The inner tubular element of an annular over-the-wire dilatation balloon catheter defines the guidewire lumen extending through the catheter shaft and the balloon and is bonded to the balloon at the distal opening of the balloon. In accordance with the invention, the inner tubular element is constructed in two segments. The proximal segment is constructed of a polymer such as polyethylene which has a lubricious surface, while the distal segment is constructed of a polymer such as nylon, polyurethane, or a nylon/polyurethane blend, which lacks lubricity but forms a secure bond with the balloon at the distal opening. The bond by which the proximal and distal segments are joined is thus removed from the distal balloon opening, and accordingly less susceptible to failure upon pressurization of the balloon.

Percutaneous guidewire-directed catheters of many different types are used in a wide variety of medical procedures. These types include angioscopic catheters, angioplasty catheters, and genito-urinary catheters; some are intended for diagnostic purposes, some for dilatation purposes, and some for purposes of delivering a drug, contrast agent or other useful agent to an internal bodily vessel.
These various types of catheters contain numerous features affecting their ease and effectiveness of use. These features are most conveniently understood by examination of a single class of catheters--i.e., dilatation balloon catheters for angioplasty procedures. The following discussion will therefore focus on this one class, with the understanding however that the scope of this disclosure extends well beyond this class to encompass all guidewire-directed catheters.
In recent years, angioplasty has gained widespread acceptance and use as a technique for treating atherosclerotic coronary and peripheral vascular diseases. According to this technique, a dilatation balloon catheter-guidewire system is percutaneously introduced into the patient's vasculature under fluoroscopic control until the balloon component of the system spans the confines of a vascular stenosis. Once in position, the balloon is inflated by hydraulic pressure to dilate the stenosis and thereby relieve the obstruction to blood flow.
A feature of certain catheter-guidewire systems which is of considerable advantage in angioplasty procedures is "exchangeability." This is the ability of the guidewire and the catheter body to be separated while inside the vasculature for purposes of removing one or the other and replacing the removed component with a substitute component which differs in some respect. The need for such an exchange arises when a component originally placed inside the vasculature is discovered subsequent to its placement to be inadequate or inappropriate for a particular stenosis. Systems having the capability of this exchange are termed "exchangeable" systems, and those in which the catheter body can be exchanged without removing the guidewire are termed "over-the-wire" systems. In exchangeable systems, either the catheter body, the guidewire or both can be replaced without the need to reestablish intraluminal access. This saves time and, in so doing, lowers the risk of patient injury due to prolonged interference with the patient's blood flow from the presence of the catheter in the vasculature. Because of this advantage as well as their inherently greater steerability, exchangeable systems command approximately 80% of the angioplasty catheter market.
While non-exchangeable systems can be constructed with single lumens, all exchangeable, and particularly over-the-wire, systems in current use contain at least two lumens, one for the guidewire and the other for the inflation fluid used to inflate the balloon. The guidewire lumen provides the guidewire with full mobility relative to the catheter body and vice versa while preventing loss of inflation fluid from both the balloon and the inflation lumen which supplies the fluid under pressure to the balloon. In some constructions, the inflation lumen is an annular lumen surrounding the guidewire lumen, whereas in others the two are side by side.
The presence of multiple lumens gives over-the-wire systems a larger cross section, however, raising the degree to which the system will impair the flow of blood and other fluids through the vasculature. This raises the risks of ischemia, of compromising the resolution of intraoperative angiography, and of interference with the intraoperative administration of therapeutic agents. For this reason, both lumens as well as the overall profile of the catheter body are designed to have as small a cross section as possible.
The development of new materials for the catheter body has led to considerable reductions in the catheter body cross section. These materials permit thinner walls and smaller caliber channels without loss of strength, function or structural integrity. There is a limit to how much the inner diameter of the guidewire channel can be reduced, however. One reason among several is that the distal segment of the guidewire is covered with a coil to provide this segment with the combination of structural strength and flexibility it needs for steering through the vasculature. While the diameter of the coil may be the same as or small than that of the proximal, full-diameter portion of the guidewire which is not covered by the coil, the coil most often limits the degree to which the diameter of the guidewire and hence the diameter of the guidewire lumen can be reduced.
Friction between the guidewire and the inner wall of the guidewire lumen is also a problem. With long guidewires and narrow lumens, it is particularly difficult in many cases to advance the catheter body over the guidewire.
Small caliber tubing may be constructed of lubricious materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene or polyethylene, which suggests the possibility of using such tubing as the guidewire lumen, while the annular space between the tubing and the catheter body serves as the inflation lumen. This is not a suitable arrangement, however, since it requires that the lubricious tubing be bonded to the balloon at the distal balloon orifice. Lubricious materials do not bond well to other materials, and as a result the bond will not be a strong one. A strong bond is indeed needed at this location, since the pressure in the balloon would otherwise tend to separate the balloon from the tubing. Failure of the bond in this manner would result in escape of the inflation fluid into the vasculature.
For these and other reasons, there exists a need for a catheter body for over-the-wire catheters which contains tubing for the guidewire lumen which is both lubricious and capable of bonding securely to the balloon.

Lubricious yet bondable catheter channel sleeve for over-the-wire catheters


A wheel-speed-sensor-anomaly detection apparatus detects anomaly of wheel speed sensors of a vehicle. When a difference between the minimum wheel speed among detected wheel speeds and the smallest value among the remaining wheel speeds is greater than a predetermined threshold value, in principle, a wheel speed sensor of the wheel corresponding to the minimum wheel speed is determined to be anomalous. Meanwhile, when a wheel having a lowered tire air pressure (air-pressure-lowered wheel) is present and a road surface on which the vehicle is currently traveling is a low-μ road surface, the operation of detecting anomaly of the wheel speed sensors is prohibited. This operation reliably prevents erroneous detection of anomaly of the wheel speed sensor of the air-pressure-lowered wheel, which erroneous detection would otherwise occur due to the locking tendency of the air-pressure-lowered wheel occurring because of decreased tire air pressure, in particular, on a low-μ road surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting anomaly of wheel speed sensors on the basis of at least rotational speeds of wheels (wheel speeds) detected by the wheel speed sensors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an apparatus for detecting anomaly of wheel speed sensors (hereinafter referred to as a "wheel-speed-sensor-anomaly detection apparatus") has been known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2000-344087). In general, such an apparatus utilizes a phenomenon that when a wheel speed sensor becomes anomalous, the wheel speed tends to be detected as a slower speed. That is, such an apparatus is configured such that when the wheel speed of a specific wheel, among the wheel speeds detected by wheel speed sensors disposed for individual wheels, is considerably lower than the wheel speeds of the remaining wheels, the wheel speed sensor of the specific wheel is determined to be anomalous.
Incidentally, when the gas pressure (typically, air pressure) of a tire decreases, the rolling resistance of the tire increases because of, for example, an increased area of the tire tread. As a result, when a vehicle is traveling on, in particular, a road surface having a low frication coefficient, such as an icy road surface, a wheel corresponding to a tire having a reduced gas pressure (hereinafter referred to as "gas-pressure-lowered wheel") tends to lock, with the result that the actual wheel speed of the gas-pressure-lowered wheel may become lower than those of the remaining wheels.
In such a case, the above-described wheel-speed-sensor-anomaly detection apparatus raises a problem in that even when the wheel speed sensor of the gas-pressure-lowered wheel is normal, the apparatus erroneously determines that the wheel speed sensor of the gas-pressure-lowered wheel is anomalous.

Apparatus for detecting anomaly of wheel speed sensors


A mobile device (10) subscribes to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area (18-A), e.g., a first tile or area of a grid for geocasting. The mobile device (10) also subscribes to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area (18-B), e.g., a second tile or area of the grid for geocasting. The mobile device (10) notably does this such that the mobile device (10) is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area (18-A) and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area (18-B).

Conventionally, the sender of a message targets a certain intended recipient to receive that message, e.g., where that intended recipient is identified by an Internet Protocol (IP) address. For geographical area message distribution, by contrast, the sender of a message targets a certain geographical area to receive the message. That is, the sender targets any recipients that are located in a certain geographical area, without necessarily knowing who might be the recipients. GeoCast for instance implements such geographical area message distribution by routing messages based on world coordinates or tiles/areas of a geographical grid, e.g., at an application-level on top of a traditional IP network.
Geographical area message distribution proves particularly useful for disseminating messages for an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) or for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, e.g., where messages may be disseminated to ITS/V2X users using long-range cellular unicast communication. ITS/V2X users report or subscribe to a geographical area in order to receive V2X/ITS messages for that target area. When moving from one geographical area to another, the ITS/V2X users report or subscribe to their new geographical area location to a server.
ITS messages are designed to enable ITS applications improving safety and traffic efficiency of road transport systems. Typical ITS messages include ETSI ITS cooperative aware message (CAM), decentralized environmental notification message (DENM), infrastructure-to-vehicle information message (IVIM), etc. Dissemination of ITS messages is based on the geographical location of ITS stations, i.e. only vehicular or personal ITS users in a specific geographic area, known as the target area, need to receive the message.
Although geographical area message distribution is useful in these or other contexts, distributing messages targeted to geographical areas proves suboptimal in a number of respects. For example, an ITS station will heretofore fail to receive a message targeted to the geographical area in which the ITS station is actually located if it is erroneously determined that the ITS station is located in a different geographical area. Moreover, due to positioning inaccuracy or other reasons, an ITS station moving from an old geographical area to a new geographical area may subscribe to that new geographical area late, resulting in undesirable service interruption.


A method and apparatus for discriminating against false touches in a touchscreen system is provided. The system is designed to confirm a touch registered by one touch sensor with another touch sensor, preferably of a different sensor type, prior to acting upon the touch (i.e., sending touch coordinates to the operating system). If the touch registered by the first touch sensor is not confirmed by the second touch sensor, the touch is invalidated. Thus the strengths of one type of sensor are used to overcome the deficiencies of another type of sensor. This system is particularly well suited to meet the demands of an outdoor or semi-outdoor application. In one embodiment, one or more force sensors are used as the false touch sensor and a projective-capacitive sensor is used as the position coordinate determining sensor. In another embodiment, a projective-capacitive sensor is used as the false touch sensor. As the projective-capacitive sensor is only being used to provide touch confirmation, in this embodiment very few electrodes are required as well as minimal channel electronics. In another embodiment, both touch sensors are capable of providing accurate touch coordinates. In this configuration the system preferably determines which of the sensors is more likely to provide accurate information based on the circumstances.

The present invention relates generally to touchscreens and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for discriminating between a false touch event and a true touch on a touchscreen.
Touchscreens are used in conjunction with a variety of display types, including cathode ray tubes (i.e., CRTs) and liquid crystal display screens (i.e., LCD screens), as a means of inputting information into a data processing system. When placed over a display or integrated into a display, the touchscreen allows a user to select a displayed icon or element by touching the screen in a location corresponding to the desired icon or element. Touchscreens have become common place in a variety of different applications including, for example, point-of-sale systems, information kiosks, automated teller machines (i.e., ATMs), data entry systems, etc.
A variety of touchscreen types have been developed. Unfortunately each type of touchscreen has at least one weakness limiting its usefulness in at least some applications. For example, the cover sheet in a resistive touchscreen is susceptible to damage such as surface scratches or cuts due to malicious vandalism. Even repeated screen compressions may eventually damage a resistive touchscreen. This type of touchscreen is also susceptible to environmental damage, for example moisture entering the display. A second type of touchscreen, thin dielectric layer capacitive touchscreens, have problems with gloved hands. Thick dielectric layer capacitive touchscreens, also referred to as projective capacitive touchscreens, have problems with non-tactile feel and palm rejection. A third type of touchscreen utilizing surface acoustic waves is susceptible to the accumulation of contaminants, e.g., raindrops, on the surface of the sensor. Contamination can also interfere with the operation of infrared touchscreens. Also infrared touchscreens require special effort to avoid signal problems due to direct sunlight. A fifth type of touchscreen using force sensors is susceptible to shock and vibration.
Various systems have been designed that utilize two different touchscreen technologies for a variety of purposes, primarily as a means of accommodating different touch mechanisms, e.g., a finger and a stylus, for data entry.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,381 discloses a multi-purpose data input device utilizing an integrated touchscreen and a digitizing tablet. The touchscreen detects the presence and location of a passive input (e.g., finger touch) through any of a variety of techniques including surface acoustic wave, force, capacitive, or optical touch sensors. The digitizing tablet employs an active stylus mechanism to stimulate a capacitive, inductive, or surface acoustic wave sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,813 discloses a touch panel that measures both touch position and touch force. The touch panel uses a resistive, conductive layer and determines touch position by monitoring the current pattern. The force of the touch is determined by monitoring a capacitance value between the touch panel and a second conductive panel that extends substantially parallel to the touch panel. In response to a touch, the system processes both the detected position and the detected force of the touch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,589 discloses a dual sensor touchscreen in which each sensor determines touch position, but with a different resolution. The two sensors are sandwiched together to form a single sensor, thus allowing a single touch by a finger, stylus, etc. to be detected by both sensors. In use, the wide conductors of the low resolution sensor are first scanned in order to determine touch position to within a rectangular area the size of one wide conductor. To determine the touch location with the higher resolution sensor, only the narrow conductors corresponding to the rectangular area of touch determined with the low resolution sensor must be scanned. Thus the system disclosed is intended to reduce the number of scan drivers and receivers required, thus lowering cost as well as speeding up the scanning process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,755 discloses a touch panel that can be used in either of two modes. In one mode, the touch panel operates like a conventional touchscreen, allowing a user to input information by touching the screen with a finger, pen, or other touching medium. In this mode two resistive layers applied to the panel come into contact at the point of touch. The determination of the contact location is based on resistance ratios. In a second mode, the touch panel functions as a digitizer using a specially designed stylus. Capacitance coupling at the contact point of the stylus to the panel is used in determining the contact point.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,607 discloses a system that senses finger touch capacitively and stylus touch resistively. In either touch mode the disclosed system is able to determine the x- and y-coordinates of the touch on the touchscreen using a single resistive layer. In the preferred embodiment, the finger detection mode is disabled when the system detects the stylus is in use, thus preventing the inadvertent input of data through capacitive coupling with the user""s hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,682 discloses a dual sensor touchscreen in which the variations in coordinate data from a capacitive sensor are compensated for by the use of strain gauges mounted at the comers of the sensor. Variations in the capacitive sensor data may result from changes in signal path, for example, due to the user wearing gloves.
What is needed in the art is a method and apparatus for discriminating against false touches of the sort that may result from external stimuli or for confirming the presence of touch. The present invention provides such a method and apparatus, a method and apparatus that is particularly well suited for outdoor applications.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for discriminating against false touches in a touchscreen system. The system utilizes multiple touchscreen sensors of differing types to validate a touch on a touchscreen. Thus the invention utilizes the strengths of specific sensor types to overcome the deficiencies of other sensor types, particularly with respect to the demands of outdoor and semi-outdoor applications where supervision is limited and rain drops and/or other contaminants may be present.
The basis of the invention lies in the ability to confirm a touch registered by one touch sensor with another touch sensor. If the touch is confirmed, the touch can be acted upon, for example by sending touch coordinates to the operating system. If, on the other hand, the touch is not confirmed, the touch is invalidated. The system can be designed such that there is a primary touch sensor that determines the touch coordinates and a secondary sensor that validates the presence of a touch, by either a discrete signal or by generating a second set of touch coordinates for comparison purposes. Furthermore, the touch coordinates can either be determined before or after the initial touch is confirmed. The combination of force and projective capacitive sensor systems is particularly well suited to meet the needs of demanding outdoor and semi-outdoor touch applications.
In one embodiment of the invention, projective-capacitive sensors are used as the primary sensor and one or more force sensors are used to obtain touch validation. In this embodiment the force sensor is used to determine when an object makes contact with the touch surface. Preferably the system is set-up to require that a certain pressure must be applied to the touchscreen in order to register a touch. Once the pressure on the touchscreen exceeds a predetermined threshold, the projective-capacitive sensor is queried to determine if it also detects a touch. If the projective-capacitive sensor does not detect a touch, the touch is invalidated and the system is placed back into a stand-by mode. If the projective-capacitive sensor does detect a touch, then position coordinates are determined. Additionally, in the preferred embodiment an untouch threshold is set. This threshold can be, for example, equal to a percentage of the projective-capacitive signal amplitude when the touch was first detected by the force sensor.
In another embodiment of the invention, multiple force sensors are used as the primary sensor to accurately determine touch position coordinates while a projective-capacitive sensor is used as the secondary sensor to validate a touch detected by the primary sensor. In this embodiment,since the projective-capacitive sensor is only used for touch confirmation, it can utilize very few electrodes, thereby minimizing both touchscreen fabrication complexity and the number of required electronic channels. In this embodiment after a touch is detected by the force sensors, the projective-capacitive sensor is queried to determine whether the touch was due to a conductive and grounded object. If the touch is validated, touch position coordinates are generated by the primary sensor and the system is returned to stand-by mode. In its simplest configuration, if the touch is invalidated the system is simply returned to stand-by mode without determining touch coordinates or reporting any coordinates to the operating system. In an alternate configuration, if the touch is invalidated, the pressure threshold of the force sensors is adjusted to minimize further false touches.
In another embodiment of the invention, projective-capacitive and force sensors are utilized, both of which are capable of providing accurate touch position coordinates. In this embodiment the system is designed to determine which sensor is most likely to provide accurate position coordinates for a given set of conditions.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.

Dual sensor touchscreen utilizing projective-capacitive and force touch sensors


A lens system has an optical path through a lens that is in contact with a liquid. The focal length of the lens system can be changed through introduction of a bubble in the optical path at the lens-liquid interface. The bubble changes the refractive index difference at the lens surface and thereby changes the focal length of the lens system. In a camera, the lens system can operate in a macro mode corresponding to a shorter focal length or a normal mode corresponding to a longer focal length.

Photographers often want to take close-up photographs of small objects. This is commonly referred to as "macro" photography and generally involves taking photographs of objects that may be less than a few inches from the camera. In contrast, "normal" photography generally involves taking a photograph of relatively large objects such as landscapes or people that are no closer than several feet away from the camera. Designing a camera lens capable of both normal and macro photography can be difficult because of the range of focus and light collection capabilities required for acceptable image quality.
Expensive cameras typically have lens mounts that permit a photographer to change lenses as required for the type of photography being done. Alternatively, an additional lens element could be added to a fixed lens system. A magnifier, for example, can be added in front of the normal lens of a camera for macro photography. A drawback of these types of cameras is the need to have separate lenses or lens elements, which may be inconvenient for a casual photographer and/or undesirable for compact cameras. Another alternative is to provide a camera with a mechanical system that can shift an additional lens element into or out of the optical path of the camera for different types of photography. Such mechanical systems generally have moving parts that can add to the cost and complexity of a camera and may be an additional reliability concern.
A lens system that is capable of both normal and macro photography is thus desired that is suitable for inexpensive and compact cameras.

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


[Problem to be Solved]

Movements which can be easily performed by an able-bodied person are often extremely difficult to perform for a physically disabled person having lost his/her muscular strength or an elderly person having deteriorated muscular strength. Therefore, development of various power assisting apparatuses are being promoted these days for assisting or substituting for movement of such people.
One of such power assisting apparatuses is, for example, a wearable type movement assisting apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as "movement assisting apparatus") that is worn by the user (hereinafter referred to as "wearer").
Such types of movement assisting apparatuses include one that is developed with a configuration including a myoelectric potential sensor (detecting part) for detecting a myoelectric potential signal (biosignal) associated with muscular activity of the wearer and an actuator for applying assisting power to the wearer (for example, non-patent document 1).
This movement assisting apparatus has a characteristic of driving the actuator (e.g. motor) based on detection results from the detecting part and controlling the actuator by a computer for applying assisting force (assisting power) according to the will of the wearer. Accordingly, the movement assisting apparatus can apply assisting force to the wearer based on the will of the wearer and provide an assisting force required for the movement of the wearer in cooperation with the movement of the wearer.
Meanwhile, the above-described movement assisting apparatus generates an assisting force for satisfying a necessary correlation with respect to myoelectric potential signals emitted from the wearer, for example, by supplying control signals having a predetermined correlation with respect to amplified detection signals of a myoelectric potential sensor to a driver circuit that controls the actuator.
That is, since myoelectric signals and movement corresponding to muscular activity of the wearer have a positive correlation and their proportion becomes a certain value, it is necessary to apply an assisting force corresponding to myoelectric signals so as to satisfy such relationships. In other words, unless the assisting force of the movement assisting apparatus satisfies a certain relationship with respect to myoelectric potential signals, the assisting power applied to the wearer may become too much or too little, and may adversely affect the user.
The myoelectric potential signals emitted by the wearer are weak electric signals. Furthermore, the proportional relationship between myoelectric potential signals and muscular strength corresponding to the myoelectric potential signals differs depending on each individual. Moreover, the electric resistance value of skin is not constant even for the same person depending on his/her daily condition. Accordingly, there are many cases where the myoelectric potential signals and the muscular strength generated according to the myoelectric potential signals are not constant. Therefore, the movement assisting apparatus is installed with a so-called calibration apparatus for correcting a controlled variable with respect to an actuator by multiplying the variable by a predetermined coefficient (parameter) to obtain a control signal. More specifically, a calibration apparatus is provided for associating myoelectric potential signals and assisting force with a certain relationship and performing correction by using a coefficient (parameter) in a case where the movement assisting apparatus is worn by the wearer. This calibration apparatus is configured to correct a controlled variable by obtaining myoelectric potential signals generated when a certain amount of load is applied to the wearer and deriving and changing the above-described coefficient (parameter) in accordance with the corresponding relationship between the load and the myoelectric potential signals.
In a case where the calibration apparatus changes the load applied to the wearer step by step and provides muscular strength to the wearer for counterbalancing the load in each step, the calibration apparatus can associate myoelectric signals and assisting power to establish a certain relationship based on the corresponding relationships between the load and the myoelectric potential signals of each step.
As a method of changing the load applied to the wearer step by step, there is a method of preparing poises of various weights and exchanging the poises whenever a surface myoelectric signal is detected, or a method of connecting a coil spring to the leg of the wearer and changing the amount of expansion of the coil spring step by step.
With the movement assisting apparatus including a calibration apparatus using these methods, myoelectric potential signals and assisting power can be reliably associated by a certain relationship according to necessity. Accordingly, the assisting force applied to the wearer can be prevented from becoming too much or too little.    Non-Patent Document 1: Takao Nakai, Suwoong Lee, Hiroaki Kawamoto and Yoshiyuki Sankai, "Development of Power Assistive Leg for Walking Aid using EMG and Linux," Second Asian Symposium on Industrial Automation and Robotics, BITECH, Bangkok, Thailand, May 17-18, 2001

Wearing type behavior help device, wearing type behavior help device calibration device, and calibration program

Abstract: [Problem to be Solved]

Abstract: The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the load applied to the wearer by correcting a parameter in correspondence with detectivity of biosignals.

Abstract: [Means to Solve Problem]

Abstract: The calibration controlling part 162 of the movement assisting apparatus 10 enables the power amplifying part 158 to apply a driving force of the driving source 140 as a load (input torque) from the load generating part 164 to the wearer 12 when the wearer 12 wears the movement assisting wearing device. Then, the wearer 12 applied with the driving force of the driving source 140 generates power from the skeletal muscles by performing a predetermined calibration operation. Accordingly, the physical phenomenon detecting part 142 detects joint angle along with the calibration operation, and the biosignal detecting part 144 detects myoelectric signals. In the parameter correction part 156, a parameter K is corrected based on the difference between the load (input torque) and the driving force (muscular strength) being calculated by the difference deriving part 154 with respect to the phase identified by the phase identifying part 152.


In a document layout processing device according to the invention, when the layout structure of a particular document is generated on the basis of a limitation of a layout structure common to a plurality of documents, a generating unit generates a data structure corresponding to a subordinate structure and holding information about the generation of the subordinate structure in association with a superior element having the subordinate structure, the subordinate structure including at least one element which can be generated as an element immediately subordinate to the superior element among elements constituting the layout structure common to the plurality of documents. The data structure is memorized in a memory. A selecting unit selects a subordinate element on the basis of the content of the particular document and information about the generation of the subordinate structure of the date structure and holds a selection history of the selected subordinate element in the data structure. If a failure occurs in layout, the selecting unit preferentially selects a subordinate element which can be generated in association with a superior element which has caused the failure, on the basis of a selection history of a data structure corresponding to the superior element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document layout processing method for generating a specific layout structure on the basis of a generic layout structure and the content of a particular document to be laid out, and to a device for carrying out such a method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has been proposed to perform layout of a document (document processing) on the basis of the concept of a so-called structured document according to which one document is handled as a combination of a logical structure based on its sections and paragraphs and a layout structure which represents how the content of the document is to be actually arranged.
One example of document layout processing has recently been realized which is based on an office document architecture (hereinafter referred to as the "ODA") (ODA=ISO 8613: Information Process-Text and Office System-Office Document Architecture (ODA) and Interchange Format (1989)) which belongs to the system of OSI (Open System Interconnection) proposed by the ISO (International Standards Organization).
According to the ODA, one document has, in addition to its layout structure, a logical structure which represents a structure obtained by logically grasping sections, paragraphs and the like. The content of a particular document is linked to logical objects positioned at the lowest level of a specific logical structure. FIG. 6 shows the relation between the specific logical structure and the document content linked thereto. In FIG. 6, the upper and lower portions with respect to the chain line indicated by an arrow A correspond to the specific logical structure and the document content, respectively.
The ODA enables automatic layout processing which automatically generates a specific layout structure permitted by a generic layout structure, according to document contents linked to a specific logical structure, and links the specific logical structure to the specific layout structure via the document contents. To automatically generate the specific layout structure according to the document contents linked to the specific logical structure indicates a series of manipulations, for example, a process in which if a certain document content is not completely laid out in a subordinate structure of a certain page object, a new page object is automatically generated and the overflown document content is laid out in the new page object.
FIG. 7 shows an example of a structure in which a document corresponding to the specific logical structure shown in FIG. 6 is laid out. In FIG. 7, the upper portion with respect to the chain line indicated by the arrow A corresponds to the specific logical structure, while the lower portion with respect to the chain line indicated by an arrow B corresponds to the specific layout structure. The example of FIG. 7 shows a case where although the content of Paragraph 2.1 of Section 2 is to be laid out on a first page, the content is too long to be laid out within the first page so that the content of Paragraph 2.1 of Section 2 is divided into halves and the latter half is laid out on a second page.
It is to be noted that, according to the ODA, each layout object class in the generic layout structure has an expression called a structure expression as an attribute "generator for subordinates" (hereinafter referred to as a "GFS") to represent a specific layout structure which can be generated. The structure expression is an expression representative of limitations of a structure immediately subordinate to a layout object belonging to a corresponding layout object class. The structure expression consists of a combination of a term SEQ, AGG, CHO, REP and an object class identifier (hereinafter referred to as a "class ID").
The meaning of each of the terms will be described below.
It is assumed here that "a" and "b" indicate layout objects belonging to classes identified by the class IDs "A" and "B", respectively.
(1) The class ID is a symbol for primarily identifying each class within the generic layout structure.
(2) If a structure expression containing the class ID term is evaluated, one layout object belonging to a layout object class indicated by the class ID is generated as the evaluation result of the class ID term.
(3) If a structure expression containing the term SEQ is evaluated, the evaluation result of terms which follow the term SEQ indicates that the evaluated terms are linked in that order.
For example, the evaluation result of the structure expression (SEQ A B) is (a b).
(4) If a structure expression containing the term AGG is evaluated, the evaluation result of terms which follow the term AGG indicates that the evaluated terms are linked in arbitrary order.
For example, the evaluation result of the structure expression (AGG A B) is (A B) or (b a).
(5) If a structure expression containing the term CHO is evaluated, the evaluation result of terms which follow the term CHO indicates that any one of the evaluated terms is selected.
For example, the evaluation result of the structure expression (CHO A B) is (a) or (b).
(6) If a structure expression containing the term OPT is evaluated, the evaluation result is either an evaluated term which follows the term OPT or nothing.
For example, the evaluation result of the structure expression (OPT A) is (a) or "nothing".
(7) If a structure expression containing the term REP is evaluated, the evaluation result indicates that an evaluated term which follows the term REP is repeated once or an arbitrary number of times more than once.
For example, the evaluation result of the structure expression (REP A) is (a), (a a), (a a a), . . . , or (a a . . . a).
In addition, such a structure expression can be represented as a combination of terms selected from the aforesaid terms, for example, in the form of (SEQ(CHO A B)(OPT C)). The evaluation result of the structure expression (SEQ(CHO A B)(OPT C)) is (a), (a c), (b) or (b c). Each layout object class in the generic layout structure has any of the above-described structure expressions in its GFS.
Regarding the kind of immediately subordinate object which can be linked to a layout object belonging to a certain class, the layout object is limited by the structure expression contained in the GFS of the certain class. In other words, an object corresponding to any of the evaluation results of the structure expression can only be immediately linked to the layout object as a subordinate object. For example, if a layout object class whose class ID is "X" has the structure expression (SEQ(CHO A B)(OPT C)) in its GFS, the object a can be immediately linked to an object x which belongs to the layout object class having the class ID "X", but it is impossible to link both of the objects a and b to the same.
As described above, the generic layout structure is represented by a combination of an operator called a structure generator and a frame class representing the template of an actual frame. FIG. 8 shows one example of the generic layout structure, and FIG. 9 shows a layout image represented by the generic layout structure.
As a related art concerning document processing (hereinafter referred as "layout processing") which utilizes a generic structure and a specific structure to generate a specific layout structure on the basis of a document content and a generic layout structure, there is a method of sequentially generating the specific layout structure by sequentially trying a plurality of choices related to structure generation which are described in the generic layout structure. In such a method, a desired part of a document content is laid out in accordance with one choice selected from among the choices in a predetermined order. Layout processing is achieved, for example, by performing sequential selection from the plurality of choices related to the structure generation of each class on the basis of left-depth-first-search.
FIG. 11(a) shows one example of a specific layout structure corresponding to the generic layout structure shown in FIG. 10. The shown specific layout structure is obtained by performing selection from the choices of the generic layout structure on the basis of left-depth-first-search.
It is assumed here that a, b, c, d, e and f respectively denote layout objects belonging to individual object classes whose class IDs are R, A, B, C, D, E and F. Since the object classes individually serve as choices, they are hereinafter referred to as choices R, A, B, C, D, E and F, respectively.
When the specific layout structure (refer to FIG. 11(a)) is generated, information is stored into a stack which information indicates that a certain layout object class was selected at the time when a particular choice among the plurality of choices was processed. FIG. 11(b) shows the content of the stack obtained when the specific layout structure shown in FIG. 11(a) is generated. In FIG. 11(b), "A", "C","B" and "E" respectively denote information indicating that the choices A, C, B and E have been selected.
If the layout fails, the next choice is selected in a predetermined order (the uppermost information in the stack shown in FIG. 11(b) is restored and another choice is selected), thereby again carrying out layout processing. At this time, to cancel the specific layout structure generated according to the immediately previous choice, generation and deletion of layout objects are performed so as to match the state of the layout to the new choice.
In the above-described conventional layout method, however, when the specific layout structure is generated, the information must be stored into the stack which information indicates that the certain layout object class was selected at the time when the particular choice among the plurality of choices was processed. If the layout fails, it is necessary to perform a retry of a new layout by restoring the uppermost information in the stack and selecting another choice.
The following description is made of a retry of layout which is performed when the layout of the choice C has failed, for example, in the specific layout structure shown in FIG. 11(a).
The state of the stack before the retry is as shown in FIG. 11(b). Therefore, the uppermost information "E" is first obtained, then the stack is restored to the state wherein it was placed before the choice E was laid out, on the basis of the information "E", and then the choice F is selected instead of the choice E, whereby a new specific layout structure can be obtained. FIG. 12(a) shows the specific layout structure obtained by performing such a retry. FIG. 12(b) shows the state of the stack obtained by performing the retry. In FIG. 12(b), "F" represents information indicating that the choice F has been selected. In this case as well, however, the layout fails since an alternative candidate (the choice D) for the choice C has not been selected.
Subsequently, the uppermost information "F" is obtained by further making reference to the content of the stack shown in FIG. 12(b), then the stack is restored to the state wherein it was placed before the choice F was laid out, on the basis of the information "F" (in this case, the stack is restored to the state wherein it was placed when the choice A was laid out, due to limitations of the generic layout structure) and then the choice D is selected instead of the choice C, whereby a new specific layout structure can be obtained. FIG. 12(c) shows the specific layout structure obtained by performing such a retry. FIG. 12(d) shows the state of the stack obtained by performing the retry. In FIG. 12(d), "D" represents information indicating that the choice D has been selected.
As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to the conventional layout method, to cancel a specific layout structure generated according to an immediately previous choice, it is necessary to frequently perform generation and deletion of layout objects so as to match the state of a layout to a new choice. As a result, it is difficult to achieve layout processing with high efficiency.

Specific layout structure generating method and structured document layout processing and device for carrying out the same


An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductive body, a light source, a lens, a light housing, a first fulcrum, a second fulcrum, a stay, and a repositioning mechanism. The lens is positioned to focus light emitted from the light source at a focal position. The light housing holds the light source and the lens. The fulcrums are positioned such that a surface of the photoconductive body is positioned at the focal position when the light housing engages the first fulcrum and the second fulcrum. The stay is positioned to support the light housing at two or more points between the fulcrums. The repositioning mechanism is coupled to the stay. The light housing presses against the fulcrums when the repositioning mechanism is in a first orientation and is spaced from the fulcrums when the repositioning mechanism is in a second orientation.

A line-type light source such as a light emitting diode (LED) array may be used as an exposure light source of an image forming apparatus. The line-type light source is held by a highly rigid holding member together with a lens and a circuit board. The holding member is movably supported by a moving mechanism in order to adjust the focusing position of the lens to the surface of a photoconductive body.
For example, the holding member may be connected to a stay that is long in the longitudinal direction of the holding member and moves forward and backward with respect to the photoconductive body.
Depending on the force acting on the stay in the moving mechanism, the stay may warp and deform, and the gap between the holding member and the photoconductive body may be narrowed.


Provided herein, in some aspects, are delivery vehicles comprising a glycosphingolipid and an agent to be delivered attached to the glycosphingolipid. In some embodiments, the glycosphingolipid comprises an oligosaccharide and a short chain (e.g., C0-C3) ceramide. In some embodiments, the agent to be delivered is a therapeutic agent. The glycosphingolipid is able to deliver the agent to a cell or to a cellular compartment, as well as across the musical barrier. In some embodiments, agents delivered using the glycosphingolipid described herein exhibit longer half-life, compared to agents delivered alone. Methods of delivering a therapeutic agent to a subject for treating a disease using the glycosphingolipid delivery vehicle are also provided.

One of the major challenges for applying protein and peptide biologics to clinical medicine is the lack of rational and efficient methods to circumvent epithelial and endothelial cell barriers separating large molecules from target tissues. In the case of epithelial cells lining mucosal surfaces, the pathway for absorption of large solutes is by transcytosis—a process of transcellular endosome trafficking that connects one surface of the cell with the other (host with environment). The same is true for transport of protein and peptide cargoes across tight endothelial barriers that separate blood from tissue—typified by the blood-brain barrier.

Short chain ceramide-based lipids and uses thereof


A convolutional neural network performs: a first masking process of masking a pixel region not to be inspected, by computing pixel values of corresponding pixels of an inspection image and of a mask image; an intermediate process for extracting a feature image from the inspection image that has been subjected to the first masking process; and a second masking process of masking the pixel region not to be inspected, by computing the pixel values of corresponding pixels of the inspection image that has been subjected to the intermediate process and of the mask image that has been subjected to a process identical to the intermediate process.

In the field of factory automation, automatic control using an image measurement process has been widely put into practical use. For example, a process of inspecting the quality of an inspection object such as a workpiece by capturing an image of the workpiece and extracting a feature image such as a defect from an inspection image obtained by the image capturing has been put into practical use. As an example of such an image measurement process, a method of extracting a feature image using a convolutional neural network is known. In a convolutional neural network, local features are combined by repeatedly performing a convolution process and a pooling process on an image to extract the overall features. Therefore, in a case where a foreign matter is reflected in a portion of an inspection image, the feature of the foreign matter is extracted, and the feature of the foreign matter has an influence on a wide range of the image during repeated performance of a convolution process and a pooling process on the image. Such an influence can cause false detection. As a method for avoiding such false detection, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-146957 proposes a method of extracting a feature image by masking a pixel region not to be inspected out of pixel regions of an inspection image and inputting the masked inspection image to a convolutional neural network.

Image processing device, image processing method, and computer readable recording medium


An apparatus and method for recovering heat and water vapor from a waste gas stream. A waste gas passageway directs waste gas over a plurality of membrane tubes extending across the waste gas passageway. Each of the membrane tubes includes an internal passage separated from the waste gas passageway by a porous membrane. A water supply inlet manifold is connected to each of the plurality of membrane tubes, and configured to introduce water into the internal passages of the membrane tubes. A vacuum source is connected to the water side of the apparatus, and configured to adjust a pressure within the internal passages of the membrane tubes. The water within the internal passages receives heat and water vapor from the waste gas stream across the porous membrane.

This invention relates generally to a device for removing water vapor from gas streams and, more particularly, to a device and method for removing water vapor and heat from waste exhaust gas streams. Many waste gas streams from different processes contain at least a portion of water vapor in them. There is also often a significant amount of heat in these streams. In current water and heat recovery systems it is difficult to recover heat from the gas exhaust streams. When the temperature of a gas exhaust stream is lowered, usually by a heat exchanger, a buildup of water condensation occurs in the stream. The water condensation can cause corrosion on the heat exchanging equipment. The condensation buildup can also contaminate water that creates an additional waste stream requiring disposal.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method to remove water vapor and recover heat from gas exhaust streams without water contamination or damaging parts of the heating system.

Method and system to selectively recover water vapor and latent heat from exhaust gas streams


A chain is provided with a plurality of links, and connecting members for connecting those links such that the links are relatively bendable to each other. A first pin of the connecting member is clamped between pulleys thereby to transmit the power between itself and said pulleys. The chain includes a central area with respect to chain width directions, and side areas located on the sides of the central area. In the central area, links adjoining in the chain width directions are pushed to contact with each other, and rotate relative to each other while exerting frictional forces on each other as the chain is bent. In each of the side areas, the links adjoining in the chain width directions are arrayed through a predetermined clearance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power transmission chain and a power transmission system provided with the chain.
2. Related Art
An endless power transmission chain to be used in a power transmission system such as a pulley type continuously variable transmission (CVT) of an automobile is provided with a plurality of links, and pins connecting those links, so that the paired end faces of the pins individually engage with the taper disks of pulleys thereby to transmit the power between themselves and the pulleys (as referred to JP-A-2005-214323 and JP-A-2005-214345, for example).
In the power transmission chain of JP-A-2005-214323, with the links being superposed in the thickness direction, pins are press-fitted in the pinholes of those links, and the links arranged to adjoin each other are bendably connected to each other. These adjoining links make frictional contact at their side faces with each other. These side faces of the links are covered with such a coating material as can be worn or peeled as the chain is used. As the coating material is worn or peeled, the contacting facial pressure between the side faces is lowered to reduce the bending torque at the bending time.
In the power transmission chain of JP-A-2005-214345, clearances are formed between the links adjoining in the chain width directions so that the links may not come into frictional contact. As a result, the bending torque at the bending time is reduced.
The aforementioned power transmission chain can effectively suppress the chord vibrations, which might otherwise be made in the chain radial direction in the areas in front of and at the back of the pins are bitten into the pulleys. However, the chord vibrations may occur according to the moving conditions. In this case, the pins are impulsively brought into contact with the pulleys to cause noises or the wears of pin end faces undesirably. Especially if the frequency of the chord vibrations coincides with the natural frequency of the power transmission chain, the amplitude becomes undesirably large.
In JP-A-2005-214323 and JP-A-2005-214345, however, the bending torque of the power transmission chain is reduced to have a low resistance to the damping of the chord vibrations so that the chord vibrations are hard to suppress once they occur. It is conceivable to attenuate the chord vibrations of the power transmission chain by the contact frictions caused when the links adjoining in the chain width directions are brought into contact. If the links are merely brought into the frictional contact, however, the loss at the bending time is increased to drop the transmission efficiency drastically.
The present invention has been conceived on the background thus far described, and has an object to provide a power transmission chain excellent in a vibration suppressing effect and satisfactory in transmission efficiency, and a power transmission system provided with that power transmission chain.

Power transmission chain, and power transmission system having the same


A method for adaptive coincidence data processing is provided. The method includes detecting positron annihilation events with a detector array of a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, wherein the PET scanner includes multiple detector rings disposed along a longitudinal axis of the PET scanner, and each detector ring includes multiple detectors. The method also includes, within a given time period, dynamically adjusting a number of positron annihilation events accepted and transmitted to acquisition circuitry for processing utilizing a numerical difference in detector rings along the longitudinal axis between a first detector and a second detector detecting respective annihilation photons from a positron annihilation event.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to imaging systems, and more particularly to positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems.
A PET system generates images that represent the distribution of positron-emitting nuclides within the body of a patient. When a positron interacts with an electron by annihilation, the entire mass of the positron-electron pair is converted into two 511 keV photons. The photons are emitted in opposite directions along a line of response. The annihilation photons are detected by detectors that are placed along the line of response on a detector ring. When these photons arrive and are detected at the detector elements at the same time, this is referred to as coincidence. An image is then generated, based on the acquired image data that includes the annihilation photon detection information.
A desired for greater sensitivity in PET (in particular, three-dimensional (3-D)) has led to an increase in the axial field of view (FOV) of PET scanners along the longitudinal axis of the scanners. This higher sensitivity leads to much higher rates of coincidence counts at a given activity level. However, data acquisition is limited by the available bandwidth of the implemented hardware and the high count rates increase the demands placed on the data acquisition electronics. Throttling (i.e., randomly dropping events when the number of events exceeds a transmittal rate for events) may occur to manage these demands. However, this may give more weight to less desirable random events.

System and method for adaptive coincidence processing for high count rates


The invention is a method and apparatus for transmitting the light from one or more transmitting arrays of optical devices to one or more receiving arrays of optical devices where each optical device in a transmitting array transmits an initially diverging light beam to a single optical device in a receiving array. Each optical device in a receiving array receives a converging light beam from a single optical device in a transmitting array. The method consists of imaging the optical devices in one or more transmitting arrays on the optical devices in one or more receiving arrays. The light rays from each optical device in a transmitting array are superimposed on the light rays from the other optical devices in the transmitting array while traversing a common volume.

(Not applicable)
(Not applicable)
This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for directing the light produced by a plurality of light sources to a plurality of light sinks and more specifically to methods and apparatus for connecting arrays of light sources to arrays of light sinks.
The tremendous information-carrying capacity of light beams is stimulating the development of the hardware building blocks for communication systems of a variety of types. A variety of devices are presently available for the generation and detection of light for communication purposes. Moreover, these devices tend to be small, and the available manufacturing technology permits these devices to be fabricated precisely and economically into large-scale arrays.
What is not so readily available are the means for economically interconnecting arrays of these devices. The interconnection means of choice at the present time, particularly for long distances, is the fiber-optic cable consisting of a plurality of optical fibers held together by a flexible matrix. After decades of development, the connection of fiber-optic cables to optical devices remains a costly labor-intensive exercise.
It is becoming increasingly desirable to connect optical devices to other optical devices on the same printed-circuit board. For this purpose, guiding light beams from one array of optical devices to another array using waveguides have been explored during the past decade. The idea is to provide a waveguide between each pair of devices to be connected. Short-length fiber-optic cables are one possible way in which arrays of optical devices can be connected together.
Rather than using ready-made short-length fiber-optic cables to connect optical devices on a printed-circuit board, one might use custom-fabricated arrays of optical waveguides on suitable substrates. The manufacturing process for optical waveguide arrays is similar, at least in some respects, to the manufacturing process for integrated circuits. However, even though the integrated-circuit manufacturing process is complex, it is also cost-effective when amortized over millions of integrated circuits. Optical connectors based on arrays of optical waveguides are unlikely to have the market potential of commodity-type integrated circuits and will, for this reason, be significantly less cost-effective than the typical integrated circuit.
There is a continuing need for optical connectors that are as cost-effective as printed-circuit boards are for connecting arrays of electronic devices.
The invention is a method and apparatus for transmitting the light from one or more transmitting arrays of optical devices to one or more receiving arrays of optical devices where each optical device in a transmitting array transmits an initially diverging light beam to a single optical device in a receiving array. Each optical device in a receiving array receives a converging light beam from a single optical device in a transmitting array. The method consists of imaging the optical devices in one or more transmitting arrays on the optical devices in one or more receiving arrays. The light rays from each optical device in a transmitting array are superimposed on the light rays from the other optical devices in the transmitting array while traversing a common volume.

Optical connector for connecting a plurality of light sources to a plurality of light sinks


A method for a cache for providing streaming media data to a client system includes receiving a request from a client system for a media meta file, the media meta file comprising a unicast URL for a stream of media data, retrieving the media meta file, initiating a connection with a media server associated with the unicast URL, selecting a multicast channel for broadcast of the stream of media data, modifying the media meta file to include data associated with the multicast channel to form a modified media meta file, sending the modified media meta file to the client system, receiving the stream of media data from the media server, and providing the stream of media data on the multicast channel. The client system receives the stream of media data on the multicast channel.

The present invention relates to streaming media. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for broadcasting of streaming media with reduced server-cache bandwidth consumption and increased performance.
A variety of approaches have previously been used to deliver live streaming media data to multiple client systems at the same time. One technique for broadcasting streaming media to multiple clients is known as a Unicast broadcast model. This technique can be used without requiring special hardware and software.
Drawbacks to the unicast model include that this technique can consume costly server bandwidth, because for each client that requests a stream, the server has to deliver a copy of the data stream. As example, if the server provides a stream of data to each of K client systems and if each stream requires the server to use bandwidth B, the server would consume at least B*K bandwidth.
Another technique for broadcasting live streaming media data to multiple client systems is a "Multicast" model. This techniques requires the use of intermediary routers/switches that support multicast. In this case, when more than one client requests the same stream of data, the intermediary router receives a stream from the server, replicates the streaming media data for each client system, and outputs the stream to each client on a multicast channel. In contrast to the above model, the server consumes bandwidth B for broadcasting the stream to the intermediary router.
Drawbacks to the multicast broadcast model includes that the server must know whether or not intermediary routers and switches support multicasting. For example, the server must be aware of the network configuration between the server and the client system. Such knowledge of network configuration for different client systems across the web is virtually impossible.
In light of the above, what is required are improved methods and apparatus for broadcasting streaming media to client systems with reduced bandwidth requirements. Further, what is required are methods and apparatus for providing such solutions in economical ways.

Methods and apparatus for streaming media multicast


A documentation application periodically checks content of a documentation repository to determine whether the documentation repository includes documentation content for update. A documentation archive for update is retrieved from the documentation repository and parsed to read meta information specified in the documentation archive. Based on the meta information, content of the documentation archive for update is integrated into the documentation application at runtime of the documentation application.

Cloud computing refers to a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, and on-demand access to shared pools of configurable computing resources such as networks, servers, storages, applications, functionalities, and the like. There are a number of benefits associated with cloud computing for both providers of the computing resources and their customers. For example, customers may develop and deploy various business applications on a cloud platform, supplied by a cloud provider, without the cost and complexity to procure and manage the hardware and software necessary to execute the applications. The customers do not need to manage or control the underlying cloud platform, e.g., including network, servers, operating systems, storage, etc. However, customers still have control over the deployed applications and their related software documentation. On the other hand, computing resources of the cloud platform are available to provide multiple customers with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to clients' load.
Various customers may deliver ad hoc software documentation for their respective applications, deployed or to be deployed on a cloud platform. A provider of the cloud platform may provision the software documentation at a central location, for example, a web application for documentation. However, each customer may follow different delivery cycle of the applications as well as of the respective software documentation for those applications. Thus, each customer may request ad hoc from the software provider to include or update the software documentation in the documentation application. Further, requests related to the software documentation may be potentially independent from the delivery cycle of the respective applications or out of sync. To include or update software documentation, the provider modifies the content of the documentation application, rebuilds and redeploys the documentation application, causing its downtime. With the increase of customers and desired updates of the software documentation, such approach may be hard to scale, could cause delivery of software documentation that is out of sync with the respective applications, and may often cause downtime of the documentation application.

Dynamic delivery and integration of static content into cloud


There is disclosed a press on dispensing cap for containers which can be opened and closed by a limited angular rotation. The cap is press fitted onto the neck of a container such as a tube, and the neck of the container has a plurality of discontinuous spiral tracks which receive lugs carried on an inner skirt of the cap to permanently retain the cap, and to permit extension and retraction of the cap upon twisting. Preferably the lugs have a plurality of closely spaced ribs on their inside surface which ride against the neck wall, thereby reducing the frictional resistance of the cap to rotation. The cap has a dispensing orifice which seals about a central boss on the end of the neck, and two additional seals which engage against sealing surfaces of the tube neck. One seal is a circular rim on the underside of the cap which seals against a circular rim on the end of the neck, opposed to that on the cap. Another seal is an annular lip on the inside wall of the skirt of the cap which slides against the neck of the tube.

1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to a dispensing cap which is particularly well suited for use on tubes of cream, gel or lotion.
2. Brief Statement Of The Prior Art
Plastic dispensing caps for containers such as plastic and glass bottles and plastic tubes are well established products with many years of development and commercial use. An early dispensing cap is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,614,077 which discloses the use of a lug on the inside wall of the skirt of the cap which is captured in a partial helical groove in a container neck. U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,851 shows a screw cap with a pair of locking beads 21 and 31 which prevent removal of the cap, with the upper edge of the neck of the container being contoured to seal against the conical undersurface of the cap, and a bead to seal against the container neck. U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,843 shows a screw cap which is removable and has only a single seal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,065 shows an adjustable metering closure cap which provides at least two different dispensing or metering rates by dispensing slots of varied length, or stepped shoulders, or V-shaped slots. U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,994 discloses a two-piece closure for bottles which has a skirt 10 having integral protuberances which engage screw threads of the base piece. The top piece has a center skirt which seals against the inner surface of an upstanding tubular extension of the base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,548 discloses a dispensing disclosure having an interior sealing sleeve, an outer threaded sleeve engaging a threaded tube, and stop locks limiting the twisting of the closure cap. U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,941 discloses a twist lock adjustable metering closure cap having a ring seal which bears against the interior surface of the top wall portion of the cap body 12. U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,002 discloses a dispensing screw cap having double seals which are provided by beads on the cap. One problem which has not been satisfactorily solved is a press on dispensing cap which has adequate seals to prevent leakage of contents of the container.

Permanent snap-on, twist-open cap and container


DNA encoding modified, secretable erythropoietin proteins whose ability to regulate the growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitors are different from the wildtype recombinant erythropoietin and to methods of modifying or altering the regulating activity of a secretable erythropoietin and using modified secretable erythropoietin proteins.

The glycoprotein hormone erythropoietin regulates the growth and differentiation of red blood cell (erythrocyte) progenitors. The hormone is produced in the fetal liver and adult kidney. Erythropoietin induces proliferation and differentiation of red blood cell progenitors through interaction with receptors on the surface of erythroid precursor cells.
Several approaches have been employed to identify those features of the protein that are relevant to its structure and function. Examination of the homologies among the amino acid sequences of erythropoietin proteins of various species has demonstrated several highly conserved regions (McDonald, J. D., et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 6:842-848 (1986)).
Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis has been used to prepare structural mutants of erythropoietin, lacking specific sites for glycosylation. Studies indicate that N-linked carbohydrates are important for proper biosynthesis and/or secretion of erythropoietin. These studies also show that glycosylation is important for in vivo, but not in vitro, biological activity (Dube, S., et al., J. Biol. Chem., 263:17516-17521 (1988); Yamaguchi, K., et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266:20434-20439 (1991); Higuchi, M., et al., J. Biol. Chem., 267:7703-7709 (1992)).
Studies with monoclonal anti-peptide antibodies have shown that the amino terminus and the carboxy-terminal region (amino acids 152-166) of erythropoietin may be involved with biological activity. It has also been demonstrated that antibodies to amino acids 99-119 and 111-129 block the hormone""s biological activity, apparently by binding to two distinct non-overlapping domains (99-110 and 120-129) (Sytkowski, A. J. and Donahue, K. A., J. Biol. Chem., 262:1161-1165 (1987)). Thus, it was hypothesized that amino acids 99-129 were important in the formation of a functional region involved in receptor recognition, either through forming a necessary component of the protein""s tertiary structure or through direct participation in receptor binding, or both. Preliminary experiments suggested that alterations in localized secondary structure within the 99-129 region resulted in inactivation of erythropoietin. Therefore, a possible structural role for amino acids 99-129 has been postulated. Recently, a series of experiments indicated that amino acids 99-110 (Domain 1) play a critical role in establishing the biologically active conformation of human erythropoietin (Chern, Y., et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 202:225-229 (1991)).
These Domain 1 mutants, in which a group of three amino acids was deleted and replaced by two different amino acids, were found to be biologically inactive. Furthermore, these mutations in Domain 1 inhibited the secretion of the mutant erythropoietin into cell culture medium (Chern, Y., et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 202:225-229 (1991)). Inhibition of secretion in mammalian cells is consistent with a profound structural change of the polypeptide hormone. Profound structural changes could significantly affect the ability of the hormone to interact with its cognate receptor. Thus, these mutant erythropoietin polypeptides are not suitable for elucidating the structure/function relationship that exists between erythropoietin and its cellular receptor. Nor are these mutants suitable erythropoietin antagonists for use, for example, in therapeutic treatment of polycythemias, or over production of erythropoietin. Thus, it would be beneficial to precisely determine which amino acids are critical to the erythropoietin polypeptide to maintain a stable, biologically active conformation which retains its secretable properties and its ability to bind to the erythropoietin receptor.
Moreover, the precise determination of critical amino acid residues would be useful to alter the biological activity of erythropoietin, either decreasing or increasing one or more biological properties of the protein.
The present invention relates to isolated DNA encoding mutated erythropoietin proteins which have altered biological activity, yet retain their secretable properties (i.e., secretable erythropoictin proteins). That is, the present invention relates to isolated DNA encoding secretable erythropoietin proteins which have at least one amino acid residue in Domain 1 which differs from the amino acid residue present in the corresponding position of wildtype erythropoietin and which have altered ability to regulate the growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitors. Domain 1 of the mutants described herein refers to the amino acids which correspond to amino acids 99-110 (SEQ ID NO: 1) of the wildtype recombinant erythropoietin. Altered ability is defined as ability different from that of the wildtype recombinant erythropoietin ability to regulate the growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitors. As used herein, altered ability to regulate the growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitor cells refers to biological activity different from wildtype recombinant erythropoietin activity (i.e., altered biological activity relative to wildtype recombinant erythropoietin activity). The mutated erythropoietin proteins of the present invention can be secreted in homologous and heterologous expression systems. For example, the mutated erythropoietin proteins of the present invention can be secreted in mammalian, bacterial or yeast expression systems.
The present invention also relates to the modified secretable mutant erythropoietin proteins encoded by the isolated DNA described above. These modified secretable erythropoietin proteins have altered biological activities. For example, the modified secretable mutant erythropoietin may have decreased ability relative to wildtype erythropoictin protein to regulate growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitor cells. As used herein, decreased ability to regulate growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitor cells is also referred to as decreased biological activity relative to wildtype erythropoietin activity. Wildtype erythropoietin activity is also referred to herein as biological activity of wildtype erythropoietin. Alternately, a modified secretable mutant erythropoietin protein described herein may exhibit increased heat stability relative to wildtype erythropoietin protein.
The modified erythropoietin proteins described herein comprise an amino acid sequence with at least one amino acid residue different from the amino acid residue present at the corresponding position in Domain 1 in the wildtype erythropoietin. These erythropoietin proteins are referred to as modified secretable human recombinant erythropoietin proteins having altered ability (i.e., decreasing or enhancing ability) relative to wildtype erythropoietin protein to regulate the growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitors.
The term modified, as used herein, includes substitution of a different amino acid residue, or residues, as well as deletion or addition of an amino acid residue, or residues.
Until the present invention, mutations within the erythropoietin sequence which result in the alteration of biological activity have also frequently resulted in a concurrent loss of secretability of the protein from transfected cells. This loss of secretability is consistent with a loss of structural integrity (Boissel, J-P. and Bunn, H. F., xe2x80x9cThe Biology of Hematopoiesisxe2x80x9d, pp. 227-232, John Wiley and Sons, New York (1989)). Now, the sites critical to the maintenance of a stable, biologically active conformation have been identified by means of oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis and have been found to occur in Domain 1 (amino acids 99-110) (SEQ ID NO: 1) of human recombinant erythropoietin. Modifications of the wildtype erythropoietin have been made and the encoded erythropoietin proteins have been expressed. The resulting mutant erythropoietin proteins described herein have altered erythropoietin regulating activity, as demonstrated in the art-recognized bioassay of Krystal, G., Exp. Hematol., 11:649-660 (1983). Activity of the resulting erythropoietin proteins has also been evaluated by commercially available radioimmunoassay protocols.
In particular, the arginine 103 site is essential for erythropoietin activity. As shown herein, replacement of the arginine 103 by another amino acid results in a modified erythropoietin with significantly decreased biological activity relative to wildtype erythropoietin activity. Modifications at this site, as well as other sites within Domain 1, can similarly be made to enhance regulating activity, as well as to decrease, or reduce regulating ability.
The modified secretable erythropoietin proteins described herein provide useful reagents to further elucidate the structure/function relationship of erythropoietin and its cellular receptor.
Such modified secretable erythropoietin proteins with altered regulating ability can also be used for therapeutic purposes. For example, modified erythropoietin proteins with enhanced biological activity would be a more potent therapeutic, therefore requiring a lower effective dose or less frequent administration to an individual. Erythropoietin proteins with decreased biological activity that still retain their structural integrity and bind to their cognate receptor would be useful to decrease growth and differentiation of red blood cell precursors in certain leukemias and polycythemias. Furthermore, an erythropoietin protein that selectively triggers only certain events within the red blood cell precursor cell would be useful in treating various hematological conditions.
Further, it is expected that modified secretable mutant erythropoietin proteins with increased heat stability relative to wildtype erythropoietin proteins would have a longer plasma half-life relative to wildtype erythropoietin proteins. Thus, such modified erythropoietin proteins with increased heat stability can be useful therapeutically. For example, modified secretable mutant erythropoietin proteins with increased heat stability would be especially important in patients with a fever and/or experiencing an increased metabolic state.
The present invention also relates to methods of modifying or altering the regulating activity of a secretable erythropoietin protein.
This invention further relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising an effective amount of modified secretable human recombinant erythropoietin in a physiologically acceptable carrier.
The present invention also relates to a method of evaluating a substance for ability to regulate growth and differentiation of red blood cell progenitor cells.

Recombinant human erythropoietin with altered biological activity


An adaptor cartridge for holding a 90 mm optical disk cartridge for insertion into a 130 mm disk drive apparatus. The cartridge adaptor emulates the external dimensions and features of a 130 mm cartridge so that it can be loaded into and manipulated by the 130 mm drive in the same manner as a normal 130 mm cartridge. The cartridge adaptor contains a shutter arm for opening the 90 mm cartridge door upon insertion of the cartridge into the adaptor cartridge in much the same manner as a 90 mm cartridge door is opened when the cartridge is inserted into a 90 mm drive. The cartridge adaptor also contains a pseudo 90 mm spindle located in an adaptor hub. The pseudo spindle fits within the centering hole of the 90 mm media disk. The adaptor cartridge carries an annular magnet for attracting and holding the 90 mm media disk on the adaptor hub. The underside of the adaptor hub is a simulated 130 mm cartridge hub for mating with the 130 mm drive spindle. The adaptor cartridge may also include a rotating permanent magnet directly above the 90 mm cartridge shutter opening for providing a bias magnetic field to enable writing a magneto-optic disk. Proper orientation of the rotating magnet is provided by the 130 mm drive bias coil.

Optical disk devices are used for the storage of computer-prepared data and have recognized value in their ability to store large quantities of data. The media for use in such devices is reactive to the intensity modulation of light, such as may be produced by the rapid switching of a semi-conductor laser. In order to write data on optical media, the laser power must be controlled at a relatively high power level, in order that the media can be altered in accordance with the input data stream. In reading the data back, the laser power level is controlled to a lower level so that the media is not altered by the laser beam but the reflected light indicates the presence or absence of media alterations, that is, digits of data caused by the input data stream.
Optical media is of two general types, media which can be written only once and media which can be written, erased, and written again. Write-once media (WORM) is permanently altered when write power levels are produced by the laser beam. Erasable media, such as magneto-optic (MO) media, is not permanently altered when data is written. In the MO media, the magnetic orientation of the reactive material is altered in the writing process, and in the erasing process, the magnetic orientation is reordered.
When reading MO data from an optical disk, the reflected light beam is passed through optical elements such as a quarter wave-plate and a polarizing beam splitter to separate the reflected beam into P and S polarization components. The balance in the amplitude of the P and S beam components is affected by the magnetic orientation of the MO media, which rotates the linear polarization of the reflected light beam in accordance with the well-known Kerr effect. By sensing the light amplitudes of the P and S beam components, the magnetic orientation of the media is sensed thereby enabling the generation of an MO data signal in accordance with the magnetic orientation present in the media. For example, the light amplitude of the two beams may produce a first value for a first magnetic domain orientation representing a "zero" bit, and a second value for a reverse magnetic domain orientation representing a "one" bit. There are other types of encoding schemes; some use transitions from one state to another as a "bit."
Before MO media can be written, it should be erased, that is, all magnetic domains should have the same orientation. That is accomplished within playback/recording apparatus by placing a bias coil in close juxtaposition with the media. Thereafter, the entire optical disk is heated by the laser to a level sufficient to enable a bias field generated by the bias coil to orient the magnetic domains within the optical media in the same direction. That direction is then considered to represent a "zero" bit.
In order to write "one" bits on the optical media, the bias coil is again placed into close juxtaposition with the media. At each spot on the optical disk at which it is desired to write a "one" bit, the laser is energized to heat that spot to an elevated level sufficient to enable a bias field generated by the bias coil to reverse the magnetic orientation of that spot on the media. The reverse orientation is a result of applying current to the bias coil in a reverse direction from that used in erasing the disk such that the magnetic field produced by the bias coil is reversed. In that manner, the orientation of the magnetic domains at the spot heated by the laser is reversed.
For write-once media, data is read back by reflecting a light beam from the surface of the disk. The reflected light beam is intensity-modulated by the permanent condition of the disk and by detecting the intensity of the reflected light beam, a signal is generated in accordance with the WORM data.
There are various types of WORM media. One type requires the burning away of a reflective surface by a laser beam at those spots at which "one" digits are to be written. As a consequence, when reading such media, light is reflected with significant intensity from those areas which have not been altered by the laser and with much less intensity from those spots at which the reflective surface is removed. When the intensity of the reflected light is detected at a low level, the detecting apparatus interprets a "one" bit. When the intensity is high, the detecting apparatus interprets a "zero" bit.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed cartridges with standard dimensions for holding recording media. In that manner the manufacturers of cartridges and the manufacturers of recording/playback apparatus (drives) have the capability of developing their respective products for use with a variety of other manufacturers products. The standard cartridge includes datum features, for example, locating holes, that are designed to mate with datum features in a drive, for example locating pins, to accurately position the cartridge within the drive. Holding features in the cartridge such as notches and recesses, are dimensioned relative to the datum features. After insertion of a cartridge into a drive, the notches are typically used to hold the cartridge while it is loaded onto the locating pins and simultaneously loaded onto the drive spindle.
Standards have been developed for 130 mm (5.25 inch) optical disk drives and cartridges, and other standards have been developed for 90 mm (3.5 inch) optical disk drives and cartridges. These standards, unfortunately, have not been developed to allow upward compatibility so that the smaller diameter cartridge can be easily used within a drive designed for a larger diameter cartridge.
The 90 mm cartridge is much smaller than the 130 mm cartridge. This difference prevents a loader mechanism designed for a 130 mm cartridge from accepting a 90 mm cartridge unless the mechanism is extensively modified, resulting in a much more complex and costly design. The aperture in the 90 mm cartridge, which provides access to the disk hub by the spindle motor, is smaller than the disk hub and spindle motor hub defined by 130 mm standards. As a result, a spindle hub designed to drive a 130 mm disk cannot fit into the aperture of the 90 mm cartridge to make contact with the disk hub.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an adaptor cartridge to resolve the compatibility problem without any impact on the loader mechanism or spindle motor of the 130 mm optical disk drive. Accomplishment of that task enables the insertion of a 90 mm disk into a position in which data on the disk can be read by the 130 mm drive apparatus. Also, in the case of WORM media, the 90 mm WORM disk could be written by the 130 mm apparatus.
Even though the ability of placing a 90 mm optical disk and cartridge into a 130 mm form factor optical drive is a desirable feature, it is still not possible to write data on an MO disk unless a bias field can be applied to the disk. Since the large bias coil in a drive designed for 130 mm optical disk and cartridge cannot fit into the smaller opening of a 90 mm cartridge, provision must be made for providing the necessary bias field in some other manner.
It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a magnet in the adaptor cartridge so that the ability to write MO media is included in the adaptor cartridge.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for fabricating metal gate and polysilicon gate FET devices on the same chip is disclosed. The method avoids the use of two separate masks during gate stack fabrication of the differing gates. By using a single mask, tighter NFET to PFET distances can be achieved, and the fabrication process is simplified. After blanket disposing layers for the fabrication of the metal gate stack, a covering protective material layer is formed, again in blanket fashion. A block level mask is used to clear the surface for the gate insulator formation in the poly gate device regions. During oxidation, which forms the gate dielectric for the poly gate devices, the protective material prevents damage of the metal gate device regions. Following oxidation, a single common polysilicon cover is disposed in blanket manner for continuing the fabrication of the gate stacks. The protective material is selected in such a way to be either easily removable upon oxidation, or to be conductive upon oxidation. In this latter case the oxidized protective material is incorporated into the metal gate stack, which incorporation results in a novel CMOS structure.

Today's integrated circuits include a vast number of devices. Smaller devices and shrinking ground rules are the key to enhance performance and to reduce cost. As FET (Field-Effect-Transistor) devices are being scaled down, the technology becomes more complex, and changes in device structures and new fabrication methods are needed to maintain the expected performance enhancements alongside shrinking dimensions. The mainstay material of microelectronics is silicon (Si), or more broadly, Si based materials, or alloys. Such a Si alloy may be, for instance, silicon-germanium (SiGe). The devices in the embodiments of the present disclosure are typically part of the art of Si based material device technology.
There is great difficulty in maintaining performance improvements in FET devices of deeply submicron generations. Therefore, methods for improving performance without scaling down have become of interest. Such methods include the use of metal gates and the use of so called high-k dielectric gate insulators. Since there are many possible applications for electronic circuits, the need may arise for combining, or mixing, metal gate FET devices with the more traditional polysilicon gate devices. Such combinations have their own difficulties due to the differing processing requirements of the two differing type of gates. Better methods are needed for the fabrication of CMOS circuits containing both metal gate and polysilicon gate devices. Such methods may have significant commercial value, as well as, may enable better, tighter structures.

Methods of forming mixed gate CMOS with single poly deposition

International Business Machines Corporation