A sheet guiding unit separating mechanism includes a pair of first and second sheet guiding units disposed facing first and second sides of a recording medium, respectively, to guide a recording medium discharged from a fixing nip downstream. One of the pair of sheet guiding units facing the first side includes a first sheet guiding element disposed immediately downstream of the fixing nip and a second sheet guiding element disposed downstream of the first sheet guiding element. The second sheet guiding element is displaceable substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording medium and separate from the sheet guiding unit facing the second side when the sheet guiding unit separating mechanism is moved to separate from the fixing nip. The first and second sheet guiding elements together pivot around a first rotation fulcrum to separate from the fixing nip after the second sheet guiding element is displaced.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a sheet-guiding unit separating system, a fixing device with the sheet-guiding unit separating system, and an image forming apparatus with the fixing device with the sheet-guiding unit separating system. In particular, the present invention relates to a sheet-guiding mechanism to guide a recording medium discharged from a fixing nip of a fixing device, a fixing device with the sheet-guiding mechanism, and an image forming apparatus with the fixing device with the sheet-guiding mechanism.
2. Related Art
In the past, various types of image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, facsimiles, printers, etc., using an electrographic system have been proposed and well known. In the image forming apparatus, the following steps generally establish an image forming process. An electrostatic latent image is initially formed on a surface of a photoconductive (PC) drum serving as an image bearer. The electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive drum is then developed and rendered visible by toner or the like acting as a developing agent. The developed image is then transferred onto a recording medium (hereinafter, also variously sometimes referred to as a sheet, a recording sheet, a recording member, a transferring member) by a transfer device and is borne thereon. The toner image on the recording medium is then fixed onto the recording medium by a fixing device under pressure and heat or the like.
In the fixing device, a fixing member and a pressing member are opposed to each other as rotating members (e.g., rollers, belts, or a combination of each of them) while forming a nip (i.e., a fixing nip) therebetween. For example, in a roller type fixing device with an internal heater such as a halogen heater, etc., which forms the fixing nip by pressing a fixing roller (typically heated) and a pressing roller against each other, a recording medium bearing an unfixed toner image is conveyed through the fixing nip between these two rotating members (i.e., the fixing roller and the pressing roller) rotating in pressure with heat. The toner image is consequently heated and the pressed between these rotating members, and accordingly, melts due to the heat and is fixed on the recording medium.
Because the toner is mostly made of resin, and accordingly tends to melt in the fixing nip and adhere to a fixing member (e.g., a fixing roller and a fixing belt), the toner generally needs to be prevented from sticking to the fixing roller and the fixing belt or the like. Thus, there have been various attempts to prevent such sticking, such as adding wax compound to the toner, coating surfaces of the fixing roller and the fixing belt with releasable material, applying lubricant such as silicone oil, etc., to the surfaces of the fixing roller and the fixing belt, etc.
Further, a sheet separator with a separating nail (hereafter, sometimes collectively referred to as a separator, simply) may be attached to either a fixing roller or a fixing belt downstream, i.e., a sheet discharge side, of a fixing nip at a position immediately downstream of the fixing nip. The separator forcibly removes the recording medium that tends to wind around either the fixing roller or the fixing belt due to melting of the toner.
In recent years, to replace the separating nail, a sheet separator with a separating plate is sometimes attached to the fixing roller or the fixing belt across a narrow gap (i.e., separated therefrom). That is, a thin plate-like member is opposed to the fixing belt or the fixing roller immediately downstream of the fixing nip via the narrow gap not to avoid abrading the fixing roller or the fixing belt to avoid a problem caused by the separating nail.
Even so, the sheet separator, whether a separating nail, a separating plate, etc., cannot completely prevent the recording medium from winding around the fixing roller or the fixing belt. That is, when the separating nail or the separating plate is disposed close to the fixing roller or the fixing belt, and a sheet gets jammed, the jammed sheet is difficult to remove because it is usually is difficult to remove, because it is usually torn and/or partially left in a fixing device.
As a countermeasure against this problem, a sheet guiding unit separating system has been proposed to separate the separating nail, the separating plate, and a sheet guiding unit such as a guiding plate, etc., having the separating nail or plate, which is disposed in the sheet conveyance path immediately downstream of the fixing nip of the fixing roller or the fixing belt.
For example, in a conventional fixing device, more than one separating nail enabled to freely pivot around its shaft, a bracket having an elastic member, and a sheet ejection guiding unit having a lever, a pressing member, and a stopper nail pivoted by the lever are provided as a pivoting unit enabled to freely pivot around a prescribed axis of a fixing device. Further, the bracket unit is enabled to freely pivot around a fulcrum established in the above-described sheet ejection-guiding unit. Thus, when a sheet jam occurs and is to be dealt by operating the lever and pivoting the stopper nail unit away from a holder that holds a body of the fixing device, the pressing member presses against the elastic member to pivot the bracket unit so that the above-described sheet ejection guiding unit separates and allow access to the fixing nip. At the same time, a tip of the separating nail unit is separated from a surface of one of the rotating members.

Sheet guiding unit separating mechanism, fixing device with sheet guiding unit separating mechanism, and image forming apparatus with fixing device with sheet guiding unit separating mechanism


Processors having multiple threads of execution are configured to execute a critical section of code, which the processors execute in turns. The threads of execution are controlled to avoid occurrence of idle time between execution of the critical section by the processors. In particular, the control of the execution threads maintains thread ordering as well as ensures that a context swap occurs after the critical section execution has been completed by each thread of execution.

In multi-threaded, multi-processor applications, such as networking applications, data integrity for a so-called "critical section" of a program, that is, a code section for which only one thread has exclusive modification privileges for a global resource (e.g., a buffer memory) at any one time, can be maintained by allowing only one execution thread on one processor to execute the critical section at any given time. This restriction protects coherency during read-modify-write operations. Ownership of the critical section can be passed from thread to thread and processor to processor through the use of various signaling mechanisms.

Optimizing critical section microblocks by controlling thread execution


Methods for cementing a subterranean well comprise installing a casing string into a borehole, wherein the casing string comprises a metal having a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) lower than about 6×10−6/° C. A cement sheath is then placed between the exterior surface of the casing string and the formation wall. The low-CTE metal may reduce casing shrinkage when the well temperature falls during stimulation treatments, cyclic steam injection or when the well temperature reaches equilibrium at the top of a long casing string.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
This disclosure relates to equipment and methods for completing subterranean wells; in particular, wells in which large temperature fluctuations may occur.
During completion of a subterranean well, drilling and cementing operations are performed to provide a conduit through which desirable fluids originating within the formation may flow. The cementing operation involves placing a competent cement sheath inside the annular region between the external surface of a tubular body such as well casing, and the borehole wall. The cement sheath supports the casing and provides a hydraulic seal between producing formations. The presence of a hydraulic seal is commonly called zonal isolation.
Well cementing is a difficult operation because it requires several parameters to be considered and controlled. Such parameters include density, setting time, rheological properties, fluid-loss rate, set-cement strength and permeability. Control of these parameters is inherent to any well-cementing operation, and is well known to the skilled person. Solutions generally involve incorporating various additives into the cement slurry. Detailed information about well cementing may be found in the following publication: Nelson EB and Guillot D (eds.): Well Cementing, 2nd Edition, Schlumberger (2006).
When well cementing is successful, and a cement sheath has been formed that provides casing support and zonal isolation once the slurry has set and hardened, it may not be long before the sheath is subjected to mechanical and/or thermal stresses that can lead to deterioration. Cement systems employed in thermal-recovery wells are particularly prone to problems that lead to loss of zonal isolation. One type of thermal-recovery well involves the injection of steam into the wellbore, commonly known as steamflooding. Steamflooding may consist of introducing steam into an injection well and sending the steam through the formation to one or more production wells. Another technique involves cyclic steam injection, during which steam is injected into a single well for a limited period. After the steam-injection period, the well is placed into production. Heating the reservoir reduces the viscosity of oil in the formation, making production more efficient. Steamflood wells are usually less than 915 m (3000 ft) deep, and are frequently deviated (30° to horizontal). The circulating temperatures during primary-cementing operations are often less than 40° C. (104° F.). During injection, the steam temperature usually approaches about 315° C. (600° F.).
When heat is initially supplied, the temperature rise is normally controlled to prevent undue thermal shock to the casing and cement. Nevertheless, because of thermal expansion, high levels of stress are built up in the pipe and the cement sheath.
A substantial amount of work has been performed for many years to devise cementing techniques that minimize the effects of thermal expansion. Such methods include the placement of thermal packers and the inclusion of a sliding sleeve in the casing string that can move freely in response to thermal stress. Another procedure involves holding the casing in tension during primary cementing to minimize expansion when thermal stress is eventually applied.
More recently, a method was developed that involves applying internal casing pressure after the primary cementing has been performed, and while the cement slurry is settting and hardening. The internal pressure may vary from about 15.9 MPa to 138 MPa (2300 psi to 20,000 psi). This process prestresses the casing, and gives the cement sheath an improved ability to withstand the application of heat during the steam-injection process. Modeling software is used to analyze the anticipated well conditions during steam production, and determine the optimal amount of casing pressurization. All of the above techniques have aimed at maintaining zonal isolation.
Expanding cements have also been proposed in an effort to preserve intimate cement/casing and cement/formation bonding during all stages of the well's life. Unfortunately, when the formation is weak (a common occurrence in steamflood wells), expansion may cause the cement sheath to move away from the casing, creating a microannulus. For this reason, expanding cements for thermal recovery wells are generally not recommended.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for completing subterranean wells


A method and apparatus is disclosed for setting a distribution of image points on a printing surface having a coating of thermally activated material. For each image point to be set and used as part of an image, a laser heats the image point for a predetermined time period to a limiting or process temperature. The image points are preheated to an intermediate temperature below the limiting or process temperature and above an ambient temperature in order to reduce the energy required to raise the temperature of the thermally activated material at an image point to be set. In one embodiment of the invention, the entire printing surface is preheated to the intermediate temperature. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, only a region of the printing surface is preheated. In this alternative embodiment, the region moves with a writing head that sets the image points. In this regard, the rate of travel of the image head across the printing surface is such that a temporal stationary temperature is reached at the intermediate temperature prior to raising the temperature to the limiting or process temperature.

During the production of printing forms, the printing and non-printing surface parts must be structured in accordance with the information to be printed. Thus, it is known to convert thermally changeable coating applied to a base material into oleophilic, ink-accepting parts by heating the coating using suitable means such as a laser beam. The thermally changeable coating material has hydrophilic properties.
Printing forms work with a printing unit and can be of several types. For example, the forms can be plates clamped onto a cylinder, which are commonly used for off-set printing. Alternatively, they can be films in a special printing form image printing device or a surface of a machine cylinder. In a flat bed printing method using direct image printing, a laser is commonly used to write onto the printing forms. As a result of the input of heat by means of the laser, a thermally activatable coating on the forms has hydrophilic properties. It is converted or transformed from a hydrophilic state to an oleophilic, ink-accepting state in response to heat generated by application of the laser light to a spot-sized area (hereinafter the "image point").
The- temperature applied to an image point on the thermally activatable coating of a form must exceed a specific threshold value. This means that the energy applied to the coating by the laser must locally exceed a threshold value, which in turn generates thermal heat that raises the temperature of the image point above an "image setting temperature." This "image setting temperature" (e.g., 280.degree.) must be exceeded for a predefined period of time such as one to two microseconds. The image point is not set if this temperature versus time characteristic is not observed. This temperature versus time characteristic is predefined and oriented to the chemical and physical properties of the thermally activatable material.
Writing printing forms by means of supplying heat is in this case unable to structure the surface with respect to the information to be printed simply on the basis of a physical and/or chemical change to the coating material. In this context, methods for image printing by means of thermal abrasion are also known in which an image is created based on a point-by-point energy input. Likewise, with a requirement that a limiting temperature be exceeded for a minimum action time, removal of the coating material from the plate occurs, for example, by evaporation or by restructuring of the plate caused by changes to the plate's volume.
In all of the methods described above for using laser radiation as a source of heat energy to print images in a thermally activatable coating material, the material must be heated to exceed a temperature for a predetermined time interval. Depending on the type of the image printing method and on the composition of the thermally activatable coating material, relatively high laser powers must be employed. The lasers are modulated to provide the minimum time period required for heating each image point, which has a negative effect on the maximum achievable speed of writing precisely onto a large-format printing plate. In the case of this thermal image printing method using laser radiation, however, it is not only disadvantageous to need high laser power that has to be modulated, it is also disadvantageous to require a high amount of thermal energy to be applied to the plate. The higher the temperature necessary to set an image in the thermally activatable coating, the greater the temperature difference between each image point and the region of the plate surrounding the point. This large thermal gradient introduces stresses which can, for example, permanently detach the coating and base material or create deformations in at least one of these two layers of materials. It is also possible for a specific type of thermally activatable coating material to have very good thermal writing properties but nevertheless be considered an undesirable image printing material because it requires excessively high temperatures that accentuate the problems of material separation and/or deformation caused by thermal stresses.

Method and apparatus for producing a printing image distribution


Write logic and read logic are coupled to SDRAM and a frame status table. VCG members are written into SDRAM by the write logic and an entry (based on the MFI and SQ) in the frame status table is maintained by the write logic for each member. The read logic scans the frame status table to identify the earliest frame number for which data is available in SDRAM. Based on the frame status and the address pointer offset, the read logic maintains a state table entry for each VCG member and a state for each VCG. According to the preferred embodiment, the read logic is provided in two parts separated by a temporary buffer. The first part of the read logic performs the functions described above and writes chunk data into the temporary buffer. The second part of the read logic reads byte data from the temporary buffer according to a selectable leak rate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to telecommunications, the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH). More particularly, this invention relates to buffer management during virtual concatenation (VCAT) and link capacity adjustment scheme (LCAS).
2. State of the Art
The Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) or the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), as it is known in Europe, is a common telecommunications transport scheme which is designed to accommodate both DS-1 (T1) and E1 traffic as well as multiples (DS-3 and E-3) thereof. A DS-1 signal consists of up to twenty-four time division multiplexed DS-0 signals plus an overhead bit. Each DS-0 signal is a 64 kb/s signal and is the smallest allocation of bandwidth in the digital network, i.e. sufficient for a single telephone connection. An E1 signal consists of up to thirty-two time division multiplexed DS-0 signals with at least one of the DS-0s carrying overhead information.
Developed in the early 1980s, SONET has a base (STS-1) rate of 51.84 Mbit/sec in North America. The STS-1 signal can accommodate 28 DS-1 signals or 21 E1 signals or a combination of both. The basic STS-1 signal has a frame length of 125 microseconds (8,000 frames per second) and is organized as a frame of 810 octets (9 rows by 90 byte-wide columns). It will be appreciated that 8,000 frames*810 octets per frame*8 bits per octet=51.84 Mbit/sec. The frame includes the synchronous payload envelope (SPE) or virtual container (VC) as it is known in Europe, as well as transport overhead. Transport overhead is contained in the first three columns (27 bytes) and the SPE/VC occupies the remaining 87 columns.
In Europe, the base (STM-1) rate is 155.520 Mbit/sec, equivalent to the North American STS-3 rate (3*51.84=155.520). The STS-3 (STM-1) signals can accommodate 3 DS-3 signals or 63 E1 signals or 84 DS-1 signals, or a combination of them. The STS-12 (STM4) signals are 622.080 Mbps and can accommodate 12 DS-3 signals, etc. The STS-48 signals are 2,488.320 Mbps and can accommodate 48 DS-3 signals, etc. The highest defined STS signal, the STS-768, is nearly 40 Gbps (gigabits per second). The abbreviation STS stands for Synchronous Transport Signal and the abbreviation STM stands for Synchronous Transport Module. STS-n signals are also referred to as Optical Carrier (OC-n) signals when transported optically rather than electrically.
To facilitate the transport of lower-rate digital signals, the SONET standard uses sub-STS payload mappings, referred to as Virtual Tributary (VT) structures. (The ITU calls these structures Tributary Units or TUs.) This mapping divides the SPE (VC) frame into seven equal-sized sub-frames or VT (TU) groups with twelve columns of nine rows (108 bytes) in each. Four virtual tributary sizes are defined as follows.
VT1.5 has a data transmission rate of 1.728 Mb/s and accommodates a DS1 signal with overhead. The VT1.5 tributary occupies three columns of nine rows, i.e. 27 bytes. Thus, each VT Group can accommodate four VT1.5 tributaries.
VT2 has a data transmission rate of 2.304 Mb/s and accommodates a CEPT-1 (E1) signal with overhead. The VT2 tributary occupies four columns of nine rows, i.e. 36 bytes. Thus, each VT Group can accommodate three VT2 tributaries.
VT3 has a data transmission rate of 3.456 Mb/s) and accommodates a DS1 C signal with overhead. The VT3 tributary occupies six columns of nine rows, i.e. 54 bytes. Thus, each VT Group can accommodate two VT3 tributaries.
VT6 has a data transmission rate of 6.912 Mb/s and accommodates a DS2 signal with overhead. The VT6 tributary occupies twelve columns of nine rows, i.e. 108 bytes. Thus, each VT Group can accommodate one VT6 tributary.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the original SONET/SDH scheme as well as the VT mapping schemes were designed to carry known and potentially foreseeable TDM (time division multiplexed) signals. In the early 1980s these TDM signals were essentially multiplexed telephone lines, each having the (now considered) relatively small bandwidth of 56-64 kbps. At that time, there was no real standard for data communication. There were many different schemes for local area networking and the wide area network which eventually became known as the Internet was based on a "56 kbps backbone". Since then, Ethernet has become the standard for local area networking. Today Ethernet is available in four bandwidths: the original 10 Mbps system, 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet (IEEE 802.3u), 1,000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3z/802.3ab), and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3ae).
In recent years it has been recognized that SONET/SDH is the most practical way to link high speed Ethernet networks over a wide area. Unfortunately, the various Ethernet transmission rates (10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1,000 Mbps, and 10,000 Mbps) do not map well into the SONET/SDH frame. For example, the original 10 Mbps Ethernet signal is too large for a VT-6 tributary (6.912 Mbps) but too small for an entire STS-1 (51.84 Mbps) path. In other words, under the existing SONET/SDH schemes, in order to transport a 10 Mbps Ethernet signal, an entire STS-1 path must be used, thereby wasting a significant amount of bandwidth. Similar results occur when attempting to map the faster Ethernet signals into STS signals.
In order to provide a scheme for efficiently mapping Ethernet signals (as well as other signals such as Fiber Channel and ESCON) into a SONET/SDH frame, the Virtual Concatenation (VCAT) Protocol was created and has been endorsed by the ITU as the G.707 standard (ITUT-T Rec. G.707/Y.1322 (December 2003)) which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Similar to inverse multiplexing, Virtual Concatenation combines multiple links (members) into one Virtual Concatenation Group (VCG), enabling the carrier to optimize the SDH/SONET links for Ethernet traffic. For example, using virtual concatenation, five VT-2 (2 Mbps) links can be combined to carry a 10 Mbps Ethernet signal, resulting in full utilization of allotted bandwidth. Two STS-1 (51 Mbps) links can be combined to carry a 100 Mbps Ethernet signal, etc. Virtual Concatenation uses SONET/SDH overhead bytes (four of the sixteen "H4" bytes) to indicate two numbers: the multiframe indicator (MFI) and the sequence number (SQ).
Part of the emerging Virtual Concatenation Protocol includes methods for dynamically scaling the available bandwidth in a SONET/SDH signal. These methods are known as the Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme or LCAS. LCAS is a powerful network management tool because customer bandwidth requirements change over time. One simple example is a network user who, during business hours, needs only enough bandwidth to support electronic mail and worldwide web access. During non-working hours, however, the same network user may wish to conduct relatively large data transfers from one location to another to backup daily transactions, for example. It would be desirable to alter the user's available bandwidth as needed. LCAS provides a means to do this without disturbing other traffic on the link. LCAS has been endorsed by the ITU as the G.7042 standard (ITU-T Rec. G.7042/Y.1305 (February 2004)) which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
While Virtual Concatenation is a simple labeling protocol, LCAS requires a two-way handshake (using seven of the sixteen H4 bytes for high order, STS-1, and seventeen of the thirty-two K4 bits for low order, VT1.5). Status messages are continually exchanged and actions are taken based on the content of the messages. For example, to provide high order (STS-1) virtual concatenation, each STS-1 signal carries one of six LCAS control commands which are described as follows:
"Fixed"—LCAS not supported on this STS-1 ("Fixed" is actually inferred rather than sent as a command. It is inferred when all of the LCAS fields other than MFI and SEQ are zero.);
"Add"—Expresses an intention to add this STS-1 to a VCG, thereby increasing the bandwidth of an existing VCG or creating a new VCG (Bandwidth is increased upon acknowledgement from the sink.);
"Norm"—This STS-1 is in use and is not the last member of a VCG;
"EOS"—This STS-1 is in use and is the last payload carrying STS-1 of this VCG, i.e. the payload carrying STS-1 with the highest SQ number;
"Idle"—This STS-1 is not in use in a VCG or is about to be removed from a VCG;
"Do not use"—This STS-1 is supposed to be part of a VCG, but does not transport payload due to a broken link reported by the destination. Members of a VCG which do not carry payload are termed "inactive" whereas members which carry payload are termed "active".
Although SONET is said to be synchronous, it is actually plesiochronous. The clocks at different switches in the network actually differ in rate and also drift somewhat. Measures are provided to account for these clock differences which are seen as "justifications" in the overhead of the SONET signal. These justifications instruct the next switch in the path to add or remove "stuff bytes".
Due to the nature of the SONET network, it is possible for individual members of a VCG to traverse different network paths between their origin and destination. Because of this, members will arrive at their destination out of order and with different delays. This situation is generally referred to as "skewing". In order to reassemble the members of a VCG in proper order without undue delay and without losing any members, the arriving members must be buffered and deskewed. Deskewing uses the multiframe indicator (MFI) as a time stamp to align all of the VCG members. Challenges to the deskewing process include: achieving minimal latency, accounting for justifications, adjusting for increases and decreases in member delay, dealing with the presence of inactive VCG members, and managing start-up and disruptions.
In its simplest form, deskewing involves placing members of a VCG in a buffer until the member with the most delay is received, then reading the members out of the buffer in the proper order. If the buffer is read at a fixed rate dictated by the slowest member, the other members still stay buffered incurring a latency dictated not by their differential delay but by the differential delay with respect to the slowest member. If a member with the largest delay is removed from a group, the other members of the group are still subject to the long delay and buffer space is wasted. As a result, in these systems the system delay is effectively the history of the member of the VCG having the longest delay. This is a likely situation in the case of bandwidth adjustments using the LCAS protocol or due to configuration changes.

Methods and apparatus for deskewing VCAT/LCAS members


Disclosed is a circuit arrangement for electrically controlling and/or regulating the movement of an electrically driven unit (2), especially a window lifter or sliding roof of a motor vehicle, and to a method for operating said circuit arrangement. According to the invention, a jamming protection System is characterized in that a correlation variable (K) for the adjusting force of the unit (2) is measured and the adjusting movement is stopped or reversed in order to prevent jamming if the correlation variable (K) for the adjusting force exceeds a threshold value that corresponding to a predetermined jamming force. A filter (140) is used for temporally filtering the correlation variable (K) for the adjusting force of the unit. The invention is characterized in that the filter parameters (142, 143), especially the cutoff frequency (fg) and/or the order of the filter (140), can be controlled.

The invention refers to a circuit arrangement for the electrical control and/or regulation of the movement of an electrically driven unit, e.g. of an electrically driven adjusting drive in a vehicle. The invention also refers to a method for the electrical control and/or regulation of the movement of an electrically driven unit. The method and the circuit arrangement particularly refer to the recognition of jamming situations with electrically driven adjusting drives in motor vehicles, such as window winders, sunroofs or seat adjustment devices.
There are various regulations and directives that refer to such adjusting drives, for example 74/60/EEC by the European Union, EC21 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), FMVSS118 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the USA etc. All these regulations require limiting the jamming force to a maximum of 100 Newton in the presence of certain operating and test conditions.
From DE 44 42 171 A1, a method is known in which, for the recognition of jamming situations, the performance parameters of the electric motor are continuously picked up at measuring instants that are equidistant in time, and the adjusting force is determined therefrom.
Usually, brush-commutated d.c. motors with two magnetic poles are used in adjusting drives of motor vehicles. Commutation results in so-called current ripples on the motor-current signal, wherein a ripple occurs with each commutation.
In addition, the voltage of the electrical supply system of a motor vehicle also comprises alternating components when certain operating conditions prevail. These alternating components of the motor voltage cause additional alternating components in the motor current.
According to the general state of the art, a continuous signal is low-pass-filtered prior to equidistant-in-time sampling, wherein the limit frequency of the low-pass filter is lower than half of the sampling frequency. According to well-known Shannon's sampling theorem, this is necessary in order to prevent so-called aliasing effects. Usually, the utilized motors comprise between 8 and 12 slots so that 10 current ripples per revolution occur in a 10-slot motor. Thus, an alternating-current signal with a frequency of 10 times the speed superposes on the motor-current signal. Depending on the load and the operating voltage, the speed of the rotor is typically between 10 and 80 revolutions per second. Thus, the alternating components in the motor current caused by commutation are within a frequency range of between 100 and 800 Hz.
Typically, the motor current variations caused by jamming situations are within a frequency range of less than 20 Hz.
Usually, the components caused by commutation are suppressed by means of a low-pass arrangement that also suppresses the higher-frequency components of the alternating components in the motor current caused by ripples in the electrical supply system of the vehicle. For example, it is necessary to select a limit frequency of the low-pass filter of significantly lower than 100 Hz in order to sufficiently damp current ripples at 100 Hz.
In a jamming situation, the adjusting force increases which causes an increase in motor current. As shown in FIG. 2, low-pass filtering causes a delayed increase in filtered current which in the end results in a delayed recognition of jamming situations and thus in increased jamming forces.
Since the alternating components are very big in the presence of certain operating conditions, a very high degree of suppression is usually selected within the frequency range of the disturbing alternating components. This is achieved either by using appropriately low limit frequencies or by using appropriately high filter orders. However, low limit frequencies and high filter orders disadvantageously increase delay times.
Thus, the object of the invention is to provide a method and a circuit arrangement that improve the recognition of jamming situations.

Method and circuit arrangement for the electrical control and/or regulation of the movement of an electrically driven unit


A method is disclosed for absorbing anal leakage, such as fecal material, blood or flatulence. The method includes positioning an intergluteal absorbent pad external to the anal orifice of a subject such that the pad is retained between the buttocks, and any discharge from the anus is absorbed by the absorbent material of the pad. The pad can have a variety of shapes, including major and minor portions that are portions of spheres or ellipsoids, or which are elongated and have cross-sections that are circular or ellipsoid. The smaller minor portion of the pad is positioned against the anal orifice to minimize pressure exerted in this sensitive area, while the larger major portion is retained in the less sensitive intergluteal space. Insertion and retention of the pad adjacent to the anus helps alleviate symptoms of the hemorrhoids, absorbs leakage, and can also be used as a reservoir to administer medication.

Hemorrhoids are varicosities of anal veins which are common following pregnancy, as one ages, or as a result of a more sedentary lifestyle. Those suffering from hemorrhoids are often not able to use common suppositories or crèmes for the relief of itching or pain during the day, because suppositories or crèmes can leak during ambulation or when it is not possible to remain supine. Hemorrhoids can also bleed or result in a mucus discharge that can stain clothing. Although any resulting anal discharge (which may include feculent material) may be in small amounts, it can be hygienically and emotionally distressing.
Anal incontinence (the loss of feces and contaminated moisture) or loss of blood from hemorrhoids or anal fissures, are common problems, particularly with activities such as jumping or running. Fecal incontinence can result from disease, such as nerve compression, impairment or degeneration; iatrogenic causes such as radical surgery in the lower spine or rectal zone of the body; spinal cord injuries; or advancing age.
The loss of even small amounts of discharge from the anus may give rise to a pungent and abhorrent odor, accompanied by a feeling of wetness and/or irritation. Anal incontinence may lead to the development of other diseases due to the bacteria laden moist environment created by this leakage.
Other exudations that may be encountered include anal secretions, such as secretions derived from Skene's and Bartholin's glands, sweat glands, and the like. Such secretions and exudations may mix to produce disagreeable odors, and may be accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling of wetness. This phenomenon becomes more pronounced in the case of a person having a discharge due to infection or venereal disease, or postoperative, post-delivery or hemorrhoidal inflammation.
Many people who suffer from anal incontinence wear large diapers and/or plastic or rubber undergarments such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,902. In addition, hygienic articles have been developed which are inserted into and retained within the anal sphincter to absorb rectal secretions (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,380), or which are fixed to the natal cleft by an adhesive (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,484). However, there remains a need for a comfortable, non-intrusive device, for those who suffer from anal incontinence, that can absorb anal or peri-anal secretions.


An electric pulse generator includes a driver having an outer surface, a receiver, and one or more piezoelectric elements disposed between and in electrical contact with the driver and the receiver. The electric pulse generator further includes an explosive material disposed on the outer surface of the driver. A method of making an electrical pulse generator includes providing one or more piezoelectric elements, a driver, a receiver, and an explosive material and operably associating the explosive material with an outer surface of the driver. The method further includes electrically coupling the one or more piezoelectric elements between the driver and the receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric pulse generator and a method for making the electric pulse generator. In particular, the present invention relates to an explosive-driven electric pulse generator and a method for making the explosive-driven electric pulse generator.
2. Description of Related Art
High-voltage, electrical pulses are employed for many different uses. For example, such pulses may be used in defense, flash X-ray, oilfield logging, and oilfield radiography applications. While electrical pulses may be generated in many different ways, one way of producing such pulses is by mechanically impacting or shocking a material that exhibits a piezoelectric effect. Generally, these materials have a crystalline structure of non-centrosymmetric unit cells. When a mechanical stress is applied to such a material, an electrical charge is produced. The voltage of the electrical charge produced by mechanically stressing a piezoelectric material is proportional to the amount of mechanical stress applied to the material. Thus, if a high-voltage electrical charge is desired, a correspondingly large mechanical stress is applied to the piezoelectric material.
One way of generating a high-voltage electrical charge with a piezoelectric material is to impact the piezoelectric material with an explosive-driven member or with products (e.g., gases, particles, etc.) generated during detonation of an explosive material. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate two conventional apparatuses used to generate electrical pulses. In FIG. 1, an electric pulse generator 101 includes a piezoelectric material 103 disposed between and in electrical contact with a housing 105 and a receiver 107. Housing 105 defines a cavity 109 in which an explosive material 111 is disposed. Upon detonation of explosive material 111, the products of detonation urge piezoelectric material 103 toward receiver 107, mechanically stressing piezoelectric material 103. The electrical charge produced by piezoelectric material 103 is electrically conducted to housing 105 and to receiver 107, where it may be accessed via electrical leads 113, 115.
FIG. 2 depicts a conventional electric pulse generator 201 alternative to that shown in FIG. 1. Elements of electric pulse generator 201 generally correspond to those of electric pulse generator 101 (shown in FIG. 1) except that a projectile 203 is disposed between an explosive material 205 and piezoelectric material 103. Upon detonation of explosive material 205, the products of detonation propel projectile 203 toward and into impact with piezoelectric material 103. Projectile 203 mechanically stresses piezoelectric material 103, producing an electrical charge. The electrical charge is conducted to housing 105 and to receiver 107, where it may be accessed via electrical leads 113, 115.
Such conventional electric pulse generators, however, suffer from several problems. For example, the explosive arrangement may create a pressure pulse on detonation that is too short to sufficiently compress a thicker portion of piezoelectric material. Moreover, the explosive arrangement may produce a large peak pressure during the detonation pressure pulse, resulting in premature breakdown of the piezoelectric material. In either case, the resulting electrical pulse may exhibit a lower voltage than desired.
Further, typical conventional electric pulse generators comprise a relatively large portion of explosive material. Such electric pulse generators, therefore, must be handled carefully to avoid inadvertent detonation of the explosive material.
While there are many ways known in the art to produce a high-voltage electrical pulse, considerable room for improvement remains. The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing, the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above.

Explosive-driven electric pulse generator and method of making same


With a game implemented by the present game program, a touch panel type of monitor will be used, and a bat character displayed on the touch panel type of monitor will be rotated by a command means from a first position to a second position while the command means is in contact with the bat character. Then, the bat character will be rotated in reverse from the second position to the first position based upon the characteristics set in the bat character in response to the amount of rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game program, and in particular to a game program for causing a computer to implement a game that displays a rotatable character on a touch panel type of monitor. In addition, the present invention relates to a game device and a game method that is implemented by this game program.
2. Background Information
A variety of analog type games have been proposed in the past. One representative analog type game is a baseball board. With a baseball board, recessed portions are formed in the defensive position of each fielder (except for the pitcher) and the position of the outfield fence. The recessed portions of the defensive positions correspond to outs. Each of the plurality of recessed portions is arranged at a predetermined distance from each other along the fence position of the outfield. Each of the plurality of these recessed portions corresponds to any one of an out, a hit, a double, a triple, and a home run. A ball accommodating portion that can accommodate a plurality of metal balls is formed in the pitcher defensive position. The balls accommodated in the ball accommodating portion will be dispatched to the recessed portion of the catcher position by a player pulling out a lever arranged on the back side of the baseball board. A rotatable metal bat is arranged in the batter position. The tip of the bat is rotatably urged around the base end thereof from the catcher side to the pitcher side. If the player presses a cylindrical button on the surface of the board while the bat is engaged with a protrusion arranged on the catcher side, the protrusion will move below the board surface. When this occurs, the bat will rotate from the catcher side to the pitcher side.
With this type of baseball board, the balls accommodated in the ball accommodating portion will be dispatched from the pitcher side to the catcher side by the player on defense operating the lever. Here, the player at bat can hit a dispatched ball with the bat by pushing the cylindrical button. Then, when a ball that has been hit by the bat has been accommodated in a recessed portion, and an out, hit, double, triple, and a home run will be determined. For example, if a ball is accommodated in the recessed portion of the defensive position of a fielder it will be an out, and if a ball is accommodated in one of the plurality of recessed portions of the fence portion of the outfield, it will be an out, hit, double, triple or home run.
In accordance with the advances in video games in recent years, there have been attempts at bringing back analog games as video games. For example, if an analog game such as a baseball board is to be brought back as a video game, each fielder character will be displayed in the defensive positions of each fielder. If a ball is caught by a fielder character, it will be determined that the batter is out. In addition, a plurality of square regions that correspond to an out, a hit, a double, a triple, and a home run will be displayed at predetermined intervals along the fence at the fence positions in the outfield. If the ball character arrives at one of the plurality of these square regions, it will be determined that the hitter has obtained an out, a hit, a double, a triple, or a home run. Furthermore, a bat character will be displayed in the batter position.
Next, by assigning a function corresponding to the lever operation in a baseball board to a first button, the ball character from the pitcher character will be dispatched when the first button is pushed. Note that the selection of ball type can be performed prior to ball dispatch by means of a second button. In addition, the speed of the ball can be changed by continuously pushing the first button after ball dispatch. Then, by assigning a function that corresponds to the cylindrical button in the baseball board to a third button, the bat character will be swung when the third button is pushed.
If this is done, an analog game like the baseball board can be reproduced as a video game. In particular, when a player is playing defense, the type of ball to be thrown can be selected and the speed of the ball can be changed with the various buttons. Because of this, the player can dispatch the ball character from the pitcher character in various ways. However, if a player is playing offense, only the third button will be pushed in order to swing the bat character. Thus, if the player is playing offense, the player may not have the pleasure he or she feels when playing defense.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need to prevent the loss of pleasure when rotating a character. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

Game program, game device, and game method


A solid-state imaging device, with (a) a pixel array unit including two-dimensionally arranged pixels each including (i) a photoelectric conversion element, (ii) a select transistor configured to perform pixel selection, and (iii) a charge discharging transistor configured to selectively discharge the charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion element; and (b) driving circuitry operable to drive reading of output signals from the pixels of the pixel array unit, for each pixel the driving circuitry driving the charge discharging transistor using a select transistor driving signal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a solid-state image capturing apparatus, a driving method thereof and an electronic apparatus. In particular, the invention relates to a solid-state image capturing apparatus, such as a CMOS image sensor, having an electronic shutter function, a driving method thereof, and an electronic apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most CMOS image sensors, which are a kind of a solid-state image capturing apparatus, for example, an X-Y address type solid-state image capturing apparatus, have an electronic shutter function for electronically performing an operation of resetting signal charges accumulated in photoelectric converters (light receiving units) and newly starting accumulation of signal charges. In general, a CMOS image sensor employs a so-called rolling shutter (also referred to as a focal plane shutter) scheme for performing the starting and ending of exposure with respect to each pixel low through sequential scanning.
In the case of employing a rolling shutter scheme for an electronic shutter, since an exposure period is not synchronized with respect to each pixel row, if an object being moved or an object being turned on and off is photographed, an image may be distorted or broken. In this regard, global exposure is realized to perform the starting and ending of exposure at the same timing with respect to all pixels, so that distortion can be prevented when the object being moved or the object being turned on and off is photographed.
Therefore, in order to realize the global exposure by using a CMOS image sensor, a configuration is employed, in which a holding unit (FD or CCD) for holding signal charges is provided separately from a photoelectric conversion unit. Further, the signal charges are transferred from the photoelectric conversion unit to the holding unit with respect to all pixels, so that the exposure end is simultaneously performed with respect to all pixels and synchronization of the exposure period is realized.
However, in a CMOS image sensor employing the configuration in which the holding unit of signal charges is added, during reading of signal charges (photoelectric charges) after exposure, that is, during the period for which signal charges are continuously held in the holding unit, accumulation of electric charges occurs again because the photoelectric conversion unit continues to receive incident light. Thus, when the incident light is strong, the photoelectric conversion unit may be saturated again. Further, if signal charges overflowing from the photoelectric conversion unit leak in the holding unit, an image may be broken.
Therefore, in the related art, separately from a transfer transistor that transfers signal charges in the photoelectric conversion unit to an FD (floating diffusion) section, a charge discharging transistor, which discharges the signal charges in the photoelectric conversion unit to a part different from the FD section, is provided inside the pixel (e.g., refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-140149).

Solid-state image capturing apparatus, driving method thereof and electronic apparatus


An antenna device attains good antenna performance using at least one or more metal members installed in a portable terminal. The antenna device includes a main board equipped with a power supply part for supplying power, a slot part which is positioned in at least one or more metal members or is formed by a combination of the metal members, and a power supply antenna member for receiving power from the power supply part and which is electromagnetically coupled with the slot part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna device for a portable terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to an antenna device for improving antenna performance using at least one or more metal members installed in a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable terminals such as mobile communication terminals (cellular phones), electronic schedulers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and personal complex terminals have become necessities of current society due to the rapid development of electronic communication industries. Portable terminals have developed into an important means of information transmission, which are quickly changing the manner in which information is used and managed.
In this situation, functions have been gradually added to portable terminals, and portable terminals are characterized by their lightness, thinness, compactness, and smallness. Accordingly, it is becoming more and more difficult to mount a plurality of components in the limited space of a portable terminal when portable terminals are becoming light, thin, compact, and small. As is well known in the art, a portable terminal has an antenna for establishing communication services such as a telephone conversation service and an Internet service. In general, the larger the antenna, the better performance the portable terminal has. However, it is becoming more and more difficult to implement an antenna with a desired performance in a limited space. In addition, use of a metal member for mounting or implementing the components of a miniaturized terminal or for beautifying the appearance of the portable terminal is increasing. However, such use of a metal member results in degradation of antenna performance.


An encoding method which allows reduction in the amount of codes is provided. The encoding method includes: setting step S11 for setting a quantization matrix set; quantization step S12 for performing quantization on a target block using the selected quantization matrix; and encoding step S13 for encoding, in a mutually associated manner, the target block which has been subjected to the quantization and identification information for identifying the quantization matrix set which has been set. In setting step S11, a quantization matrix set selected from a plurality of quantization matrix sets is set as the quantization matrix set to be used to perform the quantization on the target block, the plurality of quantization matrix sets including a custom quantization matrix set which is arbitrarily specified and a plurality of defined quantization matrix sets which have been respectively defined in advance.

There is the H.265/HEVC (high efficiency video coding) standard as the latest video coding standard (see Non-patent Literature (NPL) 1). In video coding methods including H.265/HEVC, quantization may be performed using quantization matrices having different quantization widths in accordance with frequency components. By using quantization matrices which make it possible to roughly quantize high-frequency components and finely quantize low-frequency components in coding, subjective image quality is increased because deterioration of the high-frequency components is less noticeable to human eyes. Furthermore, it is possible to use different quantization matrices in accordance with quantization modes which are determined based on prediction modes, block sizes, and pixel components. When quantization matrices are used in H.265/HEVC, quantization modes are determined in accordance with combinations of block sizes such as 4×4 and 8×8 to be used in frequency transform, prediction modes at the time when prediction images are generated, and pixel components such as luminance and chrominance. Subsequently, quantization matrices corresponding to the quantization modes are obtained and used. As such quantization matrices, a quantization matrix at a coding side which has been specified by a user or a system and a default quantization matrix may be used. When a quantization matrix is specified by a user, the user can set a quantization matrix suitable for a coding target image.

Encoding method, decoding method, encoding apparatus, and decoding apparatus

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A cover material for a vehicle seat provides favorable touch while utilizing the texture of a leather material. A cover material for a vehicle seat includes: a leather portion made of natural leather or artificial leather; and a mesh fabric portion bonded to the back side of the leather portion.

The present disclosure relates to a cover material for a vehicle seat and particularly relates to a cover material for a vehicle seat to which a leather material is applied.
Natural leather or artificial leather is known as an example of a cover material for a vehicle seat. These leather materials are used as the cover material, thereby enhancing the quality (e.g., luxurious feel) of the vehicle seat. A cover material configured in such a way that natural leather or artificial leather is bonded to another material has been developed. As an example of such a cover material, Japanese Patent Document JP H09-039190A describes a cover material configured in such a way that natural leather from which a split layer is removed is bonded to a sheeted elastic base member.
A cover material for a vehicle seat to which natural leather or artificial leather is applied is desired to utilize the texture of the leather material and provide favorable touch (for example, a tactile sense an occupant has when seated on the vehicle seat and touching the cover material). However, it may be difficult for the cover material to provide favorable touch depending on the type or structure of a material bonded to the leather material. For example, if a material has a flat surface as the sheeted elastic base member as described in Japanese Patent Document JP H09-039190A, the flat surface of the material is bonded by surface contact to a leather material; therefore, it may be difficult for the cover material to provide favorable touch.


The present invention provides a device for disinfecting and storing a contact lens comprising a container, a lens holding means for supporting a contact lens, a cap for sealably covering the open end of the container and a gas-permeable, liquid-impermeable membrane fixed to the internal surface of the appliance and positioned to cover all apertures in the appliance to allow oxygen to escape from the device but preventing liquid from escaping from the device when an oxidative disinfectant is used in the appliance.

The present invention concerns an improved contact lens disinfecting device.
Use of hydrogen peroxide for the chemical sterilization or disinfecting of soft contact lenses is well-known in the art. Such lenses are generally disinfected inside particularly-crafted contact lens holders. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,919 discloses a lens disinfecting appliance with an improved venting feature for use with oxidative disinfectants. The venting feature in the '919 patent is a filter cartridge inserted into an aperture. This allows oxygen produced by decomposing hydrogen peroxide to escape from the device.
The purpose for venting in a contact lens disinfecting appliance is to allow oxygen to escape. Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidative disinfectant, that is, as part of the disinfection process, the hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen. For such disinfection systems, the appliance containing the lenses and the disinfectant must be designed to allow oxygen to escape from the appliance or the appliance might explode due to the build up of vapor pressure.
Other attempts to solve the problem of providing a contact lens disinfecting device which can vent the oxygen produced by decomposing hydrogen peroxide include U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,583. In the '583 patent, a contact lens disinfection appliance which can vent oxygen is disclosed. In the appliance a gas-permeable, liquid-impermeable membrane is loosely fitted inside a space in a cap of the device. The membrane is positioned between the disinfecting chamber and apertures located in the cap. The apertures in the cap allow gas which has passed through the membrane to escape.
Unfortunately, neither the invention disclosed in the '583 patent nor in the '919 patent adequately solves the problem of venting the oxygen created during hydrogen peroxide decomposition while providing a leak-proof and non-clogging appliance. The '919 patent provides an appliance with minimal surface area to allow oxygen to escape. In addition, leakage is a potential problem as the filter cartridge is not adequately secured inside the aperture into which it is placed. Moreover, the filter cartridge would have a tendency to clog because of its minimal surface area.
The appliance disclosed in the '583 patent is also inadequate because it provides a membrane which can be easily dislodged. Since this membrane in the appliance in the '583 patent can be easily dislodged, the appliance is likely to leak.
The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing a contact lens disinfecting appliance with a gas-permeable, liquid-impermeable member fixed securely thereto which can properly and adequately vent oxygen created during hydrogen peroxide decomposition without clogging or leaking.

Contact lens disinfecting device and disinfection system


A flyback controller featuring bidirectional power control and parallelly-connected power modules is based on flyback DC-DC converters for allowing bidirectional energy flow and transformation. The flyback controller includes two bidirectional DC-DC converters that are connected in parallel. The bidirectional DC-DC converters are electrically connected with a digital-signal processor. The digital-signal processor controls the bidirectional DC-DC converters and current thereof, so that the current flows evenly across the bidirectional DC-DC converters. Thereby, the flyback controller has advantages about simplified components and increased power output, and is suitable for testing secondary batteries.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to flyback controllers, and more particularly to a flyback controller featuring bidirectional power control and parallelly-connected power modules.
2. Description of Related Art
High-power-density secondary batteries are of significance for the development of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Generally, vehicle manufacturers have to conduct complex road tests and environmental tests before deciding which battery is a suitable secondary battery, and this process is time-consuming and costly. For reducing the costs required by the tests on secondary batteries, the inventor of the present invention, on the strength of years of experiences in the art, has devised a DC-DC converter system that supports two-way energy flow and uses software to realize a control scheme showing highly dynamic response, so as to meet the needs for testing secondary batteries.
FIG. 1 schematically depicts a conventional bidirectional DC-DC converter. The bidirectional DC-DC converter is based on phase-shifted full-bridge topology. While such a bidirectional DC-DC converter provides a large range of current modulation that is suitable for testing secondary batteries, it comprises at least eight sets of FETs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 together with other power devices, and the numerous components make the bidirectional DC-DC converter difficult to assemble and expansive to produce. In view of this, the inventor of the present invention makes improvements to the conventional bidirectional DC-DC converters by providing the present invention.

Flyback controller featuring bidirectional power control and parallelly-connected power modules


A combined microwave oven and hood is provided. The combined microwave oven and hood includes a cavity assembly including a cavity and an electronic equipment room disposed at one side of the cavity, a blower for generating an absorptive power of contaminated air, a filter for filtering the contaminated air absorbed through the blower, and a drawer type air curtain module, which is transferred to a front side of the cavity assembly as operated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combined microwave oven and hood, and more particularly, to a combined microwave oven and hood with an air curtain generating apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a combined microwave oven and hood is a product with an exhaust function capable of exhausting hot air, odious smell, vapor and the like as well as functions as a microwave oven. The combined microwave oven and hood is installed at an upper side of an oven range to improve spatial use of a kitchen.
The construction and operation of the combined microwave oven and hood are disclosed in the prior arts, for example, Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2002-0042575, 10-2002-0000280, etc. Accordingly, their detailed description will be omitted.
In the aforementioned prior arts, since a suction area is designed smaller than an upper area of the oven range, hot air, odious smell, vapor and the like are completely not suctioned.
The hot air, odious smell, vapor and the like that are not suctioned are directly transferred to a user, for example, a housekeeper, thus causing unpleasantness. Also, the hot air, odious smell, vapor and the like are transferred even to the kitchen, rooms, etc., thereby contaminating interior air and soiling inner walls of the kitchen or rooms.
Also, the prior art combined microwave oven and hood has a drawback in that the filter can be exchanged after unscrewing bolts coupled to an upper plate, separating the combined microwave oven and hood bodily, and separating a grill.


The invention describes a colonic crypt cell stimulating mitogen, and conditioned medium containing it. In particular, cell line LIM 2537 is described which, when cultivated in medium, secretes a mitogen which stimulates the proliferation o colonic crypt cells. Applications of the conditioned medium and the cell line are also described.

Many cell products have been identified via analysis of their effect on targeted cell populations and subpopulations. Such products include a plethora of materials including growth factors, cytokines, and so forth. These substances are extremely powerful and are produced in vanishingly small amounts by normal cells.
One of the major goals of contemporary molecular biology is the identification and cloning of genes which produce the various materials generally discussed supra. While such genes have been identified for materials such as erythropoietin (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,008), and interleukin-7 (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,195), the relevant genetic material is not always available, or is not available as quickly as the art would like. In such cases, an important means of securing sufficient amounts of the material of interest is via the identification and isolation of cell lines which produce the desired product.
Examples of proteinaceous cell products which were first identified via cell lines which produced them are "granulocyte colony stimulating factor" or "G-CSF" (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,127), and interleukin-3 (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,018). The latter patent is of particular interest because, while the factor could not be completely characterized in terms of parameters such as molecular weight, isoelectric point, etc., its functional properties were clearly defined. Another example of this approach to factors of biological pertinence and their isolation from cell lines may be seen in Golde et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,032. Of course, the artisan is also aware of the vast number of known monoclonal antibodies which are produced by hybridoma cell lines. Frequently, the most pertinent feature of these proteins is their specificity, and this is all that is required to identify them.
Although many factors involved in the formulation of cell growth have been identified, the diversity of different cell types is evidence of the need to continue work toward identifying and characterizing factors which have specific targets, i.e., which stimulate particular cell types.
The different cell types of a mature organism do not appear "sua sponte", rather, they develop from precursor cells which have the ability to differentiate into different types of mature cells. These precursor cells are referred to as "stem cells" generally, and are an important resource to the field for studies on cellular development. The importance of stem cells to basic research can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,620, to Tsukamoto et al., which involves the isolation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells. Various media, including IMDM, and RPMI are described as growth media which can be used to maintain these stem cells.
The stem cells which develop into colonic mucosa are also referred to a colon crypt cells. While it has been possible to isolate these cells from mixed culture, their cultivation has been difficult. See in this regard Whitehead et al., In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology 23(6): 436-442 (1987), hereinafter referred to as "In Vitro", the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. The methodology described therein requires, inter alia, the use of collagen gels and feeder layers of bovine aortic cells for extended culture of the crypt cells. This methodology is involved, and not completely satisfactory for the cultivation of colonic crypt cells.
Tumor cells are frequently the source of cell lines which are high producers of stimulatory factors for their normal counterparts. With reference to the patent literature cited supra, e.g., the cell lines identified as producers of G-CSF and IL-3, e.g., were isolated from tumorous material.
Cell lines derived from colon tumors and which can be traced to colonic crypt cells are known, as per, e.g., Whitehead et al., JNCI 74(4): 759-762 (1985), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference and which described cell line LIM 1215, whose origin is traced to colon crypt cells. Not all cell lines produce pertinent factors, however, and there is no guarantee or pattern as to which cell lines will produce a stimulatory factor.
Investigations have now yielded a cell line which produces a factor not otherwise recognized by the art, and which acts as a mitogen on colonic crypt cells. The factor acts as a mitogen in that it stimulates DNA synthesis and proliferation of the targeted cells (i.e., colon crypt cells). The factor is secreted by the producing cell line into growth medium, to yield a conditioned medium which stimulates proliferation of colonic crypt cells. It is thus mitogen, the cell line producing it, and applications thereof, which are the subject of the invention described herein.

Conditioned medium useful for sustaining growth of colonic crypt cells


A wireless access point receives an access request having a distributed ledger indicator and an appliance identity from a data appliance. The wireless access point transfers the appliance identity to a distributed ledger responsive to the access request. The distributed ledger reaches consensus on the appliance identity, determines network access for the data appliance per the appliance identity, reaches consensus on the network access, and transfers an instruction to the wireless access point. The wireless access point schedules access for the data appliance per the instruction. The wireless access point wirelessly transfers a network access schedule to the data appliance. The wireless access point receives user data from the data appliance per the network access schedule and transfers the user data to the distributed ledger. The distributed ledger receives the user data, reaches consensus on the user data, and stores the user data in a distributed ledger database.

Wireless data networks serve wireless telephones with mobile data services like video streaming, internet access, and voice calling. The wireless data networks have wireless access points that exchange user data over the air with the wireless telephones. In addition to telephones, various other data machines like drones and sensors use the wireless data networks to transfer their user data to remote databases. To attach to a wireless data network, the wireless user device selects a wireless access point and performs a random access procedure with the wireless access point. The random access procedure usually results in a wireless data link between the wireless user device and the wireless access point that supports services like video streaming, internet access, and voice calling. The number of wireless user devices is rapidly increasing.
The wireless data networks have databases that control access to the wireless links by the wireless user devices. The databases authenticate the wireless user devices and then authorize services for the authenticated and qualified user devices. The databases refuse wireless links to the wireless user devices that cannot be authenticated or authorized (emergencies excepted). Exemplary databases include Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Home Subscriber System (HSS), and Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA).
The wireless data networks have data centers that are referred to as Network Function Virtualization Infrastructures (NFVIs). The NFVIs are directed by Management and Orchestration (MANO) systems. The MANO systems implement Network Service Descriptors (NSDs) to drive the NVFIs to execute Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). To deliver wireless data services, the wireless user devices communicate with the VNFs that are running in the NFVIs. Some of the VNFs comprise databases like AUSF, HSS, and AAA. Unfortunately, the load on these databases is rapidly increasing due to the massive increase in wireless user devices.
A network slice comprises a virtual portion of the wireless data network. To form a network slice, a network slice controller instructs NFV MANO systems to implement NSDs for the network slice. NFV MANO systems directs the NFVIs to run the VNFs for the network slice based on the NSDs. The network slice controller also instructs the wireless access points for the network slice to serve the wireless user devices for the network slice. To deliver wireless data services within the network slice, the wireless user devices communicate with the wireless access points in the network slice, and the access points communicate with the network slice VNFs that are running in the NFVIs.
A distributed ledger is comprised of data blocks that are copied and executed across multiple computers. Each copy of the data block has a distributed application and a distributed database. The distributed application in the ledger blocks reaches consensus on new data across all ledger computers before storing the copies of the data in the distributed database in all ledger computers. For example, the distributed application reaches a consensus on a user's monetary payment amount before storing the monetary payment amount in a user's account in the distributed database. The distributed ledgers also use ledger oracles to validate and verify information before processing by the distributed application and storage by the distributed database. Various distributed applications, ledger oracles, and consensus algorithms are available for adaption and implementation in the distributed ledgers.
Unfortunately, wireless data networks have not effectively and efficiently integrated network slicing and distributed ledgers to offload their heavily-loaded databases which authenticate and authorize the rapidly increasing number of wireless user devices.

Wireless network access for data appliances


The invention relates to a method of controlling or combating microbial organism by applying an antimicrobial peptide to the microbial organisms, wherein said antimicrobial peptide derived from Lilium ‘Stargazer’ glycine-rich protein 1. In addition, the present invention provides an antimicrobial composition comprising an antimicrobial peptide of the invention, an additional biocidal agent and pharmaceutically acceptable vehicles, excipients, diluents, and adjuvants.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling or combating microbial organism. The invention also relates to an antimicrobial composition for inhibiting microbial organism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are natural antibiotics that act as a primary defense barrier to prevent the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms in living organisms. Recently, scientific studies have disclosed a class of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides in humans, mammals, plants, insects and other organisms. Generally these peptides have a net positive charge (i.e., cationic), and it is believed that the antimicrobial efficacy of theses peptides is attributed to their ability to penetrate and disrupt the microbial membranes, thereby killing the microbe or inhibiting its growth.
Plant AMPs are 3-10 kDa cationic peptides that exhibit a high content of cysteine and/or glycine residues. These plant AMPs are expressed constitutively or are induced following pathogen attack, and most are localized in extracellular matrix. The structures of plant AMPs are generally stabilized by cysteine-linked intramolecular disulfide bridges, which ensure the effective interaction of AMPs with microbial plasma membranes and lead to disruption of membrane integrity of the microorganisms (Pelegrini et al. 2011; Hammam et al. 2009). In addition to membrane permeabilization, other antimicrobial mechanisms of AMPs have been proposed, such as the suppression of nucleic acid and protein synthesis, inhibition of enzymatic activity, and induction of programmed cell death (Brogden, 2005; De Brucker et al. 2011; Rahnamaeian, 2011). Because AMPs exhibit diverse modes of action and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, they are highly recommended candidates for drug development and plant disease control (Brandenburg et al. 2012; Montesinos, 2007; Stotz et al. 2009).
Induced resistance in plants refers to a state with enhanced defenses in response to biotic and abiotic stress (Bostock, 1999; Sticher et al. 1997; van Loon et al. 1998; Durrant and Dong, 2004). The plant hormone salicylic acid is a disease resistance modulator involved in defensive signaling and stimulates the expression of numerous defense genes in many plant systems (Alvarez, 2000; Kessmann et al. 1994). LsGRP1 (Lilium 'Stargazer' glycine-rich protein 1) is a defense-related gene of lily that is differentially expressed post-treatments with salicylic acid and probenazole and after inoculation with Botrytis elliptica (Berk.) Cooke. LsGRP1 is predicted to encode a glycine-rich protein of 138 amino acids (a.a.) containing a 23-a.a. N-terminal signal peptide, which targets the mature protein to the plasma membrane or extracellular matrix. The deduced LsGRP1 sequence shares greater than 53% similarity with various plant GRPs and has a highly conserved domain structure, including an N-terminal signal peptide, a central glycine-rich domain and a C-terminal cysteine-rich domain (Chen et al. 2003; Lu and Chen, 2005; Lu et al. 1998, 2007).
However, to date there have not been any reports to identify the antimicrobial activity of LsGRP1-derived peptides. There is a need in the art to explore the great potential of LsGRP1-derived peptides for antimicrobial application.
Reference Cited [Referenced By]
Other Reference
Alvarez M E (2000) Salicylic acid in the machinery of hypersensitive cell death and disease resistance. Plant Mol. Biol. 4:429-442.
Bostock R M (1999) Signal conflicts and synergies in induced resistance to multiple attackers. Physiol. Mol. Plant Pathol. 55:99-109.
Brandenburg L-O, Merres J, Albrecht L-J, Varoga D, Pufe T (2012) Antimicrobial peptides: Multifunctional drugs for different applications. Polymers 4:539-560.
Brogden K A (2005) Antimicrobial peptides: Pore formers or metabolic inhibitors in bacteria? Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 3:238-250.
Chen C Y, Lu Y Y, Chung J C (2003) Induced host resistance against Botrytis leaf blight. In Huang, H., C. and Acharya, S., N. (Eds), Advances in plant disease management (pp. 259-267). Management. Research Signpost, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
De Brucker K, Cammue B P A, Thevissen K (2011) Apoptosis-inducing antifungal peptides and proteins. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 39:1527-1532.
Durrant W E, Dong X (2004) Systemic acquired resistance. Annu Rev. Phytopathol. 42:185-209.
Hammami R, Ben Hamida J, Vergoten G, Fliss I (2009) PhytAMP: a database dedicated to antimicrobial plant peptides. Nucleic Acids Res. 37:963-968.
Kessmann H, Staub T, Hofmann C, Maetzke T, Herzog J, Ward E, Uknes S, Ryals J (1994) Induction of systemic acquired resistance in plants by chemicals. Annu Rev. Phytopathol. 32: 439-459.
Lu Y Y, Chen C Y (1998) Probenazole-induced resistance of lily leaves against Botrytis elliptica. Plant Pathol. Bull. 7:134-140.
Lu Y Y, Chen C Y (2005) Molecular analysis of lily leaves in response to salicylic acid effective towards protection against Botrytis elliptica. Plant Sci. 169:1-9.
Lu Y Y, Liu Y H, Chen C Y (2007) Stomatal closure, callose deposition, and increase of LsGRP1-corresponding transcript in probenazole-induced resistance against Botrytis elliptica in lily. Plant Sci. 172:913-919.
Montesinos E (2007) Antimicrobial peptides and plant disease control. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 270:1-11.
Pelegrini B P, Del Sarto R P, Silva O N, Franco O L, Grossi-de-Sa M F (2011) Antibacterial peptides from plants: what they are and how they probably work. Biochem. Res. Int. 2011:250349.
Rahnamaeian M (2011) Antimicrobial peptides: Modes of mechanism, modulation of defense responses. Plant Signal. Behav. 6:1325-1332.
Sticher L, Mauch-Mani B, Métraux J P (1997) Systemic acquired resistance. Annu Rev. Phytopathol. 35: 235-270.
Stotz H U, Thomson J G, Wang Y (2009) Plant defensins: Defense, development and application. Plant Signal Behav. 4:1010-1012.
van Loon L C, Bakker P A H M, Pieterse, C M J (1998) Systemic resistance induced by rhizosphere bacteria. Ann. Rev. Phytopathol. 36: 453-483.

Antimicrobial composition for inhibiting microbial organisms and the method thereof


A sound absorber includes a duct member constituting a resonance pathway, the duct member including a pathway portion communicating ends of the duct member; a base member including a concave portion; and a cover member including a neck in which to insert the duct member. The cover member covers the concave portion of the base member, and the cover member combined with the base member forms a resonance space having a volume V. The resonance pathway has dimensions of a length LH and a cross-sectional area SH and communicates the resonance space and an exterior of the sound absorber. The sound absorber has a resonance frequency fH determined by fH=(c/2π)·(SH/V·LH)1/2 and absorbs sound having the resonance frequency fH, where c represents sound velocity.

1. Technical Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a sound absorber that absorbs a sound of a specific frequency range and an image forming apparatus including the sound absorber.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses such as copiers, plain-sheet facsimile machines, and laser printers include a drive source such as a motor or a drive mechanism driven by a motor. Accordingly, noise is generated when operating the image forming apparatus. Sources of noise include, for example, rotation of a polygon mirror and driving of the drive mechanism.
Conventional silencing technologies are proposed, in which, to suppress noise having a specific frequency, a technology employing a Helmholtz resonator as a sound absorber is provided.
However, with conventional silencing technologies employing a Helmholtz resonator as a sound absorber, the sound frequency that is absorbed is fixed. Thus, to change the sound frequency that is absorbed, it is necessary to replace the sound absorber with another sound absorber having different specifications or change primary parts constituting the sound absorber. Accordingly, a problem of cost increase arises.

Sound absorber and image forming apparatus incorporating same


A semiconductor device including a semiconductor substrate; a first insulating film formed on the semiconductor substrate including a contact hole opened therethrough; a lower plug filled in the contact hole having a recess defined in an upper portion thereof; a second insulating film including a via hole opened therethrough; a third insulating film formed on an inner surface of the via hole and extending in a predetermined depth from an upper edge of the via hole so as to reduce a cross sectional area thereof; and an upper plug filled in the via hole that has a protrusion formed on a lower portion thereof that conforms to the recess to electrically connect the upper and the lower plug.

Relentless demand for further device integration in semiconductor devices requires ever narrower spacing between device configurations. Taking a NAND flash memory for example, bit line widths and gaps between the bit lines in the memory cell region are becoming narrower with time. Thus technical challenge increases in forming narrower opening patterns in lithography processing of configurations such as contact holes and via holes.
One exemplary solution to address such technical difficulty is disclosed in a via hole processing illustrated in FIG. 2 of JP H10-233445 A in which an opening pattern is defined on an insulating film which is wide enough to be processed by lithography, whereafter the opening is narrowed to reduce its surface area by forming a spacer on the inner upper end wall of the via hole.
The disclosed method, however has the following problems.
When filling the contact hole with conductive material, a void may occur in the resulting contact plug. When a via hole is opened by etching through an overlying layer to reach the upper surface of the contact plug, the void residing in the proximity of the upper surface of the contact plug may be opened up. When an insulating films is formed as a spacer on the inner wall of the via hole under such state for shrinking the width of the via hole, the insulating film may be introduced into the opened up void and remain unremoved to cause conduction failures.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


A tire testing apparatus and method for detecting anomalies in the surface of a tire is disclosed. A high voltage probe having a conductive spring electrode is placed adjacent a portion of a tire surface such that the conductive spring electrode is compressed against the surface of the tire. Relative motion is imparted between the high voltage probe and the surface of the tire. An electrical discharge occurs between the high voltage probe and a reference electrode at the location of an anomaly on the surface of the tire. The apparatus and method are configured to determine a precise azimuthal and radial position on the tire of the electrostatic discharge. The conductive spring electrode can have a length sufficient to ensure contact with a given point on the tire surface during a charge cycle for the high voltage probe at increased tire surface speeds.

Tire repair operations, such as tire retreading operations, are generally used to extend the useful service life of a tire. Typical tire retreading operations include removing previously worn tread from a tire and bonding new tread in its place. Tires may be retread or repaired one or more times as a less expensive alternative to purchasing new tires, providing particular advantages for large-scale operations such as trucking, bussing and commercial aviation.
Generally, some level of non-destructive testing (NDT) of the tire prior to repair is conducted to determine whether it is appropriate to perform the repair operation. Visual inspection methods can be used to validate the integrity and, subsequently, the viability of retread and/or repair of tire casings for retread. For instance, the inside and outside surface of a tire can be visually inspected by an operator using special lighting to inspect for defects such as crazing, cracks, snags, bulges, depressions, gouges, abrasions, marbling, bubbles, blisters, separations, and other defects. Visual inspection methods, however, are subjective, inconsistent, and can require extensive training. Moreover, due to high operator turnover, difficulty exists in retaining expertise.
High voltage discharge (HVD) testing can be performed in place of or supplemental to visual inspection. HVD testing can be used to identify anomalies in the inner liner of a tire that penetrate the insulating material of the inner liner. In HVD testing machines, the tread portion of a tire is typically disposed between a pair of electrodes across which a high voltage electrical potential is generated. The voltage applied across the electrode will cause electrical discharge at the location of a defect in a tire. U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,136, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, for instance, discloses a HVD test machine that employs electrical discharging to detect defects in the inner liner of a tire.
On a traditional HVD test machine, the probe assembly typically includes a series of wire loops and small chains that are positioned to hang inside the tire in a manner to distribute high voltage from bead to bead on the inside surface of the tire. The correct width probe must be chosen for the tire size. The ground path for the discharge at an anomaly is provided by contact of the tread on a metallic driven roller. When the probe passes over an anomaly, an electrical discharge passes through the tread at the location of the anomaly to the metallic driven roller.
Traditional HVD test machines suffer from several disadvantages. For instance, traditional HVD test machines typically require manual selection of probe size to accommodate varying tire sizes. For instance, three different probe sizes may be provided to cover the range of retread capable truck tires. Once a probe size has been selected, the probe must be mounted semi-manually into the inner surface of the tire, causing the HVD testing machine to be susceptible to improper positioning.
In addition, because typical HVD probes cover the entire inside surface of the tire from bead to bead, when an anomaly is detected, it is unknown at what precise radial position the anomaly is located. Typically, the tire will stop rotating when a discharge is detected. This provides for an azimuth location of the anomaly. However, to obtain a precise radial location of the anomaly, the operator typically has to press and hold a manual button to repeat the discharge in order to mark the tire with a carbon deposit or to visually locate a corona discharge.
Furthermore, the detection capability of typical HVD test machines depends on many variables. For instance, the bend of the wires, the condition of the chains, the thickness of the tread, the speed of rotation, and the chemical makeup of the tread influence the detection capability of HVD test machines. Significant variability can occur with slight elevations changes of the tire surface, degradation or improper trimming of the chains, or degradation or improper positioning of the wires. For example, a slight elevation change in the inner surface of the tire may cause the HVD probe to temporarily leave the surface of the inner liner, causing the HVD probe to miss an anomaly in the tire surface.
Moreover, due to the cyclic charge and discharge nature of high voltage power sources used to energize HVD probes, detection of an anomaly is dependent on the probe being in close proximity to the anomaly when the high voltage charge is at a voltage level sufficient to discharge through an anomaly. The configuration of the chains and wires of the probe in relation to the tire dictates how much surface area of the probe is in contact with the tire. The tire surface must be rotated at a speed that is slow enough to ensure that the probe is sufficiently charged when the surface area of the probe is in contact with a given point on the tire surface to detect the presence of anomalies.
Thus, a solution is needed for automated HVD testing of tires that overcomes the above mentioned disadvantages. The solution can reduce the need for operator interaction to determine the accurate and precise location of tire surface anomalies. A high voltage probe that is less susceptible to variables, such as elevation changes in the surface of the tire and improper positioning of the high voltage probe, would be particularly useful. A high voltage probe that can be used with increased tire rotation speeds and that ensures contact with a given point on the surface of the tire when the high voltage probe is charged to a voltage level sufficient to discharge through an anomaly would also be particularly useful.

High voltage probe apparatus and method for tire inner surface anomaly detection

COMPAGNIE GENERAL DES ETABLISSEMENT MICHELIN


A networking system may comprise a web site incorporating a combination of one or more of the following: a crediting system, a chat bidding system, a performance bidding system, a telephony switching system, a media interaction system, a display system, a photo management system, and a messaging system. The networking system may categorize each user of the web site into classes, including a featured class, a common class, a sponsored class, and a sponsoring class. The networking system may facilitate user interactions, some of which may be partially dependent on user classes. A featured user may opt to temporarily appear as a common user, thus activating an alternative user profile and hiding his featured status. A sponsored user may participate in interactions on the web site if a sponsoring user offers his credits to pay for the sponsored member's participation. Other aspects of the networking system are also disclosed herein.

1. Technical Field
Various aspect of the present invention relate to social and professional networking and, more particularly, to interactive networking systems for enabling interaction between users belonging to one or more classes.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional social and professional networking systems enable users to interact with one another via various networking protocols. These systems provide a variety of services, but they generally lack the ability to classify a user's network of contacts to provide varying levels of communication capabilities among different levels of users.
Such conventional systems are also not designed for serving as social or professional networking and communications platforms where certain individuals are highly sought after communication partners. For example, while celebrities are able to register and utilize conventional networking systems to communicate directly with their friends and acquaintances, celebrities do not currently have the ability to selectively allow communications from their fans.
These conventional systems are also generally limited in how they allow various users to communicate with one another. For example, conventional systems generally limit inter-user communications to chat rooms, message boards, and/or private email messages.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system that provides increased communications capabilities.
There is also a need for a networking system whereby users can control communication capabilities pertaining to communications with other users, where such controls may be at least partially based on a class of such users.
There is a further need for such a networking system having safety controls enabling member interactions while allowing a receiving party to establish criteria controlling receipt of communications.
There is a further need for such a networking system, in which celebrities may communicate directly with fans in a virtual environment providing real-time interaction.
It is to such a networking system that that the present invention is directed.

Interactive networking systems with user classes