The invention provides a maleimidyl-containing material having a substituent group defined by the following structural formula (1) containing a maleimidyl group (maleimido group):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a maleimidyl-containing material and a production method thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to a maleimidyl-containing material usable for carriers of diagnosing drugs and pharmaceutical products; carriers for antigen/antibody fixation; chromatographic carriers; viscosity adjustment agents; resin molded materials; coating material additives; crosslinking/curing agents; and additives of cosmetics; and a production method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Functional materials such as ion exchange resins and chelating resins have conventionally been used widely as carriers of various chemical substances. Such functional materials have a variety of reactive groups on the surface. Conventionally, various functional materials, into which active hydrogen-containing groups such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, and primary and secondary amino groups have been introduced, have been employed for various uses. In recent years, biomolecules such as nucleic acids, peptides, and antibodies or synthesized molecules analogous to biomolecules have been employed for affinity chromatography, diagnosing drugs, and inspection drugs while retaining activity and being fixed in materials. For such uses, carriers comprising maleimido groups capable of forming selective and stable bonds with SH groups of the biomolecules or the synthesized molecules analogous to biomolecules in moderate reaction conditions have been sought after. In the case of using materials with such a high selectivity as the carriers, it is required that they evenly and reliably bear a prescribed quantity of maleimido groups and also it is required that the materials have good dispersibility in a water-based medium in which the biomolecules are soluble.
As maleimido-containing compounds, maleimido-containing polystyrene particles are listed up in the 2001/2002 production brochure (p. 909) of Fulka Co. However, these materials have high hydrophobicity and therefore have very inferior dispersibility in a water-based medium.
In such a situation, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-106391 discloses fine particles bearing maleimido-containing phospholipid films on the surface so as not to lower the physiological activity of the biomolecules. The materials are produced as follows: producing in advance a maleimido-containing phospholipid by causing reaction of a bivalent reagent such as N-(6-maleimidocaproyloxy)succinimide having a succinimido group and a maleimido group in one molecule with a phospholipid, and refining the reaction product by column chromatography or the like; producing a maleimido-containing phospholipid film by subjecting the refined product to multi-step treatment; and forming the film on nucleating particles such as magnetic particles. However, the materials have physical disadvantages such as low solvent resistance since the nucleating particles and the maleimido-containing phospholipid films are not chemically bonded. Further, the manufacturing process is extremely complicated and the bivalent reagent, a raw material, is a costly reagent, thus increasing the cost.
As another production method, there is a method for producing the maleimidyl-containing material by reaction of a compound containing two maleimidyl groups in one molecule, such as 4,4′-bismaleimidodiphenylmethane, 1,2-bismaleimidoethane, and 1,6-bismaleimidohexane, with a material containing an SH group.
According to this method, since another maleimido group is further introduced at the time of introduction of one maleimido group, the obtained product becomes a material inferior in dispersibility in a water-based medium. Further, there are disadvantages in that the compound containing two maleimidyl groups in one molecule being a costly reagent results in increased costs and that the material containing the SH group, which is chemically instable, has to be produced in advance.
Further, a maleimidyl-containing material is produced by reaction of polystyrene and N-chloromethylmaleimide by a method described in J. Polym. Sci.: Polymer Chemistry Edition, vol. 17,3675-3685 (1979). According to the method, a maleimido group can be introduced by one-step reaction; however, since the mother material is polystyrene, the hydrophobicity is increased. Also, the method is not desirable in view of the use of harmful phosphorus trichloride to synthesize N-chloromethylmaleimide.
Accordingly, the maleimidyl-containing materials made available so far have been insufficient in the dispersibility in a water-based medium and no production method of a maleimidyl-containing material at a low raw material cost by simple process has been made developed till now.

Maleimidyl-containing material and production method thereof

Abstract: wherein A denotes a spacer containing an amino acid or a peptide spacer P.

Abstract: Also, the invention provides a production method of the above-mentioned maleimidyl-containing material involving a step of reacting a material containing an amino acid or a peptide chain with a compound containing a maleimido group.


A dimeric aluminum(salen) catalyst of formula I:

Cyclic carbonates are commercially important products currently manufactured on a multi-tonne scale for use as polar aprotic solvents, additives, antifoam agents for anti-freeze, plasticisers, and monomers for polymer synthesis (see Darensbourg, et al., Coord. Chem. Rev., 153 (1996), 155-174; Coates, et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 43 (2004), 6618-6639).
The synthesis of cyclic carbonates generally involves the reaction of epoxides with carbon dioxide, and hence could be used to sequestrate carbon dioxide, thus reducing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Catalysts for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and carbon dioxide are known in the art (see Darensbourg, et al., Coord. Chem. Rev., 153 (1996), 155-174; Yoshida, et al., Chem. Eur. J, 10 (2004), 2886-2893; Sun, et al., J. Organomet. Chem., 690 (2005), 3490-3497) although these require elevated reaction temperatures and/or high pressures of carbon dioxide, the reaction often being conducted in supercritical carbon dioxide (see Lu, et al., App. Cat. A, 234 (2002), 25-33).
Ratzenhofer, et al., (Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. Engl., 19 (1980), 317-318) succeeded in carrying out the reaction between 2-methyloxirane and carbon dioxide at room temperature and atmospheric pressure using catalysts consisting of a mixture of a metal halide and a Lewis base. However, a long reaction time of 7 days was required. Kisch, et al., (Chem. Ber., 119 (1986), 1090-1094), carrying out the same reaction under the same conditions and also using catalysts of this type, reports a reaction time of 3.5 to 93 hours using up to 4 mol % of a ZnCl2 catalyst and up to 16 mol % of a (nButyl)4NI catalyst.
Lu, et al., (J. Mol. Cat. A, 210 (2004), 31-34; J. Cat., 227 (2004), 537-541) describe the use of tetradentate Schiff-base aluminium complexes in conjunction with a quaternary ammonium salt or polyether-KY complexes as catalyst systems for the reaction of various epoxides with carbon dioxide at room temperature and about 6 atmospheres.
Metal(salen) complexes, including aluminium(salen) complexes, are well-known in the art for their use as catalysts. Lu, et al., App. Cat. A, 234 (2002), 25-33, describes the use of a monomeric aluminium(salen) catalyst.
Also known in the art is the method of synthesising aluminium(salen) catalysts by treating a salen ligand with Me3Al, Et3Al, Me2AlCl, Me2AlOTf, Et2AlBr or Et2AlCl in a two-stage process (reviewed in Atwood and Harvey, Chem. Rev., 2001, 101, 37-52).
The present inventor has previously found that, in the presence of a tetraalkylammonium halide cocatalyst, dimeric aluminium(salen) complexes are highly active catalysts for the reaction of epoxides with carbon dioxide to produce cyclic carbonates, and allow the reaction to be carried out at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, using short reaction times and commercially viable amounts of catalyst, as described in Melendez, J., et al., Eur J. Inorg Chem, 2007, 3323-3326 and co-pending UK patent application No. 0708016.1, filed 25 Apr. 2007, now published as WO 2008/132474.

Abstract: wherein: (a) at least one R group is selected from L-A, and/or (b) at least one of X group is a divalent C3-7 heterocyclene group, containing a ring atom which is a quaternary nitrogen atom paired with a counterion selected from Cl, Br and I; and/or (c) at least one X group is a C2-5 alkylene chain or a C1-3 bisoxyalkylene chain, substituted by a group -Q-L-A; and/or(ii) (a) one R group is L-A′, or (b) one X group is a divalent C3-7 heterocyclene group, containing a ring atom which is a quaternary nitrogen forming part of an ammonium linking group bound to a solid support and paired with a counterion selected from Cl, Br and I; or (c) one X group is a C2-5 alkylene chain or a C1-3 bisoxyalkylene chain, substituted by a group -Q-L-A′.


A method for job selection and resource allocation of massively parallel processors, the method includes: providing to a constraint satisfaction problem solver multiple domains, variables, and constraints representative of a massively parallel processor, of queued job requests and of jobs being processed by the massively parallel processor, and generating, by the constraint satisfaction problem solver a result representative of multiple jobs to be executed, at least partially in parallel, by multiple resources of the massively parallel processor.

A Massively Parallel Processor can include a large number (even thousands) of central processing units possibly grouped into nodes. A well known massively parallel processor is the BlueGene/L™ of International Business Machines™ of Armonk, N.Y.
A massively parallel processor is expected to execute multiple computer tasks (jobs) in parallel by using multiple processing units. Usually, multiple users can send requests to execute various jobs. These requests are queued in multiple queues and a scheduler selects (i) which head-of-queue job to execute (job selection), and (ii) which resources shall participate in the execution of the job (resource allocation).
These two decisions are traditionally executed by using mutually independent algorithms. Typically the job selection is responsive to various priorities while the resource allocation is responsive to the topology of the massively parallel processor.
The scheduler, and especially the job selection, can be responsive to various parameters including user priority, group of user priority, job priority, time of arrival of the request to the job, and the like. The performance of the massively parallel processor is largely dependent upon the efficiency of the scheduler. A badly designed scheduler can use only a fraction of the massively parallel processor resources, and can otherwise utilize the massively parallel processor in a non-efficient (also time-wise) manner.
Various algorithms were developed for job selection. One prior art method for job selection is known as backfilling. The following papers, all being incorporated herein by reference, illustrates some backfilling methods: A. W. Mualem and D. G. Feitelson, "Utilization, predictability, workloads, and user runtime estimates in scheduling the IBM SP2 with backfilling" IEEE Trans. Parallel and Distributed Syst. 12(6), pp. 529-543, 2001; J. Skovira, W. Chan, H. Zhou, and D. Lifka, "The EASY LoadLeveler API Project". JSSPP 1996 pp. 41-47; D. Lifka, "The ANL/IBM SP Scheduling System", JSSPP 1995 pp. 295-303; and Edi Shmueli, Dror G. Feitelson "Backfilling with Lookahead to Optimize the Performance of Parallel Job Scheduling" JSSPP 2003 pp. 228-251.
There are various resource allocation method that are usually used when the topology of the massively parallel processor are not trivial, some being illustrated in the following papers, all being incorporated herein by reference: "An Efficient Task Allocation Scheme for 2D Mesh Architectures", S. Yoo et al., IEEE Trans. on Parallel and Distributed systems, v. 8(9), pp. 934-942, 1997; "A Fast and Efficient Strategy for Submesh Allocation in Mesh-Connected Parallel Computers", D. Das Sharma and D. K. Pradhan, IEEE Symp. parallel and Distributed Processing, pp. 682-689, 1993; "Submesh Allocation in Mesh Multicomputers Using Busy List: A Best-Fit Approach with Complete Recognition Capability", D. Das Sharma and D. K. Pradhan, Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, v. 36, pp. 106-118, 1996; "Job Scheduling in Mesh Multicomputers", D. Das Sharma and D. K. Pradhan, IEEE Trans. in Parallel and Distributed Systems, v. 9(1), pp. 57-70, 1998; "A Submesh Allocation Scheme for Mesh-Connected Multiprocessor Systems", T. Liu et al., Proc. 1995 Int'l Conf. Parallel Processing, v. 2, pp. 159-163, 1995; "On Submesh Allocation for Mesh Multicomputers: A Best-Fit Allocation and a Virtual Submesh Allocation for Faulty Meshes", G. Kim and H. Yoon, IEEE Trans. on Parallel and Distributed Systems, v. 9(2), 1998; "Job Scheduling for the BlueGene/L System", E. Krevat, J. G. Castanos, and J. E. Moreira, Job Scheduling Strategies for Parallel Processing workshop, Lecture Notes in Computer Science v. 2537, pp. 38-54, Springer-Verlag, 2002; and "Multi-Toroidal Interconnects: Using Additional Communication Links to Improve Utilization of Parallel Computers", Y. Aridor et al., JSSPP 2004 pp. 72-88.
These resource allocation algorithms can be categorized into two groups named "First-Fit" and "Best-Fit". The basic difference between the various resource allocation algorithms is in the way, or the order, the resources of the massively parallel processor are scanned, and in the heuristics used to decide the "best".
There is a need to provide efficient systems, methods and computer program product for job selection and resource allocation of a massively parallel processor.

Method and computer program product for job selection and resource allocation of a massively parallel processor

International Business Machines Corporation


Systems and methods for protecting sensitive data in communications are described, including identifying first information in content created by a user for a communication; sending the first information to a vault; receiving, from the vault, an identifier associated with the first information; replacing the first information in the content with second information that is associated with the first information and does not provide any indication of the content of the first information; and sending the communication comprising the content with the second information and the identifier.

1. Field
The subject matter discussed herein relates generally to electronic or digital communications and, more particularly, to systems and methods for protecting sensitive data in communications.
2. Related Background
Digital communications, such as emails, documents, text messages, images, sometimes contain sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, passwords, and identifiers, etc. Users may sometimes need to include sensitive data in communications (e.g., in an email or a document) but do not want the sensitive data to be accessed by another without permission (e.g., end up in the wrong hands).
Related art tools allow the communications to be encrypted in transit from point A to point B using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), or other cryptographic protocols. However, once the communications reach point B, the communications are decrypted to their original forms. Communications may then be received without permission (e.g., fall in the wrong hands) at point B. For example, a user may electronically forward a communication with the sensitive data intact to an unintended recipient or convert a communication in another medium (e.g., paper copy) that can be accessed by an unintended viewer.


Of hydrogen atoms constituting 2-adamantylamino-5-nitropyridine, at least hydrogen atom of N--H part is substituted with deuterium to obtain a deuterated AANP. An organic optical material is made from the deuterated AANP. Content of the deuterated AANP in this case is preferably more than 25%. With this method, an organic nonlinear optical material can be provided for devices having a large wavelength conversion efficiency in wavelength conversion relating to optical communications wavelength region, particularly at and around 1.55 .mu.m wavelength.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic nonlinear optical material which can be used in a highly efficient wavelength conversion device for use in optical communication wavelength bands, to 2-adamantylamino-5-nitropyridine which is suitable for use in the optical material, and to a production method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known, organic nonlinear optical materials are drawing attention as materials for achieving highly efficient wavelength conversion devices. 2-Adamantylamino-5-nitropyridine (hereinafter abbreviated to as AANP) is known to be useful as a material of a wavelength conversion device because the compound has a large second order nonlinear optical coefficient (refer to Japanese Patent Application No. 282221/1987 [Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 124834/1989]). Since AANP has wavelength conversion characteristics particularly in 1.3 to 1.6 .mu.m wavelength region, which are optical communications wavelength region, application of this compound is being investigated for measuring instruments utilizing wavelength conversion in optical communications wavelength region.
Main usable wavelength region of AANP are at and around 1.32 .mu.m wavelength and at and around 1.55 .mu.m wavelength. At and around 1.32 .mu.m wavelength, a bulk crystal of AANP has a very high wavelength conversion efficiency of 3.times.10.sup.-3 (/W) for second harmonic generation (SHG). On the other hand, at and around 1.55 .mu.m wavelength, the same AANP bulk crystal has only a small wavelength conversion efficiency of 2.times.10.sup.-4 (/W) for SHG as compared with the value at and around 1.32 .mu.m wavelength. Therefore, a nearly the same wavelength conversion efficiency at and around 1.32 .mu.m wavelength has been required for AANP also at and around 1.55 .mu.m wavelength.
However, no solution for preventing the reduction in wavelength conversion efficiency at and around 1.55 .mu.m wavelength of the AANP has been found up to now, because the cause of the reduction has not been revealed.

Deuterated 2-adamantylamino-5-nitropyridine, organic nonlinear optical material containing the compound, and production method of the compound

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A method of providing isolation structure in a semiconductor device having a shallow trench with a rounded top corner is provided for preventing stress centralization as well as current leakage of a device. The method includes the steps of: (a) sequentially forming a pad oxide layer and a silicon nitride layer on a semiconductor substrate; (b) forming an opening in the silicon nitride layer by a first anisotropic etching process, so as to expose an area for forming a shallow trench; (c) performing a wet etching process to remove the pad oxide layer within the opening, the wet etching process removing a portion of the pad oxide layer extending from the opening and under the silicon nitride layer; (d) performing an isotropic etching process to form a hollow with a rounded top corner in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the rounded top corner is located under the silicon nitride layer; and (e) continuously etching the hollow by a second anisotropic etching process using the silicon nitride layer as a mask, thereby forming a shallow trench having a rounded top corner in the semiconductor substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a semiconductor device isolation process, and more particularly to a shallow trench isolation (STI) process utilized in semiconductor device manufacture.
2. Description of Related Art
With the continual improvement of semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) fabrication techniques, the number of devices which can be packed onto a semiconductor chip has increased greatly, while the size of the individual devices has decreased markedly. Today several million devices can be fabricated on a single chip. Consider, for example, mega-bit memory chips which are commonly used today in personal computers and in other applications. In such high-density memory chips, elements must be properly isolated in order to obtain good performance. The main purpose of device isolation techniques is to provide sufficient electrical insulation between the elements of the devices without using a significant amount of area on the chip. In this way, more space is available for other devices and components.
The so-called Local Oxidation of Silicon (LOCOS) technique has been widely used to form a field oxide for device isolation. In today's deep sub-micron manufacturing process (features sized below 0.25 .mu.m), however, using the LOCOS technique results in several drawbacks. First, a relatively large device area is needed and an uneven surface is produced during forming of the field oxide by the LOCOS process. Furthermore, the so-called "bird's beak effect" inevitably appears during forming of the field oxide. Because the bird's beak length is difficult to control within 800 .ANG. when using the LOCOS process, a new shallow trench isolation (STI) technique is generally used for the manufacture of semiconductor devices with feature sized below 0.25 .mu.m.
In a conventional shallow trench isolation (STI) process, an anisotropic dry etching is first performed to form a trench in a silicon substrate having a depth between 0.3 to 0.8 .mu.m. A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is then performed to form a silicon oxide layer overlaying the entire silicon substrate. The silicon oxide layer is etched back to the top surface of the silicon substrate with a portion of the oxide layer retained within the trench. The STI process has the advantages of preventing the "bird's beak effect" and reducing cross-disturbance between adjacent electric fields. Therefore, the STI process is applicable in fabricating deep sub-micron semiconductor devices, so as to prevent the occurrence of punch through or latch out.
FIGS. 1A to 1C illustrate the processing steps for a conventional shallow isolation trench. A pad oxide layer 12 and a silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4) layer 14 are first formed on a silicon substrate 10 (FIG. 1A). Photolithography and etching processes are performed to define the pattern of the silicon nitride layer 14, which exposes an area that will form a trench (FIG. 1B). Using the silicon nitride layer 14 as a mask, an anisotropic etching process, such as a reactive ion etching (RIE) is then performed to form a shallow trench 16 in the silicon substrate 10 (FIG. 1C).
The top corner profile of the trench is sharp since it is formed by an anisotropic etching process. This sharp profile causes the previously formed gate oxide layer to have an irregular thickness. Thus, the electric field at the area near the trench corner is larger than that of other areas, resulting in current leakage in the devices. Furthermore, gate oxide layer defects are generally found since a large amount of stress is concentrated near the top corner of the shallow trench 16.


According to some embodiments, an apparatus includes a movable portion through which a sensing current is to be conducted. The movable portion might comprise, for example, a beam or plate suspended above a well in a Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) substrate. The apparatus may also include a sensing portion coupled to the movable portion, and the movable portion and/or sensing portion may move in a direction normal to the substrate in response to a magnetic field.

A sensor may be used to determine an electromagnetic value. For example, a sensor might be used to determine the strength of a magnetic field or an amount of electrical current. Moreover, in some cases it may be important for the sensor to be small, inexpensive to produce, relatively precise, and/or sensitive. For example, in some applications a magnetic field sensor may need to detect small changes in the strength of a magnetic field.

Microelectromechanical system sensor and method for using


The present invention is a reversible dual-purpose self-standing pot cover for covering a flowerpot or a plant pot. It first side is wrapped by a fabric material with decoration and the second side is wrapped by a fabric material with an uncovered central area used as a writing surface for writing messages. The reversible dual-purpose self-standing pot cover is placed around a flowerpot to enhance the pot image or it can be reversed to send a message to someone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pot covers. In particular, the present invention relates to pot covers for interior flowers or plants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices for covering flower and plant pots are known in prior art. Generally, such devices are used to enhance the appearance of a flower or a plant pot. The following prior art references are relevant to the field of the present invention.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,860 issued to Richardson for "Flower Pot Cover" (hereafter the "Richardson Patent").
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,620 issued to Weder et al. for "Flower Pot Wrap With Lace Pattern Edging" (hereafter the "Weder Patent").
3. U.S. Pat. No. 2,884,741 issued to Lange for "Flower Pot Cover" (hereafter the "Lange Patent").
4. U.S. Pat. No. 2,845,735 issued to Werner for "Flower-Pot Cover" (hereafter the "Werner Patent").
5. U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,217 issued to Clement for "Receptacle" (hereafter the "Clement Patent").
6. U.S. Pat. No. 2,606,106 issued to Albertson for "Flowerpot Cover" (hereafter the "Albertson Patent").
7. U.S. Pat. No. 2,440,569 issued to Baldwin for "Plant Pot Cover" (hereafter the "Baldwin Patent").
8. U.S. Pat. No. 2,355,559 issued to Renner for "Cover For Container" (hereafter the "Renner Patent").
9. U.S. Pat. No. 2,302,259 issued to Rothfuss for "Ornamental Cover For Flower Pots" (hereafter the "Rothfuss Patent").
10. U.S. Pat. No. 2,209,778 issued to Krasowski for "Decorative Covering For Flowerpots And The Like" (hereafter the "Krasowski Patent").
11. U.S. Pat. No. 2,171,835 issued to Mackie for "Flowerpot Cover" (hereafter the "Mackie Patent").
12. U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,648 issued to Jones for "Plant Container Covering" (hereafter the "Jones Patent").
13. U.S. Pat. No. 2,110,981 issued to Auslander for "Cover For Flowerpots And The Like" (hereafter the "Auslander Patent").
14. U.S. Pat. No. 2,076,450 issued to Doty for "Flowerpot Cover" (hereafter the "Doty Patent").
15. U.S. Pat. No. 1,697,751 issued to Blake for "Flowerpot Cover" (hereafter the "Blake Patent").
16. U.S. Pat. No. 1,520,647 issued to Hennecan for "Flowerpot Cover" (hereafter the "Hennecan Patent").
17. U.S. Pat. No. 1,446,563 issued to Hughes for "Decorative Covering For Flowerpots, Bouquets, And The Like" (hereafter the "Hughes Patent").
The Richardson Patent discloses a flower pot cover. The flowerpot cover is in the shape of an animal. It includes a cover and a bottom portion. The flowerpot is placed inside the bottom portion and the cover is used to enclose the flowerpot.
The Weder Patent discloses a flowerpot wrap with lace pattern edging. The flowerpot is wrapped within a metallic foil and a plastic film. The foil defines a lace pattern collar above the pot.
The Lange Patent discloses a flowerpot cover. It includes a circular horizontal bottom and a conical section.
The Werner Patent discloses a planar blank for a protective decorative cover for a flowerpot. The blank is in the shape of an arc and has only a one side decoration.
The Clement Patent discloses a receptacle for a flowerpot. It is a container for holding flowerpots.
The Albertson Patent discloses a cover for a flowerpot. It includes a blank of flexible sheet material. When the cover forms, it has a larger upper conical section and a smaller lower conical section. It is retained together by a strip at the ends of the blank.
The Baldwin Patent discloses a cover for a plant pot. The cover includes a thin sidewall and a flexible water-proof sack-like member. The cover is made of stretchable material which conforms to the pot. The sidewall does not have any decorations.
The Renner Patent discloses a cover for a container. It comprises of a plurality of superimposed transparent sheets. The sheets are fused together to surround the container.
The Rothfuss Patent discloses an ornamental cover for a flowerpot. The cover has shirr-stitching between the opposite edges of the cover. The stitching is made of an elastic thread.
The Krasowski Patent discloses a decorative covering for a flowerpot. The cover includes a sheet of flexible material and binding strips. The opposed end edges are attached by hook-shaped members securing the ends together.
The Mackie Patent discloses a flowerpot cover. It includes a tubular tapered cover member and an ornamental ribbon.
The Jones Patent discloses a cover for a plant container. The cover is wrapped around the container. The cover has two edges. One of the edges snugly encircles the top edge of the container and the other edge spirals about the container.
The Auslander Patent discloses a cover for a flowerpot. It includes a plurality of upright members formed with edges having apertures. A resilient material passes through the apertures to connect the upright members together.
The Doty Patent discloses a cover for a flowerpot. It includes a piece of sheet-like flexible fabric material and fasteners. The ends of the sheet are fastened together by a bendable pin laced back and forth through the ends.
The Blake Patent discloses a cover for a flowerpot. It includes a strip and pleats which is stitched transversely upon the cover to retain it together. The ends of the cover are disposed in an overlapping relationship and are held together by crimping the upper and the lower side edges together.
The Hennecan Patent discloses a cover for a flowerpot. The cover is fitted over a flowerpot and slits are provided to allow a strip of ribbon to be placed through and connected to the back.
The Hughes Patent discloses a decorative covering for flowerpots and bouquets. It includes a sheet of flexible material and binding strips adjacent the upper and lower edges.
It will be desirable to have a dual-purpose pot cover, a first side having decorations for enhancing the image of a flowerpot, and the second side for writing messages, without the cost of buying individual items.

Reversible dual-purpose self-standing pot cover


An imaging system (1) comprises a transmitter (3, 6), a receiver (3, 4, 6), an antenna array (2); and a controller (4, 5, 10, 11) for directing the transmitter, the receiver, and the antenna array to scan a volume containing an object. The controller has multiple distributed processors (15) to calculate antenna control pattern data during run-time. The processor (4, 5) assesses misalignment of antennae using a receiver placed in the imaging volume, and monitors level of energy received by the receiver and compares it with a reference energy level. Also, the controller performs on-the-fly modification of antenna control pattern data according to real time conditions such as mechanical misalignment of the transmitter, the receiver, or of one or more antennas. The controller may generate three-dimensional offset vectors to provide a profile of the offset across the scan volume, and the position of an antenna may be moved to compensate for the mechanical misalignment.

In response to security threats in transportation and public spaces, inspection of people for weapons and other types of contraband is becoming common at security checkpoints at, for example, airports, train stations, sporting events, concerts, federal buildings, and other public and private facilities. Systems using non-ionizing radiation, such as terahertz and millimeter wave, for imaging of concealed weapons, contraband or other items of interest are known. Such systems are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,972,714, 6,965,340, 7,112,775, 7,224,314, 7,283,085, 7,333,055, 7,327,304, 7,280,068, 7,298,318, and 7,525,500 and U.S. Patent Appl. Pub. Nos. 2005-0270220, 2006-0109160, 2006-0214836, 2008-0161685, 2008-0094301, 2008-0094296.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,965,304 discloses a security inspection system having an array of antenna elements each being programmable with a phase delay to direct a beam of microwave radiation towards a target. The antenna elements may be binary phase-shifted with a non-ideal switching device, or continuous phase-shifted with a variable capacitor. U.S. Pat. No. 7,283,085 describes separate scanning and receiver arrays. U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,318 describes a system in which antenna elements are capable of being programmed with an additional transmission coefficient to receive reflected microwave radiation. US2006/0214838 describes a system in which phase shifts may be altered in order to optimize a parameter. Patterns (115) are stored in a computer readable medium (110).
In some such imaging systems there is electronic control of an array of antennas to focus radiation such as millimeter wave energy on a desired spot and to collect the resultant reflection from this focus point. The focus point can be stepped across a three-dimensional volume in order to provide an image of what is contained in the volume.
In order to step the focus point across the scan volume control information (known as the "pattern") needs to be provided to each of the antennas in the array for each point in the volume. In order to provide good resolution and a good quality image two requirements are a large number of antennas and a small step size. These two requirements in turn create a requirement for a large amount of pattern data.
The three-dimensional step size (i.e. distance between focus points) may for example be 4 mm×4 mm×10 mm. An example scan volume of 1.1 m×2 m×1 m yields 13.75 million focus points for which pattern data must be stored. Using a coarse control mechanism where 1 bit of information is required to be stored for each antenna for each focus point yields a total pattern size of 67 GBytes for a system containing 42336 antennas (1 GByte=1024×1024×1024×8 bits).
In current systems this information is held in the system by including a large amount of distributed non-volatile memory. This non-volatile memory is "loaded" off-line outside the system and placed in the system before start-up or loaded in a setup mode at system start prior to use. The pattern data may for example be stored in Compact Flash memory from which the processor reads the data and writes it to SDRAM buffer memory, and in turn feeds the antenna array from this buffer memory.
Using non-volatile memory in the system places limitations on system operation and calibration options due to the slow access times of this type of memory. The invention is directed towards providing a simpler imaging system architecture, and/or simpler system modification, and/or improved real time response to dynamic commands during operation of the system.


A system and method of operation of an image processing system includes: an imaging device for receiving a source image; a mode module for receiving a random access block of an integral image formed by summing a portion of the source image, and for calculating a chosen mode and a quantization number from the random access block; a quantization module for forming a quantized block by shifting the random access block based on the chosen mode; a predictor module for calculating a predictor block based on the quantized block; and a fixed length coding module for calculating a residual block by subtracting the predictor block from the quantized block, for calculating a fixed length coding residual based on the chosen mode and the residual block, and for forming an image bitstream having the quantization number and the fixed length coding residual.

Modern consumer and industrial electronics, especially devices with a graphical imaging capability, such as cameras, televisions, projectors, cellular phones, and combination devices, are providing increasing levels of functionality to support modern life which require capturing and managing digital image information. Larger image format sizes and recording speeds require ever larger amounts of information to be digitally stored on digital media to capture images and video recordings. Research and development in the existing technologies can take a myriad of different directions.
As users become more empowered with the growth of imaging devices, new and old paradigms begin to take advantage of this new device space. There are many technological solutions to take advantage of this new imaging opportunity. One existing approach is to capture images on consumer, industrial, and mobile electronics such as digital cameras, smart phones with imaging capability, digital projectors, televisions, monitors, gaming systems, video cameras, or a combination devices, store the images in a storage system, process the images, and send the images to a display device.
Image capture and display systems have been incorporated in cameras, phones, projectors, televisions, notebooks, and other portable products. Today, these systems aid users by capturing and displaying available relevant information, such as images, graphics, text, or videos. The capture and display of digital images provides invaluable relevant information.
However, capturing, managing, and displaying information in digital images has become a paramount concern for the consumer. Mobile systems must store ever increasing amounts of digital image information in smaller physical storage spaces. Larger images consume more digital communication bandwidth during transmission, reducing the utility of remote image capture systems. Limiting the size of digital images decreases the benefit of using the tools.
Thus, a need still remains for better image processing system to capture and manage digital images. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Image processing system with random access capable integral image compression and method of operation thereof


A pressure-sensing module includes a housing having a process-fluid port configured to be coupled to a process-fluid-flow circuit. The housing defines a first chamber into which the process fluid can flow through the process-fluid port. An isolator assembly is disposed within the housing and includes a fill port. The isolator assembly is configured to define a second chamber into which pressure-coupling fluid may be injected through the fill port. An electronic circuit is disposed within the second chamber and is configured to be pressure coupled by the coupling fluid and isolator assembly to the flow circuit. A plug having first and second ends occupies the fill port thereby sealing the second chamber. The first end is exposed to the process fluid in the first chamber, and the second end is exposed to the coupling fluid in the second chamber.

When sensing pressure in aerospace or other commercial systems, it is often necessary to isolate the process fluid (e.g., fuel) from the electronic sensing elements associated with the pressure sensor. For example, referring to FIG. 1, a conventional pressure-sensor module 10 includes a header housing 20 including a high-pressure port 30 and a low-pressure oil-fill port 40. The high-pressure port 30 is configured to be in fluid communication with a first fluid-flow circuit, such as that associated with the aforementioned process fluid, having a variable or static pressure P1. The oil-fill port 40 is configured to be in fluid communication with a second fluid-flow circuit, which may be the ambient, having a variable or static pressure P2. The module 10 further includes an oil-fill volume 50 defined by a compressive coupling member 60 and sealing off a pressure-sensor assembly 70 from the process fluid. The oil-fill volume 50 is filled through the oil-fill port 40 with inert oil (not shown) and then sealed with a plug 80 inserted into the oil-fill port 40. In normal configurations, the oil-fill port 40 is loaded with the plug 80 subject to the pressure differential between P1 and P2. Loading of the plug 80 under such conditions can result in failure of the plug seal, resulting in sensor failure. To overcome this high loading, the ports are made with thick walls and the plug 80 loaded with deep-penetration sealing welds.


A method is described for reducing the effect of linear birefringence in an optical fiber, in particular a circular-cored single-mode fiber. The invention may also be directed to an optical fiber having a reduced linear birefringence. A length of the optical fiber may be subdivided into a plurality of sections and a twist having a predetermined sense of rotation and a twist angle may be introduced between the sections. Fibers of this type may find applications, for example, in fiber-optic current and magnetic field sensors.

Linear birefringence in a single-mode fiber optic sensing coil employing the Faraday effect has the effect of reducing the sensitivity of the coil to magnetic fields. The sensitivity decreases with increasing length and birefringence of the coil. Birefringence occurs even if the sensing fiber is straight, due to the presence of residual linear birefringence resulting from core ellipticity. Even nominally circular core single mode fibers possess some core ellipticity due to imperfections in the production process. Additionally, bending or other anisotropic stresses on the core contribute to birefringence, such as when the fiber is formed into a coil.
Linear birefringence tends to suppress the response of the fiber to magnetic fields. As this effect is temperature dependent, and each fiber has different characteristics, it is difficult to produce a sensing coil whose characteristics are known over the operating temperature range. Moreover, measuring the coil temperature may be impracticable and expensive.
In the short section of fiber that is used for a sensing coil (a few meters to 50 meters), the ellipticity is relatively constant. This arises from the method of manufacture of optical fiber, where the fiber is drawn down from a preform. A preform is a version of the fiber that has a larger diameter than the fiber, but is shorter in length. Exemplary length ratios (fiber/preform, for fibers manufactured by KVH Industries) are approximately 4000:1. In other words, 0.25 mm of preform length yield approximately 1 meter of fiber. Over this short preform length the ellipticity will not change significantly, so that the ellipticity can be considered as being constant in that section of fiber.
Several approaches have been proposed to overcome the deleterious effects caused by linear birefringence when the fiber is used for current sensing. For example, circular birefringence can be introduced by torsion-type twists to "swamp" the linear birefringence and achieve coupling of the linear modes. Alternatively or in addition, the preform or the fiber can be spun or rotated in an oscillating manner during drawing to reduce polarization mode dispersion (PMD). These remedies tend to complicate the fiber or coil fabrication process, may require annealing, and are expensive.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an optical fiber for magnetic field and current sensing applications and a method of producing such an optical fiber that has increased sensitivity to a magnetic field and reduced temperature dependence by reducing the deleterious effects caused by linear birefringence and that can be produced at less cost.

Reduction of linear birefringence in circular-cored single-mode fiber


A hyperfrequency generator comprising a source element (5) of negative resistance adjacent to a cylindrical resonant cavity (2) closed at opposite ends by two transversal closure plates (4, 7) for the purpose of tuning over a frequency band. The source element (5) is installed directly in the resonant cavity (2) such that there is a direct coupling between the source element (5) and the resonant cavity (2). One of the closure plates (7) is movable toward and away from the other for rough tuning.

Many hyperfrequency generators are known using a semi-conductor component as source element.
These are diodes known, for example, under the denominations IMPATT, LSA, tunnel diodes, GUNN effect diodes, and other components of negative resistance.
The emitting diode is installed inside a closed volume connected to the adjoining resonant cavity through a specific adjustable coupler.
According to American patent No. 3,534,293, HARKLESS inventor, the hyperfrequency source element is mounted in its feeding circuit in series with a rectilineal radiating rod coaxially disposed in a cylindrical volume. This radiating rod constitutes the coupling antenna present in a chamber adjacent to a resonant cylindrical cavity.
Because of its role and position, this chamber constitutes a preresonator.
This preresonator includes a transversal output leading to an intermediate adjustable conduit and is connected transversely to a cylindrical resonant cavity of variable volume whose output is connected to the load.
This preresonator presents the characteristics adapted for the envisioned range of frequencies. It assures filtering out undesirable modes.
The coupler is tuned by a screw to the desired frequency to select the modes that will be excited in the resonant cavity.
This type of generator with preresonator has the drawback of a high selectivity as to frequency.
So, these generators cannot furnish, above a certain level, a constant level of power over a large range of frequencies.
However, some applications demand the maintenance of a sufficient level of power over a large range of frequencies while at the same time, presenting a very low degree of phase noise.

Hyperfrequency generator with source element located in the resonant cavity

Sadis Bruker Spectrospin Societe Anonyme de Diffusion de l'Instrumentation Scientifique Bruker Spectrospin (Societe Anonyme a Directoire)


An engineered wall system for use above or below ground constituted of zinc-borate treated timber strand studs with sheets of structural fiberglass reinforced plastic and rigid foam insulation. The invention is particularly suitable as an alternative to other materials and methods commonly used to construct foundations for residential structures. This wall system exhibits great strength, durability, as well as improved resistance to mold, insects, water and fire.

Since the early 1940's technology applied to foundation systems in residential construction have changed little. The predominant method for constructing the foundation has been to pour the concrete footer and the use cinder blocks to build the foundation wall. More recently a "cake mold" method has gained acceptance whereby forms are assembled and concrete is poured into them yielding a solid concrete wall.
The weaknesses associated with the concrete systems are well known within the art and will not be enumerated, however, it is sufficient to state that there has long since been a need for a foundation wall system which can be produced and installed efficiently, with improved insulative characteristics, increased overall strength and long term durability.
The inventor, Wesley F. Kestermont, of Indiana Pa. has devised a wall system which can be place above or below ground using structural fiberglass reinforced plastic as an outside membrane, zinc-borate treated timber strand studs and plates, and joined with rigid foam insulation.
It is an object of the present invention to be of comparatively light weight so that it may be shipped to the job site and assembled in segments.
Is a further object of the present invention to provide greater insulation (system having a higher R value, approximately R=30) than traditional foundations.
It is still a further an object of the present invention to provide a foundation wall with superior ability to withstand both normal forces and shear forces.
It is again another object of the present invention to provide a foundation wall system to provide increased resistance to both water and radon gas in comparison to conventional concrete wall systems.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an integrated wiring chase.
It is still a further object of the invention to be resistant to insects by incorporating treated timber strand studs and foam insulation.


A high voltage circuit breaker with a gas-insulated tank is provided. Enclosed with the tank is an elongated heater having at least one heating element enclosed in an outer tube. The heater is located coaxially within the tank and is surrounded by the insulating gas.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure contained herein generally relates to high-voltage circuit breakers, and particularly to circuit breakers with gas-insulated tanks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gas-insulated circuit breakers are known. Such circuit breakers generally include separable contact elements contained within a sealed tank filled with an inert insulating gas for reducing arcing. The gas is typically sulfur hexaflouride (SF6) due to its good insulative and arc interruption properties. The gas system for a circuit interrupter is typically a two-pressure closed cycle arrangement utilizing an efficient dielectric insulating gas such as SF6 gas, alone or in combination with other gases such as nitrogen or tetrafluoromethane. The high pressure gas is provided for the purpose of effecting arc extinction between the separable contacts of the circuit breaker. As a current interrupting medium, SF6 enables the extinction of high current arcs across the circuit-breaker contacts so as to accomplish the switching function, which is the main purpose of high voltage circuit breakers. Additionally, the low pressure gas inherently found within the enclosure provides the required dielectric insulation between the live or energized components within the grounded enclosure. The gas may be contained at a high pressure within a holding chamber, generally constructed of non-conducting material such as fiberglass, located within the enclosure.
Extinction of the arcs drawn between the contacts of the interrupter in the arcing area at the axial end of the movable contacts is aided by means of a blast of high pressure gas to the arcing area. The blast of high pressure gas may be released by operation of a blast valve. The opening operation of the blast valve may be synchronized with the opening of the contacts and may be accomplished by an associated linkage. A description of an exemplary blast valve, contacts and operating linkage may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,548, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Gas type circuit breakers include puffer-type circuit interrupters and gas-blast interrupters. Puffer-type breakers generally comprise a pneumatic self-blast device which blows dielectric gas in the direction of the arc at the time of opening. A self-blast or puffer of this kind conventionally comprises a compression chamber including a piston coupled to a mobile contract of the circuit-breaker to move with it and adapted to blow a constant volume of cool gas in the direction of the breaking space during each opening. Gas-blast interrupters generally comprise the mechanically driven compression chamber and an additional chamber, located in between the compression chamber and the breaking space. The additional chamber is a thermal blast chamber wherein the gas is heated by the electrical arc. This gas is blasted onto the breaking space during interruption.
Other examples of blast mechanisms include the circuit breakers described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,941; 6,307,172; and 6,744,001, the disclosures of each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,941, a compressed gas high tension circuit breaker is described that uses a differential piston mechanism to separate the contacts and thus interrupt the circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,172 describes a high voltage circuit breaker with a gas-insulated tank enclosing separable contacts, which also includes a particle trap design. U.S. Pat. No. 6,744,001 describes a high voltage circuit breaker which includes a valve for decompressing a thermal belt chamber to deliver a dielectric gas to the breaking space for circuit interruption. Means of moving the separable contacts may include, for example, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, cam-spring systems, etc.
In circuit breakers of this type, SF6 gas is typically used as both an electrical insulating medium for high voltage components and also as a current interrupting medium. SF6 as an electrical insulating medium allows for reduced gaps between high voltage components and ground potential surfaces. SF6 gas as a current interrupting medium enables the extinction of high current arcs across the circuit-breaker contacts so as to accomplish the switching function, which is the main purpose of high voltage circuit breakers.
SF6 gas can be used alone or as a component in gas mixtures of SF6 and other gases. The density of the gas so employed is such that, at temperatures lower than some usual level (negative 30 degrees Centigrade, for example), liquefaction of the gas occurs and this diminishes the effective density of the remaining gas still in the gaseous physical state. This effect can create problems in some locations. For example, in some locations in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and elsewhere, temperatures can drop well below −30° C.
Because of this low temperature limit that is dictated by physical laws of the gas, in low temperature locations, heaters are sometimes used to raise the temperature of the gas and therefore maintain appropriate densities in the gaseous state. Prior art designs use various heating configurations external to the metal enclosure of the high voltage circuit breaker, so as to achieve this heating of the gas. Such configurations include "blanket heaters" installed around the external surface of the tank, "box-type" heaters mounted directly on the tank wall, and other heating element types mounted in some way to accomplish heating of the gas. These external heater configurations have been combined with external thermal insulation to improve the overall efficiency of the gas heating function. Examples of such heaters are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,147,333 and International Patent Application No. WO 2002103734, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The external heater designs suffer from limited heating efficiency, as the heat that is ultimately delivered to the gas must pass through the tank wall before reaching the gas. Meanwhile, losses to the external environment are significant because of the external location of the heating element, and the temperature differential maintained between the heater element and that internal gas needed to accomplish significant heat transfer to that gas.
External heater designs are typically difficult to install or to exchange due to the need to maintain intimate contact with the external tank surfaces over the entire heating element area. Because of the placement of prior art heaters, hot spots in the heating element may develop, and heater failure can and does occur. As circuit breaker enclosures (tanks) are typically not perfectly round or flat, maintaining this intimate contact over the entire heating area is problematic. Further, temperature variations resulting from the external environment or from the heater operation may vary the dimensions of the tank and heater, alter material properties of the components of the enclosure, and accordingly modify heat transfer characteristics within the overall heater design. Solutions to this problem might include use of glues between the heater element and the external tank surface, or "belly-bands" to hold and compress the heater element onto the tank, or both.
Another limitation of typical external heater designs is that the heat is applied for a relatively short portion of the enclosure length, usually in the mid-section of a tank due to geometric constraints of the tank shape. This creates a very non-uniform temperature distribution in the gas in cold weather situations, the ends being much colder than the middle of the enclosure. Since pressure inside the gas volume is constant, density varies directly with temperature and the gas density varies significantly throughout the gas volume of the enclosure. This tends to actually reduce the gas density in the mid-section where the interrupters of the circuit breaker normally are located and thus reduce the electrical insulation and the current interruption capacity of the interrupter. Correct monitoring of the gas density at the interrupter (usually done by measuring temperature and pressure) is also quite difficult due to the large variations in temperature and gas density throughout the enclosure. Monitoring is often non-conservative, allowing operation of the circuit breaker even though the actual capacity is well below limits specified by required standards. Failure of the circuit breaker may result.
It is also desirable that circuit breaker designs allow for the control of conductive particles. An assembled circuit breaker tank can contain undesirable foreign particles, such as dust and metal shavings from machined parts. Additionally, when an arc exists across the contacts, heating of the contacts may result in the creation of conductive particles. It is undesirable for such particles, particularly metallic conductive or semiconductive particles, to freely reside within the tank. Such particles, if permitted to remain free, can interfere with the operation of the circuit breaker, causing undue arcing, flashing or promoting breakdown between metallic components. The presence of particles greatly reduces the breakdown voltage of the circuit breaker. Although unlikely, it is also possible that hardware such as nuts, washers, screws, etc., could work loose during operation. Sensitivity to particles increases with the voltage across the circuit breaker due to the increased electric field stress levels. Circuit breakers are now constructed capable of handling very high voltages, for example 362 kV and higher.
In a conventional tank, the operation of the contacts can cause such particles to move about the tank. For example, it is known that the operation of opening and closing the contacts causes shocks and vibrations capable of moving loose particles within the tank. Also, in a "puffer" type circuit breaker, the operation of opening the contacts results in flows of SF6 gas capable of blowing loose particles around the tank. Traps for foreign particles have been proposed in circuit breakers, such as the design seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,172, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
It is therefore desirable provide a circuit breaker with an improved means for maintaining the gas density and temperature throughout the interior chamber. The disclosure contained below is directed to solving one or more of the above-described problems.

High voltage circuit breaker with internal tank heater


A self-closing drawer guide includes a spring assembly with a piston disposed in an elongated cylindrical housing, with a piston rod attached to the piston and protruding from one end of the cylindrical housing. The spring assembly applies a force, when the drawer is being closed and when the drawer approaches the closed position, and holds the drawer in the closed position under pretension. The spring of the spring assembly that pretensions a ratchet element of the self-closing mechanism via the piston rod is arranged between the piston and one of the end walls that at least partially closes the end face of the cylindrical housing, whereby the housing of the spring assembly is fixedly arranged on the rail of the guide that supports the movable ratchet element.

The invention relates to drawer guide with a self-closing mechanism, with a guide rail to be attached to a body wall of an item of furniture, and a running rail that is movably supported relative to the guide rail and attached to the drawer, optionally with an interposed center rail. A movable ratchet element is disposed in a ratchet housing arranged on one of the two aforementioned outer rails and pretensioned in two end positions that are spaced apart in the movement direction of the drawers. The ratchet element has a receptacle for a catch, which enters the receptacle when the rails move relative to each other to approach the closed position, thereby disengaging the pretensioned movable ratchet element from the corresponding end position and moving the ratchet element by spring tension into the other end position. The ratchet element entrains the corresponding rail in the closing direction of the drawer by the catch held in the receptacle.
Self-closing drawer guides of this type (DE 4 020 277 C2) have been more frequently employed over the past years. Such drawer guides forcibly secure a pull-out drawer held in a cabinet body through the tension force of a pretensioned spring in the closing position, while the drawer is still being closed, but before reaching the fully closed position, and prevent accidental opening, which could occur, for example, when the drawer stop contacts the cabinet body or when air is displaced in the cabinet body, for example, when adjacent drawers are opened and closed. Because modern drawer guides tend to slide easily due to support of the rails by roller bodies or rollers, the pretensioning springs used for closing the drawer have to be sized so that the corresponding drawers can safely close even when they are heavily loaded and, on the other hand, more lightly loaded drawers are not accidentally opened by air currents in the cabinet body. It has been observed that a spring with a pretension that optimally satisfies all these requirements is difficult to design. Typically, the tension force of the spring is therefore designed with a safety margin, which causes at least lighter drawers to close more quickly and hit the cabinet body, if a person operating the drawer does not intentionally slow down the closing motion. Many buyers of furniture object to this erratic closure, prompting the furniture manufacturers during the past years to make changes by including additional damping devices that are effective between the drawer and the cabinet body during the automatic drawer closure. These damping devices can prevent an excessive acceleration of the drawer when the spring tension of the self-closing mechanism is too high. However, the use of these additional damping devices represents an additional expense in the construction and assembly of the drawers. In addition, the damping devices are at least partially visible when the drawers are open, which is visually objectionable and poses the additional risk that objects placed in the drawers can get caught in these devices.

Self-closing drawer guides with integrated damping


A multi-media KVM switch is for providing an output signal to drive a user-interface output device. The multi-media KVM switch comprises an embedded multi-media system, an arbiter and a multiplexer. The embedded multi-media system is enabled as receiving an enabling signal and providing a first device signal. The arbiter is for determining an operational state of at least a computer system in response to a second device signal outputted by the at least computer system. The arbiter provides the enabling signal to enable the embedded multi-media system when the at least a computer system is in a standby or an off state, and the arbiter is further for providing a selection signal. The multiplexer is for receiving the first and the second device signals, and outputting one of the first and the second device signals as the output signal to the user-interface output device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a KVM switch, and more particularly to a KVM switch including an embedded multi-media system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with development of technology, management policies of various computer systems are actively developed in today's market. For example, the well-known KVM switch has a port connected to more than two computer systems at a time, and an input/output port connected to a set of user-interface device, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a display and an audio device, e.g. a horn. The user can select a compute system via the KVM switch and control the computer system via a peripheral user-interface device of the KVM switch. However, how to improve the function and added value of the KVM switch is an essential subject of the relevant industrials.


Symbol timing for a wireless communication system, such as a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless LAN system, is determined by summing the powers for an appropriate set of channel impulse responses, integrating this power summation over an appropriate window (e.g., equivalent to the guard interval), and identifying the time at which the maximum integration occurs. Depending on the implementation, symbol timing can be determined for each receiver branch individually or for all receiver branches jointly. In either case, the determined symbol timing(s) can minimize the amount of inter-symbol and inter-channel interferences that are invoked in the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to symbol timing in the receivers of wireless communication systems, and, in particular, in the receivers of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless local area networks (LANs) and broadband wireless access systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Combining the spectral efficiency of MIMO with the robustness against frequency-selective fading and narrowband interference of OFDM is regarded as a very promising starting point for future high-data-rate radio communication systems. This is especially true for wireless LANs (WLANs), where MIMO would open the door to high-data-rate extensions by extending current OFDM standards in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.
In the recent past, various transmission schemes for MIMO have been proposed, but the impact of system imperfections have generally been neglected. Furthermore, the systems were typically assumed to be perfectly synchronized. Thus, signal impairments caused by the radio system (e.g., frequency offset, phase noise) have not been considered.
Various synchronization techniques for single-input single output (SISO) OFDM systems have been proposed in the literature. See, e.g., T. M. Schmidl and D. C. Cox, Robust Frequency and Timing Synchronization for OFDM, IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 45, no. 12, December 1997, pp. 1613-1621, and P. H. Moose, A Technique for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Frequency Offset Correction, IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 42, no. 10, October 1994, pp. 2908-2914, the teachings of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Few techniques, however, have been proposed to synchronize MIMO OFDM systems. Data-aided synchronization for MIMO OFDM systems is proposed in one paper, but the performance exploration of the proposed techniques is very concise. See A. N. Mody and G. L. Stüber, Synchronization for MIMO OFDM Systems, IEEE Global Communications Conference 2001, vol. 1, November 2001, pp. 509-513, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Symbol timing for MIMO OFDM and other wireless communication systems


The invention provides injectable collagen compositions that are reconstituted collagen fiber segments made from acid extracted collagen with telopeptides in a biocompatible carrier, with the collagen concentration in the composition ranging up to 200 mg/mL.

Collagen is the principal structural protein in the body and constitutes approximately one-third of the total body protein. It comprises most of the organic matter of the skin, tendons, bones and teeth and occurs as fibrous inclusions in most other body structures. Some of the properties of collagen are its high tensile strength; its ion exchanging ability, due in part to the binding of electrolytes, metabolites and drugs; its low antigenicity, due to masking of potential antigenic determinants by the helical structure, and its low extensibility, semipermeability, and solubility. Furthermore collagen is a natural substance for cell adhesion. These properties and much more make this protein suitable for fabrication into medical products such as in the manufacture of implantable prostheses, as cell growth substrates, and in the preparation of cellular and acellular tissue equivalents.
Collagen compositions are typically prepared from skin or tendons by dispersion, digestion or dissolution. Dispersion involves mechanically shearing the tissue to produce a suspension of collagen fibers. Digestion involves enzyme degradation of the non-helical telopeptide portions of the collagen molecule, resulting in a solution of atelopeptide collagen. Dissolution involves cleavage of acid labile crosslinks in newly formed collagen fibers resulting in a solution of collagen monomers and polymers. procedures involving acid or enzyme extraction. Enzyme extraction is preferable in many instances because its methodology produces increased yield and higher purity collagen. However enzyme extraction suffers the disadvantage of producing partially degraded collagen, i.e., the extraction enzymes cleave the collagen molecule at the terminal non-helical regions which contain the inter-molecular cross-linkages.
Injectable formulations have been used in the art as tissue bulking compositions, particularly in urology and plastic surgery. U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,073 to Daniels et al discloses an injectable collagen in aqueous form composed of enzyme extracted collagen. The enzyme used in the extraction process is pepsin which yields atelopeptide collagen. The concentration of the final product is up to about 20 mg/mL but insoluble collagen fibrils may also be added to the composition. Upon implantation to a patient, however, the volume persistence of the implant decreases partly due to the absorption of the aqueous carrier by the body and partly due to the low concentration of the collagen. Follow up injections at the site are usually necessary.
Volume persistence and shape persistence desired of the injected collagen implant In the time after injection of collagen compositions known in the art, the volume decreases due to the absorption of liquid component of the composition by the body. Higher concentrations of collagen helps to maintain volume persistence, but at the same time decreases extrudability and intrudability of the composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,117 to Nguyen et al discloses an injectable collagen material composed of reconstituted, mechanically sheared atelopeptide collagen fibers. The collagen fibers are mechanically sheared using a rigid screen mesh to reduce the size of the larger fibers to about 50-150 microns. The disclosed composition has a final concentration of about 35-65 mg/mL, but it was determined that the extrudability and intrudability are poor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,640 to Smestad describes a similar composition that is glutaraldehyde crosslinked. In clinical testing, however, it was found that the intrudability of the composition was also difficult, especially for intradermal injections. U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,075 to Wallace et al discloses a similar injectable compositions with the addition of a biocompatible fluid lubricant to overcome the problems of extrudability and intrudability.
As well as volume persistence, shape persistence is desired of the injectable collagen compositions know in the art. When injected, the collagen tends to migrate through the tissue; therefore, if specific and local tissue augmentation or bulking is required, such migration would necessitate subsequent injections.
The present invention describes a collagen composition in the form of reconstituted collagen fiber segments, methods for making collagen fiber segments and their use as an injectable collagen composition that overcomes the drawbacks of injectable collagen compositions known in the art.

Reconstituted collagen fiber segment compositions and methods of preparation thereof


An immersive three-dimensional display with interactive content panels which is responsive to input from users' interactions is disclosed. A panoramic image is spherically mapped to a virtual three-dimensional space. Interactive content is configured with transparent images to form interactive content panels. The interactive content panels thus formed are positioned within the three-dimensional space to form the immersive 3D display with a background comprising the panoramic image. The immersive 3D display is transmitted to the client device for display to the user.

The proliferation of various types of electronic devices and data networks enable myriad ways of providing information and entertainment. These include large electronic devices such as televisions with screen sizes varying from 15 inches to more than 100 inches, midsized devices such as laptops and tablets, smaller devices like smartphones and wearable computing gear such as smartwatches and augmented reality (AR) glasses. Various types of content such as but not limited to text, audio, video and gaming content is provided to the users via these devices. This necessitates generating a single content piece in different content formats to suit the various kinds of devices.

Methods and systems for generating and providing immersive 3D displays


The contents transmission scheduling unit 103 prepares a transmission schedule so that contents data of CM1, CM2, and CM3 as the cache target programs are transmitted prior to the starting time of the reproduction time periods of these programs. The contents transmission scheduling unit 103 prepares the transmission schedule so that the contents data of the cache target programs are transmitted using a narrow bandwidth in a time period a predetermined time period before the starting time of the reproduction time periods of these programs, and the bandwidth is widen after the time period.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a broadcasting apparatus and a broadcasting method that transmits contents data relating to a program as well as audiovisual data which makes up the program.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, methods for transmitting contents data relating to a program as well as audiovisual data which makes up the program have been put to practical use. For instance, a broadcasting apparatus broadcasts a movie while transmitting information on the masterpieces of the actor who appears on the movie is transmitted as contents data, and a receiving apparatus presents the information in accordance with a user's selection. For another instance, a broadcasting apparatus broadcasts a commercial program, while information on the detailed explanations of the product in the commercial is transmitted as contents data and the receiving apparatus presents the explanations.
FIG. 1 shows a transmission schedule for the broadcasting data transmitted by the broadcasting apparatus. As shown in this figure, the broadcasting data consists of audiovisual data and contents data. Here, the contents data is repeatedly transmitted within the reproduction time period. For example, the contents data for CM1 is transmitted three times in the reproduction time period.
By repeatedly transmitting contents data in this way, a user can receive the contents data even when the user starts to watch the program from some midpoint of the program.
However, as shown in FIG. 1, the receiving apparatus has not received contents data at all at the start of the program, because the contents data is transmitted during the broadcasting time period for the program as well as the audiovisual data. Therefore, as shown in this figure, even if there is some image data that should be reproduced at the start of the program CM2, the receiving apparatus cannot present the image data for the period indicated by the diagonally shaded area in the figure (i.e., until the time t2). Furthermore, when a user wishes to select and reproduce an image data during broadcasting of a program and in case that the image data has not been received, the image data cannot be presented until the data has been received.

Broadcasting apparatus, broadcasting method, program recording medium, and program

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


In a method for selecting a transmission target terminal in a zero-forcing beamforming algorithm, information about a channel capacity of each terminal is received from all K terminals. A terminal with a largest channel capacity is selected as an initial transmission target terminal. A determination is made as to whether the number of currently selected terminals, i, is equal to the predefined number N. If the number of currently selected terminals, i, is different from the predefined number N, information about channel capacities of remaining terminals except previously selected transmission target terminals is received until i is equal to N and a terminal with a largest channel capacity is selected as a transmission target terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a multiuser diversity technique, and more particularly to a user selection method in a zero-forcing beamforming algorithm for obtaining a multiuser diversity gain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a large amount of research is being conducted on a beamforming technique using multiple transmit and receive antennas for increasing spectrum efficiency and satisfying high-speed data transmission service requirements in wireless communication fields. Multiuser diversity refers to channel diversity between multiuser channels for improving a channel capacity using Rayleigh fading.
For multiuser diversity, transmission target users must be selected along with transmission times. In a wireless network environment, some users have the best channel state at a certain time. At this time, transmission is performed for associated users, such that the desired overall system capacity can be obtained. A water-filling algorithm optimizes the overall multiuser capacity by allocating the optimal power and transmission rate between subcarriers. However, the water-filling algorithm is not an optimal method in a common time/user space sharing the degree of time/space freedom in which users are already linked to a channel.
From an aspect of the maximization of a sum capacity, the simplest sharing method is to allocate all the power to a user with the largest degree of freedom. In this case, other users can perform communication after their channel states are improved. When the total transmission power is fixed in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) channel, a base station can guarantee a high sum capacity, as compared with the case where an associated user with the best channel is selected and all the available capacity is allocated to the associated user, by simultaneously transmitting an independent data stream to multiple users.
Because receivers are unable to be cooperative in a downlink, successful transmission is determined according to whether a transmitter can simultaneously transmit independent signals while minimizing interference between users. If the transmitter knows interference information in a given channel considering additive noise and interference when a dirty-paper precoding algorithm, such as M. Costa, Writing On Dirty Paper, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory IT—29, No. 3, 439—441, 1983, is exploited, it can obtain the same capacity as in an interference-free environment.
However, there are problems in that the dirty-paper precoding algorithm requires a new code with interference dependency and may not actually be implemented in the base station because the algorithm is complex. On the other hand, a zero-forcing algorithm is a suboptimal algorithm, but is a significantly simple approach for a capacity-related problem. In the zero-forcing algorithm, interference between all users is forced to 0.
The zero-forcing beamforming algorithm is known which can obtain the so-called optimal dirty-paper precoding algorithm and the asymptotic sum capacity when the number of users goes to infinity. However, there is a drawback in that the zero-forcing scheme exhibits better performance at a high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), but exhibits suboptimal performance at a low SNR.
On the other hand, a Dynamic Window Constrained Scheduling (DWCS) algorithm not only can overcome the drawback of the zero-forcing scheme, but also can obtain a high sum capacity, because the access distance is reduced and some users always become adjacent to one antenna or antenna cluster with a high SNR.
In the zero-forcing scheme, the number of antennas of a base station must be more than the total number of antennas of all receivers. When this condition is satisfied, active users with channels of quality based on requirements of the zero-forcing scheme are selected, such that the multiuser diversity gain can be obtained. Accordingly, the success or failure of the zero-forcing scheme depends on a process for selecting a user with the best channel quality at low complexity. Many user selection algorithms have been proposed for the zero-forcing scheme. However, the user selection algorithms consider a situation in which most of the user terminals have one antenna and the base station requires total Channel State Information (CSI). A need exists for a user selection method capable of minimizing complexity and improving performance at the time of considering user terminals with multiple receive antennas.

User selection method in a zero-forcing beamforming algorithm


A frame molding for a vehicle door configured to provide with a door panel and a door frame and configured to be mounted to a corner portion of a window opening includes a base member including a synthetic resin-made first base portion formed to extend along a first portion of an inner peripheral edge portion of the corner portion of the window opening, the first portion positioned at the door panel, and a synthetic resin-made second base portion formed to extend along a second portion of the inner peripheral edge portion of the corner portion of the window opening, the second portion positioned at the door frame and a decoration sheet being provided at the first base portion and the second base portion to cover respective surfaces of the first base portion and the second base portion, the surfaces facing an outside of a vehicle compartment.

A vehicle door basically includes a door panel that opens and closes an opening portion formed at a vehicle body and a door frame assembled on an upper portion of the door panel. A window opening is formed between the door panel and the door frame. Each JP2007-137144A (hereinafter referred to as Patent reference 1) and JP2010-76650A (hereinafter referred to as Patent reference 2) discloses a frame molding assembled on a corner portion of a window opening, that is, on an intersecting portion between a door panel and a door frame. The frame molding extends from an end portion at the door frame positioned at an upper end portion of the door pane/towards the door frame and is formed to be curved upwardly along the door frame.
The aforementioned known frame molding is formed by press working of metal plate, for example, stainless steel plate. Therefore, torsions and lines caused by distortion may be formed at a bent portion to be formed in a recessed shape or a protruded shape by press working, which may lead to an inferior appearance. Accordingly, a design shape of the frame molding cannot be complicated. In particular, the frame molding cannot include, for example, a curve portion with a small radius of curvature, a sharp uneven portion, and a deep groove portion. As described above, there are many restrictions in forming the frame molding.
A need thus exists for a frame molding for a vehicle door which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.


Methods (1500) and corresponding systems (400, 500) for determining and correcting a DC offset in a receiver operate to sample (1503) a signal to provide complex samples; estimate (1505) a Direct Current (DC) offset corresponding to each of the complex samples, the estimating the DC offset further including solving a plurality of equations relating to the plurality of complex samples, e.g., N simultaneous equations in N samples with a power of the signal invariant across the N samples, to deterministically derive offset values; and then remove (1517) the DC offset from the signal.

Offset issues, such as DC offset in receivers is a known concern that must be dealt with in order for a receiver to operate properly on current systems employing suitable modulation. DC offset may be viewed as a DC error term that ends up added to and as part of a received signal. These error terms can result from various sources, such as a difference between a transmitted frequency and a frequency that the receiver is tuned to. The error terms may also result from various mismatches within a receiver lineup, e.g., mismatches in quadrature mixers or other mismatches in other circuitry such as amplifiers and the like. These mismatches may be more pronounced in receiver lineups that are implemented substantially in integrated circuit form since techniques, such as suitable blocking capacitors, are not readily available to mitigate the DC error terms.
It can also be important to rapidly and accurately determine and correct for these DC offsets in order to minimize signal acquisition times and the like. In many situations, such as relatively low symbol rate modulation, conventional techniques for determining DC offset do not allow for a rapid and accurate determination of DC offset. Conventional techniques generally include evaluating statistical properties, such as an average of the signal. In order to get an accurate estimate these properties may be evaluated over 10s or 100s of symbols. When the symbol duration is long, i.e., symbol rate is low, averaging for a sufficient period of time to insure accuracy does not provide a DC offset determination in the appropriate time frame.

DC offset correction for constant envelope signals


A programmable reference voltage source includes a nonvolatile memory cell, the floating-gate region of which stores electric charges determining a memorized threshold value. The drain terminal of the cell is biased at a constant voltage, and the source terminal is coupled to a constant-current source and to the inverting input of an operational amplifier having the noninverting input coupled to a reference voltage and the output coupled to the gate terminal of the cell. By defining the threshold of the cell as the gate voltage (measured with respect to ground) capable of causing the cell to be flown by the current set by the current source, the output voltage of the operational amplifier equals the threshold and may be used as a programmable reference in analog memories.

As is known, for performing complex processing functions, analog memories with cells capable of memorizing analog or digital multibit values are currently being studied, for which use is advantageously made of nonvolatile floating-gate cells, particularly flash-EEPROMs, in which the value to be memorized is related to the threshold voltage of the cell. To read the cells and/or perform calculating operations, a number of voltage references are required; the references must be programmable to achieve a high degree of flexibility as regards use of the memories, to enable uniform design of memories to be used for various applications and in particular for various analog values to be stored, and to enable the reference voltages to be modified even during operation of the memory, according to the functions to be performed.
According to one known solution described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,967, the reference (and data) cells are read via a sample-and-hold circuit. This solution, however, fails to provide for fast read times when memorizing a large number of voltage levels.

Programmable reference voltage source, particularly for analog memories


Disclosed is a vehicle that is employed in retrieving, transporting and delivering portable storage units (“PSUs”). The vehicle can achieve retrieval and/or delivery within tight spaces via telescopic frame and hoist assemblies. A rearward support assembly is included for stabilizing the entire apparatus during both retrieval and delivery. The vehicle can take the form of either a trailer or an integrated vehicle. The various components of the present invention, and the associated method will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for retrieving, transporting and delivering portable storage units. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle that uses an extensible hoist and a retractable frame for the loading and unloading of storage units.
2. Description of the Background Art
The use of self-loading vehicles is known in the art. These devices typically employ hoists to deliver containers onto and off of a transport vehicle. Many different arrangements have been contemplated through the years. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,504,232 to Smith discloses a self-loading apparatus for use with a truck. The apparatus includes a cable and hook that travel upon a trolley hanger positioned within a trolley rail. The truck uses pivotal legs as a means of support.
Another transport device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,562,189 to Harris. The device of Harris is specifically for use in handling a burial vault. The device includes extendible legs that are adapted to be positioned over an excavation. Tracks and rollers are then used for positioning a hoist that is used in lowering a vault.
Another burial vault handling vehicle is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,206 to Doswell. This device utilizes a hoist frame that includes a beam that can be moved longitudinally to a position over an excavation. A hoist, which is coupled to the beam, is then utilized in lowering the vault.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,400 to Altizer discloses a portable hoist device for lifting and moving heavy loads short distances. The device includes a portable hoist and frame that can be disassembled for transport and reassembled at a desired location. The device further includes a carriage that is movable and positionable along the upper rails of the frame.
Although each of the above-referenced hoisting devices achieves its individual objective, they all suffer from common drawbacks. Namely, none of these hoists permit the delivery and/or transport of large containers with a minimum of human interaction or physical exertion. Furthermore, none of the prior devices allows containers to be picked up and delivered within tight quarters or difficult to access locations. The present invention is aimed at, among other things, overcoming the noted deficiencies in the referenced inventions.

Apparatus and method for retrieving, transporting and delivering portable storage units