adjacent to the sensor array, thus reducing cabling costs and improving performance and reliability.

Low power, low noise preamplifier with offset voltage cancellation


This disclosure relates to an apparatus for and a method of electrical inductance heating of metal strips and slabs. The heating method involves a plurality of pairs of individual electrical coils exposed on opposite sides of a path of movement of a metal strip or slab wherein the coils are elongated longitudinally of the path of movement of the metal member, such as a strip or slab, whereby the pattern of heating is in the way of stripes. Further, to eliminate any pulsing of current within the strip or slab being heated, each coil is spaced from a transversely adjacent coil a distance corresponding substantially to the effective heating width of that coil. The coils of a next longitudinal adjacent set of coils are transversely offset relative to the coils of the first mentioned set of coils so that each coil of the second set is aligned with a space between coils of the first set. This provides for a heating of the strip or slab in stripes and prevents overheating of the edges of the strip or slab. Further, the energization of the individual coils may be controlled in accordance with the existing temperature of that area of a strip or slab to be heated by the coils so as to heat a non-uniformly heated strip or slab to a uniform overall temperature.

Over forty years ago there was developed a method of transverse flux induction heating wherein induction heating coils were arranged in side-by-side relation transversely of a path of movement of sheet metal. These coils were arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the path of such moving sheet metal. This transverse flux induction heating had a number of deficiencies including the overheating of strip edges only. In transverse flux induction heating, little or no current flows under the slot area between adjacent coils while most of the current flow is under the poles of the coils. As the strip starts to move, the strip becomes a conductor flowing through a field and a second current flows. Due to the second current there is loading under the poles and no loading under the slots. In other words, the loading is pulsating. A pulse can be made up of a fundamental plus harmonics. The wider the strip, the lower the inductance at the edges of the strip. The harmonics generated will flow where there is a minimum inductance which is along the edges.
Further, with transverse flux heating of steel, there is up to 80% efficiency. Normal induction heating is only 40% efficient or less.
The biggest problems with using transverse flux induction heating have been:
1. The edges have overheated and must be sheared off as scrap. PA1 2. Overheating of the edges increase with strip speed. PA1 3. Prior transverse flux induction heating setups could only accommodate one strip width. PA1 4. The thickest slab that could be heated was less than 1/2 inch.

Induction heating apparatus and method for heating metal strips and slabs


In a role-playing simulation apparatus, a setting section sets a plurality of patterns of parameters indicating characters of player agents who participate in a virtual role-playing and also sets patterns of negotiation rules, and player agent sections realize the player agents. A lecture attendant agent section realizes a lecture attendant agent who carries out virtual negotiations with the player agents, a learning material preparing section allows the player agents and the lecture attendant agent to carry out negotiations, a learning material evaluating section evaluates a negotiation result for each combination and sets a parameter evaluated with at least a predetermined level as a learning material, and a lecture attendance processor that allows the player agents and an actual lecture attendant to execute a virtual role-playing based on the learning material.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for carrying out a role-playing between virtual players and a lecture attendant by using an agent technique to achieve successful results from education based on the role-playing.
2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in enterprises, staff education according to a role-playing has been carried out in order to develop human resources as project managers or the like. The role-playing is such that pseudo roles are given to a plurality of players based on a preset story and lecture attendants and the players actually carry out negotiations, and that lecturers evaluate the negotiations referring back to the process of the negotiations.
According to the education based on the role-playing that involves participation of actual players, the effect of the education is found largely affected by the quality of members (players) and the story. Further, there are many constraints in terms of time and physical factors.
To solve the problems, the following system has been proposed, that is the system realizes a role-playing on a computer where virtual negotiators and a lecture attendant have conversations. Characters of the virtual negotiators are set based on parameters.
According to the conventional practice of performing the role-playing between the lecture attendant and the virtual negotiators whose characters are set based on parameters, the result of the education is determined depending on the characters (parameters) of the negotiators.
However, as there are infinite varieties of characters of negotiators, it has been difficult to properly set parameters, and it has been also difficult to achieve successful results from the role-playing-based education.

Role-playing simulation apparatus and method, and computer product


A towel mitt for washing that includes a first layer of material and a second layer of material juxtaposed on the second layer of material and forms therewith a hand receiving pocket for receiving a hand of a user. The first and second layers of material have pile outer faces for delicate washing and abrasive inner faces for more abrasive cleaning and for increasing friction between the hand of the user and the towel mitt so as to prevent unintentional dropping of the towel mitt. The hand receiving pocket is symmetrical relative to the longitudinal centerline of the towel mitt so as to allow the towel mitt to be used on either hand without discomfort, and is defined by stitching that is inward of the edges of the first and second layers of material so as to form flaps that when flipped above expose the abrasive inner faces of the first and second layers of material for utilization when more abrasive cleaning is required.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mitt. More particularly, the present invention relates to a towel mitt for washing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for cleaning mitts have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
FOR EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 365,896 to Zuege teaches the ornamental design for the dusting glove.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,372 to Wenzel teaches a free-hand tubular towel that has at its upper end an elastic band for encircling and gripping a user's arm at a location above or slightly below the elbow and has an enlarged lower end portion that drapes loosely over the user's hand and can be reverse-folded over the upper end portion to uncover the hand. The lower end portion can be secured in retracted position over the tubular upper end portion of the towel by interengagement of coacting patches of a hook-and-pile fastener, one being located near the, upper end of the towel and the other being located near the lower end of the towel.
STILL ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,250 to Brown teaches a disposable washing glove which includes a felted base made of carded staple fibers mechanically interlocked, structured by use of special forked needles to create a high-pile fabric, having recesses therein. The fabric is coated on one side with a detergent material which also fills the recesses to permit a timed release of the detergent during use.
YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,943 to Barber teaches a cleaning glove which includes a glove base having a side to which there is attached a primary layer of a tufted blended yarn tufted to the glove base and one or more fibrous bristle portions or strips. The blended yarn is made by weaving together three or more individual yarns including one yarn made of acrylic fibers, wool fibers or polyester fibers.
FINALLY, STILL YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,393 to Raab teaches a method for the manufacture of a plush-type cleaning cloth from pile fabric in which a layer of thermoplastic pile fibers is anchored by fusing to a base structure of thermoplastic fibers at temperatures from 423 to 433 K (150 degrees-160 degrees C), pile fibers of different melting and shrinking temperature properties are used in a distribution over the entire surface, so that a first portion of the pile fibers shrinks at the fusing temperature and a second portion of the pile fibers does not shrink or shrinks less than the first portion. The first portion of the pile fibers comprises approximately 60% of the total amount of the pile fibers and provides increased scrubbing properties as a result of their crimped, harder structure.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for cleaning mitts have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


An automatic image-capturing system is used for capturing an image and transmitting the image to a remote device. The automatic image-capturing system includes a photography module for capturing the image; a storage module for storing the image captured by the photography module; a transmission module for receiving a control instruction sent by the remote device; a master core module for making the photography module to capture the image based on the control instruction, and segmenting the image into a plurality of files and segmenting the files into a plurality of packets to be transmitted to the remote device by the transmission module, and a slave core module for monitoring the operations of the master core module to turn off and restart the master core module when there is an abnormal operation in the master core module.

In the field of outdoor image capturing, monitoring systems are often placed in a relatively desolated and harsh environment, so when a failure occurs in the machines due to the harsh environment (such as rain, moisture, and etc.) or power exhaustion, a considerable amount of labor is required to restart the systems. This may delay the progress of monitoring.
In addition, if wireless monitoring and control is employed for machines that are located in areas where the qualities of the wireless signals are often poor, the machines may consume a large amount of power attempting to connect to the networks when wireless signal quality is low, furthermore, monitoring data may not be complete due to loss of packets. Moreover, the optical setup and the time required for image capturing of the monitoring machines cannot be remotely adjusted in some cases, resulting in degradation in the qualities of the captured images as well as a large quantity of redundant data and unnecessary power consumption.
Thus, in view of the above drawbacks, an automatic image-capturing system is proposed in the disclosure to address the various shortcomings described above.


Thermoplastic articles made from polyesters modified by neopentyl glycol laminate more quickly than cyclohexanedimethanol-modified versions yet retain the properties that make modified polyesters the material of choice in this market—water-like color and clarity, high impact strength, low lamination temperature and low flammability. For situations where a faster cycle time is not needed, articles laminated with neopentyl glycol-modified polyesters can alternatively be manufactured at lower temperatures.

Laminated architectural resin panels made from polyesters modified by cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM) are utilized by architects and designers who participate in the construction of new buildings and major renovations. However, the high temperatures needed to produce the CHDM modified polyesters can yield panels that have aesthetic defects. The temperature-induced defects are manifest in two ways—as the lamination temperature increases the propensity to burn or degrade some encapsulated inclusions like botanicals or light emitting capacitors also increases. Similarly, as the lamination temperature increases the resin flows more readily and can either distort or break the encapsulated inclusions (an aesthetic defect). FIG. 1 can be used to further explain the aesthetic defects that can be caused by directionally higher lamination temperatures. The platens are parts of the equipment that supply the heat and pressure for lamination. As the temperature of the upper and lower platens (layers "a" and "f") are increased under pressure, the upper and lower laminate surfaces (layers "c" and "e") begin to heat and flow directionally outward as shown. As the laminate surfaces flow outward, the decorative interlayers (layer "d") are pulled with the laminate surfaces. For elastic inclusions like fabrics and printed images on certain film substrates, the outward flow can stretch these layers in an irregular manner causing an undesirable distortion. For non-elastic inclusions like dried botanicals or light emitting capacitors, the outward flow can cause inclusion fracture. Similar effects can occur with layer "b" non-elastic, cross-linked hardcoats can fracture and elastic films containing ultraviolet absorbers can thin in a non-uniform manner causing premature part failure from exterior weathering. Both the distortion and fracture mechanisms are less likely to occur at lower temperature lamination. Hence, a need exists for finding modified polyesters that can be produced more quickly and at lower temperatures.

Lamination process optimization utilizing neopentyl glycol-modified polyesters


The present invention relates to a waterless fiber dyeing method using a mixed fluid medium, in which supercritical carbon dioxide fluid medium is mixed with steam to form a mixed fluid medium, so that the waterless fiber dyeing effect to natural fibers is improved. The method of the invention can effectively modify the hydrophobic supercritical carbon dioxide fluid medium and improve the polarity thereof, thereby increasing the solubility of polar dye under the dyeing condition and simultaneously expanding the fiber. Thus, the present invention significantly improves the dyeability and dyeing behavior of the hydrophilic fibers in supercritical carbon dioxide fluids. The invention has the advantages of simple process, convenient operation and low energy consumption, and avoids consuming a large amount of water resources and discharging pollutants in the traditional process, and has the characteristics of environmentally friendly and high efficiency.

In recent years, supercritical fluid technology has been developed from the stage of theoretical research to the stage of practical applications, and has been improved and extended to many fields, such as supercritical fluid waterless dyeing, supercritical fluid extraction, supercritical fluid chemical reaction, supercritical fluid cleaning technology. Since the conditions of critical temperature and critical pressure of carbon dioxide are relatively easy to satisfy (31.1° C. and 7.38 MPa), and carbon dioxide is non-toxic, non-combustible, non-explosive, etc., it has become the most widely used supercritical fluid medium. Supercritical carbon dioxide fluid has high permeability and low viscosity similar to gases, and has a density and excellent solubility to non-polar materials similar to liquids. Therefore, it can dissolve a non-polar or weak-polar dye like liquids, and can infiltrate the dissolved dye into the fiber like gases to achieve the purpose of dyeing.
Supercritical carbon dioxide fluid is used as a dyeing medium instead of water, of which the basic theoretical basis is the principle of like dissolves like, wherein a suitable dye is dissolved in a fluid medium in a single molecule state, and then the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid carrying the dye is transferred to the fiber surface, so that the dye molecules are adsorbed, and further diffused and fixed inside the fibers to reach the purpose of dyeing. The dye with relatively simple structure, small molecular weight, and weak polarity is easily dissolved in the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid. Therefore, in the dyeing process using a supercritical carbon dioxide fluid as a medium, a hydrophobic disperse dye having a relatively small molecule and relatively weak polarity is generally used. At the same time, since synthetic fibers such as polyester are also hydrophobic, they are easily puffed in the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid, so that synthetic fibers can obtain excellent dyeing effects. Up to now, most synthetic fibers, such as polyester, dyed by disperse dyes in supercritical carbon dioxide fluid, can meet commercial standards.
However, for various natural fibers, usually because of the hydroxyl group, amino group and other groups, the polarity is relatively strong, in this case, it is generally necessary to first perform moisture absorption and puffing in a water bath in the traditional water bath dyeing process, and then perform dyeing using water soluble dyes such as direct dyes, reactive dyes and acid dyes. However, the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid medium has a low polarity, leading that the water soluble dyes with high polarity cannot not be dissolved well or even undissolvable; while general disperse dyes dissolved in the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid cannot achieve good dyeing depth and color fastness because of low affinity or directness to natural fibers since its molecular weight is small and its molecular structure is simple, i.e. various natural fibers cannot be dyed well. More importantly, the hydrophobic carbon dioxide fluid cannot effectively puff the natural fibers in the dry state, and cannot provide the necessary conditions for dyeing, especially diffusion of the dye molecules. Therefore, it is of great significance to solve the problem of dyeing natural fibers in the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid.

Fiber dyeing method using mixed fluid medium


A metal halide lamp includes a fire-resistant and translucent hermetic vessel containing amounts of scandium halide and sodium halide sealed in the hermetic vessel satisfying the formula of 0.25<a/(a+b)<0.5, where reference character “a” denotes the mass of scandium halide and reference character “b” denotes the mass of sodium halide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal halide lamp and an automotive headlamp apparatus incorporating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,289 by Ishigami discloses a metal halide lamp suitable for an automotive headlamp that substantially contains no mercury (conveniently referred to as a mercury-free lamp, hereinafter). The inventor of this invention is one of the inventors of the present invention. The metal halide lamp has electrodes distant from each other by 5 mm or less and has, sealed in a hermetic vessel as a discharge medium, first and second halides and a xenon gas at 5 atmospheres or higher at 25° C. The first halide is a halide of a light-emitting metal, and the second halide is a halide of a metal for providing a lamp voltage. As the second halide, a halide of a metal that has a high vapor pressure and emits no or a relatively little visible light is used, besides a halide of a light emitting metal. If the mercury-free lamp described above is a small metal halide lamp used in an automotive headlamp, it is turned on with a lamp power of 60 W or lower. Still, the mercury-free lamp in a stable state is as luminous as mercury-containing lamps.
However, if the first and second halides are sealed in the mercury-free lamp in an inappropriate ratio, there arise problems of high color deviation, low lamp voltage and low luminous efficiency. The reason for this is as follows: in many cases, the second metal halide sealed in place of mercury for providing a lamp voltage is low in luminous efficiency and emits visible light which is low in chromaticity, and therefore, the second metal halide causes the luminous efficiency of the lamp to be reduced or the chromaticity thereof to be degraded or provides an insufficient lamp voltage depending on the amount thereof.
As described above, the lamp voltage depends on the amount of the second halide sealed. A larger amount of the second halide sealed can provide a higher lamp voltage. However, the quantity of visible light is reduced and the luminous efficiency of the lamp is reduced. On the other hand, a smaller amount of the second halide increases the luminous efficiency of the lamp. However, the lamp voltage tends to decrease. Furthermore, when the lamp power supplied to the metal halide lamp is fixed, a higher lamp voltage and a lower lamp current result in a low current capacity of a lighting circuit, and thus, can provide a relatively inexpensive lighting circuit.
In addition, the mercury-free lamp is inferior in rising of luminous flux, in general. In the case of an automotive headlamp, the xenon gas emits light just as with mercury immediately after activation. However, after that, evaporation of the halides is insufficient until the temperature thereof is increased to 400 to 600° C., which takes about 4 seconds after the activation. Thus, during this period, the xenon gas keeps emitting light. Accordingly, a lamp power more than twice as high as that in a stable state need be supplied to the lamp for about 4 seconds, and thus, a maximum lamp current need be supplied to the lamp for about 4 seconds after the activation. Nevertheless, if the first and second halides are sealed in an inappropriate ratio, the rising of luminous flux is delayed, and 80% or more of the total luminous flux cannot be attained within 4 seconds after the activation.
To the contrary, in the case of a conventional metal halide lamp which contains mercury as a medium for providing a lamp voltage (conveniently referred to as a mercury-containing lamp, hereinafter), the xenon gas first emits light immediately after activation, and then, mercury evaporates to emit light immediately and rapidly. Since the luminous efficiency of mercury is several times as high as that of xenon, the rising of luminous flux is relatively fast, and 80% of the rated luminous flux is attained 4 seconds after the activation. This luminous flux can be attained by supplying a power about twice as high as the rated lamp power immediately after the activation. The maximum lamp current flows only during a period immediately after the activation, decreases rapidly after a lapse of 1 to 2 seconds and becomes equal to or less than a half of the maximum after a lapse of 4 seconds.
However, the present inventors have found that, also in the mercury-free lamp, appropriate rising of luminous flux can be provided if the ratio between the first and second halides sealed is appropriately determined.
Furthermore, the mercury-free lamp cannot attain the same level of total luminous flux in a stable state as the mercury-containing lamp if the ratio between the sealed first and second halides is in appropriate. On the other hand, the mercury-containing lamp can easily attain a desired level of total luminous flux because the mercury vapor produces visible light by discharge, which largely contributes to the total luminous flux.

Metal halide lamp and automotive headlamp apparatus

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation


A nacelle shell structure which is attachable to a main structure of a wind turbine is described. The nacelle shell structure is attachable to the main structure such that the nacelle shell structure is carried by the main structure at only three static points. Moreover, a nacelle shell structure is provided which is attachable to a main structure of a wind turbine. The nacelle shell structure includes interconnected shell sub-structures. Furthermore, a lock-labyrinth for positioning between a rotating part with a rotation axis and stationary part of a wind turbine is disclosed, which includes a shield structure and a support structure, the shield structure being located radially outward of the support structure and protruding the support structure in axial direction. The shield structure includes a nose protruding radially inward and being located at an axial position where the support structure forms a water-tight channel which opens towards the nose.

A nacelle shell structure usually consists of multiple shell structure elements. The known prior art is to attach each of these nacelle shell elements to a nacelle lattice structure or a nacelle supporting structure e.g. by welding or by screwing the elements to the structure. The lattice structure may be anchored e.g. to a nacelle bedplate.
A difficulty related to this prior art is, that a separate lattice structure has to be build up around the nacelle components in order to hold the shell elements. A further disadvantage is that all vibrations, deformations, stresses etc. are transferred from e.g. the nacelle bedplate to which the lattice structure is anchored and further transferred to the nacelle shell elements. This in turn increases the risk of material fatigue.

Nacelle shell structure, lock labyrinth and wind turbine


Camptothecin compounds having a --CH.sub.2 --L group are effective anti-tumor compounds. These compounds inhibit the enzyme topoisomerase I and DNA of associated topoisomerase I-DNA complexes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to camptothecin compounds which inhibit the enzyme topoisomerase I and alkylate deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in association with topoisomerase I. Camptothecin compounds have the ring structure shown below. ##STR1## The invention also relates to the treatment of tumors in animals with camptothecin compounds.
2. Background of the Invention
Camptothecin (CPT) is a naturally occurring cytotoxic alkaloid which is known to inhibit the enzyme topoisomerase I and is a potent anti-tumor agent. Camptothecin was isolated from the wood and bark of Camptotheca acuminata by Wall et al. (Wall et al., 1966, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 88:3888).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,456 describes methods of synthesizing camptothecin compounds which act as inhibitors of topoisomerase I and are effective in the treatment of leukemia (L-1210). U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,404 discloses methods of treating colon tumors with camptothecin compounds.
Numerous camptothecin compounds and their use as inhibitors of topoisomerase I are taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,512; U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,968; U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,668; U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,742; U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,722; U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,903; U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,380; U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,606; U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,526; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,817.
Naturally occurring camptothecin has the 20(S)-configuration and has been shown to inhibit both DNA and RNA synthesis and to cause reversible fragmentation of DNA in cultured mammalian cells (Hsiang et al., 1989, Cancer Research, 49:4385-4389). When the camptothecin is removed, the inhibition of high molecular weight RNA synthesis is reversed, whereas there was only a partial restoration of DNA synthesis.
The enzyme topoisomerase I has been identified as the cellular target of camptothecin compounds. The enzyme has been implicated in various DNA transactions such as replication, transcription and recombination. Topoisomerase I relaxes both positively and negatively supercoiled DNA. The enzyme mechanism is believed to involve a transient breakage of one of the two DNA strands and the formation of a reversible covalent topoisomerase I enzyme-DNA complex. Camptothecin interferes with the DNA breakage-reunion reaction by reversibly trapping the enzyme-DNA intermediate termed the "cleavable complex" by Hsiang et al., Id. The high levels of topoisomerase I in several types of human cancer and the low levels in correspondingly normal tissue provide the basis for tumor treatment with biologically active camptothecin analogs.
A need continues to exist, however, for camptothecin compounds having improved activity.

Camptothecin compounds with combined topoisomarase I inhibition and DNA alkylation properties


A device for storing articles with two conveyor tracks that can be driven in opposite directions and a transfer mechanism that can be moved along the conveyor tracks for transferring the articles between the two conveyor tracks // with this device at least one functional control unit that monitors the device is provided. This significantly improves the possibility of detecting damage and trouble and prevents serious consequences, damages and downtime.

Such devices are known in various embodiments, where the two conveyor tracks each have their own conveyance means (EP 581 143 B1, EP 1 161 391 B1) or a joint conveyance means (EP 581 143 B1, WO 2005/073113 A2) in the form of a continuous conveyor chain or the like. With these known storage devices, the monitoring of the elements required for function such as the conveyance means including their accessories, the transfer mechanism, etc. plus optionally the objects transported in running operation is accomplished purely visually by the operating personnel. Since the elements to be monitored are very difficult to see, in particular in the case of storage devices having a high capacity and large dimensions accordingly, it is difficult to see and track the objects, damage and malfunctions that can lead to serious consequences, damages and production downtime cannot always be detected promptly.


The present invention provides systems and methods that allow one or more quasi-persistent HTTP connections to be established between a client computer and server computer. The quasi-persistent HTTP connection(s) allow(s) data to be transferred between the client computer and the server computer without having to repeatedly set up and then terminate a HTTP connection between the client computer and the server computer each time the client computer and the server computer have data to send to one another. Two or more quasi-persistent HTTP connections can be established between a client computer and a server computer to form a bi-directional connection between the client computer and the server computer. The bi-directional connection significantly improves the speed and the efficiency of data transfer between the client computer and the server computer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications over computer networks and more particularly to systems and methods for establishing quasi-persistent HTTP connections over a computer network.
2. Related Art
Hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) is a well-known application layer protocol that typically operates on top of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which is a well-known transport layer protocol. HTTP allows client computers to communicate with server computers over a computer network. As used herein, the terms client (or client computer) and server (or server computer) are relative. A client is an entity that is making a request to a server which typically responds to the client's request. Thus any computer may act as both a client and a server.
Today, version 1.0 of the HTTP protocol (HTTP 1.0) is the most widely used HTTP protocol. HTTP 1.0 is based on a request-response paradigm. The request-response paradigm can be characterized by four-stages: connection, client request, server response, and connection termination. HTTP is a stateless protocol since it does not maintain a connection after the four-stage process has taken place.
In the connection stage, a client attempts to connect to a port on the server. Typically, port 80 on the server is used for HTTP connections. If a connection is established, the server sends a response to the client that indicates that a connection has been established. In the client request stage, the client generates a HTTP request. Common HTTP requests include GET requests and POST requests. A GET request requests the server to send data (e.g., a web page or any other type of data) to the client. A POST request allows the client to send data (e.g., a HTML form or any other type of data) to the server. A POST request may, for example, cause the server to execute an external application or a CGI script to handle the data being posted by a HTML form. In the server response stage, the server generates a HTTP response. The response will differ depending on the type of HTTP request that was received from the client. In the connection termination stage, the connection between the server and the client is terminated.
The four-stage connection, client request, server response, connection termination process occurs each time a client has new data to request from the server or send to the server using HTTP 1.0. As a result, communications using HTTP 1.0 can be very slow since a new connection is established and then terminated each time a client generates a new request. This is especially true in situations where HTTP 1.0 is being used to transfer data in real-time between client and server computer such as during a data conference. Consequently, the delays caused by repeatedly performing the four-stage process impose a serious limitation to real-time data transfers using HTTP 1.0.
One technique that has been developed to address this limitation places a "Keep-Alive" header within a response or a request. The Keep-Alive header, which is not defined by HTTP 1.0, indicates that the connection should not be terminated until the client or the server decides to terminate the connection. The client and server can then send data between one another without having to perform the time consuming four-stage process.
Although the Keep-Alive technique provides a persistent connection, there are several problems associated with the Keep-Alive technique. First, many clients and servers do not support the Keep-Alive technique. As such, there is no guarantee that the Keep-Alive technique will work with clients and servers that exist today. Second, the Keep-Alive technique can be unstable. For example, Keep-Alive connections between a client and a server can be unexpectedly terminated. Third, clients and servers are often separated from outside networks by firewalls that prevent Keep-Alive connections from being established or unexpectedly close the Keep-Alive connections after they are established. The firewalls may be implemented on proxy servers that act as an interface between clients and servers and external computer networks such as the Internet.
Accordingly, what is needed are systems and methods for creating quasi-persistent HTTP connections that overcome the limitations described above.

Systems and methods for establishing quasi-persistent HTTP connections


The invention automatically evaluates the quality of the visual images in a collection of visual images and selects one or more visual image(s) from the collection based on the evaluation of the quality of the visual images.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to selecting one or more visual images from a collection of visual images and, in particular, to selecting one or more visual images from a collection of visual images based on an evaluation of the quality of the visual images in the collection.
2. Related Art
It can be desirable to select one or more visual images from a collection of visual images. The selected visual image(s) can then be extracted from the collection of visual images and presented separately from the collection. For example, it may be desired to select one or more visual images from a visual recording (i.e., one or more series of visual images, each series of visual images acquired at a regular interval by a visual data acquisition apparatus such as a video camera and representing visual content that occurs over a period of time) so that the selected visual image(s) can be extracted and presented as a set of still visual image(s).
A visual image can be manually selected from a collection of visual images, i.e., a human views the visual images in the collection one by one and selects visual image(s) from the collection of visual images. However, manual selection of visual image(s) from a collection of visual images may be undesirably subjective. Further, even if the selection criteria used remain constant, the selection of visual images by a person may be executed inconsistently from visual image to visual image. Additionally, manual selection of visual image(s) from a collection of visual images may be undesirably tedious and cumbersome (and may be impractical), particularly when the collection of visual images is large (e.g., a videotape may include several hundred thousand images).
Visual images can be automatically selected from a collection of visual images. For example, visual images can be automatically selected from a collection of visual images by selecting visual images at regular intervals in the collection of visual images. For instance, visual images can be selected from a visual recording at regular time intervals (i.e., select an image every n seconds) or at regular image intervals (i.e., select every nth image). However, this "mechanical" approach does not take into consideration the characteristics of the visual images, either individually or as a collection, in selecting visual images from a collection of visual images. In some situations in which it is desired to select visual image(s) from a collection of visual images, it can be desirable to consider the characteristics of the visual images and/or the collection of visual images in deciding which visual images to select.
For example, the content of a visual recording can be evaluated to identify segments of visual images containing related content (e.g., scenes can be identified in the visual recording). In such case it is often desirable to identify a visual image (a "keyframe") to represent each visual recording segment. The set of keyframes are based on the content of the visual recording because each keyframe represents a scene, which is identified based on the visual recording content.
Keyframes can be selected based on a specified relationship to the corresponding scenes. For example, keyframes can be selected based on a specified relationship to other images in the scene (e.g., each keyframe is the nth image from the beginning or end of a scene, such as the first or last image of a scene). Or, for example, keyframes can be selected based on a specified temporal relationship to the scene (e.g., each keyframe is the image that occurs a specified time from the beginning or end of a scene).
Keyframes can also be selected based on an evaluation of the content of the visual images of a scene to identify a visual image that "best" represents the content of the scene. Selection of keyframes in this manner is described in, for example, commonly owned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/792,280, entitled "Video Processing System Including Advanced Scene Break Detection Methods for Fades, Dissolves and Flashes," filed on Feb. 23, 2001, by Michele Covell et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Automatic selection of a visual image or images from a collection of visual images, based on an evaluation of the quality of the visual images