The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a composite polymeric material containing nanometric inorganic inclusions comprising the steps of: mixing a polymer with a thermolytic precursor to provide a homogeneous dispersion of said at least one precursor and of said at least one polymer; subjecting said homogeneous dispersion to heating to provide a molten polymer and thermolytic fission of the precursor, generating the inclusions dispersed in the molten polymer.

1. Field of the Invention
In its general aspect, the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a composite polymeric material containing uniformly dispersed, nanometric inorganic inclusions.
In particular, the invention relates to a process of the aforesaid type, wherein said inclusions are obtained "in situ", i.e., they are produced in the presence of the polymer.
The invention also relates to a formed article realized in the above composite polymeric material.
Hereafter in the description and in the following claims, the words "formed article" mean any manufacture or finished plastic product such as sheets, bars, tubes, extruded objects, molded parts and similar products obtained through transformation of granules, tablets, spheroids or powders of thermoplastic polymers or of specific thermosetting resins, as it will be more apparent hereafter in the description.
2. Description of the Related Art
As it is known in various fields of the technique, the interest in high technology materials is greater and greater, such as for example composite materials able to ensure high performances.
The technological importance of a composite material lies in that it has properties that are superior, or somewhat characteristic, compared to the properties of the single components it is made of.
Among composite materials, the so-called nanocomposites, i.e., materials comprising at least two components where one is dispersed in the other in the form of nanometric particles, represent the most recent and interesting development.
Such materials enjoy, in fact, peculiar characteristics conferred by the material reduced to nanometric dimensions, and they exhibit therefore several fields of use.
The peculiar characteristics are due to a substantial change of the group of chemical-physical properties the material undergoes when it is reduced to the nanometric dimension.
The deep change is mainly due to the neat prevalence of the characteristics of the surface atoms on those of the inner atoms. Metals stay among the elements which mainly show an alteration of the properties linked to the dimension.
For example, a change has been shown in the magnetic behavior of a material in the passage to the nanometric dimension. In particular, by reducing the dimension of a ferromagnetic material, there occurs first an increase of the coercive field Hc and subsequently a superparamagnetic behavior (Hc=0). This variation of the magnetic properties finds application, for example, in the realization of mass memories, magnetic refrigerators, magnetic sensors and transformers.
Also the optic properties of the material are strongly influenced by the nanometric dimension. Some metals such as gold, silver, copper exhibit, when reduced to the nanometric dimensions, a typical phenomenon known as plasmon effect which consists in an oscillation of the surface electrons under the action of an incident wave. This effect results in an absorption at a predetermined wavelength in the visible spectrum, which allows the use of these materials as optic filters, polarizers, optic sensors, etc.
Nanocomposite polymeric materials are of great interest, i.e., materials wherein nanometric inorganic inclusions are dispersed in a polymeric matrix. The polymers can, in fact, stabilize the nanometric phase and thus the above properties without altering them in a significant way, moreover they can improve their own performance as hereafter described.
A nanometric inorganic phase inside the polymeric matrix can increase the thermal exchange capacities or the electric susceptibility of the polymer, improve the barrier properties against gas, or even produce shielding properties against radiations, antistatic properties, having effects on the ignition temperature of the polymer. Also the mechanical and optic properties of the polymer can be changed and improved by the presence of nanometric inclusions.
From the preparation point of view, nanocomposite polymeric materials, in particular composites comprising metallic inclusions, can be obtained by means of two different processes defined "ex-situ" or "in-situ", depending on the nanoparticles being first produced and then incorporated into the polymer or obtained directly inside the polymeric matrix by using a precursor.
The processes "in-situ" in turn differentiate depending on the precursor being transformed in the desired inclusions by using chemical agents, for example with hydrogen, hydrazine, boron hydride, or through the physical means of thermolysis, photolysis or radiolysis.
A process for the preparation "ex-situ" of noble metal nanoparticles is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0034675 by Starz et al. In such document nanoparticles are described containing noble metals, alone or in combination with common metals, passivated by immersion in an aqueous solution of a polysaccharide serving as temporary stabilizer. Particles thus obtained are then used for the realization of electrodes for polymeric membrane fuel cells or as catalysts for other types of applications.
Although advantageous, the processes "ex-situ" are rather complex and limited in that the nanometric material is extremely reactive and therefore difficult to be handled. The inclusions must be synthesized and immediately passivated with an organic coating, i.e., stabilized, so as to avoid their aggregation and to favor their affinity to the polymer. These difficulties prevent the possibility of realizing nanocomposite polymers on an industrial scale relegating the practice "ex situ" to a laboratory methodology.
The processes "in situ", on the contrary, have proved to be much quicker and easier, since the nanometric inclusions are obtained, in the presence of the polymer, by a metallic precursor.
An example of process "in situ" is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0145132 by Won et al. In such process, a composite polymer is obtained by irradiating, with ultraviolet light, a polymeric matrix containing a metallic precursor dispersed at the molecular level and reduced to metal by the radiant energy.
Although advantageous, the different processes "in situ" realized by the known technique are not exempt from drawbacks. For example, a problem shared by the different practices "in situ" is represented by the difficulty of obtaining particles of the same dimension, since the inclusions have a strong tendency towards aggregation.
A further limitation of the known processes "in situ" is the limited and forced choice of the polymers that can be used. These latter, so as to improve the compatibility between precursor and matrix, must contain hydrophilic groups which allow for an acceptable molecular dispersion of the precursor inside the polymeric matrix.
The use of such polymers is obviously disadvantageous, especially in consideration of some specific applications, since the presence of the hydrophilic groups gives the polymer a great capacity of absorbing water also when being used, with subsequent poor environmental stability of the polymeric product.
In the cases when it is possible to use non-polar polymers, as in the process "in situ" carried out by thermolysis, described in S. P. Gubin "Metal-containing nano-particles within polymeric matrices: preparation, structure, and properties" Colloids and surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 202 (2202) 155-163, there is however the difficulty of having to add the precursor in solution drop by drop to a polymer solution subjected to agitation.
Or still, as disclosed in the above document by Won et al., the precursor has to be dispersed or dissolved in a polymer solution. The solution then has to be cast on a support, for example a glass plate, so that it is distributed to form a liquid film allowing the solvent evaporation. The solid film obtained is then irradiated with ultraviolet light for decomposing the metallic precursors.
In practice, it is observed that such laborious techniques, due to the aggregation phenomena which can occur, are advantageous only for low inclusion concentrations; moreover, the need of working with polymeric solutions make them inadequate for use in a large scale, consequently preventing the production and the diffusion of manufactures in nanocomposite polymeric material which are, on the other hand, very advantageous.
There remains a need in the art for the preparation of a composite polymeric material having such characteristics as to overcome the drawbacks cited with reference to the processes provided by the prior art.

Process for the preparation of a composite polymeric material

Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II


A scan driver that selectively performs progressive scanning and interlaced scanning and a display using the same. The scan driver includes a shift register having a plurality of flip-flops arranged in series, an odd line selection unit having a plurality of NAND gates, and an even line selection unit having a plurality of NAND gates. In response to an odd line control signal and an even line control signal input to the odd line selection unit and the even line selection unit, respectively, the scan driver performs progressive scanning or interlaced scanning. The scan driver may also include a mode selection unit to selectively perform progressive scanning or interlaced scanning in response to a mode selection signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scan driver for a flat panel display (FPD), and more particularly, to a scan driver that may selectively perform progressive scanning and interlaced scanning.
2. Discussion of the Background
A scan driver is an indispensable circuit for a FPD. The scan driver is used to drive a plurality of pixels that are arranged in rows and columns. In order to drive the pixels, the scan driver enables a selected row of pixels to emit light or enables data to be input to selected pixels.
Generally, formation of one image frame requires a vertical synchronous signal, which defines an image frame display period, and a horizontal synchronous signal, which drives each of a plurality of pixel lines forming the image frame. While the horizontal synchronous signal is activated, image data is input to pixels arranged in a line to which the horizontal synchronous signal is transmitted.
In a passive matrix (PM) display, pixels start to emit light when image data is input; however, in an active matrix (AM) display, after storing input image data, all pixels arranged in one line emit light during a predetermined time duration.
In a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescent (EL) display, and a plasma display panel (PDP), the horizontal synchronous signal is typically referred to as a scan signal. Therefore, a signal that selects and activates lines will hereinafter be referred to as a scan signal.
A circuit that transmits the scan signal to a panel in which pixels are arranged is a scan driver. More specifically, the scan driver transmits the scan signal to respective lines of the panel. The selection and activation of lines via transmission of the scan signal may be performed according to a progressive scan method or an interlaced scan method.
In the progressive scan method, a scan signal is sequentially transmitted to the panel lines. That is, the scan signal is sequentially transmitted to each of a first line through a final line.
In the interlaced scan method, a frame is displayed through two processes. Specifically, in a first process, a scan signal is sequentially transmitted to odd-numbered lines during an odd field period corresponding to half of a frame period. In a second process, a scan signal is sequentially transmitted to even-numbered lines during an even field period corresponding to the remaining half of the frame period.
Accordingly, a conventional FPD utilizes either progressive scanning or interlaced scanning to display image data because the FPD does not include a scan driver that can selectively perform progressive scanning and interlaced scanning.

Scan driver for selectively performing progressive scanning and interlaced scanning and a display using the same


A thermoelectric generation system for turbine engines and the like has at least one thermoelectric generator disposed proximate the turbine engine such that waste heat from the turbine engine can be converted into electricity. Vehicle performance and efficiency can be enhanced by mitigating the need for mechanically driven electric power generators, which undesirably drain power from the turbine engine thus adversely affect the vehicle's performance.

Mechanically driven electric generators for aircraft engines, such as turbine engines, are well known. Such mechanically driven generators use electromagnetic induction to generate electricity. This is accomplished by extracting mechanical energy from moving parts of the engine.
Extracting mechanical energy reduces the amount of energy available for the primary purpose of the engine, which is typically to propel the aircraft forward. Thus, the use of such mechanically driven electric generators inherently reduces the efficiency of the engine.
Further, the use of such mechanically driven electric generators increases fuel consumption and consequently increases the costs associated with increase fuel consumption, wear, and maintenance. Increased fuel consumption creates increased pollution.
When an aircraft is initially designed, the electrical requirements for the aircraft are determined and electric generators are selected based upon those requirements. Generally, the smallest and lightest electric generators that fulfill the electrical requirements of the aircraft are selected. Thus, such electric generation systems do not typically have substantial spare capacity.
The life span of an aircraft can be several decades. During its life time, several iterations of avionics and electrical systems can occur. Many of these newer avionics and electrical systems find their way into older airframes, which have older electric generators. Upgrading avionics and installing new electrical devices can substantially increase the demand for electrical power. This increased demand can exceed the capacity of the installed electric generators.
In order to try to optimize aerodynamic efficiency, all of the systems in the turbine engine nacelle are packaged tightly. There is typically no room for the installation of additional or larger electric generators. Thus, upgrading to a larger electric generator can require costly modifications to the turbine engine and nacelle. Such modifications can include replacing the power extraction shaft, gearboxes, and mounting pad. In some instances, undesirable changes to the nacelle mold line are necessitated.
As such, there is a need for a way to generate electricity from a turbine engine or the like, which requires comparatively little space and thus necessitates comparatively little modification of the turbine engine.


The present invention relates to Internet based and web applications and the need to reduce page latency and bandwidth usage. The invention can achieve these goals by making use of the cache built in to standard web browsers. In one embodiment, the invention provides that a web application user will use their browser to request a page from the application web server, which responds with a small page that includes a script. The script appends a previously established cookie value to the URL originally requested and the browser then re-requests the URL with the appended cookie value. (The server computes the cookie value based on the last modified time of the data used to generate the page.) If the most recent version of the page is in the browser cache, the browser gets a cache hit, which means the page is retrieved from browser cache rather than from the server, rapidly displaying the page to the user. If, on the other hand, there is only an older version of the page in the browser cache, there is a cache miss (because the rewritten URL will not match any URL in the cache) and the browser will send the request to the server to retrieve the most recent version of the page.

The invention relates to client-side caching of pages used to improve the performance of Internet-based or web applications.
Desktop software is typically maintained on the hard drive of PCs. This creates complexity for businesses during upgrades and maintenance. When desktop software is used in the client-server environment, it is costly to deploy and maintain because the software is decentralized. Desktop software also scatters the information, because each PC acts as a separate database, leading to duplication of effort and inefficiency. After several upgrades of PC software desktop applications, IT personnel may even find it difficult to keep track of all of the versions running on the network. Businesses would benefit if they did not need to upgrade, maintain and support desktop software.
The Internet permits delivery of applications as software services. See Stevens, TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1, which is incorporated by reference. Internet-based applications can run on centralized servers rather than locally, which helps tremendously in supporting upgrades, security, backups and network administration. Businesses can access globally available applications without having to install or maintain them.
A web application is an Internet-based application that uses protocols of the World Wide Web such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. HTTP specifies how a client, such as a web browser, requests pages, data and services from servers, and how servers respond to these requests. Wong, HTTP Pocket Reference (2000) describing HTTP is incorporated by reference.
A web application permits access with a client such as a web browser, a computer having input, output, memory, datapath, and control, and an Internet connection. Users, businesses, customers, and suppliers can access the web application anywhere and at any time. For example, an employee on a business trip can review accounting, sales or customer information, and upload or download data all before returning home.
For users with slow connections to the Internet, web applications may appear to run more slowly than desktop applications. To address this problem, known as page latency, web applications can store pages in the client's browser cache to avoid retrieving it from the server. The cached pages will display quickly and the server will not need to service as many requests. However, the browser must know when a page has changed at the server so the browser does not retrieve an out-of-date page from the browser cache.
For example, a web server that delivers up a daily TV schedule can set the "expires" HTTP header on all of the TV schedule pages to be midnight. If a user navigates to the TV schedule page more than once on the same day, the browser doesn't need to ask the web site for a new page; it will simply display the page stored in its cache. At midnight the browser will expire the old TV schedule page from the cache, and subsequent requests for the page will cause the browser to once again request the page from the web server. However, if the server changes the TV schedule page in the middle of the day, a person returning to the web page after the change will see a cached page, which is out-of-date.
Caching using the expires header is difficult for a web application because the application's pages may change frequently. For example, in the case of a financial management application, the server may need to refresh all the pages when the user changes the background color, but only banking-related pages when the user updates their bank balance.
A browser can use the If-Modified-Since header of HTTP along with the GET method used to retrieve web pages. When using this header, the browser requests that the server send the page only if the page has been modified since the time specified in the header. If the page was modified, the server will return the page. If not, the server will send the response code of 304, meaning that the page was not modified since the specified time and the client should use the cached version. On a slow Internet connection and with a busy server, it might take several seconds to get the response code of 304, which does not solve the page latency problem. It would be better if the client did not have to send a request to the server in order to know whether or not the page in the cache is up-to-date. In that case, the cached page will load almost instantly even if the user's connection to the Internet is slow.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and systems of client-side caching of pages with changing content


Three or more tubular radiation detectors are arranged around an irradiation axis of radiation directed to a sample from an irradiation unit such that the end face thereof is opposed to the position irradiated with radiation. The radiation emitted from the sample enters the radiation detector through an end face and is detected. In the radiation detector, the length in the direction parallel to the straight line which is on the plane orthogonal to the irradiation axis and is perpendicular to the central axis continuously decreases from a position along the central axis to the end face. The size of each radiation detector around the irradiation axis is reduced as it approaches the end face, preventing the radiation detectors from interfering with one another and allowing the radiation detector to be closer to the sample compared to the conventional case. This makes it possible for the radiation detection apparatus to detect radiation from the sample with high efficiency.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a radiation detection apparatus employing multiple radiation detectors and to a radiation detector.
2. Description of Related Art
An example radiation detector for detecting radiation such as X-ray detects radiation with the use of a radiation detecting element made of a semiconductor. The radiation detecting element is disposed in a tightly-sealed tubular housing, and a radiation detector is formed in a columnar shape as a whole. The radiation detector having such a configuration is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-147595.
An example radiation detection apparatus employing a radiation detector irradiates a sample with radiation such as electron beam, X-ray or the like and detects radiation emitted from the sample irradiated with the radiation with the use of the radiation detector.
Such a radiation detection apparatus includes, for example, an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. A radiation detection apparatus for detecting radiation with the use of multiple radiation detectors has been developed in order to detect radiation emitted from a sample with high efficiency.

Radiation detection apparatus and radiation detector


A shunt separator is provided for an electrical switching apparatus including a housing, separable contacts enclosed within the housing, an operating assembly including a trip bar, and a trip assembly. The trip assembly cooperates with the trip bar to trip open the separable contacts in response to a fault condition. The trip assembly includes a number of shunts. The shunt separator includes a molded projection, which extends outwardly from the housing of the electrical switching apparatus. The molded projection at least partially surrounds a portion of the trip bar, thereby separating the number of shunts from the trip bar.

1. Field
The disclosed concept relates generally to electrical switching apparatus and, more particularly, to electrical switching apparatus such as, for example, circuit breakers. The disclosed concept also relates to shunt separators for electrical switching apparatus.
2. Background Information
Electrical switching apparatus, such as circuit breakers, provide protection for electrical systems from electrical fault conditions such as, for example, current overloads, short circuits, abnormal voltage and other fault conditions. Typically, circuit breakers include an operating mechanism which opens separable contacts to interrupt the flow of current through the conductors of an electrical system in response to such fault conditions.
The separable contacts generally include a movable contact, which is disposed on a movable contact arm or finger, and a corresponding stationary contact. The movable contact arm is pivotable to move the movable contact into and out of electrical contact with the corresponding stationary contact. For example, the circuit breaker includes an operating assembly having a trip bar. The operating assembly cooperates with the movable contact arm to trip open the separable contacts in response to a fault condition.
The circuit breaker also includes a trip assembly having a load conductor and a plurality of flexible conductors (e.g., without limitation, wires; braids; cables), commonly referred to as shunts. The shunts electrically connect the movable contact arm and the load conductor. More specifically, each shunt is electrically coupled at one end to the load conductor, and at the other end to the movable contact arm. Typically, there are two shunts for each movable contact arm, with each shunt extending past a corresponding portion of the trip bar and being electrically connected to a corresponding end of the movable contact arm. The shunts are flexible to accommodate the motion of the movable contact arm during a fault condition. However, during short circuit fault conditions, for example, magnetic forces cause the two flexible shunts to attract one another. As a result, the shunts move and have a tendency to compress against the corresponding portion of the trip bar. Additionally, an arc, which results from the short circuit, generates debris and particulate matter that can accumulate on the trip bar and/or shunts. These occurrences undesirably inhibit operation (e.g., pivoting) of the trip bar and, therefore, can cause or contribute to adverse interrupting performance (e.g., without limitation, a no latch condition) of the circuit breaker.
There is, therefore, room for improvement in electrical switching apparatus such as, for example, circuit breakers and in shunt separators therefor.

Electrical switching apparatus and shunt separator therefor


In an AR system, method for operating same, a mobile device, and method for operating same, flexible loxels are used that may be different for different image data providers. This enables AR applications to download smaller loxels which have more information, such as dense areas, like in cities, or larger loxels which have less information, like, for example, desert areas. Data downloads may take into account client orientation and direction of motion to determine incremental data that need to be downloaded as the client moves. The loxels are coded with loxel identifiers mapped to location information, so only the necessary loxels for a particular application need be downloaded, allowing the client to autonomously decide when to acquire new image data and how much data to acquire.

Recently, there has been considerable interest in augmented reality (AR), a state in which real-world and virtual realities are combined and which is interactive in real time. A commonly known example of AR is the yellow "first down" lines seen in television broadcasts of American football games. The real-world elements are the football field and players, and the virtual element is the yellow line, which is drawn over the image of the field by computers in real time. Similarly, rugby fields and cricket pitches are branded by their sponsors using augmented reality; giant logos are inserted onto the fields when viewed on television. In some current applications like in cars or airplanes, "heads-up" displays are integrated into the windshield to show information overlays on the real-world seen by the driver or pilot.
AR applications typically rely on image data present in backend databases for image detection and tracking. Image data typically comprises key points of raw images that have been pre-loaded into backend databases, although additional image data can be incrementally added to the database at any time, as well.
As mobile devices, such as cell phones and the like, have become more ubiquitous, and the functionality and features of such devices have increased, uses of AR are being realized to an ever increasing degree. One AR system that has been proposed uses a camera built into a mobile phone. The user takes a picture, which is wirelessly sent to a server that matches the picture with database images. The server then returns a database image to the phone, where it may be superimposed onto the original image. The database image may contain, for example, information regarding the features seen in the original camera image, such as building names, histories of structures or other items in view, or the like.
Since mobile AR implementations rely on receiving image data and performing image detection and matching against the camera view obtained on the mobile device locally, for best performance, the image data is typically loaded in the RAM of the mobile device for detection purposes. Limitations in the available RAM and wireless bandwidths present a challenge in the amount of image data that can be downloaded and used at any given time. In order to overcome some of the challenges, the location of the mobile device may be used to restrict the amount of image data downloaded and used at any given time. However, available systems may not provide a suitable combination of performance, bandwidth, and power useage.
One of the challenges in realizing an improved AR system is determining the location of the mobile device to enable the server to efficiently perform the necessary image processing. One way by which the location of the mobile device may be determined is by GPS position location, alone, or with the assistance of cellular base station location information. Systems that have been proposed use rough location determinations, for example, within one or two city blocks.
In one system, the mobile device is configured to prefetch data related to the current location of the mobile device, then the user takes a photograph of the location of interest using the camera associated with the mobile device. The image of the photograph is then matched with the prefetched data, and the result is displayed to the user.
To manage the large quantities of data, it has been proposed to organize a global geo-coordinate space using cell-based organization, with limitations on the number of images or key points considered within each AR cell. (The term "AR cell" in this context is not the same as the term "cell" in the context of a cellular phone system.) An AR cell is termed a "loxel," indicating a location based pixel storage model. A loxel is typically associated with a particular location and spans a particular area (usually defined in rectilinear coordinates for simplicity). A kernel refers to an area generally visible from a particular loxel and is usually defined as spanning particular loxels or a configuration of loxels.
Depending on the location of the user, image data corresponding to a kernel area of 3×3 loxels is sent to the client, with the center of the kernel being the present loxel of the user. As the user enters a new loxel, additional image data is sent corresponding to the new kernel area. The loxel size that has been used is 30 meters by 30 meters. Although this technique makes a significant reduction in the amount of image data that needs to be sent to the user at any given time, it still has a few shortcomings.
In some systems, the number of incremental loxels that have to be downloaded at any time has been 3, taking into account only the motion of the mobile device along 4 major directions. In reality, there are 8 adjacent loxels to any given loxel. Hence, a movement into one of the adjacent loxels may need the data of up to 5 incremental loxels to be downloaded. Further, it is not always the case that the next valid use of the AR application occurs in an adjacent loxel. Depending on the application and the mobility of the user, the next valid loxel may be a non-adjacent loxel, in which case, more data needs to be downloaded.
The assumption has also been made that the download need only include incremental image data after the user has entered a new loxel. This can lead to suboptimal latency for fetching the image data, in turn causing an undesirable delay in the application calling for the data. This is especially true in cases where the next valid loxel is a non-adjacent one to the current loxel.
The assumption has also been made that a 360 degree field of view is of interest, with the focal point lying no further away than one of the adjacent loxels. While a 360 degree field of view may be necessary for panning when an AR application is in use, not all AR applications may need it. Furthermore, given that certain AR applications only have an intermittent usage pattern, downloading data for a 360 degree field of view may be overkill in some situations. A cell phone camera has at most a 70 degree field of view, a typical field of view being about 55 degrees. This puts the visible area for a static camera view within just one loxel. Depending on the size of the loxel, the camera view may include one or more adjacent loxels, but, on average, the camera view is still only 25% or less of what is assumed in a 360 degree field of view.
Typical systems proposed in the past do not provide a means for a mobile device to automatically detect when it arrives at a new loxel. By default, this requires the mobile device to continuously update the server with its new location, allowing the server to determine when to send the new data set. This approach is power consuming, especially if the AR applications were designed to run in the background for prolonged periods of time. Further, although there are multiple applications that do this, it presents privacy issues for the end consumer.
Another AR system that has been proposed is that of potentially visible sets (PVS). The concept of potentially visible sets has been known in computer vision for a long time. PVS was designed to take obstacles into consideration to determine the set of visible objects to a camera or human eye. The technique requires good training data on the obstacles to be available and a somewhat precise position determination and orientation of the camera relative to the obstacles in order to arrive at the visibility of a particular object. Hence, in addition to image data, PVS also requires data on the relative positioning of the camera and the obstacle with respect to the image in order to determine the potentially visible set of objects or images.
Efforts have been made to apply the use of PVS to augmented reality environments in lieu of pure cell-based organization of images. While the notion of obstacles is much more applicable in indoor environments (e.g., walls, visibility from inside a room, etc.), it does not as easily map to an outdoor environments in which obtaining training data for obstacles is often impractical. Further, arriving at a precise PVS for a given location and orientation of a camera is very complex and may require a not-so-trivial amount of data to be attached to key points in order to get acceptable matching rates. Hence, the use of PVS may not help the mobile outdoor AR uses in any significant manner when compared to a cell-based organization.

Flexible data download models for augmented reality


A method of making a glass container with an optically readable graphic data carrier. A glass container is exposed to electromagnetic radiation to produce discoloration within the glass of the container, and then focused beam energy is directed at the glass container in a pattern corresponding to a desired graphic data carrier to heat the glass and selectively remove the discoloration in the pattern corresponding to the desired graphic data carrier.

A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a method of manufacturing a glass container with a radiation-integrated optically readable graphic data carrier, thereby eliminating the need to apply a separate graphic data carrier label to the container.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A method of making a glass container with an optically readable graphic data carrier in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure includes exposing a glass container to electromagnetic radiation to produce discoloration within the glass of the container, and then directing focused beam energy at the glass container in a pattern corresponding to a desired graphic data carrier to heat the glass and selectively remove the discoloration in a pattern corresponding to the desired graphic data carrier.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of manufacturing a glass container with an optically readable graphic data carrier. The method includes producing a glass melt including a bulk composition doped with at least one electromagnetic-radiation-sensitive dopant, and forming a glass container from the glass melt. The method also includes annealing the glass container, and then selectively exposing the formed glass container to electromagnetic radiation to produce a localized discolored portion of the glass container, and then directing focused beam radiation at the glass container in a pattern corresponding to a desired graphic data carrier to heat the glass and selectively remove parts of the localized discoloration portion in the pattern corresponding to the desired graphic data carrier.
In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of making a glass container with an optically readable QR code, which includes the steps of (a) exposing a glass container to X-ray or gamma-ray radiation to produce discoloration within the glass of the container, and then (b) directing laser energy at the glass container in a pattern corresponding to a desired QR code to heat the glass and selectively remove the discoloration produced in the step (a) in a pattern corresponding to the desired QR code.

Glass container having a graphic data carrier


A data collection method is provided for use on a computer system including a host processor which is coupled to a plurality of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) via a communications bus. Each PLC is coupled to a respective controlled machine to gather Boolean alarm point information from several alarm points associated with that machine. The alarm point information from all the controlled machines is stored in a random access memories (RAM) in a respective PLC. The alarm points are grouped in memory such that a predetermined number of alarm points are stored in a trigger point register in the RAM. The host scans the trigger point registers of all the PLCs to determine if the value of any trigger point has changed since the last time such trigger point was scanned. If such a change of value in a particular trigger point is found, then the host requests that the value of each alarm point within that particular trigger point be transmitted to the host. An appropriate alarm is then annunciated to the user. However, if the host finds no change in the value of a particular trigger point from the value of that trigger point during a prior scan, then the host does not request the values of the individual alarm points associated with that trigger point.

This invention relates to programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and manufacturing process managers (MPMs) and, more particularly, to a data collection method for an MPM coupled to monitor a plurality of data points in each of a plurality of PLCs.
Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are a relatively recent development in process control technology. As a part of process control, a programmable logic controller is used to monitor input signals from a variety of input points (input sensors) which report events and conditions occurring in a controlled process. For example, a PLC can monitor such input conditions as motor speed, temperature, pressure, volumetric flow, and the like. A control program is stored in a memory within the PLC to instruct the PLC what actions to take upon encountering particular input signals or conditions. In response to these input signals provided by input sensors, the PLC derives and generates output signals which are transmitted via PLC output points to various output devices to control a process. For example, the PLC may issue output signals to speed up or slow down a conveyer, rotate the arm of a robot, open or close a relay, raise or lower temperature as well as many other possible control functions too numerous to list.
Manufacturing process managers (MPMs) are dedicated host processors or computers used in manufacturing process control. In an exemplary distributed factory control system, PLCs are coupled to manage specific machines. Various machines may be grouped to form work cells with each machine in a cell being under the control of a separate corresponding PLC. (While one PLC could control multiple machines, in factories using assembly line techniques, it is desirable for maintenance purposes to have a one-to-one relationship between PLCs and machines.) Each work cell is assigned to a corresponding MPM which is responsible for monitoring, controlling, and coordinating the manufacturing devices and resources within a work cell and integrating the work cell with the rest of the factory. Thus, each MPM monitors a plurality of PLCs.
In the past, it has proven to be difficult for MPMs to collect data from a very large number of input points in a very short amount of time. However, on a shop floor where automated manufacturing is being conducted, exactly this situation is encountered. To illustrate the problem, an example is postulated wherein a manufacturing work cell includes 3500 points spread over a plurality of PLCs for which data collection is desired. One straightforward method of data collection is for the MPMs associated with the work cell to scan or poll all 3500 points all of the time. More specifically, each time the MPM scans a point, the current value of the point stored in a PLC is compared with the old value for that point. If a change between the present value and the old value is detected, an alarm message is generated and is appropriately annunciated to the user by the MPM system.
The above described approach is perfectly satisfactory as long as time is not of the essence. However, in actual practice, the time between the occurrence of the condition causing the alarm and the actual annunciation of the alarm may be unsatisfactorily long. Moreover, the number of messages which must be transmitted to request the input point information is very high in the above approach. More specifically, in a system where the maximum number of input points which can be requested by a particular message is 30, for example, it would require 117 messages to scan all 3500 input points. The transmission of such a high number of messages and the collection of data by the scanning method described above requires an unsatisfactorily large amount of time when time is of the essence.

Method for collecting data by a manufacturing process manager from a plurality of programmable logic controllers


A cam timing control device in an antomotive engine which used in a valve timing correcting device of a type wherein an electromagnetic force is used to change a cam timing. The cam timing control device is so designed that, in the event that a resistance to the change of the cam timing is high, the length of time during which an electric power is continuously supplied to the electromagnetic coil is prolonged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cam timing control device for use with an automotive internal combustion engine and, more particularly, to the cam timing control device of a type wherein an electromagnetic force is utilized to change the cam timing to secure a high response to a switching signal used to change the cam timing.
It is to be noted that the term "cam timing" herein used is to be understood as meaning an operational timing of the cam, drivingly associated with an automotive fuel intake valve, relative to the selective opening and closure of such fuel intake valve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an automotive engine system, for selectively opening and closing the intake and exhaust valves, it is a general practice to drive the camshaft synchronously with the engine by the utilization of a drive produced in the engine. In this system, it has been suggested to change the cam timing in dependence on the engine operating condition, for example, one or both of the load imposed on the engine and the engine speed, so that a valve timing between the intake valve and the exhaust valve can be adjusted to increase the operational efficiency of the engine as a whole.
An example of conventional cam timing control devices used for changing the cam timing is known to be of a hydraulic type wherein a hydraulic mechanism is utilized.
Also, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,924, issued Jun. 27, 1989, discloses another example of the conventional cam timing control devices, which is so designed as to change the cam timing electrically.
More specifically, the above mentioned patent discloses an electrically actuated cam timing control device for varying the angular phase relation between the camshaft and the crankshaft. This known cam timing control device comprises an engine timing pulley mounted on the camshaft for rotation coaxially of the camshaft over a predetermined angle and a biasing spring interposed between the timing pulley and the camshaft for biasing the camshaft in a retarding direction by means of a coil spring. The known cam timing control device also comprises a clutch mechanism adapted to be actuated, when an electric power is supplied from a battery to an electromagnetic coil, to produce a frictional force necessary to advance the camshaft when balanced with the biasing force of the coil spring.
The electrically actuated cam timing control device of the type referred to above is so designed that the balance between the frictional force generated in the clutch mechanism and the biasing force of the coil spring is utilized to change the angular phase relationship between the crankshaft and the camshaft, that is, the cam timing. Accordingly, the following problems have been found inherent in this known cam timing control device.
Specifically, during a particular engine operating condition, such as, for example, a high load engine operating condition or a high speed engine operating condition, in which a resistance is relatively high due to a rotational inertia force, the camshaft tends to be halted at a position generally intermediate between predetermined advanced and retarded positions relative to the timing pulley with the response to the switching consequently lowered. Also, when the voltage of an electric power source, for example, the battery, is low and/or the engine temperature is high, a resistance on the side of the electromagnetic coil is high and, therefore, the response to the switching tends to be lowered.
In addition, since an electric power from the battery is merely supplied to the electromagnetic coil, not only does the electrically actuated cam timing control device of the type referred to above tend to consume a relatively large amount of the electric power, but also the alternator generally driven by the engine tends to be loaded. In particular, where the load on the alternator is high, the engine is correspondingly loaded, resulting in a reduction in mileage.
Furthermore, the structure wherein the frictional force generated in the clutch mechanism then actuated is balanced with the biasing force of the coil spring to advance the camshaft has a problem in that the frictional force of the clutch mechanism tends to increase the internal resistance in the engine to such an extent as to result in a reduction in mileage and also to result in a reduction in engine performance such as a resistance to vibrations during an idling operation and engine troubles.
In order to secure the favorable engine performance and the favorable mileage, it may be contemplated to lower the voltage to be supplied to the electromagnetic coil. However, this method would result in a problem in that the length of time during which the change of the cam timing is taking place during a normal engine operating condition will be prolonged. Once this occurs, a proper cam timing cannot be secured and, hence, the engine will not provide a desired output drive, resulting in a reduction in drivability of an automotive vehicle.

Cam timing control device for automotive engine


A device for measuring the voltage of a voltage source includes a number of temperature responsive displays and a circuit including a number of heating circuits, each heating circuit for heating one of the temperature responsive displays when a threshold voltage of the heating circuit is exceeded, and a printed resistor, each heating circuit being connected to a length of the printed resistor such that the voltage of the voltage source at which each heating circuit heats a temperature responsive display is a function of the ratio of the lengths of the printed resistor to which the heating circuits are connected.

Devices employing thermochromic materials for testing the relative charge on a battery are well known. An example of one such device is that commonly found in a package of Duracell.RTM. batteries. This type of device uses a tapered resistance conductor printed on one side of a thin polyester film with a thermochromic material printed in the other side of the film. When a voltage is applied across the tapered resistance conductor, a portion of the conductor roughly proportional to the state of charge of the battery is heated sufficiently to cause a corresponding portion of the thermochromic material to change from opaque to transparent, thus providing an indication of the relative voltage or state of charge of the battery. These devices work well for batteries, such as alkaline batteries, in which the relative voltage varies significantly from a fully charged condition to a depleted condition, for example, 50 percent or from 1.55 volts to 1.0 volts.
However, these tapered resistance devices do not work as well for some other types of batteries where the voltage delivered by a depleted battery is not a significant percent lower than the voltage delivered by a fully charged battery. For example, a lead-acid battery which is typically used in a car, truck or boat exhibits a very small change in voltage with respect to a large decrease in the charge of the battery. For instance, a lead-acid car battery may be at 12.8 volts when fully charged and decrease only to 12 volts when the battery is completely discharged. Rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, such as are used in portable computers, video cameras and power tools, also exhibit a relatively small change in voltage with respect to a large change in battery charge. In the case of nickel-cadmium batteries it is also desirable to be able to measure the voltage of the battery accurately in order to ascertain when the battery needs to be recharged. Nickel-cadmium batteries have a memory effect and thus should be almost completely discharged before recharging to promote a complete charge and longer battery life. However, these batteries should not be discharged completely or voltage reversal of the battery can result.
It would be desirable to provide a battery tester which is capable of accurately measuring small changes in the voltage delivered by a battery.


Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for an enhanced RSS (eRSS) mechanisms are provided. The eRSS mechanisms may involve routing received data packets to application processor cores based on network-specific identifier(s), such as an Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identity (ID), a Packet Data Network (PDN) ID, an Access Point Name (APN), or a Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Identifier (QFI). The network-specific IDs may be located in a layer 2 (L2) protocol stack, which may be stored in cache for use by different layers in the L2 protocol stack. In this way, the network-specific IDs may be readily available for use by the eRSS mechanism, which may improve cache efficiency and reduce storage overhead. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Receive-side scaling (RSS) is a network interface card (NIC) technology that involves routing data packets to different processor cores of an application processor. In RSS, the NIC may send different received packets to different receive queues to distribute processing among processor cores. The NIC distributes packets by applying a filter to each packet, where the filter assigns each packet to a logical flow of a number of logical flows. Packets for each logical flow are sent to a separate receive queue associated with a processor core, where each processor core obtains packets to process from their corresponding receive queue.
The existing RSS filter is a hash of network and/or transport layer headers, for example, a 4-tuple hash over IP addresses and TCP ports of a packet. This involves calculating a hash using the values of IP and TCP header fields of each IP packet including a source address, destination address, source port, and destination port to obtain a key. The key is used for a hash table lookup operation to find a processor core identifier (ID) or a receive queue number. For example, where a 128-entry indirection table is used, the receive queue for a packet may be determined by masking out the low order seven bits of the computed hash for a packet, using this number as the key into the indirection table, and reading the corresponding value from the table. Once the processor core ID/receive queue number is obtained, the data packet is sent to the processor core associated with the processor core ID. Performing the hash operation for each IP packet requires a relatively large amount of computational resources. Given the limited processing power of baseband processors of Fourth Generation (4G)/Fifth Generation (5G) modems, such costly hash operations performed for each IP packet may degrade downlink (DL) throughput.

Receive-side scaling for wireless communication devices


According to one embodiment, a first antenna element is formed from a folded monopole element having one end connected to a feeding terminal, and the other end connected to a first ground terminal, with a stub being provided between a forward portion and a backward portion formed by folding a middle portion. A second antenna element is formed from a monopole element having one end connected to the feeding terminal directly or indirectly through part of the first antenna element. A third antenna element is formed from a parasitic element having one end connected to a second ground terminal provided at a position opposite to the first ground terminal through the feeding terminal, and the other end open, with at least part of the parasitic element being placed parallel to the second antenna element so as to be configured to be capacitively coupled to the second antenna element.

Recently, the housings of portable terminal devices typified by cellular phones, smart phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and tablet type terminals have been required to reduce the dimensions and weight from the viewpoint of compactness and lightweightness. Accordingly, demands have arisen for more compact antenna devices. It has also been required to allow a single portable terminal device to communicate with a plurality of radio systems using different frequency bands.
Conventionally, therefore, a multifrequency antenna device has been proposed, which has, for example, the second antenna element formed from a monopole element and provided in a direction opposite to the first antenna element formed from a folded element with a stub at a position near the feeding point of the first antenna element.
In these conventionally provided multifrequency antenna devices, although it is possible to independently adjust the first resonance caused by the folded element and the second resonance caused by the monopole element, there occurs a band in which radiation efficiency deteriorates due to parallel resonance between the first resonance and the second resonance, resulting in difficulty in achieving wider bandwidth.

Antenna device and electronic device including antenna device


A method of manufacturing a turbine blade retainer using a material cutting device and a material bending device includes steps for suspending a bar stock material between a polyurethane shock absorber and a bore of a cutting jig support, moving the cutting punch downward to press the distal end of the bar stock material into the shock absorber and then cut the bar stock material to thereby generate a blank, clamping the blank between a bending punch and a receiving slide by pressing the bending punch against the receiving slide, bending the distal end of the blank against a chamfered section of a bending support in response to continued downward motion of the bending punch to thereby form a blade retainer precursor, and milling the blade retainer precursor to form the blade retainer. Corresponding devices for performing these steps are also described.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a gas turbine blade retainer and corresponding manufacturing devices therefor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a gas turbine blade retainer employing shock absorbing materials and corresponding devices therefor.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-095683, which application is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
Turbine blades of gas turbines in general, and jet engine turbine blades in particular, are inserted into slots formed on the outer perimeter of disks disposed at the center of the gas turbines. The turbine blades are affixed to respective ones of the disks by blade retainers.
Japanese Patent Application No. Heisei 11-270303 describes a prior art method for affixing the turbine blades. As shown in FIG. 1, an L-shaped retainer 53 formed from a rectangular metal sheet with one end bent, is inserted together with a bucket 54 into a slot 52, a plurality of which are formed on the periphery of a disk 51. It will be noted that the bucket 54 is affixed to the disk 51 by bending the other end of the retainer 53. Additional details regarding the retainer 53 will now be provided while referring to FIG. 2.
In FIG. 2, the retainer 53 is formed from a flat rectangular metal bar having a semi-cylindrical cross section. In general, the retainer 53 is formed from a hard metal such as Inconel. The retainer 53 includes a latch section 56 that is bent at one end almost perpendicularly to a adjacent section 55, which is depicted as a long and narrow bar portion. Furthermore, the opposite end of the retainer 53 includes a bendable piece 57 that possesses a stepped section designed to be bent easily when affixing the bucket 54 to the disk 51.
Formation of the retainer 53 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4a and 4b, which figures illustrate punching of bar stock material to form a blank and subsequent pressing or bending of the blank into its final form.
As shown in FIG. 3, a flat, long, and narrow bar stock material 62, which is formed in advance by drawing out a bar having a semi-cylindrical cross section, is inserted from the outside of a support 60 into a slot, i.e., a bore, 61 provided at the support 60. It will be appreciated that there are two such supports 59 and 60, which are arranged in a parallel standing condition at a specified interval on a base 58. When the advancing end of the bar stock material 62 comes into contact with the support 59, further movement is prevented. It will also be appreciated that the bar stock material 62 is supported by a receiving die 64 that is freely movable up and down by virtue of the one or more springs 63 (two being depicted) attached between the receiving die 64 and the base 58. It will be noted that the die moves in the downward direction under the impact of a punch 65. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the punch 65 generally possesses a blade width that is equal to the separation between the supports 59 and 60. When the punch 65 drops, the bar stock material 62 is cut into a workpiece, or blank, 75 having the desired dimensions.
As shown in FIG. 4a, the blank 75, which includes distal and proximal ends 75a and 75b, respectively, is then positioned on a bending die 70, with the distal end 75a being in contact with a stop 73. It will be noted that the bending die 70 includes a V-shaped groove 72 that is cut out of the surface supporting the blank at a predetermined angle. A convex punch 71 having a shape that matches the profile of the V-shaped groove 72 of the bending die 70 can then be pressed into the blank 75 from above, causing the blank 75 to bend to form the desired angular shape, as shown in FIG. 4b, to produce a bent blank 76 having distal and proximal ends 76a and 76b. Subsequently, the bendable piece 57, i.e., the portion of the retainer 53 having the stepped profile that is easily bent when affixing the bucket 54 to the disk 51 illustrated in FIG. 2, is formed at the proximal end 76b of the bent blank 76, thereby forming the retainer 53.
It will be appreciated that in manufacturing the prior art retainer 53, when the blank 75 is cut from the bar stock material 62, a displacement of the bar stock material 62 occurs. This displacement causes the cutting punch 65 to stray due to lateral pressure, which, in turn, can cause the blank 75 to jump up or warp, or cause the blank 75 to be scored or marred at various locations between the supports 59 and 60 of the cutting jig or cutting press. Furthermore, die breaks occur due to vibration. In addition, the blank 75 is cut longer than the specified dimensions so that, after cutting, the dimensional accuracy of the blank 75 is poor. It will be noted from the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 3 that the blank 75 can be pressed into the receiving die 64 with sufficient force that it subsequently has to be dislodged from the upper surface of the receiving die 64. Thus, the cutting press illustrated in FIG. 3 suffers from poor production efficiency. Moreover, when the blank 75 was placed onto the bending die 70, there was the problem that the cross-sectional configuration of the blank 75 could collapse, leaving one or more scars 74 on the surface of the bar stock material 62 after bending.
It should be mentioned at this point that Japanese Patent Application No. Heisei 11-270303 is also incorporated herein by reference.

Method of manufacturing blade retainer and manufacturing devices therefor


An encoding method encodes by using a quasi-cyclic code having a code length of n=m n0 and an information word length of k=m k0. The method includes the steps of: creating a systematic code with as many as (n0−k0) parity bits inserted therein in units of an information word k0; making all combinations of (n0−k0) parity bit positions that may occur in units of n0 bits; describing many of m×m cyclic matrices by rearranging the sequence of columns in a parity check matrix in the combinations; subjecting the parity check matrix to elementary transformation to create a unit matrix in which (n−k)×(n−k) matrices made up of the columns corresponding to the parity bit positions; regarding the transformed matrix as a first matrix and this matrix minus the unit matrix as a second matrix; and allocating (n−k) bit positions for the parity bits in such a manner that the number of non-zero elements included in the second matrix is minimized.

The present application relates to an encoding method, an encoding apparatus, and a program. More particularly, the present application relates to an encoding method, an encoding apparatus, and a program for reducing the size of encoding circuitry while minimizing the amount of operations involved.
In recent years, considerable progress has been made in studies on the field of communication such as mobile communication systems and on the field of broadcasting covering terrestrial and satellite digital broadcasts. That trend has entailed extensive studies on coding theory aimed at improving efficiency in encoding and decoding with error-correcting arrangements.
As the theoretical limit to code performance, the so-called Shannon limit determined by C. E. Shannon's channel coding theorem is well known. Today's studies on coding theory are centered on developing codes with their performance coming close to the Shannon limit. Recently, so-called turbo coding techniques have been developed as codes with their performance approaching the Shannon limit. The turbo coding techniques illustratively include PCCC (Parallel Concatenated Convolutional Codes) and SCCC (Serially Concatenated Convolutional Codes). Apart from these turbo coding techniques, the long-known coding techniques called the Low Density Parity Check Codes (referred to as the LDPC code or codes hereunder) have also come into the limelight.
The LDPC codes were first proposed by R. G. Gallager in "Low Density Parity Check Codes" (by R. G. Gallager, Cambridge, Mass.; M.I.T. Press, 1963). Later, the LDPC codes were highlighted again in particular by D. J. C. MacKay in "Good error correcting codes based on very sparse matrices" (submitted to IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, IT-45, pp. 399-431, 1999) and by M. G. Luby, M. Mitzenmacher, M. A. Shokrollahi and D. A. Spielman in "Analysis of low density codes and improved designs using irregular graphs" (Proceedings of ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing, pp. 249-258, 1998).
Recent studies have suggested that the LDPC codes, like turbo coding, are capable of approaching the Shannon limit in performance when their code length is increased progressively. Because their minimum distance is proportional to their code length, the LDPC codes provide an excellent block error rate. Another benefit of the LDPC codes is that they manifest few signs of the so-called error floor phenomenon observed with turbo coding and other techniques during decoding.
The following four documents are cited as relevant to the present application:    Y. Kou, S. Lin, M. P. C. Fossorier, "Low-Density Parity-Check Codes Based on Finite Geometries: A Rediscovery and New Results," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 47, No. 7, pp. 2711-2736, November 2001 (called Non-patent document 1 hereunder).    R. L. Townsend, E. J. Weldon, "Self-Orthogonal Quasi-Cyclic Codes," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. IT-13, No. 2, April 1967 (called Non-patent document 2).    Dieter Roth et al, "SYSTEM FOR BINARY DATA TRANSMISSION," U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,249, June 1984 (called Patent document 1).    Shin et al, "METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING QC-LDPC CODES USING QTH-ORDER POWER RESIDUE," US Patent Application Publication, Pub. No. US2005/0149845 A1, July 2005 (called Patent document 2).

Encoding method, encoding apparatus, and program


The disclosure is directed to compounds and compositions that inhibit Ataxia Telengiectasia And Rad3-Related (ATR) Protein Kinase and methods of their use.

That ATR suppression to clinically relevant levels has the potential to be effective in a wide spectrum of cancers is supported by several lines of evidence. Ataxia telengiectasia and rad3-related (ATR) protein kinase is integral to the replication stress response. ATR belongs to a family of kinases, i.e., phosphatidyl inositol 3′ kinase-related kinases (PIKKs), that are involved in the signaling and repair of DNA damage. While other members of this family (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs)) are required for the repair of double strand breaks (DSBs), ATR is recruited to, and activated by, single strand DNA (ssDNA) generated at stalled replication forks or as an intermediate in the repair of DSBs. Upon replication fork stalling activated ATR phosphorylates the downstream kinase Chk1 resulting in stabilization of the replication fork and inhibition of cell-cycle progression, thus allowing time for resolution of the stress and continued replication. When the ATR-Chk1 pathway is disrupted stalled replication forks collapse into DSBs, thus if unresolved, replication stress can cause genomic instability and negatively impact cell survival (Karlene A. Cimprich & David Cortez, ATR: an essential regulator of genome integrity, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, August 2008, 9, 616-627). Due to its vital role in replication, loss of ATR is early-embryonic lethal in mice (Eric J. Brown and David Baltimore, ATR disruption leads to chromosomal fragmentation and early embryonic lethality, Genes & Development, 2000, 14, 397-402). However, it is important to note that significant suppression of ATR activity (by more than 90%) by mutations in ATR (as would be replicated by treatment with the inhibitors discussed and disclosed herein) is well tolerated by bone marrow and intestinal epithelium, the tissues that are most sensitive to traditional chemotherapeutics (David W. Schoppy et al., Oncogenic stress sensitizes murine cancers to hypomorphic suppression of ATR, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2012, 122(1), 241-252).
ATR inhibition is synthetically lethal in cancers with mutations that cause oncogenic stress or disruption of the DNA damage response (DDR). Genetic changes associated with cancer promote the activation of the replicative stress response and other DNA damage response (DDR) pathways (Di Micco R. et al., Oncogene-induced senescence is a DNA damage response triggered by DNA hyper-replication, Nature 2006 Nov. 30, 444(7119):638-42; Negrini S. et al., Genomic instability—an evolving hallmark of cancer, Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 2010 March, 11(3):220-22). Such oncogenic stress inducing alterations include K-RasG12D and H-RasG12V mutations, and c-Myc amplification. Activation of the DDR by oncogenic stress has been proposed to contribute to selection for mutation, and loss of, p53 and ATM (Negrini S. et al., Genomic instability—an evolving hallmark of cancer, Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 2010 March, 11(3):220-228). Mutations in the tumor suppressor p53 are found in ˜50% of all human cancers. Similar mutation frequencies are observed in the oncogene Myc, while significant numbers of cancers also harbor mutations in the Ras family of genes (˜16%) and to a lesser degree the DDR protein ATM. Alterations in these genes cause an increased reliance on the ATR-Chk1 pathway for genome maintenance. Studies have found that ATR inhibition elicits synthetic lethality under each of these cancer associated conditions (Gilad O. et al., Combining ATR suppression with oncogenic Ras synergistically increases genomic instability, Cancer Res. 2010, 70(23), 9693-702; Schoppy et. al., J. Clin. Invest, 2012; Reaper P. M. et al., Selective killing of ATM- or p53-deficient cancer cells through inhibition of ATR, Nat. Chem. Biol., 2011, 7(7), 428-30; Menezes D. L. et al., A Synthetic Lethal Screen Reveals Enhanced Sensitivity to ATR Inhibitor Treatment in Mantle Cell Lymphoma with ATM Loss-of-function, Mol. Cancer Res., 2014, Epub ahead of print).
Cancers deficient in components of the homologous recombination pathway, such as those harboring mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, are highly sensitive to PARP inhibition (Fong, Inhibition of Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase in Tumors from BRCA Mutation Carriers, New England Journal of Medicine. 2009, 361:123-134). While PARP is required for the repair of single strand breaks (SSBs), preventing their collapse into DSBs, ATR stabilizes replication forks, similarly preventing collapse and formation of DSBs. Loss of PARP and ATR activities therefore both force cells to rely on the DSB repair pathway. It is the inability of BRCA mutant cells to repair DSBs that renders them sensitive to PARP inhibition (Bryant H. E. et al. Specific killing of BRCA2-deficient tumours with inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, Nature 2005 Apr. 14, 434(7035), 913-7), it is therefore reasonable to suppose that cells deficient in the DDR, such as those harboring BRCA mutations, would also be sensitive to ATR inhibition.
Compounds that inhibit ATR are needed.

Ataxia telengiectasia and rad3-related (ATR) inhibitors and methods of their use


A method of transporting blood samples without using a capsule, in a tube system with an internal diameter that is greater than the external diameter of the applied blood samples and lesser than the lengths of the applied blood samples, the method including at least the following steps: •A: a blood sample (8) with an external diameter in the range Ø12 mm to Ø18 mm and with a length in the range from 80 mm to 110 mm is introduced in a tube system (1) that includes a dispatch station (3) and a receiver station (4), •A1: the physical dimensions of the blood sample (8) is checked and it is ensured that the blood sample (8) fits the tube system, •B: the blood sample (8) is dispatched from the dispatch station (3) by means of dispatching air.

It is commonly known to use conveying systems with a number of tube systems wherein items are sent from a dispatch station to a receiver station by means of vacuum or pressurised air. Typically, an elongated capsule is sent which is provided with sealing rings at each end and where the cross-section of the tube system is filled by the capsule in this way.
The capsule thereby acts as a plug which is conveyed in a long tube system. In the capsule there is typically provided the item to be transported to the desired destination. Such systems are known as so-called pneumatic dispatch systems and have been used for a long time in connection with internal post or similar in large buildings. However, by such systems there is the inexpediency that several items cannot be sent in immediate succession just like that.
This is due to the fact that the systems are closed systems and that the capsule will stop underway in the tube system if the closed system receives "false air". In order to be able to send capsules as quickly as possible in succession, various systems have been developed. Some systems have been provided with an indicator showing when a capsule arrives at the receiver station and thereby that the system is ready for use again. Also, there are variants of pneumatic dispatch system that are divided into different sections, each having its own vacuum or blowing mechanism, allowing a new capsule to be dispatched as soon as the recently dispatched capsule has passed a given position in the tube system.
However, such solutions all depend on the item to be transported to be put into a capsule and then to be dispatched. Also, it is necessary to take the item out of the capsule at the other end of the system. This means that resources are to be used both for packing items and for unpacking items. If approximately the same number of capsules are sent both ways, the problem of an accumulated number of capsules at a receiver station and a lacking number of capsules at a dispatch station is solved, but in far the most cases there will be a need for distribution of capsules to the respective dispatch stations, requiring additional resources.
EP 2483186 B1 discloses a general transport system where items can be dispatched in succession and where there is no need of providing the item in a capsule prior to dispatching, where the transport system includes a tube system with internal diameter, a dispatch station and a receiver station, and where a connection for pressurised air is provided at the dispatch station.
However, there are not specific transport systems for blood samples or methods for transporting blood samples in a tube system where the physical dimensions and/or the weight of the blood sample are/is checked, whereby it is ensured that the blood sample fits the tube system, something which may have very serious consequences for the quality of the blood samples when arriving at the receiver station.


A fine ferrite-based steel is disclosed, wherein at least 60% of the ferrite grain boundary is a large angle grain boundary of at least 15xc2x0, and the mean ferrite grain size is not more than 2.5 xcexcm. The fine ferrite-based steel of the invention has a high strength and a long fatigue life.

The present invention relates to a fine ferrite-based steel and a production method thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fine ferrite-based steel which is a ferrite-based steel used in various forms such as steel bar, steel section, steel sheet, and steel plate as texture steels, etc., and has a high strength and a long fatigue life, and to a production method thereof.
Hitherto, as a strengthening method of a stool material, a solid solution strengthening method, a strengthening method by a secondary phase by forming a composite with martensite, etc., a deposition strengthening method, and a strengthening method by fining the crystal grains are known. Among these methods, as a method of increasing both the strength and the toughness and improving the strengthxe2x80xa2ductility balance, the method of strengthening by fining the crystal grains is the most excellent method. Because the method does not require the addition of an expensive element such as Ni, Cr, etc., for increasing the hardenability, it is considered the production of a high-strength steel material at a low cost is possible. From the view point of fining the crystal grains, it is expected that when in a texture steel, the grain sizes of the crystals of martensite are fined to 2.5 xcexcm or smaller, the strength is suddenly increased. However, in the grain sizes of about 5 xcexcm obtained by a conventional thermo-mechanical treatment technique, it is the present state that though a high strength is obtained, a large increase of the strength has not yet been obtained.
On the other hand, a controlled rollingxe2x80xa2accelerating cooling technique was an effective method for obtaining fine ferrite. That is, by controlling the accumulated deformation in the austenite unrecrystallization region and the cooling rate after that, a fine structure has been obtained. However, the limit of the ferrite grain size obtained was at most 10 xcexcm in an Sixe2x80x94Mn steel and 5 xcexcm in an Nb steel. On the other hand, as described in Japanese Patent Laid open Nos. 5-123823 and 59-205447, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 62-39228, 62-5212, and 62-7247, it is reported that in the case of applying a reduction of at least 75% of the total area-reduction ratio in the temperature range of Ar1 to Ar3+100xc2x0 C. including a 2-phase region and thereafter cooling 20 K/s or higher, ferrite grains of from about 3 to 4 xcexcm are obtained. However, quenching of 20 K/s or higher is a means which can be realized only when the thickness of a steel sheet is thin and is only a non-practical means which cannot be widely realized as a production method of conventional welding steels. Also, about the large deformation itself, in rolling, it is generally difficult to carry out a large reduction exceeding 50% by one pass in an austenite low-temperature region against the deformation resistance and the gripping restriction of a roll. Also, for the accumulation reduction in an unrecrystallized region, 70% or higher is generally necessary and it is difficult by temperature lowering of a steel sheet.
Also, on the other hand, in xe2x80x9cTekko No Kesshoryu Chobisaika (Super Fining of Crystal Grains of Iron and Steel)xe2x80x9d, edited by The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan (1991), page 41, by changing the view point, by recrystallizing a bainite structure, a fine ferrite texture is obtained. However, even if the components optimization is achieved, the recrystallization temperature cannot be lowered and the growth of the ferrite grains is not lowered, and the ferrite grain size of less than 5 xcexcm is not obtained.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to overcome the limits of conventional techniques as described above and to provide a novel steel having a ultra-fine ferrite structure of 2.5 xcexcm or less, which has never been known, for far largely increasing the strength thereof and having excellent characteristics such as the greatly long fatigue life, etc.
It has now been found that the object described above has been achieved by the present invention as set forth hereinbelow.
That is, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a fine ferrite-based steel comprising a ferrite-based steel obtained by work-induced recrystallizing from a martensite steel after heating to a temperature of from 500xc2x0 C. to Ac1, wherein the mean ferrite grain size is not larger than 2.5 xcexcm.
A second aspect of the present invention is to provide a fine ferrite-based steal of the first aspect wherein the martensite steel is a steel obtained by heating a steel material to a temperature range of from Ac3 to 1,350xc2x0 C. and quenching from an austenite region after working or without working.
A third aspect of the present invention is to provide a fine ferrite-based steel of the first or second aspect wherein the work-induced recrystallization is carried out by working of a reduction ratio of at least 50%.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is to provide a fine ferrite-based steel of first to third aspects wherein the martensite steel is obtained from a steel material containing, as the chemical composition:
C. 0.001 to 0.80 mass %,
Si: not more than 0.80 mass %,
Mn: 0.8 to 3.0 mass %, and
Al: not more than 0.10 mass %,
with the rest being Fe and unavoidable impurities.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is to provide a fine ferrite-based steel of the fourth aspect wherein the martensite steel is obtained from the steel material further containing at least one kind of:
Cu: 0.05 to 2.5 mass %,
Ni: 0.05 to 3 mass %,
Ti: 0.005 to 0.1 mass %,
Nb: 0.005 to 0.1 mass %,
V: 0.005 to 0.1 mass %,
Cr: 0.01 to 3 mass %,
Mo: 0.01 to 1 mass %,
W: 0.01 to 0.5 mass %,
Ca: 0.001 to 0.01 mass %,
REM: 0.001 to 0.02 mass %, and
B: 0.0001 to 0.006 mass %,
in addition to the compositions described in the fourth aspect.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is to provide a fine ferrite-based steel, characterized in that the steel has a fine ferrite structure wherein at least 60% of the ferrite grain boundary is a large angle grain boundary of at least 15xc2x0, and the mean grain size is not larger than 5 xcexcm.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is to provide a production method of a fine ferrite-based steel, which comprises working a steel material capable of forming a ferrite phase by working to cause recover and recrystallization and producing a fine ferrite-based steel having a fine ferrite structure wherein at least 60% of the ferrite grain boundary is a large angle grain boundary of at least 15xc2x0 and the mean grain size is not larger than 5 xcexcm.
An eighth aspect of the present invention is to provide a production method of a fine ferrite-based steel of the seventh aspect wherein the steel material is worked at 50% or more by the total working amount.
A ninth aspect of the present invention is to provide a production method of a fine ferrite-based steel of the seventh or eighth aspect wherein working is carried out by at least two passes and in the at least optional two passes, the reducing direction or the rolling direction differs from each other.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is to provide a production method of a fine ferrite-based steel of the ninth aspect wherein in the at least optional two passes, each total reduction ratio or total rolling ratio is at least 29%.
An eleventh aspect of the present invention provides a production method of a fine ferrite-based steel of the seventh to tenth aspects wherein the structure before working is martensite or annealed martensite.

Fine ferrite-based structure steel production method