A method of measuring and expressing the unwound amount or residual amount of a web roll, such as carbon film roll or printing paper roll in terms of a unit length of the web roll includes the steps of: starting a count of pulses to be produced by a rotation displacement detecting sensor for each predetermined angle of rotational displacement when the residual amount of the web roll is considered to have been reduced to a predetermined value; and emitting a warning signal when the count reaches a predetermined count number (initially set on the basis of the average value of the amounts of unwinding rotation of the web roll per unit length) during the time when the web roll is unwound and fed by a unit length from the count start time.

The present invention relates to a method for detecting the residual amount of a web roll, such as a carbon film roll or printing paper roll wound in roll form in a printer.
In a conventional transfer thermal printer, the unwound length of a carbon roll, for example, is automatically measured, and upon exhaustion of the roll, a warning is issued; however, it takes a substantial time to perform an operation for preparing the next carbon film roll for exchange and, as described above the user is normally given a warning, when the printer is already stopped. Further, there are cases in which there is no fresh roll at hand and the handling thereof is postponed because of the absence of time to do so, thereby rendering the printer inoperable.
The present invention is intended to provide a method of issuing a warning before carbon film roll or the like is exhausted so as to eliminate the above drawback encountered when no warning is issued unless such roll is completely expended.

Method of detecting residual amount of web roll


In a plasma immersion ion implantation process, the thickness of a pre-implant chamber seasoning layer is increased (to permit implantation of a succession of wafers without replacing the seasoning layer) without loss of wafer clamping electrostatic force due to increased seasoning layer thickness. This is accomplished by first plasma-discharging residual electrostatic charge from the thick seasoning layer. The number of wafers which can be processed using the same seasoning layer is further increased by fractionally supplementing the seasoning layer after each wafer is processed, which may be followed by a brief plasma discharging of the supplemented seasoning before processing the next wafer.

Plasma immersion ion implantation is performed by generating a plasma containing ions of species to be implanted in a semiconductor wafer or workpiece. The plasma may be generated using a plasma source such as a toroidal plasma source at the reactor chamber ceiling. Ion energy sufficient to achieve a desired ion implantation depth profile below the wafer surface is provided by coupling a very high RF bias voltage (e.g., 10 kV to 20 kV) to the semiconductor wafer through an insulated cathode electrode within the wafer support pedestal. Such a high bias voltage requires a correspondingly high D.C. electrostatic wafer clamping voltage on the electrostatic chuck to hold the wafer during plasma immersion ion implantation. High implant dose rate requires a high plasma ion density, which is achieved using a toroidal plasma source operating at a low chamber pressure. The requisite ion implant depth profile requires a very high ion energy, which is achieved by applying a very high RF bias voltage across the plasma sheath at the wafer surface. The process gas employed in plasma immersion ion implantation can be a fluoride or a hydride of the dopant species to be implanted.
In DRAM/flash memory fabrication, it is necessary to implant a semiconductor dopant species into the polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) gate electrodes to increase their conductivity. The gate electrodes are formed by depositing amorphous silicon on a thin gate oxide layer and then annealing the wafer sufficiently to transform the deposited silicon from the amorphous state to a polycrystalline state. The polycrystalline silicon gate layer thus formed is about 20 nm to 80 nm thick. The implanted species is one that promotes p-type semiconductivity in silicon, such as boron, or n-type semiconductivity, such as arsenic, phosphorus, and antimony. The plasma immersion ion implantation process must be carried out for a sufficient time to attain a required ion implant dosage in the polysilicon gate layer, corresponding to an electrical resistivity in the range 100-1000 Ohm/sq.
The polysilicon gate electrode must be kept free of metal (e.g., aluminum) contamination. Such contamination is caused by sputtering of the chamber interior surfaces during the plasma immersion ion implantation process, which introduces metal atoms into the plasma environment facing the gate electrode.

Plasma immersion ion implantation process with chamber seasoning and seasoning layer plasma discharging for wafer dechucking


An ink jet printer head having a base, an ink reservoir, an ink pressure generating chamber, a piezoelectric element separating the reservoir and chamber and having a hole connecting the reservoir and chamber, and a transistor formed opposite the piezoelectric element relative to the ink reservoir for operating the piezoelectric element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer head featuring the use of a piezoelectric thin film as a drive source for ink discharge, and to a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of electromechanical transducer elements serving as a drive source for liquid or ink discharge include piezoelectric ink jet printer heads featuring the use of a piezoelectric thin film consisting of PZT. Such a printer head can be manufactured by the following process, for example, using an etching technique.
A silicon thermal oxide film, a common electrode serving as an vibrating plate, a piezoelectric thin film, and a top electrode are formed, in that sequence, on a silicon substrate which is to be used as the ink jet base. The piezoelectric thin film and top electrode are then patterned using a negative resist, and a piezoelectric element is thus formed by means of the common electrode, piezoelectric thin film, and top electrode. Anisotropic etching of the underside of the head base (the side opposite where the piezoelectric thin film is formed) results in the formation of 0.1 mm wide ink pressure generating chambers, ink supply channels that supply ink to the ink pressure generating chambers, and an ink reservoir that is connected to the ink supply channels; and a nozzle plate is connected, in which nozzle holes have been formed to discharge the ink to locations corresponding to the ink pressure generating chambers.
However, the process for forming patterns including such a piezoelectric thin film on an ink jet base is carried out at elevated temperatures, resulting in the need for quartz glass as well as a silicon substrate with excellent heat resistance for the ink jet base.
Such silicon substrates and quartz glass are scarce and extremely expensive materials, however, and they are also brittle and quite susceptible to cracking. This results in poor manufacturing yields and higher costs.
There has also been recent demand for more precise formation of ink jet nozzle holes to achieve higher density in the dot patterns of ink jet printer heads, but it has been difficult for the following reasons to manufacture nozzle plates in conventional methods in order to meet such demand. Conventionally, SUS plates with a thickness t of 100 to 60 xcexcm have been punched to make holes. Fine holes not only make the punching process more difficult, and also result in a lower punch life.
An object of the present invention is thus to provide an ink jet printer head in which the material for the ink jet base is not limited, as well as a method for manufacturing the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an ink jet printer head allowing greater dot pattern density to be achieved, as wall as an ink jet printer head that is manufactured by this manufacturing method.
The applicant has proposed a method in which a separable material on a substrate with a separation layer interposed between them is separated from the substrate, wherein the separation layer is irradiated with light to effect the separation in the interior layer of the separation layer or at the interface, and has also proposed that this method could be applied for piezoelectric element actuators (Japanese Patent Application 8-225643).
The present application is intended for application in methods of manufacturing ink jet printer heads, and is intended to provide a method for manufacturing an ink jet printer head in which a piezoelectric element and an vibrating plate for pressurizing the ink in an ink pressure generating chamber is formed on an ink jet base on which the ink pressure generating chambers are formed, wherein the method for manufacturing an ink jet printer head comprises the steps of forming the piezoelectric element and the vibrating plate on the substrate with a separation layer interposed therebetween; of bonding the substrate and the ink jet base; and of irradiating the separation layer with light so that the substrate is separated from the vibrating plate, on which the piezoelectric element has been established, at the separation layer, and of joining the vibrating plate with the ink jet base, thereby achieving the objectives described above.
The piezoelectric element has a structure in which the piezoelectric thin film is sandwiched between electrodes, although a variety of electrode configurations can be considered.
The present invention is also characterized by an ink jet printer head formed by these processes, as well as by printers so equipped.
This method allows the ink jet base to be formed by a different process than the process for forming the piezoelectric thin film, and thus allows the ink jet base to be formed without being limited to conventional materials or manufacturing methods.
Methods that can be used during the formation of the ink jet base include a method of formation using photosensitive glass, a method of formation using a photosetting resin, a method of formation using electroformation, or a method of formation using a stamper. These methods can be used to integrally form a conventional nozzle plate with the ink jet base, and to form ink jet nozzle holes in higher density dot patterns.
Quartz glass is preferably used as the substrate in the present invention.


Diaryl ethers in which one of the aryl groups is a phenyl fused to a cycloalkyl or heterocyclic ring, to which is attached an acetic acid group, are agonists of G-protein coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) and are useful as therapeutic compounds, particularly in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and of conditions that often accompany this disease, including insulin resistance, obesity and lipid disorders.

Diabetes is a disease derived from multiple causative factors and characterized by elevated levels of plasma glucose (hyperglycemia) in the fasting state or after administration of glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test. There are two generally recognized forms of diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), patients produce little or no insulin, the hormone which regulates glucose utilization. In type 2 diabetes, or noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), insulin is still produced in the body. Patients having type 2 diabetes have a resistance to the effects of insulin in stimulating glucose and lipid metabolism in the main insulin-sensitive tissues, which are muscle, liver and adipose tissues. These patients often have normal levels of insulin, and may have hyperinsulinemia (elevated plasma insulin levels), as they compensate for the reduced effectiveness of insulin by secreting increased amounts of insulin. Insulin resistance is not primarily caused by a diminished number of insulin receptors but rather by a post-insulin receptor binding defect that is not yet completely understood. This lack of responsiveness to insulin results in insufficient insulin-mediated activation of uptake, oxidation and storage of glucose in muscle, and inadequate insulin-mediated repression of lipolysis in adipose tissue and of glucose production and secretion in the liver.
Persistent or uncontrolled hyperglycemia that occurs with diabetes is associated with increased and premature morbidity and mortality. Often abnormal glucose homeostasis is associated both directly and indirectly with obesity, hypertension, and alterations of the lipid, lipoprotein and apolipoprotein metabolism, as well as other metabolic and hemodynamic disease. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have a significantly increased risk of macrovascular and microvascular complications, including atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy. Therefore, therapeutic control of glucose homeostasis, lipid metabolism, obesity, and hypertension are critically important in the clinical management and treatment of diabetes mellitus.
Patients who have insulin resistance often have several symptoms that together are referred to as syndrome X, or the metabolic syndrome. According to one widely used definition, a patient having metabolic syndrome is characterized as having three or more symptoms selected from the following group of five symptoms: (1) abdominal obesity; (2) hypertriglyceridemia; (3) low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL); (4) high blood pressure; and (5) elevated fasting glucose, which may be in the range characteristic of Type 2 diabetes if the patient is also diabetic. Each of these symptoms is defined clinically in the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III, or ATP III), National Institutes of Health, 2001, NIH Publication No. 01-3670. Patients with metabolic syndrome, whether or not they have or develop overt diabetes mellitus, have an increased risk of developing the macrovascular and microvascular complications that occur with type 2 diabetes, such as atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
There are several available treatments for type 2 diabetes, each of which has its own limitations and potential risks. Physical exercise and a reduction in dietary intake of calories often dramatically improve the diabetic condition and are the usual recommended first-line treatment of type 2 diabetes and of pre-diabetic conditions associated with insulin resistance. Compliance with this treatment is very poor because of well-entrenched sedentary lifestyles and excess food consumption, especially of foods containing high amounts of fat and carbohydrates. Pharmacologic treatments have focused on three areas of pathophysiology: (1) Hepatic glucose production (biguanides), (2) insulin resistance (PPAR agonists), and (3) insulin secretion.
The biguanides are a class of drugs that are widely used to treat type 2 diabetes. The two best known biguanides, phenformin and metformin, cause some correction of hyperglycemia. The biguanides act primarily by inhibiting hepatic glucose production, and they also are believed to modestly improve insulin sensitivity. The biguanides can be used as monotherapy or in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs, such as insulin or an insulin secretagogues, without increasing the risk of hypoglycemia. However, phenformin and metformin can induce lactic acidosis and nausea/diarrhea. Metformin has a lower risk of side effects than phenformin and is widely prescribed for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
The glitazones (i.e. 5-benzylthiazolidine-2,4-diones) are a newer class of compounds that can ameliorate hyperglycemia and other symptoms of type 2 diabetes. The glitazones that are currently marketed (rosiglitazone and pioglitazone) are agonists of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) gamma subtype. The PPAR-gamma agonists substantially increase insulin sensitivity in muscle, liver and adipose tissue in several animal models of type 2 diabetes, resulting in partial or complete correction of elevated plasma glucose levels without the occurrence of hypoglycemia. PPAR-gamma agonism is believed to be responsible for the improved insulin sensitization that is observed in human patients who are treated with the glitazones. New PPAR agonists are currently being developed. Many of the newer PPAR compounds are agonists of one or more of the PPAR alpha, gamma and delta subtypes. Compounds that are agonists of both the PPAR alpha and PPAR gamma subtypes (PPAR alpha/gamma dual agonists) are promising because they reduce hyperglycemia and also improve lipid metabolism. The currently marketed PPAR gamma agonists are modestly effective in reducing plasma glucose and HemoglobinA1C. The currently marketed compounds do not greatly improve lipid metabolism and may actually have a negative effect on the lipid profile. Thus, the PPAR compounds represent an important advance in diabetic therapy, but further improvements are still needed.
Another widely used drug treatment involves the administration of insulin secretagogues, such as the sulfonylureas (e.g. tolbutamide and glipizide). These drugs increase the plasma level of insulin by stimulating the pancreatic β-cells to secrete more insulin. Insulin secretion in the pancreatic β-cell is under strict regulation by glucose and an array of metabolic, neural and hormonal signals. Glucose stimulates insulin production and secretion through its metabolism to generate ATP and other signaling molecules, whereas other extracellular signals act as potentiators or inhibitors of insulin secretion through GPCR's present on the plasma membrane. Sulfonylureas and related insulin secretagogues act by blocking the ATP-dependent K+ channel in β-cells, which causes depolarization of the cell and the opening of the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels with stimulation of insulin release. This mechanism is non-glucose dependent, and hence insulin secretion can occur regardless of the ambient glucose levels. This can cause insulin secretion even if the glucose level is low, resulting in hypoglycemia, which can be fatal in severe cases. The administration of insulin secretagogues must therefore be carefully controlled. The insulin secretagogues are often used as a first-line drug treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
There has been a renewed focus on pancreatic islet-based insulin secretion that is controlled by glucose-dependent insulin secretion. This approach has the potential for stabilization and restoration of β-cell function. In this regard, several orphan G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR's) have recently been identified that are preferentially expressed in the β-cell and that are implicated in glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). GPR40 is a cell-surface GPCR that is highly expressed in human (and rodent) islets as well as in insulin-secreting cell lines. Several naturally-occurring medium to long-chain fatty acids (FA's) as well as synthetic compounds, including several members of the thiazolidinedione class of PPARγ agonists, have recently been identified as ligands for GPR40 (Itoh, Y. et al., Nature. 422: 173 [2003]; Briscoe, C. P. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278: 11303 [2003]; Kotarsky, K. et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 301: 406 [2003]. Under hyperglycemic conditions, GPR40 agonists are capable of augmenting the release of insulin from islet cells. The specificity of this response is suggested by results showing that the inhibition of GPR40 activity by siRNA attenuates FA-induced amplification of GSIS. These findings indicate that, in addition to the intracellular generation of lipid-derivatives of FA's that are thought to promote insulin release, FA's (and other synthetic GPR40 agonists) may also act as extracellular ligands that bind to GPR40 in mediating FA-induced insulin secretion. There are several potential advantages of GPR40 as a potential target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. First, since GPR40-mediated insulin secretion is glucose dependent, there is little or no risk of hypoglycemia. Second, the limited tissue distribution of GPR40 (mainly in islets) suggests that there would be less chance for side effects associated with GPR40 activity in other tissues. Third, GPR40 agonists that are active in the islets may have the potential to restore or preserve islet function. This would be highly advantageous, because long term diabetes therapy often leads to the gradual diminution of islet activity, so that after extended periods of treatment, it is often necessary to treat type 2 diabetic patients with daily insulin injections. By restoring or preserving islet function, GPR40 agonists may delay or prevent the diminution and loss of islet function in a type 2 diabetic patient.


A method of changing the range of a hydrostatic/mechanical power split transmission is specified: firstly, the command to engage the clutch for the next range is given, then the transfer of the load to this clutch is carried out and then the command to disengage the clutch for the old range (V.sub.x) is given if, during the load transfer, a characteristic speed value of the summing planetary gearbox (10), for example the speed of the planet carrier (25), remains constant. In this way, the sensors for the clutches are dispensed with and quicker changes of range are made possible.

The invention deals with a method of controlling a hydrostatic/mechanical power split transmission, which comprises an adjustable hydrostat unit, a multiple shaft summing planetary gearbox for combining the mechanical path and hydrostatic path, and a step gearbox connected downstream in order to form gear change ranges which adjoin one another at synchronization points and which are passed through by means of adjusting the hydrostat unit, it being the case that, at each change from an old range to a next range, firstly, when the synchronization speed is reached, the command to engage the clutch for the next range is given, then the transfer of the load from the clutch for the old range to the clutch for the next range is performed by adjusting the hydrostat unit, and only then is the command to disengage the clutch for the old range given.
In such transmissions, the clutches are generally switched hydraulically. Changes of range are performed in several steps, several clutches and the hydrostat being actuated in a specific sequence and depending on state signals or completion messages. The control needs a feedback signal for the actual position of specific clutches. The actuation signal is not sufficient, since there could certainly also be a defective clutch or a pressure line could be leaky, so that the clutch is not engaged, in spite of the "completion message". In the case of a claw coupling the two halves of the coupling could also be exactly claw to claw, or a selector lever could have become stuck.
EP 280 757-A1 discloses, in an embodiment of such a transmission, the practice of connecting the pressure signal line to the clutches to a pressure sensor or pressure switch via branch lines. In the case of this known transmission, in the course of a range change following the command to engage the clutch assigned to the next range and, once more following the command to disengage the clutch assigned to the preceding range, the feedback signal from the respective pressure sensor or pressure switch is awaited before the next step of the range change is executed.
On the one hand, this double wait prolongs the duration of a range change and, during sharp acceleration, leads to a brief drop in the acceleration, particularly if the pressure switches are connected to their clutch via long lines. On the other hand, the failure risk of pressure switches of this type, which occur in large numbers for this purpose (in the case of a transmission with four ranges, six clutches are generally needed), is considerable. Although pressure sensors are more secure, truly reliable sensors, or ones which can be checked in operation, are expensive. The consequence of a wrong state signal is at least that range changes are no longer possible.
These problems arise irrespective of the type of clutches used (these may be claw couplings, tooth couplings, synchronization clutches or multiplate clutches) and irrespective of the type of step gearbox connected downstream of the summing planetary gearbox. It therefore arises even in the case of a transmission according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,736 where, instead of the pressure of the clutch actuation, the position of the selector cuffs can be interrogated by means of sensors.
It is thus the object of the present invention to specify a control method which accelerates the sequence of range changing, while completely maintaining the operational reliability, and manages without pressure switches or pressure sensors and is thus more cost-effective.

Process for controlling the couplings of a hydrostatic and mechanical torque division gearing


A coaxial overvoltage protector includes a coaxial line section from which a λ/4 short-circuit line branches off in a radial manner. The inner conductor of the short-circuit line is in electric contact with the inner conductor of the coaxial line section using a coaxial tubular capacitor. The tubular capacitor includes a conductive (metal) pin and the inner wall of the inner conductor of the coaxial line section. The conductive pin is arranged coaxially within the inner conductor of the coaxial line section and is electrically connected with the inner conductor of the short-circuit line, but is insulated from the inner conductor of the coaxial line section by a dielectric sleeve.

Surge diverters (also called overvoltage protectors) including a λ/4 short-circuit line are generally known. In the center frequency of the fundamental frequency band, the λ/4 line transforms the short-circuit line at its end into an idle state at its beginning. One advantage of this type of diverter is that they do not generate any intermodulation signals. A disadvantage of these diverters, however, is that no supply direct voltage can be transmitted via the coaxial line in the course of which the surge diverter is situated, which is a result of the electric connection between the inner conductor and the outer conductor of the surge diverter by the λ/4 short-circuit line.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,101,080 and 6,456,478 (both to Kuhne) disclose a coaxial surge diverter in which the end of the inner conductor of a short-circuit line is connected with its outer conductor via a concentrated capacitor dimensioned in such a way that the inner conductor and the outer conductor of the short-circuit line act in the fundamental frequency band as a transforming λ/4 short-circuit line. A gas discharge device is arranged parallel to the capacitor which ignites at a certain surge value. Because the outer conductor and the inner conductor of the coaxial line sections are electrically isolated from each other in normal operation, direct voltages or low-frequency alternating voltages can additionally be transmitted via a coaxial line containing this surge diverter. The gas discharge device is located in the HF field at the end of the short-circuit line, which leads to the consequence that the discharge path can be pre-ionized at least in the transmission of high HF outputs. This typically leads to of the production of intermodulation products, as well as to an undesirable reduction of the igniting voltage value. The contact between the inner conductor of the short-circuit line and its outer conductor (via the capacitor), moreover, describes the use of frequency ranges above approximately 1 GHz because a sufficient capacitance cannot be realized due to very limited space for lower frequencies by taking into account the surge impedance to be maintained.
Another type of surge diverter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,357 (Landinger et al). In this diverter, the inner conductor of the λ/4 short-circuit line is arranged in a chamber formed in the outer conductor of the coaxial line section and is electrically in contact at its end with the outer conductor.


A printing mechanism 1 including a mandrel 2, and a tubular sleeve 3; wherein the mandrel comprises a main body and sleeve support members 6, a plurality of the sleeve-support members being arranged on the main body at intervals in the axial direction; and wherein the sleeve-support member has a plurality of arm portions 7 extending radially so as to support the sleeve from an inside thereof, and moving mechanisms 8 for moving tip vicinities of the arm portions inward/outward in the radial direction; and wherein the sleeve-support member has an interlock mechanism 9 for synchronously driving each moving mechanism of the sleeve support members, the tip vicinities of the arm portions being engaged with the inner surface of the sleeve or released from the engaged inner surface of the sleeve by the synchronous motion of the tip vicinities of all arm portions inward/outward with the interlock mechanism.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing mechanism having a mandrel and a sleeve to be mounted on the mandrel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a printing mechanism having a mandrel and a variety of sleeves having outer peripheral surface to which printing plates are attached.
Description of the Related Arts
Conventionally, as a method of mounting a printing plate on a mandrel of a printing mechanism, there has been such a widely used method that a thin plate cylinder (sleeve) having the same length as the axial length of the mandrel is mounted and then printing plates are attached to the sleeve.
The sleeve is a cylindrical member molded of plastic or FRP or the like. The mandrel is pivotally supported by bearings at both ends thereof. Therefore, when the sleeve is mounted on the mandrel, the bearing of the handle-side of the mandrel is opened while holding the mandrel by the bearing of the drive-side in a canti-lever manner, and then a sleeve having the same axial length as the mandrel is inserted onto the mandrel from the open side. Blowout ports of air are formed in the mandrel; three at the both ends thereof respectively, three at the center thereof. Therefore, when mounting a sleeve to the mandrel, compressed air is sent into the mandrel so as to blow out air from the holes provided on the surface of the mandrel.
Since the inner diameter of the sleeve is substantially same as the outer diameter of the mandrel, an air layer is formed between the inner surface of the sleeve and the outer surface of the mandrel by air pressure. Hence, the insertion resistance of the sleeve is reduced, making it possible to push the sleeve easily up to the full width of the mandrel.
And then, the concave notch formed on the front end of the inserted sleeve is fitted to the convex portion provided on the surface of the mandrel, so that the positioning in the circumferential direction and axial direction of the sleeve on the mandrel is performed, restricting the movement of the sleeve in the circumferential direction and the axial direction at the same time. Finally, the filling of air into the mandrel is stopped.
Patent Document 1 discloses a manner for engaging the sleeve with the shaft, such as a mandrel. In the sleeve and flexographic printing axis of Patent Document 1, the diameter in the vicinity of both ends in the axial direction is different about 2 mm, respectively, being formed to be a so-called-conical shape with gentle slope. Thus the sleeve is engaged so as to be pressed and fixed to the flexographic printing shaft. Moreover, a key is provided on the inner surface of the sleeve, and in the outer surface of the flexographic printing shaft, a groove engaging with said key is formed. By the engagement of those key and groove, the positioning of the flexographic shaft and the sleeve, the restriction of slip in the circumferential direction are performed.
Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a large bag accommodating a plurality of small bags in each of which toilet paper rolls, kitchen towels and tissue paper and so on are filled.


A fuel injector has a swirl plate about a valve assembly, including a valve seat with an orifice and a valve pin. When the valve is opened, the fuel is swirled by the swirl plate for passage through the orifice. The orifice has a portion which is angled relative to the axis of the injector to provide a conical swirling spray pattern having a conical spray axis angularly related to the axis of the injector. In another form, the orifice is on-axis with the injector and receives a bent tube having an upstream on-axis portion and a downstream angled portion to direct the swirling conical spray at an included obtuse angle relative to the axis of the injector.

Fuel injectors in general have long been used for injecting fuel into an internal combustion engine. Such fuel injectors typically include an elongated body having an armature carrying a valve and a needle or pin which, under the bias of a spring, normally closes an orifice through a seat at one end of the injector. By periodically pulsing a coil within the injector body, the valve is periodically opened and closed to supply fuel through the orifice to the engine cylinder. Typically, the spray pattern flowing from the injector is in a swirling conical shape. It is quantitatively dominated by an outer conical wall of spray, with substantially smaller quantities of the fuel from the injector flowing interiorly within the conically-shaped spray. The axis of the conical spray pattern is generally directed to an optimal part of the engine or fuel injection system and the injector is normally oriented so that the injector axis and the conical spray pattern axis are coincident with one another.
In certain engines, however, constraints imposed on the mounting of the injectors have indicated a need for directing the conical spray to the optimum part of the engine or fuel injection system, while simultaneously mounting the injector at a location and in a position wherein the axis of the injector does not coincide with the axis of the conical spray pattern. Consequently, a problem arises as to how to simultaneously direct a swirling conical spray pattern to the optimal part of the engine or fuel injection system while enabling the injector to be mounted at an angle offset from the axis of the conical spray pattern.
One effort to direct a conical spray pattern having a swirl associated with the pattern is disclosed in an article appearing in SAE Publication 970540, titled "Development of Direct Injection Gasoline Engine." The injector disclosed in that article, has what appears to be a spray pattern inclined at an angle from the axis of the injector, an upstream swirler and a downstream orifice apparently angled off the longitudinal axis of the injector. However, an intermediate chamber or pocket lies between the swirler and the angled orifice of that injector and which chamber is enlarged relative to the orifice. The pocket, however, diminishes the swirl pattern to such an extent that when the fuel leaves the injector such fuel is not significantly swirling. That is, the swirl pattern effected by the swirler upstream of the valve seat is substantially diminished as the fuel leaves the valve seat and enters and exits the pocket. Because of the many angled surfaces defining the pocket, it detrimentally diminishes the effect of the swirl pattern imparted upstream of the pocket by the swirler to the extent that the conical spray emitted from the injector has very little, if any, swirl effect.

Pressure swirl injector with angled cone spray for fuel injection


A graphic processing system for accomplishing high-speed processing of data conversion processing by effectively utilizing file information of input graphic data to improve processing efficiency of data processing inside blocks, and by optimizing block division. This system includes a processing portion for dividing input graphic data in a block unit and executing conversion processing of the graphic data to mask production data, and a storage portion having an optimization condition file for storing the input data information, optimization information of the graphic data to be divided by the processing portion, processing result information, etc, capable of updating and registering the optimization information, and comprises the steps of executing graphic processing by utilizing file data when graphic data existing inside the block is approximate to the graphic data information registered to the optimization condition file; scanning the graphic data inside the block so as to judge whether or not the quantity of the graphic data inside the block exceeds a memory capacity in the processing portion for executing the conversion processing, and to judge the density and the property of the graphic data when the graphic data is not approximate to the graphic data information; and dividing the graphic data into optimum blocks so that the data quantity becomes the quantity that can be processed by the processing portion; and storing the divided information, the input graphic data information and the processing result information.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a graphic processing system which divides graphic data divided in an arbitrary block unit into optimal blocks so that the data quantity becomes a quantity processable by a processing portion, and executes a conversion process on the graphic data (design data) to generate mask production data.
Further, this invention relates to a parallel processing system using a network which executes a conversion process on design data for LSIs, etc, to generate mask production data for exposure by parallel processing by a plurality of processing units connected to a main processing unit by a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A graphic processing method which converts graphic data for LSI design, for example, to mask production data for plotting (exposure) and plots a circuit design pattern onto a reticle, a mask, a wafer, etc, on the basis of the mask production data, by an electron beam exposure apparatus has been used in the past to produce LSIs. As the scale of the LSIs has become greater (VLSIs, ULSIs) and their density has become higher in recent years, a requirement for a reduction in the processing time required for generating the plotting data (exposure data) for producing the LSIs has become stronger.
Therefore, parallel processing has been carried out by dividing the pattern of an integrated circuit into a large number of data processing object areas and allocating these processing object areas to a plurality of processors (CPUs).
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, for example, the graphic data representing the circuit pattern existing in a chip area is divided into arbitrary units in a layer unit as a whole, a plurality of processors execute the graphic processing in the block unit, and when the data quantity exceeding the memory capacity each processor is allocated and overflow develops, the graphic data inside this block is again divided and the graphic processing is again executed.
Various methods are known for dividing the chip area into the blocks and executing the graphic processing. However, no division reference is set forth, in particular. Therefore, when the overflow occurs during the graphic processing inside the divided block, the processing is terminated as a whole at this point of time, or the block is divided once again at this point so as to execute again the graphic processing from the beginning. For this reason, efficiency of the graphic processing is extremely low. However if all the blocks are divided more finely to match those blocks which might cause on overflow, the data input/output processing requires a longer time and invites a drop in the processing speed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a graphic processing method which solves the problems of the prior art described above, improves data processing efficiency by effectively utilizing file information of the input graphic data, and also improves the data conversion processing speed by optimizing block division.
A method of producing LSIs which executes a conversion processing of data for LSI design, for example, to mask production data for plotting (exposure) and plots a circuit design pattern to a reticle, a mask, a wafer, etc, by an electron beam exposure apparatus on the basis of this mask production data has been employed in the past. However, the requirement for reducing the processing time for generating the plotting data (exposure data) for producing the LSIs has become higher and higher with a greater scale and a higher density of LSIs (the appearance of VLSIs, ULSIs) in recent years.
Therefore, a technology which divides a data area of a chip for each layer into a large number of data processing object areas, and allocates these processing object areas to a plurality of processors for executing a parallel processing has been proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2-232772. This technology divides the data area of an LSI chip into small areas having substantially the same data quantity, thus makes the loads on the parallel processors uniform and executes the parallel processing.
Nonetheless, the prior art technology described above is not yet free from the following problem.
Namely, the LSI pattern data processor described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2-232772 involves the drawbacks that cut-off of the graphic data occurs when a sizing processing on the graphic data is executed by the parallel processors, and the overlap of the graphic data cannot be confirmed. Further, setting of a boundary line for dividing the pattern data area into small areas having substantially the same data quantity in accordance with layout of the LSI chip is complicated, and the processing efficiency of the parallel processing is not sufficiently high.
Because a plurality of parallel processors having similar performance must be installed for the graphic data processing, the design cost increases.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a parallel processing system using a network which solves the problems of the prior art technologies described above, can improve the conversion processing speed of design data to mask production data, and can reduce the cost by efficiently utilizing an existing system.

Parallel graphic processing system using a network


A process is set forth for previewing a table attachment on a mobile communication device, and upon identifying table content of interest viewing and/or retrieving the entire table from an attachment server. In one embodiment, a small 4×4 row/column preview is presented on the device of every table found in a document attachment, with the cell content textual information limited to the requesting device display capabilities. This limitation avoids any requirement to download large amounts of individual cell content to the device. Thus, the user is able to quickly identify which tables are of interest and then request a full table download from the attachment server in an on-demand fashion. In this regard, the preview table itself preferably also functions as a link to the full table stored at the server to facilitate easy retrieval to the device for viewing in a spreadsheet view.

Mobile communication devices are becoming increasingly popular for business and personal use due to a relatively recent increase in number of services and features that the devices and mobile infrastructures support. Handheld mobile communication devices, sometimes referred to as mobile stations, are essentially portable computers having wireless capability, and come in various forms. These include Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), cellular phones and smart phones. While their reduced size is an advantage to portability, limitations in download bandwidth and device screen size give rise to challenges in viewing large documents with multiple embedded tables, having a large number of columns and rows for presenting information in a tabular format.
For wireless devices that support viewing of attachments, this represents a large amount of information for downloading, requiring a large amount of bandwidth and the associated cost thereof. Additionally, the user must wait for an extended period of time while the device is downloading the complete table.
Since mobile communication devices have limited screen real estate, it is known in the art to provide an Attachment Server (AS) for delivering "on-demand" content to wireless device users in order to minimize bandwidth, and device CPU/memory usage. When the user of a wireless device views a document attachment that uses tables, the Attachment Server typically downloads the document text to the Attachment Viewer (AV) on the mobile device along with a selectable link (e.g. [Table: N]), rather than the entire table contents. The user can then retrieve the entire table, if desired, by selecting the link. By downloading only the text and a link to the table, and providing the user with an option for retrieving or viewing the entire table attachment, such existing architectures thereby adhere to the on-demand design principle set forth above.
Unfortunately, the selectable link (e.g. [Table: N]) provides no information relating to the actual content of the table. Some documents use tables extensively to present information. Indeed, in some cases the entire document is created using only tables containing the entire textual content. These types of table-centric documents, when viewed on the wireless device through the foregoing on-demand architecture, are represented only by a large number of selectable table links, without any other textual information. For these types of documents the user is unable to discern which of the table(s) contain information that is relevant to them and thus should be retrieved. The user is therefore required to retrieve some, if not all, of the tables in the document in order to identify any table(s) of interest. Consequently, the design principle of offering on-demand retrieval, wherever possible, is defeated by such multiple downloads of irrelevant attachment parts.

Method for requesting and viewing a preview of a table attachment on a mobile communication device


A pressable explosive composition is provided. The composition includes at least 40 weight percent of substantially uncoated fuel particles, a nitramine mechanically blended with the substantially uncoated fuel particles, and a binder coating the nitramine. The binder constitutes about 1 to about 6 weight percent of the pressable explosive composition. Also provided are a pressed thermobaric explosive, weapons containing the pressed thermobaric explosive, and methods for making the composition and thermobaric explosive.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of explosive compositions, especially compositions useful for thermobaric weapons, and further relates to thermobaric weapons and methods for making and employing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Standard-type explosives selected for fragmentation and/or penetration effects constitute one of the most commonly used categories of conventional explosives. Such standard explosives typically comprise a relatively high density, oxygen-balanced composition. An example of a weapon containing such standard explosives is the shoulder-launched rocket, which is useful, for example, in repelling and destroying armored vehicles and the like. The shaped charge of the shoulder-launched rockets creates a high velocity metal jet that inflicts damage over a relatively narrow radius. As a result, conventional fragmentation/penetration weapons are primarily useful against confined and discrete targets located directly along the travel path of the weapon. Standard explosives are less effective against expansive targets, such as multi-room buildings, and hidden or entrenched targets (e.g., field fortifications, machine gun posts, and the like) that are not in a direct path or cannot be reached by a direct path of penetration.
Volumetric explosives constitute another explosive weaponry category, and are designed to overcome shortcomings of standard explosives. Volumetric explosives are generally characterized by their superb incendiary and blast effects. For example, some volumetric explosives are capable of creating large fireballs upon detonation. Fuel-air explosives (FAEs) fall within this category. Generally, FAEs are aerobic fuel-rich gels or slurries and are aerobic, i.e., compositions containing a fuel component that combusts with oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere upon detonation. FAE weapons generally contain a "burster" that, upon detonation, disperses the fuel component outward as an aerosol and then either detonates or ignites to promote the aerobic reaction of the fuel component with the oxygen in air. The relatively low-order burning event generated by the burster limits the extent of damage imparted by the FAE. For example, the FAE usually have limited success in reaching deeply burrowed targets.
A class of explosives known as thermobaric explosives (TBX) also falls within the volumetric weaponry category. Thermobaric explosives are designed to produce heat and pressure effects instead of armor piercing or fragmentation damage effects. Thermobaric explosives are generally fuel-rich compositions containing a nitramine, characterized by the energy release occurring over a longer period of time than standard explosives, thereby creating a long-duration pressure pulse. Without wishing to be bound by a particular theory, it is believed that the thermobaric explosive undergoes the following stages upon detonation. In a first stage, an initial shock (or blast) wave from the explosive causes the nitramine to undergo anaerobic detonation in an essentially reduction-oxidization (redox) reaction occurring within hundreds of microseconds to disperse the fuel particles. In a second stage, the anaerobic combustion of fuel particles occurs within hundreds of microseconds. The anaerobic combustion process occurs along the detonation shock wave and consumes fuel particles in close proximity to the detonating nitramine. In the third stage, the fuel-rich energetic material is subject to aerobic combustion, which results from the shock wave mixing with oxygen in the surrounding air and has a duration of, for example, several microseconds. Residual nitramine is preferably present in the shock wave and undergoes anaerobic reaction with the fuel particles to propagate the shock wave and increase dispersion of the fuel particles.
Thermobaric explosives typically are plastic bonded explosive (PBX) compositions, which typically comprise a metallic fuel and an oxidizer or nitramine. One drawback associated with the use of a PBX composition in a thermobaric weapon is that the metallic fuel sometimes does not combust completely. Due to the diminished return of increasing fuel content, the fuel content is regulated so as to not exceed 35 weight percent, and more typically falls within a range of 20 to 35 weight percent. Due to this low fuel content, most successful traditional thermobaric weapons have been designed relatively large in size to furnish adequate fuel. Weight and size penalties accompany the large size and weight of such weapons. Although decreasing the size of the weapon can overcome this drawback, smaller thermobaric weapons tend to generate insufficient overpressure to kill targets "in the open."
Without wishing to be bound by any theory, it is also believed by the present inventors that TBX compositions generally act like "high" or "underwater" explosives and, as such, are characterized by shock-propagated reactions. Shock propagated reactions can bounce off of walls and succumb to rarefaction in closed spaces. Although shock wave rarefaction enables a high degree of mixing and multiple reactions, it also can limit the effective range of the thermobaric explosive, especially in closed or labyrinth-like spaces such as caves or multi-room buildings.
3. Objects of the Invention
It is one object of this invention to provide a pressable explosive composition especially suited for use in thermobaric weapons.
It is another object of the invention to provide a pressed thermobaric explosive, especially one capable of penetrating deeply into complex and entrenched structures, such as caves and multi-room buildings.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a pressed thermobaric explosive less prone to adverse performance caused by rarefaction in enclosed spaces.
It is another object of the invention to provide a pressed thermobaric explosive having improved sensitivity characteristics, including electrostatic and frictional sensitivities.
It is another object of this invention to provide articles of manufacture, such as but not necessarily limited to warheads, projectiles, grenades and munitions comprising the pressed thermobaric explosive of this invention.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide methods for making the pressable explosive compositions, thermobaric explosives, and articles of manufacture of the present invention.

Thermobaric explosives and compositions, and articles of manufacture and methods regarding the same

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Methods and systems are provided for expediting heating of an engine and an emissions device upon cold startup of the engine. In one example, a method may include prior to cold startup of an engine, operating an e-compressor and opening a recirculation valve of a recirculation passage coupled across the e-compressor to flow compressed intake air from an outlet of the e-compressor through the recirculation passage to an inlet of the e-compressor and starting the engine upon a temperature at the outlet of the e-compressor reaching a threshold and continuing to operate the e-compressor while the engine is on. The heated intake air resulting from the flow of compressed intake air through the recirculation passage raises a temperature of combustion and a temperature of exhaust gas, which may decrease catalyst light-off time of the emissions device.

During initial engine startup, subsequent to a period of time where the engine is off and engine components allowed to cool, fuel may be combusted at combustion chambers of the engine, generating exhaust gas. Emission devices, such as three-way catalytic converters in spark-ignition engines and selective catalytic reduction in diesel-powered engines, may be arranged in a vehicle exhaust system downstream of the combustion chambers to treat exhaust emissions. The emission devices may require a period of time following engine startup to warm to a temperature at which catalysts of the devices are activated. Upon reaching the activation temperature after a duration of time known as light-off, the emission devices may efficiently treat regulated combustion products such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrocarbons before releasing the exhaust gas to the atmosphere.
Catalytic conversion efficiency during light-off may be low, leading to undesirable release of exhaust emissions during early stages of driving. Furthermore, fuel combustion when a temperature of the engine intake is low may result in marginal or incomplete combustion, poor engine performance and drivability, as well as vehicle noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). Use of electrical heating devices, such as intake air heaters, to warm the engine during startup are impractical solutions due to a size and cost of such appliances.
Other attempts to address faster engine and catalyst heating include using an electrically assisted compressor to heat intake air. One example approach is shown by Uhrich et al. in US 2010/0300405. Therein, a boosting device is at least partially driven by an electric motor to boost intake air delivered through a fuel vapor canister to release fuel vapor stored in the canister during an engine cold start condition. The fuel vapor is combusted in the engine cylinders, heating the cylinders as well as an emission control device. Use of the fuel vapor for combustion may also improve air-fuel mixing and decrease emissions during catalyst light-off.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with such systems. As one example, heating of the engine combustion chambers and emission control device via exhaust heat produced during combustion of the fuel vapors may still be relatively slow and dependent on an amount of stored fuel vapor. For example, if the engine is operated under cool ambient conditions, lower evaporation of fuel may result in a small volume of stored fuel vapor. The amount may be insufficient to effectively accelerate heating of the engine and emissions device.
In one example, the issues described above may be addressed by a method including prior to cold startup of an engine, operating an e-compressor and opening a recirculation valve of a recirculation passage coupled across the e-compressor to flow compressed intake air from an outlet of the e-compressor through the recirculation passage to an inlet of the e-compressor and starting the engine upon the temperature at an outlet of the e-compressor reaching a threshold temperature and continuing to operate the e-compressor while the engine is on.
In this way, engine warming and catalyst light-off may be expedited by energy transfer from an electrically driven compressor (e-compressor). As one example, an engine system may be adapted with a recirculation passage coupling an intake passage downstream of the e-compressor outlet to the intake passage upstream of the compressor inlet. Air may be recirculated through the recirculation passage to return to the e-compressor, prior to cold engine startup, thereby increasing a temperature of the air (or air/burnt gas mixture) before delivery to the engine intake. Engine combustion may be delayed to allow the intake air temperature to increase to a threshold temperature, thereby facilitating faster warming of an emissions device the exhaust system. Heating of intake air by recirculation through the e-compressor may also be used to regenerate a diesel particulate filter.
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.

Systems and methods for expediting engine warming


A laser-based light source includes a laser device configured to generate laser light of a predetermined laser wavelength and emit this laser light as a laser beam. A light-conversion device is configured to convert at least part of the laser light into converted light and a laser-output sensor is configured to determine a laser-output signal proportional to the output of laser light emitted by the laser device. Further, a converted-light sensor is configured to determine a converted-light signal proportional to the output of converted light emitted by the light-conversion device. A controller is configured to receive the laser-output signal and the converted-light signal, to determine a safe-to-operate parameter, based on the laser-output signal and the converted-light signal, and to control the operation of the laser-based light source based on a comparison of the safe-to-operate parameter with a at least one predefined threshold.

During the last decades, thanks to the advances of semiconductor technology, LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) have become more and more important in lighting applications. Technological breakthroughs in high-power LEDs have opened the door to new lighting concepts driven by miniaturization, lifetime, efficiency and sustainability.
Compared to LEDs, the advantage of lasers is their much higher brightness. Semiconductor lasers have started to become available in output powers of several Watts, thus enabling a high lumen output. Laser light by itself will not be of much use for illumination since the laser beam is too bright to be eye-safe, too monochromatic for faithful colour reproduction and will result in annoying speckle due to its coherence. A convenient way to resolve these issues is to produce a light source by converting part of the laser light into broadband light via phosphor conversion.
In nearly all white-light emitting LEDs, a blue emitter is combined with a yellow-light emitting phosphor. By pumping the yellow phosphor with blue light, part of the blue light is converted into broadband yellow light. This yellow light in combination with the remaining blue light renders white light. The colour temperature can be tuned by tuning the phosphor composition and by tuning the ratio of phosphor converted light and remaining blue pump light.
In the same manner, a blue light emitting laser diode can be used to pump a yellow phosphor to generate white light. Alternatively, a near-UV diode laser can be used to pump a phosphor that emits white light or light of a specific colour. Yet another alternative is to use a red or near-IR laser diode in combination with an upconversion phosphor to generate white light or light of a specific colour.
Such laser-based light sources relying on phosphor conversion have the advantage that they can be much brighter than the brightness achievable with LEDs: with a laser one can achieve a much higher optical power density at the phosphor than with LEDs. Such light sources are ideal for automotive headlamps and spot-lights. However, one critical issue with laser-based lighting is the fact that the light source should adhere to strict legislation and be eye-safe under all circumstances, even when tampered with.


A mobile phone having a USB interface and including a main body and a battery pack removably mounted to the main body is provided. The mobile phone includes a USB connector that may be connected to an external device to allow data transmission between the external device and the mobile phone; a holding unit for containing the USB connector and from which the USB connector may be withdrawn; and a housing mounted in the mobile phone and including a flash memory for storing data, and a controller for controlling a data signal of the flash memory through the USB connector.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile phone. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile phone that is universal serial bus (USB)-based to allow for connection to a personal computer (PC) such that data transmission therebetween may be easily and efficiently performed.
(b) Description of the Related Art
The use of wireless communication devices, and hence the networks forming the communication support infrastructure, has been increasing at a phenomenal rate in recent years. In many parts of the world, the mobile phone has become as indispensable as many of the other products we use on a daily basis.
The main different protocols used in mobile communications include personal communication service (PCS), code division multiple access (CDMA), and global system of mobile communication (GSM). By utilizing a mobile phone, users are able to communicate with other users of mobile phones, as well with those having fixed-line phones. Further, mobile phone users may exchange text messages.
The fierce competition between mobile phone manufacturers has resulted in many companies providing various different functions to their mobile units in an effort to distinguish their phones from their competitors. A memory function is an example of such a function.
The memory function is able to store a plurality of telephone numbers and other personal information, and provide output of the stored information as needed. A flash memory is typically mounted on a circuit board contained in the mobile phone. With this configuration, a central processing unit is able to store or access data in data areas of the flash memory through memory addressing and I/O addressing processes.
However, data storage using the flash memory contained in the mobile phone is limited by the storage capacity of the flash memory. The end result is that not much data may be stored.
Although there are portable hard disks and other similar products, such devices have many drawbacks including limited portability, inconvenience in use, and large size. Even if size is minimized, these devices are designed for use with only specific products. Hence, portable hard disks are not widely used.
Further, present mobile phones and similar information devices are adopting methods to increase high-capacity flash memory in order to handle ever-increasing information capacity demands. However, this increases the costs of these devices.
One area of development involves mounting a storage device such as a hard disk within the mobile phone in an effort to increase storage capacity. For connection to an external device, these mobile phones may be USB-based, in which case a USB cable and connector are used for the connection. However, performing such a connection is inconvenient.
Further, the storage devices mounted in the mobile phone are developed for the sole purpose of data storage such that the connection function with the mobile phone is limited.
In addition, a separate charger and associated connector are needed to charge the battery in the conventional mobile phone.


A holder for a wet shaver has a base having a holding device for the wet shaver. The holding device has a recess with a rim and also has an upwardly extending support for the wet shaver that is connected to the rim of the recess. The recess is shaped complementary to the free end of the wet shaver handle.

The present invention relates to a holder for a wet shaver with a base having a means for supporting the wet shaver.
Wet shavers or razors are known in the art. In general, the forward end of the handle is provided with a razor head with a single or double razor blade. In a special embodiment of such wet shavers, so-called razor blade units are used. These razor blade units are separate components in which a single or double razor blade is fixedly embedded within a plastic body. These razor blade units are connected in a releasable and exchangable manner at the razor head of the wet shaver with a corresponding fastening mechanism. For a simple storage of such razor blade units it is known to arrange them in a dispenser.
In general, it is disadvantageous that conventional wet shavers, when not in use, must be placed on a surface, whereby due to the sharp razor blades a potentially hazardous situation with respect to injuries results.
For a safe storage of a wet shaver it is known from German Gebrauchsmuster 90 14 878 to provide a holder for the combined storage of a wet shaver and a dispenser for razor blade units. The holder has a base portion that is provided with a support for suspending the wet shaver, whereby a receiving device in the form of a slot-shaped recess for receiving a box-shaped dispenser is provided at the base.
This known holder for a wet shaver has the disadvantage that it is comprised of two separate parts. The support for suspending the wet shaver must be mounted on the base portion. Due to the two-part embodiment and the necessary assembly, the manufacture of the known wet shaver holder is relatively expensive.
It is furthermore disadvantageous that for storing the wet shaver it must be suspended from the free ends of the support that are in the form of two lateral, upwardly extending, fork-shaped projections. At the moment of insertion into the free ends the user exerts an additional force at the upper end of the support so that the support overall is destabilized for a short period of time and may fall over. The removal of the wet shaver from the support has also been proven to be impractical.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a holder for a wet shaver which is more economical to produce and which allows for an easier manipulation.

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According to one embodiment, a controller writes first write data transferred from a first buffer and code data for second write data different from the first write data, the code data being transferred from a second buffer, in parallel to a plurality of physical pages corresponding to a first logical page. The controller writes code data for the first write data to a physical page corresponding to a second logical page, the second logical page being next to the first logical page, at a time of write to the nonvolatile memory following the write of the first write data and the code data for the second write data.

In a storage using a flash memory, a plurality of memory chips is distributed to a plurality of channels and the channels are driven in parallel to enhance data transfer performance. Physical blocks are collected from the channels, respectively, and a logical block serving as a virtual block is constructed of the collected physical blocks. The logical block is a unit of management such as erasure and wear leveling. A physical page is selected from each of the physical blocks constituting the logical block and a logical page serving as a virtual page is constructed of the selected physical pages. The logical page is a unit of read and a unit of write.
This type of storages adopts an inter-channel error correction code (ECC) for creating a redundant code from data distributed and stored in the memory chips (the channels) to relieve defects in the memory chips. In the inter-channel ECC, when a redundant code is to be calculated, the redundant code is calculated using code source data stored in a buffer. After calculation of the redundant code is ended, the calculated redundant code and the code source data corresponding to the redundant code are transferred to the memory chips at the same time in parallel via the channels, so that write operations for the redundant code and the code source data corresponding to the redundant code are performed at the same time.
To transfer the redundant code and the code source data corresponding to the redundant code to the memory chips in parallel in this way, the code source data needs to be kept in the buffer while the redundant code is calculated, which increases the retention time of the code source data in the buffer and correspondingly increases the capacity of the buffer.

Memory system and method of controlling memory system


A speech coding apparatus and method for use in a speech recognition apparatus and method. The value of at least one feature of an utterance is measured during each of a series of successive time intervals to produce a series of feature vector signals representing the feature values. A plurality of prototype vector signals, each having at least one parameter value and a unique identification value are stored. The closeness of the feature vector signal is compared to the parameter values of the prototype vector signals to obtain prototype match scores for the feature value signal and each prototype vector signal. The identification value of the prototype vector signal having the best prototype match score is output as a coded representation signal of the feature vector signal. Speaker-dependent prototype vector signals are generated from both synthesized training vector signals and measured training vector signals. The synthesized training vector signals are transformed reference feature vector signals representing the values of features of one or more utterances of one or more speakers in a reference set of speakers. The measured training feature vector signals represent the values of features of one or more utterances of a new speaker/user not in the reference set.

The invention relates to speech coding, such as for computerized speech recognition. Speech coding involves the generation of an electrical signal representing at least some information about an utterance.
Speech coding devices and speech recognition systems may be either speaker-independent, or speaker-dependent. Speaker-independent speech recognition systems have parameters whose values are fixed for all speakers who use the system. Speaker-dependent speech recognition systems have at least some parameters whose values for one speaker differ from the parameter values for other speakers.
By choosing suitable parameter values for each individual speaker, the speaker-dependent speech recognition system generally achieves a higher word recognition rate (or a lower word error rate) than a speaker-independent speech recognition system. However, a relatively large amount of training data is required from each new speaker in order to obtain speaker-dependent parameter values which will yield a suitably high word recognition rate.

Speech coding apparatus having speaker dependent prototypes generated from nonuser reference data

International Business Machines Corporation


This invention relates to improved methods for nucleic acid detection using methods such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). More specifically, the invention provides methods for simultaneous amplification and detection to enhance the speed and accuracy of prior methods. The methods involve the introduction of detectable DNA binding agents into the amplification reaction, which agents produce a detectable signal that is enhanced upon binding double-stranded DNA. In a preferred embodiment, the binding agent is a fluorescent dye. The methods also provide means for monitoring the increase in product DNA during an amplification reaction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides improved methods for nucleic acid detection. The novel methods for simultaneous nucleic acid amplification and detection enhance the speed and accuracy of prior detection methods and eliminate the need for sample processing following amplification. In a preferred embodiment, the method provides a modification of the polymerase chain reaction and utilizes agents whose fluorescence is enhanced upon binding double-stranded DNA. The methods provided herein have numerous applications, particularly in the fields of molecular biology, medical diagnostics and forensic sciences.
2. Description of Related Art
The disclosed nucleic acid detection methods offer the advantages of speed and simplicity over prior methods for detecting amplified nucleic acids. Nucleic acid detection techniques in general are particularly useful in medical diagnostic assays. For example, Falkow et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,535 disclose a method for detecting pathogens by spotting a sample (e.g., blood, cells, saliva, etc.) on a filter, lysing the cells and fixing the DNA through chemical denaturation and heating. Then, labeled DNA probes are added and allowed to hybridize with the fixed sample DNA. Hybridization indicates the presence of the pathogen's DNA.
Nucleic acid detection using oligonucleotide probes has become a standard method for specific target detection. Numerous modifications of the method have been described, including culturing the target cells or organisms in situ on the filter, increasing the amount of target nucleic acid available for detection. Generally, these methods require that the DNA sample is noncovalently bound onto a solid support such as nitrocellulose or nylon and then hybridized to a labeled target-specific probe.
The sensitivity and specificity of nucleic acid detection methods was greatly improved by the invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR is a process for amplifying nucleic acids and involves the use of two oligonucleotide primers, an agent for polymerization, a target nucleic acid template, and successive cycles of denaturation of nucleic acid and annealing and extension of the primers to produce a large number of copies of a particular nucleic acid segment. With this method, segments of single copy genomic DNA can be amplified more than 10 million fold with very high specificity and fidelity. PCR methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,202, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Methods for detecting PCR products are particularly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,195, which is incorporated herein by reference. Those methods require an oligonucleotide probe capable of hybridizing with the amplified target nucleic acid. European Patent Publication No. 237,362, which is incorporated herein by reference, also describes a PCR-based detection method termed "reverse dot blot", in which the probe, instead of the amplified DNA, is fixed to the membrane. According to the method, the target, rather than the probe, is labeled for hybridization. These methods require separate steps of amplification, capture, and detection and generally require several hours to complete. In the reverse dot-blot method, storage-stable target-specific reagents are preferred.
Alternative methods for detecting amplified nucleic acids are described in copending U.S. Ser. No. 076,394, filed Jul. 22, 1987, which is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Ser. No. 076,394 describes PCR-based methods for simultaneous amplification and labeling of a target nucleic acid. The methods require that at least one amplification primer is labeled. The amplification primer can be labeled with, for example, a radioisotope for direct detection of the amplified product or labeled with a reagent suitable for capturing the product onto a solid support for subsequent detection.
Other means of detection include the use of fragment length polymorphism hybridization, allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probes (Saiki et al., 1986, Nature 324:163), or direct sequencing via the dideoxy method using amplified DNA rather than cloned DNA. The fragment length polymorphism method detects insertions and deletions between PCR primers resulting in PCR products of different lengths, detectable by sizing. ASO methods are useful for detecting allelic sequence variations. In an example of ASO hybridization, the amplified DNA is fixed to a nylon filter (by, for example, UV irradiation) in a series of "dot blots," then allowed to hybridize with an oligonucleotide probe under stringent conditions. This method is also described in copending U.S. Ser. No. 347,495, filed May 4, 1989, which is incorporated herein by reference. The probe may be labeled with, for example, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and detected by the presence of a blue precipitate following treatment with suitable oxidation reagents.
Copending U.S. Ser. No. 563,758, filed Aug. 6, 1990, and incorporated herein by reference, describes an alterative assay method for detecting amplified nucleic acids. The process employs the 5' to 3' nuclease activity of a nucleic acid polymerase to cleave annealed, labeled oligonucleotides from hybridized duplexes and release labeled oligonucleotide fragments for detection. The method is suitable for detecting PCR products and requires a primer pair and a labeled oligonucleotide probe having a blocked 3'-0H terminus to prevent extension by the polymerase.
Due to the enormous amplification possible with the PCR process, small levels of DNA carryover from samples with high DNA levels, positive control templates, or from previous amplifications, can result in PCR product even in the absence of purposefully added template DNA. Higuchi and Kwok, (1989, Nature 339:237-238 and Kwok) and Orrego, (in Innis et al., 1990, PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, Calif.), describe particular methods and precautions for practicing PCR with a minimum of cross contamination. U.S. Ser. No. 609,157, filed Nov. 2, 1990, describes improved methods for reducing the effects of cross contamination by the introduction of unconventional nucleotide bases. These references are incorporated herein by reference. Because the possibility of introducing contaminating DNA to a sample will be increased as the amount of handling steps required for sample preparation, processing, and analysis is increased, it would be preferable to minimize sample handling, particularly after the amplification reaction is complete.
A number of agents have been described for labeling nucleic acids, whether probe or target, for facilitating detection of target nucleic acid. Suitable labels may provide signals detectable by fluorescence, radioactivity, colorimetry, X-ray diffraction or absorption, magnetism or enzymatic activity and include, for example, fluorophores, chromophores, radioactive isotopes (particularly .sup.32 P and .sup.125 I) electron-dense reagents, enzymes, and ligands having specific binding partners.
Labeling is achieved by a number of means, such as chemical modification of a primer or probe to incorporate a label or the use of polymerizing agents to incorporate a modified nucleoside triphosphate into an extension product. Intercalating agents non-covalently bind the stacked bases of nucleic acids and as a result the fluorescence of the agent either increases or shifts to a different wavelength. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,789 describes several intercalating moieties including psoralens. Copending U.S. Ser. No. 076,394 describes methods for amplifying and detecting nucleic acids using psoralen labeled primers. Both the '789 patent and the '394 application are incorporated herein by reference.
Fluorescent dyes are suitable for detecting nucleic acids. For example, ethidium bromide is an intercalating agent that displays increased fluorescence when bound to double-stranded DNA rather than when in free solution (Sharp et al., 1973, Biochemistry 12:3055). Ethidium bromide can be used to detect both single- and double-stranded nucleic acids, although the affinity of ethidium bromide for single-stranded nucleic acid is relatively low. Ethidium bromide is routinely used to detect nucleic acids following gel electrophoresis. Following size fractionation on an appropriate gel matrix, for example, agarose or acrylamide, the gel is soaked in a dilute solution of ethidium bromide. The DNA is then visualized by examining the gel under UV light (see Maniatis et al., 1982 eds., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, New York, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.)
Alternative fluorescence based methods for detecting DNA have been described. For example, Morrison et al., 1989, Anal. Biochem., 18:231-244, which is incorporated herein by reference, describe a two probe method for detecting target DNA. One probe is labeled with fluorescein, the other probe, complementary to the first, is labeled with a quencher for fluorescein emission. The probes are allowed to anneal with denatured DNA containing the target sequence, and the amount of fluorescence is determined. Fluorescence increases to the extent that the fluorescein probe binds to unlabeled, complementary DNA rather than the complementary, quenching probe.
Mabuchi et al., 1990, Nucl. Acids Res. 18(24):7461-7462, which is incorporated herein by reference, describe a method for detecting DNA fragments based on the AT content of the nucleic acid segment. Two fluorochromes are used to stain size fractionated DNA in an agarose gel. The selective binding properties of different fluorochromes for AT rich regions are used to distinguish electrophoresed DNA fragments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,774, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes the direct binding of fluorescent intercalators to DNA, e.g., ethidium salts, daunomycin, mepacrine and acridine orange, as well as 4'6-diamidino-.alpha.-phenylindole to quantitate the DNA. Fluorescence polarization is used for characterization of non-fluorescent DNA binding compounds which compete with the DNA binding dyes.
Oser and Valet (1990, Angew. Chem. Int. Engl. 29(10):1167) describe a nucleic acid detection scheme that requires two oligonucleotide probes complementary to adjacent sites on a target. The probes are labeled differentially with either a salicylate or a DTPA ligand bearing a fluorescence emitter, Tb.sup.III. Hybridization of both probes to the target provides steric proximity of the two labels resulting in a measurable increase in Tb.sup.III fluorescence. The modified probes are prepared specifically for each target to be detected.
European Patent Publication No. 070,685 describes the use of fluorescent labeled polynucleotide probes in polynucleotide hybridization assays. According to the method, probes are prepared by attaching particular absorber-emitter moieties to the 3' and 5' ends of nucleic acid fragments. The fragments are capable of hybridizing to adjacent positions on a target DNA, so that, if both fragments are hybridized, the proximity of the absorber and emitter moieties results in detectable emitter fluorescence.
According to these methods, the fluorescent dye is introduced to the target DNA after all in vitro nucleic acid polymerization reactions have been completed. The inhibitory effects of intercalating agents on nucleic acid polymerases have been described in numerous publications (see for example, Kornberg, 1974, DNA Synthesis, W. H. Freman and Co., San Francisco, and Richardson, 1973, J. Mol. Biol. 78:703-714, which is incorporated herein by reference).
DNA binding dyes are useful as antibiotics because of the inhibitory effects on nucleic acid replication processes that result from the agent binding to the template. European Patent Publication No. 169,787 describes the use of intercalating agents for blocking replication of influenza or herpes virus. Kornberg (supra) describes a number of DNA binding agents, both intercalators and non-intercalators, and describes how each compound inhibits nucleic acid replication. At page 227, Kornberg specifically describes that ethidium bromide inhibits DNA replication.
A method for simultaneous amplification and detection of target nucleic acids would provide advantages over prior detection methods. Such a method would minimize the problems of sample contamination inherent in any process involving a series of manipulative steps for discerning a positive or negative test result. By eliminating sample handling and processing steps, a method for simultaneous amplification and detection of target nucleic acids would increase the speed and accuracy of current diagnostic methods. The present invention addresses and solves these needs.

Homogeneous methods for nucleic acid amplification and detection


A method and system for dynamically wedging data received from one or more automatic data collection (xe2x80x9cADCxe2x80x9d) devices on an ADC device platform into a destination application based upon wedging criteria. A dynamic wedge receives data from one or more ADC devices and automatically wedges the data into applications based upon user-provided data characteristics or a predetermined set of rules. Applicable wedging criteria used to route data include those that are user-composed and those that pertain to firmware or software characteristics. The dynamic wedge may comprise an ADC data server, ADC device handlers, ADC protocol handlers, and a wedging grid for retaining wedging directives. The ADC data server receives wedging directives from local and remote client applications and stores the wedging directives in the wedging grid. When data arrives from an ADC device, the ADC data server analyzes the data to determine its characteristics. The ADC data server compares the identified characteristics against the wedging directives stored in the wedging grid. The ADC data server then determines for which clients a match has been found. For those clients for which a match has been found, the ADC data server then performs the wedging directive in order to dispose properly of the received ADC data.

The invention relates generally to automatic data collection (xe2x80x9cADCxe2x80x9d) devices and more particularly to transmitting data received from ADC devices.
Automatic Data Collection (xe2x80x9cADCxe2x80x9d) device platforms, such as ADC device platforms equipped with bar code readers, have received increasing commercial attention in the past few years. ADC device platforms, such as hand-held data collection terminals, or hand-held personal computers, have been widely implemented in the retail marketplace and have garnered increasing utilization in a diverse range of application areas. The ever-decreasing cost and size of ADC device platforms has facilitated their entry into a wide variety of commercial, institutional, and governmental settings.
An ADC device platform having a bar code reader adeptly accesses and retrieves data stored in the form of a bar code label. Data representing virtually any product or service found in the stream of commerce may be encoded in a bar code label for later access by an ADC device platform having a bar code reader. Bar code readers include laser scanners as well as other means of collecting product information, such as a bar code wand, a still camera or an area imager. In addition to bar code labels, other ADC data formats include Radio Frequency (xe2x80x9cRFxe2x80x9d) tags, resonators, SmartCards, magnetic strips, Optical Character Recognition (xe2x80x9cOCRxe2x80x9d), speech input, two-dimensional (xe2x80x9c2Dxe2x80x9d) symbols, dipole devices (such as those recited in U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,257), and any symbol having encoded data therein.
In a conventional ADC device platform environment, the recipient of ADC data either physically manipulates the ADC device platform itself to retrieve the ADC data or receives the ADC data through a local, and probably proprietary, network. Thus, a typical ADC device operator is limited both in terms of the distance from which the operator may be located away from the actual device and by the complexity and versatility of the elements that comprise the ADC device network which the operator utilizes. The operator suffers from still further limitations due to the fact that many conventional ADC device platforms are not readily configurable for new ADC devices, or even for ADC devices other than those attached to the ADC device platform when it is initially sold. Yet another limitation in a conventional ADC device platform arises when an operator wishes to add a new ADC device to one of the few ADC device platforms that will accept new ADC devices. This limitation stems from the fact that many ADC devices require proprietary communications protocols, and even when the communications protocols are non-proprietary, the communications protocols are typically non-standard. Thus, the operator cannot simply attach a new ADC device to an existing ADC device platform and expect that the new combination will function properly. Finally, the above limitations, both separately and together, hinder an ADC operator""s ability to customize the ADC device platform to operate in the most productive manner possible.
Input data received by an ADC device platform must be routed to the intended destination. Conventional ADC device platforms typically have a simple connection that routes one type of data from a single ADC device to a single destination, typically an application program. However, ADC device consumers presently demand more sophisticated ADC device platforms that receive data from multiple ADC devices and route the data, of multiple types, to multiple destinations. While data routing decisions may be permanently fixed in an ADC device platform""s basic design, such an approach provides only minimal flexibility and does not accommodate the addition of new ADC devices and new data recipients. Moreover, such an approach also prevents existing data recipients from reconfiguring their data routing instructions. ADC device consumers would like to register their specific data requests with an ADC device platform, including the specification of logical relationships and various contingencies with regard to the routing of ADC data. Finally, ADC data consumers expect that their data processing applications will operate upon data received from ADC devices regardless of whether the application recognizes specific ADC data types.
The invention provides a method and system for dynamically wedging data received from one or more automatic data collection (xe2x80x9cADCxe2x80x9d) devices on an ADC device platform into a destination application based upon wedging criteria. Applicable criteria for routing data may be user-composed and may pertain to firmware or software characteristics.
An ADC computing system having a dynamic wedge capability receives data from one or more ADC devices and automatically routes the data to applications based upon previously stored dynamic wedge directives, according to an aspect of the invention. Aspects of the ADC computing system having a dynamic wedge capability provide an efficient mechanism for channeling ADC data from one or more ADC devices to one or more client applications with a high degree of flexibility and user control.
A dynamic wedge mechanism may comprise an ADC data server in the ADC computing system, ADC device handlers, ADC protocol handlers, and a dynamic wedging grid that retains wedging directives, according to an aspect of the invention. The ADC data server receives wedging directives from local and remote client applications and stores the wedging directives in the dynamic wedging grid. When data arrives from an ADC device, a device-specific ADC data handler and a device-specific ADC protocol handler transform the data into a format operable by the ADC data server. The ADC data server analyzes the data to determine its characteristics. The ADC data server compares the identified characteristics against the wedging directives stored in the dynamic wedging grid. The ADC data server determines for which client applications a match has been found. For those clients for which a match has been found, the ADC data server then processes the appropriate wedging directive in order to dispose properly of the received ADC data. Aspects of the dynamic wedge may route ADC data to an application, both local and remote, to a virtual wedge, to a data file, or to any location that a client application may direct the sending of data.
Aspects of the invention operate in multiple client environments in which a client may receive data from multiple ADC devices, and multiple clients may receive data from the same ADC device. Aspects of the invention are applicable for dynamically wedging data received from ADC devices such as bar code readers, resonator readers, voice recognition devices, RF tag readers, detachable keyboards, two-dimensional symbol readers, ASCII data devices, AIMI-ECI data devices, dipole device readers, and optical character (xe2x80x9cOCRxe2x80x9d) devices. In addition, aspects of the invention accommodate the later addition of other ADC devices. Thus, the invention enables a user to reconfigure the ADC device platform for new data collection environments.

Automatic data collection device that dynamically wedges data transmitted to data consumers


A method for manufacturing a dielectric layer includes forming a first dielectric film over a substrate. A first porogen is deposited over the first dielectric film. A second dielectric film is formed on and in contact with the first dielectric film and the first porogen. The first porogen is removed.

The dielectric constant, k, is a value of a material's insulating properties. Low k dielectric materials are becoming increasingly popular in integrated circuits because of the improved electrical performance that can be obtained through the use of low k dielectrics as inter-metal or inter-level insulating material. For instance, the RC time constant of a device or circuit employing low k dielectrics can be substantially reduced over traditional inter-level dielectrics, thus allowing for faster switching speeds and improved device performance.
In modern semiconductor devices, low k dielectric materials are used as inter-level, also known as inter-metal, dielectrics to insulate one metal level from another. As is well known in the art, metal levels are stacked atop one another to form the complete integrated circuit, with the inter-level dielectric films acting as an insulating material there between. In damascene metallization processes, the inter-level dielectric material also acts as a supporting layer in which the metal traces are formed. Integrated circuits having six, eight, and an even greater number of stacked metal layers are known in the art. Trends suggest that the number of stacked metal layers will increase over time.

Dielectric layer, interconnection structure using the same, and manufacturing method thereof

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