A method to support efficient, interactive, and fuzzy search on text data includes an interactive, fuzzy search on structured data used in applications such as query relaxation, autocomplete, and spell checking, where inconsistencies and errors exist in user queries as well as data. It utilizes techniques to efficiently and interactively answer fuzzy queries on structured data to allow users to efficiently search for information interactively, and they can find records and documents even if these records and documents are slightly different from the user keywords.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of interactive fuzzy-logic searches of string databases using a computer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traditional information systems return answers to a user after the user submits a complete query. Users often feel "left in the dark" when they have limited knowledge about the underlying data or the entities they are looking for, and have to use a try-and-see approach for finding information. A recent trend of supporting autocomplete in these systems is a first step towards solving this problem.
In information systems, often users cannot find their interesting records or documents because they don't know the exact representation of the entity in the backend repository. For example, a person Dame "John Lemmon" could be mistakenly represented as "Johnny Lemon". A person called "William Gates" could be stored as "Bill Gates." As a result, a user might not be able to find the records if he doesn't know the exact spelling of the person he is looking for. The same problem exists especially for the case where data came from various Web sources, which tends to be heterogeneous and noisy.
What is needed is a method which allows information systems to answer queries even if there is a slight mismatch between the user query and the physical representation of the interesting entities.
What is needed is a method that can also allow users to interactively query the repository as they type in their query.
In order to give instant feedback when users formulate search queries, many information systems are supporting autocomplete search, which shows results immediately after a user types in a partial query. As an example, almost all the major search engines nowadays automatically suggest possible keyword queries as a user types in partial keywords. Both Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance support searching for stock information as users type in keywords. Most autocomplete systems treat a query with multiple keywords as a single string, and find answers with text that matches the string exactly. As an illustrative example, consider the search box on the home page of Apple Inc. that supports autocomplete search on its products. Although a keyword query "itunes" can find a record "itunes wi-fi music store", a query with keywords "itunes music" cannot find this record (as of June 2009), simply because these two keywords appear at different places in the record.
To overcome this limitation, a new type-ahead search paradigm has emerged recently. A system using this paradigm treats a query as a set of keywords, and does a full-text search on the underlying data to find answers including the keywords. An example is the CompleteSearch system on DBLP2, which searches the underlying publication data "on the fly" as the user types in query keywords letter by letter. For instance, a query "music sig" can find publication records with the keyword "music" and a keyword that has "sig" as a prefix, such as "sigir", "sigmod", and "signature". In this way, a user can get instant feedback after typing keywords, thus can obtain more knowledge about the underlying data to formulate a query more easily.
A main challenge in fuzzy type-ahead search is the requirement of high efficiency. To make search interactive, from the time the user has a keystroke to the time the results computed from the server are displayed on the user's browser, the delay should be as small as possible. An interactive speed requires this delay be within milliseconds. Notice that this time includes the network transfer delay, execution time on the server, and the time for the browser to execute its javascript (which tends to be slow). Providing a high efficiency is especially important since the system needs to answer more queries than a traditional system that answers a query only after the user finishes typing a complete query.
The problem includes how to answer ranking queries in fuzzy type-ahead search on large amounts of data. Consider a collection of records such as the tuples in a relational table. As a user types in a keyword query letter by letter, we want to on-the-fly find records with keywords similar to the query keywords. We treat the last keyword in the query as a partial keyword the user is completing. We assume an index structure with a trie for the keywords in the underlying data, and each leaf node has an inverted list of records with this keyword, with the weight of this keyword in the record. As an example, Table IV shows a sample collection of publication records. For simplicity, we only list some of the keywords for each record. FIG. 9 shows the corresponding index structure.
Suppose a user types in a query "music icde li". We want to find records with keywords similar to these keywords, and rank them to find the best answers. To get the answers, for each query keyword, we can find keywords similar the query keyword. For instance, both the keywords "icdt" and "icde" are similar to the second query keyword. The last keyword "li" is treated as a prefix condition, since the user is still typing at the end of this keyword. We find keywords that have a prefix similar to "li", such as "lin", "liu", "lui", "icde", and "icdt". We access the inverted lists of these similar keywords to find records and rank them to find the best answers for the user.
A key question is: how to access these lists efficiently to answer top-k queries? In the literature there are many algorithms for answering top-k queries by accessing lists. These algorithms share the same framework originally proposed by Fagin, in which we have lists of records sorted based on various conditions. An aggregation function takes the scores of a record from these lists and computes the final score of the record. There are two methods to access these lists: (1) Random Access: Given a record id, we can retrieve the score of the record on each list; (2) Sorted Access: We retrieve the record ids on each list following the list order.

Method for efficiently supporting interactive, fuzzy search on structured data


A poly-silicon liquid crystal display device with an improved aperture ratio and a simplified method of fabricating the same are disclosed. A liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes first and second substrates; a gate line on the first substrate; a data line crossing the gate line to define a pixel region; a thin film transistor (TFT) near the crossing of the gate and data lines, the TFT having a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode; a pixel electrode in the pixel region, the pixel electrode having a double-layer structure in which a metal layer is formed on a transparent conductive layer; a black matrix on the second substrate, the black matrix having an aperture portion partially overlapping the pixel electrode and the drain electrode; and a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a poly-silicon liquid crystal display device with an improved aperture ratio and a simplified method of fabricating the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, which includes a plurality of liquid crystal cells in a matrix configuration in a liquid crystal display panel, displays images by controlling the transmittance of light in accordance with video signals. In each liquid crystal cell, a thin film transistor (TFT) is used as a switching device to independently supply a video signal. An active layer of such a TFT is generally formed of either amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon (poly-silicon). Because the carrier mobility of poly-silicon is approximately hundred times faster than the carrier mobility of amorphous silicon, high-speed driving circuits can be integrally formed in the LCD panel with the poly-silicon technology.
A poly-silicon LCD device generally includes a TFT substrate provided with driving circuits and a color filter substrate provided with a color filter, with liquid crystal provided therebetween.
FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a portion of a TFT substrate in a poly-silicon LCD device according to the related art, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the TFT substrate taken along the line I-I′ in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the TFT substrate includes a thin film transistor (TFT) 30 connected to a gate line 2 and a data line 4, and a pixel electrode 22 connected to the TFT 30. Although either an NMOS-TFT or PMOS-TFT can be used for the TFT 30, the TFT 30 employing an NMOS-TFT will now be described.
The TFT 30 has a gate electrode 6 connected to the gate line 2, a source electrode connected to the data line 4, and a drain electrode 10 connected to the pixel electrode 22 via a pixel contact hole 20 passing through a protective film 18. The gate electrode 6 overlaps a channel area 14C of an active layer 14 provided on a buffer film 12 with a gate insulating film 16 therebetween. The source electrode and the drain electrode 10 are formed in such a manner to be insulated from the gate electrode 6 with an interlayer insulating film 26 therebetween. Further, the source electrode and the drain electrode 10 are connected to a source area 14S and a drain area 14D of the active layer 14 doped with an n+ impurity, respectively, via a source contact hole 24S and a drain contact hole 24D passing through the interlayer insulating film 26 and the gate insulating film 16.
Such a TFT substrate of a poly-silicon LCD device can be fabricated by a six-mask process which is illustrated in FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F.
Referring to FIG. 3A, the buffer film 12 is formed on a lower substrate 1 and then the active layer 14 is formed on the buffer film 12 by a first mask process. The active layer 14 is formed by depositing an amorphous silicon layer on the buffer film 12 and then crystallizing it into a poly-silicon layer using a laser, and thereafter by patterning it with photolithography and etching processes using a first mask.
Referring to FIG. 3B, the gate insulating film 16 is formed on the buffer film 12 provided with the active layer 14 and then the gate line 2 and the gate electrode 6 are formed thereon by a second mask process. Then, an n+ impurity is doped into a non-overlapping area of the active layer 14 using the gate electrode 6 as a mask, thereby forming a source area 14S and a drain area 14D of the active layer 14.
Referring to FIG. 3C, the interlayer insulating film 26 is formed on the gate insulating film 16 provided with the gate line 2 and the gate electrode 6, and then source and drain contact holes 24S and 24D passing through the interlayer insulating film 26 and the gate insulating film 16 are formed by a third mask process.
Referring to FIG. 3D, the data line 4 including the source electrode and the drain electrode 10 are formed on the interlayer insulating film 26 by a fourth mask process.
Referring to FIG. 3E, the protective film 18 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 26 provided with the data line 4 and the drain electrode 10, and then the pixel contact hole 20 passing through the protective film 18 is formed by a fifth mask process to expose the drain electrode 10.
Referring to FIG. 3F, the transparent pixel electrode 22 is formed on the protective film 18 by a sixth mask process.
As described above, the TFT substrate of the related art is formed by a six-mask process. Because each mask process includes many sub-processes such as deposition, cleaning, photolithography, etching, photo-resist stripping and inspection, etc., the manufacturing process is complicated and the manufacturing cost is high.

Liquid crystal display device and method of fabricating the same


An electronic component unit includes a housing which accommodates an electronic component therein, which includes a bottom surface in a vertical direction and a side wall surface, and to which a connection portion with electric wire is provided on the bottom surface. The bottom surface of the housing includes an inclined surface. One side of the inclined surface disposed on a side of the side wall surface is positioned at a lower position in the vertical direction than the other side of the inclined surface disposed on a side of the connection portion.

The present invention relates to an electronic component unit.
As an electronic component unit which is mounted on a vehicle or the like in the related art, for example, an electronic component module including an electronic component substrate on which a plurality of bus bars are attached to an insulating board and a plurality of electronic components are electrically connected to the plurality of bus bars, and a case which houses the electronic component substrate, in which outer terminal connection portions which are provided in each bus bar are collected and a connector connection portion is formed, is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Since the connector connection portion is disposed between the plurality of electronic components, the electronic component module achieves a small size in the unit.    [Patent Document 1] JP-A-2013-198347


A sensor device for an electronic apparatus, including a sensing structure for generating a first detection signal, and a dedicated integrated circuit connected to the sensing structure for detecting a first event associated with the electronic apparatus and for generating a first interrupt signal upon detection of the first event. The dedicated integrated circuit detects the first event as a function of changes to the first detection signal over time (i.e., temporal evolution), and in particular as a function of values assumed by the first detection signal within one or more successive time windows, and of a relation between these values.

As is known, the increasing use of portable apparatuses—such as laptops, PDAs (Personal Data Assistants), digital audio players, cellphones, digital camcorders, and the like—or electronic apparatuses in general (personal computers, consoles for videogames and associated peripherals, etc.) has led to an increasing need to simplify use thereof, in particular as regards the user interface. In this connection, the possibility of activating given functions or programs of these apparatuses by a simple user control action directly involving the electronic apparatus has been considered of particular interest (for example, a displacement or an inclination of the apparatus, or a force or pressure exerted on the same apparatus).
For this purpose, in some electronic apparatuses, sensor devices have been introduced for detection of control actions imparted by the user (for example, inertial sensors, such as accelerometers or gyroscopes). In particular, the use of MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) sensors, made with semiconductor technologies, has proven advantageous given their small dimensions and consequent small area occupation. A microprocessor circuit, supervising the general operation of the electronic apparatus, is able to determine user control actions and to activate corresponding functions or programs within the apparatus, via monitoring of the detection signals generated by the sensor devices.
Moreover, the use of detection signals coming from sensor devices on board the electronic apparatuses has been proposed for recognition, via suitable processing operations, of particular apparatus conditions, such as for example, a condition of free fall, or of reactivation from stand-by (wake-up function).
Solutions of this sort, although having the potential advantage of simplifying the interface and improving the general functionality of electronic apparatuses, have the problem of burdening the apparatus microprocessor circuit with continuous monitoring of the detection signals from the sensor devices, and processing of the same signals for recognition of the control actions exerted by the user or of the aforesaid conditions (more in general, of "events" associated to the electronic apparatuses). There follows a general degradation of the performance of the electronic apparatus, and/or a poor promptness thereof in recognizing the aforesaid events.
In order to overcome this problem, the integration within the sensor devices of event-recognition related functions has recently been proposed. In particular, a dedicated integrated circuit has been associated to a detection structure of these devices, the circuit being designed to carry out simple processing operations based on the signals generated by the detection structure for recognition of given events (for example, free-fall or wake-up events). Upon recognition of an event, the integrated circuit generates an interrupt signal for the microprocessor circuit of the electronic apparatus that incorporates the sensor device so that it can promptly activate appropriate actions associated to the detected event, this without using internal resources for event recognition.
However, also due to the small amount of resources and the small area available for integration within the sensor devices, the aforesaid integrated circuits are not currently able to carry out complex processing operations on the detection signals, necessary for example, for recognition of particular (e.g., multiple) events, so that the computational burden for the microprocessor circuits on board the portable apparatuses in given applications remains high.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sensor device provided with a circuit for detection of single or multiple events for generating corresponding interrupt signals


In an automatic shampoo machine a recess is formed in a side wall of a basin to ensure water passage to the nape of the neck of a person being shampooed. A plurality of neck support members each including a bent wire arrangement is provided in a spaced relation in the recess. With the neck resting on top portions of the neck support members, the nape of the neck is rinsed by water sprayed from a stationary nape rinsing nozzle, and movable lower nozzles, through the recess. A pad for receiving the neck resting thereon is releasably attached on a peripheral portion of the basin to prevent fatigue of the neck and splashing of rinse water. Thus, the person can have his hair and nape washed in a comfortable posture.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic shampoo machine for business use in, for example, barbershops and beauty salons.
2. Description of Related Art
An automatic shampoo machine is conventionally known which includes a basin having an opening at its top and is adapted to spray water in the basin (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-22812 (1994)). A person to be shampooed inserts his head into the basin with his face upward, so that the person is shampooed in a supine state in this automatic shampoo machine. At this time, his head is supported with his neck rested on the periphery of the basin opening.
Since the periphery of the basin abuts the nape of the neck rested thereon to hide the nape, the water shower does not reach the nape. Therefore, a barber or his assistant has to rinse the nape with the use of a hand-held shower head or the like.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic shampoo machine adapted to automatically wash not only the hair and head skin but also the nape of the neck of a person being shampooed.


An axial flow fan includes a frame, a driving device and a fan blade part. The driving device is disposed in the frame and the fan blade part provides a hub member and a plurality of fan blades attached to the outer rim of the hub member and the hub member engaging with the driving device. It is characterized in that the fan blades are disposed outside the frame and the lower edges of the fan blades are flush with or higher than the upper edge of the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an axial flow fan and particularly to an axial flow fan, which is capable of increasing flow rate and air pressure.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 540641 discloses an axial flow type blowing device, entitled "AXIAL FLOW TYPE BLOWING DEVICE FOR INCREASING AIR PRESSURE AND FLOW RATE OF OUTPUT FLUID", which includes an outer frame base, a rotary device, a fan blade device and an outer frame. The outer frame base has an inlet and an outlet being disposed at two lateral sides thereof respectively. The rotary device is used for driving the blowing device and the fan blade device further includes a hub, a plurality of blades and a plurality of thin flow gain plates. While the rotary device rotates with a preset speed to drive the fan blade device, the thin flow gain plates increase the contact area of the blades with the fluid so as to increase flow rate at the inlet.
However, the thin flow gain plates on the blades of the preceding axial type fan provide limited effect due to the sizes thereof being unable to increase and rotation of the fan blade device being affected so that the flow rate and the air pressure is not much increased even if the thin flow gain plates are provided.


Determining a cross over router on the occasion of a migration of a mobile terminal connected to a network during communication in the network. A path control device receives path control information from each router in the network and stores the information as a path control table. Then, a pre-migration path between the mobile terminal and the correspondent terminal is recognized and, on the occasion of a migration of a mobile terminal, the path control device predicts a post-migration path between the mobile terminal and the correspondent terminal. The path control device then compares the pre-migration path and the post-migration path to derive as a common part, and a router closest to the mobile terminal in the common part is determined as a cross over router.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a path control device, being connected to a plurality of transfer devices for transferring a packet on a network so as to control a transfer path of the packet, and a path control method executed in the path control device.
2. Related Background Art
In a conventional mobile communication network, the network is generally constructed in such a network topology as shown in FIG. 1A, mainly containing a tree structure that the path is fixedly determined, it has been easy to determine a cross over router R2, serving as a switchover point of the path, in association with the migration of a terminal (refer to "Hand over control by buffering in a cross over router", Isobe, Iwasaki, Igarashi, Ihara, Yabusaki; Technical Report of IEICE IN2002-112, November 2002).

Path control device and path control method


A laminate suitable for formation of athletic lettering and other decoratives which has improved adhesion and reduced curling is formed by forming a laminate from a pigmented polyurethane and a polyester adhesive layer. Either the individual lamina prior to lamination, or the formed laminate are annealed for 1 to 100 hours at a temperature from 100.degree. to 250.degree. F. to relieve stress and prevent curling. Preferably, the polyurethane layer does not include any external lubricants and has a high durometer which, in turn, permits formation of letters on letters without bleedthrough and with improved adhesion.

Heat Activated Transfers are used for a variety of different applications, including providing ornamental indicia on garments, providing lettering on sports jerseys, and providing identification on other types of cloth and materials. Although formed from a variety of different materials, they are generally laminates with a lower adhesive layer and an upper pigmented layer which provides the indicia. There are other substitute products and methods such as screen printing wherein a pigmented, polymeric material is printed directly onto a substrate and cured.
One very successful heat-activated transfer laminate is disclosed in Mahn U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,885. This product is a laminate with a lower polyester adhesive layer and an upper pigmented polyurethane or polyether layer. One of the problems with laminates such as this is that over time, and during application in particular, they tend to curl. The curling makes it more difficult to apply these uniformly.
The invention disclosed in the Mahn '885 patent overcame this problem by forming a laminate where the upper and lower lamina had a compatible or similar coefficient of thermal expansion. Thus, upon heating, both layers reacted in the same manner which reduced or prevented curl. In order to achieve this, the upper and lower layers must be carefully matched.
However, it is frequently desirable to modify the characteristics of either the polyester or the polyurethane layer. For example, if one were to apply a letter on a letter one slightly smaller than the other with contrasting colors, one would need to adhere the polyester layer of the upper letter to the polyurethane layer of the lower letter (which is adhered to the cloth substrate). The product disclosed in the Mahn '885 patent does function in this manner, but has some problems. The upper layer generally will include an external lubricant which, over time, will bloom and interfere with the adhesion between the upper letter and the lower letter. Further, functionally the product tends to be very soft. If the lower letter is very dark, it tends to bleed through the upper letter, presenting an unpleasant appearance.
The bleedthrough could be solved by simply changing the durometer of the pigmented layer. But when this is done, it is extremely difficult to match the adhesive layer to the pigmented layer to prevent curling. Likewise, the external lubricant can be removed. But again, this change makes it extremely difficult to match the adhesive layer to the pigmented layer, again resulting in curling.

Method of forming heat activated transfer for improved adhesion and reduced bleedthrough


A non-riser valve assembly 30 includes a bonnet or housing 32, a bushing 34, a stem 36, a washer 38 and a stop 40. The assembly 30 further includes a coupling 42, a rotatable or movable disk 44, a fixed disk 46 and a bottom seal 48. In assembly, the bushing 34 and the stem 36 are located within an opening 50 of the housing 32 with the bushing being located between the housing and the stem. One of the stem 36 extends from one end of the opening 50 and the stop 40 is removably attached to the stem to limit the rotational movement of the stem within the housing. The coupling 42 is located in the opening 50 of the housing 32 and is in driving engagement with the opposite end of the stem 36. The movable disk 44 is located with the opening 50 and is coupled to the coupling 42 for rotation therewith. The fixed disk 46 is attached to the housing 32 within the opening 50 and is formed with a surface 224 which is in water-sealing engagement with a surface 162 of the movable disk 44. The disks 44 and 46 are formed with passages 164 and 218, respectively, the relative positioning of which is controlled by rotation of the stem 36 to control the flow of water therethrough.

This invention relates to a valve assembly and particularly relates to a non-rise valve assembly.
Valve assemblies which are used with showers and tub arrangements may use a two-handle system for controlling the selective flow of hot and cold water. In such a system, the hot and cold handles are connected to respective valve assemblies which are located within an in-wall body. The in-wall body is typically cast or formed as an integral unit which includes two spaced end bodies containing the valve assemblies, a center body between the end bodies, and in-wall conduits which couple the center body to the end bodies. The center body is coupled to a showerhead and a tub spout through linking conduits.
In the two-handle system as described above, hot and cold water is supplied to respective end bodies where, upon selective control of the valve assemblies, water flows through the valve assemblies. The water continues to flow through the in-wall conduits, the center body; and through either the showerhead or the spout, and the linking conduit coupled thereto, depending on the selective position of a fluid diverter associated with the system.
In one type of valve assembly which has been used in the past, and continues to be used today, a washer is assembled at the base of a stem of the valve. The stem is threadedly mounted within a housing or bonnet of the valve so that, upon rotation of the stem, the stem is moved axially to either move the washer into sealing engagement with a seat of the housing to close the valve or to move the washer away from the seat to open the valve. This is referred to as a riser type of valve because the stem moves axially out of the housing or bonnet.
Another type of valve used in a two-handle faucet is a non-rise valve and employs two ceramic disks which are always in interfacing engagement and which are formed with openings to facilitate the flow of water therethrough. When the openings of the disks are not aligned in any respect, the valve is closed to prevent the flow of water therethrough. When the valve handle and associated stem are turned, one of the disks which is attached to the stem is rotated relative to the other disk while the two disks remain in interfacing engagement. Eventually, the openings of the disks are aligned and water is allowed to flow through the openings and out of the spout. In this type of valve, the stem of the valve does not move axially as the valve is opened, in contrast to the valve with the threadedly mounted stem noted above. A few examples of the many valves of the ceramic type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos 3,780,758; 3,831,621 and 5,174,324.
In a two-handle valving arrangement of the type described above, the valves typically are located in spaced relation to each other with one valve referred to as the left side valve for controlling the supply of hot water, and the other valve referred to as the right side valve for controlling the supply of cold water.
Generally, in ceramic valves of this type, the stem is freely rotatable within the bonnet in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction. Therefore, a given design of a ceramic valve could be used on both sides of a two-handle faucet, that is as a right side valve and as a left side valve to provide the turning direction typically associated with a cold water valve on the right side of the faucet and a hot water valve on the left side of the faucet. However, a turning limit stop must be employed to limit the turning of the valve in each direction to one-half of a full turn. In order to take advantage of the premise of using ceramic valves of a common design in both valves of a shower and tub arrangement, a reversible stop is used with each valve to limit the turning of the stem in one direction or the other depending on whether the valve is being used on the right side or the left side of the faucet. An example of a reversible stop which is used for this purpose is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,621.
When assembling the components of a ceramic valve of the type noted above, it is critical that the components be assembled in the proper relationship and orientation, otherwise the valve will not function in the manner intended. Typically, the components of the valves are assembled in a factory to form the valves. During the assembly process, the reversible stops are assembled so that each valve is either a hot water or a cold water valve and the valves are segregated accordingly. A hot water valve is then assembled into one of the pair of spaced end bodies on opposite ends of the in-wall body which is to the left of a center body thereof. A cold water valve is then assembled into the other end body which is to the right of the center body. The in-wall body with the valve assemblies is packaged and shipped, eventually, to an installation site where it is installed in a plumbing system. Thus, it is important that some provision be made to insure that the reversible stop is assembled in the proper manner to provide a hot water or a cold water valve so that, when that valve is assembled with the in-wall body, it is assembled in the appropriate end body thereof.
During the period immediately following the assembly of the components of the valve, the valve is transported within the factory to various stations for further processing. Also, individual valves may be packaged and sold as replacement units for installation with existing, previously installed shower and tub arrangements.
Current techniques and facilities for retaining the assembled reversible stop with the valve assembly, typically include elements which require tools to insert and remove the stop. This requires that the installer carry appropriate tools necessary for such actions. In the factory as well as at the installation site, provision must be made for retaining the reversible stop of the valve in assembly during periods of handling, shipment, storage, and ultimate assembly with other elements of the shower and tub arrangement at the factory or installation sites. In addition, provision must be made for facilitating easy removal of the stop.
With respect to the valves which are installed as replacements in existing shower and tub arrangements, provision must be made to insure that, when replacing a hot water valve or a cold water valve, the reversible stop is assembled in the appropriate manner for the valve to function accordingly. Of course, the same provision must be made to insure the appropriate assembly in the factory.
At times, a homeowner may wish to convert a shower and tub arrangement from a knob-handle unit to a lever-handle unit. In this instance, only the knobs are removed and replaced by levers. When only knobs are used, the reversible stops are situated within the valve assembly in a precise manner to accommodate the conventional turning for the hot and cold water valves in the same direction, that is clockwise to close for both the hot and cold water valves. When levers are used, the hot and cold levers extend in generally opposite directions from each other when the valve is fully closed. When opening the lever-operated valves, the hot and cold valves are conventionally turned in opposite directions. For example, the cold lever is turned in a clockwise direction and the hot lever is turned in a counterclockwise direction to open the valve. Thus, to open the cold water valve for the knob assembly, the knob is turned in a counterclockwise direction, while to open the cold water valve for the lever assembly, the lever is turned in a counterclockwise direction. Therefore, provision must be made for easily reversing the cold water valve assembly when converting from a knob assembly to a lever assembly, or vice versa, and for insuring that the reversible stop is properly oriented to accommodate such change.
As noted, ceramic valves include two ceramic disks which are always in interfacing contact. Each disk is formed with an opening where, when aligned at least partially with the opening of the other disk, water will flow through the openings of the two disks. If the openings of the disks are designed to allow large amounts of water to flow when the valve is turned on or off, loud and undesirable noises, known as "water hammering," can develop because large amounts of water are suddenly trying to flow or cease flowing in a relatively short period of time. Also, the configurations of the openings can affect the temperature and flow resolution of the water mix which is passing through the openings. Thus, provision must be made for essentially eliminating the water hammering noise and for providing an excellent temperature and water flow resolution.
In valves of this type, the stem is rotatable within a bore of the bonnet. Due to the structural nature of these two elements, there is a tendency for the elements to wobble relative to each other. Also, there is a tendency for the elements to bind. Thus, provision must be made for minimizing any back lash or wobbling between the stem and the bonnet while insuring that the stem rotates relative to the bonnet with relative ease.
In view of the above-noted provisions, there is a need for a valve assembly which can be assembled in an efficient manner while insuring that a reversible stop thereof is properly assembled for the valve to function in the intended manner. In addition, there is a need for facilities which provide for the easy assembly and disassembly of the reversible stop. Further, there is a need for controlling the water flow through openings in the ceramic disks to facilitate avoidance of any hammering noise and to insure excellent temperature and water flow resolution. Also, there is a need for facility to minimize wobbling between the stem and the bonnet and to insure that the stem moves with ease relative to the bonnet.


Disclosed are a transmission device and a transmission method with which it is possible to prevent delays in data transmission and to minimize the increase in the number of bits necessary for the notification of a CC to be used, in cases where a CC to be used is added during communication employing carrier aggregation. When a component carrier is to be added to a component carrier set, a setting section provided in a base station: modifies a CIF table that defines the correspondence between code points, which are used as labels for the respective component carriers contained in the component carrier set, and the identification information of the respective component carriers; and assigns a vacant code point to the component carrier to be added, while keeping the correspondence between the code points and the component carrier identification information defined in the CIF table before modification.

3GPP-LTE (3rd Generation Partnership Project Radio Access Network Long Term Evolution, hereinafter referred to as "LTE") adopts OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) as a downlink communication scheme, and SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) as an uplink communication scheme (e.g., see non-patent literatures 1, 2 and 3).
In LTE, a radio communication base station apparatus (hereinafter abbreviated as "base station") communicates with radio communication terminal apparatuses (hereinafter abbreviated as "terminals") by allocating resource blocks (RBs) in a system band to terminals, per time unit referred to as a subframe. In addition, the base station transmits to the terminals the control information (resource allocation information) to notify the terminals of the result of resource allocation of downlink data and uplink data. This control information is transmitted to the terminals using downlink control channels such as PDCCHs (Physical Downlink Control Channels). Here, according to, for example, an allocation number of terminals, the base station controls the amount of resources used in transmission of the PDCCHs, that is, the number of OFDM symbols on a subframe unit basis. To be more specific, the base station transmits to the terminals using a PCFICH (Physical Control Format Indicator Channel), the CFI (Control Format Indicator), which is the information indicating the number of OFDM symbols capable of being used in transmission of the PDCCHs in the first OFDM symbols of the subframes. Each of terminals receives the PDCCH in accordance with the CFI detected from the received PCFICH. Here, each PDCCH occupies a resource formed of one or a plurality of consecutive CCEs (Control Channel Elements). In LTE, according to the number of information bits of the control information or the channel state of the terminal, one of 1, 2, 4, and 8 is selected as the number of CCEs occupied by the PDCCH (the number of linked CCEs: CCE aggregation level). Here, LTE supports the frequency band with the maximum width of 20 MHz as a system bandwidth.
In addition, the base station simultaneously transmits a plurality of PDCCHs to allocate a plurality of terminals to one subframe. At this time, in order to identify the destination terminal of each of the PDCCHs, the base station includes a CRC bit masked (or scrambled) with the ID of the destination terminal in the PDCCH for transmission. Then, the terminal detects the PDCCH addressed to the terminal by performing blind decoding on a plurality of PDCCHs which may be addressed to the terminal, by demasking (or descrambling) CRC bits using its own terminal ID.
Furthermore, studies have been underway for a technique to limit the CCE to be the target of blind decoding every terminal, for the purpose of reducing the number of blind decoding attempts at the terminal. This technique limits the CCE area (hereinafter, referred to as "search space") to be the target of the blind decoding every terminal. In LTE, the search space is randomly formed every terminal, and the number of CCEs forming the search space is defined every CCE aggregation level of the PDCCH. For example, for CCE aggregation levels 1, 2, 4, and 8, the numbers of CCEs forming the search spaces—that is, the numbers of CCEs to be the targets of the blind decoding—are limited to six candidates (6 (=1×6) CCEs), six candidates (12 (=2×6) CCEs), two candidates (8 (=4×2) CCEs), and two candidates (16 (=8×2) CCEs), respectively. Thus, each terminal needs to perform blind decoding only on the CCEs in the search space allocated to the terminal, thus making it possible to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts. Here, the search space of each terminal is configured using the terminal ID of each terminal and a hash function for randomization.
Also, LTE adopts ARQ (Automatic Repeat reQuest) for downlink data from the base station to the terminals. That is, each of the terminals sends a response signal indicating the error detection result of downlink data to the base station as a feedback. The terminal performs a CRC on the downlink data, and then, transmits a response signal (that is, ACK/NACK signal) indicating an ACK (Acknowledgement) in case of CRC=OK (no error) or a NACK (Negative Acknowledgement) in case of CRC=NG (error exists) as a feed back to the base station. When the response signal transmitted as a feedback indicates the NACK, the base station transmits retransmission data to the terminal. Moreover, in LTE, the control technique for retransmitting data, referred to as HARQ (Hybrid ARQ), which combines error correction coding and ARQ, has been examined. In HARQ, when receiving retransmitted data, the terminal can improve reception quality at the terminal side by combining the retransmitted data and the previously-received data including an error.
Moreover, standardization of 3GPP LTE-Advanced (hereinafter referred to as "LTE-A") to realize faster communication than the LTE has been started. In LTE-A, in order to realize the downlink transmission speed equal to or higher than the maximum 1 Gbps and the uplink transmission speed equal to or higher than the maximum 500 Mbps, it is expected to introduce base stations and terminals (hereinafter referred to as "LTE-A terminals") capable of communicating with each other at the wideband frequency equal to or higher than 40 MHz. In addition, an LTE-Advanced system is required to accommodate not only LTE-A terminals but also the terminals supporting an LTE system (hereinafter referred to as "LTE terminals").
In LTE-A, the carrier aggregation scheme whereby communication is performed by aggregating a plurality of frequency bands has been proposed to realize wideband communication of 40 MHz or above (e.g., see non-patent literature 1). For example, the frequency band having a width of 20 MHz is defined as the base unit (hereinafter referred to as "component carrier (CC)") of communication bands. Thus, LTE-A realizes the system bandwidth of 40 MHz by aggregating two component carriers. Also, a single component carrier accommodates both an LTE terminal and an LTE-A terminal. Additionally, in the following explanation, the component carrier in an uplink is referred to as "uplink component carrier", and the component carrier in a downlink is referred to as "downlink component carrier."
While it has been studied to support the carrier aggregation by at least five component carriers in the LTE-A system, the number of actually used component carriers differs every terminal according to, for example, a required transmission rate and the reception capability of each terminal with the number of component carriers. Here, which component carrier to be used is configured every terminal. The configured component carrier is referred to as "UE CC set." The UE CC set is semi-statically controlled by the required transmission rate of the terminal.
In LTE-A, as a method to notify terminals of the resource allocation information of each component carrier from a base station, it has been discussed to allocate data of different component carriers by a PDCCH transmitted using a certain component carrier (e.g., see non-patent literature 4). In particular, studies have been underway to indicate the component carrier which is the allocation target of the PDCCH by using a carrier indicator (CI) in the PDCCH. That is, the CI labels each component carrier. The CI is transmitted in a field inside of the PDCCH, referred to as "carrier indicator field (CIF)."
Also, it has been considered to report the CIF value of the component carrier which is the allocation target, in addition to the CI in the CIF (e.g., see non-patent literature 5).
Also, the above non-patent literature 4 discloses the correspondence between a CI value (that is, a code point) and the CC number indicated by the CI value. That is, when the same CC as the CC which has transmitted a PDCCH is allocated, CI=1 (when CI starts from 1) is allocated. CI values are associated in ascending frequency order with other CCs. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, when there are three CCs (CC1, CC2, and CC3 in ascending frequency order) and all three CCs are configured to a terminal (that is, when a UE CC set includes CC1, CC2, and CC3), in the PDCCH transmitted in CC2, CI=1 indicates data allocation of CC2, CI=2 indicates the data allocation of CC1, and CI=3 indicates the data allocation of CC3. Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, two out of three CCs are configured to the terminal (for example, when a UE CC set includes CC2 and CC3), CI=1 indicates the data allocation of CC2 and CI=2 indicates the data allocation of CC3. In this case, every time the CC configuration of each terminal (that is, the UE CC set) is changed, the correspondence between the CIs and the CC numbers varies, the CIs being other than the CI allocating the same CC. In the above example, when CC1 is added to the UE CC set in the terminal for which CC2 and CC3 are configured, the code point of the CI allocating CC3 varies before and after adding the CC.
Here, use of RRC signaling described in non-patent literature 6 to change the UE CC set (that is, addition and deletion of a CC), for example, has been considered. To be more specific, an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure is used to change the UE CC set. In case of changing a UE CC set, a base station firstly transmits an RRC connection reconfiguration message to a terminal to notify the terminal of the change. The terminal receiving this message changes its configuration, and then, after the change is completed, and sends an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message to the base station. By receiving the RRC connection reconfiguration complete message, the base station learns that the configuration change has been correctly made in the terminal. Here, it normally takes several 10 to 100 ms to communicate these messages with each other.

Communication apparatus and communication method


The present invention is a method of controlling pests in and on transgenic crops of useful plants, such as, for example, in crops of maize, cereals, soya beans, tomatoes, cotton, potatoes, rice and mustard, where pymetrozine, profenofos, a benzoylurea-derivative, especially lufenuron; or a carbamat-derivative, especially fenoxycarb; in free form or in agrochemically useful salt form and at least one auxiliary, is applied to the pests or their environment, or to the transgenic crop plant itself.

This application is a 371 of PCT/EP99/00184, filed Jan. 14, 1999
The present invention relates to a novel method of controlling pests in and on transgenic crops of useful plants with pymetrozine; profenofos; a benzoylurea-derivative, especially lufenuron; or a carbamat-derivative, especially fenoxycarb.
Certain pest control methods are proposed in the literature. However, these methods are not fully satisfactory in the field of pest control, which is why there is a demand for providing further methods for controlling and combating pests, in particular insects and repre-sentatives of the order Acarina, or for protecting plants, especially crop plants. This object is achieved according to the invention by providing the present method.
The present invention therefore relates to a method of controlling pests in crops of transgenic useful plants, such as, for example, in crops of maize, cereals, soya beans, tomatoes, cotton, potatoes, rice and mustard, characterized in that a pesticidal composition comprising pymetrozine; profenofos; a benzoylurea-derivative, especially lufenuron; or a carbamat-derivative, especially fenoxycarb, in free form or in agrochemically useful salt form and at least one auxiliary is applied to the pests or their environment, in particular to the crop plant itself; to the use of the composition in question and to propagation material of transgenic plants which has been treated with it.
Surprisingly, it has now emerged that the use of pymetrozine; profenofos; a benzoylurea-derivative, especially lufenuraon; or a carbamat-derivative, especially fenoxycarb, for controlling pests on transgenic useful plants which containxe2x80x94for instancexe2x80x94one or more genes expressing a pesticidally, particularly insecticidally, acaricidally, nematocidally or fugicidally active ingredient, or which are tolerant against herbicides or resistent against the attack of fungi, has a synergistic effect. It is highly surprising that the use of pymetrozine; profenofos; a benzoylurea-derivative, or a carbamat-derivative in combination with a transgenic plant exceeds the additive effect, to be expected in principle, on the pests to be controlled and thus extends the range of action of the said active ingredients and of the active principle expressed by the transgenic plant in particular in two respects:
In particular, it has been found, surprisingly, that within the scope of invention the pesticidal activity of a active ingredient according to the invention in combination with the effect expressed by the transgenic useful plant, is not only additive in comparison with the pesticidal activities of the active ingredient according to the invention alone and of the transgenic crop plant alone, as can generally be expected, but that a synergistic effect is present. The term xe2x80x9csynergisticxe2x80x9d, however, is in no way to be understood in this connection as being restricted to the pesticidal activity, but the term also refers to other advantageous properties of the method according to the invention compared with the active ingredient according to the invention and the transgenic useful plant alone. Examples of such advantageous properties which may be mentioned are: extension of the pesticidal spectrum of action to other pests, for example to resistant strains; reduction in the application rate of the active ingredient according to the invention, or sufficient control of the pests with the aid of the compositions according to the invention even at an application rate of the active ingredient according to the invention alone and the transgenic useful plant alone are entirely ineffective; enhanced crop safety; improved quality of produce such as higher content of nutrient or oil, better fiber quality, enhanced shelf life, reduced content of toxic products such as mycotoxins, reduced content of residues or unfavorable constituents of any kind or better digestability; improved tolerance to unfavorable temperatures, draughts or salt content of water; enhanced assimilation rates such as nutrient uptake, water uptake and photosynthesis; favorable crop properties such as altered leaf aerea, reduced vegetative growth, increased yields, favorable seed shape/seed thickness or germination properties, altered colonialisation by saprophytes or epiphytes, reduction of senescense, improved phytoalexin production, improved of accelerated ripening, flower set increase, reduced boll fall and shattering, better attraction to beneficials and predators, increased pollination, reduced attraction to birds; or other advantages known to those skilled in the art. pymetrozine, 2,3,4,5-Tetrahydro-3-oxo-4-[(pyridin-3-yl)-methylenamino]-6-methyl-1,2,4-triazin, is known from The Pesticide Manual, 10thEd. (1994), The British Crop Protection Council, London, page 868.
The active ingredients used according to the invention are know to those skilled in the art, specifically:
Carbamates are known for instance from EP-A-004334. Fenoxycarb, Ethyl 2-(4-Phenoxyphenoxy)ethylcarbamat, is known from The Pesticide Manual, 9thEd. (1991), The British Crop Protection Council, London, page 375;
Benzoylureas are known for instance from EP-A-179022; lufenuron is known from The Pesticide Manual, 10thEd. (1994), The British Crop Protection Council, London, page 628; and
Profenofos, O-4-Brom-2-chlorphenyl O-Ethyl S-Propyl Phosphorothioat, is known from The Pesticide Manual, 9thEd. (1991), The British Crop Protection Council, London, page 705.
The agrochemically compatible salts of the active ingredients according to the invention are, for example, acid addition salts of inorganic and organic acids, in particular of hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, perchloric acid, phosphoric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, toluenesulfonic acid or benzoic acid. Preferred within the scope of the present invention is a composition known per se which comprises, as active ingredient, pymetrozine, profenofos, lufenuron or fenoxacarb; each in the free form.
The transgenic plants used according to the invention are plants, or propagation material thereof, which are transformed by means of recombinant DNA technology in such a way that they arexe2x80x94for instancexe2x80x94capable of synthesizing selectively acting toxins as are known, for example, from toxin-producinginvertebrates, especially of the phylum Arthropoda, as can be obtained from Bacillus thuringiensis strains; or as are known from plants, such as lectins; or in the alternative capable of expressing a herbicidal or fungicidal resistance. Examples of such toxins, or transgenic plants which are capable of synthesizing such toxins, have been disclosed, for example, in EP-A-0 374 753, WO 93/07278, WO 95/34656, EP-A-0 427 529 and EP-A-451 878 and are incorporated by reference in the present application.
The methods for generating such transgenic plants are widely known to those skilled in the art and described, for example, in the publications mentioned above.
The toxins which can be expressed by such transgenic plants include, for example, toxins, such as proteins which have insecticidal properties and which are expressed by transgenic plants, for example Bacillus cereus proteins or Bacillus popliae proteins; or Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxins (B.t.), such as CryIA(a), CryIA(b), CryIA(c), CryIIA, CryIIIA, CryIIIB2 or CytA; VIP1; VIP2; VIP3; or insecticidal proteins of bacteria colonising nematodes like Photorhabdus spp or Xenorhabdus spp such as Photorhabdus luminescens, Xenorhabdus nematophilus etc.; proteinase inhibitors, such as trypsin inhibitors, serine protease inhibitors, patatin, cystatin, papain inhibitors; ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP), such as ricin, maize RIP, abrin, luffin, saporin or bryodin; plant lectins such as pea lectins, barley lectins or snowdrop lectins; or agglutinins; toxins produced by animals, such as scorpion toxins, spider venoms, wasp venoms and other insect-specific neurotoxins; steroid metabolism enzymes, such as 3-hydroxysteroid oxidase, ecdysteroid UDP-glycosyl transferase, cholesterol oxidases, ecdysone inhibitors, HMG-COAreductase, ion channel blockers such as sodium and calcium, juvenile hormone esterase, diuretic hormone receptors, stilbene synthase, bibenzyl synthase, chitinases and glucanases.
Examples of known transgenic plants which comprise one or more genes which encode insecticidal resistance and express one or more toxins are the following: KnockOut(copyright) (maize), YieldGard(copyright) (maize); NuCOTN 33B(copyright) (cotton), Boligard(copyright) (cotton), NewLeaf(copyright) (potatoes), NatureGard(copyright) and Protecta(copyright).
The following tables comprise further examples of targets and principles and crop phenotypes of transgenic crops which show tolerance against pests mainly insects, mites, nematodes, virus, bacteria and diseases or are tolerant to specific herbicides or classes of herbicides.
The abovementioned animal pests which can be controlled by the method according to the invention include , for example, insects, representatives of the order acarina and representatives of the class nematoda; especially
from the order Lepidoptera Acleris spp., Adoxophyes spp., especially Adoxophyes reticulana; Aegeria spp., Agrotis spp., especially Agrotis spinifera; Alabama argiliaceae, Amylois spp., Anticarsia gemmatalis, Archips spp., Argyrotaenia spp., Autographa spp., Busseola fusca, Cadra cautella, Carposina nipponensis, Chilo spp., Choristoneura spp., Clysia ambiguella, Cnaphalocrocis spp., Cnephasia spp., Cochylis spp., Coleophora spp., Crocidolomia binotalis, Cryptophlebia leucotreta, Cydia spp., especially Cydia pomonella; Diatraea spp., Diparopsis castanea, Earias spp., Ephestia spp., especially E. Khxc3xcniella; Eucosma spp., Eupoecilia ambiguella, Euproctis spp., Euxoa spp, Grapholita spp., Hedya nubiferana, Heliothis spp., especially H. Virescens und H. zea; Hellula undalis, Hyphantria cunea, Keiferia lycopersicella, Leucoptera scitella, Lithocollethis spp., Lobesiaspp, Lymantria spp., Lyonetia spp., Malacosoma spp., Mamestra brassicae, Manduca sexta, Operophtera spp., Ostrinia nubilalis, Pammene spp., Pandemis spp., Panolis flammea, Pectinophora spp., Phthorimaea operculella, Pieris rapae, Pieris spp., Plutella xylostella, Prays spp., Scirpophaga spp., Sesamia spp., Sparganothis spp., Spodopteralittoralis, Synanthedon spp., Thaumetopoea spp., Tortrix spp., Trichoplusia ni and Yponomeuta spp.; from the order Coleoptera, for example Agriotes spp., Anthonomus spp., Atomaria linearis, Chaetocnema tibialis, Cosmopolites spp., Curculio spp., Dermestes spp., Diabrotica spp., Epilachna spp., Eremnus spp., Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Lissorhoptrus spp., Melolontha spp., Oryzaephilus spp., Otiorhynchus spp., Phlyctinus spp., Popillia spp., Psylliodes spp., Rhizopertha spp., Scarabeidae, Sitophilus spp., Sitotroga spp., Tenebrio spp., Tribolium spp. and Trogoderma spp.;
from the order Orthoptera, for example Blatta spp., Blattella spp., Gryllotalpa spp., Leucophaea maderae, Locusta spp., Periplaneta spp. and Schistocerca spp.;
from the order Isoptera, for example Reticulitermes spp.;
from the order Psocoptera, for example Liposcelis spp.;
from the order Anoplura, for example Haematopinus spp., Linognathus spp., Pediculus spp., Pemphigus spp. and Phylloxera spp.;
from the order Mallophaga, for example Damalinea spp. and Trichodectes spp.;
from the order Thysanoptera, for example Frankliniella spp., Hercinothrips spp., Taeniothrips spp., Thrips palmi, Thrips tabaci and Scirtothrips aurantii;
from the order Heteroptera, for example Cimex spp., Distantiella theobroma, Dysdercus spp., Euchistus spp. Eurygaster spp. Leptocorisa spp., Nezara spp., Piesma spp., Rhodnius spp., Sahlbergella singularis, Scotinophara spp. and Triatoma spp.; from the order Homoptera, for example Aleurothrixus floccosus, Aleyrodes brassicae, Aonidiella aurantii, Aphididae, Aphis craccivora, A. fabae, A. gosypii; Aspidiotus spp., Bemisia tabaci, Ceroplaster spp., Chrysomphalus aonidium, Chrysomphalus dictyospermi, Coccus hesperidum, Empoasca spp., Eriosoma lanigerum, Erythroneura spp., Gascardia spp., Laodelphax spp., Lecanium comi, Lepidosaphes spp., Macrosiphus spp., Myzus spp., especially M.persicae; Nephotettix spp., especially N. cincticeps; Nilaparvata spp., especially N. lugens; Paratoria spp., Pemphigus spp., Planococcus spp., Pseudaulacaspis spp., Pseudococcus spp., especially P. Fragilis, P. citriculus and P. comstocki; Psylla spp., especially P. pyri; Pulvinaria aethiopica, Quadraspidiotus spp., Rhopalosiphum spp., Saissetia spp., Scaphoideus spp., Schizaphis spp., Sitobion spp., Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Trioza erytreae and Unaspis citri;
from the order Hymenoptera, for example Acromyrmex, Atta spp., Cephus spp., Diprion spp., Diprionidae, Gilpinia polytoma, Hoplocampa spp., Lasius spp., Monomorium pharaonis, Neodiprion spp., Solenopsis spp. and Vespa spp.;
from the order Diptera, for example Aedes spp., Antherigona soccata, Bibio hortulanus, Calliphora erythrocephala, Ceratitis spp., Chrysomyia spp., Culex spp., Cuterebra spp., Dacus spp., Drosophila melanogaster, Fannia spp., Gastrophilus spp., Glossina spp., Hypoderma spp., Hyppobosca spp., Liriomyza spp., Lucilia spp., Melanagromyza spp., Musca spp., Oestrus spp., Orseolia spp., Oscinella frit, Pegomya hyoscyami, Phorbia spp., Rhagoletis pomonella, Sciara spp., Stomoxys spp., Tabanus spp., Tannia spp. and Tipula spp.;
from the order Siphonaptera, for example Ceratophyllus spp. and Xenopsylla cheopis;
from the order Thysanura, for example Lepima saccharina and
from the order Acarina, for example Acarus siro, Aceria sheldoni; Aculus spp., especially A. schlechtendali; Amblyomma spp., Argas spp., Boophilus spp., Brevipalpus spp., especially B. californicus and B. phoenicis; Bryobia praetiosa, Calipitrimerus spp., Chorioptes spp., Dermanyssus gallinae, Eotetranychus App., especially E. carpini and E. orientalis; Eriophyes spp., especially E. vitis; Hyalomma aspp., Ixodea spp., Olygonychus pratensis, Ornithodoros spp., Panonychus pp., especially P. ulmi and P. citri; Phyllocoptruta spp., especially P. oleivora; Polyphagotarsonemus spp., especially P. latus; Psoroptes spp., Rhipicephalus spp., Rhizoglyphus spp., Sarcoptes spp., Tarsonemus spp. and Tetranychus spp., in particular T. urticae, T. cinnabarinus and T. Kanzawai;
representatives of the class Nematoda;
(1) nematodes selected from the group consisting of root knot nematodes, cyst-forming nematodes, stem eelworms and foliar nematodes;
(2) nematodes selected from the group consisting of Anguina spp.; Aphelenchoides spp.; Ditylenchus spp.; Globodera spp., for example Globodera rostochiensis; Heterodera spp., for example Heterodera avenae, Heterodera glycines, Heterodera schachtii or Heterodera trifolii; Longidorus spp.; Meloidogyne spp., for example Meoidogyne incognita or Meloidogyne javanica; Pratylenchus, for example Pratylenchus neglectans or Pratylenchus penetrans; Radopholus spp., for example Radopholus similis; Trichodorus spp.; Tylenchulus, for example Tylenchulus semipenetrans; and Xiphinema spp.; or
(3) nematodes selected from the group consisting of Heterodera spp., for example Heterodera glycines; and Meloidogyne spp., for example Meloidogyne incognita.
The method according to the invention allows pests of the abovementioned type to be controlled, i.e. contained or destroyed, which occur, in particular, on transgenic plants, mainly useful plants and ornamentals in agriculture, in horticulture and in forests, or on parts, such as fruits, flowers, foliage, stalks, tubers or roots, of such plants, the protection against these pests in some cases even extending to plant parts which form at a later point in time.
The method according to the invention can be employed advantageously for controlling pests in rice, cereals such as maize or sorghum; in fruit, for example stone fruit, pome fruit and soft fruit such as apples, pears, plums, peaches, almonds, cherries or berries, for example strawberries, raspberries and blackberries; in legumes such as beans, lentils, peas or soya beans; in oil crops such as oilseed rape, mustard, poppies, olives, sunflowers, coconuts, castor-oil plants, cacao or peanuts; in the marrow family such as pumpkins, cucumbers or melons; in fibre plants such as cotton, flax, hemp or jute; in citrus fruit such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit or tangerines; in vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, asparagus, cabbage species, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, beet or capsicum; in the laurel family such as avocado, Cinnamonium or camphor; or in tobacco, nuts, coffee, egg plants, sugar cane, tea, pepper, grapevines, hops, the banana family, latex plants or omamentals, mainly in maize, rice, cereals, soya beans, tomatoes, cotton, potatoes, sugar beet, rice and mustard; in particular in cotton, rice, soya beans, potatoes and maize.
It has emerged that the method according to the invention is valuable preventatively and/or curatively in the field of pest control even at low use concentrations of the pesticidal composition and that a very favourable biocidal spectrum is achieved thereby. Combined with a favourable compatibility of the composition employed with warm-blooded species, fish and plants, the method according to the invention can be employed against all or individual developmental stages of normally-sensitive, but also of normally-resistant, animal pests such as insects and representatives of the order Acarina, depending on the species of the transgenic crop plant to be protected from attack by pests. The insecticidal and/or acaricidal effect of the method according to the invention may become apparent directly, i.e. in a destruction of the pests which occurs immediately or only after some time has elapsed, for example, during ecdysis, or indirectly, for example as a reduced oviposition and/or hatching rate, the good action corresponding to a destruction rate (mortality) of at least 40 to 50%.
Depending on the intended aims and the prevailing circumstances, the pesticides within the scope of invention , which are known per se, are emulsifiable concentrates, suspension concentrates, directly sprayable or dilutable solutions, spreadable pastes, dilute emulsions, wettable powders, soluble powders, dispersible powders, wettable powders, dusts, granules or encapsulations in polymeric substances which comprise pymetrozine; profenofos; a benzoylurea-derivative or a carbamat-derivative.
The active ingredients are employed in these compositions together with at least one of the auxiliaries conventionally used in art of formulation, such as extenders, for example solvents or solid carriers, or such as surface-active compounds (surfactants).
Formulation auxiliaries which are used are, for example, solid carriers, solvents, stabilizers, xe2x80x9cslow releasexe2x80x9d auxiliaries, colourants and, if appropriate, surface-active substances (surfactants). Suitable carriers and auxiliaries are all those substances which are conventionally used for crop protection products. Suitable auxiliaries such as solvents, solid carriers, surface-active compounds, non-ionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants and other auxiliaries in the compositions employed according to the invention are, for example, those which have been described in EP-A-736 252.
These compositions for controlling pests can be formulated, for example, as wettable powders, dusts, granules, solutions, emulsifiable concentrates, emulsions, suspension concentrates or aerosols. For example, the compositions are of the type described in EP-A-736 252.
The action of the compositions within the scope of invention which comprise pymetrozine, profenofos, a benzoylurea-derivative or a carbamat-derivative, can be extended substantially and adapted to prevailing circumstances by adding other insecticidally, acaricidally and/or fungicidally active ingredients. Suitable examples of added active ingredients are representatives of the following classes of active ingredients: organo-phosphorous compounds, nitrophenols and derivatives, formamidines, ureas, carbamates, pyrethroids, chlorinated hydrocarbons; especially preferred components in mixtures are, for example, are NI-25, TI-304, Clothiamidin (TI-435), MTI-446, fipronil, pyriproxyfen, thiacloprid, fluxofenime; imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, diafenthiuron, diazinon, disulphoton; furathiocarb, cyromazin, cypermethrin, tau-fluvalinate, tefluthrin or Bacillus thuringiensis products,
As a rule, the compositions within the scope of invention comprise 0.1 to 99%, in particular 0.1 to 95 %, of an active ingredient according to the invention and 1 to 99.9 %, in particular 5 to 99.9 %, ofxe2x80x94at leastxe2x80x94one solid or liquid auxiliary, it being possible, as a rule, for 0 to 25 %, in particular 0.1 to 20 %, of the compositions to be surfactants (% in each case meaning per cent by weight). While concentrated compositions are more preferred as commercial products, the end user will, as a rule, use dilute compositions which have considerably lower concentrations of active ingredient.
The compositions according to the invention may also comprise other solid or liquid auxiliaries, such as stabilisers, for example epoxidized or unepoxidized vegetable oils (for example epoxidized coconut oil, rapeseed oil or soya bean oil), antifoams, for example silicone oil, preservatives, viscosity regulators, binders and/or tackifiers, and also fertilizers or other active ingredients for achieving specific effects, for example, bactericides, fungicides, nematicides, molluscicides or herbicides.
The compositions according to the invention are produced in a known manner, for example prior to mixing with the auxiliary/auxiliaries by grinding, screening and/or compressing the active ingredient, for example to give a particular particle size, and by intimately mixing and/or grinding the active ingredient with the auxiliary/auxiliaries.
The method according to the invention for controlling pests of the abovementioned type is carried out in a manner known per se to those skilled in the art, depending on the intended aims and prevailing circumstances, that is to say by spraying, wetting, atomizing, dusting, brushing on, seed dressing, scattering or pouring of the composition. Typical use concentrations are between 0.1 and 1000 ppm, preferably between 0.1 and 500 ppm of active ingredient. The application rate may vary within wide ranges and depends on the soil constitution, the type of application (foliar application; seed dressing; application in the seed furrow), the transgenic crop plant, the pest to be controlled, the climatic circumstances prevailing in each case, and other factors determined by the type of application, timing of application and target crop. The application rates per hectare are generally 1 to 2000 g of an active ingredient according to the invention per hectare, in particular 10 to 1000 g/ha, preferably 10 to 500 g/ha, especially preferably 10 to 200 g/ha.
A preferred type of application in the field of crop protection within the scope of invention is application to the foliage of the plants (foliar application), it being possible to adapt frequency and rate of application to the risk of infestation with the pest in question. However, the active ingredient may also enter into the plants via the root system (systemic action), by drenching the site of the plants with a liquid composition or by incorporating the active ingredient in solid form into the site of the plants, for example into the soil, for example in the form of granules (soil application). In the case of paddy rice crops, such granules may be metered into the flooded paddy field.
The compositions according to invention are also suitable for protecting propagation material of transgenic plants, for example seed, such as fruits, tubers or kernels, or plant cuttings, from animal pests, in particular insects and representatives of the order Acarina. The propagation material can be treated with the composition prior to application, for example, seed being dressed prior to sowing. The active ingredient may also be applied to seed kernels (coating), either by soaking the kernels in a liquid composition or by coating them with a solid composition. The composition may also be applied to the site of application when applying the propagation material, for example into the seed furrow during sowing. These treatment methods for plant propagation material and the plant propagation material treated thus are a further subject of the invention.


Mechanisms for customizing a refractive index of an optical component are disclosed. In one example, sub-wavelength openings are formed in a top layer of anti-reflective (AR) material of an optical component to tailor transmission characteristics of the AR material over a range of angles of incidence and a range of wavelengths. In another example, sub-wavelength openings are formed at different filling fractions in the surface of the optical component.

Light-sensitive image sensors, such as focal plane arrays, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors, and the like, are often placed behind an optical component, such as a window and/or a lens. Unfortunately, an optical component reflects at least some light. Light that is reflected by an optical component is not transmitted through the optical component, and thus, such reflected light is not sensed by the image sensor. In such applications, it is desirable that reflectivity be minimized so that greater amounts of light reach the image sensor. Reflectance typically increases with the angle of incidence of the light, such that different amounts of light reach the image sensor based on the angle of incidence of the light. Processing components downstream of an image sensor often process the image sensor's data to attempt to compensate for the reflectance, but such compensation algorithms can be complex and require time to execute.
Anti-reflective (AR) coatings are often applied to an optical component to reduce surface reflectivity. However, such coatings have a uniform thickness and a uniform refractive index across the entire surface of the component; therefore, such AR coatings are typically optimized for a middle angular range within a field of view and, thus, offer relatively narrow fields of view. Such AR coatings are also typically designed for a particular wavelength, or for a relatively narrow wavelength band, and thus do not provide low reflective properties over a broadband spectrum. In other applications, an optical component may be designed for multiple wavelength bands with relatively wide angles of incidence, but such optical components typically require relatively complex coatings and/or a relatively large number of layers of AR coatings, resulting in a relatively expensive component and increasing the possibility of delamination.

Customizing the refractive index of a surface


A method and system for producing a mixed gas-oil stream wherein at least a portion of the gas is separated downhole by an auger separator which is comprised of an upstream and a downstream section. As the mixed stream flows through a converging passageway in the upstream section and gas is separated by an auger, the velocity of the stream is increased thereby reducing the temperature and pressure of the stream. This allows more of the condensate to remain with the liquids and not be separated with the gas. The liquids exit the upstream section and are produced to the surface. The separated gas flows through a diverging passageway in the downstream section where a port ion of the reduced pressure is regained before the gas either produced to the surface or compressed for downhole injection.

The present invention relates to the downhole separation of gas and liquid from an oil-gas production stream and in one aspect relates to separating a portion of the gas from a gas-oil production stream downhole in a wellbore while recovering increased amounts of valuable condensate to the surface along with the liquids in the remaining production stream.
It is well known that in many oil wells, extremely large volumes of gas are produced along with the crude oil and other formation fluids, e.g. water. In such wells, it is not unusual to experience gas-to-oil ratios (GOR) as high as 20,000 standard cubic feet per barrel (scf/bbl.) or greater. Since the gas and oil are commingled and are produced to the surface as a single production stream, large and expensive equipment is required at the surface to separate this gas from the liquids in the production stream before either can be further processed and/or sent on to market. In fact, the amount of gas in some production streams may be so large that the available surface equipment can not handle the load and production may have to be cut back or the well shut-in at significant expense.
To reduce the size of the equipment and the related costs normally involved in separating such large volumes of gas from a production stream, various methods and systems have now been proposed wherein some of the separating/handling steps normally required at the surface are carried out downhole before the production stream is brought to the surface. These methods all basically involve separating at least a portion of the gas from the production stream downhole and then handling the separated gas and the remainder of the production stream (i.e. liquids) separately.
For example, one such method involves the positioning an xe2x80x9caugerxe2x80x9d separator downhole within a production wellbore which separates a portion of the gas from the production stream as the stream flows upward through the auger separator; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,228, issued Jul. 11, 1998. Both the remainder of the production stream and the separated gas are flowed to the surface through separate flowpaths where each is individually handled.
This type of auger separator now form an integral part of several different downhole gas-separation systems which are sometimes called xe2x80x9cSubsurface Processing And Reinjection Compressor systemsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cSPARCxe2x80x9d. For example, in one such system, an auger separator is used to separate at least a portion of the gas from the production stream which, in turn, is then recompressed downhole and injected into a subterranean formation without ever producing the separated gas to the surface; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,697, issued Aug. 18, 1998. Another SPARC system utilizing an auger separator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,614, issued Feb. 20, 2001 when a SPARC separates and compresses a portion of the gas in the production stream basically in the same manner as described above, but instead of re-injecting the compressed gas, both the compressed gas and the remainder of the production stream are produced to the surface through separate flowpaths.
While such downhole auger separators can separate relatively large volumes of gas from a production stream, unfortunately, they may also separate with the gas, a substantial amount of any condensate (i.e. volatile liquids) which may be present in the production stream. As will be understood in this art, it is much more desirable to recover this valuable condensate as part of the liquid stream rather than xe2x80x9closexe2x80x9d it into the separated gas stream. As used herein, xe2x80x9cliquid streamxe2x80x9d is intended to mean the production stream which remains after the separated gas has been removed.
Recently, a downhole SPARC system has been proposed which is adapted to increase the amount of condensate which can be recovered with the liquid stream; see commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/351,483, filed Jul. 13, 1999 and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,619 B1, issued Jul. 17, 2001. In this system, the amount of recovered condensate is increased by flowing both the separated gas stream and the liquid streams through a restrictive passage after they pass through the auger separator and before the gas is flowed into a downhole compressor.
In downhole gas separation systems such as those discussed above, the auger separator, itself, is basically designed to separate as much gas from the production stream as is practical in a given situation without any real concern being given to the amount of condensate which is also separated with the gas. Again, it will be understood that it is much more desirable from an economic standpoint to retain as much of the condensate as possible in the liquid stream as the production stream passes through the downhole auger separator.
The present invention provides a method and system for producing a mixed gas-oil stream to the surface from a production zone through a wellbore wherein at least a portion of said gas is separated from said mixed gas-oil stream downhole while the amount of condensate in the remaining gas-oil stream is increased over what it normally would be. Basically, at least a portion of the gas is separated from the mixed gas-oil stream downhole as the mixed stream flows upward through a converging restrictive passage within a separator which is positioned in the wellbore.
As the stream flows through the restrictive passage in the separator, the velocity of the gas-oil stream is increased which, in turn, reduces the temperature and pressure of the gas-oil stream to thereby increase the amount of condensate which will remain in the liquid or remaining mixed gas-oil stream. The separator is mounted at the lower end of a tubing string wherein the liquid stream is produced to the surface through the tubing. The separated gas stream is then flowed through a diverging passageway in the separator to thereby recover at least a portion of the pressure lost when the gas was separated within the restrictive passageway within said separator and is either produced to the surface through the well annulus or is fed to the compressor of a SPARC unit for injection in a downhole zone.
More specifically, the present invention provides a system for producing a mixed gas-oil stream from a production zone to the surface through a wellbore wherein the system comprises a string of tubing which is positioned within the wellbore wherein an annulus is formed between said tubing and said wellbore. The tubing string carries an auger separator at its lower end which is adapted to separate at least a portion of the gas from the remainder of the gas-oil stream downhole as the gas-oil stream flows upward through the wellbore.
The auger separator has a housing which is mounted in the tubing whereby an annular passage is formed between the housing and the tubing. An auger is mounted in the housing and has an upstream section and a downstream section. The upstream section has a tapered core (e.g. conical-shaped) whose diameter increases upwardly from the bottom towards the top thereof whereby the passageway formed between the core of the upstream section and the wellbore converge upwardly throughout the upstream section. An auger flight is secured to and along the core of the upstream section and extends outward substantially to the wall of the tubing.
The downstream section of said separator is adapted to be secured in the lower end of the tubing string and has a tapered core (e.g. conical-shaped) whose diameter decreases upwardly from the bottom towards the top thereof whereby the passageway formed between the core of the downstream section and the tubing diverge upwardly throughout the upstream section
In operation, the mixed gas-oil stream flows upward through the converging passageway in the upstream section of the downhole separator where the auger causes the mixed stream to rotate with the heavier liquid components moving outward while gas remains near the core of the separator. Flow through the converging or restrictive passageway in the upstream section increases the velocity, hence lowers the temperature and pressure, of the stream. By reducing the temperature and pressure of the stream, more of the desired condensate in the mixed stream remains in the liquid stream which is forced outwardly from the gas stream by the centrifugal forces imparted by the auger separator. The liquid stream is then produced to the surface through the tubing string. Where the downhole system includes a SPARC unit, the liquid stream flows through the turbine section thereof to thereby drive the turbine which, in turn, rotates the compressor of the unit.
The separated gas flows upward through the diverging passageway formed between the tapered core of the downstream section and the tubing string where the gas regains at least a portion of the pressure lost during flow through the converging passageway in the upstream section of the separator. The separated gas is then either produced to the surface through the well annulus or is fed into the compressor of the SPARC unit, if present, where it is compressed for injection into a downhole zone.

Downhole gas-liquid separator for production wells


Information is presented to a computer user by a graphical user interface including a frame border incorporating textual and/or graphical data. Frame borders are provided with text or graphics which present to the user information indicating which direction a frame will go when clicked, or whether the border is capable of being clicked or dragged. Through the use of such descriptive text and/or graphics, such as an arrow or icon, a user is informed that the frame is a frame, that it may be positioned and opened, the direction in which will open or closed, and what will be uncovered.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to computer user interfaces. More particularly, it relates to placing textual and graphical information in the borders of window frames.
2. Background Art
Present implementations of frames include an optional frame border, which may be a border line or a graphic having the appearance of a three dimensional border.
In Lotus Domino, framesets provide a way for designers to display several pages at the same time. A frame contains one page; a frameset is a collection of pages. Page designers can create links between frames. A major advantage of framesets is the ability to leave one page constant as users view or link to other pages.
The hyper text markup language (HTML) defined in HTML 4.0 in World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 at www.w3.org also provides for frameset elements containing one or more frames. HTML provides the following attributes for borders: borderColor for setting or retrieving the border color of an object; frameBorder for setting or retrieving whether to display a border for a frame; border, borderBottom, borderBottomColor, borderBottomStyle, borderBottomWidth, borderColor, borderLeft, borderLeftColor, borderWidth, and so forth for setting various characteristics of borders. The syntax for accessing the border style of a frame object is:sBordervalue document.all.oFrame.style.border;
A frameset in HTML provides properties and style attributes including the following: border, for setting or retrieving the space between frames; borderColor, for setting or retrieving the color of the frame object; and borderBottom, borderLeft, borderRight, and borderTop for setting or retrieving the properties of the border.
In HTML, a frameset element is a container for the frame element. An HTML document can contain either the frameset element or the body element. If a user opens a web folder inside a frame and then clicks something in the web folder, the file or folder that the user clicks takes over the entire window. For file types that the browser cannot host, such as .txt files, a separate window in the application host application is opened.
Heretofore, neither Java, HTML nor Lotus Notes has provided for text or graphics images (icons) in frame borders.
These borders provided by Java, Domino, HTML and so forth, present to the user no information indicating that the frame within the border is clickable or draggable, or that the frame even exists. The user, not knowing such, may not open the frame when it would be desirable or advantageous to do so. Applications rely on the users recognizing that there is a frame border in the display, and that it will respond to dragging, clicking or double clicking. Further, there is no hint as to the data which is contained within the frame that will be displayed or the function that will be performed upon dragging or clicking.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a way to present to the user some indication that the frame within the border is or is not draggable or clickable and the direction in which the frame will go when clicked.
Heretofore the border has not been a hotspot which will respond to some user action, such as being dragged or clicked, and it has been necessary to create a new page in juxtaposition to the frame border in order to provide informational text. The creation of a separate frame to contain the document frame has been required to provide a messages to the user about the content or function of the document frame.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved system and method for providing information to a computer user regarding the identity and function of frames.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and method for placing text and graphic information in frame borders.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and method for informing a computer user by way of text and/or graphics in frame borders as to the identity and function of the frame.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and method for creating within a frame border a visually apparent hot spot upon which a user may click for opening, launching, sizing and positioning a data source or function contained within a frame.

System and method for displaying text and graphics in frame borders

International Business Machines Corporation


An approach for supplying spark to a spark ignited engine having activated and deactivated engine cylinders is disclosed. In one example, the approach increases ignition energy supplied to spark plugs of deactivated cylinders to reduce the possibility of spark plug fouling for the deactivated cylinders while continuing to supply spark to activated cylinders.

Fuel efficiency of an engine may be improved by temporarily deactivating selected cylinders of the engine. The engine cylinders may be deactivated by stopping fuel flow and spark to the engine cylinders. Once a portion of the engine cylinders are deactivated, the engine's active cylinders may provide an equivalent amount of torque as compared to when all cylinders are operating, and the active cylinders may operate at a higher volumetric efficiency. Further, the engine may operate with less pumping losses when a portion of engine cylinders are deactivated. However, residual fuel and oil in a deactivated cylinder may accumulate on the cylinder's spark plug such that the spark plug fouls and may not provide a desirable spark when an attempt is made to reactivate the cylinder. Consequently, engine emissions and torque production may degrade.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a method for providing spark to an engine, comprising: operating a first group of cylinders and deactivating a second group of cylinders, the second group of cylinders deactivated via stopping spark and fuel flow to the second group of cylinders; and providing spark without providing fuel to a cylinder of the second group of cylinders a predetermined duration after the second group of cylinders is deactivated.
The possibility of spark plug fouling for spark plugs of deactivated cylinders may be decreased by periodically reactivating spark in the cylinder without resuming fuel flow to the deactivated cylinder. Further, in some examples, the amount of energy supplied to the spark plug when the cylinder is deactivated may be increased compared to an amount of energy supplied to the spark plug when the engine is operated at the same speed and load with all cylinders activated. The additional energy may help to remove hydrocarbons and/or carbonaceous soot that may form on a spark plug. In this way, it may be possible to reduce the possibility of fouling spark plugs in cylinders that have been deactivated.
The present description may provide several advantages. For example, the approach may reduce the possibility of spark plug fouling in deactivated cylinders. Further, portions of the approach may be applied in response to a request to deactivate cylinders so that the cylinders may be deactivated for a longer period of time before energy is supplied to spark plugs in a cylinder that is not combusting an air-fuel mixture. Thus, the approach may preemptively address potential spark plug fouling for deactivated cylinders.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

System and method for providing spark to an engine