This invention provides methods and systems for measuring the concentration of multiple nucleic acid sequences in a sample. The nucleic acid sequences in the sample are simultaneously amplified, for example, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the presence of an array of nucleic acid probes. The amount of amplicon corresponding to the multiple nucleic acid sequences can be measured in real-time during or after each cycle using a real-time microarray. The measured amount of amplicon produced can be used to determine the original amount of the nucleic acid sequences in the sample.

Nucleic acid target amplification assays such as polymerase chain reaction process (PCR), in principle, amplify and replicate specific sequences of nucleic acids of a DNA template in vitro. These assays have become a powerful tool in molecular biology and genomics, since they can increase the number of copies of target molecules with great specificity. It is of great interest to efficiently multiplex the amplification process and thus allow for multiple target amplification and quantification.
Currently, various homogeneous (closed-tube) assays are available for PCR. These assays detect the target amplicons (i.e., Quantitative PCR or QPCR). Nevertheless, the number of different nucleic acid sequences that can be simultaneously amplified and detected is very limited. Typically, an individual reaction chamber (or well) where the target is amplified and detected contains only a single amplicon. Multiplexed QPCR, defined as the process of amplifying and detecting a plurality of nucleic acid sequences simultaneously in a single reaction chamber, is generally practical only for a small number of amplicons.
PCR relies on an enzymatic replication process in each of its temperature-regulated cycles (typically, 30-40). A PCR cycle typically consists of three distinct phases: denaturing, annealing, and extension. Ideally, at the end of the extension phase, there are twice as many double-stranded target DNA fragments as there were at the beginning of the cycle. This implies an exponential growth of the amount of the target DNA as one proceeds through the cycles. However, practical issues affect the replication process adversely and the efficiency of PCR, defined as the probability of generating a replica of each template molecule, is usually smaller than the desired factor of two.
Quantification of the amplified targets in PCR is typically based on measuring the light intensity emanating from fluorescent reporter molecules incorporated into the double-stranded DNA copies of the target. The measured light intensity is an indication of the actual number of the amplified targets. Some of the commonly used probes are SYBR Green, hybridization, and TaqMan probes. SYBR Green I is a dye whose fluorescence increases significantly upon binding to (intercalating) double-stranded DNA. SYBR Green is non-discriminatory and will bind to non-specific byproducts of PCR (such as the primer-dimers). For this reason, special attention needs to be paid to optimizing the conditions of PCR with SYBR Green reporters. Hybridization probes are specific to the target DNA sequence. A hybridization probe typically consists of two short probe sequences, one labeled with a fluorescence resonance energy transfer donor and the other with an acceptor dye. The two probe sequences can be designed such that they hybridize next to each other on the target sequence; the co-location of the donor and the acceptor initiates energy transfer and, therefore, the change in their respective light intensities indicates successful replication of the target. The TaqMan probes are also specific to the target sequence, and are designed so that they contain a fluorescent dye in the vicinity of a quenching dye. Where the TaqMan probe hybridizes to the template, and the template is replicated, the TaqMan probe is degraded by the exo activity of the polymerase, separating the fluorescent dye from the quenching dye, resulting in an increased fluorescent signal.
In Q-PCR, fluorescent signal is measured at the end of each temperature cycle. The measured light intensities create a reaction profile, which can be plotted against the number of cycles and used to determine the concentration of the nucleic acid sequence that was amplified.
Attempts at employing QPCR for the simultaneous amplification and detection of many target amplicons in a single well are plagued with practical issues that present obstacles to achieving a truly multiplexed Q-PCR. A common approach used is to divide the biological sample of interest into equal-sized quantities which are then mechanically delivered into separate wells (typically, 96, 192, or 384). This type of sample splitting reduces the amount of material in each individual amplification well, creating issues of sample size, and necessitating precise sample distribution across the wells.
On the other hand, high-throughput screenings of multiple target analytes in biological samples is typically obtained by exploiting the selective binding and interaction of recognition probes in massively-parallel affinity-based biosensors, such as microarrays. Gene expression microarrays, for example are widely used microarray platforms. These systems measure the expression level of thousands of genes simultaneously.
To increase the quality of microarray data, real-time microarray (RT-μArray) systems have been developed. (see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/758,621). These systems can evaluate the abundance of a plurality of target analytes in the sample by real-time detection of target-probe binding events. To achieve this, RT-μArrays employ a detection scheme that is a major departure from the techniques typically used in conventional fluorescent-based microarrays and other extrinsic reporter-based biosensors assays. In the latter, the detection of captured analytes is carried out after the hybridization (incubation) step. This is due to the characteristics of the assays used therein, which require removing the solution during the fluorescent and reporter intensity measurements that are done either by scanning and/or various other imaging techniques. This limitation is due in part to the high concentration in solution of unbound labeled species which can overwhelm the target-specific signal from the captured targets. Furthermore, when the hybridization is ceased and the solution is taken away from array surface, washing artifacts typically occur which can make the analysis of the data challenging.
Thus, while Q-PCR provides a convenient and accurate method for measuring the amount of nucleic acid sequences in a sample, it is limited to a single sequence or a small number of sequences in a single fluid volume. And while microarray technology provides for measuring over hundreds of thousands of sequences simultaneously, conventional arrays are not amenable to the type of detection required for practical multiplexed Q-PCR. Thus there exists a strong need for methods and systems for performing multiplex Q-PCR to accurately measure the presence and/or amount of multiple nucleic acid sequences in a single fluid volume in a single amplification reaction.


A multi input fiber optic apparatus for cooperating with a plurality of sources, the apparatus having output ends of the individual fiber optics disposed in a random pattern, wherein a dimension of the linear array is broken into sub-lengths and each sub-length has a number of input bundles corresponding to the number of inputs for the apparatus. The input bundles are randomized at the output ends within each sub-length. The apparatus includes a housing for supporting a plurality of randomized sub lengths disposed adjacent each other within the housing, wherein each sub length includes a plurality of sub-bundles, the number of sub-bundles equaling or corresponding to the number of sources, and a plurality of inputs optical connected to the sub lengths, each of the inputs including a sub-bundle from each sub-length.

Lightline devices, often referred to as lightlines, line converters, linear arrays, light flanges or light arrays are fiber optic devices that reorient light from an input into a predetermined pattern such as a line. Lightline devices are commonly used for lighting in machine vision, web inspection, document scanning, microscopy and robotics. In practice, the lightline devices may have a length of less than an inch to more than a hundred inches. In those lightline devices having an elongate rectilinear output such as a line, the output may have a line thickness ranging from a few thousandths of an inch to tenths of an inch.
The lightline device may be retained in a housing having a length on the order of a few inches to a few feet. To produce lightline devices of greater length, structural and manufacturing considerations often require that these individual lightline housings be disposed within a common housing in an abutting or adjacent relationship to produce the longer lightline devices.
In contrast to the output of the lightline devices, the inputs are generally bundled, wherein a multitude of optical fibers are combined into a single input bundle. Individual fibers thus extend from an input geometry for exposure to a light source to terminate at a terminal end, the terminal end having a geometry dictated by the particular application.
However, the need exists for a lightline device, and preferably a device of modular construction, which accommodates multiple inputs, wherein the individual fiber location in the lightline output is randomized at the output or terminal end area so that variations in individual inputs or light sources are substantially uniformly distributed throughout the entire area of the lightline output. A need also exists for such randomized output in cooperation with a randomized input. That is, the need exists for a lightline device having multiple inputs, wherein fibers in a given input are randomly distributed at the output array. A further need exists for a method of constructing a lightline device with such randomized output and input, which is independent of lightline housing length. That is, a randomized lightline may be of any desired length. The need also exists for such lightlines to be disposed in a modular housing that facilitates modular construction of larger lightline devices having a continuous output array formed by a plurality of modular housings.

Fiber optic lightline device having randomized input and output for reducing sensitivity to input variations and method of making the same


A speech encoding system and method for encoding a speech data signal including a number of frames. The speech encoding system includes a speech data rate determinator and a number of speech data signal encoders. The speech data rate determinator determines the data rate of each of the frames and selects one of the speech data signal encoders based on each data rate. Each frame may be encoded using a different encoding method or standard. The encoding system may further include a network controller for selecting any number of the speech data signal encoders based on predetermined factors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to signal coding and more particularly, to variable bit rate speech coding.
2. Background
Speech coding is traditionally driven by bandwidth considerations and efficiency. As a result, modern communication systems typically implement various speech coding and compression techniques to reduce requirements on bandwidth and to achieve higher transmission efficiency.
One typical scheme for providing speech coding is a technique called Pulse Code Modulation ("PCM") that is used for converting speech signals into digital form and is widely used by the telephone companies in their T1 circuits. Every minute of the day, millions of telephone conversations, as well as data transmissions via modems, are converted into digital via PCM for transport over high-speed intercity trunks. PCM samples the analog waves 8,000 times per second and converts each sample into an 8-bit number, resulting in a 64 kbps data stream. In fact, the PCM technique has been adopted by the International Telecommunication Union ("ITU") under G.711 standard which defines a single rate coding method at 64 kbps.
Another technique adopted by the ITU utilizes a method called Adaptive Differential PCM ("ADPCM") that converts analog sound, such as speech, into digital. Using this technique, in lieu of coding an absolute measurement at each sample point, the difference between samples is coded. ADPCM can dynamically switch the coding scale to compensate for variations in amplitude. The ITU standards that have utilized this technique include G.721 (32 kbps), G.722 (64 kbps), G.723 (20 kbps and 40 kbps), G.726 (16 kbps, 24 kbps, 32 kbps and 40 kbps) and G.727 (16 kbps, 24 kbps, 32 kbps and 40 kbps).
A more recent ITU standard has adopted the Code Excited Linear Prediction Technique ("CELP") in G.729 family, the main body and Annex A (8 kbps), Annex B (0 kbps and 1.5 kbps), Annex D (6.4 kbps), Annex E (11.2 kbps), and Annex I (0 kbps, 1.5 kbps, 6.4 kbps, 8 kbps and 11.2 kbps) that achieves high compression ratios along with toll quality narrow-band (telephone band) audio. A similar method has also been utilized in G.723.1 (5.3 kbps and 6.4 kbps). And a method called Low-Delay CELP ("LD-CELP") has been used in G.728 (16 kbps) standards and provides near toll quality audio by using a smaller sample size that is processed faster, resulting in lower delays.
As noted above, G.723, G.726, G.727, G.729 Annex I and G.723.1 standards define a multi-rate capability for speech data transfer. Today, these multi-rates have been taken advantage of by the network providers, such as AT&T, MCI or Sprint, which control data bit rates according to predetermined factors, such as time of the day or particular usage of the network. For example, the network providers may decide to save network bandwidth during business hours and limit the data bit rate to 6.4 kbps. After business hours, however, the network providers may increase the data bit rate to 11.2 kbps. Yet, the network providers may allocate certain lines for high quality speech data transfer during specific hours.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical system 100 used by the network providers for implementing the above schemes. As shown, system 100 includes a plurality of speech encoders 1,2, . . . , n, enumerated as modules 130, 140, . . . , 150, respectively. In one embodiment, system 100 may be ITU G.729 Annex I compatible and speech encoder 130 may encode at 6.4 kbps, speech encoder 140 may encode at 8.0 kbps and speech encoder 150 may encode at 11.2 kbps.
As shown in FIG. 1, encoder selector 112 is positioned by the network controller 120. As stated above, the selector 112 is positioned in accordance with predetermined factors under the network provider control. For example, the network controller 120 may decide to use the speech encoder 150 at data bit rate of 11.2 kbps after business hours or from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. when communication channel 160 is utilized for music broadcast which requires high data rates to preserve the speech quality. On the other hand, the network controller 120 may position the encoder selector 112 so as to select the speech encoder 130 at data bit rate of 6.4 kbps for voice communications from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
While such traditional multi-rate speech encoders have been successfully implemented in digital communication systems, they are restricted in use and application. Such systems are disadvantageous and inflexible, since data bit rates are set based on predetermined factors that may or may not hold true. As a result, too little or too much of the network bandwidth may be used for a given speech. For example, high quality speech, such as music, may be transmitted on a communication channel selected to transmit at low date rates, and thus, causing degradation in the quality. On the other hand, a high data rate communication channel may be wasted if only low quality speech, such as voice which does not require a high bandwidth, is transmitted.
Accordingly, there is an intense need in the technology for a flexible speech encoder that can efficiently utilize the bandwidth of a given communication channel. Furthermore, there is a strong need in the industry for a speech encoder system that can combine various speech encoding schemes while maintaining interoperability with the exiting speech decoders and standards.


An apparatus equipped with Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) reader and LAN/WAN access reads an RFID tag attached to a Video and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone. The apparatus retrieves phone information, including such information as an Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) address from the RFID tag and requests that a VoIP call server register the phone automatically. A VoIP service operator can register multiple phones without opening phone packaging. Additional information such as a directory number (DN) or a phone user name can be associated with the phone during the registration process using the apparatus.

The technology in this application pertains to an apparatus and a process for registering telecommunications equipment. In one arrangement the apparatus and process are useful for registering video and voice over IP (VoIP) phones to an IP (Internet Protocol) PBX system and effect activation of the phone.
Typically, new telecommunications equipment, such as a new Video Voice over IP (VoIP) phone needs to be registered and activated before a purchaser or customer can make use of the equipment. Today, commonly the new VoIP phone must first be removed from the packaging before it can be registered and the registration operation is a manual process. Once the package is opened the person responsible for effecting registration usually then reads the Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) address printed on the phone. Then, that person manually enters the MAC address into a call server database along with other information such as directory number (DN), phone user name, or configuration of one or more special service features. When it comes to registering hundreds or thousands of phones at a time, it is extremely time consuming to register them manually.
Attempts have been made to provide an automatic bulk registration. For example, in one system automatic registration is enabled in a call server and new phones are automatically registered on the call server by simply hooking up the phones and providing power to the phone which then reads its own MAC address and reports it to its call server. The call server then assigns a pre-defined DN to the phone and activates the phone.
This known automated arrangement still requires that each phone be unpacked before activation. Furthermore, there is a security hole in this auto-registration technique. While the auto-registration is turned on, an intruder can bring in a new unauthorized phone, called a rogue phone, hook it up to the network and start to use the VoIP phone service illegally. If the VoIP call server can be accessed through a wireless network, the security hole becomes an even more critical issue. Anybody outside of the office space in which auto-registration is being performed, (e.g., out of the building or on another floor) can register his/her wireless phone automatically to the call server and start to use the phone service without proper authorization if that phone is within range of the wireless network.

Method and apparatus for activating and managing VoIP phone with RFID


An improved process for producing recombinant bone-inducing protein of the BMP-2 family as described. A suitable mammalian host cell transformed with a DNA encoding the protein is cultured in an appropriate culture medium to which is added about 10 to 1000 .mu.g/ml dextran sulfate. The presence of dextran sulfate in the medium results in an increased yield of recombinant bone-inducing protein.

The cloning and expression of the recombinant osteogenic proteins of the BMP-2 family has previously been described (J.M. Wozny, et al., Science 242:1528-1534 (1988); E.A. Wang, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:2220-2224 (1990), incorporated herein by reference). Osteogenic proteins of the BMP-2 family are a promising development in the bone and cartilage field. The BMP-2 family of proteins includes BMP-3, BMP-4, BMP-5, BMP-6 and BMP-7, and bone-inducing proteins and proteins which are encoded by DNA sequences which hybridize thereto under stringent conditions. The DNA sequence of BMP-2 is shown in SEQ ID No:1.
These osteogenic proteins may be produced in cultured mammalian cell lines by transformation with an expression vector containing the respective cDNAs. The yield of expressed recombinant bone-inducing proteins can be increased in accordance with the present invention by addition of dextran sulfate to the cell culture medium.

Production of recombinant bone-inducing proteins


A switching device is discloses that exhibits two stable resistance values to a voltage applied between electrodes. The switching device comprises thin films of a first electrode layer, an organic bistable material layer and a second electrode layer sequentially formed on a substrate, and the organic bistable material is a specified quinone compound.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switching device that can be used for driver switching devices of a display panel using an organic EL or a liquid crystal, and for high density memories.
B. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the performance of organic electronic materials has made spectacular advances. Some low dimensional conductors, such as charge transfer complexes, exhibit a distinctive property, for example, metal-insulator transition, and have been studied for application to driver switching devices of organic EL display panels or to high density memories.
Organic bistable materials are drawing attention as materials that can be applied to the switching devices. An organic bistable material is an organic material showing a so-called non-linear response. A switching phenomenon is observed in which the current in a circuit abruptly increases at a certain voltage when an increasing voltage is applied to the material.
FIG. 7 shows an example of voltage-current characteristic of an organic bistable material exhibiting such switching behavior. As shown in FIG. 7, an organic bistable material has two current-voltage characteristics of a high resistance state 51 (off state) and a low resistance state 52 (on state), and exhibits a non-linear response property. Preliminarily applying a bias voltage Vb, when a voltage is raised up to Vth2 (upper threshold voltage) or higher, a transition from off-state to on-state occurs, and when the voltage is lowered down to Vth1 (lower threshold voltage) or lower, a transition from on-state to off-state occurs, changing the resistance value of the material. A so-called switching action can be performed by applying a voltage at Vth2 or higher or a voltage at Vth1 or lower to the organic bistable material. The Vth1 and Vth2 can be voltages in pulse form.
Known organic bistable materials exhibiting non-linear response include various types of organic complexes. For example, R. S. Potember et al. produced a switching device having two stable resistance values for a voltage using Cu-TCNQ (copper—tetracyanoquinodimethane) complex (R. S. Potember et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 34, p. 405 (1979)). Kumai et al. observed switching behavior caused by non-linear response using a single crystal of K-TCNQ (potassium—tetracyanoquinodimethane) complex (Kumagai et al., Kotai Buturi (Solid State Physics), vol. 35, p. 35 (2000)). Adachi et al. formed a thin film of Cu-TCNQ complex by means of vacuum evaporation, and revealing its switching characteristic, studied the feasibility of applying it to an organic EL matrix (Adachi et al., Abstract of 2002 Spring Meeting of the Japanese Society of Applied Physics, third volume, p. 1236).
The switching devices using an organic charge transfer complex mentioned above, however, had the problems described in the following. The organic bistable material, being a charge transfer complex, is a two-component material consisting of a molecule or a metallic element exhibiting a donor characteristic and a molecule such as TCNQ exhibiting an acceptor characteristic.
Consequently, fabrication of a switching device requires strict control of the composition ratio of the two components. In the charge transfer complex of a two-component system, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the donor molecules and the acceptor molecules laminates in a columnar shape forming donor molecule column 61 and acceptor molecule column 62, and the components of each column perform partial charge transfer between the molecules (or metal atoms) exhibiting bistability. Therefore, any excess or deficiency in the proportion of the two components critically affects the bistable performance of the device as a whole.
In the Cu-TCNQ complex mentioned above, for example, different proportions between Cu and TCNQ bring about different crystallinity and electrical characteristics and cause variation in bistable performance. It is particularly difficult to obtain a large area and uniform film when using film deposition by means of vacuum evaporation, due to differences in vapor pressure of the two components and, in the case of co-evaporation, geometric arrangement of the individual evaporation source for each material. Therefore, it is difficult to mass produce switching devices that perform with a steady bistability characteristic and uniform quality from the conventional organic bistable materials of two-component systems.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or at least reducing the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above.


Certain exemplary embodiments comprise method, the method comprising a plurality of activities comprising: for each of a plurality of potential arcing events associated with an alternating current: sensing the potential arcing event; identifying an amplitude-duration pair associated with the potential arcing event; assessing the plurality of amplitude-duration pairs; and determining if the plurality of potential arcing events corresponds to an arcing condition.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 6,459,273 (Dollar), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, allegedly recites a "sputtering arc fault detector (10) for a system having an electrical conductor (14) carrying current to a load. The sputtering arc fault detector includes a current monitor (64) coupled to the conductor for generating a variable signal responsive to behavior of the current in the conductor. A level detector (58) is coupled to the monitor and generates a first pulse when the variable signal exceeds a first level. A step detector (62) is coupled to the monitor and is responsive to rapid step increases of the variable signal. The step detector generates a second pulse when the variable signal exceeds a second level. An arc verifier (48), which is coupled to the level detector and the step detector, combines the first and second pulses, and generates a fault signal when the combined pulses exceed a third level." See Abstract.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 6,667,691 (Sapir), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, allegedly recites a "method for the early detection of faults in an electric supply system, comprising the steps of continuously checking the existence of RF transients on the electric supply system line, transforming detected transients whose amplitude is above a predetermined level, into a sequence of pulses, analyzing the temporal spacing between pulses to identify those which are due to dimmers, and disregarding them, identifying short-noisy states structures in said sequence, states whose duration is shorter than a period T-ARC, determining short-noisy states where the current amplitudes before and after said states are different, and disregarding these states considered to be caused by normal switching operations, regarding each of the remaining short-noisy states as a faulty event and accumulating such events in a first register, identifying separately long-noisy states in said sequence, states whose duration is longer than a period T-ARC, ascribing a number of arcing events to each long-noisy state proportional to its duration, and accumulating these numbers in a second register; and summing the values in said first and second registers, and if the sum exceeds a predetermined value N-ALARM, within a predetermined period, activating an alarm and/or a current breaker." See Abstract.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 6,556,397 (Kim), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, allegedly recites a "device for detecting arc fault which distinguishes harmful arc from the signal generated by operation of a dimmer and start of electronic devices. Signals outputted from a current transformer is attenuated by a resistor which is coupled in parallel to the current transformer. By the attenuation of the resistor, the signal generated by the operation of a dimmer is not determined to be arc in arc determining part. Harmful arc and the signal generated by the start of the electronic device are distinguished by integrating both signals. As the harmful arc lasts for a long time, large signals are integrated in an integrator while the signal generated by the start of electronic device does not last for a long time." See Abstract.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 5,835,321 (Elms), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, allegedly recites that "Arcing-faults in an electric power distribution system are detected by a circuit which includes a band-pass filter generating a low frequency bandwidth limited arcing current signal having a bandwidth above the measurable harmonics of the ac current but below the frequency band of power line communications systems, about 3 KHz to 20 KHz and preferably about 6 KHz to 12 KHz. For each cycle of the ac current that this low frequency bandwidth limited arcing current exceeds a threshold, preferably related to the amplitude of the ac current, for a selected duration of the cycle, a fixed pulse is generated. If a time attenuated accumulation of these fixed pulses reaches a selected level representative of a number of closely spaced cycles in which the arcing current has been detected for the selected duration, an arc indicative signal is output. Preferably, the value of the time attenuated accumulation of pulses at which the arc indicative signal is generated is variable so that fewer pulses are needed to generate the output as the amplitude of the ac current increases." See Abstract.

Systems, devices, and methods for detecting arcs


A data model models a social network. The data model can be embodied as a person profile schema and a connector profile schema. The person profile schema defines properties of persons in the social network. The connector profile schema defines connectivity properties of persons that connect a searcher to the persons in social network that the searcher desires to find. Query languages can be based on the data model and can be used to express queries of social networks. Queries can be for persons, for connecting persons, or for both.

Persons and relations between them can be modeled as graphs, where nodes represent persons and connections or edges between the nodes represent relations between the persons. These graphs are sometimes called social networks. Social networks have been stored in relational databases. Various structured query languages (SQLs) and dialects thereof are used to express requests to search relational databases. However, the present inventors have observed that SQL-like query languages are not well suited to expressing the information desired to be obtained from social networks. There is a need for a data model and language to allow intuitive expression of requests to search social networks.


In one embodiment, a system and method of dead reckoning navigation for a vehicle uses a set of accelerometers. Sensed accelerometers from the set are converted into a vehicle body frame of reference set of accelerations. The resulting converted accelerations are then used to determine a dead-reckoning longitudinal acceleration for the vehicle. By integrating the longitudinal acceleration along a heading for the vehicle, a dead-reckoning-determined location for the vehicle is provided.

Satellite-based positioning systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS) are commonly integrated into automobiles to offer drivers navigation assistance. The assistance a GPS-guided navigation system can offer, however, depends upon successful receipt of GPS signals. In general, successful receipt of GPS signals depends upon line-of-sight contact with a plurality (three or more) of GPS satellites. Tall buildings often surround roads in urban areas creating artificial canyons that block successful reception. In addition, a driver may have entered an enclosed area such as a tunnel or parking garage that also prevents successful reception. Despite the lack of good reception, drivers continue to need navigation updates during these periods.
To provide navigation updates in the absence of GPS signal reception, a variety of dead reckoning enhancements have been offered as adjuncts to GPS navigation systems. Navigation using dead reckoning involves calculating a current position based upon the heading and distance from a previously known position. Dead reckoning has been used since ancient times in nautical applications prior to the development of celestial navigation. Sailors would use estimates of their speed and heading over a period of time to determine the relative change in position with regard to a previously-known position (such as a port) and thus deduce their current location.
In more modern applications such as automotive navigations systems, a dead reckoning system may get its necessary velocity measurements through a coupling to the car's odometer. However, such coupling involves considerable expense, particularly in an after-market application. Thus, dead reckoning systems have been developed that use accelerometers to provide velocity estimates from the integration of the acceleration. A problem remains, however, because the accelerometers must be precisely arranged with respect to the car to provide an accurate velocity estimate, thereby requiring an expensive and time-consuming installation.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved dead reckoning systems that address these problems in the prior art.


A novel melanin formation-inhibitory protein, which has a molecular weight of 90,000.+-.20,000 and a pI of 5.5.+-.0.5, exerts a tyrosinase formation-inhibitory activity in pigment cells but does not substantially inhibit the inherent tyrosinase activity. Thus, the protein is advantageously used as a pharmaceutical and as a cosmetic in the prevention and/or treatment for local chromatosises such as chloasma, ephelis and sunburn, as well as for systemic chromatosises such as addisonism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protein, and its preparation and uses. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel protein, and has a melanin formation-inhibitory activity which is derived from a human cell, and additionally, relates to the preparation and use of this novel protein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Melanin is present in the skin and plays an important role in with protecting the body from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. Melanin is also an important factor in medical science and cosmetology. It is known that melanin is formed or synthesized in skin tissues. Excessive amounts of melanin darkens the skin, and the nonuniform distribution of melanin causes chloasma and ephelis, both of which are skin disorders. Conventionally, tyrosinase inhibitors such as vitamin C, glutathione and cysteine have been used to decrease the level of melanin in the skin and thereby producing a lightly pigmented skin.
These tyrosinase inhibitors are, however, unfavorably stable and inadequate in their skin-whitening effect on viable cells. Although Hydroquinone and monobenzyl ether of hydroquinone (MBEH), which have been used as a tyrosinase inhibitor, are highly effective in achieving lightly pigmented skin, they destroy the inherent physiological functions of the skin and cause side effects such as alphos, pigmentary disorder and contact dermatitis. in Pigment Cell Research, Vol. 2, pp. 123-125 (1989), K. L. Kreutzfeld et al. studied the question of why ventral skin-tissues of frogs are whiter than the dorsal skin-tissues, by attempting to extract a melanin formation-inhibitory substance from the ventral skin-tissues. They reported that a protein having a molecular weight of about 300,000 was found to have melanin formation-inhibitory activity. However the protein is, of frog origin and thereby presents a limitation in its use for lightening skin color in humans.

Melanin formation-inhibitory protein, and its preparation and uses

Kabushiki Kaisha Hayashibara Seitbutsu Kagaku Kenkyujo


A method and data processing system are presented for multitasking a plurality of simultaneous tasks over one or more data processors. The invention significantly reduces the overhead required for multitasking without sacrificing responsiveness or flexibility. Both the number and length of context switches are reduced. The resulting environment is also capable of providing real-time operation and memory protection to tasks. No modifications to the tasks are required to make use of the invention.

This invention relates to computer systems, and more particularly to multi-tasking.
The purpose of the invention is to increase the efficiency and flexibility of the execution of several tasks at once. Task scheduling is an important part of a modern computer system because it can have a large effect on performance. Presently, most task scheduling models fall into one of two general categories: preemptive multitasking and cooperative multitasking.
Preemptive multitasking is driven by allocating fixed amounts of processing time to each running task and saving and restoring all the necessary state information at the beginning and end of each time period. This saving and restoring process is known as a context switch. Because these context switches can occur at times when a process is in the middle of a number of operations, the amount of information saved and restored during a context switch can be very high. However, preemptive multitasking can ensure that no process takes time away from other processes or prevents other processes from running.
Cooperative multitasking relies on each process to voluntarily yield control of a processor to other tasks, typically to a scheduler that then transfers control to the next available task. Cooperative multitasking has the potential to be far more efficient than preemptive multitasking, since applications can be written to yield control in such a way that the number of context switches is minimized and at times when minimal context needs to be saved so that context switches that do occur will be much faster. However, improperly written or malicious code can cause cooperative multitasking to result in slow responses to external inputs or worse, the starvation of other tasks. Because of these impediments, preemptive multitasking has become the model of choice for most modern general-purpose operating systems and systems that require real-time performance.
What is needed is a way to combine the efficiency benefits of cooperative multitasking with the responsiveness of preemptive multitasking. Prior art attempts to do this have used both types of systems running simultaneously or one system running on top of the other, to allow the appropriate form of multitasking to be used for the appropriate category of tasks. However, this requires complex synchronization mechanisms (U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,325) and still requires a significant amount of context switching. In addition, the added complexity results in additional performance overhead (U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,201). It is highly desirable to reduce this overhead and the overhead of context switching.
Normally when a task scheduler executes on a data processor, it picks a task and calls the task for execution. When the task yields its time under a cooperative multitasking system or when a set amount of time has expired under a preemptive multitasking system, the scheduler is called again, at which point it calls the next task to execute. However, the overhead involved in returning control to the scheduler between each task adds a significant amount of time to each context switch. Furthermore, since most operating system schedulers execute in kernel mode, most operating system tasks must switch the processor to and from kernel mode as part of every context switch. Therefore, it is highly desirable to find a means for avoiding the additional overhead incurred by having the scheduler called during each context switch.
A large amount of prior art has attempted to reduce the amount of time required for context switches, by reducing the number of context switches that typically occur or by reducing the length of time of each context switch (U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,510 and Engler, D. R., Kaashoek, M. F., O'Toole, J. Jr., "Exokernel: an operating system architecture for application-specific resource management," Proceedings of the Fifteenth ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles, December 1995). The most effective prior art solutions require modifications to the hardware (U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,085), modifications of the tasks themselves, or specific hardware dependencies (Leidke, J., Elphinstone, K., Schnberg, S., Hrtig, H., Heiser, G., Islam, N., Jaeger, T., "Achieved IPC Performance," Proceedings of the Sixth Workshop on Hot Topics in Operating Systems, pp. 28–31, Cape Cod, Mass., May 1997). It is therefore desirable to achieve a significant reduction of context switch time transparently to the task author and user in a hardware-independent manner. It is also desirable to further decrease the overhead of context switching beyond the advancements of the prior art.
Some virtual machine and dynamic code generation prior art (Poletto, M., Hsieh, W. C., Engler, D. R., Kaashoek, M. F., "C and tcc: A language and compiler for dynamic code generation," ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems 21(2), pp. 324–369, March 1999) has shown promise in performing optimizations on code. However, this prior art does not significantly reduce the amount of context switching, and actually increases the total amount of overhead to multitasking in most cases. Furthermore, the most effective prior art requires extensive modifications to the tasks by a skilled developer (Engler, D. R., "VCODE: a retargetable, extensible, very fast dynamic code generation system," Proceedings of the ACM SIGPLAN '96 Conference on Programming Design and Implementation (PLDI '96), Philadelphia, Pa., pp. 160–170, May 1996). It is therefore desirable to provide a means for optimizing code through the dynamic generation of code based on pre-existing tasks without requiring the developer or user to intervene.

Data processing system and method for high-efficiency multitasking


Nanocomposites are manufactured by combining a host material, such as an organic solvent or a matrix polymer and exfoliated intercalates formed by contacting a phyllosilicate with a polymer to adsorb or intercalate the polymer between adjacent phyllosilicate platelets. Sufficient polymer is adsorbed between adjacent phyllosilicate platelets to expand the adjacent platelets to a spacing of at least about 5 .ANG., preferably at least about 10 .ANG. (as measured after water removal), up to about 100 .ANG. and preferably in the range of about 30-40 .ANG., so that the intercalate easily can be exfoliated, e.g., when mixed with an organic solvent or a polymer melt, to provide a carrier material for drugs and the like, or to provide a matrix polymer/platelet composite (nanocomposite) material--the platelets being exfoliated from the intercalate.

It is well known that phyllosilicates, such as smectite clays, e.g., sodium montmorillonite and calcium montmorillonite, can be treated with organic molecules, such as organic ammonium ions, to intercalate the organic molecules between adjacent, planar silicate layers, thereby substantially increasing the interlayer (interlaminar) spacing between the adjacent silicate layers. The thus-treated, intercalated phyllosilicates then can be exfoliated, e.g., the silicate layers are separated, e.g., mechanically, by high shear mixing. The individual silicate layers, when admixed with a matrix polymer, before, after or during the polymerization of the matrix polymer, e.g., a polyamide--see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,739,007; 4,810,734; and 5,385,776--have been found to substantially improve one or more properties of the polymer, such as mechanical strength and/or high temperature characteristics.
Exemplary of such prior art composites, also called "nanocomposites", are disclosed in published PCT disclosure of Allied Signal, Inc. WO 93/04118 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,776, disclosing the admixture of individual platelet particles derived from intercalated layered silicate materials, with a polymer to form a polymer matrix having one or more properties of the matrix polymer improved by the addition of the exfoliated intercalate. As disclosed in WO 93/04118, the intercalate is formed (the interlayer spacing between adjacent silicate platelets is increased) by adsorption of a silane coupling agent or an onium cation, such as a quaternary ammonium compound, having a reactive group which is compatible with the matrix polymer. Such quaternary ammonium cations are well known to convert a highly hydrophilic clay, such as sodium or calcium montmorillonite, into an organophilic clay capable of sorbing organic molecules. A publication that discloses direct intercalation (without solvent) of polystyrene and poly(ethylene oxide) in organically modified silicates is Synthesis and Properties of Two-Dimensional Nanostructures by Direct Intercalation of Polymer Melts in Layered Silicates, Richard A. Vaia, et al., Chem. Mater., 5:1694-1696(1993). Also as disclosed in Adv. Materials, 7, No. 2: (1985), pp, 154-156, New Polymer Electrolyte Nanocomposites: Melt Intercalation of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) in Mica-Type Silicates, Richard A. Vaia, et al., poly(ethylene oxide) can be intercalated directly into Na-montmorillonite and Li-montmorillonite by heating to 80.degree. C. for 2-6 hours to achieve a d-spacing of 17.7 .ANG.. The intercalation is accompanied by displacing water molecules, disposed between the clay platelets with polymer molecules. Apparently, however, the intercalated material could not be exfoliated and was tested in pellet form. It was quite surprising to one of the authors of these articles that exfoliated material could be manufactured in accordance with the present invention.
Previous attempts have been made to intercalate polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) between montmorillonite clay platelets with little success. As described in Levy, et al., Interlayer Adsorption of Polyvinylpyrrolidone on Montmorillonite, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 50, No. 3, March 1975, pages 442-450, attempts were made to sorb PVP (40,000 average M.W.) between monoionic montmorillonite clay platelets (Na, K, Ca and Mg) by successive washes with absolute ethanol, and then attempting to sorb the PVP by contact with 1% PVP/ethanol/water solutions, with varying amounts of water, via replacing the ethanol solvent molecules that were sorbed in washing (to expand the platelets to about 17.7 .ANG.). Only the sodium montmorillonite had expanded beyond a 20 .ANG. basal spacing (e.g., 26 .ANG. and 32 .ANG.), at 5.sup.+ % H.sub.2 O, after contact with the PVP/ethanol/H.sub.2 O solution. It was concluded that the ethanol was needed to initially increase the basal spacing for later sorption of PVP, and that water did not directly affect the sorption of PVP between the clay platelets (Table II, page 445), except for sodium montmorillonite. The sorption was time consuming and difficult and met with little success.
Further, as described in Greenland, Adsorption of Polyvinyl Alcohols by Montmorillonite, Journal of Colloid Sciences, Vol. 18, pages 647-664 (1963), polyvinyl alcohols containing 12% residual acetyl groups could increase the basal spacing by only about 10 .ANG. due to the sorbed polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH). As the concentration of polymer in the intercalant polymer-containing solution was increased from 0.25% to 4%, the amount of polymer sorbed was substantially reduced, indicating that sorption might only be effective at polymer concentrations in the intercalant polymer-containing composition on the order of 1% by weight polymer, or less. Such a dilute process for intercalation of polymer into layered materials would be exceptionally costly in drying the intercalated layered materials for separation of intercalate from the polymer carrier, e.g., water, and, therefore, apparently no further work was accomplished toward commercialization.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, intercalates are prepared by contacting a phyllosilicate with a PVP polymer, preferably essentially alcohol-free, or a PVA intercalant polymer composition, wherein the PVA preferably contains 5% or less residual acetyl groups, more preferably fully hydrolyzed, containing 1% or less acetyl groups.
In accordance with an important feature of the present invention, best results are achieved using an oligomer (herein defined as a pre-polymer having 2 to about 15 recurring monomeric units, which can be the same or different) or polymer (herein defined as having more than about 15 recurring monomeric units, which can be the same or different) composition for intercalation having at least about 2%, preferably at least about 5% by weight intercalant oligomer or intercalant polymer concentration, more preferably about 50% to about 80% by weight oligomer and/or polymer, based on the weight of oligomer and/or polymer and carrier (e.g., water and/or other solvent for the intercalant oligomer or intercalant polymer) to achieve better sorption of the intercalant polymers between phyllosilicate platelets and so that less drying is required after intercalation. The oligomer or polymer sorbed between silicate platelets that causes separation or added spacing between adjacent silicate platelets and, for simplicity of description, both the oligomers and polymers are hereinafter called the "intercalant" or "intercalant polymer" or "polymer intercalant". In this manner, water-soluble or water-insoluble oligomers or polymers will be sorbed sufficiently to increase the interlayer spacing of the phyllosilicate in the range of about 5 .ANG. to about 100 .ANG., for easier and more complete exfoliation, in a commercially viable process, regardless of the particular phyllosilicate or intercalant polymer.
In accordance with an important feature of the present invention, best results are achieved using a water-soluble or water-insoluble oligomer (herein defined as a pre-polymer having 2 to about 15 recurring monomeric units, which can be the same or different) or polymer (herein defined as having more than about 15 recurring monomeric units, which can be the same or different) composition for intercalation having at least about 2%, preferably at least about 5% by weight, more preferably at least about 10% by weight intercalant oligomer or intercalant polymer concentration, most preferably about 30% to about 80% by weight oligomer and/or polymer, based on the weight of oligomer and/or polymer and carrier (e.g., water with or without another solvent for the intercalant oligomer or intercalant polymer) to achieve better sorption of the intercalant polymers between phyllosilicate platelets. Regardless of the concentration of polymer in liquid solvent of the intercalating composition, the intercalating composition should have a polymer:layered material ratio of at least 1:20, preferably at least 1:10, more preferably at least 1:5, and most preferably about 1:4 to achieve efficient intercalation of the polymer between adjacent platelets of the layered material. The oligomer or polymer sorbed between and permanently bonded to the silicate platelets causes separation or added spacing between adjacent silicate platelets and, for simplicity of description, both the oligomers and polymers are hereinafter called the "intercalant" or "intercalant polymer" or "polymer intercalant". In this manner, the oligomers or polymers will be sorbed sufficiently to increase the interlayer spacing of the phyllosilicate in the range of about 5 .ANG. to about 100 .ANG., preferably at least about 10 .ANG., for easier and more complete exfoliation, in a commercially viable process, regardless of the particular phyllosilicate or intercalant polymer.
A phyllosilicate, such as a smectite clay, can be intercalated sufficiently for subsequent exfoliation by sorption of polymers or oligomers that have carbonyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl, amine, amide, ether, ester, sulfate, sulfonate, sulfinate, sulfamate, phosphate, phosphonate, phosphinate functionalities, or aromatic rings to provide metal cation chelate-type bonding between two functional groups of one or two intercalant polymer molecules and the metal cations bonded to the inner surfaces of the phyllosilicate platelets. Sorption and metal cation electrostatic attraction or bonding of a platelet metal cation between two oxygen or nitrogen atoms of the molecules; or the electrostatic bonding between the interlayer cations in hexagonal or pseudohexagonal rings of the smectite layers and an intercalant polymer aromatic ring structure increases the interlayer spacing between adjacent silicate platelets or other layered material to at least about 5 .ANG., preferably at least about 10 .ANG., and more preferably at least about 20 .ANG., and most preferably in the range of about 30 .ANG. to about 45 .ANG.. Such intercalated phyllosilicates easily can be exfoliated into individual phyllosilicate platelets.
Depending upon the conditions that the composition is subjected to during intercalation and exfoliation, particularly temperature; pH; and amount of water contained in the intercalating composition, the intercalate and/or exfoliate/carrier composition can be formed to any desired viscosity, e.g., at least about 100 centipoises, preferably at least about 500-1000 centipoises, whether or not gelled, and particularly to extremely high viscosities of about 5,000 to about 5,000,000 centipoises. The compositions are thixotropic so that shearing will lower viscosity for easier delivery, and then by reducing shear or eliminating shear, the compositions will increase in viscosity. The intercalant polymer intercalates between the spaces of adjacent platelets of the layered material for easy exfoliation, and complexes with the metal cations on the platelet surfaces where the polymer remains after the intercalate, or exfoliate thereof, is combined with the carrier/solvent or added to a polymer melt. It is theorized that the polymer coating on the surfaces of the clay platelets is ionically complexed with interlayer cations and participates (aids) in the viscosification and thixotropy of the carrier/solvent composition and adds significant strength, vapor impermeability and temperature characteristics to a matrix polymer. However, other forms of bonding such as hydrogen bonding or Van Der Waals forces or molecular complexing also may be responsible for the adherence of the polymer to the surfaces of the layered material, either entirely, or in part.

Intercalates and exfoliates formed with oligomers and polymers and composite materials containing same


A method and apparatus are provided for processing navigation signals with improved stability in a multi-frequency, multi-system environment. Satellite signals, which are transmitted by a plurality of satellites from a plurality of different global navigation satellite systems, are received on a common radio path and processed in separate digital satellite channels, with each of the separate digital satellite channels corresponding to a respective satellite signal. A common quartz-locked-loop (QLL) discriminator signal is generated based on correlation signals from each of the separate digital satellite channels. Based on the common QLL discriminator signal, guiding signals are generated, with each of the guiding signals corresponding to a respective one of the separate digital satellite channels, for reducing phase-related tracking errors in the respective satellite signal processed in its corresponding digital satellite channel.

Navigation receivers are used to receive radio signals from a plurality of navigation satellites and further process the signals to determine the location of a user, device, equipment, or machinery. In one example, the location (coordinates) of a movable device such as a rover can be determined with the use of code and phase measurements from the received radio signals. However, during operation, a navigation receiver installed on the rover may be subjected to strong dynamic disturbances as a result of shaking, shocks and vibrations during movement or from activities of working assemblies. Such dynamic disturbances affect the quartz crystal of the reference oscillator, thereby causing unwanted frequency drift and loss-of-lock, which can result in a failure in the receiver tracking system.
In particular, quartz oscillators are known to be very sensitive to accelerations resulting from shock, rotation, vibrations, movements and inclinations, any of which can negatively affect the frequency stability of the quartz oscillator. Such conditions can be particularly problematic in navigation receivers that require high-precision oscillators. For example, navigation systems are now used extensively in the operation of heavy equipment (e.g., moving machines) for construction and agricultural applications, with such operating equipment including an on-board navigation receiver to facilitate precision-guided excavation, road repair, crop harvesting or any number of other tasks. Given the nature of the service conditions in these applications, shock and vibration-induced effects can therefore degrade the precision of the navigation receivers and negatively impact performance of the equipment relying on such precision for operation.
One approach for mitigating the aforementioned effects includes the use of a feedback loop in the navigation receiver to reduce tracking errors from frequency fluctuations of the reference oscillator. However, known solutions that employ such a feedback loop, such as a quartz-locked-loop (QLL), are limited to a single-frequency, single system environment, e.g., a navigation receiver that operates in one frequency band in one particular global navigation satellite system.

Method and apparatus for building vibrostable GNSS receivers to receive and process navigation signals from multiple navigation systems


A reciprocating compressor includes a driving motor unit having a crank shaft and a compressor unit having a cylinder. A piston having a piston body reciprocates in the cylinder, and a plate-shaped extension piece extends from the piston body along the axial direction thereof. A connecting rod has a crank pin eye formed on one end thereof into which a crank pin of the crank shaft is inserted, and an U-shaped connector formed on the other end thereof for accommodating the extension piece. A piston pin penetrates the extension piece and the U-shaped connector and connects the piston and the connecting rod to relatively rotate.

The present invention relates to a reciprocating compressor including a driving motor unit having a crank shaft and a compressor unit having a cylinder, and more particularly, to a reciprocating type compressor having an improved combination structure between a piston and a connecting rod.
A reciprocating compressor, that is, a hermetic compressor which has been widely used for compressing a coolant, is comprised of an air-tight external housing, a driving motor unit and a compressor unit both of which are installed in the external housing. A crank shaft which is connected with a rotor in the driving motor unit, is connected with a piston accommodated in a cylinder and reciprocated by a connecting rod, thereby converting a rotational force of the crank shaft into a reciprocal movement of the piston. The piston reciprocates in the cylinder to thereby compress fluids such as a coolant flowing into the cylinder.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the connection of a connecting rod and a piston which is adopted in a conventional reciprocating type compressor. FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an example of the assembly of the connecting rod and the piston thereof. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a larger eye 102 into which an eccentric crank pin 109 of a crank shaft 113 is inserted is formed on one end of a connecting rod 101, and a smaller eye 105 into which a piston pin 104 is inserted is formed on the other end thereof. An insertion hole 106, into which the end of the connecting rod 101 at the side of the smaller eye 105 is inserted, is formed in the piston 103 along the axial direction, which piston has a cylindrical external surface which contacts the inner wall of a cylinder 110. A piston pin hole 107 into which the piston pin 104 is inserted perpendicularly to the axial direction is formed to communicate with the insertion hole 106.
The piston pin 104 is formed as a tubular body, and passes through the piston pin hole 107 of the piston 103 and the smaller eye 105 of the connecting rod 101, to thereby connect the piston 103 and the connecting rod 101 on order to enable them to rotate relatively to each other. To prevent the piston pin 104 from being released from the piston 103 and the connecting rod 101 in the connection state, a fixing pin 108 is inserted into a fixing hole 115 formed on the piston pin 104 perpendicularly to the lengthwise direction thereof via a fixing pin hole 114 formed on the piston 101, to maintain the piston pin 104.
During assembly of the piston 103 and the connecting rod 101, the end of the connecting rod 101 at the side of the smaller eye 105 is at first inserted into the insertion hole 106 of the piston 103, and then the piston pin 104 is inserted into both the piston pin hole 107 formed on the piston 103 and the smaller eye 105 of the connecting rod 101. Then, the fixing pin 108 for preventing the piston pin 104 from being released is inserted into the fixing hole 115 via the fixing pin hole 114, to complete the assembly of the connecting rod 101 and the piston 103.
Meanwhile, in such a conventional reciprocating compressor, since the insertion hole 106 into which the end of the connecting rod 101 is inserted is formed on the piston 103, the length of the piston 103 becomes longer. Accordingly, the surface area of the piston 103 becomes larger and a frictional force between the piston 103 and the inner wall surface of the cylinder 110 increases, which causes the lowering of performance of the compressor. Also, since there are a plurality of such elements as the piston pin hole 107, the smaller eye 105, the insertion hole 106, the fixing pin hole 114 and the fixing hole 115 which require a highly precise fabricating process, the overall manufacturing cost becomes high. Also, since the connection structure between the connecting rod 101 and the piston 103 is relatively complex, it takes much working time to assemble them.

Connection between a piston and connecting rod of a reciprocating compressor


An ultrasonic signal coupler includes a pipe having a first ultrasonic waveguide and a second ultrasonic waveguide penetrating the pipe so that ultrasonic transducers attached to ends of the ultrasonic waveguides communicate ultrasonic signals through the ultrasonic waveguides directly through a fluid traveling through the pipe.

This invention relates generally to ultrasonic flow measurement, and more particularly to an ultrasonic waveguide assembly applied in the flow measurement.
Ultrasonic flow meters are used to determine the flow rate of a variety of fluids (e.g., liquids, gases, etc.) and combinations of different fluids flowing through pipes of different sizes and shapes. One type of an ultrasonic flow meter employs a transit time method. This technique uses one or more pairs of ultrasonic transducers attached to the exterior of the pipe wall and located upstream and downstream from each other. Each of the transducers, when energized, transmits an ultrasonic signal through the flowing fluid that is detected by the other ultrasonic transducer of the pair. The velocity of the fluid flowing in the pipe can be calculated as a function of the differential transit time of ultrasonic signals as between (1) the ultrasonic signal traveling upward against the fluid flow direction from the downstream ultrasonic transducer to the upstream ultrasonic transducer, and (2) the ultrasonic signal traveling downward with the fluid flow direction from the upstream ultrasonic transducer to the downstream ultrasonic transducer.
The pair(s) of transducers can be mounted on the pipe at different relative locations, for example, the pairs of transducers can be located on opposite sides of the pipe, i.e. diametrically opposed, such that a straight line connecting the transducers passes through the pipe axis or they can be located adjacently on the same side of the pipe. In the diametric example, the ultrasonic signal transmitted by one of the transducers in the pair of transducers is not reflected off of an interior pipe surface before it is detected by the other transducer in the pair. In the latter example of adjacent transducers, the ultrasonic signal transmitted by one of the transducers in the pair of transducers is reflected by an interior surface of the pipe before it is detected by the other transducer in the pair.
In some applications, the pipes to which the ultrasonic flow meters are attached carry fluids that cause the pipe walls to reach relatively high temperatures, or the pipes may carry fluids that cause the pipe wall to reach relatively low temperatures. Consistent exposure to extreme temperatures introduces thermal stresses that diminish the useful life of the transducer. A waveguide coupled between the ultrasonic transducer and the pipe helps to prevent the extreme temperatures from damaging the piezoelectric material. However, the signal quality can decline due to poor acoustic coupling between the waveguide and the pipe wall caused by, for example, use of manual temporary attachment methods, or by poor acoustic coupling between the launch point of the ultrasonic signals into the fluid traveling through the pipe caused by accumulation of contaminants at the launch point, or by deterioration of the piezoelectric material in the transducer caused by exposure to harsh environments such as temperature extremes.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.


A register circuit having a plurality of registers enabling the writing and reading of data by the specification of an address; a register controlling circuit monitoring data of a plurality of registers of the register circuit through the specification of an address, and writing, to a register pre-established in the register circuit, for activating devices; and a signal transmitting circuit causing a device to execute a specific operation, based on a specified address and on data read from the register circuit are provided; and not only is a collection of first bits for controlling jointly the individual operations of the plurality of devices assigned in a first register that is established in advance in the plurality of registers, but also second bits for controlling individually the individual operations in the plurality of devices are assigned respectively in a plurality of respective second registers that differ from the first register.

Substrate inspecting devices for inspecting substrates by capturing images from a plurality of video cameras have been developed in order to inspect whether or not there are defects in manufactured products such as substrates. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication H6-222011 ("JP '011") discloses a substrate inspecting device that uses a video signal that performs interlacing alternating between odd frames and even frames. In this substrate inspecting device, horizontal synchronization signals that are offsetted by ½ the horizontal synchronization period are applied to each of a set of mutually-facing video cameras, where odd-frame images are captured by one video camera set, and even frame images are captured by the other video camera set. Doing so enables continuous and high-speed analysis of inspection regions of manufactured products.
However, in the substrate inspecting device as set forth in JP '011, it is necessary to control the timing of the imaging in the plurality of video cameras based on a synchronization signal. If an attempt were made to control the timing of the activation of the individual video cameras without connections for supplying the synchronization signals, then time measuring means, such as a counter, would have to be used, and the timing of activation would have to be controlled based on the counting value of the counter.
In activation control using such a counter, a register is assigned to each device, and the control of the timing of activation for the devices is performed based on the register counts. For example, after the counter is activated, an operation is repeated wherein the number of the specific register is changed each time a specific count elapses, to measure the passage of time, where the counting is ended when the register count goes to zero, or the like, indicating that a specific amount of time has elapsed since the commencement of counting. Once the counting of the elapsed time by the counter has ended, then this must be detected without delay, and activating data must be written to the register without delay to reactivate the counter.
However, because it is necessary for the reading and writing of registers by the controlling circuit to be performed sequentially for each register, in some cases there will be a substantial delay in the timing with which the data of the register is read after the register count has reached zero. If the detection of the end of counting in any of the counters is delayed, then the timing of the reactivation will be late, preventing the commencement of the image capturing from being performed with the correct timing.
Given this, one object of the present invention is to provide a device controlling unit and CPU (central processing unit) able to operate without delay even when there is a plurality of devices that are not synchronized to each other.


A paper feeding roller is provided in the vicinity of a first widthwise end of a transporting path extending to a recording apparatus. A hopper, for stacking a plurality of sheets of paper, includes an aligning face, on which leading ends of the stacked sheets are abutted to be aligned with each other. The aligning face is narrowed from a first side end thereof to a second side end thereof. Here, the first side end is in the vicinity of the first widthwise end of the transporting path, and the second side end is in the vicinity of a second widthwise end of the transporting path. The hopper includes a guide face provided on the first side end of the aligning face so as to extend parallel with the transporting path. The hopper includes a hopper member pivotably supported on the second side end of the aligning face in a cantilevered manner, so as to move on the aligning face such that distance change in accordance with the number of sheets stacked thereon in the first widthwise end side of the transporting path with respect to the paper feeding roller becomes larger than that in the second widthwise end side of the transporting path. A paper retainer is provided on a paper returner which is placed in the vicinity of an end portion of the hopper which faces the paper feeding roller. The paper retainer has a higher friction coefficient than the paper returner.

This invention relates to a paper feeder used with a recording apparatus such as a printer for feeding sheet-like paper stacked on a hopper, and in particular to a paper feeder comprising a paper returner for returning an overlappedly transported sheet of paper to the hopper, the paper returner having a function of separating and feeding sheets of paper one by one.
A paper feeder used with a recording apparatus comprises two paper feeding rollers placed in a paper width direction, the one paper feeding roller being fixedly placed on one side edge side, and the other being built in an edge guide and semi-fixedly placed movably matching the paper width. A base end of the hopper is attached rotatably to a shaft at a right angle to the entry direction such that the whole of paper in the width direction is moved up or down at the same time by a cam mechanism associated with rotation of the paper feeding roller. A pivotable separation pad holder is provided with a separation pad to separate the sheets one by one from the hopper and feed each sheet.
When paper is abutted against the paper feeding roller, and at the same time, the separation pad is pressed against the paper feeding roller as the hopper moves up, the top sheet of paper is separated and fed. When the sheet arrives at a transport roller and skew removal is terminated, the paper feeding roller is rotated and stopped at a home position. Meanwhile, positioning is performed such that a distance between a leading edge of the paper sheet and a recording head is made constant is performed, and then print is started. When the paper feeding roller is stopped at the home position, a gap is formed between the paper feeding roller and the separation pad, but a part of the sheet being printed exists. At this time, another sheet overlappedly sent enters the gap, and two or more overlapped sheets may also be fed in conjunction with the sheet being printed in some cases. As a measure against such trouble, an idle roller is usually pressed against the separation pad. When a sheet being printed exists between the paper feeding roller and the separation pad, it is pressed against the separation pad by the idle roller, whereby entry of the sheets overlappedly sent is prevented. Each sheet whose entry is blocked is pushed and returned to the hopper by operating a paper return lever (paper returner) after the print terminates.
This related paper feeder comprises the paper feed rollers moved matching the paper width and thus has a large number of parts and also has a complicated structure. Since the paper returning operation is performed after print, the next paper feed operation cannot be started until the paper returning operation terminates, and thus the time interval between the print termination of one sheet and the print start of another sheet (throughput) is prolonged. Further, since the sheet being printed is pressed against the idle roller, a contact load with the sheet occurs and leads to a load of a motor drive system, etc.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a paper feeder with the reduced number of parts and a simplified structure for reducing costs and improved in straight-feeding property of paper from a hopper to a paper transporting passage.
It is another object of the invention to provide a paper feeder capable of performing the paper returning operation during printing.
In order to achieve the above objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder, for feeding a sheet of paper to a transporting path extending to a recording apparatus, comprising:
a paper feeding roller, provided in the vicinity of a first widthwise end of the transporting path;
a hopper, for stacking a plurality of sheets of paper, including:
an aligning face, on which leading ends of the stacked sheets are abutted to be aligned with each other, the aligning face being narrowed from a first side end thereof to a second side end thereof, the first side end being in the vicinity of the first widthwise end of the transporting path, and the second side end being in the vicinity of a second widthwise end of the transporting path;
a guide face, provided on the first side end of the aligning face so as to extend parallel with the transporting path; and
a hopper member, pivotably supported on the second side end of the aligning face in a cantilevered manner, so as to move on the aligning face such that distance change in accordance with the number of sheets stacked thereon in the first widthwise end side of the transporting path with respect to the paper feeding roller becomes larger than that in the second widthwise end side of the transporting path;
a paper returner, placed in the vicinity of an end portion of the hopper which faces the paper feeding roller, so as to be pivotable between a first position where the paper returner constitutes a part of the paper transporting passage, and a second position where the paper returner is isolated from the paper transporting passage; and
a first paper retainer, provided on the first surface of the paper returner in the vicinity of the guide face of the hopper, wherein: the paper returner is placed at the first position so that a top sheet of paper in the hopper is abutted against the paper feeding roller, and is separated from other sheets of paper by the separation pad; and
wherein the paper returner is placed at the second position so that a first face of the paper returner returns sheets of paper, which are entered in the paper transporting passage together with the sheet of paper to be fed, to the hopper.
In this configuration, since the hopper member is pivotably supported on the aligning face in the opposite side to a side the single paper feeding roller is provided, the number of parts can be reduced. Further, since a leading end of sheet overhanging from the aligning face to the paper feeding roller is prevented from advancing to the transporting path by the first paper retainer, the sheet enters the transporting passage straight and can be fed stably.
Preferably, the paper feeder further comprises a separation pad, provided on the first face of the paper returner, the separation pad having a friction coefficient which is higher than a friction coefficient of the first face of the paper returner.
In this configuration, the separation pad is attached to the paper returner, so that the number of parts can be decreased and the structure can be simplified for reducing costs as compared with the case where the separation pad holder and the paper return lever are provided separately as in the related paper feeder.
Preferably, the paper feeder further comprises an urging member, which urges the paper returner toward the second position. Here, the paper feeding roller includes a first portion which urges the first face of the paper returner toward the first position, against an urging force of the urging member.
In this configuration, the first face of the paper returner is always abutted against the paper feeding roller, and paper pressing and paper returning operations of the paper returner are made reliable.
Preferably, the first paper retainer is a sheet member having a higher friction coefficient than the first face of the paper returner.
In this configuration, the leading end of sheet does not slip and the orderly stacking is held reliably.
Preferably, the paper feeder further comprises a second paper retainer, provided in the vicinity of the pivotal center of the hopper member, the second retainer having a support face for supporting a part of sheets stacked on the hopper member.
In this configuration, since the leading end of sheet overhanging from the aligning face to the paper feeding roller is also supported in the vicinity of the pivotal center of the hopper member by the second paper retainer, the sheet is more reliably prevented from advancing to the transporting path.
Here, it is preferable that the support face of the second paper retainer is narrowed from a side closer to the pivotal center of the hopper member to a side closer to the paper feeding roller.
In this configuration, since restraining force of the paper feeding roller becomes large from the pivotal center to the free end of the hopper member, when the paper feeding is performed, particularly, firm paper such as an OHP sheet is easily caught in the second paper retainer. However, the support face is narrowed on the paper feeding roller side, whereby if paper is restrained by the paper feeding roller at a local point, it smoothly climbs over the second paper retainer and is fed reliably.
Also, it is preferable that the support face of the second paper retainer is placed such that a leading end of the sheet in the vicinity of the pivotal center of the hopper member is abutted thereon when the paper retainer is placed at the first position.
In this configuration, since the leading end of sheet on the pivotal center of the hopper member side is supported by the second paper retainer at the same time that the restraining force on the paper feeding roller side is increased as the paper returner is placed in the first position, so that paper enters the paper transporting passage straight without skew.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a paper feeder, for feeding a sheet of paper to a transporting path extending to a recording apparatus, comprising:
a paper feeding roller, provided in the vicinity of a first widthwise end of the transporting path;
a hopper, for stacking a plurality of sheets of paper, including:
an aligning face, on which leading ends of the stacked sheets are abutted to be aligned with each other, the aligning face being narrowed from a first side end thereof to a second side end thereof, the first side end being in the vicinity of the first widthwise end of the transporting path, and the second side end being in the vicinity of a second widthwise end of the transporting path;
a guide face, provided on the first side end of the aligning face so as to extend parallel with the transporting path; and
a hopper member, pivotably supported on the second side end of the aligning face in a cantilevered manner, so as to move on the aligning face such that distance change in accordance with the number of sheets stacked thereon in the first widthwise end side of the transporting path with respect to the paper feeding roller becomes larger than that in the second widthwise end side of the transporting path;
a paper returner, placed in the vicinity of an end portion of the hopper which faces the paper feeding roller, so as to be pivotable between a first position where the paper returner constitutes a part of the paper transporting passage, and a second position where the paper returner is isolated from the paper transporting passage; and
a first paper retainer, provided in the vicinity of the pivotal center of the hopper member, the second retainer having a support face for supporting a part of sheets stacked on the hopper member.
wherein the paper returner is placed at the first position so that a top sheet of paper in the hopper is abutted against the paper feeding roller, and is separated from other sheets of paper by the separation pad; and
wherein the paper returner is placed at the second position so that a first face of the paper returner returns sheets of paper, which are entered in the paper transporting passage together with the sheet of paper to be fed, to the hopper.
Preferably, the paper feeder further comprises a separation pad, provided on the first face of the paper returner, the separation pad having a friction coefficient which is higher than a friction coefficient of the first face of the paper returner.
Preferably, the paper feeder further comprises an urging member, which urges the paper returner toward the second position. Here, the paper feeding roller includes a first portion which urges the first face of the paper returner toward the first position, against an urging force of the urging member.
Preferably, the support face of the first paper retainer is narrowed from a side closer to the pivotal center of the hopper member to a side closer to the paper feeding roller.
Preferably, the support face of the first paper retainer is placed such that a leading end of the sheet in the vicinity of the pivotal center of the hopper member is abutted thereon when the paper retainer is placed at the first position.
Preferably, the paper feeder further comprises a second paper retainer, provided on the first surface of the paper returner in the vicinity of the guide face of the hopper.
Here, it is preferable that the second paper retainer is a sheet member having a higher friction coefficient than the first face of the paper returner.


A device for changing a frequency of an internal control clock for testing a chip, by incorporating a mode selection circuit (30) and a high voltage detection circuit (40) in a serial input/output memory. The mode selection circuit (30) is connected between two selected adjacent circuits C.sub.n-2, C.sub.n-1 among a plurality of frequency conversion circuits C.sub.1 . . . C.sub.n, for accessing selectively either a clock pulse CP.sub.n-2 from the frequency conversion circuit C.sub.n-2, arranged in front thereof or a system clock XSK, in dependence upon an internal voltage sense signal IV, IVB. The high voltage detection circuit (40) transmits the internal voltage sense signal to the mode selection circuit (30) by detecting a level of externally applied voltage XV. The internal control clock ICK provided by this device attains a period of T.sub.XSK .times.2.sup.n-M+1, wherein "M" is a number of the counter receiving the mode selection signals MS, MSB next to the mode selection circuit.

This invention relates to a serial input/output memory, and more particularly, to a device for increasing transmission speed of test bits in a test operation in the serial input/output memory using a serial clock applied from an exterior source as an internal clock, by converting a frequency of the serial clock.
Generally, it is well known that a serial transmission method is useful in transmission between a system such as a central processing unit for processing data in parallel and a system such as an auxiliary unit for processing data in series. A transmitter sends each bit of the data separately and a receiver assembles the bits in order to reconstruct the data upon reception. For example, the receiver completes a word after receiving eight bits sequentially, in the case where one word comprises eight bits.
An universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter (hereinafter referred to as "UART") is widely used as such an interface device. A transmission method using the UART is called an UART protocol method.
In the UART protocol method, input data is transmitted to a memory core through a plurality of shift registers; and likewise output data is transmitted through a plurality of shift registers to an external side of an accessed memory, to be received as data bits in serial format (hereinafter referred to as a "serial block memory"). Such shift registers for transmitting data are controlled by an internal clock at various frequencies based on a serial clock (called a "system clock.sub.XSX ").
In conventional serial input and output memory devices, test time is delayed unnecessarily because the internal control clock (which has a frequency that is 1/512 times the system clock) is passed through nine counters prior to use in testing character and access functions of a chip.

Serial input/output memory with a high speed test device


Disclosed is a less expensive, more efficient process for enhanced oil recovery, particularly useful in high cost environments such as offshore. This process is known as single well gas assisted gravity drainage (SW-GAGD). The process comprises the steps of drilling from a single wellbore one or more horizontal laterals near the bottom of a payzone and injecting a fluid displacer such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide through injection points. The injectant sweeps the oil and other produced fluids in the reservoir towards other producing perforations in the single well.

The presently used gas injection schemes for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), such as continuous gas injection (CGI) and water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection, have performed quite poorly in tens of field projects yielding recoveries of only about 5-10%. These are large field projects (about 70 WAG projects in the Permian Basis of Texas alone) and have shown commercial profitability and are considered technically and economically successful by the industry even with the low (5-10%) recoveries. The gas assisted gravity drainage process (GAGD or GAGD process) disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,215,392, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, has demonstrated recoveries in the range of 65% to 95% in laboratory experiments conducted at reservoir conditions of pressures and temperatures. This conventional GAGD process is well suited to onshore formations where oil production has been occurring over the years through numerous vertical wells. However, each offshore deepwater well costs in excess of $200 Million. Even the major oil companies do not have the luxury of drilling patterns of several wells needed to implement multiple well enhanced recovery processes offshore. Most of the research accomplishments (not only in our labs at LSU but in the outside world) and field implementation of these research findings have occurred only in onshore reservoirs, where the well drilling costs are orders of magnitude less. Therefore, the offshore resources of crude oil need specially developed EOR processes that operate with minimum number of wells being drilled and are less costly. What is needed is a GAGD process suited to meet the special cost requirements of offshore reservoirs without losing the advantages of the GAGD process.

Single-well gas-assisted gravity draining process for oil recovery

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUIS AN A STA TE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE


Oral capsules have been dismissed as a dosage form for delivery high dosages of krill phospholipids, but by purifying these to high levels it is indeed possible to use this dosage form to deliver, for example, 700 mg or more phospholipids per capsule.

There is accumulating evidence of the benefits of dietary intake of the long chain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These fatty acids have been shown to decrease the risk of coronary heart disease and ischemic heart disease, and the products Lovaza®, Omacor®, and Vascepa® are approved for human use.
The molecular form of omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. triglycerides or ethyl esters) may be important to their biological effect and their distribution in the body. Krill oil contains a high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids incorporated in phospholipids and it has been demonstrated that krill oil had stronger effects than fish oil on specific parameters related to metabolic syndromes [1]. Moreover, krill is abundant, can be harvested easily, and is very low in the food chain which results in a relative lack of pollution-derived contaminants.
The concentration of phospholipids in commercially available krill oils is relatively low (e.g. less than 500 mg/mL in Superba™ oil). Reference 2 considered the problem of delivering high doses of omega-3 phospholipids in the form of krill oil and, after reviewing the ways in which these oils have formulated, concluded that the most common prior art dosage form (the oral capsule) was disadvantageous for many reasons. Thus reference 2 instead proposed a powder or tablet formulation which can provide oral dosage forms "having a high concentration of the desired krill oil".
Powders were also proposed in reference 3, and further alternatives to capsules have also been suggested, including emulsions (e.g. see references 4 & 5).
It is an object of the invention to provide further and improved ways of delivering high doses of krill phospholipids.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Capsules containing high doses of krill phospholipids


Provided are proliferation inhibitors for cells whose proliferation is stimulated by PTHrP (34-53), comprising a substance inhibiting the binding of PTHrP (1-34) to its receptor.

A parathyroid hormone-related peptide (hereinafter, PTHrP) is a protein produced by a tumor, which is a major causative agent of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. A PTHrP induces humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (hereinafter referred to as "HHM"), which is produced by tumor, by promoting bone resorption and renal reabsorption of calcium. Such an effect is known to be induced by a peptide site (referred to as PTHrP (1-34)) of the sequence of amino acids 1 to 34 on the N terminus of PTHrP through its receptor, a PTH/PTHrP receptor (J. Bone & Mine. Res. (1993) 8, 849-860). Currently, calcitonin and bisphosphonate preparations having an inhibitory action on bone resorption are used to treat HHM. However, since the progress of HHM is so rapid as to significantly deteriorate the QOL (Quality of Life) of patients with terminal cancer, development of a more effective therapeutic agent to respond to each cause has been awaited.
PTHrP has been suggested to have biological activity also at peptide sites other than PTHrP (1-34) (described in Naokazu NAGATA; Table 2 of CLINICAL CALCIUM, 5(3), 103-106, 1995). However, it has not yet been known that a peptide site (referred to as PTHrP (34-53)) corresponding to the sequence of amino acids 34 to 53 on the N terminal side of PTHrP produces an effect to stimulate cell proliferation.

Methods for inhibiting cell proliferation