When the pulling speed is V(mm/min), the temperature gradient along the crystal axis within the temperature range from the melting point of silicon to 1300.degree. C. is G1 (.degree. C./mm), the temperature gradient along the crystal axis within the temperature range from 1150.degree. to 1080.degree. C. is G2 (.degree. C./mm), and the octahedral-shaped void density is d (pieces/cm.sup.3), crystals are grown under a condition satisfying:. V/G1>0.581.times.V.times.G2-(d-4.3.times.10.sup.3)/2.65.times.10.sup.6 and V/G1>0.25.. In this way, the defect density is reduced to less than 1.times.106 pieces/cm.sup.3 and silicon single crystals having superior gate oxide integrity and semiconductor device yield are obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of fabricating silicon ingle crystals by the CZ method, particularly to a method of fabricating silicon single crystals with superior gate oxide integrity characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
Silicon single crystals are generally produced by the CZ method. In the CZ method, polysilicons are fed into a quartz crucible disposed in a single crystal-fabricating apparatus, and then the raw material is heated and melted by heaters disposed surrounding the quartz crucible. Thereafter, a seed crystal mounted on a seed chuck is dipped into the melt. The seed chuck and the quartz crucible are then rotated in the same or reverse direction while pulling the seed chuck to grow a silicon single crystal of a predetermined diameter and length.
It is well known that as-grown silicon single crystals fabricated by the CZ method comprises octahedral void like defects. These defects are detected with infrared scattering tomography(hereinafter referred as LSTD, LSTD: Laser Scattering Tomography Defect). LSTDs exist in almost all single crystals at a density exceeding 1.times.10.sup.6 pieces/cm.sup.3.
In recent years, with the scaling-down and higher integration of semiconductor devices, the gate oxide integrity has particularly received attention. FIG. 2 shows the relationship between LSTD density and the gate oxide integrity yield, in which when the LSTD density is greater than 1.times.10.sup.6 pieces/cm.sup.3, and the gate oxide integrity yield is below 50%. FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the gate oxide integrity yield and the reliability failure of semiconductor devices (Semiconductor Silicon (1994), 937-986), in which when the gate oxide integrity yield falls below than 50%, and the reliability failure rises significantly. In view of the above, the reduction of LSTD density is the most important issue for the growth of silicon single crystals grown by the CZ method (hereinafter referred as CZ-Si single crystal). It is necessary to reduce the LSTD density of the as-grown CZ-Si single crystal to less than 1.times.10.sup.6 pieces/cm.sup.3.
Up to now, as a method of reducing the density of oxygen precipitates of CZ-Si single crystals, which is associated with the gate oxide integrity, it has been proposed to grow the single crystals at a growth rate of less than 0.8 mm/min (see JP-A-2-267195, JP-A-:unexamined published Japanese application). Also, it has been proposed to grow singe crystals with a fp/G coefficient being greater than 0.25 mm.sup.2 /.degree. C. min., wherein fp (mm/min) is the crystal growth rate and the G (.degree. C./mm) is the temperature gradient along the crystal axial direction in the temperature range from the melting point of silicon to 1300.degree. C.; and the cooling rate in the range from 1150.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C. are less than 2.0.degree. C./min (see JP-A- 8-12493).
According to the fabricating method of silicon single crystals disclosed in JP-A- 8-12493, the fp/G coefficient is used as the parameter for controlling the outer diameter of the ring like oxidation induced stacking fault (hereinafter referred as OSF) that occur in the thermal oxidation process after the processing of wafers distributed in the wafer periphery portion which is not used in the semiconductor device fabricating step, and the cooling rate in the range from 1150.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C. is specified as a parameter for controlling the LSTD density. That is, with respect to the above two objectives, each parameter is specified.
The relation between the defects that occur in the silicon single crystals and the cooling process of the crystal growth has been reported in a large number of reports. And when the crystal pulling rate is V(mm/min), the temperature gradient along the crystal axis within the temperature range from melting point of silicon to 1300.degree. C. is G1(.degree. C./min:G1>0), the temperature gradient along the crystal axis within the temperature range from 1150.degree. C. to 1080.degree. C. is G2 (.degree. C./min:G2>0), the relationship between the parameters of V/G1, V.times.G2 and the crystal defects, has also been reported respectively. First, V/G1 is the parameter for determining the sites where OSF occur in the diameter direction of crystals has been described in Materials Sciences Forum Vols. 196-201 (1995) pp. 1713-1718 and Journal of Crystal Growth 151 (1995) pp. 273-277. It goes without saying that if ring-shaped OSF inside the wafer will have a deleterious effect on the fabrication of semiconductor devices. Even if in the outer region of ring-shaped OSF dislocation may occur and the getting ability of heavy metals may be reduced. Accordingly, commercialized wafers are manufactured with the V/G1 greater than a certain critical value so as to keep the wafers within the inside of the ring-shaped OSF.
Moreover, the determination of the varieties of the so-called generating defects which are the secondary defects, A defects and B defects, caused by the interstitial silicon atom, and the secondary defects, D defects, caused by the vacancies, has also been reported, (Journal of Crystal Growth 59 (1982) 625-643). It is presumed that the above parameters dominate the concentration of the point defects (interstitial silicon atom and vacancy) induced in the growing process, and ore or less influence the formation of the LSTD which is considered as the aggregate of the vacancies.
V.times.G2 is corresponding to the cooling rate of the growing silicon single crystal within the range of 1150.degree. C. to 1080.degree. C. There is a good relation between the cooling rate and the LSTD density, as reported in Materials Science Forum Vols. 196-201 (1995) pp. 1707-1712.
As described above, conventionally the parameters V/G1 V.times.G2 were only controlled respectively so as to satisfy each of objects.

Method of fabricating silicon single crystals


Systems and methods can automatically inspect a workpiece. Non-destructive inspection sensors are mounted on a frame mounted on a transport device. Position of a first predetermined location of a workpiece is measured with a tracking system. The transport device is moved to position the non-destructive inspection sensors proximate the first predetermined location of a workpiece. A first portion of a workpiece proximate the first predetermined location is non-destructively inspected with the non-destructive inspection sensors. Position of a second predetermined location of a workpiece can be measured with the tracking system. The transport device can be moved to position the non-destructive inspection sensors proximate the second predetermined location of a workpiece, and a second portion of a workpiece proximate the second predetermined location can be non-destructively inspected with the non-destructive inspection sensors. Data can be provided from the sensors to a computing system and analyzed by the computing system.

Several methods of performing non destructive inspection (NDI) have been developed and currently are in use in a variety of manufacturing settings. Some of these NDI methods include, without limitation, ultrasound inspection, mechanical tap testing, acoustic impact Doppler, eddy current testing optical sensing, x-ray backscatter, photon induced positron annihilation, laser shearography, infrared thermography, neutron radiography, through-transmission infrared thermography, and the like. Many individual NDI methods may be better-suited to inspection of a particular material than other materials.
The above and other NDI methods make use of sensor positional information to produce two-dimensional and three-dimensional image data regarding possible internal damage or possible defects in various structural materials. Position of the sensors typically is tracked by positional encoders mounted on robotic arms or X-Y-Z bridges, thereby resulting in substantially manual NDI processes. As sizes of parts to be inspected increase, improvements may be made in terms of cost, speed of inspection, versatility, and interchangeability.
The foregoing examples of related art and limitations associated therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

System and method for automated inspection of large-scale part


An impact drill minimizing transmission of vibration to a handle gripped by a user's hand. A spindle extends through a main frame and is movable in its axial direction and rotatable about its axis. A first ratchet is rotatable and axially movable together with the spindle. A second ratchet is axially movable but unrotatable. In an impact drilling mode, the first ratchet is brought into abutment with the second ratchet so that the spindle is reciprocally moved in the axial direction.

The present invention relates to an impact drill for boring a hole in a concrete, mortar and tiles, and more particularly, to such impact drill providing a drilling mode in which a boring is performed by rotating a drill bit and a impact drilling mode in which boring is performed by rotating and impacting or vibrating the drill bit.
A conventional impact drill of this type is shown in FIGS. 15 through 18. A main frame 401 includes a gear cover 417, an inner cover 418, an outer cover 419, a housing 407, and a handle portion 406 connected thereto, those defining an outer configuration of the drill and housing therein various components at given positions. A spindle 402 extends through the gear cover 417, and a drill chuck 3 is attached to a front end of the spindle 402. The spindle 402 has an intermediate portion provided with a rotatable ratchet 404 rotatable together with the rotation of the spindle 402 and movable together with an axial displacement of the spindle 402. The rotatable ratchet 404 has one side 404a formed with a serration or alternating projections and recesses.
A fixed ratchet 405 is disposed in confrontation with the rotatable ratchet 404, and has a side 405a formed with a serration or alternating projections and recesses. The fixed ratchet 405 has a hollow cylindrical shape and is fixed at a position regardless of the rotation and axial displacement of the spindle 402.
Meanwhile, a motor 408 is disposed within the housing 407. The rotational driving force of the motor 408 is transmitted through a rotary shaft 409 to a gear 410. The gear 410 is force-fitted into a pinion 411, so the aforementioned rotational driving force is transferred to the pinion 411. The pinion 411 has two pinions 411a and 411b those having numbers of teeth different from each other and which are meshedly engaged with a low speed gear 412 and a high speed gear 413, respectively. When the pinion 411 rotates, the gears 412 and 413 rotate as well. These gears 412 and 413 are formed with concave portions.
A clutch disc 414 is disposed over and engages the spindle 402, and is slidable in an axial direction thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, when the clutch disc 414 is slidingly moved and pressed into the concave portion of the low speed gear 412, the rotation of the pinion 411 is transferred to the spindle 402 through the low speed gear 412 and the clutch disc 414. On the other hand, if the clutch disc 414 slides rightward from the position in FIG. 15, and when inserted into the concave portion of the high speed gear 413, the rotation of the pinion 411 is transferred to the spindle 402 through the high speed gear 413 and the clutch disc 414. Consequently, the spindle 402 can be given low-speed rotation or high-speed rotation based on the movement of the clutch disc 414.
A change lever 415 is provided for changing operation mode of the impact drill between a drilling mode and an impact drilling mode. A change shaft 416 is force-fitted into the change lever 415. By rotating the change lever 415 about its rotation axis, the change shaft 416 is rotated about its axis along with the change lever 415. As shown in FIGS. 16 through 18, the change shaft 416 is formed with a notch 416a. The impact drill operates in drilling mode when the notch 416a is in the position in FIG. 16, and operates in impact drilling mode when the notch 416a is in the position in FIG. 17.
Drilling mode will be described. If the bit (not shown) attached to the drill chuck 403 is brought into contact with a workpiece (not shown), and the handle 406 is pressed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 15, and if the notch 416a in the change shaft 416 is in the position shown in FIG. 16, an internal end of the spindle 402 will abut against the outer peripheral surface of the change shaft 416 and will not be able to move rightward any more. As a result, the contoured serrated surface 404a of the rotation ratchet 404 and the contoured serrated surface 405a of the fixed ratchet 405 will not come into contact. Consequently, the rotational driving force of the motor 408 is transferred through the low speed gear 412 or the high speed gear 413 to the spindle 402, and only the rotational force is imparted to the bit.
In case of the impact drilling mode, the change lever 415 is rotated about its axis so as to displace the position of the notch 416a in the change shaft 416 to the position shown in FIG. 17. In this state, if the bit attached to the drill chuck 403 is brought into contact with the workpiece, and if the handle 406 is pressed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 15, the inner end of the spindle 402 will enter the notch 416a as shown in FIG. 18. In other words, since the spindle 402 can be moved rightward slightly, the contoured surface 404a of the rotation ratchet 404 resultantly comes into contact with the contoured surface 405a of the fixed ratchet 405.
When drilling into the workpiece, if the spindle 402 is rotated in the state shown in FIG. 18, the rotatable ratchet 404 engages the fixed ratchet 405, so that vibration is generated by the pressure contact between the alternating projections and recesses of the serrated surfaces 404a, 405a of both of the ratchets 404 and 405, and this vibration is transmitted through the spindle 202 to the bit (not shown). In other words, rotational force and vibration are imparted to the bit, and drilling is performed by the combined rotational force and the vibration force.
However, when the vibration drill described above is operated in the impact drilling mode, the vibration is transferred not only to the bit, but also to the handle 406 by way of the fixed ratchet 405, the inner cover 418 and the housing 407. This leads to the problem that a large amount of vibration is passed to users of the impact drill, thus causing discomfort. In particular, if the impact drill is used continuously for long periods of time, caution must be exercised such that there are no adverse effects on the health of users.
Several proposals have been made for mechanisms to reduce the vibration passed to the users. For example, according to laid open Japanese utility model application publication No. S59-9808, as shown in FIG. 19, a spindle 520 is rotatably and axially movably supported to a housing through a bearing 511. A rotation cam 521 is fixed to the spindle 520, so that the rotation cam 521 is rotated together with the rotation of the spindle 520 and movable together with the spindle 520. A serrated contour is formed on a cam surface 521a of the rotation cam 521.
A clutch cam 522 is supported on a spindle 520 and is slidably movable in the axial direction of the spindle 520. The clutch cam 522 includes a hollow cylindrical section slidable with respect to the spindle 520, and a flange section 522b. A serrated contour is formed on a cam surface 522c of the flange section 522b. Further, a regulation slot 522a is formed at an outer peripheral surface at a position near a rear end portion 522d of the hollow cylindrical section. A plate 524 extending perpendicular to the spindle 520 is engaged with the regulation slot 522a. A spring 523 is interposed between the flange section 522b and the plate 524.
The spring 523 continuously urges the clutch cam 522 toward the rotation cam 521, and the cam surfaces 521a and 522c are pressed together when the spindle 520 is retracted into the housing. Then, when the force applied to the spindle 520 surpasses the biasing force of the spring 523, the spring 523 is compressed and the clutch cam 522 retracts (moves rightward in FIG. 19). However, the displacement of the clutch cam 522 is limited within a length of the slot 522a. When the clutch cam 522 moves forward from the retracted position by the biasing force of the spring 523, the clutch cam 522 strikes against the rotation cam 521, and the rotation cam 521 vibrates along with the spindle 520.
Since the vibration arising from the contact between the cam surfaces 521a and 522c is alleviated by the spring 523 before being transmitted to a handle (not shown), the mechanism shown in FIG. 19 is advantageous in reducing the transmission of vibration to the user in comparison with the mechanism shown in FIG. 15 where the ratchet 405 is placed in a fixed position.


A method is provided for downloading and running a non-native application designed for a source operating system (OS) on a target device having a target OS, the method includes: connecting the target device to a source device having the application in a paring operation; transferring a shareable provisional profile containing characteristics related to the application, including information on the source OS needed to run the application from the source device to the target device; and obtaining the source OS on the target device. Once the source OS is present on the target device, the method downloads the application from the source device to the target device, executes the source OS as a virtual machine on the target device, and runs the application within the source OS virtual machine.

A computing platform generally includes some form of hardware architecture and a software framework (including application frameworks). This combination allows the software to run on the hardware. Typical platforms include a computers hardware and low-level software architecture, its operating system (OS), and related user interfaces (run-time system libraries or graphical user interface). Software is developed for these platforms in a software development environment using programming languages that can make use of extensive libraries and development tools, such as debuggers, etc.
Various known platforms include hardware architecture, such as the Intel x86 processors, Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) architecture, etc. They also make use of different operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Chrome OS, Meego OS, Android, iOS, Web OS, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Embedded Linux, etc. The computing platform is not limited to a particular software framework.
The operating system typically provides an interface between applications and the underlying hardware of the computing device, and provides security, control, access, and sharing of the hardware, including input/output elements and a user interface. However, applications are generally designed to run within the context of a particular operating system, and a user chooses an application to purchase that is specific to the operating system running on the user's device.
In some instances, it is desirable to run an application designed for one operating system on a processor/device using another operating system, and even to run applications designed for different operating systems on a common device simultaneously. This might be the case when, for example, an application exists that has been developed for a first OS and not a second OS. A user having a device running the second OS may wish to run the application on his device with the second OS.
To address this issue, virtualization technology has been developed. Virtualization technology allows one or more virtual machines (VM(s)) (a "machine" which is completely implemented in software) to run concurrently on a single physical hardware element. The software or firmware that creates a virtual machine on the host hardware is called a hypervisor (also known as a Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)). There are different types of virtualizations: full, partial, and para.
The hypervisor provides a software virtualization environment in which other software, including operating systems, can run with the appearance of full access to the underlying system hardware, but where, in fact, such access is under the complete control of the hypervisor. The software running in such a hypervisor managed environment is said to be executing within a VM. Multiple VMs may be managed simultaneously by the hypervisor. Hypervisors are generally classified as Type 1 or Type 2 (FIG. 7), depending on whether the hypervisor is running in supervisor mode or privileged mode directly on top of the hardware itself (Type 1) or is itself hosted by a native operating system of the device (Type 2).
An embedded hypervisor is a Type 1 hypervisor that supports the requirements of embedded systems development and is designed into the embedded device from the outset, rather than loaded subsequent to device deployment. The requirements for a hypervisor architecture suitable for embedded applications is quite distinct from hypervisors aimed at enterprise applications, which have a fundamentally different set of requirements. The requirements for the embedded applications hypervisor architecture are summarized as follows:
A small, fast Type 1 hypervisor with support for multiple VMs;
Support for a relatively simple but secure encapsulation of a moderately complex subsystem components that interact strongly;
High-bandwidth, low-latency communication between system components, subject to a configurable, system-wide security policy;
Minimal impact on system resources & real-time performance; and
An ability to implement a scheduling policy between VMs and provide support for real-time system components.
A further development in the art is that multi-core devices are becoming more and more common. A multi-core device is a device that uses a single physical processor (designed on a single chip) that combines two or more complete execution cores. Advantageously, since each execution core has its own cache, many computational tasks can be performed in parallel. Currently, multi-core host architectures exist in servers, desktop PCs, and notebooks. However, new consumer devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and embedded devices such as set-top boxes and home gateways are also beginning to migrate to a multi-core architecture.

System and method for cross-platform application execution and display


A bumper reinforcement for a vehicle includes a front wall portion, a rear wall portion, a pair of vertically spaced connecting walls interposed between the front wall portion and the rear wall portion for establishing rigid connections therebetween, and a tow hook attachment member including a hollow body and at least one flange, the hollow body being penetrated through the front and rear wall portions, and the at least one flange being formed integrally with the hollow body to extend along an external surface of the rear wall portion, and secured to the external surface of the rear wall portion.

Attachment of a tow hook to a bumper reinforcement for a vehicle, in order to tow a vehicle and to bind a vehicle to a ship, is known. Japanese Patent No. 3328237 describes an example of attaching a tow hook to a bumper reinforcement.
According to the construction described in Japanese Patent No. 3328237, an attachment metal plate, which is configured to be long from side to side and has a nut portion, is bolted to a back surface of a front wall portion of a bumper reinforcement. A tow hook is screwed at the nut portion via an access hole on the front wall portion.
With the construction described in Japanese Patent No. 3328237, the tow hook is screwed onto the nut portion of the attachment metal plate via an attachment hole on the front wall portion of the bumper reinforcement in order to support a load at the front wall portion when a force in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle is applied to the tow hook. Thus, the front wall portion of the bumper reinforcement to which the attachment metal plate is bolted is configured to be thick in order to bear the load. This requirement leads to an increase in the weight of the bumper reinforcement, and is also not desirable in terms of fuel consumption.
A need thus exists for a bumper reinforcement for vehicle, which bears a load with a compact configuration.
Present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides.


An electrode for lithium ion batteries, the electrode having a metal film which is inert to lithium ions and having a plurality of silicon nanowires protruding from the film, which are arranged on at least one flat side of the film, wherein sections of the nanowires are enclosed by the metal film.

The performance of a rechargeable lithium ion battery (secondary battery or accumulator; these terms are used here as synonyms as is usual in the art, and hereinafter the term "battery" will often be used as an abbreviation) is measured as stored energy per mass (unit: mAhr/g) and depends on various factors.
It is a decisive parameter how much lithium can be intercalated into the two electrodes, anode and cathode, per gram of electrode mass. Other factors are the shelf life (lifetime of a non-loaded battery), the extent of self-discharge, the rate of recharging and the cycleability, i.e. no change in the charging capacity between repeated charging and discharging cycles should occur if possible. Last but not least, the manufacturing cost and consequently the price-performance ratio are to be kept within the scope of marketability.
Today's commercially available lithium ion batteries have to be still improved considerably in terms of their performance and price-performance ratio before a large-scale use in the field of energy becomes possible. Huge rising markets which generally require a considerably improved energy storage technology are e.g. accumulators for the "electric car" or for energy storage associated with alternative power generation.
WO 2007/027197 A2 deals with the problem to improve the cycleability of lithium ion batteries and proposes for this purpose a cathode comprising nanowires made of a lithium cobalt oxide, which stand upright on a metal film (formed of titanium and platinum here). The nanowires are formed by electrodeposition in pores of a porous aluminum oxide layer which is deposited especially as a template on the metal film. The template is then completely removed by etching with NaOH or KOH. On the metal film, a plurality of isolated upright nanowires (also referred to as "nanorods") remains, which have defined diameters and distances from each other. In other words, a nanorod array has been formed on the metal film.
The method of WO 2007/027197 A2 includes a number of depositing and patterning steps following the formation of the metal film, making the method very time-consuming and expensive. The nanowires are produced during the process and adhere directly on the metal film with one of their ends.
For the anode of a lithium ion battery, the paper by Chan et al. ("High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires" Nature Nanotechnology 3, 31 (2008)) proposes that silicon nanowires should be arranged in an upright manner on a metal film (charge collector). It has been known for a long time that silicon, under formation of silicon-lithium compounds, can intercalate about 11 times more lithium per gram of silicon than a technically common graphite electrode. The capacitance of this anode exceeds 4000 mAhr/g which is even larger than that of metallic lithium. However, previous experiments for the use of silicon anodes have failed, because practically no cycleability was achieved. The reason for the extremely poor cycleability of silicon is its volume expansion involved in the intercalation of lithium by a factor of 4. The stresses occurring in this case are so large that the material is really powdered (degraded).
The paper by Chan et al indicates the fundamental solution to the problem: silicon nanowires are grown on e.g. a steel substrate by well-known techniques (here: liquid-vapor-solid method; LVS). The nanowires are flexible and can double their diameter without breaking. Nanopatterning of silicon increases the surface for receiving lithium ions, on the one hand, and makes place for preventing the above-mentioned stresses, on the other.
However, the anode of Chan et al is not yet ready for large-scale production. This is, above all, due to the manufacturing process which is complicated and expensive. The growth of the silicon nanowires by LVS methods requires gold particles as nucleation sites which remain on the tips of the nanowires. The nanowires themselves are saturated with gold, making the production of thicker wires or on larger areas very costly. In addition, the nanowires obtained are not homogeneous. There are thick and thin, long and short, upright and bent nanowires and nanowires securely attached to the substrate and nanowires detaching from it.
Silicon nanowires which are not contacted with the metal film are particularly undesirable in large-scale manufacture. They do not contribute anything to the ampere-hour capacity of the battery, but when the battery is charged for the first time, they absorb lithium ions which cannot be extracted (irreversible capacity). And of course, they also are saturated with gold in the method by Chan et al.
In particular the cycleability of the silicon-nanowire anode according to Chan et al is not too good as recent results reveal (ECS Conference, San Francisco, May 2009). The electrical connection degrades with the number of charging and discharging cycles. The volume expansion of silicon seems to result at least in stresses in the area of the contact point on the metal film where the silicon nanowires adhere. Chan et al write the following about their nanowires: "They also appeared to remain in contact with the current collector, suggesting minimal capacity fade due to electrically disconnected material during cycling." (Nature Nanotechnology 3, 31 (2008)). This implies that nanowires detach during the cycles at least in a small number. However, an optimum electrical connection requires that each nanowire is connected to, and above all is kept connected to, the current-collecting electrode at a low resistance.
Silicon-nanorod arrays are known in the state of the art also from a completely different technical field, that is, electrochemical pore etching in semiconductor wafers.
It is, for example, apparent from the paper by van Katz et al ("Synthesis of Monodisperse High-Aspect-Ratio Colloidal Silicon and Silica Rods", Langmuir 2004, 20, 11201-11207), that the pore diameter of p-type silicon can be varied by changing the etching current. From given current intensities, the pores begin to overlap (overetching the pores), i.e. the pore space generated is connected throughout the etched region of the wafer. Only remains of the original pore walls are left and these protrude from the wafer as isolated rods. Van Katz et al then break off the nanorods by rinsing with water or ethanol.
Noteworthy here is the contrast to the nanorods from the paper by Chan et al: Due to the homogeneity of the etching process, all rods are practically the same in terms of length, diameter and even cross-sectional shape. They are made of pure silicon (without any additions such as gold or the like) and are also identical in terms of their material structure, as they are formed from the same wafer.
However, the silicon wafer provided with nanorods by etching is not suited as an anode of a lithium ion battery, as lithium ions would also penetrate into the wafer and would degrade it, which would result in the detachment of all nanowires. In addition, silicon itself is not a good conductor and hence the wafer is not a good charge collector.


A system for transmitting and receiving spread-spectrum communications without having to synchronize the incoming spread-spectrum code at a receiver with a copy of the spreading sequence. A spreading signal itself is modulated with an information signal. Consequently, the various demodulation techniques available to the receiver enable the transmission of unmodified analog as well as digital data. The receiver first removes the carrier wave component, and then the spreading signal from the information stream without costly and complex synchronization of the spreading signals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to spread-spectrum communications, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for encoding information to be transmitted in a manner which eliminates having to synchronize the received signal using a clock-recovery circuit, consequently simplifying the implementation of spread-spectrum communications.
2. State of the art
The Federal Communications Commission opened the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency bands for use by unlicensed spread-spectrum users. This action resulted in the creation of a large market in spread-spectrum communications. However, the greatest obstacle in using these frequency bands is the cost. Present technology transceivers tend to be expensive, which inhibits the use of spread-spectrum technology.
Spread-spectrum communication is an effective method of transmitting and receiving coded information which is more resistant to interference than an unencoded information stream itself. This resistance to interference is the result of the large bandwidth over which the information stream is spread, and the requirement that both the transmitter and the receiver have the same spreading code (a predetermined, fixed pattern) or signal used to spread the information over the larger bandwidth. It is essential to the operation of present spread-spectrum communication systems that the receiver be synchronized to the incoming spreading code embedded with the spread-spectrum signal. The spreading code typically contains no information itself, but rather is used to transform the information stream into a signal which is spread over a spectrum of frequencies after being modulated onto a carrier signal.
Traditional direct-sequence spread-spectrum communication is a method for transmitting digital information over a channel (transmission medium) such as air which may be subject to interfering signals. FIG. 1A is a block diagram of this traditional digital spread-spectrum transmission system 10. The information stream 12 is an input to a first combining circuit 14 which also receives as an input a radio carrier signal 16. The first circuit 14 combines the signals 14, 16 and creates a new carrier signal 18 which is transmitted to a second combining circuit 20. The new information modulated carrier signal 18 is further modulated with a spreading signal 22 in second circuit 20 which creates a new spread-spectrum signal 24 which is then transmitted by an antenna to a receiver.
The second circuit 20 creates a direct-sequence spread-spectrum signal 24 from the digital information stream 12 by superimposing a new digital sequence 22 (the spreading sequence), having a much higher clock rate, upon the information modulated carrier signal 18. The spreading sequence 22 typically consists of a fixed pattern of logic high and low values and is known to both the transmitter 10 and the receiver (not yet shown). In radio systems, the spreading signal 22 is superimposed upon the information modulated carrier signal 18 using standard digital modulation techniques in second circuit 20 as known to those skilled in the art, most commonly phase-shift keying.
Although the most common spread-spectrum transmission method is modulating information onto a carrier, and then multiplying the carrier with a wide-band spreading code as described above, it should not be surprising that the process can also be reversed. That is, it is also possible to modulate a digital information stream 12 with a spreading code 22, and then modulate the spread signal 26 onto a carrier 16 for transmission as a spread-spectrum signal 24. This method is shown in FIG. 1B Using either method, however, it is the demodulation process which is the most complex process, and consequently the most expensive.
Before illustrating the demodulation process, FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are provided to show illustrative waveforms found at various stages of the spread-spectrum transmitting system 10 using the method of FIG. 1B. Digital information in a data stream consists of a sequence of logic high and logic low values described for convenience by +1 and -1 values as shown in FIG. 2A. The digital information stream is represented by line 12 as it appears at the input of modulating circuit 14.
FIG. 2B shows a representative spreading signal 16. As indicated, the frequency of the spreading signal 16 is much higher relative to the information stream 12. The resulting spread signal 18 is shown in FIG. 2C. After being superimposed upon the carrier signal 20, the spread-spectrum information carrier signal 24 (not shown) is transmitted by an antenna.
Thus far, the background has only addressed generating a digital spread-spectrum signal 24, a relatively straight-forward process. In contrast, the process for receiving and demodulating the spread-spectrum signal 24 by a receiver 30 is relatively complex. The process is illustrated as a block diagram in FIG. 3. It should be remembered, however, that the spread-spectrum demodulator of FIG. 3 works with either modulating process as shown in FIGS. 1A or 1B.
FIG. 3 shows that the first step of the demodulation process is to recover the carrier by eliminating it from the received signal 28 using a carrier recovery circuit 32. This process is accomplished, for example, by execution of a coherent radio down-conversion. This is a process in which the frequency and the phase of the radio carrier (16, FIG. 1B) are estimated and then removed from the received signal 28. This down-conversion is usually implemented, for example, using a phase-locked loop or equivalent circuit 32. The signal now consists of the spread signal 18 as it existed prior to being superimposed upon a carrier 16.
The second step consists of removing the spreading signal 22 (or code) from the recovered spread signal 18 to obtain the original information stream 12. This is accomplished in a clock recovery circuit 36 by multiplying the RF demodulated signal by an exact replica of the spreading code 22. Unavoidably, the receiver 30 must have stored in a memory the same spreading code 22 being used by the transmitter 10.
One distinct drawback of the state of the art is that the clock recovery circuit 36 requires that the spreading signal replica 34 must first be aligned with the received signal 28 before extracting the information stream 12. This alignment or synchronization process is typically accomplished in the clock-recovery circuit 36. After synchronization and demodulation, the end result is the recovery of the original information stream 12. Synchronization and the use of a clock recovery circuit 36 is very undesirable because the circuitry 36 is complex, power consuming, and increases the overall cost of a receiver 30.
It should be observed that in this traditional spread-spectrum system, almost all of the receiver circuitry is found in the RF demodulating (carrier recovery circuit 32) and spreading code clock recovery circuit 36.
It would therefore be an advantage over the state of the art to provide a spread-spectrum communication system which is synchronization free. In other words, it would be an advantage to eliminate the need to align a received signal with a replica of the spreading code stored in the receiver, and thereby eliminate the receiver's clock synchronization circuitry.
A further advantage would be the implementation of a spread-spectrum system which could directly transmit analog information, instead of having to first digitize the analog information stream.


A rapid mounting hallow wall anchor comprises a cleat with latching tooth and hanging flange, and a T-shaped anchor structure with latching cogs on its stem. The cleat comprises a tube with a flange near or at one end of the tube. There are latching teeth inside of the tube for engaging the latching cogs on the stem. The tube flange can be made to have a groove or hook on where objects can be hung. A cross bar joins one end of the stem with a cross bar hinge. The cross bar hinge allows the cross bar to be bended for insertion into a drilled hole in a plasterboard of a hallow wall.

A hollow wall, or cavity wall, is a wall formed of two thicknesses of masonry with a space between them. A hollow wall is commonly used in a building interior for permanent room partitions and ceilings. Such indoor hollow walls are often built of plasterboards or drywalls. Hollow walls made of plasterboards are relatively inexpensive and could provide excellent insulation when installed with insulation materials in their cavities. However, to hang something on a hollow wall, the use of specially designed hollow wall anchors are preferable as conventional nails, hooks, and studs could easily damage it.
There are numerous commercially available hollow wall anchors in the market. However, to the knowledge of the inventor, all of them are devised with screw fastening structures, which require substantial amount of labor and time in their installation.


A new variety of hybrid tea rose plant producing light apricot flowers of good form and suitable for growing under glass.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of rose plant of the hybrid tea rose class which was created by crossing undistributed, unnamed and unpatented seedlings as seed and pollen parents in Quito, Ecuador. The varietal denomination of the new variety is `PANPAST`. The new variety was isolated and asexually reproduced by budding in Ecuador.


A method for testing a valuable document including illuminating the valuable document line by line such that a first group of lines is illuminated with light of a first wavelength and a second group of lines is illuminated with light of a second wavelength, reflection light that is reflected from the lines and/or transmission light that passes through the lines. First data are representative of the reflection light and/or transmission light assigned to the lines of the first group and second data are representative of the reflection light and/or transmission light assigned to the lines of the second group. Further, processing the first data such that a first image generated from the first data has a first resolution, and the second data such that a further image generated from the second data has a second resolution, comparing the first and second images with first and further reference images.

It is known to test a valuable document, for example a banknote, a cheque, an identity card, a passport, a ticket or a share document, for various reasons. By way of example, it may be necessary to test that the valuable document is genuine. A device for testing the valuable document can for example be integrated in an automated teller machine or be a standalone device that can be used for example in a bank or in a business. Besides testing the authenticity of the valuable document, it may be necessary to test the state of the valuable document. This is also called a "fitness test". The fitness test involves for example checking the extent to which the valuable document is contaminated and/or damaged.
Both for testing the authenticity and for testing the fitness of the valuable document it is known to illuminate the valuable document alternately with light of different colours and to detect the light reflected from the valuable document and/or the light transmitted through the valuable document. The image recorded from the valuable document in this way can then be compared with one or more corresponding reference images. This comparison involves comparing in particular special authenticity features and/or fitness features of the valuable document with the corresponding authenticity features and/or fitness features of the reference image. What is problematic here is that for the comparison of specific authenticity features and/or fitness features, the image of the valuable document should have a high resolution and a correspondingly large amount of storage space has to be kept available for the image. An additional factor is that in general a plurality of authenticity features and/or fitness features have to be tested per valuable document and that the demand for storage space is multiplied as a result. Moreover, a high computing power is required for processing the high-resolution image(s) and for the comparison with the reference image(s). Therefore, conventional methods and devices for testing a valuable document are very complex.

Method and device for checking a value document


A mobile computing device is infected by malware which blocks access to the infected device by an authorized user. A download and installation request is generated from another device and sent to a third-party service via the internet to allow a first instance of a mobile device security application to be downloaded and installed on the infected device. A second instance of the same mobile device security application is also downloaded and installed on a clean device, with the first and second instances of the mobile device security application being covered under a single license. An instruction is generated on the mobile device security application on the clean device and transmitted to the infected device. Based on the received instruction, the mobile device security app is initiated and at least one access setting is modified on the infected device to enable user access.

Mobile device users and businesses face a growing threat to security and privacy on the internet, from computer viruses and other forms of malware. Ransomware, a malware species, may operate by gaining control of a device and denying authorized users access to their data. The ransomware then demands payment of a ransom (typically using cryptocurrency) in order to regain access to the data.
Some ransomware also resets passcodes or other authentication information for the infected computing devices, which make the computing devices inaccessible even in a safe mode. Conventionally, if no anti-malware solution was installed on such a computing device before the infection, the only recovery mechanism that remains is the factory reset.
It would be desirable to address these issues.

Using security app injection and multi-device licensing to recover device facing denial of access caused by malware infection


Disclosed are apparatus and method for controlling an electric oven, capable of operating heaters in an optimized state by changing a heater-on time of the heater in an operation interval of the heater which is periodically turned on/off.

Generally, an electric oven is a utensil for keeping a temperature in a cavity suitably by heating of a heating wire. In particular, a plurality of heaters are prepared at upper, lower and side surfaces in the cavity so that the inside of the cavity may be three-dimensionally heated. Furthermore, a magnetron may be additionally installed to one side of the inner circumference of the cavity so that foods are cooked by electronic waves generated by the magnetron.
In the electric oven, the most important thing is to keep a temperature in the cavity at a desired level. In order to keep a suitable temperature in the cavity as mentioned above, a plurality of heaters are generally repeatedly turned on and off. For example, if a current temperature in the cavity is not higher than a set temperature, the heaters are turned on/off at a set interval so that the inside of the cavity is heated up to the set temperature. On the while, if a current temperature is higher than the set temperature, the heaters are turned off, not to give heat into the cavity.
However, since the conventional heat controlling method controls the oven by turning off the heaters if a temperature in the cavity is high, but turning on/off the heaters at a set interval if the temperature in the cavity is low, there may be caused local overheating. In addition, since the electricity is instantly turned on/off, a breaker switch may be turned off.
Moreover, since the heaters are operated at a predetermined fixed period, it is impossible to accurately satisfy an optimal operating condition suitable for various circumstances. In more detail, as an example, if a temperature in the cavity is approaching a set temperature, a heater with small heating capacity is generally operated, but even in this case, the heating capacity should be controlled in consideration of an amount of the foods received in the cavity. However, since the heaters operated at a given interval, the temperature in the cavity may be continuously decreased due to their small capacity when a lot of foods are received in the cavity. On the while, if an amount of foods is small, the heater may be so frequently turned off, thereby probably causing a problem in the circuit of the electric oven or the domestic circuit breaker.

Controlling apparatus of an electric oven and controlling method of the same


Provided is a power storage device that enables a reduction in workload and work risk and thus allows a battery unit to be simply and safely removed from and attached to the power storage device.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 33, there is known a device comprising a plurality of battery units 170 each having input and output terminals 170a, bus bars 154 connecting between the battery units 170, and nuts 180 attached to the input and output terminals 170a and fixing the bus bars 154 to the battery units 170 (see, e.g. Patent Document 1).

Abstract: A power storage device (1) includes a plurality of battery unit receiving portions (70) for receiving battery units (100), a plurality of connectors (20) each floatable in the plane intersecting a direction (X) of insertion of the battery unit (100) into the battery unit receiving portion (70), an attaching object (80) to which the plurality of connectors (20) are attached, and connecting members (93) that connect between the plurality of connectors (20).

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


A new cultivar of Astrantia plant named, ‘Star of Love’, that is characterized by its strong, upright plant habit with well-branched inflorescences, its foliage that is healthy and dark green in color, its floriferous bloom habit, its inflorescences that are red-purple in color and produce high quality cut flowers, its re-blooming habit; blooming from May to June and again from August to October in The Netherlands.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Astrantia, botanically known as Astrantia major 'Star of Love', and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'Star of Love'. 'Star of Love' represents a new herbaceous perennial grown for landscape use and as a cut flower.
The new cultivar, 'Star of Love', was selected by the Inventor in May of 2010 as seedling growing in a trial plot in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. The trail plot had been planted from seed collected from an open-pollinated proprietary plant of Astrantia major plant (not patented) from the Inventors breeding program.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by division by the Inventor in April of 2011 in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. Asexual propagation by division has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


Sheets, such as business forms, are turned so that their orientation is changed from landscape to portrait mode, or vice versa. Simple apparatus effects sheet rotation, and includes a conveyance surface on which a sheet travels in a first direction, first and second rollers for engaging the sheet traveling on the conveyance surface, and first and second drives (e.g., D.C. stepper motors) for driving the first and second rollers independently of each other. A sensor senses the position of the sheet just downstream of the rollers, and a controller (computer)--in response to the sensor--controls the speed and direction of rotation of the motors so that one roller rotates with a given tangential speed in a first direction of rotation, while the other roller rotates at that same speed in an opposite direction of rotation.

There are many circumstances when it is desirable to change the orientation of a sheet when feeding it from one piece of equipment to the other. This is especially true in the handling of business forms, whether single-part or multi-part forms, when it is desirable to act upon the forms in portrait mode in one piece of equipment, and landscape in another piece of equipment. There have been numerous mechanisms developed in the prior art for effecting rotation of sheets to effect this purpose; however, such sheet rotating mechanisms typically are mechanically complex and/or require a large surface to effect turning.
According to the present invention, a method and apparatus are provided for effecting the rotation of sheets, such as business forms, from landscape to portrait mode, or vice versa, or any orientation therebetween, in a simple yet effective manner, and with a minimum amount of space required to effect rotation.
The simple apparatus according to the invention comprises a conveyance surface on which a sheet, having a first orientation, travels in a first direction; first and second rollers for engaging the sheet traveling on the conveyance surface; first and second drive means, such as reversible motors (preferably D.C. stepper motors) operatively driving the first and second rollers, respectively, independently of each other; sensing means for sensing the leading edge of a sheet having a first orientation, with respect to the rollers, located just downstream of the rollers in the first direction; and control means for controlling speed and direction of rotation of the drive means in response to the sensing means. The rollers are spaced from each other in a second direction, generally transverse to the first direction, and their spacing in the second direction is relatively small, much less than the dimensions of a sheet being rotated. The control means preferably comprises a computer means for controlling the drive means to effect rotation of the sheet by driving the first rollers so that the tangential velocity thereof is in the first direction, and at a first speed, and by driving the second roller so that the tangential velocity thereof is in a third direction, opposite the first direction, and at the same speed as the first roller.
Typically, nip wheels, mounted on spring biased arms, are associated with the first and second rollers to hold the sheet in contact therewith. Also, a hold-down strap may extend between the rollers for facilitating engagement of the sheet with the conveyance surface. A pair of conveyor belts--mounted outside of the first and second rollers--preferably are provided for conveying the sheet in the first direction to the first and second rollers, and away from the first and second rollers, conveyance in the first direction taking place the entire time the apparatus is being operated.
The invention also contemplates a method of reorienting a sheet using first and second drive means which rotate first and second rollers independently of each other. The method comprises the following steps: (a) feeding the sheet, with a first orientation, in a first direction to a location adjacent the first and second rollers, at which the rollers engage the sheet; (b) at the location adjacent the first and second rollers, sensing the leading edge of the sheet; and (c) in response to step (b), controlling the drive means, to in turn control the speed and direction of rotation of the rollers, so that the rollers rotate the sheet to a predetermined second orientation, significantly angularly displaced from the first orientation. The rollers are spaced apart in a second direction, generally transverse to the first direction, and step (c) is preferably practiced by controlling the first drive so that the tangential velocity of the first roller is in a third direction, opposite the first direction; and the speed of rotation of the rollers is the same, merely in opposite directions. Step (c) is preferably practiced to move the sheet through an angle of approximately 90.degree., and the sheet is continuously conveyed in the first direction during the practice of steps (a) and (c). The location at which sensing takes place in step (b) is less than one-half the dimension of the sheet in the first direction when it has its first orientation, and under the sheet during rotation.
The term "sheet" as used in the present specification and claims encompasses single-part or multi-part documents of all construction, including business forms, and sheets of paper, film, plastic, or the like that are typically transferred from one piece of handling equipment to another, especially in the business forms art.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a simple yet effective method and apparatus for effecting rotation of sheets during transport from one piece of equipment to the other, and with a minimum of turning space required. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.

Rotation of a document through a finite angle


Isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding a novel protein, NIP45, that interacts with members of the Nuclear Factor of Activated T cell (NF-AT) family of proteins, are disclosed. The invention further provides antisense nucleic acid molecules, recombinant expression vectors containing a nucleic acid molecule of the invention, host cells into which the expression vectors have been introduced and non-human transgenic animals carrying a NIP45 transgene. The invention further provides isolated NIP45 proteins and peptides, NIP45 fusion proteins and anti-NIP45 antibodies. Methods of using the NIP45 compositions of the invention are also disclosed, including methods for detecting NIP45 protein or mRNA in a biological sample, methods of modulating NIP45 activity in a cell, and methods for identifying agents that modulate an interaction between NIP45 and an NF-AT family protein.

CD4+ T helper cells are not a homogeneous population but can be divided on the basis of cytokine secretion into at least two subsets termed T helper type 1 (Th1) and T helper type 2 (Th2) (see e.g., Mosmann, T. R. et al. (1986) J. Immunol. 136:2348-2357; Paul, W. E. and Seder, R. A. (1994) Cell 76:241-251; Seder, R. A. and Paul, W. E. (1994) Ann. Rev. Immunol 12:635-673). Th1 cells secrete interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-.gamma. (IFN-.gamma.) while Th2 cells produce interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-5 (IL-5), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interleukin-13 (IL-13). Both subsets produce cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). In addition to their different pattern of cytokine expression, Th1 and Th2 cells are thought to have differing functional activities. For example, Th1 cells are involved in inducing delayed type hypersensitivity responses, whereas Th2 cells are involved in providing efficient "help" to B lymphocytes and stimulating production of IgG1 and IgE antibodies.
There is now abundant evidence that the ratio of Th1 to Th2 cells is highly relevant to the outcome of a wide array of immunologically-mediated clinical diseases including autoimmune, allergic and infectious diseases. For example, in experimental leishmania infections in mice, animals that are resistant to infection mount predominantly a Th1 response, whereas animals that are susceptible to progressive infection mount predominantly a Th2 response (Heinzel, F. P., et al. (1989) J. Exp. Med. 169:59-72; Locksley, R. M. and Scott, P. (1992) Immunoparasitology Today 1:A58-A61). In murine schistosomiasis, a Th1 to Th2 switch is observed coincident with the release of eggs into the tissues by female parasites and is associated with a worsening of the disease condition (Pearce, E. J., et al.(1991) J. Exp. Med. 173:159-166; Grzych,J-M., et al (1991) J. Immunol. 141:1322-1327; Kullberg, M. C., et al. (1992) J. Immunol. 148:3264-3270). Many human diseases, including chronic infections (such as with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis) and certain metastatic carcinomas, also are characterized by a Th1 to Th2 switch (see e.g., Shearer, G. M. and Clerici, M. (1992) Prog. Chem. Immunol. 54:21-43; Clerici, M and Shearer, G. M. (1993) Immunology Today 14:107-111; Yamamura, M., et al. (1993) J. Clin. Invest. 91:1005-1010; Pisa, P., et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:7708-7712; Fauci, A. S. (1988) Science 239:617-623). Furthermore, certain autoimmune diseases have been shown to be associated with a predominant Th1 response. For example, patients with rheumatoid arthritis have predominantly Th1 cells in synovial tissue (Simon, A. K., et al. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:8562-8566) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) can be induced by autoreactive Th1 cells (Kuchroo, V. K., et al. (1993) J. Immunol. 151:4371-4381).
The ability to alter or manipulate ratios of Th1 and Th2 subsets requires an understanding of the mechanisms by which the differentiation of CD4 T helper precursor cells (Thp), which secrete only IL-2, choose to become Th1 or Th2 effector cells. It is clear that the cytokines themselves are potent Th cell inducers and form an autoregulatory loop (see e.g., Paul, W. E. and Seder, R. A. (1994) Cell 76:241-251; Seder, R. A. and Paul, W. E. (1994) Ann. Rev. Immunol. 12:635-673). Thus, IL-4 promotes the differentiation of Th2 cells while preventing the differentiation of precursors into Th1 cells, while IL-12 and IFN-.gamma. have the opposite effect. One possible means therefore to alter Th1:Th2 ratios is to increase or decrease the level of selected cytokines. Direct administration of cytokines or antibodies to cytokines has been shown to have an effect on certain diseases mediated by either Th1 or Th2 cells. For example, administration of recombinant IL-4 or antibodies to IL-12 ameliorate EAE, a Th1-driven autoimmune disease (see Racke; M. K. et al. (1994) J. Exp. Med 180:1961-1966; and Leonard, J. P. et al. (1995) J. Exp. Med. 181:381-386), while anti-IL-4 antibodies cure the Th2-mediated parasitic disease, Leishmania major (Sadick, M. D. et al. (1990) J. Exp. Med. 171:115-127). However, as therapeutic options, systemic administration of cytokines or antibodies may have unwanted side effects and, accordingly, alternative approaches to manipulating Th1/Th2 subsets are still needed.
While the molecular basis for the tissue-specific expression of T cell cytokines has remained elusive, study of the transcriptional elements of cytokine genes has provided insight into their regulation. Analysis of the IL-4 cytokine promoter, for example, has revealed functionally critical sites for several transcription factors including members of the NF-AT and AP-1 families (Rooney, J. W. et al. (1995) Immunity 2:473-483; Szabo, S. J. et al. (1993) Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:4793-4805). NF-AT is a multisubunit transcription complex that contains a cyclosporin A sensitive cytoplasmic phosphoprotein and an inducible nuclear component composed of AP-1 family member proteins (Flanagan, W. M. et al. ((1991) Nature 352:803-807; Jain, J. et al. (1992) Nature 356:801-804). Purification and cloning of NF-ATp revealed a region of limited sequence identity to the Rel Homology Domain (RHD) of the NF.kappa.B family of transcription factors (McCaffrey, P. G. et al. (1993) Science 262:750-754). Subsequent cloning and sequencing of three related genes, NF-ATc, NF-AT4/x/c3, and NF-AT3/c4 revealed similar domains. NF-AT family members share approximately 70% sequence similarity within this domain and approximately 18% sequence similarity to the RHD of the Rel/NF.kappa.B family of transcription factors. Consistent with their very limited sequence similarity in the RHD, there are marked differences in the behavior of NF.kappa.B and NF-AT proteins, and much less is known about the pathways that mediate transcriptional regulation of NF-AT target genes. However, considering that NF-AT family members can bind to and transactivate the promoters of multiple cytokine genes including IL-2 and IL-4 (Rooney, J. et al. (1995) Immunity 2:545-553; Szabo, S. J. et al. (1993) Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:4793-4805; Flanagan, W. M. et al. (1991) Nature 352:803-807; Northrop, J. P. et al. (1994) Nature 369:497), NF-AT proteins are not likely to be directly responsible for mediating Th1- or Th2-specific cytokine transcription.
Most, if not all, NF-AT binding sites in cytokine promoter regulatory regions are accompanied by nearby sites that bind auxiliary transcription factors, usually members of the AP-1 family. It has been shown that NF-AT and AP-1 proteins bind coordinately and cooperatively and are required for full activity of the IL-2 and IL-4 promoters. Different AP-1 proteins, specifically c-Jun, c-Fos, Fra-1, Fra-2, Jun B and Jun D, have been shown to bind to these sites (Rao, A. et al. (1994) Immunol. Today 15:274-281; Jain, J. et al. (1993) Nature 365:352-355; Boise, L. H. et al. (1993) Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:1911-1919; Rooney, J. et al. (1995) Immunity 2:545-553; Rooney, J. et al. (1995) Mol. Cell Biol. 15:6299-6310). However, none of these AP-1 proteins is expressed in a Th1- or Th2-specific manner and there is no evidence for the differential recruitment of AP-1 family members to the IL-2 or IL-4 composite sites (Rooney, J. et al. (1995) Mol. Cell. Biol. 15:6299-63 10). Thus, neither NF-AT proteins nor the AP-1 family members c-Jun, c-Fos, Fra-1, Fra-2, Jun B and Jun D can account for the tissue-specific transcription of IL-4 in Th2 cells.
In the related co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 08/636,602, we have provided evidence that the selective expression of the proto-oncogene c-maf in Th2 cells is responsible for tissue-specific IL-4 expression. Interestingly, c-Maf acts in synergy with NF-AT proteins to transactivate the IL-4 promoter. This is consistent with previous data that the inducible expression of multiple cytokine genes and cell surface proteins following T cell receptor stimulation requires members of the NF-AT transcription factor family (Rooney, J. W. et a. (1995) Immunity 2:473-483; Cockerill, P. N. et al (1995) Mol Cell. Biol 15:2071-2079; Goldfeld, A. E. et al. (1993) J. Exp. Med 178:1365-1379; Shaw, J. P. et al. (1988) Science 241:202-205). However, it was unknown, prior to the present invention, whether additional proteins exist that act in concert with known transcriptional activators, such as NF-AT and c-Maf, to activate cytokine gene expression.

NF-AT-interacting protein NIP45 and methods of use therefor

President and Fellows of Harvard College


A nutritional composition for promoting musculoskeletal health in patients with inflammatory bowel disease is disclosed. The nutritional composition comprises casein protein, vitamin K in a ratio of vitamin K1:vitamin K2 being between 3:1 to 1:3 and the vitamin K providing between 3.5-20 μg/100 kcal of the nutritional composition, vitamin D and alpha-linolenic acid. A pharmaceutical formulation, a nutritional formulation, a tube-feed formulation, a dietary supplement, a functional food, a beverage product or a combination thereof comprising the nutritional composition is also disclosed. A method for improving musculoskeletal health is also disclosed.

Inflammatory bowel disease refers to a group of diseases that involves an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Crohn's disease is an example of an inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn's disease can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus.
An exact cause of Crohn's disease is unknown. Crohn's disease is believed to be caused by a combination of genetic, non-genetic or environmental factors (e.g. infections) that interact with the body's immune system and this affects the gastrointestinal tract.
Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the healthy tissue of the gastrointestinal tract. The signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease involve chronic recurring periods of flare-ups and remission.
Crohn's disease can result in gastrointestinal, extra-intestinal and systemic complications. Gastrointestinal complications can include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever and rectal bleeding. Extra-intestinal complications include problems with the eyes, bones, skin abnormalities and blood abnormalities. Furthermore extra-intestinal complications of Crohn's disease leads to reduced bone density causing osteoporosis or increased bone softening causing osteomalacia. Systemic complications associated with Crohn's disease include growth retardation in children, weight loss due to decreased food intake and malabsorption of carbohydrates or lipids which further exacerbate weight loss.
There is no single cure for Crohn's disease. Where remission of Crohn's disease is possible, relapse can be prevented and symptoms controlled with medication, lifestyle changes, intervention with nutritional compositions and in some cases surgery.
Treatment of Crohn's disease is only possible when the symptoms are active. Treatment of Crohn's disease usually involves first treating the acute problem and then maintaining remission.
There is a need to provide a nutritional composition that can correct metabolic changes in patients with Crohn's disease and prevent and correct Crohn's disease associated alterations in patients with Crohn's disease.
There is a need to be able to monitor patients with Crohn's disease to be able to predict a likelihood of a relapse and remission of the effects of Crohn's disease prior to its occurrence during the remission period. The monitoring of patients with Crohn's disease in this manner is achieved with so called biomarkers. Biomarkers allow a possibility of an early nutritional intervention to maintain a state of remission. Thus, it is desirable to identify biomarkers in patients with Crohn's disease which can be used a diagnostic tool.
Nutritional compositions are known for providing a sole nutritional composition and/or supplemental nutritional composition to patients with inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. Crohn's disease). The nutritional compositions are a primary therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. Crohn's disease). The nutritional compositions may enable inflammatory activity to be controlled and may enable the patients to be kept in a state of remission.
A nutritional composition—Modulen IBD manufactured by Nestle is known. Modulen IBD is used for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. Crohn's disease). Modulen IBD is known to contain vitamin K in an amount of 27 μg/100 g. Modulen IBD is known to contain vitamin D in an amount of 4.9 μg/100 g. Modulen IBD is known to contain alpha-linolenic acid in an amount of 0.2 g/100 g. Modulen IBD is a casein-protein based composition. The casein in Modulen IBD provides an anti-inflammatory cytokine—transforming growth factor-β2. The transforming growth factor-β2 has been shown to induce remission in children with active inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. Crohn's disease). The transforming growth factor-β2 promotes mucosal healing of the gastrointestinal tract as it controls inflammatory activity.
Furthermore the transforming growth factor-β2 has immuno-modulatory properties.
WO2011/031601 discloses a nutritional composition and a method of making and using the nutritional composition. The nutritional composition includes exogenous vitamin K2. The nutritional composition may further include an additional component selected from phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, calcium, vitamin D, osteopontin and combinations thereof.

Nutritional composition for promoting musculoskeletal health in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)


Cladding and remanufacturing a machine component includes directing cleaning and welding beams split from an incident laser beam toward the machine component, and moving the machine component relative the cleaning and welding beams such that the welding beam trails behind the cleaning beam along a common travel path. A surface of the machine component is decontaminated by the cleaning beam, while a cladding material is melted via the welding beam such that upon solidifying the cladding material forms a coating metallurgically bonded to base material and previously deposited cladding material of the machine component.

Lasers have innumerable different applications in modern industry. Lasers are used to directly melt materials and to preheat parts, as well as in a great many different diagnostic and process control applications. Among other things, in the field of welding lasers offer the advantages of precise control over the spatial and temporal delivery of heat energy. One specialized type of laser welding is known as laser cladding, where a laser beam is used to melt a feedstock material in contact with or prior to contacting a part to be clad. In some instances the feedstock material is supplied in the form of a sprayed or pre-placed powder or the like, and in others in the form of a wire.
Cladding of certain parts has long been recognized as a strategy for improving the performance and/or service life of all or certain areas of a part, and laser cladding techniques can provide for great process efficiency in many instances. Certain machine components are well known to benefit from the application of a relatively hard or otherwise fatigue or damage resistant cladding upon a softer base material of the component. Laser apparatus tends to be relatively expensive, however, and the application of laser cladding techniques appears far from reaching its full theoretical potential. Ample room for improvement upon known techniques as to laser configuration and operation, as well as expansion of laser cladding technology to new applications thus exists. A laser clad track bushing and process is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,664 to Anderton et al.


The nursing pillow is a firm foam wedge with feeding surfaces covered in softer, cushioning foam. The pillow itself supports baby and is angled to encourage proper elevation of baby's head necessary for good digestion and proper alignment of baby's mouth and mother's nipple. The outer layer of cushioning foam supports and cradles the baby while reducing the amount of effort required by the mother. The pillow has two covers: one waterproof inner cover and one removable, washable outer cover with a carrying handle.

Breastfeeding can be a frustrating and uncomfortable experience for both baby and mother. Baby must be supported at a height that allows for proper alignment of mouth to nipple and allows for baby's head to be elevated at such a degree above his stomach to allow for proper digestion. Supporting baby with the frequency and duration of time required to breastfeed causes physical strain and fatigue, and many women have difficulty or fail to maintain the correct nursing position. In failing to maintain the correct position, mouth-nipple alignment may be compromised and many women may experience sore nipples.
The goal of a nursing pillow is to assist mother in nursing in the manner that is most comfortable. If baby experiences pain from frequent spit-up, reflux or poor digestion, if mother experiences physical strain and fatigue from supporting baby, or if mother experiences sore nipples due to improper mouth-nipple alignment, she may give up nursing baby. Most nursing pillows provide support for mother rather than baby, and a few are height adjustable, addressing proper mouth-nipple alignment but none provide full support for baby, height adjustability and proper incline for the baby.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134, issued to Matthews, is a pillow designed to support infants. Although it is commonly used as a nursing pillow, the original intent of the patent was as a seating device and the design does not solve the issues of proper mouth-nipple alignment or head elevation. The design of the pillow is not height adjustable, requiring mother to support baby in such a fashion that baby's mouth is correctly aligned with her nipple, baby's head is properly elevated, and baby's back is not curved. In addition, the pillow is bulky and large and does not fit between the arms of most rockers or gliders commonly found in nurseries. The pillow and cover are not water resistant, requiring the user to launder the pillow itself which can result in degradation of the pillow structure. The method commonly used to employ the pillow as a nursing aid is to wrap the arms of the pillow around the wearer. Because the pillow comes in only one size there can be gaps between the wearer and pillow into which baby can roll. Finally, because the surface of the pillow is rounded, it creates an unstable surface on which baby can roll either towards or away from the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,833, issued to Zenoff, is a support pillow with lumbar support. Because the pillow is not height adjustable, it does not properly address the issue of correct mouth-nipple alignment. Further, the removable wedge is not of sufficient angle for proper digestion. When seated in a straight back chair the lumbar support of the pillow pushes the wearer's back forward, which encourages hunching and may compromise correct mouth-nipple alignment. The pillow's flat, hard surface provides minimal comfort and reduced stability for baby, requiring mother to additionally support baby while nursing, opening her up to stress and fatigue. Finally, when being removed, the Velcro enclosure creates sufficient noise to wake or startle baby, and is difficult to remove with one hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,351, issued to Weber, is a wedge-shaped support pillow that is slightly inclined to address mouth-nipple alignment and aid in proper digestion. The incline is described in the patent application as a "gentle slope" on a wedge which measures 20–30 inches in length by at most 9 inches in height. A gentle angle would be insufficient to address proper digestion. In addition, at 20–30 inches in length and 10–16 inches in width, the pillow would be much larger and more cumbersome to use than the present invention. The pillow is designed to support mother rather than baby. Finally, the patent makes no mention of the pillow or cover being water-resistant and does not have a carrying handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,282, issued to Skoug, Skattum, Gurli, Igoe, and Edward, is a bead-filled crescent shaped nursing pillow. The pillow does not address providing a firm support on an elevation sufficient to promote proper digestion. In addition, the pillow is much larger and bulkier in size than the present invention and does not have a carrying handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,408 issued to Van Vuuren, is a nursing pillow consisting of side arms, a mid portion, and back strap. Both top and bottom portions of the mid section are tapered at one end where the mid section attaches to one side arm. Both side arms, however, are approximately the same height so that once an infant's length surpasses the length of the mid section he would no longer be laying on an incline. According to the patent application, the pillow "preferably" includes an additional wedge-shaped piece that can be attached at the thinnest portion of the tapered end of the surface placed on the wearer's lap in order to create a flat surface. Without attaching this extra piece, the full pillow would not rest solidly on the lap of the user since the bottom surface would consist of two flat bottomed side arms and a tapered mid section which would be, in effect, higher than the side arms. To switch from one breast to the other and still maintain the angled feeding surface would require removing the extra wedge from the bottom surface and placing it on the top surface when flipping the pillow over, a task difficult to do while holding baby. In addition, the waist strap would need to be removed before flipping the pillow, also cumbersome while holding baby. Finally, the drawings show a pillow that is much larger and bulkier than the present invention.
Only a device such as a wedge or other that allows baby's height to be adjusted to the exact correct position for both his mouth and mother's nipple can ensure correct mouth-nipple alignment. Only a device that maintains baby in a semi-upright position can provide a nursing experience which promotes proper digestion.
The applicant's pillow addresses these plus additional shortcomings of previous nursing pillows:
Height: The angle of the wedge allows the user to slide the baby higher or lower in order to adjust to the user's individual needs, in effect making the pillow height adjustable. The height of a nursing pillow is unique to each individual and dependent on waist length, breast size, and infant size. Because the height of this nursing wedge is always appropriate, the wedge encourages proper mouth-nipple alignment.
Positions: The wedge can be placed across the lap or beside the wearer, allowing for multiple feeding positions including the cradle and the football hold. Because all sides of the wedge are encased in cushioning foam and it is symmetrical in shape, the wedge is reversible and can be flipped over or turned around to shift from one breast to the other. The wedge automatically places baby in a position similar to the natural nursing position, where a woman nurses an infant in a cradle position without a nursing pillow. Because baby and mother will be familiar with that position, it will be easier and more comfortable for both during those times when they are away from home and without a nursing pillow.
Health: The angle of the wedge allows baby to recline rather than lie flat while nursing. Proper digestion cannot occur while laying flat. For this reason many in the medical profession recommend that all infants should nurse on an angle. Babies who are prone to spitting up frequently or have reflux will especially benefit from this feeding position. In addition an upright position helps keep milk out of the inner ear, helping to prevent ear infections. Finally, pillows that do not have waterproof covers must be washed in order to prevent bacterial growth from urine and spit-ups. These pillows are large and bulky and difficult to wash so users wash them infrequently. It is also difficult to be sure the pillows have dried completely, and mold growth can occur if they have not.
Comfort: The comfort of both mother and baby will encourage longer, more productive and more enjoyable feeding sessions. If baby does not feel comfortable, secure or stable, he is not likely to nurse productively. Similarly, if mother is uncomfortable or fatigued from supporting baby the session will not be productive. The present invention supports baby rather than mother. More importantly, the discomfort from using a feeding pillow that is not designed to promote proper mouth-nipple alignment greatly reduces the odds that mother will continue to breastfeed.
Flexibility: Unlike other nursing pillows, a wedge allows for changes in baby's size. As baby gets longer and baby's head grows larger, the appropriate placement for baby on the nursing pillow will change. The wedge can be slid further to the right or left on mother's lap to allow for this change. The cushioning foam continues to stabilize the wedge on mother's lap. In addition, as baby's length surpasses other nursing pillows, the wedge can become a back support for baby on mother's lap. Thus baby will eventually simply sit on mother's lap and recline against the wedge for support and comfort while continuing to nurse in a position appropriate for proper digestion and mouth-nipple alignment. In addition, the absence of straps makes it possible to use the wedge in many different positions.
Ease of Use: The nursing wedge is of simple design and fairly compact in size in comparison with most nursing pillows. It fits between the arms of most rockers or gliders and can easily be carried by the carrying handle. It is one cohesive unit free of arms, waist straps, supplemental pieces, and noisy enclosures. It is the simplest and closest to the natural nursing position of all previous inventions.


An exhaust gas discharging apparatus for connection to an exhaust gas fan including an exhaust gas nozzle comprising a duct device forming at least one exhaust passage that extends between first and second open ends. The duct device has at least one exterior duct wall forming at least two longitudinally extending bent wall portions that are distributed evenly about the periphery of the duct device with each bent wall portion sloping towards the longitudinal axis in the region of the second end. An annular cap or wind band is connected to the duct device and is disposed about and spaced apart from the second end of the duct device. The cap has a cap inlet located below the second end and outside the duct device and a cap outlet located outwardly from the second end in the longitudinal direction. Vertically extending wind deflecting panels are mounted on the duct device and extend horizontally outwardly and these panels extend vertically below the cap. The panels can be flat or curved as seen in horizontal cross-section.

This invention relates to exhaust ducts and exhaust stacks and, in particular, such stacks adapted for attachment to the outlet of an exhaust fan which can be either a centrifugal fan or an axial fan.
Conventional discharge stacks of considerable height are well known in industry, these stacks being used to discharge various exhaust gases to atmosphere. Often these conventional stacks must be of substantial height in order that the gases can be discharged effectively without causing undesirable environmental consequences to the surrounding area and persons working or living in the area of the discharge stack. Because of the necessary height of these conventional stacks, they can be quite expensive to build and erect.
It will also be appreciated that many exhaust gases are noxious and therefore it is desirable when constructing an exhaust system for a building or industrial operation to attempt to ensure that these exhaust gases do not persist at low altitudes but instead travel upwardly into the atmosphere. Although the aforementioned tall exhaust stacks can be effective for their intended purpose, not only are they costly but they can also be unsightly and they may exceed height restrictions imposed by zoning by-laws.
In order to approximate the performance of these tall stacks, so called upblast fans with relatively short stacks have been developed. However, it has been found that where an upblast fan uses a short stack of conventional construction, the exhaust fan system can be deficient in its ability to properly exhaust gases upwardly into the atmosphere.
A class of upblast fan that has proven to be relatively effective in the propulsion of exhaust gas upwardly into the atmosphere are recently developed upblast fans employing either radial fans or centrifugal fans having an upwardly directed outlet that is connected to a special exhaust gas nozzle. Representative of this class is U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,076 issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Strobic Air Corporation. This known upblast exhaust fan apparatus includes a split, upwardly extending nozzle with a passive zone section located centrally between first and second inner walls. The inner walls cooperate with first and second outer walls to provide first and second exhaust flow paths that lead to two exhaust outlets at the top end. A wind band is secured to the upper end of the exhaust nozzle housing adjacent the exhaust openings and in spaced relation to the outer walls of this housing. In this way, ambient air can be effectively mixed with the exhaust gases. Another recent U.S. patent which teaches an exhaust fan apparatus of this general type is U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,349 to Kupferberg issued Aug. 8, 1995.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,503 issued Jan. 13, 2004 and entitled EXHAUST GAS NOZZLE FOR FAN, there are described several different embodiments of an exhaust gas nozzle that includes a duct member forming a single exhaust passage that extends between first and second open ends. The duct member is formed by a duct wall having at least two longitudinally extending bent wall portions that are distributed evenly about the periphery of the duct member which extends about its longitudinal axis. Each bent wall portion projects inwardly towards the longitudinal axis as seen in transverse planes in the region of the second end. An annular cap is connected to the duct member of this nozzle and is disposed about the exterior of and in spaced relation to the second end of the duct member.
It is an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide an improved form of exhaust gas discharging apparatus which employs vertically extending wind deflecting members or vanes mounted on the duct device and extending horizontally outwardly from the duct wall. These members or vanes extend vertically below an annular cap provided on the discharging apparatus.

Upblast fan nozzle with wind deflecting panels


Systems and methods for opening and closing exhaust poppet valves of an engine are disclosed. In one example, the exhaust poppet valves may be opened and closed twice during a cycle of an engine via two serially arranged cam lobes that are coupled to a crankshaft so that hydrocarbons may be retained in a cylinder.

An internal combustion engine may combust hydrocarbons to generate torque. Hydrocarbons that have passed through the cylinder and have been exhausted to the engine's exhaust system may be oxidized when the engine is warm via a catalyst. However, when catalyst temperature is low, the catalyst may lack capacity to oxidize hydrocarbons that may be exhausted from the engine. One such condition may be after an engine cold start. In addition, engine hydrocarbon emissions during cold starting may be higher than when the engine is warm because cold surfaces within the engine and exhaust system may reduce the possibility of combusting some fuel that has been injected to the engine. For these reasons, it may be desirable to provide a way of reducing output of engine hydrocarbon emissions during a cold engine start.
The inventors herein have recognized that it may be desirable to reduce engine emissions of hydrocarbons and have developed a method for operating an engine, comprising: lifting an exhaust valve of a cylinder via a first cam lobe during a cycle of the engine and a lifting the exhaust valve via a second cam lobe during the cycle of the engine.
By at least partially closing an exhaust valve and reopening the exhaust valve after at least partially closing the exhaust valve during a cycle of an engine, it may be possible to provide the technical result of reducing engine hydrocarbon emissions. Specifically, the inventors herein have determined that it may be desirable to at least partially close an exhaust valve during an engine cycle after the exhaust valve has opened during the engine cycle so that flow within the cylinder may be temporarily disrupted. The disruption in flow may cause hydrocarbons to collect near a geometric center of the cylinder rather than the exhaust valve. Consequently, the hydrocarbons may be retained in the cylinder where they may have a chance to combust during a subsequent compression stroke. In this way, emissions of hydrocarbons from an engine may be reduced.
The present description may provide for several advantages. In particular, the present approach may reduce engine hydrocarbon emissions. Further, the present approach may provide an opportunity to combust hydrocarbons during the exhaust stroke to lower engine hydrocarbon emissions. In addition, the approach is suitable for applying during cold engine starts when catalyst efficiency may be low.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

System and method to reduce engine hydrocarbon emissions


A method for inputting text in a mobile terminal having a touch screen is provided. When detecting a touch-down, the mobile terminal displays a character of the touch-down point and nearby characters in an enlarged size and indicates the character of the touch-down point in the enlarged display. When a drag event occurs before a touch-up event, the mobile terminal determines the dragging distance and direction, changes the touch-down point to a new location according to the dragging distance and direction, and indicates another character at the new location. When a touch-up event occurs at the new location, the mobile terminal then inputs the other character indicated at the new location.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for inputting text in a mobile terminal having a touch screen, and a mobile terminal for implementing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, characters or numbers are input in a mobile terminal having a touch screen in a soft keypad input manner or a handwriting recognition manner. A soft keypad is an on-screen keypad generated on a touch screen, which enables a user to input data using a digital pen. Handwriting recognition software allows a user to provide input by writing on a touch screen. It recognizes the user's handwriting and converts the handwriting input into a data code. Mobile terminals, such as electronic schedulers, mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), are generally provided with touch screens. Due to the trend toward small designs, touch screens provided on mobile terminals are also becoming smaller.
Since a soft keypad, including every key for inputting characters or numbers, is displayed in a relatively larger area of the touch screen, an actual area of displaying the input text is inevitably reduced. Also, every key of the soft keypad has a small size to be displayed on the small touch screen. Users may have some difficulty using the small-sized keys of the soft keypad accurately. They may often press a wrong key during the input of text.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Text input method and mobile terminal therefor


A network node device includes a radio transceiver configured to receive a data sequence from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) over first and second sets of resource elements, wherein the first set of resource elements is mapped non-orthogonally and the second set is mapped orthogonally. The network node device further comprises a processor configured to determine channel vectors based at least in part on the data sequence received over the first set of resource elements or over the second set of resource elements, and to utilize the data sequence as received over the second set of resource elements to associate the determined channel vectors with each of the plurality of UEs.

Wireless systems typically utilize so called multiple access schemes to efficiently share available radio resources (e.g. time, frequency, power, etc.) with multiple users. These multiple access schemes include e.g. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). These technologies, though adequate until now, may not be sufficient for future wireless networks, such as for planned fifth generation networks.
Massive multiple-input and multiple-output (mMIMO, a.k.a large-scale arrays) is a planned solution to enhance the aggregate rate of future wireless systems through Non-Orthogonal Multiple-Access (NOMA). In order to enable the potential gain of mMIMO, the spatial channels between the users and the massive arrays may need to be acquired. Towards this end, a conventional solution is to allocate a substantial portion of the time-frequency resources for channel estimation. In order to optimize the network capacity for large enough antenna arrays, half of the time-frequency resources may need to be allocated for the channel estimation in each cell. Orthogonal pilot allocation for multiple users may be used to estimate the channels of the corresponding users which consume a notable amount of time-frequency resources.
The intra-cell interference by orthogonal pilot allocation will vanish as the number of antennas increases. However, the inter-cell interference for the users that have the same pilot sequence will remain since the number of mutually orthogonal sequences is limited. This phenomenon is known as pilot contamination (a.k.a reference symbol (RS) contamination). The pilot contamination can severely degrade the performance of the mMIMO systems. In particular, when two cell-edge users employ the same pilot sequence, the interference among these users will remain despite the fact that the antenna arrays are equipped with many antenna elements.

Devices, methods and computer programs for wireless communication with multiple-access