Disclosed is a bootstrap circuit in DC/DC static converters having the characteristic of comprising a fixed frequency signal, a recharge circuit of a capacitor and current generator means, said generator means controlled so as to emit current pulses, in synchrony with said fixed frequency signal, of a predetermined duration, every time that charge accumulated by said capacitor goes below a predetermined level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to a bootstrap circuit in DC/DC static converters, particularly in DC/DC static converters in step-down configuration comprising such bootstrap circuit. The present invention finds particular application in static converters for circuits realized in monolithic form.
2. Description of Related Art
DC/DC static converters are widely used in power supplies, actuator systems, displays, signal processing systems etc. and are based on well-known technologies in which a magnetic means, such as a transformer or an inductance, is driven by at least one power switch. Said switches are controlled by a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) system commutating at a certain frequency set by a system timing signal.
In the field of static converters there are various typologies, such as step-down converters, also known as xe2x80x9cbuckxe2x80x9d converters in which the regulated output voltage is less than the input voltage, step-up converters, also known as xe2x80x9cboostxe2x80x9d converters in which the regulated output voltage is greater than the input voltage and the converters called xe2x80x9cbuck-boostxe2x80x9d in which the regulated output voltage has an inverse sign compared to the input voltage.
In the configuration of the step-down converters, illustrated in FIG. 1, the power switch is represented by an N-channel DMOS transistor in high-side configuration that is a configuration in which the source terminal is floating and the magnetic means is represented by an inductance L. The source voltage of said DMOS can vary, therefore, between Vin, that is the input voltage of the converter when the DMOS is on and forces current in said inductance L, and xe2x88x92Vd, which is the voltage drop on a recirculation diode when the DMOS is off and the current stored in L flows through said diode. A graph is shown in FIG. 3 representing the circuit of FIG. 1 when the charge connected to it is at the maximum value.
As is well known to a technician in the sector, in order that an N-channel DMOS transistor is well on, that is its channel resistance Rds(ON) is minimized, it is necessary for the voltage difference between the gate terminal and the source terminal of said DMOS to be greater than about 10V. Nevertheless when the DMOS is well on, that is when it operates in deep ohmic region, the voltage of the source terminal is about equal to the input voltage, apart from the voltage drop due to the resistance of the DMOS itself. This implies the necessity to have a voltage available which exceeds the input voltage that is wanted to make the DMOS work in deep ohmic region. A widely diffused technique to obtain this boosting is the so-called bootstrap technique.
Nevertheless, also in circuit configurations comprising bootstrap means, such as capacitors, inductors and recirculation diodes, there is the disadvantage that the DMOS transistor is driven efficiently and its Rds(ON) is minimum while said bootstrap means guarantee a sufficiently higher voltage than the input voltage.
The limit of the above mentioned bootstrap circuits is that the DMOS cannot be kept on for an indefinitely long time and above all a minimum time has to be guaranteed during which the magnetic means, that is the inductor, degausses. In this period of time the potential of the source terminal must therefore be sufficiently near to zero so that the capacitor recharges.
The need to recharge the capacitor is a pressing problem from the technological point of view when the DC/DC converter functions with loads of modest value because one of the following disadvantages can occur:
a) having a load of modest value the DMOS xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d time is very short and also the recirculation diode recharge time is short as is shown in FIG. 4. This means that if the load is sufficiently small the recirculation time of the diode can become so short that it does not enable the capacitor to recharge.
b) the DMOS must be on for a minimum time in function of the delays of the control circuit. When the load is very low and requires the DMOS to be on for a shorter time than the minimum time, not being able to satisfy such condition, in the short time there is an excess of energy carried on the load with the consequent slight increase of the output voltage. The control loop in feedback reacts and several commutation cycles are skipped so as to bring the output voltage to the regulation value and re-establish the correct energy balance. In this case, therefore, the time available for recharging the bootstrap capacitor diminishes even further.
c) if the input and output voltages are relatively high (both exceeding around ten Volts) and near each other the voltage forced in the inductor during the time in which the DMOS is on can be so small that the demagnetization of the inductor comes about at the expense of the energy of the capacitance of the source terminal. When this occurs the voltage of the source terminal remains several Volts above zero and the recirculation diode is not switched on, as described in FIG. 5.
d) during the DC/DC converter turning off phase if the output voltage is relatively high (exceeding around ten Volts) the input voltage will diminish very slowly and when it approaches the output voltage it falls back into condition (c). The output voltage does not go to zero monotonically but oscillating.
The result of the previously described phenomena is that the capacitor progressively discharges and as soon as its voltage goes below the threshold voltage of the DMOS transistor, said transistor cannot be switched on again and the converter will be blocked. According to the value of the input and output voltage and of the values of the components constituting the converter, intermittent functioning or a definitive block of the same converter will be obtained.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,460 tells how to use the technique of the so-called xe2x80x9csynchronized diodexe2x80x9d applied to a DC/DC converter step-down in which the recirculation diode is replaced by an N-channel DMOS in low-side configuration that results being driven in push-pull in respect of the main DMOS. Such a solution is not applicable to the standard typology of the circuits because the latter provides for only one recirculation diode and not two diodes synchronized in push-pull.
The International Rectifier in one of its applicative notes (DT94-1A xe2x80x9cKeeping the bootstrap capacitor charged in buck convertsxe2x80x9d) relating to its device IR2125, suggests to apply a resistor and a Zener diode. This technique is effective when the input voltage is quite higher than the output voltage and therefore not applicable in case (c). In addition if the input voltage has a wide variation interval, to be able to guarantee sufficient current to the minimum input voltage a relatively low resistive value is necessary which leads, when the input voltage is high, to high power dissipation in the resistance and in the Zener.
Other known solutions resort to magnetic means but have the disadvantage that when the load of the converter has a modest value the magnetic energy is also very low, comparable to or lower than that dissipated by the effect of the not-ideal coupling between the windings with consequent efficiency losses.
In view of the state of the technique described, the object of the present invention is to realize a circuit suitable for avoiding the discharging of the bootstrap capacitor so as to permit more effective driving of the DMOS in high-side configuration.
In accordance with the present invention, said object is reached by means of a bootstrap circuit in DC/DC static converters characterized in that it comprises a fixed frequency signal, a recharge circuit of a capacitor and current generator means, said generator means controlled so as to emit current pulses, in synchrony with said fixed frequency signal, of a predetermined duration, every time the charge accumulated by said capacitor goes below a predetermined level.
In addition said object is also reached by means of a bootstrap circuit in DC/DC static converters, characterized in that it comprises a comparator suitable for comparing the charge degree of said capacitor with a predetermined value so as to compensate the discharge of said capacitor.
Thanks to the present invention it is possible to realize a circuit capable of eliminating the problems connected to the bootstrap technique.
In addition it is possible to realize a circuit that permits the turning on of a DMOS high-side for an undetermined time.
The present invention finds application also in other typologies of static converters such as the xe2x80x9cbuck-boostxe2x80x9d, the xe2x80x9cflybackxe2x80x9d, the double switch xe2x80x9cforwardxe2x80x9d, the half bridge and the full bridge, that is circuits used for the control of motors.
In addition the present invention finds particular application in monolithic static converters, that is those converters in which both the control part and the power switch are integrated into the same chip.

Bootstrap circuit in a DC/DC static converter having circuitry for avoiding bootstrap capacitor discharge


A console assembly for use in a passenger seating area of a vehicle includes a base securable to a floor of the passenger seating area and a support structure mounted to the vehicle floor cooperating with the base. One or more storage modules are disposed adjacent to the base and include or define a storage area to provide additional storage in the passenger seating area. One or more trays are pivotally connected to base adjacent the one or more storage modules and are movable between a first position extending generally parallel to the vehicle floor and at least one second position extending generally perpendicular to the floor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a console assembly for a passenger seating area of a vehicle.
2. Background Art
Vehicle manufacturers continue to develop storage containers and devices for the passenger compartments of vehicles to accommodate occupant's personal items and automotive components. Several current storage containers are designed to fit within specified areas of the passenger compartment and allow limited access to items stored therein.
Many automotive vehicles include a center console or other storage device disposed between passenger seats in the front passenger compartment of the vehicle. Typically, the center console is disposed between the driver and passenger seats in a forward seating area of the vehicle. However, it is common in larger vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles and vans, to provide center consoles between the second and/or third row passenger seating areas.
These consoles typically comprise a console base that may be secured to the floor, releasably mounted to the floor or pivotally connected between the seats, a storage cavity formed in the console base to retain items during travel and an armrest pivotally connected to the console base extending generally horizontally across the storage cavity. One limitation of current console assemblies is that the storage area and occupant accessible portions of the console can sometimes be obscured or inaccessible to various portions of the passenger compartments.
It would be advantageous to provide a storage console assembly for a vehicle which offers a wide variety of storage options while allowing access to items stored therein to most occupants of the vehicle. It is also desirable to provide a console assembly having one or more reconfigurable modules for use throughout the vehicle seating area.


Improved approaches for users of electronic devices to communicate with one another are disclosed. The electronic devices have audio and/or textual output capabilities. The improved approaches can enable users to communicate in different ways depending on device configuration, user preferences, prior history, etc. In one embodiment, the communication between users is achieved by short audio or textual messages.

Typically, to participate in wireless communications, a user holds a mobile phone (e.g., wireless or a cellular phone) against his ear to hear an audio communication received in a wireless manner. The user usually also speaks towards a microphone embedded in the mobile phone to participate in the audio communication, again in a wireless manner. More recently, to facilitate hands-free operation of mobile phones, head-sets have been produced and utilized. Typically, a headset clips over or into an ear of the user to provide a speaker and a microphone in proximity to the ear and the mouth, respectively, of the user. Traditionally, the head-set was connected to the mobile phone by a cord (i.e., wire). In recent times, head-sets have been developed to operate in a wireless manner, without the need of a cord connected to the mobile phone. For example, one popular type of wireless head-set uses Bluetooth wireless transmissions to communicate between the head-set and the corresponding mobile phone.
Mobile phones often support both voice calls and text messaging. When the user does not make use of a head-set, the user often holds the mobile phone against their ear when participating in a voice call. One problem this presents is that the user is not able to see the screen of the mobile phone. As a result, the user has difficultly interacting with the keypad or screen of the mobile phone when the mobile phone is held against the user's head. Alternatively, when the user of a mobile phone makes use of a head-set, the user can receive and participate in voice calls in a hands-free manner. Unfortunately, however, the user would need to view a screen of the mobile phone to participate in text messaging.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved wireless communication techniques for users of mobile communication devices.

Adaptable communication techniques for electronic devices


In a formulation comprising titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst and an amphoteric metal oxide (alumina or the like) or a basic metal oxide (barium oxide, strontium oxide or the like) as a material having a base point, when a nitrogen oxide (nitrogen monoxide) comes into contact with or approaches titanium dioxide, upon exposed to light, the carbon monoxide is oxidized to nitrogen dioxide (gas) by hydroxy radicals as an active oxygen species produced by titanium dioxide. As is apparent from the molecular structure, nitrogen dioxide is an acidic gas, alumina is an amphoteric metal oxide, and barium oxide and strontium oxide are a basic metal oxide. The oxygen atom thereof serves as a base point to an acid gas. Therefore, nitrogen dioxide is attracted and chemically bonded to the oxygen atom, held on the metal oxide, and kept close to titanium dioxide as the photocatalyst.

This type of photocatalysts are finding expanded applications because energy used in catalytic reactions is light energy, such as sunlight, that is inexhaustible. For example, titanium dioxide (TiO2), a kind of photocatalyst, particularly titanium oxide in an anatase crystal form, produces excited electrons and positive holes upon exposure to light energy (ultraviolet light), and the excited electrons and positive holes produce active oxygen species, such as O2−, O−, and •OH (wherein the dot • represents an unpaired electron and means that the species attended with the dot • is a free radical), in the presence of oxygen and water on the surface of the catalyst. Applications utilizing free radical properties of the active oxygen species have been proposed such as air purification applications where nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the air are oxidized with the active oxygen species and consequently converted to a harmless reaction product (nitric acid), and degradation of bacteria through the oxidation of organic matter, that is, the so called antimicrobial applications.
In the course of the oxidation of the nitrogen oxides with the active oxygen species, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is produced as an intermediate that is further oxidized and finally converted to nitric acid. As a result of the production of nitric acid, the nitrogen oxides in the air are reduced, and the air is purified. For this reason, the presence of the active oxygen species and the nitrogen oxide or nitrogen dioxide is indispensable for enhancing the percentage reduction of nitrogen oxides. Since, however, nitrogen dioxide is a relatively chemically stable compound (gas), the produced nitrogen dioxide leaves the reaction system. This lowers the efficiency of the oxidation with the active oxygen species, resulting in lowered percentage reduction of the nitrogen oxides. Use of porous adsorbents, such as activated carbon, is considered effective for preventing nitrogen dioxide from leaving the reaction system. As is apparent from the following description, this method is not always effective.
Specifically, when nitrogen dioxide, which has left, is adsorbed on the above adsorbent, the nitrogen dioxide often remains within pores of the adsorbent without being released. For this reason, in some cases, the adsorbed nitrogen dioxide is placed outside the system of oxidation with the active oxygen species and does not undergo the oxidation reaction and hence cannot be converted to nitric acid as a final product. Thus, the nitrogen oxides are not finally converted to nitric acid. This inhibits the reduction of nitrogen oxides. In this case, it should be noted that nitrogen dioxide adsorbed onto the adsorbent in a region where nitrogen dioxide can be present together with the active oxygen species and is in the reaction system, that is, in a region close to the photocatalyst, is oxidized to produce nitric acid. Since, however, the region close to the photocatalyst occupies only a small proportion of the whole material adsorption region (including pores) in the absorbent, it can be said that the proportion of nitrogen dioxide, which could not be oxidized to nitric acid, is high. That is, the adsorbent merely adsorbs and holds nitrogen dioxide, and the percentage reduction of nitrogen oxides by conversion to nitric acid does not appear to be satisfactory.
The present invention has been made with a view to solving the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to further improve the efficiency of a catalytic reaction, in which a photocatalyst participates, or to improve the percentage reduction of the reactant applied to the catalytic reaction through the conversion of the reactants to the final product. Another object of the present invention is to supplement the function of a photocatalyst.

Photocatalytic process using hydrophilifiable material


An apparatus for protecting exposed pipeline joints on weight coated pipelines used in offshore applications includes a pliable cover sleeve which overlaps a pair of weight coat sections that surround the pipeline on each side of the pipe joint. The cover sleeve circumferentially envelops the pipe joint, forming an annular space enclosed between the pipe and the cover sleeve and bordered by the pair of weight coat sections. The cover sleeve includes a number of protruding ridges forming a number of chambers between the ridges in flow communication with the annular space. A joint-filling material of polyurethane foam formed by polyurethane chemicals fills the annular space and the chambers between the ridges of the cover sleeve. As the joint filling material hardens, it interlocks with the ridges of the cover sleeve, securing the joint filling material between the cover sleeve and the pipe joint.

It is conventional in the offshore pipeline industry to use weight coated pipe for pipelines which are used on ocean floors or other underwater surfaces. The weight coats traditionally have been made of dense materials such as concrete, and are typically several inches thick around the circumference of the pipe. The weight coats protect the pipeline and provide sufficient weight to maintain the pipeline submerged in a non-buoyant condition.
In most cases, the weight coats are applied to the full length of the pipe except for a short distance where there is a bare pipe end portion, approximately one foot from the end of each pipe section. The end portion of the pipe remains without the weight coat to facilitate welding together individual sections of the weight coated pipe in order to make up the pipeline. In this manner, sections of pipe are placed on a barge and welded sequentially onto preceding sections forming a pipeline extending from the barge. The newly formed pipeline is placed on rollers, and as the barge moves forward, the pipeline is carried over the rollers, then lowered, and then laid on the bed of the body of water.
The portions of pipe not having a weight coat had a corrosion coating applied to the surface of the pipe to prevent the pipe from corroding due to exposure to the elements. Generally, the corrosion coatings used were a heat shrinking tape or a fusion bonded epoxy. After the sections of pipe were welded together, various techniques-were used to protect the corrosion coating on the exposed portions of pipe around each joint.
One prior known procedure was to wrap sheet metal over the weight coating adjacent the exposed portion of the pipe and band the sheet metal in place with metal bands. Generally, a zinc coated sheet metal was used. The space between the pipe and sheet metal was then filled with a molten material which would solidify as it cooled. However, in most cases, the pipeline had to be in a condition for handling immediately after the sleeves were filled so that the laying of the pipeline could proceed without delay. The molten filling did not set or harden to a sufficiently strong material within the required time to allow further processing of the pipe and the molten material would leach out into the water if the pipeline was lowered before the molten material was adequately cured.
Other known procedures have typically replaced the molten material with other types of materials. For example, one alternative material utilized to cover the exposed portion of pipe was granular or particulate matter such as gravel or iron ore which did not pack solidly or uniformly. Then elastomeric polyurethanes were injected into the mold to fill the interstices between the granular filler materials. After the polymer material had reacted, the mold would be removed from the surface of the infill.
Another known procedure involves wrapping the exposed portions of pipe with a thermoplastic sheet. The sheet overlapped the ends of the weight coat adjacent the exposed joint and then was secured in place by screws, rivets, or straps. To increase the rigidity and impact resistance, this joint protection system required the installation of reinforcing members such as plastic bars or tubes to the interior of the sheet. The reinforcement bars or tubes either had to be precut and stored on the barge or else cut to the required fitting form as part of the installation process on the barge. Yet another known procedure entailed filling the lower portion of the annular space between the pipe and the plastic sheet with a material such as pre-formed foam half shells.
A more recently used technique involved encasing the pipe joint by circumferentially wrapping a pliable sheet of cover material around the exposed portion of the joint connection. The longitudinal end portions of the pliable cover overlapped the adjacent edges of the weight coating, such that an annular pocket was formed about the exposed joint section. Polyurethane forming chemicals were then injected into the empty annular space where they reacted to form a high-density, open cell foam which filled the annular space. The open cell polyurethane foam was intended to absorb moisture and ultimately increase the ballast of the pipeline.
In many cases, vibrations during offshore operations at times could cause the foam to vibrate, and move around, tending to separate the foam from the pipe, because there was no locking mechanism to hold the polyurethane foam securely in its place. Of further concern, the outer diameter portions of the foam were more susceptible to movement, agitation, or damage than the inner diameter portions of the foam, because the outer diameter portions might have a lower density than the inner diameter portions of the foam.


A light-blocking object processing section produces first and second light-blocking objects to be formed on the front and back surfaces of a print medium, respectively. A first image object is formed on the first light-blocking object and a second image object is formed on the second light-blocking object. If the first and second image objects should be formed in first and second areas, respectively, and the first and second areas defining an overlapping area in which the first image object overlaps the second image object, then the light-blocking object processing section performs one of a first process in which the thickness of the first and second light-blocking objects is smaller in the overlapping area than in a third area outside the overlapping area and a second process in which one of the first and second light-blocking objects is not formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional image forming apparatus including electrophotographic printers, ink jet printers, copying machines, and facsimile machines use color toners or color inks to print an image on a print medium such as print paper.
Print results can suffer from a phenomenon referred to as "show-through" in which images printed on one of major surfaces of a paper sheet may be seen through the other of the major surfaces of the same sheet, depending on the type and thickness of the paper sheet. Japanese patents Laid-open No. 2003-182203 and No. 2004-243710 have proposed techniques in which a light blocking agent is applied to the one surface of the print medium or both surfaces to form a uniform light-blocking object or coating having a predetermined thickness, thereby preventing "show-through."
However, if the light-blocking object is formed on both surfaces of the print paper, a large amount of the light blocking agent is required.


A starch-reducing rice cooker includes a pot containing a lower compartment and an upper boiling chamber having a top opening. A partition separates the lower compartment from the upper boiling chamber. A perforated basket is located within the upper boiling chamber for containing rice to be cooked, and is adapted to contain more than sufficient water to immerse the rice for cooking. A cover is provided. In one embodiment, the cover is also provided with a top opening having a sprayer, spraying cool rinsing water onto the rice within the basket, after cooking of the rice is complete. A discharge valve within the partition communicates between the upper boiling water chamber and the lower compartment. A detector is programmed to detect when boiling of water in the upper boiling temperature starts and to maintain boiling for a time required to properly cook the rice based upon the boiling temperature of the water. The discharge valve is activated after cooking is completed for discharging water through the discharge valve from the upper boiling chamber into the lower compartment, thereby reducing the starch content of the cooked rice.

Rice is an important food in many cultures, and it is a source of many nutrients. Unfortunately, it has a high starch content. The most popular method of cooking rice is to combine the dry rice with a proportioned amount of water such that the water will be totally absorbed during the cooking process. This is the technique used by most cooks using manual methods or electric rice cookers.
Some cooks use a variety of preparation methods to actively reduce the amount of starch in the cooked rice. Soaking or rinsing prior to cooking and discarding the water is somewhat effective. Most effective is the method of cooking the rice with an excess of water, then discarding the "starch" water, sprinkling clean cold water to rinse the rice, draining this water, and then reheating the rice.


A nonionic water-soluble cellulose ether is characterized in that when 3 pbw of the nonionic water-soluble cellulose ether is added to a mixture of 90 pbw of cordierite, 10 pbw of ordinary Portland cement, and 33 pbw of water, immediately followed by kneading at 20° C. and 20 rpm, a maximum torque for kneading is reached within 180 seconds from the addition. It is suitable as an admixture for extrudable hydraulic compositions. The hydraulic composition to which the inventive admixture is added can be kneaded within a brief time into a uniform mass which is smoothly extrudable.

In traditional hydraulic compositions for extrusion molding, asbestos were used as additive fibers for facilitating extrusion into hardened parts having surface smoothness. In the recent years, the amount of asbestos used drastically decreased due to health considerations and legal regulations. At present, pulp fibers are often used as the substitute. In unison with this tendency, nonionic water-soluble cellulose ether is commonly used for the purposes of improving the dispersion of pulp fibers, enhancing strength properties and facilitating extrusion.
As the avoidance of asbestos is in progress, the amount of nonionic water-soluble cellulose ether used is increasing. This increases the cost of extruded parts, preventing widespread use thereof.
Extrudability depends on the solubility of a nonionic water-soluble cellulose ether used. On use of a nonionic water-soluble cellulose ether having a slow dissolution rate, a longer time of kneading is needed or the amount of the cellulose ether must be increased. These drawbacks also increase the cost of extruded parts, preventing widespread use thereof.

Admixture, extrudable hydraulic composition and method for the selection of admixture


A graticule display processor that can produce an adaptive graticule for a raster-scan output waveform monitor. The graticule may be displayed in front of the waveform, behind the waveform or mixed with the waveform. The graticule can change the waveform's color or intensity in specific regions, thereby enhancing the appearance of over range conditions. A specific use is to allow the vector functions of phase and gain to be monitored in the waveform mode.

The present invention relates to a raster scan video display of a waveform or vector with associated graticules. Prior art has a graticule displayed at only one intensity level, which is always displayed without regard to the waveform or vector position or intensity. In that case, the graticule can mask or distort the viewed waveform. It would be very desirable therefore to provide a graticule which changes color or intensity depending on the waveform or vector display status.


A counting unit of a base station counts the number of terminals located in an area covered by the base station for each of communication carriers corresponding to the terminals. An assigning unit assigns each of cells in a first group to any of the communication carriers, where each of the cells is a frequency band of the base station 10 and occupied by one terminal communicating with the cell.

In some cases, a 3GPP LTE (3rd Generation Partnership Project Radio Access Network Long Term Evolution) system includes a femto (Femto) base station (hereinafter, may be referred to as a "femto station"). The femto station is smaller in size than a macro base station and installed in, for example, home or office.
At present, the femto base station differs for each communication carrier. Therefore, in an area where a plurality of users having communication terminals using different communication carriers come and go (for example, an office or a restaurant), femto stations corresponding to respective communication carriers are installed in order to cope with communication terminals of all the communication carriers. Consequently, burden on a person who installs the femto stations increases.    Patent Document 1: Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2012-502521
Meanwhile, it may be possible to introduce a femto station that can be shared by a plurality of communication terminals using different communication carriers. In this case, one of the communication carriers is assigned to each "cell" of the femto station. The "cell" is a unit of a frequency band that a single terminal performing communication can occupy.
However, if cells are simply assigned to a plurality of communication carriers, for example, excess cells may be assigned to a communication carrier that has a small number of communication terminals. In this case, the use efficiency of the cell is reduced.


A nail holding hammer includes a hammer head having a forward nail striking surface; and a nail holding structure for releasably holding a nail having a point, a head and a body portion therebetween wherein the nail holding structure holds the nail with the point facing forward, the nail holding structure including a notch for receiving the body portion and a striking anvil for contacting the head with the body portion in the notch.

The invention relates to hammers, and more specifically to a hammer having structure for releasably holding a nail in a forward-oriented position to assist in starting a nail.
Most carpenters have experienced injury to fingers or thumbs caused by missing a nail while holding the nail to initially drive or start the nail into the desired material.
Furthermore, hammering or driving nails while in difficult positions, such as perched on a ladder, can be even more difficult when both hands are needed, one to hold a nail and the other to hold the hammer. As can be attested to by many in the field, this is a long-standing problem which needs a solution.
A large number of attempts have been made to provide a solution to this problem. A number of patents disclose various structures for holding a nail on the hammer for making the initial impact with the material in which the nail is to be driven so as to start the nail with a swing of the hammer and without needing the nail to be held in place. These disclosures are characterized, however, by a number of disadvantages. These disadvantages include structure which interferes with or detracts from the striking surface of the hammer, structure which includes magnets having a tendency to de-magnetize, structure which requires awkward movement to insert and release nails, and the lack of a good striking anvil for making the initial drive of the nail.
Thus, the need clearly remains for a hammer including a nail-holding attachment which overcomes the aforesaid disadvantages.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide a hammer having a nail-holding attachment which does not interfere with the striking surface or head of the hammer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus wherein the nail-holding attachment mechanically holds the nail, without the need for a magnet, and which firmly holds the nail in place in a position wherein the nail is easily placed in the attachment, and released through a smooth and ergonometric motion after the nail has been started.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus as described wherein the attachment has a good striking anvil for the nail.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinbelow.


An integrated circuit device is described. The circuit device may include a group of signal nodes, including a first signal node and a second signal node, a transmitter coupled to the group of signal nodes, and a first clock circuit coupled to the transmitter. The transmitter may transmit a first signal on the first signal node and a second signal on the second signal node. The first signal and the second signal may correspond to a first sequence of data bits during a sequence of bit times. The first clock circuit may control a transmit time of at least one of the first signal and the second signal. The first clock circuit may include a first phase adjustment element that provides compensation for a first timing offset between the first signal and the second signal. The first timing offset may be less than a bit time in the sequence of bit times.

Many high-speed, chip-to-chip electrical input/output (I/O) interconnects are implemented as differential links. As data rates reach beyond multiple Gb/s (gigabits per second), intra-pair skew, i.e., time of flight differences between signals on one or more pairs of wires that constitute the differential link, may limit the achievable bit-error rate. Intra-pair skew may be associated with mismatches in passive components and/or active devices, as well as wire parasitics. Intra-pair skew may result in received signals that are not truly differential and may reduce a receiver's timing margin.
Intra-pair skew may also pose limits on promising I/O technologies, such as simultaneous common-mode signaling over wires carrying differential data streams (also referred to as phantom signaling). In systems that utilize this type of common-mode signaling, virtual differential signals are created by modulating the common modes of two different differential pairs in a differential manner. Intra-pair skew between signals on a first pair of wires A and A′ and/or between signals on a second pair of wires B and B′, however, may affect differential signals associated with the difference of signals on the first pair of wires (A-A′) and/or the second pair of wires (B-B′). In addition, differences in the average delays of signals on the first pair of wires and/or the second pair of wires may affect the common-mode signals. Existing extraction circuits for the common-mode signals may be sensitive to such effects and may, therefore, compound the challenge posed by intra-pair skew.
Furthermore, existing approaches for adjusting a phase of a sampling clock at a receiver on a pair-of-wire basis may not be effective in reducing the effects of intra-pair skew. Even if the phase of the sampling clock at the receiver is adjusted on a per-wire basis it may not be effective in reducing the effects of intra-pair skew, since such adjustments may not render received signals differential. As a consequence, there is a need for improved devices, systems and methods to address intra-pair skew and improved common-mode signaling.
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the drawings.


An engine is provided with an ECU for executing engine control by using various control parameters. The ECU includes a learning map storing a learning value of the control parameter and executes weighting learning control of the learning value. In the weighting learning control, each time the control parameter is acquired, a weight wkij decreasing larger if a distance from a position of an acquired value zk of the control parameter to a grid point is larger is set to each of the grid points of the learning map. Then, on the basis of the acquired value zk of the control parameter and the weight wkij, the learning values Zij(k) at all the grid points are updated. As a result, all the learning values can be efficiently updated in one session of the learning operation.

As a prior art, as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-046988), for example, an internal combustion engine control device provided with a learning map of control parameters is known. Learning values for correcting the control parameters are stored in each of grid points of the learning map, respectively. In the prior art, it is configured that, when the control parameter to be learned is acquired, four grid points located in the periphery of the acquired value are selected on the learning map, and the learning values at these four grid points are updated. In this learning control, the acquired value of the control parameter is weighted and then, reflected in the learning values of the grid points on the periphery, but the weighting at this time is set so that the closer a distance between the position of the acquired value and the grid point is, the larger the weighting becomes.
The applicant recognizes the following Literatures including the above-described Literature as those relating to the present invention.

Internal combustion engine control device


A method for aiding resolution of a transaction for use with a transactional processing system comprising a transaction coordinator and a plurality of grouped and inter-connected resource managers, the method comprising the steps of: in response to a communications failure between the transaction coordinator and a first resource manager causing a transaction to have an in-doubt state, connecting, by the transaction coordinator, to a second resource manager; in response to the connecting step, sending by the transaction coordinator to the second resource manager, a resolve request comprising a resolution for the in-doubt transaction; in response to the resolve request, obtaining at the first resource manager, by the second resource manager, a lock to data associated with the in-doubt transaction; and in response to the obtaining step, determining, by the second resource manager, whether the transaction is associated with the first resource manager.

The present invention relates generally to the field of transaction processing, a communication protocol (known as two-phase commit) is used to coordinate transactions.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a transaction processing system 100, wherein a first data processing system 105 comprises an owning application 110 and a second data processing system 115 comprising a transaction coordinator 120 for executing transactions. There is also shown a third data processing system 130 comprising a first resource manager 135 for managing a first resource (e.g. a database). There is also shown a fourth data processing system 140 comprising a second resource manager 145 for managing a second resource (e.g. a database).
The system 100 also comprises a first log, a second log and a third log 125, 150 and 155 to which the transaction coordinator 120, the first resource manager 135 and the second resource manager 145 can respectively write one or more log records (i.e. wherein a log record comprises data associated with a transaction.
When an application wishes to "commit" a transaction, the transaction coordinator 120 requests each resource manager involved in the transaction to "prepare".
Following preparation, each resource manager responds to the transaction coordinator that they have prepared to commit the transaction and responsive to receiving the responses, the transaction coordinator 120 asks each of the resource managers to commit the transaction. In response to committing the transaction, each resource manager reports back to the transaction coordinator 120 which subsequently records the transaction as committed.
If a resource manager fails to respond positively to the prepare request, the transaction coordinator 120 issues a "roll-back" decision to the remaining resource managers. In response to rolling back the transaction, each resource manager reports back to the transaction coordinator 120 which subsequently records the transaction as rolled-back.
Upon receipt of the resolution decision (i.e. commit or rollback) from the coordinator a resource manager has to log the decision for its own recovery purposes and it must also commit or rollback the changes made to associated resources.
It should be understood that when a transaction is between the "prepare" phase and the "commit" or "roll-back" phase, it is known as "in-doubt".
In environments today, resource managers can be grouped and freely interchangeable such that one resource manager can take over responsibilities of another resource manager in the group. Such an environment allows for high availability in the event of failure of e.g. the another resource manager and also allows for load balancing between multiple resource managers as there can be two or more resource managers which could each perform the work required by a transaction.
In such an environment, there is a need for a mechanism to resolve transactions quickly; without data loss and without requiring significant changes to the transaction processing system.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080235295, Ser. No. 11/723,274, discloses a system, wherein recovery of inflowed transactions is provided by any instance in a cluster, along with peer recovery of transactions in a cluster, and administrative functionality related to these aspects. A method of managing transaction processing comprises performing transaction processing using a first process, wherein the first process logs the transaction processing that it performs, detecting failure of the first process, wherein the transaction logs of the first process are locked, taking ownership of the locked transaction logs of the first process at a second process, unlocking the locked transaction logs of the first process for use by the second process, and recovering at least one transaction using the transaction logs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A deinterleaver includes a first storage unit for storing data an order of which is rearranged from a correct order to a random order, a data latching unit for temporarily holding output data of the first storage unit, a second storage unit for storing output data of the data latching unit, and an addressing unit for generating a read addressing signal which is outputted to the first storage unit, and a write addressing signal which id outputted to the second storage unit. The addressing unit includes a counting unit for counting a clock to generate the read addressing signal, and an arithmetic unit for generating the write addressing signal for rearranging to the correct order using the read addressing signal outputted from the counting unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a deinterleaver for deinterleaving an interleaved data sequence, and in particular to a deinterleaver required for a code division multiple access (CDMA) terminal unit operating in conformity with the U.S. IS-95 Standard.
2. Description of the Related Art
In communication systems, there possibly occur consecutive errors in communication data depending on environments of data transmission paths and the like to resultantly invalidate the advantageous effect of the random-error-correcting coding. In such a situation, there are commonly achieved the following operations. Namely, to convert data errors successively occurred during transmission into random data errors, the order of transmission data to be transmitted is rearranged to a predetermined random order and then the transmission data are sent from a transmitter. In a receiver, the order of reception data is rearranged in the correct order or the original order. An apparatus to rearrange the order of the transmission data to the predetermined random order is called an interleaver, and an apparatus to rearrange the order of the reception data to the correct order is called a deinterleaver.
A conventional deinterleaver includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a first storage unit 110, a data latching unit 120, a second storage unit 130, and an addressing unit 140 including a binary counting unit 141 and a third storage unit 142.
Reception data are sequentially stored in the first storage unit 110 beginning at address "0". The binary counting unit 141 of the addressing unit 140 counts from the initial count value "0" to the number of the reception data stored in the first storage unit 110, and produces an output signal corresponding to the count value. The output signal is outputted to the first and third storage units 140 and 142 as a read addressing signal. Therefore, the reception data stored in the first storage unit 110 are sequentially read out therefrom in response to the read addressing signal from the binary counting unit 141 beginning at address "0". The reception data read out from the first storage unit 110 are temporarily held in the data latching unit 120.
In the third storage unit 142 of the addressing unit 140, the numbers representing the correct order of the reception data are stored beginning at address "0". The numbers are sequentially read out from the third storage unit 142 in response to the read addressing signal from the binary counting unit 141 beginning at the number stored at address "0". The number read out from the third storage unit 142 is outputted to the second storage unit 130 as a write addressing signal.
In the second storage unit 130, the reception data temporarily held in the data latching unit 120 are stored at an address specified by the write addressing signal from the third storage unit 142. Resultantly, the reception data are sequentially stored in the second storage unit 130 in the correct order beginning at address "0".
That is, in the deinterleaver shown in FIG. 1, the reception data are sequentially read out from the first storage unit 110 in the order of reception. When the reception data read out from the first storage unit 110 are written to the second storage unit 130, the write address of the second storage unit 130 is modified. Thereby, the order of the reception data is rearranged to the order before the interleaving operation.
However, since the conventional deinterleaver requires a memory having a relatively large storage capacity as the third storage unit 142 which is used for storing the numbers representing the correct order of the reception data as the write address information of the second storage unit 130, the hardware area and power consumption are disadvantageously increased. Consequently, such a deinterleaver cannot be suitably installed in a reception apparatus such as a mobile communication terminal equipment of which the size and power consumption are required to be minimized.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A lighting system, comprising: a light source (22) for generating a light source output; an optical system (24) for focusing the light source output to a beam control plane (26); a first lens system (28) for pre-shaping the light source output after the beam control plane; a first reflector (30), wherein the first lens system is adapted to direct light to the first reflector; a second reflector (32) for generating an output beam (34) from the light reflected by the first reflector; a beam control system (27) located at the beam control plane, wherein the beam control system includes a pixelated display device (27c) for providing pixelated modulation of the light passing through the display device, and wherein he first reflector and second reflector are selected from the group consisting of: the first reflector (30) is a hyperbolic mirror and the second reflector (32) is a parabolic mirror, the first reflector (30) is a hyperbolic mirror and the second reflector (32) is a hyperbolic mirror, the first reflector (30) and second reflector (32) are spherical mirrors and the first reflector (30) is a planar mirror and the second reflector (32) is a hyperbolic mirror.

Spot lighting basically aims to provide a collimated light output beam. The smaller the divergence of an output beam, in order to create a dense highly collimated beam, the larger the output lens that is required.
For simple spot light illumination, some known designs make use of a simple parabolic mirror with an arc lamp in the focal plane of the mirror. These designs are generally called search lights. These provide a compact lighting solution. However, they do not enable significant control of the light output effect. For example, no image can be displayed as there is no place (i.e. gate) at which the light source is focused, and where an image generation or image modification system could be placed. Similarly, there is no option to implement color filtering other than by providing a single (large) filter at the front of the parabolic mirror.
In many applications, such as for stage and concert lighting but more generally for creating different atmospheric lighting effects using spot lighting, it is desirable to be able to control a color, shape or image to be generated by the spot lighting system. This can be achieved by providing a focal plane at which the light source output is focused before forming the collimated light output beam. Image, color or shape modification may then take place at that focal plane.
Spot light systems which implement this functionality are also known.
Refracting lenses are generally used as the final beam forming elements (the so-called "front group" of lenses) within such spot light applications. However, refracting lenses introduce chromatic aberration. This means that the edge of the beam has a rainbow effect. In order to correct for this chromatic aberration, additional lenses may be used, but this adds cost, weight and size to the spot light design. For example, at least three lenses instead of one are usually required.
There is therefore a need for a lighting system which has controllable light output characteristics, such as color, shape or image, which can be implemented with low weight and cost, and which can avoid the problems associated with chromatic aberration of refractive lenses.

Lighting system for generating surface or mid-air lighting effects


A system includes a generator configured to be coupled to a power input of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), an engine, a hydraulic motor and a mechanical coupling mechanism configured to selectively couple the engine and the hydraulic motor to the generator. The system further includes a hydraulic accumulator and a valve configured to fluidically couple the hydraulic accumulator to the hydraulic motor. A control circuit is configured to control the valve, the mechanical coupling mechanism and the engine in conjunction with the UPS to supply power to the UPS.

The inventive subject matter relates to power supply apparatus and methods and, more particularly, to generator systems and methods.
UPS systems are commonly used in commercial and industrial facilities, such as data centers, telecommunications facilities, factories and hospitals. They are often used to provide reliable, high quality power to critical equipment, such as computer systems.
UPS systems typically include one or more batteries, which are used to provide power to critical equipment when a primary utility power source fails. Batteries generally have high energy density, which can enable them to provide power for extended time periods. However, batteries may be expensive to purchase and maintain. They typically require frequent maintenance, may have a relatively short life and it may be difficult to accurately determine their state of health. Batteries may also need controlled environmental conditions, which may restrict their application.
A large number of data centers and other installations now use local backup generator sets (e.g., diesel-electric generator sets) to provide extended backup power. However, such generator sets typically require significant time to start up and stabilize before their power output is of sufficient quality to serve the load. Because of this delay, such installations still typically use battery-based UPSs to provide backup power after a utility failure until the output of the backup generator set stabilizes.

Electrohydraulic generator systems and methods


A power conversion device includes an inverter that drives a motor; a fin that cools down the inverter; a first core including a through hole that allows passage of a positive side conductor that connects a power supply system and the inverter and a negative side conductor that grounds the inverter; a ground conductor that grounds the fin; a ground conductor that grounds a motor yoke via a capacitor; and a ground conductor including one end that is connected to the negative side conductor or the ground conductor and the other end that is grounded.

A technique has been known, in which a power conversion device includes an inverter that receives power from a direct-current power supply system and drives a motor as a load, a fin as a cooling unit that cools down the inverter, a first core including a through hole that allows passage of a high voltage line that connects the direct-current power supply system and the inverter and a ground line that grounds the inverter, a first ground line that grounds the fin, a second ground line that grounds the motor, and a second core including a through hole. In this power conversion device, the first ground line is connected to a ground line on the side of the direct-current power supply system with respect to the first core, and a resonance path that circulates the inverter, the fin, the first ground line, a common ground point of the first ground line and the second ground line, the motor, the second ground line, and the inverter is arranged to pass through the through hole of the second core, thereby increasing high frequency impedance of the resonance path and suppressing a noise source current in the power conversion device (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

Power conversion device with reduced noise source current, reduced high frequency current and reduced resonance current


A computing system includes a storage pool and a system node. The storage pool has a plurality of physical volumes. The physical volumes are grouped into a plurality of physical volume groups. The system node accesses the storage pool. The system node includes a logical volume manager and a resource monitor. The logical volume manager maps the physical volumes into logical volumes. The resource monitor determines which physical volumes in the storage pool have available physical links, and determines a number of copies of data within a first logical volume. The resource monitor also determine whether at least one copy of all data within a logical volume group is available. The resource monitor indicates that at least one copy of all data within the logical volume group is available when physical links to all physical volumes for the logical volume group are up. The resource monitor indicates that at least one copy of all data within the logical volume group is available when a number of physical links which are down is less than a number of physical volume groups which contain a fill copy of data for the logical volume group. The resource monitor indicates that there is not available a copy of all data within the logical volume group when there are no physical links to physical volumes for the logical volume group which are up.

The present invention concerns monitoring resources on a computer and pertains particularly to monitoring disk storage devices.
In computing systems it is often desirable to monitor the operation and status of various resources within the computing system. Once status changes or particular events are detected, these may be sent to an application or management platform for further processing and/or for being made available to a user.
For example, status changes or particular events detected by a resource monitor may be received by a resource monitoring management program such as the OpenView resource monitoring management program available from Hewlett-Packard Company, having a business address of 3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, Calif. 94304, or the MC/ServiceGuard resource monitoring management program, also available from Hewlett-Packard Company. Other existing products such as the High Availability Clustered Multi-Processing (HACMP) control application available from IBM Company.
Information about disk and logical volume status is important in a high availability environment. However, information in existing systems is limited. For example, the Logical Volume Monitor (LVM) product, available with the HP-UX operating system available from Hewlett-Packard Company, manages disk storage devices (disks) in logical volumes. A logical volume is a collection of pieces of disk space from one or more disks. Each collection is put together so that the collection appears to the operating system as a single disk.
Like disks, logical volumes can be used to hold file systems, raw data areas, dump areas, or swap areas. Unlike disks, the size of a logical volume can be chosen when the logical volume is created and a logical volume can later be expanded or reduced. Also, logical volumes can be spread across multiple disks.
A logical volume can exist on only one disk or can reside on portions of many disks. The disk space within a logical volume can be used for swap, dump, raw data or a file system can be created thereon.
The LVM program and disk drivers for individual disks write messages to a system log providing some information ultimately available to a user. For example, HP OpenView IT/Operations program available from Hewlett-Packard Company can be configured to monitor messages from the system log and make this information available to a user. However, there is a lot of desirable information that is not currently expressed to a user in a form that is useful to the user.
For example, within a logical volume, data can be mirrored on two or more individual disks. This means that an exact copy of the data is stored in two or more separate places. This allows for the data to be obtained from a back-up location in the case of an error which prevents the data from being obtained from a primary location. This is done transparent to a user. For example, this functionality is implemented by the MirrorDisk/UX product available from Hewlett-Packard Company. Nevertheless, it may be interesting to some users to know how many copies of particular data are currently available and to know which particular physical devices are currently available.
Because applications cannot detect if a particular disk is down or if a link to the disk is down, for high availability configurations, multiple links to the disk are required even when mirroring is handled by arrays. These multiple links, however consume I/O slots and limit capacity of the computing system.
Within the HP-UX operating system there currently is an enhancement which allows applications operating within the HP-UX environment to set an input/output (I/O) timeout. This is done, for example, by the application setting a time-out. All I/O calls return with an error if the timeout is exceeded. Without this enhancement, an I/O call will hang indefinitely if the disk is down. However, this enhancement requires each application to be modified.

Computing system having a system node that utilizes both a logical volume manager and a resource monitor for managing a storage pool


A coreless and brushless direct-current motor includes an armature coil wound without core and formed in the shape of a saddle; an outside rotor magnet formed by a permanent magnet, the outside rotor magnet being provided at an outside of the armature coil in the shape of a cylinder so as to face the armature coil, the outside rotor magnet being rotated by the magnetic field; an inside rotor magnet formed by a permanent magnet, the inside rotor magnet being provided in the shape of a cylinder at an inside of the armature coil so that the inside rotor magnet has a pole opposite to the outside rotor magnet and a rotational shaft is independently provided; an output shaft connected to the inside rotor magnet; and a sealing part of a barrier structure which sealing part partitions the armature coil and the outside rotor magnet to an outside of the inside rotor magnet and seals the armature coil and the outside rotor magnet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to coreless and brushless direct-current motors, Gifford McMahon (GM) cryogenic coolers, pulse tube cryogenic coolers, cryopumps, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) apparatuses, Superconducting Magnet (SCM) apparatuses, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) apparatus, and cryogenic coolers for cooling semiconductors.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a coreless and brushless direct-current motor used as a power source of a Stirling type cryogenic cooler or the like. The Stirling type cooler is used for a closed circuit cooling system or the like and has a sealing container that receives an expansion unit and a compressor, a GM cryogenic cooler, a pulse tube cryogenic cooler, a cryopump, a MRI apparatus, a SCM apparatus, an NMR apparatus, and a cryogenic cooler for cooling a semiconductor having the coreless and brushless direct-current motor as a power unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a cryogenic cooling apparatus using a gas compressor or gas expanding device such as a Stirling type cryogenic cooler is manufactured and assembled or continuously operated, operation gas or contaminant gas such as moisture or carbon dioxide from components is generated.
In addition, when an electric motor is used as a driving source, contaminants are generated from, for example, a core part, a varnish, or a wire coating in an electric motor part.
In order to prevent influence of these contaminants, a structure where a cup-shaped barrier configured to provide gas-tight isolation between a coil winding and a rotor is provided so as to come in contact with an electric motor used as a driving source, is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,997. More specifically, as a cored motor, a single stator (armature) and a driving electric part are arranged outside of a casing partitioned by a non-magnetic cup-shaped cover and a magnetic rotor is completely isolated from the outside environment.
In addition, a Gifford McMahon (GM) cryogenic cooler and a pulse tube cryogenic coolers wherein an electric motor is used as a driving source is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,588.

Coreless and brushless direct-current motor, Gifford McMahon (GM) cryogenic cooler, pulse tube cryogenic cooler, cryopump, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) apparatus, Superconducting Magnet (SCM) apparatus, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) apparatus, and cryogenic cooler for cooling semiconductor


A class of murine monoclonal antibodies that is capable of stimulating megakaryocytopoiesis in vitro has been raised against human megakaryocytic cells. The monoclonal antibody BAH-1 specifically recognizes and demonstrates agonist activity against the c-Mpl receptor on the megakaryocytic cell surface. In therapeutic applications, the BAH-1 and M4 monoclonal antibodies identified to date and similar antibodies (or active portions and chimeric combinations thereof) can stimulate proliferation of primary bone marrow megakaryocytes. Thus, the antibodies of the invention can be used to prepare a composition for treating, e.g., thrombocytopenia. A typical composition comprises a therapeutically effective amount of the BAH-1 monoclonal antibody in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier vehicle.

The development of specialized blood cells, including platelets, via the hematopoietic system requires the interplay of pluripotent cells found in bone marrow and polypeptide cytokines (5). When a patient's levels of circulating platlets are depleted to less than 150.times.10.sup.9 platlets per liter, a condition known as thrombocytopenia can follow. In general, patients with platelet counts between 20 and 100.times.10.sup.9 per liter are at risk of excessive post traumatic bleeding, while those with platelet counts below 20.times.10.sup.9 may bleed spontaneously. These latter patients are candidates for platelet transfusion with associated immune and viral risk.
The major regulator of circulating levels of platelets in the blood is believed to be the recently cloned cytokine thrombopoietin (TPO), the cognate ligand for the receptor encoded by the c-mpl proto-oncogene (c-Mpl) (1-16). TPO has been determined to have both direct proliferative and differentiative activities on human megakaryocyte progenitors. Furthermore, TPO hastens the restoration of platelet counts following cytoreductive therapies and has been associated with improved survival in certain murine models. Treatment of patients suffering from thrombocytopenia with TPO should have therapeutic importance in augmenting megakaryocytopoiesis and circulating blood platelet numbers. The availability of additional agents, capable of stimulating platelet production would be desirable.

Agonist murine monoclonal antibody as a stimulant for megakaryocytopoiesis

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.


A method characterizes samples having units by monitoring fluctuating intensities of radiation emitted, scattered, and/or reflected by the units in at least one measurement volume, the monitoring being performed by at least one detection device, the method comprising the steps of: a) measuring in a repetitive mode a number of photon counts per time interval of defined length, b) determining a function of the number of photon counts per the time interval, and c) determining a function of specific brightness of the units on basis of the function of the number of photon counts.

Tetrahymena is a ciliated eukaryotic unicellular organism belonging to the regnum of Protozoa and bearing two nuclei, a transcriptionally silent, diploid germline micronucleus (MIC) and a transcriptionally active, polyploid somatic macronucleus (MAC). In 1923, when Nobel Laureate Andre Lwoff succeeded in growing Tetrahymena in pure culture, the basis for exploiting this Alveolate as a model organism was laid. Milestone discoveries made in Tetrahymena are the discovery of dynein motors, telomeres, RNA-mediated catalysis, telomerase and the function of histone acetyltransferases in transcription regulation. Within the last decades molecular biological techniques have been developed to alter Tetrahymena's genome and proteome: DNA transfection methods range from microinjection into the MAC, over electroporation into the MAC to biolistic bombardment of MIC and MAC. Episomal plasmids based on an rDNA-replicon are available, as well as knock-out/-in techniques based on homologous recombination. On protein level heterologous expression of related species has been performed and also endogenous proteins were silenced by a novel antisense-ribosome-technique. The biotechnological potential of Tetrahymena has been proven in numerous publications, demonstrating fast growth, high biomass, fermentation in ordinary bacterial/yeast equipment, up-scalability, existence of cheap and chemical defined media.
So far, only a few promoter active Tetrahymena DNA sequences have been characterised up to a useful extend to work with in molecular biology. These comprise the rather weak and moreover cellcycle dependent histone-1 and beta-tubulin-promoter2 and also heavy-metall-inducible metallothionein-promoters.3,4 Metallothioneins, that are upregulated upon stress, are metal binding proteins playing a role in detoxification of the cell. In Tetrahymena metallothioneins are known, the promoters of which can be induced quite well by the presence of Cadmium, Copper, Zinc—induction becoming less in this order—but barely with other stress factors like peroxides or heat. As heavy metals are toxic, inhibit cell growth and lead—at higher concentrations—to cell death, a different system with less impact on the health of the system and an inducer that can be removed tracelessly would be favourable. Furthermore due to the heavy impact on the environment by heavy metal cations the disposal of contaminated media is time and resource consuming. As the financial effort in commercial bioproduction processes have to be minimal, Metallothionein promoters do not seem to be the inducible system of choice.


A stopper for use with a container containing liquids, solids, or gases. The stopper includes a main body. The main body includes an upper portion. The upper portion has a diameter greater than a diameter of an opening of the container. The stopper also includes a flexible sheath affixed to the stopper. The sheath can be rolled down an exterior surface of the container to facilitate a seal of the container. In addition, the main body includes an annular groove sized and shaped to retain the sheath when rolled up. In one embodiment the present invention may include a lower portion having a plug sized and shaped to fit within the opening of the container to prevent liquids, solids, or gases contained in the container from exiting the opening.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to stoppers for stopping openings of containers holding liquids, solids, or gases. Specifically, and not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a stopper having an additional retractable sheath for a container holding liquids, solids, or gases.
Description of the Related Art
There are a wide variety of containers holding liquids that have stoppers. The typical stopper forms a barrier to prevent liquid from exiting the container opening. A popular example of a container holding liquids requiring a stopper is a wine bottle. The wine bottle has a long stem with an opening. Traditionally, these wine bottles are sealed with cork stoppers. These cork stoppers have been used for centuries and for a variety of reasons, most of which are related to the ready availability of cork and the exceptional natural qualities of cork which make it useful as a stopper. In particular, a cork is resilient, durable, sparingly permeable to gas, mostly waterproof, does not rot and can be easily compressed and shaped. Thus, for the above reasons, cork is an obvious material to consider for sealing fluid in a container, such as a wine bottle.
However, although cork material has been used successfully for many years, there are several drawbacks in both the material and configuration of the cork stoppers. First, the cork often leaves contaminants in the wine, which obviously can affect the taste and quality of the wine. Additionally, the cork stopper is difficult to remove from the bottle and is often damaged or even made unreuseable in the process. Various de-corking devices have been used to make the task easier for removing the cork from the bottle opening. Even more difficult is the task of re-seating the cork in the bottle opening as the cork tends to expand after initially removing the cork from the opening. Re-seating the cork completely within the neck of the bottle to effect the original seal's integrity is very difficult.
Furthermore, a device is needed which enables a stopper to have a fully retractable sheath which may be held in place in a retracted position either on or off the container. Although there are no known prior art teachings of a solution to the aforementioned deficiency and shortcoming such as that disclosed herein, prior art references that discuss subject matter that bears some relation to matters discussed herein are U.S. Pat. No. 3,074,578 to Hester (Hester) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,546,159 to Wippler (Wippler).
Hester discloses a container closure having a stopper with an attached band that is configured to flip down into a "bead" of the container. The band is sized to latch the stopper to the bottle by flipping the band down over the mouth of the band. Hester further states that the flange which is attached to the band is sized to allow the band no further movement than the length necessary to reach the bead or groove in the container. Thus, Hester fails to disclose a sheath that can be rolled completely down the stem of the bottle. In addition, Hester does not disclose a configuration for holding a rolled up sheath to be held in a retracted position.
Wippler teaches a milk bottle closure having a thick portion with a groove and a thin portion which can be rolled up into a groove. However, the closure is configured to have the groove located below the lip of the milk bottle. By having the groove located below the lip of the milk container, the rolled up thin portion will roll down since there is no mass behind or below the groove to prevent the thin portion from rolling down. Specifically, the closure is configured with a gap for placement on the lip of the milk bottle. Without the milk bottle within the gap, there is no support behind the groove to hold the thin portion in the rolled up position. Wippler requires that the closure, when removed from the milk bottle, be manually rerolled into the rolled up position with each use before it could be repositioned on the milk bottle.
Thus, a stopper for a container holding liquid is needed which enables ease in removing the stopper from the opening and easily re-seats the stopper in the opening when re-sealing the bottle. Additionally, the stopper must be able to retain a rolled up sheath in a retracted position whether the stopper is in place upon the container or apart from the container when not in use. It is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus


An intermediate connection electrical connector includes a plurality of blades and a supporting member for supporting the blades arranged in an arrangement direction. The supporting member includes a surrounding wall portion for surrounding the blades and a regulating portion for positioning the blades. The surrounding wall portion includes a side wall portion and an edge wall portion. The side wall portion is at least partially formed of an electromagnetic wave absorbing material. The regulating portion is disposed inside the surrounding wall portion to define a blade accommodating space for accommodating the blades.

The present invention relates to an intermediate connection electrical connector for connecting a mating connector or a circuit board as a relative connecting member. In particular, the present invention relates to an intermediate connection electrical connector suitable for transmitting a signal at a high speed (a high frequency).
A conventional intermediate connection electrical connector includes a plurality of blades, in which a plurality of terminals is arranged as a terminal group in a high density on a surface of a flat substrate formed of an electrical insulating member. The blades are arranged at a certain interval in a thickness direction thereof. Further, the conventional intermediate connection electrical connector includes a housing for holding the blades. In each blade, contact sections of the terminal group are positioned on a side of one end and a side of the other end thereof, so as to be capable of connecting to respective mating connecting members.
For example, Patent Reference discloses a conventional intermediate connection electrical connector for connecting a mating connector (a backplane connector) and a circuit board (a daughter card). The conventional intermediate connection electrical connector has a plurality of blades, which are referred to as "wafers" having rectangular flat shapes. On each blade, contact sections on a side of one end (a side to be connected to the mating connector) of the terminal group are arranged on one side thereof, and the contact sections on a side of the other end of the terminal group (the side to be connected to the circuit board) are arranged on another side thereof that is perpendicular to the one side. The blades are used as pair terminals whereby two adjacent terminals transmit differential signals.    Patent Reference: Japanese Patent Publication of Translated Version No. 2008-545250
In the conventional intermediate connection electrical connector disclosed in Patent Reference, in each blade, between the contact sections of the pair terminals, i.e., between the two adjacent contact sections and the next adjacent contact sections, there is formed a cavity, and a lossy insert is attached thereto. The lossy insert disclosed in the Patent Reference is made of an electrically lossy material (an electromagnetic wave-absorbing material). Such an electrically lossy material is a conductor as a whole, but is a relatively poor conductor relative to a specific frequency. Therefore, the lossy insert absorbs unnecessary electromagnetic waves (a noise) coming from each other, so that the terminals located on both sides of the lossy insert are shielded from the noise, thereby preventing so-called "crosstalk" between the terminals. Such an electrically lossy material may be obtained, for example, by adding filler containing conductive particles to a binder.
According to Patent Reference, the lossy insert is provided between the contact sections of the pair terminals and the contact sections of the adjacent pair terminals. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the crosstalk at the contact sections between the pair terminals of the blade.
According to Patent Reference, the mating connector accommodates a portion of each blade on a side of one end (a part on which one ends of the terminal group is located) while being in a state that a plurality of blades is arranged in the blade thickness direction. Further, the mating connector is connected to the connecting sections on a side of one ends of the terminals group of the blade. In addition, the mating connector has a grounding plate (a shielding plate) having a flat surface thereof perpendicular to the plate thickness direction, and is configured to be connected to the lossy insert of the blade.
As described above, according to Patent Reference, the lossy insert for preventing the crosstalk is attached to the blade. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the crosstalk between the contact sections of the two adjacent pair terminals within the blade.
However, in the conventional intermediate connection electrical connector, the lossy insert is not provided between the blades, and further the lossy insert is not provided at a position on the mating connector corresponding to a position between the blades. In other words, before and after connecting the conventional intermediate connection electrical connector and the mating connector, there is no lossy insert present between the blades.
In addition, the mating connector has the grounding plate at a position corresponding to a position between the blades. Accordingly, in a state that the conventional intermediate connection electrical connector is connected to the mating connector, the unnecessary electromagnetic waves irradiated from the terminals of each blade tend to be transferred onto the grounding plate. As a result, resonance sometimes occurs between the grounding plates that are adjacent to each other, and the resonance could be picked up as the noise by the terminal of another blade adjacent thereto.
In order to solve the problems of the conventional intermediate connection electrical connector described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an intermediate connection electrical connector capable of significantly reducing the resonance between grounding sections.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the present invention.

Intermediate connection electrical connector


A method for producing L-cysteine and the like is provided by developing a novel technique for improving bacterial L-cysteine-producing ability. The method includes the steps of culturing a bacterium belonging to the genus Escherichia which has L-cysteine-producing ability, and in which expression of a gene involved in sulfite reduction is enhanced, in a medium containing thiosulfate, and collecting L-cysteine, a related substance thereof, or a mixture thereof which accumulate in the medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing L-cysteine or a related substance thereof. L-cysteine and related substances thereof are used in the fields of drugs, cosmetics, and foods.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
L-cysteine is conventionally obtained by extraction from keratin-containing substances such as hair, horns, and feathers, or converting the precursor DL-2-aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid using a microbial enzyme. L-cysteine can also be produced on a large scale by an immobilized enzyme method utilizing a novel enzyme. Furthermore, L-cysteine can also be produced by fermentation utilizing a microorganism.
The ability of a microorganism to produce L-cysteine can be improved by enhancing the activity of an enzyme of the L-cysteine biosynthesis pathway, or an activity of an enzyme involved in generation of a compound which acts as a substrate of that pathway, such as L-serine. Microorganisms which are able to produce L-cysteine include, for example, a coryneform bacterium in which intracellular serine acetyltransferase activity is increased (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 2002-233384). L-cysteine-producing ability can also be increased by incorporating a serine acetyltransferase which has been mutated so that feedback inhibition by L-cysteine is attenuated (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 11-155571, U.S. Patent Published Application No. 20050112731 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,168). A mutant serA gene coding for a mutant 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase of which feedback inhibition by serine is attenuated is also known, and use thereof in production of L-cysteine by Escherichia coli has been suggested (U.S. Pat. No. 5,856,148 and U.S. Patent Published Application No. 20050009162).
Furthermore, L-cysteine-producing ability of a microorganism can also be improved by suppressing the system which acts to decompose L-cysteine. Microorganisms in which this system has been suppressed, and the L-cysteine-producing ability is enhanced, include coryneform bacteria or Escherichia bacteria in which activity of cystathionine-β-lyase (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 11-155571), tryptophanase (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 2003-169668), or O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 2005-245311) is attenuated or deleted.
Moreover, L-cysteine-producing ability of a microorganism can also be improved by enhancing the L-cysteine-secreting ability. For example, techniques have been reported of enhancing L-cysteine-producing ability by enhancing expression of the ydeD gene (Dassler et al., Mol. Microbiol., 36, 1101-1112 (2000)), yfiK gene (Macdonald and Cole, Molecular and General Genetics, 200(2):328-334 (1985)), or yeaS gene (Warren et al., Biochemical Journal, 265(3):725-729 (1990)), which codes for a protein that participates in secretion of L-cysteine. Furthermore, techniques have been reported of enhancing L-cysteine-producing ability by enhancing expression of the mar locus, emr locus, acr locus, cmr locus, mex gene, bmr gene or qacA gene (U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,663), or emrAB, emrKY, yojIH, acrEF, bcr or cusA gene (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 2005-287333). These loci/genes encode proteins which are responsible for secreting a substance which is cytotoxic from the cells.
L-cysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid, and therefore, metabolism of a sulfur source is involved in the production of L-cysteine. The biosynthesis pathway of L-cysteine when glucose is the carbon source and the sulfate or thiosulfate ion is the sulfur source, and examples of genes involved in that pathway are shown in FIG. 1.
Sulfite reductase is an enzyme that catalyzes, in the sulfate reduction pathway (Frederich C., Neidhardt et al., Escherichia Coli and Salmonella Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2nd Edition, Vol. 1, ASM Press, 514-527) in which sulfate ion (SO42−) is converted into sulfide ion (—S2−), the reaction of reducing sulfite ion (—SO32−) into sulfide ion (—S2−) as the final step. The sulfide ion generated from the sulfate ion via the sulfate reduction pathway reacts with O-acetylserine (OAS) to generate L-cysteine. That is, when L-cysteine is produced with sulfate ions as the sulfur source, the sulfite reductase is considered to be one of the enzymes that participate in the L-cysteine biosynthesis. It is known that the sulfite reductase of Escherichia coli has an α8β4 complex structure which includes a subunits encoded by the cyst gene and β subunits encoded by the cysI gene. Furthermore, the cysG gene codes for the biosynthesis enzyme of siroheme, which is a cofactor of the sulfite reductase β subunit. The cysJ gene and the cysI gene are present on the same operon, whereas the cysG gene is on a different site of the genome. The details of the cysJ gene, the cysI gene and the proteins encoded by these genes are described in Ostrowski et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, 264(27):15796-15808 (1989), Li et al., Gene, 53(2-3):227-234 (1987), Gaudu and Fontecave, European Journal of Biochemistry, 226 (2):459-463 (1994), Eschenbrenner et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, 270(35):20550-20555 (1995) and Ostrowski et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, 264(26):15726-15737 (1989). Furthermore, the details of the cysG gene and the protein encoded by this gene are described in Peakman et al., European Journal of Biochemistry, 191(2):315-323 (1990), Macdonald and Cole, Molecular and General Genetics, 200(2):328-334 (1985), Warren et al., Biochemical Journal, 265(3):725-729 (1990) and Spencer et al., FEBS Letters 335(1):57-60 (1993).
Although there has been no report directly linking enhancing expression of the cysG gene, cysJ gene or cysI gene with increased L-cysteine production, an Escherichia coli bacteria in which activity of a protein encoded by the cysB gene is enhanced is known as an L-cysteine-producing bacterium (International Patent Publication WO01/27307). Because the protein encoded by the cysB gene positively regulates expression of the cysJIH operon which includes the cysJ gene and cysI gene coding for sulfite reductase, expression of the cysJ gene and cysI gene may be increased in that Escherichia coli. On the other hand, expression of the cysG gene is not regulated by the protein encoded by the cysB gene, and enhancement of expression of the cysG gene for L-cysteine production has not been reported.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of enhancing expression of the cysG gene, cysJ gene or cysI gene in the production of amino acids other than L-cysteine has been suggested. For example, enhancing expression of the cys genes including the cysG gene, cysJ gene and cysI gene, is referred to concerning production of L-threonine or L-lysine (U.S. Pat. No. 7,759,094), production of L-threonine (International Patent Publication WO03/006666), and production of L-methionine (U.S. Patent Published Application No. 2009298136 and International Patent Publication WO2008/127240). Furthermore, enhancing expression of the cys genes including the cysJ gene and the cysI gene is also referred to concerning production of L-methionine (International Patent Publication WO2009/043372, International Patent Publication WO2005/108561, International Patent Publication WO2007/077041, and International Patent Publication WO2006/082254). Moreover, enhancing expression of the cysJIH operon including the cysJ gene and the cysI gene is also referred to concerning production of L-methionine (U.S. Patent Published Application No. 20100047879). Furthermore, increasing L-arginine production by enhancing expression of the cysG gene has been reported (U.S. Patent Published Application No. 20050069994).
On the other hand, thiosulfate is metabolized in a pathway other than the sulfate reduction pathway (FIG. 1), and it is not known whether sulfite reductase participates in the metabolism of thiosulfate. Furthermore, all the aforementioned findings concerning production of amino acids fail to suggest that enhancing expression of the cysG gene, cysJ gene or cysI gene can be effective for amino acid production using thiosulfate as the sulfur source. As described above, the relationship between production of an amino acid such as L-cysteine using thiosulfate as the sulfur source and the cysG gene, cysJ gene or cysI gene has not been previously reported.