A circuit for an RF switch using FET transistors that largely cancels the non-linearity of the Coss of the FETs over a majority of the signal range, and reduces distortion. The RF switch includes two substantially identical FETs. The source of one FET is connected to the drain of the other FET and the node formed comprises one terminal of the switch. Two substantially identical capacitors are connected in series with each other and in parallel with the FETs, and the node thus formed comprises the second terminal of the switch. The capacitors are selected such that they have negligible impedance at AC frequencies for which the switch is expected be used, and in particular a much lower impedance than Coss of each FET. A voltage source with a series impedance is also connected in parallel with the capacitors and the two FETs.

Electronically controlled radio frequency (RF) switches, or transmission gates, are commonly used in a wide variety of RF systems. Applications include adaptive tuning of filters or resonant circuits using reactive components or transmit/receive (T/R) switches to allow an antenna to be connected to various transmitters or receivers.
RF switches are designed to pass RF signals while in an on state, and block RF signals while in an off state. RF switches are controlled by a direct current (DC) signal or signals. Some RF switch technologies include PIN diodes, conventional electromechanical relays, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) relays, and field-effect transistors (FETs). Each of these technologies offer several advantages and disadvantages.
PIN diode RF switches are advantageous in that they are all-electronic, fast, and are high RF power-capable. However, they are expensive and require high drive power, complex control, and complex bias networks to separate control and RF.
Conventional relays are robust, very high RF power-capable, simple to control, do not require bias networks, and have low RF parasitics. However, they are slow, expensive, physically large, and having a limited operational life.
MEMS relays are small in size, have low RF parasitics, and can be integrated. However, they have limited RF power capability, poor robustness to electrical stress, require complex control, have unusual control signal requirements (voltage and current), are expensive, and have a limited lifetime.
FETs are small and can be easily integrated, require low control power, have fast operation, are all-electronic, and are high RF power-capable. However, they may require bias networks to separate control and RF, and have a relatively high off-state capacitance (low isolation) and non-linear off-state capacitance (harmonic generation, tuning difficulty).
An FET RF switch that overcomes some of the disadvantages of the FET RF switches currently available would be highly desirable. Accordingly, a solution to the problem of non-linear capacitance and tuning difficulties in currently available FET RF switches is needed.


A plurality of color patches whose colors differ stepwise are colorimetrically analyzed to determining a relationship between color signals and stimulus signals. A method of least squares is applied to the determined relationship to determine a relationship between first hypothetical color signals and first hypothetical stimulus signals. These relationships are established as a forward conversion table. Then, a first reverse conversion table is generated from the forward conversion table using the Newton's method. The relationship between the first hypothetical color signals and the first hypothetical stimulus signals in the first reverse conversion table is replaced with a relationship between second hypothetical color signals and second hypothetical stimulus signals which have a physically matching capability, thus generating a second reverse conversion table from the first reverse conversion table. The second reverse conversion table is mapped to produce a reverse conversion table which is used to convert stimulus signals into color signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color conversion method and a color conversion table generating apparatus for converting a color signal from a first colorimetric system to a second colorimetric system.
2. Description of the Related Art
For recording color images with an image output apparatus such as a color printer or the like, it is possible to realize color images having desired colors by manipulating color signals of colors C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow). Since the color signals depend upon the output characteristics of the image output apparatus, any color signals supplied from an external apparatus having different characteristics need to be converted by a color conversion process raking the output characteristics into account.
According to one conventional method, a plurality of known color patches in different colors are generated using the image output apparatus. The color patches are colorimetrically analyzed to produce a conversion relationship (hereinafter referred to as a "forward conversion relationship") for converting known color signals CMY of the color patches into stimulus signals XYZ. Then, a conversion relationship (hereinafter referred to as a "reverse conversion relationship") for converting the stimulus signals XYZ back into color signals CMY is determined. The above color conversion process is carried out using the reverse conversion relationship.
FIG. 9 of the accompanying drawings shows a two-dimensional representation of the forward and reverse conversion relationships between known color signals CMY of color patches generated at regular grid intervals and stimulus signals XYZ. The color signals CMY at respective grid points in a CMY colorimetric system correspond to the stimulus signals XYZ at respective grid points in an XYZ colorimetric system. Since grid intervals are highly irregular in the XYZ colorimetric system, when color signals CMY corresponding to stimulus signals XYZ at a point A are to be determined, interpolating calculations tend to be effected using color signals CMY at points A3, A4, A5, A6 near the point A while in fact interpolating calculations should be effected using color signals CMY at points A1, A2, A3, A4. It is therefore highly difficult to determine grid points surrounding any optional stimulus signals XYZ for a reverse conversion process.
There has been known a process of determining color signals CMY from stimulus signals XYZ by setting up a tetrahedron whose vertexes are provided by stimulus signals XYZ of four points, dividing a space of the stimulus signals XYZ with the tetrahedron, similarly dividing a space of color signals CMY with a tetrahedron, and determining color signals CMY with respect to any optional stimulus signals XYZ in the corresponding tetrahedron according to linear calculations (see Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 3-18179). According to another process, color signals CMY corresponding to any optional stimulus signals XYZ are determined according to repetitive calculations using the Newton's method (see PHOTOGRAPHIC SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, Volume 16, Number 2, March-April 1972, pp. 136-143 "Metameric color matching in subtractive color photography").
According to the former process, however, as the space of the stimulus signals XYZ is more and more distorted, the risk of an inappropriate choice of the stimulus signals XYZ of four points making up the tetrahedron becomes larger, making it more difficult to search for corresponding color signals CMY with precision.
According to the latter process, since the forward conversion relationship obtained from the color patches has a limited range, there may possibly be occasions where it is impossible to continue the repetitive calculations while in progress. One solution would be to insert a damping coefficient to keep calculated values produced by the repetitive calculations within the limited range. However, the damping coefficient would have to be established on a trial-and-error basis, and the calculations may possibly fail to converge in the vicinity of the boundaries of the range. Establishing hypothetical stimulus signals XYZ and color signals CMY outside the range may make it possible to sustain the calculations, but accurate color signals CMY may not be obtained depending on the manner in which those hypothetical stimulus signals XYZ and color signals CMY are established.

Color conversion method and color conversion table generating apparatus


A cover for covering a floral container such as a flower pot, the cover having a lower portion constructed from an elastic material which can be stretched about the bottom of a floral container, to secure the cover about the floral container.

The present invention pertains to, but is not limited to, the field related to sleeves or covers used to cover floral containers such as pots, or to the field related to containers used to contain plants or floral groupings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979 contains subject matter which may be related to that of the present invention and is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.


The present invention provides novel polynucleotides encoding HLRRBM1 polypeptides, fragments and homologues thereof. Also provided are vectors, host cells, antibodies, and recombinant and synthetic methods for producing said polypeptides. The invention further relates to diagnostic and therapeutic methods for applying these novel HLRRBM1 polypeptides to the diagnosis, treatment, and/or prevention of various diseases and/or disorders related to these polypeptides, particularly immune diseases and/or disorders. The invention further relates to screening methods for identifying agonists and antagonists of the polynucleotides and polypeptides of the present invention.

Recently, a class of cell surface proteins have been described in both plants and animals that are involved in pathogen perception, MHC class II trans-activation, inflammation and the regulation of apoptosis (Inhere, N., Nunez, G, Cell, Death, Differ., 6(9):823-4, (1999); Inhere, N., Koneke, T., del, Peso, L., Hun, Y., Yee, C., Chen, S., Carrion, R., Merino, J., Liu, D., Ni, J., Nunez, G, J. Biol, Chem. 21., 274(21):14560-7, (1999); Inhere, N., Nunez, G, Cell, Death, Differ., 7(5):509-10, (2000); Harton, J A., Ting, J P, Mol, Cell, Biol., 20(17):6185-94, (2000); Dixon, J., Brakebusch, C., Fassler, R., Dixon, M J. Hum, Mol, Genet. 12., 9(10):1473-80, (2000)). All of these proteins are modular in nature containing one or several domains that function in caspase recruitment (CARD), nucleotide binding and protein-protein interactions. Proteins within this group have also been found to play a role in cell adhesion during various developmental processes.
A common theme in all of these proteins are the presence of a leucine-repeat repeat (LLR) in the carboxy terminus of the polypeptide chain. LLRs are short protein modules characterized by a periodic distribution of hydrophobic amino acids, especially leucine residues separated by hydrophilic residues [Sean, 1996]. The basic structure of the repeat is as follows:
X-L-X-X-L-X-L-X-X-N-X-a-X-X-X-a-X-X-L-X (SEQ ID NO:34)
where X is any amino acid, L is leucine, N is asparagine and "a" denotes an aliphatic residue. The asparagine at position 10 can be replaced by cysteine, threonine or glutamine. The average repeat length is 24 amino acids but it can vary between 22 to 29 amino acids, though some LRR motifs have been reported to be at short as 20 amino acids. The motif often consists of leucine or other aliphatic residues at positions 2, 5, 7, 12, 16, 21, and 24 and asparagine, cysteine or threonine at position 10. X-ray structure determination of LRR motifs suggests that each LRR is composed of a beta-sheet and an alpha-helix. The largest subfamily of proteins that contain a leucine-rich domain are extracellular proteins having the following motif: LxxLxxLxLxxNxLxxLPxxOFxx (SEQ ID NO:35), where "x" is any amino acid and "O" is a non-polar residue (Kajava, J. Mol. Biol. 277: 519 (1998)).
In transmembrane proteins, LLRs and their flanking sequence always occur in the presumed extracellular portions. In these situations the LLRs are generally flanked on either side by cysteine-rich regions. In general, these cysteines are present in the oxidized disulphide link form. An example of a transmembrane protein containing a LRR is Toll, a Drosophila gene the functions in establishment of dorsal-ventral patterning. Dominant, ventralizing mutants have been described that map to the cysteine-rich regions surrounding the LLR domain [Schneider, 1991]. Thus, the cysteine regions associated with LLRs act to regulate receptor activity. The LLRs the elves within the Toll protein have been shown to function in heterotypic cell adhesion, a process required for proper motorneuron and muscle development [Halfon, 1995]
Another Drosophila LLR containing transmembrane protein, 18 wheeler, which is regulated by homeotic genes also promotes heterophilic cell adhesion in cell migration events during development (Eldon, E., Kooyer, S., D'Evelyn, D., Duman, M., Lawinger, P., Botas, J., Bellen, H, Development., 120(4):885-99, (1994)). Mammalian CD14, which binds lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and signals through NF-κB, is thought to have analogies to the Toll signal transduction pathway. CD14 also contains a region of LLRs that have been shown in deletion mutants to be responsible for LPS binding.
Slit is another LLR containing Drosophila secreted protein that functions in the development of the midline glial cells and the commissural axon tracts the cross the midline. This is presumably accomplished by cell adhesion events (Jacobs, J R, J. Neurobiol. 24(5):611-26, (1993)). Mammalian homologues of Drosophila slit have been shown to bind the heparin sulfate proteoglycan, glypican-1 (Liang, Y., Annan, R S., Carr, S A., Popp, S., Mevissen, M., olis, R K., olis, R U, J. Biol, Chem. 18., 274(25):17885-92, (1999)). In general, heparan sulfate proteoglycans have been shown to accummulate in Alzheimer's disease brains and specifically, glypican-1 is component of both senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (Verbeek, M M., Otte, Holler, I., van, den, Born, J., van, den, Heuvel, L P.,David, G., Wesseling, P., de, Waal, R M, Am. J. Pathol., 155(6):2115-25, (1999)). Heparin sulfate proteoglycans are also implicated in the regulation of cytokine signaling in B cells through the activation of CD40 (van, der, Voort, R., Taher, T E., Derksen, P W., Spaargaren, M., van, der, Neut, R., Pals, S T, Adv, Cancer, Res., 79:39-90, (2000)).
p37NB is a 37 kDa LRR protein identified in human neuroblastoma cells (Kim, D. et al. (1996) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1309: 183-188). Northern blot hybridization and RT-PCR studies show that p37NB is differentially expressed in several neuroblastoma cell lines. A related LRR protein, PRELP, is characterized as a 42 kDa secreted protein (Bengtsson, E. et al. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270: 25639-25644). PRELP consists of 10 LRR motifs ranging in length from 20 to 26 residues with asparigine at position 10. Northern analysis shows differential expression of PRELP in various tissues.
In addition, leucine-rich repeat containing proteins have also been implicated in various aspects of protein-protein interaction, such as cell-to-cell communication and signal transduction (for a review, see Kobe and Deisenhofer, TIBS 19: 415 (1994); Kobe and Deisenhofer, Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 5: 409 (1995); Kajava, J. Mol. Biol. 277: 519 (1998)). Proteins that contain an LRR motif include hormone receptors, enzyme subunits, cell adhesion proteins, and ribosome-binding proteins.
A subfamily of the LRR superfamily, referred to as the Small Leucine Rich Proteoglycan family, illustrates the critical functions fulfilled by proteins containing an LRR motif. Members of this subfamily are believed to play essential biological roles during inflammation and cancer invasion, a regulatory role in collagen fibril formation, suppression of the malignant phenotype of cancer cells, and an inhibition of the growth of certain normal cells (see, for example, Iozzo, Annu. Rev Biochem. 67: 609 (1998)).
Kajava, et al., J. Mol. Biol. 277: 519 (1998), divided the LRR superfamily into subfamilies characterized by different lengths and consensus sequences of the leucine-rich repeats. Based upon this structural analysis, Kajava concluded that LRR proteins of different subfamilies probably emerged independently during evolution, indicating that proteins with the LRR motif provide a unique solution for a wide range of biological functions.
LLR containing proteins have been identified in prokaryotes, plants, yeast and mammals. Although such proteins were initially thought to be secreted proteins, it is now appreciated that they inhibit a variety of cellular locations and participate in a diverse set of critical functions in development and cellular homeostasis.
Such LRRs, being extracellular, are capable of directing protein-protein interactions with other receptors involved in apoptosis, inflammation and immune responses. LLR containing proteins may also bind other extracellular ligands derived from infectious agents and participate in the triggering and or modulating immune responses, particularly apoptosis.
The mechanisms that mediate apoptosis have been intensively studied. These mechanisms involve the activation of endogenous proteases, loss of mitochondrial function, and structural changes such as disruption of the cytoskeleton, cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and nuclear condensation due to degradation of DNA.
The various signals that trigger apoptosis are thought to bring about these events by converging on a common cell death pathway, the core components of which are highly conserved from worms, such as C. elegans, to humans. In fact, invertebrate model systems have been invaluable tools in identifying and characterizing the genes that control apoptosis. Despite this conservation of certain core components, apoptotic signaling in mammals is much more complex than in invertebrates. For example, in mammals there are multiple homologues of the core components in the cell death signaling pathway.
Caspases, a class of proteins central to the apoptotic program, are responsible for the degradation of cellular proteins that leads to the morphological changes seen in cells undergoing apoptosis. Caspases (cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinases) are cysteine proteases having specificity for aspartate at the substrate cleavage site. Generally, caspases are classified as either initiator caspases or effector caspases, both of which are zymogens that are activated by proteolysis that generates an active species. An effector caspase is activated by an initiator caspase which cleaves the effector caspase.
Initiator caspases are activated by an autoproteolytic mechanism that is often dependent upon oligomerization directed by association of the caspase with an adapter molecule.
Apoptotic signaling is dependent on protein-protein interactions. At least three different protein-protein interaction domains, the death domain, the death effector domain and the caspase recruitment domain (CARD), have been identified within proteins involved in apoptosis. A fourth protein-protein interaction domain, the death recruiting domain (DRD) was recently identified in murine FLASH (Imai et al. (1999) Nature 398: 777-85).
Caspases comprise a multi-gene family having at least 12 distinct family members (Nicholson (1999) Cell Death and Differentiation 6: 1028). A relatively small fraction of cellular polypeptides (less than 200) are thought to serve as targets for cleavage by caspases. Because many of these caspase targets perform key cellular functions, their proteolysis is thought to account for the cellular and morphological events that occur during apoptosis. Members of the caspase gene family can be divided by phylogenetic analysis into two major subfamilies, based upon their relatedness to ICE (interleukin-1p converting enzyme; caspase-1) and CED-3. Alternate groupings of caspases can be made based upon their substrate specificities. Many caspases and proteins that interact with caspases possess a CARD domain.
Characterization of the HLRRBM1 polypeptide of the present invention led to the determination that it is involved in the modulation of the p21 G1/G2 cell cycle check point protein, either directly or indirectly.
Critical transitions through the cell cycle are highly regulated by distinct protein kinase complexes, each composed of a cyclin regulatory and a cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) catalytic subunit (for review see Draetta, 1994). These proteins regulate the cell's progression through the stages of the cell cycle and are, in turn, regulated by numerous proteins, including p53, p21, p16, and cdc25. Downstream targets of cyclin-cdk complexes include pRb and E2F. The cell cycle often is dysregulated in neoplasia due to alterations either in oncogenes that indirectly affect the cell cycle, or in tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes that directly impact cell cycle regulation, such as pRb, p53, p16, cyclin D1, or mdm-2 (for review see Schafer, 1998).
P21, also known as CDNK1A (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A), or CIP1 inhibits mainly the activity of cyclin CDK2 or CDK4 complexes. Therefore, p21 primarily blocks cell cycle progression at the G1 stage of the cell cycle. The expression of p21 is tightly controlled by the tumor suppressor protein p53, through which this protein mediates the cell cycle G1 phase arrest in response to a variety of stress stimuli. In addition, p21 protein interacts with the DNA polymerase accessory factor PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen), and plays a regulatory role in S phase DNA replication and DNA damage repair.
After DNA damage, many cells appear to enter a sustained arrest in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. Bunz et al. (1998) demonstrated that this arrest could be sustained only when p53 was present in the cell and capable of transcriptionally activating the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. After disruption of either the p53 or the p21 gene, gamma-radiated cells progressed into mitosis and exhibited a G2 DNA content only because of a failure of cytokinesis. Thus, p53 and p21 appear to be essential for maintaining the G2 cell cycle checkpoint in human cells.
Due to the connection between the transcriptional activity of p53 and p21 RNA expression, the readout of p21 RNA can be used to determine the effect of drugs or other insults (radiation, antisense for a specific gene, dominant negative expression) on a given cell system which contains wild type p53. Specifically, if a gene is removed using antisense products and this has an effect on the p53 activity, p21 will be upregulated and can serve therefore as an indirect marker for an influence on the cell cycle regulatory pathways and induction of cell cycle arrest.
In addition to cancer regulation of cell cycle activity has a role in numerous other systems. For example, hematopoietic stem cells are relative quiescent, while after receiving the required stimulus they undergo dramatic proliferation and inexorably move toward terminal differentiation. This is partly regulated by the presence of p21. Using p21 knockout mice Cheng et al. (2000) demonstrated its critical biologic importance in protecting the stem cell compartment. In the absence of p21, hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and absolute number were increased under normal homeostatic conditions. Exposing the animals to cell cycle-specific myelotoxic injury resulted in premature death due to hematopoietic cell depletion. Further, self-renewal of primitive cells was impaired in serially transplanted bone marrow from p21 −/− mice, leading to hematopoietic failure. Therefore it was concluded that p21 is the molecular switch governing the entry of stem cells into the cell cycle, and in its absence, increased cell cycling leads to stem cell exhaustion. Under conditions of stress, restricted cell cycling is crucial to prevent premature stem cell depletion and hematopoietic death. Therefore, genes involved in the downregulation of p21 expression could have a stimulatory effect and therefore be useful for the exploration of stem cell technologies.
Using the above examples, it is clear the availability of a novel cloned leucine-rich repeat containing protein provides an opportunity for adjunct or replacement therapy, and are useful for the identification of leucine-rich repeat containing protein agonists, or stimulators (which might stimulate and/or bias leucine-rich repeat containing protein action), as well as, in the identification of leucine-rich repeat containing protein inhibitors. Hence it can be reasoned that agonists and antagonists for these LLR containing proteins will be useful for therapeutic purposes
The present invention also relates to recombinant vectors, which include the isolated nucleic acid molecules of the present invention, and to host cells containing the recombinant vectors, as well as to methods of making such vectors and host cells, in addition to their use in the production of HLRRBM1 polypeptides or peptides using recombinant techniques. Synthetic methods for producing the polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention are provided. Also provided are diagnostic methods for detecting diseases, disorders, and/or conditions related to the HLRRBM1 polypeptides and polynucleotides, and therapeutic methods for treating such diseases, disorders, and/or conditions. The invention further relates to screening methods for identifying binding partners of the polypeptides.

Polynucleotides encoding novel human leucine-rich repeat containing protein expressed predominately in bone marrow, HLRRBM1


A system, method and computer program product are provided for monitoring voice application calls over a network. Initially, a first leg of a voice application call is identified. Next, a unique key is created based on the first leg of the voice application call utilizing a first session object. Further, a second leg of the voice application call is identified. Another unique key is created based on the second leg of the voice application call utilizing a second session object. In use, both the first and second session objects are associated with a single application object.

Voice signals are transmitted over a packet network by first formatting the voice signal data stream into multiple discrete packets. In a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call, an originating voice gateway quantizes an input audio stream into packets that are placed onto a packet network and routed to a destination voice gateway. The destination voice gateway decodes the packets back into a continuous digital audio stream that resembles the input audio stream. As an option, a compression or decompression algorithm may be used on the quantized digital audio stream to reduce the communication bandwidth required for transmitting the audio packets over the network.
Similar to conventional Internet Protocol, VoIP includes a plurality of layers. Prior Art FIG. 1 illustrates a plurality of exemplary well known layers 10 associated with VoIP. As shown, such layers include at least one application layer 12 and a plurality of session layers 14 positioned below the application layer 12. While not shown, at least one connection layer may be positioned below the session layer. By way of example, the application layer 12 may include H.323. H.323 is a standard approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 1996 to promote compatibility in videoconference transmissions over IP networks. Further included as session layers are H.225.0, H.245, real-time transport protocol (RTP), and real-time transport control protocol (RTCP). It should be noted that VoIP calls can employ various protocols for communication purposes.
The Quality of Service (QoS) of VoIP calls can degrade due to congestion on the packet network or failure of network processing nodes in the packet network. Quality of service can include anything from call sound quality to the ability and responsiveness of the VoIP network in establishing new VoIP calls. IP network reliability has not been proven to be in the same class as a traditional switched Public Services Telephone Network (PSTN).
Due to a need to understand, troubleshoot and optimize a particular network to improve VoIP calls, there is an on-going desire for traditional network assessment tools to be tailored to monitor network parameters specific to VoIP calls. Network assessment tools referred to as "analyzers" are often relied upon to analyze networks communications at a plurality of layers. One example of such analyzers is the SNIFFER ANALYZER™ device manufactured by NETWORK ASSOCIATES, INC™. Analyzers have similar objectives such as determining why network performance is slow, understanding the specifics about excessive traffic, and/or gaining visibility into various parts of the network.
As mentioned earlier, network analyzers collect information at a plurality of layers. Each set of layer-specific data is conventionally stored in a buffer "object" by the network analyzer. In particular, a session object, an application object, etc. are each used to store network traffic information at session and application layers, respectively.
In use, session objects are traditionally created for each portion of a VoIP call between an endpoint and the call manager. Each of such portions of the VoIP call is traditionally known as a "leg." It should be noted that there are traditionally at least two legs per VoIP call, where users communicate from a pair of endpoints by way of a call manager.
As mentioned hereinabove, a session object is created for each leg of a VoIP call between an endpoint and the call manager. In the prior art, a separate application object is also stored for each leg of the VoIP call. Unfortunately, such arrangement makes it more difficult to monitor and analyze VoIP call traffic, since the number of application objects may grow at a rate similar to the session objects.
For example, in a "tree representation" where a plurality of session objects are associated with a single application object in order to more efficiently organize the objects, the prior art method would result in an unmanageable number of "nodes" (i.e. separate trees) since only one session object would be associated with each application object. Thus, any conventional advantages associated with a "tree representation" would not be realized.
There is thus a need for a better way to organize data relating to VoIP call traffic to facilitate understanding, troubleshooting, and optimizing a particular network to improve VoIP calls.

System, method and computer program product for monitoring voice application calls over a network


This invention provides an aerosol preparation for topical use, primarily for skin cooling, which is novel in that it is propelled out in the form of a sherbet-like foam. The concentrate is based on water and a lower alcohol and a liquefied. petroleum gases and dimethyl ether is used as a propellant. By using the basic agent and the propellant in a specified ratio, a sherbet-like foam can be formed. The aerosol preparation may also incorporate a drug.

In recent years, sporting activities have become more and more popular, and with it, injuries such as bruises and wrenches occur frequently, and in many cases, an emergency treatment requires the cooling of the affected part.
Emergency cooling of the affected part is conveniently performed by using an aerosol preparation for external use. Known aerosol agents include, for example, an external aerosol agent composed of a 9:1 mixture of trichloromonofluoromethane and dichlorodifluoromethane (Japanese Patent Publication No. 35797/1970), and an aerosol preparation for external use composed of an organic compound having a molecular weight of at least 80 and a latent heat of evaporation at 25.degree. C. of 20 to 100, filled in a container together with a compressed gas (Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 86606/1979).
However, aerosol preparations of this type have only a transient cooling effect and its effect does not last long. Moreover since the concentrate and/or propellant uses chlorofluorocarbon, the use of these chemicals are undesirable as the adverse effects of the chlorofluorocarbons have come to be recognized
Furthermore, with this type of aerosol preparations the concentrate to be sprayed jets out as a fine mist, its adhesion to the affected part is poor, and the scattered concentrate presents the danger of inhalation by patients.


Novel platinum complexes wherein malonate derivative is the anion ligand are provided with processes for preparation thereof. The complexes of the present invention have excellent antitumor effect and low toxicity.

Since the discovery of antitumor activity of cisplatin, i.e., cis-(NH.sub.3).sub.2 PtCl.sub.2 by B. Rosenberg (Nature, 205,698 (1965)), comprehensive studies including its clinical tests have been performed leading to FDA approval of cisplatin as a chemotherapeutic antitumor agent in 1979. Currently, cisplatin is one of the most widely used antitumor agents and, in particular, is effective for testicular, ovarian, bladder, lung, bone marrow, and larynx cancers, but because of its high toxicity (LD.sub.50 =13 mg/kg, M. J. Cleare, Biochimie, 60, 835(1978)), its use is limited. On the other hand, carboplatin, i.e., cis-(NH.sub.3).sub.2 Pt(CBDCA)(CBDCA=1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylate) which was approved by FDA in 1989, has much lower toxicity (LD.sub.50 =180 mg/kg, M. J. Cleare, Biochimie, 60 (1978)) compared with cisplatin, but its antitumor activity is lower and more expensive than cisplatin. Therefore, a great deal of researches for searching new antitumor agents having a higher antitumor activity and lower toxicity than those of cisplatin or caroplatin is actively underway.
With a view to develop novel platinum antitumor agents having a higher antitumor effect and lower toxicity than those of cisplatin, the present inventors modified the molecular structure of anion and nuetral amine ligand of cisplatin to synthesize new platinum complexes and examined the physiological activity thereof. As a result, the present inventors has found that the platinum complexes bound by a malonic acid derivative containing a double bond at .alpha.-position exhibited an excellent antitumor activity and filed an application for the malonic acid derivatives platinum complexes containing sulfur atom as Korean patent application No. 91-11401 filed Jul. 5, 1991 (the corresponding U.S. application has been granted as the U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,075) wherein A.dbd.A'.dbd.NH.sub.3, CH.sub.3 NH.sub.2, C.sub.2 H.sub.5 NH.sub.2, iso-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 NH.sub.2, cyclo-C.sub.3 H.sub.5 NH.sub.2, AA'.dbd.NH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 NH.sub.2, 1,2-(NH.sub.2).sub.2 -cyclo-C.sub.6 H.sub.10, CH(OH)(CH.sub.2 NH.sub.2).sub.2 ; RR.dbd.--SCHCHS--, SCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 S-, R.dbd.SCH.sub.3). The present inventors have continued the studies and found that the platinum complexes represented by the formula I containing malonic acids without sulfur of the following general formulas II-A and II-B as anion group have superior antitumor activity to that of carboplatin and cisplatin and much lower toxicity than that of cisplatin. Moreover, the compounds of formula I of the present invention exhibit an improved water-solubility. Thus, it is possible to solve the problems as troubled in the use of cisplatin due to the low water-solubility. ##STR2##

Platinum complexes of malonic acid derivatives and process for the preparation thereof

Korea Institute of Science and Technology


A method and apparatus for the sensorless determination of commutation position in a brushless motor. The electric current flowing within the active, or energized, stator coil during energization is differentiated to produce a current rate of change waveform. The current rate of change waveform is compared to a predetermined voltage threshold which is set to approximate the point at which the rotor is in direct positional alignment with the active stator. From this comparison, it is determined when the current rate of change waveform fails to intersect the predetermined voltage threshold. This information may be used to commutate the application of a driving signal to the next stator coil in succession to maintain continuous torque on the rotor. This information may also be indicative of a stalled condition, in which case a stall indicator is triggered to alert the user of the stalled condition.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of detecting the commutation position of a rotor within a polyphase brushless motor. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an apparatus and method capable of providing real-time commutation position detection by continuously differentiating the electric current flowing within the active stator coils of a polyphase brushless motor.
II. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally speaking, brushless motors include a rotor and a stator having a plurality of wound field coils. Brushless motors have gained increasing popularity and enjoy a wide array of industrial applications due, in large part, to the fact that brushless motors are electronically commutated, wherein solid-state switching replaces the brushes and segmented commutators of traditional permanent magnet DC motors. The elimination of brushes simplifies motor maintenance as there are no brushes to be serviced or replaced. Furthermore, noise reduction is effectuated because, without brushes, there is no arcing to create electromagnetic interference. The elimination of arcing also minimizes any explosion hazard in the presence of flammable or explosive mixtures. Thus, brushless motors are ideal for use in any setting where sensitive circuitry or hazardous conditions exist or are present.
Brushless motors may be of the variable reluctance, permanent magnet, or hybrid type. Variable reluctance brushless motors are characterized by having an iron core rotor chase sequentially shifting magnetic fields of the stator coils to attract the rotor into rotational motion. Permanent magnet brushless motors are characterized by having the sequentially energized field coils attract or repel a permanent magnet rotor into rotational motion. Hybrid brushless motors, such as stepper motors, are operated by a train of pulses so that their rotors move or are indexed over a carefully controlled fraction of a revolution each time they receive an input step pulse. This permits rotor movement to be controlled with high precision which can be translated into precise rotational or linear movement.
To ensure proper rotational and linear movement in variable reluctance and permanent magnet brushless motors, it is essential to determine the position of the rotor with respect to the energized, or active, stator coils. By knowing this position, referred to as commutation position, the stator coils can be energized in the appropriate sequence to create a revolving magnetic field in the motor to exert the desired rotational or linear torque on the rotor. Traditionally, commutation position is detected by employing one or more transducers within the particular brushless motor to sense the position of the rotor relative to the active stator coil or coils.
However, the use of transducers to determine commutation position has several drawbacks. First, these sensors increase production costs due to the need for sophisticated positional adjustment and increased wiring. Moreover, the space required for commutation position sensors is also a significant disadvantage in that valuable space is consumed within the motor housing. With an ever increasing premium on space and cost efficiency, several attempts have been made to create "sensorless" commutation position feedback systems to replace the need for commutation position sensors within brushless motors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,053 to Mann et al. employs one such "sensorless" technique, wherein the back-EMF voltage in an unenergized stator coil is employed to determine commutation position during motor start-up. This method is based on a proportional relationship, wherein the back-EMF voltage generated in the stator coils during motor operation is a function of motor speed, rotational direction, and commutation position. However, a significant disadvantage exists with this technique in that back-EMF voltage is difficult to reliably measure during the low rotational velocity of the rotor during start up operations. This may prove especially troublesome in applications such as computer disk drive motors, where proper rotational direction at start up is required to avoid damaging disk contents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,270, issued to McCormack represents an attempt to overcome the disadvantages of the back-EMF method. In this technique, "sensorless" commutation detection is performed during the start up phase of operation. An initial measurement is made of the current rise time within each stator coil by applying a known voltage to each stator coil while the rotor is held stationary. A driving current is then supplied to the stator coil which is most nearly aligned with the magnetic field of the rotor so as to move the rotor slightly. A second current rise time measurement is conducted in similar fashion and compared to the initial current rise time measurement. Measurements of initial and second current rise times are analyzed for each stator coil to indicate which stator coil should be energized first to provide proper rotational direction of the rotor at start-up.
A major disadvantage exists, however, in that this method is limited solely to start-up operations. In particular, this method is aimed at determining the rotational direction of a computer disk drive during start-up so as to avoid damaging disk contents from improper rotational direction. To accomplish this, the current rise time within each stator coil is measured at two discrete intervals merely to determine which of the stator field coils should be initially energized to start the rotor in the correct rotational direction. This method, however, does not account for the commutation position of the rotor with respect to the stator field coils continuously throughout the normal, full speed operation of the motor.
Furthermore, this method does not provide an accurate assessment of commutation position. As mentioned above, this method merely measures the current rise times in all stator coils at two discrete points in time, compares these values, and initiates rotation accordingly. By basing the commutation position detection on two discrete measurements, this method must assume certain positional characteristics that cannot be assessed during the interim between current rise time measurements. These assumptions cause this method to be accurate only within one commutation, as opposed to the entire operational cycle. This can be a significant hindrance to proper motor operation because the stator coils cannot be continuously driven in an efficient fashion without an accurate and continuous determination of commutation position.
A further disadvantage of this method is that the determination of commutation position is based upon the absolute value of the current flowing within the motor. By measuring the current rise times within each stator coil at fixed time intervals, this method is highly susceptible to variations or fluctuations in motor speed, motor load, PWM frequency, and bus voltage. For example, an increase in the motor load will require the pulse width of the driving signal to be lengthened to increase the energy supplied to the motor to compensate for the increased load. Such variations in pulse width cause the current rise time measurement to vary in amplitude depending on the load experienced, thereby adversely affecting the accuracy and reliability of the commutation position detection.
Still another drawback of this method is that it requires a substantial amount of processing time to determine commutation position. This results from the need to measure current rise time twice for each stator coil, as well as the subsequent comparisons of the current rise time measurements for each stator coil. For example, a four phase brushless motor employing this method requires eight current rise time measurements, one for each stator coil prior to moving the rotor and one for each stator coil after the rotor has been moved. Each pair of current rise time measurements must then be compared to indicate the relative change in current rise time within each stator coil. Finally, the relative change of current rise time within each stator coil must be compared to indicate which stator coil is positioned closest to the rotor so that the particular stator coil can be commutated to drive the rotor into rotation.
What is needed therefore, is a commutation position detection system which is capable of accurately and continuously assessing commutation position throughout the entire commutation process, rather than merely at start-up. A need also exists for a commutation position detection system that is not dependent on the absolute value of the current flowing within the motor. Still another need exists for a commutation position detection system that is fast and requires minimal processing time.

Sensorless commutation position detection for brushless motors


An airtight chamber insulated with an anti-corrosive coating allows the control of the heat and moisture content of organic wastes for rapid aerobic decomposition by naturally occurring thermal bacteria. Air is drawn into the chamber, over and through the organic waste and carbonaceous filler materials and is exhausted through an air scrubber. Agitation of the waste mixture is by means of two or more anti-corrosive coated stirrers on a rotating shaft; the rotation rate being two revolutions or less per minute to accelerate the biological decomposition process and 35 or more revolutions per minute to fluff and dry the material after the completion of the biological process. During the drying process the air direction is reversed by means of a blower and a controlled heating element to speed drying. Utilization of the blower and heating element also helps to initiate the biological decomposition activity in cold temperatures.

1. Field of Invention
This invention, as described in Disclosure Document No. 53116 filed Oct. 6, 1976, relates to a relatively inexpensive apparatus in which the biological conditions are controlled and monitored for converting organic wastes into a soil conditioner and animal feed supplement economically within a 48-72 hour period.
2. State of the Art
Many patents have been granted for various machines to biologically convert organic wastes into stable soil conditioners useful in agriculture and horticulture. Organic wastes have been enclosed under plastic film and placed in rotating drums, tumblers, and mixers of various types to allow aerobic bacteria to decompose the organic wastes.
Examples of such machines are covered under U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,041,148; 3,054,663; 3,245,759; 3,676,074; 279,094 and 376,763. These machines are either too complicated and costly or oversimplified to the degree that the process is too time consuming to be the most economical and suitable for use by farmers throughout the world.


An inexpensive cable is utilized to permit multiple identical shelves in a bay of interface units to be wired for a plurality of signals by utilizing conventional twenty-five pin wiring. Hand-wired dedicated cables normally used for routing alarm signals are avoided. Printed wiring backplanes are utilized for connecting the common signals together and for permitting appropriate connections for the plurality of individual signals to be connected to the appropriate interface units positioned in the bay. The backplanes have an identical pattern so that the interface units can be used interchangeably.

1. Field of the Invention
To provide a wiring cable connector with a cross-over backplane wiring to enable a single cable to be utilized for connecting a group of signals from an interface circuit to a central location.
2. Description of Background Art
Hithertofore, a unique hand-wired cable system was needed to permit a plurality of interface units to be wired back to a central location. More specifically, common sensors at the interface unit would require a common cable to be hand-wired from the common sensors by utilizing T-connections and thereafter be wired back to the central location to permit common signals or common alarm signals to be transferred back to the central location.
For example, if four interface units are arranged on four shelves, it would normally be necessary to hand-wire one common cable with wires for connecting the common signals connected by T-connections to the four interface units. The common signals could be common alarm signals such as an electrical failure, battery on discharge, etc. In addition, four cables would be necessary for unique signals connected to the four interface units. The unique signals could be alarm signals dedicated to specific or unique alarms such as door open or fan failure for each of the four central terminal units.
The complicated hand-wiring for the common signals and the use of dedicated cables for each of the interface units is expensive.

Low-cost multi-shelf cabling arrangement


The epicyclical drive incorporates a dual flywheel carrying a pinion in a balanced axially compact assembly. The assembly includes a counterweight for the pinion nested between the flywheels, which also connects the flywheels and transfers loading conditions therebetween, to reduce and distribute torsional and eccentric loading conditions and reduce vibrations. The use of a second flywheel also provides an improved rotary seal capability for keeping out dust, debris and moisture. The drive is adapted for incorporation into a floor of a header of an agricultural harvesting machine for reciprocatingly driving a sickle thereof, advantageously jointly with a mirror image companion drive in a side by side relationship and timed such that forces generated by the reciprocating actions are cancelled.

Epicyclical drives are noted for their utility for converting rotary motion to reciprocating linear motion, in a variety of applications, notably, sickles. Sickles are commonly used on agricultural plant cutting machines, particularly on the headers of combines, windrowers and other harvesting machines. Such sickles typically include cutter bars supporting a row of knives, have been used to cut plants, including, but not limited to, hay, grasses, small grains and the like.
The knives are composed of a plurality of knife or sickle sections which are mounted in side by side relation forming an elongate metal knife assembly. The elongate knife assembly is normally supported so as to slide longitudinally along an elongate stationary bar that has forwardly projecting, spaced apart guards bolted to a structural beam. The knife assembly moves back and forth in a reciprocating movement to move the knives relative to the guards so that the leading knife edges of the knives cross over the guards or through slots in the guards. This produces a shearing or cutting action which severs plant stems and stalks or other material captured between the knives and the guards.
In a harvesting machine, such as a combine or windrower, the knife assembly and stationary bar are typically supported in connection with a cutting head or header and are oriented so as to extend sidewardly along a forward edge portion of structure such as a floor or pan of the header, hereinafter sometimes referred to generally as the floor. The floor or pan defines the lower periphery of a cut crop or plant flow area, which can include conveying apparatus, such as one or more augers or belts, operable in cooperation with a reel in machines so equipped, for conveying the cut plant material and crops, for instance, to a feeder inlet of a combine or windrow forming apparatus of a windrower.
The knife assembly is driven reciprocatingly longitudinally by an oscillating drive, which can include, but is not limited to, an eccentric shaft on a rotating hub, a wobble drive, an epicyclical drive, or a similar well known commercially available device. Reference in regard to known epicyclical drives, Regier et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,074, issued Oct. 17, 2006 and entitled Balanced Epicyclic Sickle Drive. Such drives typically have a large axial extent, which in this context is vertical, and thus by necessity are located at the sides of the header, and drive the knife assembly from the end. This location is advantageous as it allows the driving point for the knife assembly to be in line with the stationary bar, provides clearances for removal of the knife assembly, and provides space for assembly of the drive. Disadvantages of the side location include that the header must include significant frame structure for supporting the drive and to withstand forces and vibrations generated thereby. The end structure or crop divider at the end of the header must also be relatively wide, to accommodate the drive and to direct adjacent standing crops therepast, and increasing the possibility of unavoidably pushing over adjacent standing crops. Additionally, for headers utilizing two drives located on opposite sides of the header, it is usually desired to time the operation of the drives such that the forces and vibrations generated by the respective drives and reciprocating knife assemblies cancel one another. This typically involves relatively long mechanical drive lines connecting the two drives together, which is disadvantageous as it adds weight, cost and complexity.
The vertical axis epicyclical drive of U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,074 referenced above uses a large rotating counterweight in an attempt to counterbalance the knife assembly driven thereby, but the knife assembly travels in only the side to side direction, and thus requires only counterbalancing in those directions, whereas the large counterweight rotates eccentrically through a circular swing arc, and thus introduces eccentric loads in the other directions, most notably the fore and aft directions. Additionally, as the weight of the knife assembly is increased, e.g., for a longer sickle, the counterbalance must be correspondingly increased, which increases the fore and aft eccentric loading condition.
To illustrate the magnitude of the vibrational challenges associated with eccentric loading conditions generated by sickle drives, a knife assembly will weigh at least 30 pounds for a typical 20 foot wide header, and typically must accelerate and decelerate two times per cycle as a result of the reciprocating movement. A typical speed for the knife assembly is up to about 16 hertz or cycles per second. Thus, it can be seen, the reciprocating motion at a high cycle per second generates high acceleration values and high deceleration values that in turn generate high forces on the structural components. These high forces can have at least two negative effects, vibration at and within the drive system that may be transmitted to other components of the machine, and torsional and vibration related failure of the structural components of the drive itself, and also the seals thereof. To compound the seal failure problem, operation of plant cutting machines typically generates substantial dust and plant fragments that can rapidly damage seals and infiltrate the drive to cause failure thereof.
Driving a knife assembly or assemblies of a header from a more central location, such as the center of the header, would provide several advantages compared to a side location. Notably among these advantages, the header structure, typically supported at the center, would not be required to support heavy drive units on one or both sides, such that the structure of the header could be lighter. Long timing apparatus extending between the ends could also be eliminated. If the drive mechanism is incorporated into a location that would not interrupt or require dividing crop or plant material flow through the crop flow area of the header, the normal crop flow of the header is not be significantly impacted. And, since the drives are not located in the ends, the end dividers can be made significantly thinner, such that the header can have a shorter overall width, would be more easily maneuverable in relation to adjacent standing crop, and danger of downing the adjacent standing crop would be reduced. Additionally, it has been found that by driving two knife assemblies in opposite directions from a location between the two assemblies, the forces generated by the opposite reciprocating movements of the assemblies translated to the frame of the header can be largely cancelled, essentially leaving only the vibrational loads generated by the drives themselves to be dealt with.
Thus, what is sought is an epicyclical drive adapted for a sickle of a header of an agricultural cutting machine, such as a combine or windrower, which provides at least one of the advantages, namely, a compact axial extent and low eccentric loading and vibrations, and which overcomes one or more of the problems, negative effects, and disadvantages, referenced above.

Dual flywheel axially compact epicyclical drive


In some embodiments, a contactless communication device includes an antenna, and a driving stage having a power supply terminal configured to receive a power supply voltage, where the driving stage is configured to deliver a current to the antenna. The device further includes a monitoring circuit configured to monitor the power transmitted by the antenna. The monitoring circuit is configured, in the presence of a request for a reduction in a current level of transmitted power, to reduce the power supply voltage of the driving stage down to a target value corresponding to a new level of the transmitted power less than the current level.

The antenna connected to electronic components of wireless or contactless communication devices is tuned to a frequency compatible with contactless communication of information. Such a frequency may be, for example, a resonance frequency equal to a carrier frequency, e.g., 13.56 MHz, or a resonance frequency contained in a permissible range around the carrier frequency.
Such components are sometimes referred to as "contactless components" and may be, for example, near field communication (NFC) components, i.e., components compatible with NFC technology.
The NFC component may be, for example, an integrated circuit or chip, incorporating an NFC microcontroller.
The acronym NFC designates a high frequency, short distance wireless communication technology, which makes the exchange of data possible between two contactless devices over a short distance, e.g., 10 cm.
NFC technology is standardized in documents ISO/IEC 18 092, ISO/IEC 21 481 and NFC FORUM but incorporates a variety of pre-existing standards including Type A and Type B protocols of the standard ISO/IEC 14 443.
An NFC component may generally be used either in "reader" mode or in "card" mode for communicating with another contactless device, e.g., by using a contactless communication protocol such as the Type A protocol of the standard ISO/IEC 14 443.
In the "reader" mode, the NFC component acts as a reader with respect to the external contactless device which may then be a card or a label. In the reader mode, the NFC component may then read the contents of the external device and write information to the external device.
In the "card" mode, the NFC component then behaves as a transponder, e.g., a card or a label, and communicates with the external device which this time is a reader.
The transponder may be passive or active.
A passive transponder performs a load modulation of the magnetic field generated by the reader.
An active transponder uses an active load modulation (also known to the person skilled in the art under its acronym ALM) for transmitting information to the reader. The transponder also generates a magnetic field via its antenna which simulates the load modulation of the field of the reader performed by a passive transponder.
Active load modulation is advantageously used when the signal resulting from a passive load modulation is not strong enough to be detected by the reader. This is notably the case when the antenna of the transponder is small or located in an unfavorable environment.
An NFC component or chip may, for example, be incorporated in a mobile cellular phone, and the latter may then be used, in addition to its conventional telephone function, for exchanging information with the external contactless device.
Numerous applications are thus possible, such as crossing a toll barrier in transport (the mobile phone acts as a transport ticket) or payment applications (the mobile phone acts as a credit card).
Active transponders may be specific devices, e.g., contactless smart cards, integrated circuit (IC) cards, labels or badges, or contactless devices or components emulated in card mode, here again, for example, incorporated into host apparatuses such as, for example, mobile cellular phones or tablets.
Contactless components or chips, such as NFC components or chips, are generally connected to the antenna via an impedance matching circuit in order to optimize radio frequency communication. And, the elements used in this impedance matching circuit, e.g., coils and capacitors, are dimensioned so as to make a correct frequency tuning of the antenna possible, e.g., on a carrier frequency, (e.g., 13.56 MHz), and thus to ensure maximum performance.
Furthermore, a contactless component or chip generally includes a driving stage for driving the antenna, which is connected to the terminals of the antenna via the impedance matching circuit, making it possible for a current with the carrier frequency considered (e.g., 13.56 MHz) to be made to flow in the antenna so as to generate the electromagnetic field.
This driving stage generally includes a driving circuit (commonly designated by the person skilled in the art as a "driver") which is preferably supplied with a voltage via a regulator with a low drop out voltage, which commonly designated by the person skilled in the art as a low drop out (LDO) voltage regulator.
For reasons of interoperability, contactless communication standards, e.g., the NFC FORUM standard, require that the transfer of power between a reader and a transponder falls within a certain power range.
When the power transmitted through the antenna of a reader or an active transponder exceeds this range, e.g., when the reader and the transponder are too close, a dynamic power control (DPC) is implemented to reduce this transmitted power.
This reduction in power may also be required by the transponder itself by sending a specific request to the reader, when the transponder supports this functionality which is provided for in the Dynamic Power Level Management (DPLM) amendment of the standard ISO/IEC 14 443.

Method of monitoring the level of power transmitted by a contactless communication device and corresponding contactless communication device

STMicroelectronics razvoj polprevodnikov d.o.o.


Disclosed herein is gear actuator for dual clutch transmission, including: a driving motor having a driving shaft formed with gear part, a pair of first and second gears gear-coupled to the gear part, first and second guide cams respectively connected to the first and second gears to rotate, a first power transfer unit transferring or cutting off the power from the driving motor to the first guide cam according to rotating direction of the first gear, a second power transfer unit transferring or cutting off the power from the driving motor to the second guide cam according to rotating direction of the second gear, a first finger shaft linearly moved by rotation of the first guide cam and performing a selection operation of an odd-numbered stage, and a second finger shaft linearly moved by rotation of the second guide cam and performing a selection operation of an even-numbered stage.

Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a gear actuator system for a dual clutch transmission, and more particularly, to a gear actuator system for a dual clutch transmission capable of enabling a gear selection operation of an odd-numbered/even-numbered stage using one motor in the dual clutch transmission.
Description of the Related Art
Recently, researches for improving fuel efficiency and developing an environmentally-friendly vehicle have been actively conducted worldwide. In order to improve fuel efficiency, an automatic transmission has been replaced with an automated manual transmission and a dual clutch transmission. Due to such trend, the dual clutch transmission may perform automatic speed change by a gear actuator and a clutch actuator.
In the dual clutch transmission, a first-stage gear, a third-stage gear, a fifth-stage gear, and a seventh-stage gear are connected to one clutch (hereinafter, referred to as a first clutch), and a second-stage gear, a fourth-stage gear, a sixth-stage gear, and an R-stage gear are connected to the other clutch (hereinafter, referred to as a second clutch), and a transmission control unit (TCU) may control speed change of the dual clutch transmission, such that the first clutch and the second clutch alternately transfer power to a flywheel thereby performing speed change.
Further, in the dual clutch transmission, a gear shift of the first-stage gear, the third-stage gear, the fifth-stage gear, and the seventh-stage gear is performed by a gear actuator different from that of the second-stage gear, the fourth-stage gear, the sixth-stage gear, and the R-stage gear. That is, the dual clutch transmission has an operation structure of selecting an odd-numbered stage and an even-numbered stage, respectively, by using two solenoids generating power.
However, in a gear actuator for a dual clutch transmission according to the related art, the number of drive units generating power is two among components configuring the actuator, such that a volume and a weight of the actuator are increased, and product cost is increased.
Accordingly, for the purpose of decrease in cost and volume and weight reduction, a more compact actuator system has been required to be developed.

Gear actuator for dual clutch transmission


Low sulfur gasoline of relatively high octane number is produced from a catalytically cracked, sulfur-containing naphtha by hydrodesulfurization followed by treatment over an acidic catalyst containing, preferably an intermediate pore size zeolite such as ZSM-5 and a zeolite such as MCM-22. The treatment over the acidic catalyst in the second step restores the octane loss which takes place as a result of the hydrogenative treatment and results in a low sulfur gasoline product with an octane number comparable to that of the feed naphtha. In favorable cases, using feeds of extended end point such as heavy naphthas with 95 percent points above about 380.degree. F. (about 193.degree. C.), improvements in both product octane and yield relative to the feed may be obtained.

Catalytically cracked gasoline forms a major part of the gasoline product pool in the United States. It is conventional to recover the product of catalytic cracking and to fractionate the product into various fractions such as light gases; naphtha, including light and heavy gasoline; distillate fractions, such as heating oil and Diesel fuel; lube oil base fractions; and heavier fractions.
A large proportion of the sulfur in gasoline results from the catalytically cracked gasoline component due to the sulfur content of the petroleum fractions being catalytically cracked. The sulfur impurities may require removal, usually by hydrotreating, in order to comply with product specifications or to ensure compliance with environmental regulations both of which are expected to become more stringent in the future, possibly permitting no more than about 300 ppmw sulfur in motor gasolines. Low sulfur levels result in reduced emissions of CO, NO.sub.x and hydrocarbons.
In naphtha hydrotreating, the naphtha is contacted with a suitable hydrotreating catalyst at elevated temperature and somewhat elevated pressure in the presence of a hydrogen atmosphere. One suitable family of catalysts which has been widely used for this service is a combination of a Group VIII and a Group VI element, such as cobalt and molybdenum, on a suitable substrate, such as alumina. After completion of hydrotreating, the product may be fractionated, or flashed, to release the hydrogen sulfide and collect the sweetened gasoline.
However, cracked naphtha, as it comes from the catalytic cracker and without any further treatments, such as purifying operations, has a relatively high octane number as a result of the presence of olefinic components. It also has an excellent volumetric yield. As such, cracked gasoline is an excellent contributor to the gasoline pool. It contributes a large quantity of product at a high blending octane number. In some cases, this fraction may contribute as much as up to half the gasoline in the refinery pool.
Hydrotreating of any of the sulfur containing fractions which boil in the gasoline boiling range causes a reduction in the olefin content, and consequently a reduction in the octane number and as the degree of desulfurization increases, the octane number of the normally liquid gasoline boiling range product decreases. Some of the hydrogen may also cause some hydrocracking as well as olefin saturation, depending on the conditions of the hydrotreating operation.
Proposals have been made for removing sulfur impurities while retaining the high octane contributed by the olefins. Since the sulfur impurities tend to concentrate in the heavy fraction of the gasoline, as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,625 (Orkin) which proposes a method of removing the sulfur by hydrodesulfurization of the heavy fraction of the catalytically cracked gasoline so as to retain the octane contribution from the olefins which are found mainly in the lighter fraction. In one type of conventional, commercial operation, the heavy gasoline fraction is treated in this way. Alternatively, the selectivity for hydrodesulfurization relative to olefin saturation may be shifted by suitable catalyst selection, for example, by the use of a magnesium oxide support instead of the more conventional alumina.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,542 (Gibson), for instance, discloses a process in which a copper catalyst is used to desulfurize an olefinic hydrocarbon feed such as catalytically cracked light naphtha.
In any case, regardless of the mechanism by which it happens, the decrease in octane which takes place as a consequence of sulfur removal by hydrotreating creates a tension between the growing need to produce gasoline fuels with higher octane number and--because of current ecological considerations--the need to produce cleaner burning, less polluting fuels, especially low sulfur fuels. This inherent tension is yet more marked in the current supply situation for low sulfur, sweet crudes.
Other processes for enhancing the octane rating of catalytically cracked gasolines have also been proposed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,821 (Brennan) discloses a process for upgrading catalytically cracked gasoline by fractionating it into a heavier and a lighter fraction and treating the heavier fraction over a ZSM-5 catalyst, after which the treated fraction is blended back into the lighter fraction. Another process in which the cracked gasoline is fractionated prior to treatment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,762 (Howard) which discloses a process for desulfurizing naphtha by fractionating the naphtha into three fractions each of which is desulfurized by a different procedure, after which the fractions are recombined.
Other methods have been proposed for increasing the octane number of the gasoline pool. Naphthas, including light and full range naphthas, may be subjected to catalytic reforming so as to increase their octane numbers by converting at least a portion of the paraffins and cycloparaffins in them to aromatics. Fractions to be fed to catalytic reforming, such as over a platinum type catalyst, also need to be desulfurized before reforming because reforming catalysts are generally not sulfur tolerant. Thus, naphthas are usually pretreated by hydrotreating to reduce their sulfur content before reforming. The octane rating of reformate may be increased further by processes such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,767,568 and 3,729,409 (Chen) in which the reformate octane is increased by treatment of the reformate with ZSM-5.
Aromatics are generally the source of high octane number, particularly very high research octane numbers and are therefore desirable components of the gasoline pool. They have, however, been the subject of severe limitations as a gasoline component because of possible adverse effects on the ecology, particularly with reference to benzene. It has therefore become desirable, as far as is feasible, to create a gasoline pool in which the higher octanes are contributed by the olefinic and branched chain paraffinic components, rather than the aromatic components. Light and full range naphthas can contribute a substantial volume to the gasoline pool, but they do not generally contribute significantly to higher octane values without reforming.
We have demonstrated in our prior applications Ser. No. 07/850,106, filed on Mar. 12, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,609, and Ser. No. 07/745,311, filed on Aug. 15, 1991, that zeolite ZSM-5 is effective for restoring the octane loss which takes place when the initial naphtha feed is hydrotreated. When the hydrotreated naphtha is passed over the catalyst in the second step of the process, some components of the gasoline are cracked into lower boiling range materials. If these boil below the gasoline boiling range, there will be a loss in the yield of the gasoline product. However, if the cracking products are within the gasoline boiling range, an increase occurs in the net volumetric yield. To achieve this, it is helpful to increase the end point of the naphtha feed to the extent that this will not result in exceeding the gasoline product end point, or similar restrictions (e.g. T.sub.90, T.sub.95).
Catalysts containing combinations of zeolites have been proposed for the catalytic cracking of petroleum fractions. These combined zeolite catalyst systems have demonstrated improvements in the octane number and overall yield of products of catalytic cracking as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,403. There, a catalyst comprising a large pore size crystalline zeolite (pore size greater than 7 Angstrom units) in admixture with ZSM-5 is utilized as the cracking catalyst. The use of varying amounts of a ZSM-5 zeolite in combination with a larger pore material, specifically an X or Y zeolite cracking catalyst is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,769,202; 3,894,931; 3,894,933; 3,894,934 and 4,309,280. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,823 a cracking catalyst comprising a combination of zeolite beta and another zeolite such as an intermediate pore size zeolite, i.e. ZSM-5, is described for improvement in the octane number of cracked naphtha products. The use of a catalyst composition comprising zeolite beta and one or more faujasite-type zeolites in catalytic cracking is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,292. The patent discloses improved octane and increased gasoline plus alkylate yield relative to the conventional faujasite-type cracking catalyst used alone.
However, as previously pointed out, the catalytically cracked products still contain high levels of sulfur impurities. Thus, the tension between octane depletion and hydrodesulfurization, remains.


There is provided a thin finite linear motion rolling guide unit having an apparatus for preventing a positional deviation of a holder. The guide unit comprises a U-shaped bed member, an inverse U-shaped table member, and a M-shaped holder sandwiched between the bed member and the table member. Holding holes are formed horizontally in a line at regular intervals in a pair of outside opposite walls so as to rotatably hold the balls between the opposite track grooves formed on the bed member and the table member. Circular holes are formed in the central portions in the lognitudinal direction of the inside opposite walls of the holder. A pin is pressure inserted and fixed into the holes. A single type inside belt and a double-single type outside belt are wrapped to the central portion of the pin by a half rotation in the opposite directions so that the outside belt comes into contact with outer edges of the inside belt. Both belts are extended horizontally in the opposite directions along the upper and lower surfaces of flat plate-shaped coupling portions. Upper and lower sides of both belts are coupled and fixed to coupling portions on the tables and bed sides, repectively. Thus, the motion of the holder can be restricted to 1/2 of the rolling guide unit. In place of the belts, wire ropes can be also wrapped around a pulley with double V-shaped guide grooves attached to a rotary shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin finite linear motion rolling guide unit and, more particularly, to a unit which can be miniaturized as a whole and can maintain a high linear motion rolling accuracy for a long time by assembling a belt or a similar mechanism for preventing a positional deviation of a holder of the rolling guide unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional technique of an apparatus for preventing a positional deviation of a holder using a belt has been disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Application No. 56-113824.
According to such a technique, a holder is extended outwardly in the sliding direction of a track member, pulleys are provided in the extension edge portion, and a belt whose both ends are fixed is come into contact with upper and lower track members, thereby restricting the motion of the holder to 1/2 of that of a rolling guide unit and also accomplishing the dust proofing of the rolling guide unit.
However, since the pulleys are formed on the outside of the track member, there is a problem such that the whole rolling guide unit becomes longer. In addition, the whole holder becomes long and the weight of the pulleys is loaded to both ends of the holder, so that there occur problems such that the holder is easily deformed and a partial abnormal abrasion is caused and the slide resistance increases. There is a drawback such that the life of the rolling guide unit becomes short due to the deviation preventing apparatus.
Further, since two pulleys are formed at front and back positions, there is a drawback such that the number of parts increases and the costs are high.
As mentioned above, in the well-known construction, many problems are not solved yet. According to the invention, in order to solve such conventional drawbacks, one pulley or one pin to turn the direction of a belt or a rope is attached in the central portion of the sliding direction of a holder and the belt or rope is wrapped around the pulley or pin from both ends, thereby restricting a movement amount of the holder to 1/2 of a movement amount of a table.
Since the structure of the invention is simpler than that of the conventional technique, the construction of the invention is optimum to an apparatus for preventing a positional deviation of a holder of a relatively small thin linear motion rolling guide unit.

Thin finite linear motion rolling guide unit with apparatus for preventing positional deviation of holder


The present invention pertains to organic infrared absorbing layers comprising an organic radical cation compound that absorbs in an infrared region and produces an electron transfer reaction that results in a flow of electrons. Preferably, the organic radical cation compound is a salt of an aminium radical cation. Provided are photovoltaic cells comprising such light-sensitive organic infrared absorbing layers.

Throughout this application, various patents are referred to by an identifying citation. The disclosures of the patents referenced in this application are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.
There is a rapidly growing worldwide need for renewable energy sources to replace our dependence on energy from fossil fuels which are becoming increasingly expensive and unstable in supply and which produce carbon dioxide emissions that promote global warming. Among the various renewable energy sources, photovoltaic or solar cells are particularly attractive because of their potential to capture the extremely large amounts of energy from the sun and convert it to electricity to meet much of the world's need for energy. Also, photovoltaic energy sources do not emit carbon dioxide and thus help to abate the global warming trend.
Organic photovoltaic cells are one of the options to supplement or replace silicon and other inorganic photovoltaic cells that are relatively expensive and generally are limited to rigid, high cost designs. One of the general features of organic photovoltaic cells is their lower cost due to the ability to coat them economically on flexible substrates and their resulting flexible designs that will be easier and less expensive to integrate into buildings, clothing, and other substrates where energy capture, storage, and usage are desirable. For general commercial acceptance based on cost and other factors, the threshold value of solar energy conversion efficiency for organic photovoltaics is estimated to be about 8%, compared to about 15% for silicon photovoltaics.
Various technical approaches have been taken to make organic photovoltaic cells, such as for example illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,373 to Hebard et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,183 to Sariciftci et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,505 to Smith et al.; U.S. Pat. No. and 5,885,368 to Lupo et al. These approaches generally involve at least one active layer that comprises a photon-absorbing organic compound that acts as an electron donor upon the absorption of a photon and leads to the flow of electrical current in the photovoltaic cell. Typically, these photon-absorbing organic compounds absorb in the ultraviolet and visible region of the sun's spectrum, but do not significantly absorb in the infrared portion of the sun's spectrum.
Since about 50% of the sun's energy is in the infrared part of the solar spectrum, it would be advantageous if an organic photovoltaic cell were available that would convert infrared photons to electricity


Provided are a method capable of evaluating adherent cells under an environment similar to an in vivo environment by a culture method similar to a two-dimensional culture, and applications thereof. An adherent cell culture method uses, as a culture chamber (10), a chamber in which two or more culture spaces each having an equivalent diameter (D) that is 1 to 5 times the diameter of a desired spheroid and each having a height (H) that is 0.3 to 5 times the equivalent diameter are arranged and a surface of each of the culture spaces has a water contact angle of 45 degrees or less. Spheroids of adherent cells are cultured in the respective culture spaces (11) arranged in the culture chamber (10).

In recent years, cells cultured by cell culture techniques have been used for drug efficacy tests and drug toxicity tests. However, cells cultured by the conventional culture techniques extend two-dimensionally and have a shape that is significantly different from that in vivo. This poses a problem that the cells do not have their original cell functions, which makes it difficult to reflect the behavior of drugs in vivo.
Under such circumstances, a spheroid culture method for simulating the morphology of tissues in vivo has attracted attention in recent years. For example, a method is disclosed in which the bottom surface of a 96-multiwell plate is formed into a funnel shape and a single spheroid is formed therein (Patent Literature 1). Other examples of the spheroid culture method include a technique in which a fine honeycomb structure is formed in a culture bottom surface to reduce the adhesion properties of cells with respect to material, thereby forming spheroids (Patent Literature 2), and a method using an exogenous cell aggregation agent (Patent Literature 3).


A mechanism is provided for identifying a snooping device in a network environment. A snoop echo response extractor generates an echo request packet with a bogus MAC address that will only be received by a snooping device. The snoop echo response extractor also uses an IP address that will cause the snooping device to respond to the echo request. Non-snooping devices discard the echo request packet. Upon receiving the response packet, the snooping device is identified.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the data processing field and, more particularly, to network security. Still more particularly, the invention pertains to a method, apparatus, and program for extracting an echo response from a snooping device in a network data processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A great deal of effort is directed to developing network security products that detect and respond to security threats. The two most common techniques used by hackers are port scans and network snooping. Network snooping is particularly dangers because the snoop passively listens on the network to all traffic and gathers information on user identifications and passwords.
The problem of detecting someone snooping on the network may be understood by considering a group of people sitting around a dinner table. The people are blindfolded. Each person can talk to the others through direct conversation. Everyone agrees that they will not listen in on any conversation not directed to him. However, a rogue participant may sit at or near the table and eavesdrop on all of the conversations. Additionally, the rogue may speak in a legitimate manner at the table. The people may not know of the rogue's presence. Even if they did know of the presence of the rogue, they would not know the identity of the rogue.
In a similar manner, a hacker may modify a computer device to eavesdrop on network traffic. For example, a temporary employee may set up a computer in snoop mode to record user identifications and passwords. With a valid user identification and password, a hacker could gain access to sensitive information, for example. A hacker may hide in a stairwell with a laptop computer, within range of a wireless router, and steal confidential information.

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods for programming memory cells and memory devices are disclosed. One such method for programming includes performing a program verify operation of a group of memory cells. A number of potential CS2 situations are detected. If the number of detected potential CS2 situations is greater than a threshold, programming compensation for a CS2 situation is used in a subsequent programming operation.

Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Common uses for flash memory include personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code and system data such as a basic input/output system (BIOS) are typically stored in flash memory devices for use in personal computer systems.
A flash memory is a type of memory that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of one byte at a time. A typical flash memory comprises a memory array organized in columns and rows. Changes in threshold voltage of the memory cells, through programming of charge storage structures (e.g., floating gates or charge traps) or other physical phenomena (e.g., phase change or polarization), determine the data value of each cell. The cells are usually grouped into blocks. Each of the cells within a block can be electrically programmed, such as by charging the charge storage structure. The data in a cell of this type is determined by the presence or absence of the charge in the charge storage structure. The charge can be removed from the charge storage structure by an erase operation.
A NAND non-volatile memory array is typically organized such that a plurality of memory cells share a common access line (e.g., word line) and a plurality of series strings of memory cells are coupled to a common data line (e.g., bit line). Due in part to this structure, memory cells can suffer from program disturb during a programming operation. Program disturb is the change in the threshold voltages of memory cells that are not being programmed as a result of voltages being applied to common word and bit lines and/or coupling effects from adjacent memory cells being programmed.
For example, if a series string of memory cells is inhibited from being programmed, the adjacent series strings of memory cells, on either side of the inhibited series string, can affect the threshold voltages of the inhibited memory cells by floating gate-to-floating gate capacitive coupling between memory cells. This can have the effect of increasing the threshold voltages of the inhibited memory cells thus causing subsequent read errors.
One typical prior art way to reduce programming disturb is to generate a pair of programming pulses for each word line only during a fixed number of middle range programming pulses (e.g., a particular group of programming pulses of a series of programming pulses to program a memory cell). By alternating inhibition of the adjacent bit lines, one adjacent bit line of memory cells is programmed with the first of the pair of programming pulses and the other adjacent bit line of memory cells is programmed with the second of the pair of programming pulses. Thus, only one adjacent bit line of memory cells is programmed at any one time during the fixed number of pairs of programming pulses. A single programming pulse is used at other times during the series of programming pulses. However, using a fixed number of pairs of programming pulses can result in increased programming time as well as other drawbacks.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below that will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art to reduce the effects of program disturb in a memory device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for programming a memory device and memory devices


This driving assistance device includes a braking control unit and a target speed determination unit. The braking control unit executes driving assistance control for adjusting the braking force to be applied to a vehicle by actuating a brake actuator such that the vehicle body speed does not exceed a target speed. In cases where the accelerator pedal is being operated in a state where the braking control unit is executing the driving assistance control, the target speed determination unit determines the target speed depending on the larger value of either: the vehicle body speed that is correlated with at least one of the wheel speeds of the plurality of wheels provided to the vehicle; or the lower speed limit value that has been set.

As driving assistance control executed by a vehicle driving on a dirt road which is an unpaved road surface, vehicle downhill control such as DAC (Downhill Assistant Control) is known. In the vehicle downhill control, a brake actuator is actuated to prevent a vehicle body speed of the vehicle from exceeding a target speed (for example, 5 km/h) so as to adjust braking force to be applied to the vehicle.
Even though the vehicle downhill control is executed in a vehicle driving on a downhill slope, the driver of the vehicle may execute an accelerator operation. In this case, a target speed is designed to be determined depending on a vehicle body speed correlated with a maximum wheel speed of the wheel speeds of a plurality of wheels mounted on the vehicle (for example, see Patent Literature 1).


Techniques are described herein for executing queries with a recursive clause using a plurality of processes that execute database operations in parallel. Each process of the plurality of processes either generate or are assigned a segment that is part of a temporary table. For each iteration of the recursive query, work granules are divided up and assigned to each of the plurality of processes. As each respective process produces a portion of a result set for a given iteration, that process appends said portion of the result set to the respective segment that the respective process manages. Each slave process then publishes, to one or more sources, a reference to the newly generated results. During the next iteration, any slave process may access any of the data from the previous iteration.

A database stores data in a logical format exposed to external entities (e.g., users and applications) as rows and columns. The data in the database is accessed through a database management system (DBMS) that accepts "database queries" in a standard language such as SQL. The standard language provides clauses that allow a user to access rows of database objects (e.g., a table or index) based on data items that may be in a specific columns of a particular database object. Database queries can include many kinds of clauses that declare different kinds of operations, such as aggregations, joins, inserts, updates, or deletions of rows. A specific type of clause is a recursive clause.
A certain type of query is a query with a recursive clause. A query with a recursive clause requires multiple iterations to execute, and the results from a previous iteration are used to execute the next iteration. Typically, the process uses a private buffer cache to store the intermediate result set of a previous iteration in order to perform a database operation for the current iteration. When multiple processes are needed to execute a query in parallel, the intermediate results in a private buffer are only available to the process that generated results for that buffer. Thus, a process can only work on the results that it buffers and not results produced by another process. For this reason, a query with a recursive clause is typically only executed by a single process. Unfortunately, executing a query with a recursive clause using only a single process creates a bottleneck in query execution.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Parallel execution of queries with a recursive clause


A fix defining fix defining a plurality of unique changes to a computer program can be identified. Program code units in the computer program changed by the unique changes are identified and corresponding data entries in a first data structure can be generated. A number of test cases available to test the program code units in the computer program changed by the unique changes can be determined by matching each of the program code units to corresponding data entries contained in a second data structure that correlates program code units to test cases. A test readiness index indicating a readiness of the fix to be tested can be automatically generated. The test readiness index can be based on a number of unique changes to the computer program defined by the fix and the number of test cases available to test the unique changes. The test readiness index can be output.

The present invention relates to computer program development, and more specifically, to implementing changes in a computer program.
Many types of computer programs, for example software applications, undergo development both before and after initial versions of the computer programs are released. Development which continues after initial versions are released may encompass both implementing new features and making changes to fix unexpected flaws that sometimes are not identified until late in the computer program development process or after the computer program is released. Changes to fix the flaws typically are incorporated into later versions of the computer program. Such changes sometimes also are applied to existing versions, for example using software updates that are made available to customers who use the computer program.

Indicating a readiness of a change for implementation into a computer program

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