The present invention relates to novel compounds having a positive allosteric GÀBAB receptor (GDR) modulator effect, methods for the preparation of said compounds and to their use, optionally in combination with a GABAB agonist, for the inhibition of transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations, for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, as well as for the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A compound of the general formula I.

The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is prone to relaxing intermittently. As a consequence, fluid from the stomach can pass into the esophagus since the mechanical barrier is temporarily lost at such times, an event hereinafter referred to as "reflux".
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most prevalent upper gastrointestinal tract disease. Current pharmacotherapy aims at reducing gastric acid secretion, or at neutralizing acid in the esophagus. The major mechanism behind reflux has been considered to depend on a hypotonic lower esophageal sphincter. However, recent research (e.g. Holloway & Dent (1990) Gastroenterol. Clin. N. Amer. 19, pp. 517-535) has shown that most reflux episodes occur during transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations (TLESR), i.e. relaxations not triggered by swallows. It has also been shown that gastric acid secretion usually is normal in patients with GERD.
Consequently, there is a need for a therapy that reduces the incidence of TLESR and thereby prevents reflux.
GABAB-receptor agonists have been shown to inhibit TLESR, which is disclosed in WO 98/11885 A1.
Functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as functional dyspepsia, can be defined in accordance with Thompson W G, Longstreth G F, Drossman D A, Heaton K W, Irvine E J, Mueller-Lissner S A. C. Functional Bowel Disorders and Functional Abdominal Pain. In: Drossman D A, Talley N J, Thompson W G, Whitehead W E, Coraziarri E, eds. Rome II: Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Diagnosis, Pathophysiology and Treatment. 2 ed. McLean, V A: Degnon Associates, Inc.; 2000:351-432 and Drossman D A, Corazziari E, Talley N J, Thompson W G and Whitehead W E. Rome II: A multinational consensus document on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. Gut 45(Suppl.2), II1-II81. Sep. 1, 1999.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be defined in accordance with Thompson W G, Longstreth G F, Drossman D A, Heaton K W, Irvine E J, Mueller-Lissner S A. C. Functional Bowel Disorders and Functional Abdominal Pain. In: Drossman D A, Talley N J, Thompson W G, Whitehead W E, Coraziarri E, eds. Rome II: Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Diagnosis, Pathophysiology and Treatment. 2 ed. McLean, V A: Degnon Associates, Inc.; 2000:351-432 and Drossman D A, Corazziari E, Talley N J, Thompson W G and Whitehead W E. Rome II: A multinational consensus document on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. Gut 45(Suppl.2), II1-II81. Sep. 1, 1999.
GABAB Receptor Agonists
GABA (4-aminobutanoic acid) is an endogenous neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Receptors for GABA have traditionally been divided into GABAA and GABAB receptor subtypes. GABAB receptors belong to the superfamily of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).
The most studied GABAB receptor agonist baclofen (4-amino-3-(p-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid; disclosed in CH 449046) is useful as an antispastic agent. EP 356128 A2 describes the use of the GABAB receptor agonist (3-aminopropyl)methylphosphinic acid for use in therapy, in particular in the treatment of central nervous system disorders.
EP 463969 A1 and FR 2722192 A1 disclose 4-aminobutanoic acid derivatives having different heterocyclic substituents at the 3-carbon of the butyl chain. EP 181833 A1 discloses substituted 3-aminopropylphosphinic acids having high affinities towards GABAB receptor sites. EP 399949 A1 discloses derivatives of (3-aminopropyl)methylphosphinic acid, which are described as potent GABAB receptor agonists. Still other (3-aminopropyl)methylphosphinic acids and (3-aminopropyl)phosphinic acids have been disclosed in WO 01/41743 A1 and WO 01/42252 A1, respectively. Structure-activity relationships of several phosphinic acid analogues with respect to their affinities to the GABAB receptor are discussed in J. Med. Chem. (1995), 38, 3297-3312. Sulphinic acid analogues and their GABAB receptor activities are described in Bioorg. & Med. Chem. Lett. (1998), 8, 3059-3064. For a more general review on GABAB ligands, see Curr. Med. Chem.—Central Nervous System Agents (2001), 1, 27-42.
Positive Allosteric Modulation of GABAB Receptors
2,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-(3-hydroxy-2,2-dimethylpropyl)phenol (CGP7930) and 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,2-dimethylpropanal (disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,685) have been described to exert positive allosteric modulation of native and recombinant GABAB receptor activity (Society for Neuroscience, 30th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, La., Nov. 4-9, 2000: Positive Allosteric Modulation of Native and Recombinant GABAB Receptor Activity, S. Urwyler et al.; Molecular Pharmacol. (2001), 60, 963-971).
N,N-Dicyclopentyl-2-methylsulfanyl-5-nitro-pyrimidine-4,6-diamine has been described to exert positive allosteric modulation of the GABAB receptor (The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 307 (2003), 322-330).
1H-imidazole-5-carboxylic Acid Derivatives
A few 4-amino-1H-imidazole-5-carboxylic acid ethyl esters are disclosed as intermediates for the synthesis of purines (Tetrahedron Lett. (1966), 1885-1889) or imidazo[4,5-d]pyrimidones and imidazo[4,5,-b]pyridines (Monatshefte für Chemie (1976), 107:1413-1421). Also, 1,7-dihydro-6H-purine-6-ones are prepared from 4-acylamino-1H-imidazole-5-carboxylic acid ethyl esters (Tetrahedron (1982), 38:1435-1441). However, these compounds are not known as positive allosteric modulators of the GABAB receptor and have not been described as being useful for the treatment of GERD or functional gastrointestinal disorders.
For a recent review on allosteric modulation of GPCRs, see: Expert Opin. Ther. Patents (2001), 11, 1889-1904.

Imidazole variants as modulators of GABA receptor for the treatment of GI disorders


Local gateway support for multiple overlapping remote networks. The local gateway includes a pool of unique, internally routable system-wide addresses, an address bind table, a filter rules table, and a collection of security association databases. A plurality of overlapping connections are received at the local gateway from remote networks, each including an inbound packet having a source IP address. For each connection, the source IP address is bound with an address from the address pool in a bind table. Outbound packets are processed through the bind table to determine the destination IP address corresponding to a correct one of the plurality of overlapping connections.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to security over virtual private network (VPN) connections. More particularly, it relates to gateway support for multiple overlapping remote networks.
2. Background Art
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are being increasingly deployed, over the existing Internet infrastructure, in support of B2B, supply chain logistics, and as a networking cost-reduction for an enterprise when communicating to its own branch offices. Typically, a business will organize its VPNs for a site or geographic area in a single VPN gateway. Each gateway will support many independent VPN connections from many remote systems, or remote gateways to smaller branch office networks, or suppliers (for example). The term "VPN connection" is another term referring to what is generally called an "IP Sec tunnel", the latter being defined in RFC2401.
A problem occurs when remote networks have IP addresses which overlap with each other. For example, assume company A has a VPN gateway and wants to set up two VPN connections, one with a supplier and another with a west coast branch office (of company A). Assume both the supplier network and the branch office network have a system with IP address 126.96.36.199. The extent of IP address overlap can, in general, range from a single IP address to entire subnets of hundreds of IP addresses. For this example, assume further that both supplier and branch office addresses are routable inside the network of company A. There are two problem aspects caused by overlap like this. First, packets distinction: if two 184.108.40.206 packets from the different 220.127.116.11 systems are both going to the same server in A's network, how can the server tell them apart? Second, tunnel determination: what does VPN gateway A do with the response packet with destination IP address of 22.214.171.124? That is, should it go to the supplier subnet, via the VPN connection to the supplier's VPN gateway or should it go to the branch office subnet via the VPN connection to the branch office gateway?
In special cases like the above, the problem is fairly simple to solve—in this case, since the branch office is part of network A, the administrators at the VPN gateway of network A might just ask the branch office to change the IP address of the 220.127.116.11 machine (once the problem is detected). Another possible solution would be to use network address translation (NAT) in either the supplier or the branch office network, prior to the supplier or branch office VPN gateway (before the traffic entered the VPN connection, because NAT cannot be applied to IPsec based VPN traffic).
But these solutions are unworkable in the general case. Consider that gateway A may need to set up VPN connections with scores of remote gateways, some not even known beforehand. Further, with the widespread use of designated private subnets (e.g. 10.*.*.*), collision opportunities are enhanced.
Another scenario which leads to the same problems is of a company with multiple remote locations, all known beforehand, where the I/S and network people would like to make each remote site identical (same number of systems, same OS's, same network, same application, same addresses) to ease configuration and system management of the remote sites. A general, scalable and realistically manageable solution needs to occur at the gateway A end of these VPN connections where gateway A does not know beforehand the IP address of the remote Internet Key Exchange (IKE) server, and must be largely automatic, needs to handle any arbitrary overlapping remote IP address sets with differing amounts of overlap, n-way overlap, etc. And, of course, the solution should not have to depend on after-the-fact detection of overlap, but rather should be able to handle overlap as it occurs.
All VPN scenarios that face the remote address overlap problem can be classified into two sets; set s1) those scenarios in which the remote VPN connection endpoint (remote IKE server) address is known ahead of time, and set s2) those scenarios in which the remote VPN connection endpoint is not known. A solution to the s1 class of scenarios is described in co-pending patent applications Ser. No. 09/240,720 filed Jan. 29, 1999 by E. B. Boden, et al. for System and Method for Network Address Translation Integration With IP Security; Ser. No. 09/595,950 filed Jun. 16, 2000 by E. B. Boden, et al. for System and Method for Network Address Translation Integration With IP Security; and Ser. No. 09/578,215 filed 23 May 2000 by E. B. Boden, et al. for System and Method for Network Address Translation Integration With IP Security. The s2 class of scenarios is solved by the current invention.
What makes the S2 scenarios different is this; since the remote IKE endpoint is unknown, there are two direct implications: first, the connections must be initiated remotely (hence the gateway of the local network is in 'responder mode'); and second, the gateway of the local network must have configured a VPN Policy with (logically) a destination IP address of 'any'. Therein lies the problem; within a given VPN policy VPN connections cannot overlap, but here a single VPN policy is exactly what is needed. The essential relationship here is one VPN connection filter is dynamically loaded for each VPN policy that successfully negotiates IKE Phase 2 Security Associations (SAs).
What does filtering have to do with VPN? Normally with IPsec (the underlying protocols of VPN), an outbound packet is filtered (run through a series of IP packet filters) to determine which VPN connection it belongs in (should be encapsulated in), if any. (This is true for all vendors' VPN implementations.) This is the heart of the problem; if two filters for the same VPN connection overlap, then the one which occurs first will match packets 'meant' for a later overlapping filter because early filters mask out traffic from later overlapping filters (in general). So, filter order matters . . . but what is the right order? and how can the order be changed on a per packet basis?
This problem may exist for other TCP/IP tunneling scenarios, in addition to IPsec-based VPN's; for example, IPv6's 6to4 and 6over4, UDP tunneling (IPv4) through NAT, and others.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved system and method for operating a local gateway in support of multiple overlapping remote networks.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method for a local network which allows communication with a plurality of overlapping remote networks.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method for overriding connection filters in order to support multiple overlapping remote networks.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method operating a local gateway in support of communications with multiple overlapping remote networks which requires no changes to those remote networks or the gateways to those remote networks.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method whereby multiple remote sites, even with overlapping addresses, may be configured using source-in NAT such that the traffic inside a local gateway is non-conflicting.

Virtual private network and tunnel gateway with multiple overlapping, remote subnets

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus and method for cleaning a plurality of drums in an image forming apparatus includes applying a first bias to each of a plurality of disturbing members, each disturbing member associated with a corresponding drum of a plurality of drums. While performing an image forming operation wherein at least one of the plurality of drums is not use, the bias is changed of a disturbing member corresponding to at least one of the plurality of drums not used in performing the image forming operation from the first bias to a second bias different from the first bias.

In a laser-type image forming apparatus, there are one or more photoelectric drums that are used in conjunction with the image formation process. If the image forming apparatus is a monochromatic or black and white (B/W) device, then there is typically only one drum used for black (K) image formation. If the image forming apparatus is color, however, there are typically four drums used, one each for black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). During image formation, the photoelectric drum is exposed to a laser, which forms a latent image on the drum. The latent image on the surface of the drum passes by a toner source, such as a developing unit, which attracts toner to the surface of the drum to form a toner image. The toner image is then transferred to an image receiving medium, such as a paper sheet, and the transferred image is fused to the image receiving medium by a fusing unit.
To maintain proper image formation, the image forming apparatus employs a mechanism for cleaning the surface of the photoelectric drums. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional "cleaner-less" drum cleaning system in an image forming apparatus. In a cleaner-less system, there is no cleaning blade or other element contacting the drum 10 to remove toner from its surface. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a drum 10, a developer 12, a transfer roller 14, a brush 16, and a charger 18. The drum 10 rotates in a clockwise direction, and the surface of the drum is charged by the charger 18. The charged surface is exposed to a laser (not shown) to generate a latent image. The latent image passes by the developer 12, which transforms the latent image into a toner image. The toner image is then transferred onto an image receiving medium by the transfer roller 14.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vast majority of the toner on the surface of the drum 10 is negatively charged toner 20, although there is some positively charged toner 22. During image formation, the image area (area exposed by the laser) typically has a −60V charge, and the non-image area typically has a −400V charge. The developer 12 is typically biased at a voltage of −250V. As the latent image passes by the developer 12, toner is transferred to the image areas. Any residual toner on the drum 10 in a non-image area is transferred to the developer 12.
As also shown in FIG. 1, the brush 16 is positioned adjacent to the surface of the drum 10. The brush 16 is given a positive voltage bias such as +600V. With the positive bias, the negative toner 20 is collected by the brush 16. However, the brush 16 is not able to collect the positive toner 22, although there are few positively charged toner particles 22. During periods between image forming operations, the bias voltage of the brush 16 can be reversed, which discharges toner from the brush 16 to the drum 10. The discharge to the drum 10 scatters the toner as a layer on the surface of the drum 10, which is then collected by the developer 12. In color image forming apparatuses, however, the toner filming is particularly severe on the color drums and cannot be effectively removed by the developer 12. As a result, the filming often results in the whitening of printed image areas as the film blocks the surface of the drum 10 from being imaged effectively.
It would be desirable to have a design that effectively cleans toner from the drums.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus and method for cleaning residual toner from drums in an image forming apparatus


A method and apparatus for adaptively controlling a variable gain amplifier (VGA). The operation of the VGA is separated into a low gain mode and a high gain mode and the mode in which the VGA is currently operating in is adaptively sensed. A threshold voltage is compared to a control voltage of the VGA; if the VGA is currently operating in the low gain mode and the control voltage is higher than the threshold voltage, the VGA is switched from the low gain mode to the high gain mode; and if the VGA is currently operating in the high gain mode and the control voltage is lower than the threshold voltage, the VGA is switched from the high gain mode to the low gain mode.

In high speed (e.g., 10 giga bits per second (Gb/s)), high performance, serial communication receivers that require equalization, variable gain amplifiers (VGAs) are sometimes used on the front end of the topology. The VGA is used to either provide gain or attenuation depending on the amplitude of the input signal such that the VGA outputs a substantially constant amplitude signal. The ability to adjust the gain/attenuation of the VGA so that both a very large and very small input voltage swing range at the input to the receiver can be accommodated is desirable for 10 Gb/s serial data communication applications.
Depending on the application, there may be system requirements in which the minimum and maximum input swing range at the input to the receiver is very wide. Thus, it can be difficult to design a VGA block capable of covering this wide input dynamic range while still being robust to manufacturing process, power supply (VDD), and temperature variations (hereby designated as PVT). Similarly, it may be possible to design a VGA block capable of covering the entire input dynamic range but at the cost of loss of linearity, or distortion.
Therefore, there is a need for a voltage control circuit for controlling a VGA that accommodates substantially the entire input dynamic range when such dynamic range is very large.

Adaptable voltage control for a variable gain amplifier


A superconducting device includes a superconducting cable having a plurality of superconducting tapes in a plurality of phases, including a first phase, and at least one further phase. One or more superconducting tapes of the first phase is in electrical contact with one or more superconducting tapes of the at least one further phase through at least one resistive barrier that prevents current from passing between the first phase and the at least one further phase in the absence of a voltage between one or more of the superconducting tapes of the first phase or the at least one further phase. The first phase is electrically connected in series to at least one further phase.

High-field superconducting magnets are frequently used for scientific purposes. High current densities are desirable in the magnet winding to reach high magnetic field in a relatively small coil. Such superconducting magnets can use high-temperature superconductors (HTS) to reach magnetic fields over 20 tesla (T) or operating temperatures above 10 kelvin (K). The HTS conductors are often wound as a single tape or a wire, which results in the operating current of the magnet to be in the order of between 100 and 200 amperes (A) due to the limited current capacity of one single HTS tape or wire. Magnets wound from single tapes may be affected by local tape defects that may cause a local hot spot, requiring additional metal stabilizing material to be incorporated within the windings. The stabilizing material allows current to bypass the defect but will reduce the overall current density of the magnet. Magnets would benefit of multi-tape windings in which multiple HTS tapes that are in direct contact to each other are operated in parallel. In multi-tape conductors, current can bypass local tape defects through current sharing with neighboring tapes, reducing the need for more stabilizing material that would reduce the current density in the magnet. Operating multiple tapes in parallel would significantly increase the current capacity of the magnet winding. Certain magnet applications would also benefit from the operating currents greater than 200 A, but in some applications of use less than 1,000 A, to reduce or avoid a need to increase the size of the magnet power source, and to reduce or minimize the thickness or rating of the current leads that inject current from room temperature into the superconducting magnet located in a cryogenic environment. If such current leads are too thick, they may result in a high thermal conduction along their lengths. In typical contexts, the operating current between 200 and 1,000 A may not be readily achieved with a single HTS tape due to its limited current carrying capability. On the other hand, the required high winding current density may not be achievable in certain, multi-tape or wire HTS cables when their operating current is limited to no more than 1,000 A.

Series-connected superconducting magnet cables


The present invention relates to improved methods for antibody engineering, e.g., humanization. In particular, the disclosure provides a high-throughput antibody humanization process that can be automated by computer-implementation.

Rodent and other mammalian hybridomas are one of the primary sources of monoclonal antibodies. However, the development of rodent derived monoclonal antibodies as therapeutic antibodies is often hampered by the immunogenicity of rodent antibodies in humans. Antibody humanization technology is used to reduce immunogenicity triggered by non-human protein sequence in human while preserving antigen binding affinity and specificity.
Most of therapeutic antibodies are immunoglobulin G class molecules (IgG). One IgG molecule comprises two heavy chains and two light chains forming a heterotetramer "Y" shape molecule. IgG has two antigen-binding regions called Fab (fragment antigen binding) and one constant region called Fc (fragment crystalline). Each Fab region is a heterodimer of VH-CH1/VL-CL, where VH and VL of the Fv region are connected to the constant region of the heavy chain and the light chain, via linkers, respectively. These linkers allow the Fv considerable rotational flexibility. Each VH or VL has 3 hypervariable loops known as CDRs (complementarity determining regions) which sit at the tip of the Fv region. Three CDRs on VH or VL are connected by four framework regions (FRs 1-4). CDR residues are the key determinants of the antigen-binding properties of an antibody. Both heavy chain and light chain CDRs together form the antigen binding site. The heavy chain and light chain FRs constitute a scaffold for the antigen-binding site.
Antibody humanization is achieved by grafting CDRs of a rodent antibody onto a "similar" human framework (acceptor) and selecting minimal number of key framework residues (back-mutations) that are manually selected from a rodent monoclonal antibody and incorporated into human acceptor in order to maintain the original CDR conformation. Such methods are known in the art, and include those described in Jones et al., Nature 321:522 (1986); Verhoeyen et al., Science 239:1534 (1988)), Sims et al., J. Immunol. 151: 2296 (1993); Chothia and Lesk, J. Mol. Biol. 196:901 (1987), Carter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89:4285 (1992); Presta et al., J. Immunol. 151:2623 (1993), Padlan, Molecular Immunology 28(4/5):489-498 (1991); Studnicka et al., Protein Engineering 7(6):805-814 (1994); Roguska. et al., PNAS 91:969-973 (1994); PCT publication WO 91/09967, PCT/: US98/16280, US96/18978, US91/09630, US91/05939, US94/01234, GB89/01334, GB91/01134, GB92/01755; WO90/14443, WO90/14424, WO90/14430, EP 229246, EP 592,106; EP 519,596, EP 239,400, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,565,332, 5,723,323, 5,976,862, 5,824,514, 5,817,483, 5,814,476, 5,763,192, 5,723,323, 5,766,886, 5,714,352, 6,204,023, 6,180,370, 5,693,762, 5,530,101, 5,585,089, 5,225,539; 4,816,567.
Although conventional antibody humanization is conducted according to these general principles, the choice of acceptor human framework(s) for grafting rodent CDRs as well as a minimal set of backmutations that retain optimal presentation of the CDRs while minimizing immunogenicity risk often varies from one antibody engineer to the other and requires a deep understanding of both immunoglobulin sequence/structure and antibody biology. Thus, antibody humanization is often a time-consuming and expensive process that adds significant expense to the development of a therapeutic antibody. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for improved humanization techniques that are more rapid and routine than conventional approaches.


A media content delivery apparatus that encodes media content as multiple spatial objects is provided. The media content delivery apparatus encodes a first spatial object according to a first set of parameters. The media content delivery apparatus also encodes a second spatial object according to a second set of parameters. The first and second spatial objects are encoded independently. The media content delivery apparatus also generates a metadata based on the first set of parameters, the second set of parameters, and a relationship between the first and second spatial objects. The media content delivery apparatus then transmits or stores the encoded first spatial object, the encoded second spatial object, and the generated metadata.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.
Video coding is used in a wide range of applications ranging from multimedia messaging, video telephony and video conferencing over mobile TV, wireless and Internet video streaming, standard- and high-definition TV broadcasting, as well as virtual reality (VR). Furthermore, video content is delivered to a variety of decoding devices with heterogeneous display and computational capabilities.
Video bit-stream scalability facilitates graceful degradation of transmission of coded video. Video scalability schemes such as scalable video coding (SVC) allows the same coded video of one particular standard (e.g., H.264/AVC) to adapt to different requirements of bit rates, spatial formats, and/or power consumption when the same coded video is delivered to different decoding devices with heterogeneous display and computational capabilities. To facilitate video bit-stream scalability, the coded video is simultaneously transmitted or stored with a variety of spatial or temporal resolutions or qualities.
360-degree Virtual Reality (360VR) is an audiovisual simulation of an altered, augmented, or substituted environment. The visual reality video surrounds the user, allowing the user to look around in any direction or at any arbitrary view angle, just as he or she can in real life. 360VR videos produce exceptional high-quality and high-resolution panoramic videos for use in print and panoramic virtual tour production for a variety of applications, such as entertainment, pilot training, surgery, and exploration in space or deep water.

Incremental quality delivery and compositing processing


A method for storing data includes the steps of receiving a metadata parameter from a first user, the parameter being associated with a property in a database containing a plurality of data records, and storing the parameter. The method also includes the step of providing a second user with access to the stored parameter, the second user having an access level to the database which is different from that of the first user.

This invention relates to methods for storing data.
When working with databases, users often need to make notations on the database. Such notations are known as metadata, or data describing other data. As an illustrative example, one may wish to note the origin of a value, caveats associated with certain columns, mark a column for deletion, or make any number of notes which would be helpful to a user (or group of users) in developing, maintaining or using a database. As the need for collaboration amongst individual users in developing, maintaining or using databases grows, the ability to share metadata is fast becoming an increasingly desirable database feature.
One problem with conventional database implementations is that access to metadata has typically been limited to select users with elevated database privileges, e.g., administrators. For example, SQL Server has a "Description" attribute which is not easy to find, e.g., requiring a high level of database development proficiency, and also requires elevated privileges to update. Therefore, non-administrative users may not be able to view, modify or create metadata.
Another problem with conventional database implementations is that users are generally limited to a set of pre-defined metadata types and lack the ability to specify their own types. SQL Server has built-in functions which allow creation of "extended properties," allowing high-level users to specify custom metadata types. However, as with the Description attribute, access is difficult and requires elevated privileges. In addition, the ability to custom-define metadata has not been widely implemented in other database programs, e.g., Oracle.
Based on the above, there is a need for techniques or products which are user-friendly and enable multiple users, who may have varying privilege levels and/or database proficiencies, to share access to predefined metadata. It is further desirable that the users be able to share access to custom-defined metadata.


In a bearing constituted by a plural-layer slide member, the plural-layer slide member comprises a resin layer of polytetrafluoroethylene as a slide member and a backing strip to which the resin layer is bonded. A fitting hole having a depth exceeding the thickness of the resin layer is formed from the resin layer side. A temperature measuring metallic member formed of a white metal is fitted in the fitting hole. A temperature sensor is positioned within the temperature measuring metallic member. This bearing permits an accurate detection of its temperature. Further, in an oil cooled screw compressor having a bearing lubricating oil supply pipe, a slide surface of the bearing is covered with polyether ether ketone. Even if foaming occurs in the oil, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a mechanical trouble such as galling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a bearing and a screw compressor and more particularly to a bearing capable of detecting a temperature and a screw compressor having the bearing. Especially, the present invention is concerned with an oil cooled screw compressor of the type in which oil after separation and recovery from discharge gas is supplied as lubricating oil.
2. Description of the Related Art
A screw compressor has a casing for housing therein a pair of female and male screw rotors meshed with each other. End portions of rotor shafts of each of the pair of screw rotors are supported by radial bearings. On the other hand, in each of the pair of female and male screw rotors, a pair of tilting pad thrust bearings for bearing a thrust force developed on the screw rotor are mounted at the end portion of one rotor shaft. The tilting pad thrust bearings are disposed on both sides of a disc-like thrust member fitted on the end portion of one rotor shaft in each of the pair of screw rotors and are provided with plural pads (hereinafter referred to as "thrust bearings") which, in a sliding contact with a slide surface of the thrust member, undergo the thrust force transmitted from the screw rotor to the thrust member. In the screw compressor of the above construction, since the screw rotors are rotated at high speed, plain bearings are used as the radial bearings and the thrust bearings. Since the slide portions of the bearings are required to be low in friction, a low friction material is used particularly as the material of slide portions of the thrust bearings which receive a thrust force from the thrust members of a high peripheral velocity.
As a thrust bearing using a low friction material as the material of its slide portion, one constituted for example by a plural-layer slide member to be described is known. In this plural-layer slide member, a porous intermediate layer is formed between a metallic backing strip difficult to bond and a resin layer as a slide member to let an anchoring effect be exhibited, thereby making the metal layer and the resin layer difficult to peel from each other and improving the abrasion resistance and sliding characteristic of the resin layer. More particularly, as a slide layer there is used a layer formed by adding 10 to 95 wt % of a molten fluorine resin of tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkylvinyl ether polymer (PFE) or polytetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene polymer (FAP) to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). To this slide layer are added a material for improving the abrasion resistance and a material for improving the sliding characteristic (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2002 -194380 ).
The temperature of a bearing is based on heat produced in the thrust member or a shaft and the sliding portion of the bearing. Usually, an oil film is present between the thrust member or the shaft and the slide portion of the bearing and functions to remove heat, so that the temperature of the bearing does not rise beyond a certain level. However, if the oil film breaks or the thrust member or the shaft and the bearing come into direct contact with each other, the temperature of the bearing itself rises rapidly into an abnormally high temperature, resulting in damage of machine having such bearings, thus leading to a serious accident such as a stop of operation. To avoid this inconvenience, there is known a conventional example in which a temperature sensor is embedded in a bearing itself and, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor exceeds a certain level, it is judged that the bearing is in an abnormal condition. "Thrust bearing trouble detecting device and method" related to this second conventional example will be described below with reference to FIG. 12 which is a construction diagram of the thrust bearing trouble detecting device.
A rotary disc 52 is disposed on a lower surface of a thrust collar of a rotary shaft 51, and plural fan-shaped bearing segments 54 disposed radially around the rotary shaft 51 are supported by a segment support base 55. The rotary disc 52 and the bearing segments 54 are accommodated within an oil reservoir 61 filled with lubricating oil. An oil film 53 is formed between the rotary disc 52 and the bearing segments 54, and the rotary disc 52 is supported slidably by the bearing segments 54 through the oil film 53. The surfaces of the plural bearing segments 54 which are in sliding contact with the rotary disc 52 are formed using a lining material of a synthetic resin. Temperature sensors 62 for detecting the temperatures of the bearing segments 54 are attached to all of the plural bearing segments 54. Temperatures Ta to Tz of the bearing segments 54 measured by the temperature sensors 62 are inputted to a bearing temperature monitor 64 through a temperature transducer 63, in which when any of the temperatures Ta to Tz exceeds a predetermined value, it is judged that the bearing is in an abnormal condition (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open No.2002-168242).
The "thrust bearing trouble detecting device and method" relating to the second conventional example described in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2002-168242 is considered to be extremely useful because a trouble of the thrust bearing can be detected by temperature measurement. However, when such a construction is applied to the bearing related to the first conventional example wherein the slide portion is formed by a resin layer, even if there occurs a rise in temperature due to breaking of the oil film or due to direct contact of the thrust member or shaft with the bearing. However, there sometimes is a case where the temperature is not transmitted to the temperature sensor and a trouble of the bearing cannot be detected, because the resin is much lower in thermal conductivity than the metal.
There also is known an oil cooled screw compressor having a pair of intermeshing female and male screw rotors housed within a casing and supported by radial bearings and thrust bearings to which oil after separation and recovery from discharge gas is supplied as lubricating oil. This oil cooled screw compressor (a conventional example) will be outlined below with reference to FIG. 17 which is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the whole of the compressor.
The reference mark C1 in FIG. 17 denotes an oil cooled screw compressor according to the conventional example. In the oil cooled screw compressor C1, an oil separating/recovering unit 83 is disposed in a discharge flow path 82 formed in a screw compressor body 81. A lower portion of the oil separating/recovering unit 83 is formed as an oil sump 84. From the bottom of the oil sump 84 there extends an oil supply flow path 86 which passes through an oil cooler 85 and reaches a rotor chamber and bearings/shafts sealing portions (neither shown). On the other hand, the portion of the discharge flow path 82 located on a secondary side of the oil separating/recovering unit 83 extends from an upper portion of the oil separating/recovering unit 83.
In the oil cooled screw compressor C1, compressed gas is supplied to the rotor chamber and the bearings/shafts sealing portions and, together with lubricating oil which has been conducted to a discharge port, is discharged toward the oil separating/recovering unit 83, in which gas/liquid separation is performed. The thus-separated lubricating oil is once stored in the oil sump 84, while the compressed gas which has become clean after the separation of the lubricating oil is discharged to the portion of the discharge flow path 82 which extends from the upper portion of the oil separating/recovering unit 83.
A layer L of lubricating oil separated and recovered from the compressed gas is formed at all times in a lower portion within the oil sump 84. A lubricating oil viscosity affecting component which forms a layer U on an upper surface of the lubricating oil layer L without being dissolved in the lubricating oil is discharged from the oil separating/recovering unit 83 under a discharge pressure to a drainage flow path 88 by opening an on-off valve 87 at appropriate time intervals. The lubricating oil which forms the lower layer L is supplied to the rotor chamber and the bearings/shafts sealing portions through the oil supply flow path 86 and is thereafter conducted again to the oil separating/recovering unit 83 through the foregoing discharge port (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2000-186688).
In conventional oil cooled screw compressors, white metals or aluminum alloys are widely used as the materials of bearings which support screw rotors (see, for example, R&D KOBE STEEL TECHNICAL REPORT, Vol. 49, No. 1, APRIL 1999 page 33).
Although a detailed description is not found in the above laid open patent 2000-186688 and R&D KOBE STEEL TECHNICAL REPORT, for example as shown in FIG. 18 which is an explanatory diagram showing in what state a rotor shaft is fitted in a radial bearing, an oil groove 72b is formed in a surface of a radial bearing 72 opposed to a rotor shaft 71, i.e., in an inner periphery surface of the radial bearing 72. Further, an oil supply hole 72a is formed in the radial bearing 72, the oil supply hole 72a communicating with the oil groove 72b from an outer periphery of the radial bearing 72 to supply oil (lubricating oil) to between the inner periphery surface of the radial bearing 72 and the outer periphery surface of the rotor shaft 71. In the case of an oil cooled screw compressor, the pressure of oil supplied to the radial bearing 72 is almost equal to the discharge pressure. In many cases, gas is dissolved in the oil. The pressure of oil discharged from the radial bearing 72 is almost equal to the suction pressure in the oil cooled screw compressor. However, the pressure of oil present in the oil groove 72b of the radial bearing 72 is an intermediate pressure between the discharge pressure and the suction pressure in the oil cooled screw compressor.
That is, in the oil groove 72, the pressure of oil is reduced from the pressure equal to the discharge pressure in the oil cooled screw compressor to the intermediate pressure between the discharge pressure and the suction pressure, so that the gas dissolved in the oil separates at the time of the pressure reduction and there occurs what is called foaming. The oil which is in such a foaming state is rolled up onto the rotor shaft 71 and is supplied in a large quantity to a pressure receiving surface 72c on which a load W is imposed, resulting in that an oil film present on the pressure receiving surface 72c of the radial bearing 72 breaks. Consequently, the rotor shaft 71 and the radial bearing 72 come into direct contact with each other and there arises a fear of occurrence of a mechanical trouble such as galling or scratching of the shaft and the bearing. Although reference has been made above to the radial bearing as an example, the above description is also applicable to a thrust member and a thrust bearing which bear a thrust force of each rotor shaft in an oil cooled screw compressor.
The foregoing Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2000-186688 discloses, for the protection of bearings, etc. in an oil cooled screw compressor, an effective means which uses a simple construction for separating a lubricating oil viscosity affecting component in an oil separating/recovering unit and which thereby conducts only lubricating oil having a viscosity of an allowable value or higher to the bearings, etc. However, it does not disclose any means for eliminating the trouble caused by the foregoing foaming of oil.


A transparent plastic slide has a recessed chamber which receives a transparent plastic cover. The cover has a fluid inlet opening which overlies a recessed center well in the slide. The well has a sloping ramp which extends to a viewing platform which has a surface which is closely spaced from the underside of the cover to define a constant thickness viewing cavity surrounding the well. An overflow channel surrounds the viewing platform. A vent hole extends through the cover above the overflow channel. The sample is introduced into the center well through the fluid inlet opening. The fluid flows into the viewing cavities by capillary action, and is free to overflow the viewing cavities and be received within the overflow channel, thus reducing boundary effects. An inlet port may be provided above the viewing platform to permit substances to be added to a sample while it is under observation.

The present invention relates to devices for displaying specimens for examination under magnification in general, and more particularly to such devices for counting, manipulation, and making viability assessment of cells.
With an increasing demand for quality agricultural products in an increasingly competitive agricultural market, animal artificial insemination (AI) techniques are becoming widespread as an effective means to achieve improved quality of stock, while at the same time reducing the costs and labor involved in natural breeding techniques.
AI techniques require the collection of semen from a producing male animal, and insemination of the female animal at a later time, and usually at a location more or less remote from the collection site. A consequence is that the semen to be used may be subject to degradation or decay due to the effects of temperature, time, or stress of shipment and storage. It is therefore necessary to analyze the quantity and vigor of the sperm within a sample, in assessing the fertilizing qualities of a particular ejaculate at the producing end, as well as in some cases in the insemination end.
One test is to count the quantities of active or motile sperm within a given volume of semen. The counting is carried out under a microscope or through the use of a photometer or with a photometer, and only considers a very small subset of the entire sample. However, because the subject of the count is moving, the presence of boundaries on the counting area can disadvantageously complicate the counting procedure. If the counting area constrains the sample within boundaries, the presence of the boundaries can affect the accuracy of the counting procedure because of the effect the boundaries have on the distribution of the sperm within the sample area. Some sperm for example will concentrate adjacent to a boundary.
Certain cell counters, or haemocytometers, minimize boundaries by placing a single drop of liquid sample between two precision formed optical plates. These devices, however, are very costly, and hence must be sterilized and reused. Other, disposable devices employ a screen-printed layer to define channels between a slide and a cover. However, these devices usually rely exclusively on capillary action for loading, and must be handled carefully to avoid the introduction of air bubbles which would prevent the complete filling of the specimen chambers. Moreover, prior art devices often accommodate only a very small quantity of liquid, sometimes as little as 1.3 μl, which makes analyses which take more than a few minutes to conduct problematic, as the specimen can dry out. Especially, when in the case of sperm cells, the specimen is maintained above room temperature on a heated microscope stage.
In addition, conventional devices are not readily loaded while under observation, making comparative analyses of specimens before and after the addition of some substance difficult.
What is needed is a low-cost disposable device for presenting a thin layer of known thickness of a sample allowing repeatable and accurate visual measurements to be made on the sample.

Counting, viability assessment, analysis and manipulation chamber


A display device includes a light source, a mirror reflection guide member, a diffusion reflection member, and a display panel. The light source extends in a first direction and is configured to emit light. The mirror reflection guide member is configured to: support the light source, and guide at least some of the light to a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The mirror reflection guide member includes a plurality of guide patterns extending in the second direction and arranged in the first direction. The diffusion reflection member is configured to guide at least some of the light to a third direction substantially perpendicular to the first and second directions. The display panel is disposed on the mirror reflection guide member and the diffusion reflection member and is configured to display an image using the light guided by the diffusion reflection member.

Field
The present disclosure relates to display technology, and more particularly, to display devices configured to have improved display quality.
Discussion
In general, a display device may be classified into a transmissive type, a transflective type, and a reflective type. Transmissive type display devices and transflective type display devices typically include a display panel configured to display an image and a backlight unit configured to provide the display panel with light.
Conventional backlight providing units typically include a light source configured to emit the light and a light guide member. The light source may include a circuit board and a plurality of light emitting devices disposed (e.g., formed, mounted, etc.) on the circuit board. The light guide member may be disposed under the display panel. The light source may be configured to face a side surface of the light guide member. In this manner, the light guide member may be configured to guide the light provided from the light source to the display panel. As display devices become increasingly thinner, it is becoming ever more difficult to provide such display devices with uniform brightness, and thereby, uniform display quality. Therefore, there is a need for an approach that provides efficient, cost effective techniques to provide slim display devices with improved, uniform brightness characteristics.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A method and apparatus for forming attachment pads on a panel for attachment of a clinch nut thereto. The panel is formed between a forming die and a fixed anvil, which occupies a predefined net reference position. A face plate simultaneously “finds” the panel and is mechanically locked into position using a novel force applying device. The face plate maintains the location of the surface metal around the forming die, thereby forming a raised pad at the predefined net reference position. The novel force applying device includes self-contained piston modules positioned in tandem. Each module includes a housing having a void and a piston mounted within the void. The piston includes a driven and drive surfaces, wherein fluid pressure acts against the driven surface to drive the piston in an advanced direction such that the drive surface of the piston abuts another piston for cumulative effect.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the precise attachment of a first member to a second member, and provides a method of and apparatus for reforming the second member by a variable magnitude depending on the actual position of the second member relative to a predefined net reference position. The invention relates, in particular, to the precise attachment of an outer body panel member of an automotive vehicle to an imprecisely located element of an inner body panel structure. The invention also particularly relates to the precise attachment of a fastener to a body panel member and a novel force applying device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the automotive industry, the assembly of vehicles involves the attachment of outer body panels to inner body panels or body structures. It is therefore important that the inner body panel attachment positions be precisely located with respect to predetermined three-dimensional coordinates so that variations thereof are not translated through the attachment of the outer body panels so as to be visible to the customer.
W. S. Zaydel, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,971, describes a method of and apparatus for attaching, at a precise location, a plastic automotive body panel to a relatively imprecisely located element of an inner body panel structure. According to the teachings of this patent, plastic-filled metal attachment blocks or pads are welded at selected locations to the inner body panel structure. The inner body panel structure is then positioned within a locating and machining fixture and each of the plastic-filled attachment blocks is milled to a precise position, the distance between the inner body panel structure and the milled face of the plastic-filled attachment blocks varying with the position of the inner body panel structure. The plastic outer body panel member is then attached to the milled face of the plastic-filled attachment block, after drilling a hole in the plastic-filled attachment block to receive a threaded fastener or a fastener attached to the inside of the plastic outer body panel member. By this method and apparatus, each such plastic outer body panel member is mounted in a precisely determined and in precise surface alignment with each adjacent plastic panel.
The method and apparatus of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,971 does lead to precision in the positioning of plastic outer body panels to a relatively imprecisely positioned automotive inner body panel structure, but it requires the attachment of the plastic-filled attachment blocks to the inner body panel structure which adds to the material and processing costs. Additionally, the subsequent milling of the plastic-filled attachment blocks generates scrap which is a mixture of a metal and the plastic filler material which, for the disposition of such scrap in an environmentally acceptable manner, involves additional expense and, in any case, the milling of the plastic-filled attachment blocks generates dust corresponding, mainly, to the composition of the plastic filler. This is also objectionable on environmental and workplace health and safety grounds, unless strict precautions are followed in performing the milling and drilling of the plastic-filled attachment blocks.
It is also known in the prior art that a relatively imprecisely located automotive inner body panel element can be built up to provide for the attachment thereto of an outer body panel element at a more precisely determined location by attaching one or more metal shims to the surface of the inner body panel element to which the outer body element is to be attached, the number of such shims to be attached based on the original position of the inner body panel element. However, this is a time-consuming and expensive procedure, and the attachment of such shims adds to the weight of the vehicle, an undesirable feature especially since it detracts from fuel economy.
Dacey, Jr., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,760,633 and 4,884,431 disclose a method and apparatus for body panel attachment which reforms a portion of an inner panel member to a precise location. This method and apparatus employs an anvil that is moved into a known position defining the desired precise location of the inner panel attachment surface. Floating support members engage and thereby locate the inner panel, and are then locked in a fixed position.
A hydraulic ram is actuated and moves a pad forming member mounted thereon under force against the inner panel to deform a portion of the inner panel between the floating support members into engagement with the anvil. This results in an attachment pad being formed in the inner panel whose surface is located at the precise location desired for attachment to another member, such as an outer body panel. While the pad forming member is still in engagement with the anvil, a punching operation is performed to form an aperture in the pad. A punch is moved by a separate hydraulic cylinder through the pad to form the aperture.
While Dacey, Jr. does provide an alternate method for precisely assembling an outer body panel to an imprecisely located inner body panel, both patents rely on hydraulic actuation of the ram and punch. Hydraulic equipment generally suffers from the disadvantages of significantly increased cost and maintenance requirements, slow operation, and auxiliary cooling requirements. Additionally, hydraulic devices include a pressurized fluid, typically oil, that occasionally leaks as a result of long term use within the environment of an assembly operation. Hydraulic leaks are messy, carcinogenic, environmentally unacceptable, and present a serious fire hazard. Finally, the heating and consequent expansion of the hydraulic fluid must be taken into consideration for precise control of variable speed and/or variable stroke hydraulic ram devices.
Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,206 discloses a method and apparatus for forming a portion of a panel member to a predetermined reference position. The apparatus includes a sensing device that locates the actual position of a panel member. Next, an extendible and retractable rod positions a holding means including a first and second pair of arms at the actual located position of the panel member established by the sensing device. A drive means is then actuated to move the first and second pair of arms into engagement with the panel member to hold adjacent sides of the portion of the panel member to be reformed to the predetermined reference position.
After locating and holding the panel member, a forming means including a fourth pair of arms is moved to urge a forming member into the panel member to reform the portion of the panel member to the predetermined reference position. An aperture is optionally pierced in the reformed portion of the panel member by sequentially urging a piercing pin mounted on the end of a third pair of arms into the reformed portion of the panel member.
The invention disclosed by Jackson also includes the steps of camming the first and second pair of arms between the first and second positions, as well as camming the third and fourth pair of arms from a first position spaced from the panel member to a second position such that the forming member and piercing pin engage the panel member. The step of camming the holding means from the first to the second positions is initiated before the step of camming the forming means is initiated so as to bring the holding means into engagement with the panel member before the forming means engages the panel member.
The Jackson invention identifies the same problem addressed by Dacey, Jr., and teaches an apparatus adapted to provide the same solution taught by Dacey, Jr. Although Jackson alleges an improved apparatus, the only support provided for such allegation is that the apparatus employs a single actuation device for holding the inner body panel in a fixed position. The Jackson invention, however, remains problematic for the following reasons.
The apparatus taught by Jackson is excessively complex and thus unnecessarily expensive and subject to failure. More specifically, Jackson incorporates numerous moving components including a positioning means having an extendible and retractable rod, a hydraulic or pneumatic drive means responsive to the output of a sensor device, and four pair of adjustable arms each having a cam device wherein each moving component gives rise to an additional mode of failure.
Furthermore, Jackson discloses a complex sensor device adapted to locate the panel member and transmit a corresponding output signal to the drive means that is controlled thereby. This sensor device is a critical feature of the disclosure whereby any imprecision thereof is proportionally translated to the attachment pad formed on the inner body panel, and potentially gives rise to a visibly misaligned outer body panel. As the effectiveness of the Jackson apparatus is predicated on the sensor device maintaining a high degree of precision over numerous cycles, the device becomes increasingly expensive. Finally, Jackson does not disclose a device for analyzing the precision of the sensor device for purposes of error proofing, whereby loss of precision thereof will likely result in numerous defectively assembled automobiles before it can identified and addressed.
Copeman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,912 discloses an apparatus adapted to form a workpiece to a net position and pierce a hole in the workpiece. The apparatus generally includes an inner and an outer slide assembly. The outer slide assembly includes a hydraulic form cylinder slidably mounted to a base, the form cylinder has a form punch mounted thereon via a pair of outer slide rails. The inner slide assembly includes a hydraulic pierce cylinder, including a form back-up and is coupled to a form cylinder rod end via a cylinder mounting block extension.
The workpiece is positioned between the form back-up of the inner slide assembly and the form punch of the outer slide assembly. Actuation of the form cylinder compels the cylinder mounting block extension along with the entire inner slide assembly toward the workpiece until the form back-up contacts the workpiece. A slave cylinder connected to the inner slide assembly is fillable through a one way valve so that when the form back-up of the inner slide assembly contacts the workpiece, the slave cylinder locks the form back-up in place.
The form cylinder continues to push the form cylinder rod end thereby moving a form punch and an anvil, connected via the outer slide rails, toward the workpiece. The form cylinder extends a predetermined amount to emboss the workpiece to a net position. After the workpiece has been embossed, a pierce cylinder of the inner slide assembly actuates a punch to pierce a hole in the workpiece. The use of hydraulic cylinders by Copeman present the same disadvantages for this device as set forth with regard to the device of Dacey, Jr.
The inventions of Dacey, Jr., Jackson and Copeman disclose similar devices. Jackson claims to require fewer steps than Dacey, Jr., and Copeman claims to be more compact, however, the devices accomplish the same objective in much the same way. One of the common features of Dacey, Jr., Jackson and Copeman includes an actuation device having constant velocity and stroke. More sophisticated programmable punching and forming motions including variable velocity and stroke are advantageous for a number of reasons described in detail hereinafter.
Variable velocity punching and forming devices reduce cycle time by varying the speed of the ram over the cycle with a rapid ram advance and retraction combined with slower speeds as the work piece is approached as well as during actual punching or forming. Variable velocity allows for a broader working range in that a single actuation device can accommodate a variety of different size dies and/or punches, and can form and/or punch a variety of different materials and material configurations.
Variable stroke forming devices permit positive depth control of a formed feature. Variable stroke punching devices are capable of making a variety of different sized and shaped holes with a single cutting tool. This is accomplished by, for example, providing a cutting tool having an initial cutting surface and a secondary cutting surface a predetermined axial distance therefrom, wherein the effective diameter of the secondary engagement surface is necessarily larger than that of the initial engagement surface. A variable stroke device incorporating such a cutting tool can form a small hole using a short stroke such that the secondary cutting surface does not contact the material to be punched. The same device can also form a larger hole by using a longer stroke such that both the initial and secondary cutting surfaces pass through the material to be punched.
Finally, an apparatus having a programmable punching motion in combination with a linear transducer provides automatic error proofing of the process to ensure that a hole has been punched. As is well known in the art, the current signature provided by the linear transducer is representative of punch/metal resistance, as the resistance encountered by the punch greatly increases during engagement with the metal panel, a current spike is generated. Accordingly, a current spike indicates a successful punching operation, and conversely the absence of a current spike indicates the desired punching operation was not performed (i.e. the punch broke and did not engage the panel).
Various apparatus have been disclosed for applying force to lock work support devices that are incorporated in larger overall devices such as welders, clamps, and metal forming devices. Such apparatus are typically not expandable to suit various force requirements, and yet are very complex and, thus, unnecessarily expensive and prone to an abundance of failure modes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,661,599 to Folmer teaches use of a pneumatically operated welder head. The Folmer welder head includes a unitary thin-walled cylinder that is closed at one end with a fitting and closed at an opposite end with a bushing. The cylinder includes a bore with an enlarged portion, which is defined by a step or shoulder in the cylinder wall. A sleeve is entrapped within the enlarged portion of the bore between the shoulder and the bushing, for dividing the cylinder bore into two compartments. Two pistons are provided, one disposed in each of the two compartments, and are connected together by a rod extending through a partition wall of the sleeve for moving the pistons together in unison. The rod includes an axial passage extending therethrough and a radial passage that intersects with the axial passage. The radial passage is closed off by the sleeve when both pistons are fully retracted. Unfortunately, the Folmer cylinder is not compact and not readily adaptable for larger or smaller welder head applications. Moreover, the cylinder requires deep internal boring to achieve the stepped, enlarged bore. Similarly, the sleeve also requires relatively deep internal boring thereof. Such boring operations need to be precise in order for smooth piston movement within the bore and such boring is hard to control and, therefore, time consuming and costly. Similarly complex devices are described in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,840 to Grimes; U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,141 to Ott et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,862 to Retterer.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,256 to Seeloff teaches use of a multiple piston elliptical fluid cylinder for use in driving other devices. Seeloff discloses a cylinder that is assembled from a plurality of wall elements and spacer elements. The cylinder is completed by using tie rods extending through the wall and spacer elements and fastening to front and rear heads on opposite ends of the cylinder. The wall and spacer elements are centrally apertured to accommodate a piston rod therethrough. The front and rear heads and the wall and spacer elements define fluid chambers therebetween, which include pistons disposed therein and fixed to the piston rod using snap rings. A multitude of O-ring seals are required between the piston rod and pistons or spacer elements, and between the pistons and wall elements. Like the Follmer patent, the Seeloff invention is not compact and not readily adaptable to a variety of different applications. Similarly, the Seeloff invention requires an over-abundance of parts, most of which require precision machining and assembly, and many of which are seals that represent fluid leak failure modes.
From the above, it can be appreciated that the prior art methods and apparatuses for precisely positioning and attaching a first member to an imprecisely located second member by forming a portion of the second member to a predetermined net reference position are not fully optimized. Moreover, the force applying devices of the prior art are also not optimized for reduced complexity and cost and increased reliability and performance. Therefore, what is needed is a forming, punching, and clinch nut attaching apparatus having variable velocity and stroke, which does not rely on hydraulic actuation, that is simple, reliable and inexpensive as well as environmentally acceptable. What is also needed is a force applying device that is more compact and reliable, less costly, and readily adaptable for use with a wide range of devices having various force requirements.

Programmable apparatus and method for body panel and clinch nut attachment


A coupling for joining fluid conduits includes a nut portion having a circumferential groove that extends at least partially along an interior surface thereof. The nut portion further includes a tab opening extending therethrough. A cylindrical shaft portion extends from the nut portion. A retaining clip is disposed within the circumferential groove of the nut portion and includes a tab disposed within the tab opening. A first arc of the retaining clip extends from the tab in a first circumferential direction, and a second arc of the retaining clip extends from the tab in a second, opposing circumferential direction. The first arc includes a first knob and terminates in a second knob, and the second arc includes a third knob and terminates in a fourth knob. The second and fourth knobs are larger than the first and third knobs, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a locking assembly for fastening two fluid-transmitting conduits, and more specifically to an improved, self-locking fluid coupling assembly that does not require utilization of a lock wire or other externally-applied devices or chemical compositions.
2. Background
Fluid-transmitting conduits are used for a variety of purposes in the art. Adjacent conduits are coupled mechanically to allow fluid to flow through both conduits. This coupling is typically accomplished by utilizing a threaded coupling, with each respective end of a conduit is attached to a component of the threaded coupling. The seals of the coupling apparatus are preloaded by making up the threaded connection between the components of the coupling. It is well known in the art that stress, vibration, movement, flexing, and other cyclical or dynamic forces can cause a loosening of a coupled connection, resulting in the release of a desired sealing torque in the connection. This release of torque can result in leaks, a drop in pressure, and other undesirable effects.
Loosening of a fluid-transmitting connection can be a particular problem for pneumatic and hydraulic connectors. These connectors are subject not only to the external forces and stresses identified above, but are also subjected to internal pressure stresses from the fluid being conducted through the coupling. Numerous approaches to addressing these problems exist in the art, including the use of adhesive materials and lock wires to prevent loosening of the coupling. In the aircraft industry, for example, many fluid coupling joints have included compression fittings secured with threaded connections, where a nut is lock-wired to a mating connecting component such that the nut cannot turn with respect to the fitting. This ensures against loss of fluid tightness in the fitting joint. Fluid coupling joints are, however, often assembled in areas where a worker's vision is obscured and the joint assembly occurs outside of the direct vision of the worker. In such cases, use of a lock wire is unsatisfactory. Further, the ability to inspect the assembled joint in order to ascertain the integrity of the joint is also compromised. Thus, lock wires are not suitable means of ensuring a proper connection in all cases. Further, the use of lock wires is a time-consuming process. Typically, a worker has to drill a hole in one or more corners of the nut and secure the wire to a boss or other tie-down structure in order to secure the tie wire. The lock-wired connection can also cause damage to equipment and injury to workers and other personnel because of the twisted wires, which can easily snag on clothing, equipment, or skin.
Other attempts have been made to secure such couplings without the use of lock wires. Many such means of securing the coupling require multiple parts, or complicated parts, to achieve the proper locking of the connection. Some require a lock between the connector and the B-nut (the nut typically used in hydraulic and pneumatic applications), and the connector length is often increased to incorporate the locking features. The increased length of the connector results in an increased weight of the connector, and both the increased weight and length can be problematic in installation, where space is limited. In addition, some of these lockwireless couplings require a specific type or ferrule to be used with the coupling for the locking mechanism to engage.


Methods and Systems for configuring secure templates for an application and network management system to provide network security. A template for an application and network management system is configured with first information for determining whether at least one message received by the template should or should not be processed by the template. The template is configured with second information for processing data associated with at least one received message. The template is configured with third information for preventing the communication of at least one received message to other templates for the application and network management system.

With the advent of distributed networking systems, there has been a growing need for systems that manage (referred to hereinafter as "management systems") the devices (referred to hereinafter as "nodes") of networks and applications (referred to hereinafter as "agents") that may run on those devices. A managed system may include, among other things, the nodes and agents the system manages and a server (referred to hereinafter as a "management server") that manages the nodes and agents.
Examples of nodes include operating system based computers that are capable of running agents (referred to hereinafter as "operating systems based nodes") and devices, such as routers, firewalls, load balances, that are not capable of running agents (referred to hereinafter as "non-operating systems based nodes"). Since the agents on "operating systems based nodes" not only send information about the system but can also actively and flexibly manage the nodes, the operating systems based nodes with agents are referred to hereinafter as "managed" nodes. On the other hand, even though "non-operating systems based nodes" also send information about the system, for example using SNMP, the amount of flexibility in managing the system is limited; hence the non-operating systems nodes are also known as "external" nodes, even though they may be managed indirectly, as will be described in more detail.
Examples of managing include, among other things, determining whether processes, nodes, and/or agents are running, how much memory a node has, the Computer Processing Unit (CPU) utilization of the node, whether a firewall has been intruded, correlating received messages either on the agent or the management server side to determine that a firewall has been intruded and taking action based on these determinations. Examples of taking action may include, among other things, adding more memory to a node, re-balancing a workload, or terminating reception of communications from a network behind a firewall that is failing.
One such application and network management system is Hewlett Packard's Openview Operations (OVO). Typically, in OVO, the nodes and/or agents associated with the application and network monitoring system communicate, directly or indirectly, information about their status with a management server. The server uses the communications to manage the nodes and/or agents associated with the network. For example, an agent executing on a particular managed node may generate a message including information about the status of the agent or the node the agent is running on. Similarly, a non-managed node may generate an SNMP trap (the term "messages" shall be used hereinafter to refer to, among other things, messages, which are generated with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), opcmsg, or opcmon, events, alerts, Simple Network management Protocol (SNMP) traps, and system logs). An interceptor, also running on the node, receives the message (referred to hereinafter as a "received message") and analyzes the received message with a template. Applications may be configured to be agents by associating templates and interceptors with the applications.
Typically a network administrator distributes templates to the various nodes that are being managed within a particular management system. Usually, templates are configured by more than one person or by more than one group of people. For example, application developers know more about the agents and network administrators know more about networks. Therefore, the applications developers may initially configure the templates based on the application developers' knowledge of their applications. Then network administrators may modify the templates or add templates based on their knowledge of networks and distribute the templates to the appropriate nodes.
One problem with configuring templates is that developers have varying knowledge about security in general and about other agents. For example, since the developer of application A on an agent does not know the code of application B on the same agent, the developer of application A may develop templates that create messages that will be received by the templates associated with application B (referred to herein as "proliferation of messages").
Another problem with configuring templates is the complexity involved in configuring the templates. Furthermore, there is a lack of expertise on the part of people configuring the templates. For example, frequently network administrators and/or application developers try erroneously to configure the templates as openly as possible. This may result in inappropriate actions being performed, either by mistake or owing to malicious intent.
An example of one inappropriate action is removing directories on a node that did not request the action. In this case, a user on node A creates a message requesting that a yet unspecified action be performed on node B. A template on node A intercepts the message and appends a request for an action, such as the deletion of directories. The message is forwarded to the server. Since the message designates that the action should be performed on node B, the server forwards the message to node B. Since the message is from the server, node B assumes that it has to perform the action and deletes all of its directories. As can be seen, a malicious user may use this inappropriate action to delete directories on a node the user is not even allowed access to.
In the above example, node A is an example of a "local node" because it is the node that requested, by creating the message, to delete the directories. Node B is an example of a "remote node" because it is not the node that requested the deletion of its directories. The deletion of the directories is an example of a "remote action" because the action of deleting directories was performed on a remote node. A "target node" is the node that an action is performed on. In this case, Node B is the target node. However, if the action had been performed on Node A, then Node A would have been the target node. Further, if the Node A's directories had been deleted, then the action would have been a "local action" because the action would have been performed on the local node. As the agent runs with root type of privileges and the message received by the agent can be created by a non-privileged user, even local actions may be used with malicious intent, for example, by getting around user account privilege enforcement mechanisms.
Another example of an inappropriate action is the proliferation of messages (also known as a "message storm"). In this case, an improperly configured template erroneously generates messages based on received messages.
The Advance Network Security (ANS) module may be used for securing the communications aspect of an OVO based solution. ANS may be used to assure that only authenticated agents communicate with an authenticated server, and the traffic between them meets integrity and confidentiality requirements. However, ANS does not address the problems already described herein.
For these and other reasons, a method and/or a system that provides security for a network would be valuable. Further a method and/or system that increases overall performance of a network would also be of value. A further a method and/or a system that provides enhanced usability and robustness of a application and network management system would also be of value.

Configuring templates for an application and network management system

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An optical connector having: a ferrule into which a first optical fiber is inserted; an optical fiber connector disposed at an back end of the ferrule; and a cross-linkable refractive index matching member attached onto an end face on a back end side of the first optical fiber. The end face on the back end side of the first optical fiber and an end face of a second optical fiber to be inserted into the optical fiber connector from a back end side thereof are to be connected by a butting connection. The cross-linkable refractive index matching member is formed such that a cross-linkable refractive index matching agent is coated on the end face on the back end side of the first optical fiber, and the coated agent is cross-linked and hardened.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an optical connector and, in particular, to an optical connector that is capable of easy connecting optical fibers in a setting site thereof. Also, this invention relates to a connection structure of optical fibers.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, in order to connect optical fibers, a physical connecting method is widely used that is conducted by butting against each other end faces of the optical fibers or end faces of the ferrules which houses the optical fiber therein. The physical connecting method includes a connecting method using a mechanical splice and a connecting method using an optical connector. Generally, in case of permanent connection (i.e., the optical fibers are usually not detached after they are connected), the connecting method using the mechanical splice is suitably used. Different from the permanent connection, in case of frequently detaching the optical fibers, the connecting method using the optical connector is suitably used. Practically, the mechanical splice is used for the permanent connection and the optical connector is used for the case that the optical fibers are frequently detached.
The connecting method using the mechanical splice and the connecting method using the optical connector are both conducted by applying a pressing force along the axis direction of the optical fibers mutually to the end face of the optical fibers. Thus, particularly in the connecting method using the optical connector that the frequent detaching can be simulated, it is necessary to prevent the damage of the end face of the optical fibers. Therefore, the optical fibers are physically contacted each other at the end face thereof while being protected by a ferrule into which they are inserted (See JP-A-1996-114724 (hereinafter called patent document 1)).
In the physical connecting method (such as the connecting method using the mechanical splice and the connecting method using the optical connector), a profile of the end face of optical fiber can seriously affect its connection characteristics. For example, when angle of the end face of the optical fiber is not aligned or the profile of the end face of the optical fiber is rough, air may enter in a space between the end face of the optical fibers to butt and contact each other. As a result, Fresnel reflection increases at the end face of the optical fiber to cause an increase in connection loss of the optical fiber. A method for preventing the increase in connection loss of the optical fiber is known that the end face of the optical fiber or the ferrule is polished after cutting the optical fiber.
Another method is known that the optical fibers are connected each other without polishing the end face of the optical fiber or the ferrule after cutting the optical fiber. This method is conducted such that a refractive index matching agent in liquid or grease state is interposed between the end faces of the optical fibers, where the agent has a refractive index similar to that of a core of the optical fiber (See JP-A-1999-72641 (hereinafter called patent document 2) and JP-A-1999-101919 (hereinafter called patent document 3)). In this method, the refractive index matching agent is coated on the end face of the optical fibers, or filled into a connection portion of the optical fibers, and then the optical fibers are butted each other. Thus, air can be prevented from entering into the space between the end faces of the optical fibers, the Fresnel reflection caused by the air can be lowered, and the connection loss of the optical fiber can be reduced.
Another method is known that uses a refractive index matching film (hereinafter simply called film) (See JP-B-2676705 (hereinafter called patent document 4), JP-A-2001-324641 (hereinafter called patent document 5) and JP-A-1980-153912 (hereinafter called patent document 6)).
However, of the conventional methods, the method of polishing the end face of the optical fibers or the ferrule is not suitable for connecting the optical fibers, especially an optical fiber (hereinafter called holey fiber) having plural periodical hole portions therein. When the optical fibers are connected in a setting site, a lot of time consumption and labor charge are required for polishing the end face of the optical fibers etc., and a polishing device must be prepared for polishing the end face of the optical fibers etc. Further, when the end face of the holey fiber is polished, a polishing residue generated in the polishing process and an abrasive agent used in the polishing process may enter the hole portion of the holey fiber to cause an increase in connection loss and a reduction in reliability.
On the other hand, the method of interposing the refractive index matching agent between the connection ends of the optical fibers as disclosed in the patent documents 2, 3 has the following problem. Since the refractive index matching agent generally is formed of a silicone or paraffin agent in liquid or grease state, it can enter into the hole portions of the holey fiber when the optical fibers are connected each other by using the optical connecter having the refractive index matching agent therein. Further, this method has the problem that, since the refractive index matching agent generally has a temperature dependency in refractive index, transmission loss of the holey fiber is extremely changed according to a change in refractive index of the refractive index matching agent entered into the hole portion of the holey fiber. Furthermore, this method has the problem that, when the refractive index matching agent enters into the hole portion of the holey fiber, the refractive index matching agent between the end faces of the optical fibers decreases so that air gaps and air bubbles are easily generated between the end faces of the optical fibers to cause the significant lowering of optical characteristics of the holey fiber.
A method may be simulated that the hole portions at the end face of the holey fiber are sealed before connecting the holey fiber. However, such a method is not suitable for connecting the optical fibers at the setting site since a dedicated connecting device is needed for performing the method and a lot of time consumption is required for sealing the hole portions at the end face of the holey fiber to cause an increase in connection cost of the optical fibers.
Furthermore, the methods of using the film as disclosed in the patent documents 4 to 6 have the following problem. Since the diameter of the optical fiber is as fine as 80 or 125 μm, it is very hard to attach the film onto the end face of the optical fibers at high dimensional accuracy. Further, the film needs to have an adhesive ability or stickiness in order to attach the film onto the end face of the optical fibers. Therefore, when the optical fibers are connected each other at the setting site, a foreign substance such as a dust can easily adhere to the film to reduce reliability of the optical fiber and workability during the connection process of the optical fibers.

Optical connector and connection structure of optical fibers


A process for preparing fluorinated ethers, such as desflurane, comprises reacting the corresponding chlorinated ether, such as isoflurane, with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride in the vapor phase in the presence of chromia catalyst. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract which will allow a searcher or other reader quickly to ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the appended issued claims.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the preparation of fluorinated ethers, which are useful as inhalation anesthetics.
2. Description of Related Art
Desflurane is a well known compound with effective anesthetic properties. For example see E. I. Eger et al, Anesthesia and Analgesia, 1987, pp 971-973, 974-976, 977-982, 983-985, 1227-1229, 1230-1233 and 1312-1315.
This compound is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,502, where it is prepared by the direct fluorination of 2-difluoromethoxy-1,1,1-trifluoroethane in Freon E3 as solvent, using 20% fluorine gas in argon. The reaction took 13 hours and had to be carried out at −20° C. to −25° C. to control the exothermic process. This process would be difficult to scale up due to the slow reaction, low reaction temperature and expensive reagents. Also, it is known to those skilled in the art that special care needs to be taken since the interaction of fluorine gas with partially fluorinated hydrocarbons is liable to cause explosions.
Other methods available for synthesis of desflurane involve:                a) Reaction of CHCl2OCH2COCl and/or CHCl2OCHClCOCl with sulfur tetrafluoride (U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,511). This is a multistage process and involves handling of highly toxic gaseous reagent sulfur tetrafluoride.        b) Reaction of CF3CHClOCF2H (isoflurane) with potassium fluoride. This reaction can be carried out in the absence of solvent at 278° C. under a pressure of 500 psi in an autoclave (U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,901) or in presence of an aprotic solvent (like sulfolane) with a phase transfer catalyst (tetramethylammonium chloride) at 210° C. again under pressure (UK Patent Specification No. 2,219,292). These processes have to be operated at high pressure and at elevated temperature for a long period of time and hence suffer from high capital cost. In addition, these processes have a further disadvantage in that they are essentially batch processes.        c) Reaction of CF3CHClOCF2H (isoflurane) with bromine trifluoride at ambient temperature (U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,781). Although this process gives a good yield and the transformation is accomplished in a short time, the reagent bromine trifluoride which is prepared from fluorine and bromine, is a highly toxic and hazardous chemical, which can explode in contact with water or organic materials. Special care and engineering are required for safe use which makes handling it on a commercial scale quite difficult. Additionally BrF3 is an expensive fluorinating agent.        d) Reaction of CF3CH2OCF2H with a solid transition metal fluoride fluorinating agent, where the fluorinating agent is CoF3 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,626). This process, according to the examples listed therein, gives a low yield (30-40%) of crude desflurane which has to be further purified for use as an anesthetic.        e) Reaction of CF3CHClOCF2H (isoflurane) with HF in the presence of antimony pentachloride, alone or in combination with antimony trichloride (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,026,924 and 6,800,786). This process suffers from several drawbacks, including the use of highly toxic and environmentally troublesome antimony salts which must be removed as an aqueous waste stream. The process also results in the formation of very difficult to separate byproducts, the removal of which results in increased energy consumption, and more significantly, results in a reduced yield of desflurane.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention was to provide a process whereby fluorinated ethers, including desflurane, can be prepared on an industrial scale without significant problems.