An elevator system has a plurality of elevator cars traveling upwardly in one hoistway and downwardly in an adjacent hoistway, the cars being propelled in a series of overlapping segments, each segment including a pair of couplers roped to counterweights and driven by elevator traction machines. A variant uses a closed loop rope with a pair of couplers to transfer elevator cars from a counterweighted coupler of one segment to a counterweighted coupler of an adjacent segment. An upper passenger landing moves cars on overhead trolleys and a lower passenger landing moves cars on dollies to take them from a hoistway through unloading and loading stations and back to another hoistway. The elevator car roller guides are releasable to permit lateral movement of cars to and from landings. A latched spring buffer and/or a LEM decelerate and accelerate unbalanced counterweights.

In hypertall buildings, it has been known to move passengers to the highest parts of the building by means of a series of elevators, the lower elevator taking the passengers to a first sky lobby, after which the passengers walk to another elevator for travel to a second sky lobby; thereafter, passengers may disperse in local elevators or travel in yet a third elevator to an additional sky lobby. The taller a building becomes, the more difficult it is to find sufficient space for elevators to move the requisite number of passengers to the higher ends of the building. Thus, it becomes more important with additional height that the use of the elevator core space be very efficient.
Another problem with hypertall buildings is that the weight of the elevator rope (the steel cables that support the car and the counterweight) preclude use of rope systems beyond about one hundred twenty floors, or so. Another problem with conventional elevators is that only one elevator can occupy an elevator hoistway at a time since it must be continuously roped to its counterweight, and since it reciprocates, up and down, in the hoistway.
It is suggested to overcome some of these problems by the use of elevators powered by linear electric motors (LEMs), which provide driving force to the elevator car directly from the building structure. However, without a counterweight, the size and power requirements for LEMs suitable to move elevator cars are at the present prohibitive for practical service.
In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 8/564,754, filed Nov. 29, 1995 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,835, an elevator cab travels in a car frame in one hoistway to a transfer floor where the car frame stops; the cab is moved to a car frame in an adjacent hoistway for further travel.

Elevator system with overlapped roped-coupler segments


A fixed type constant velocity universal joint includes an outer joint member having a cup shape, an inner joint member, which is received in the outer joint member, and transmits torque between the outer and inner joint members through intermediation of balls while allowing angular displacement, and a shaft, which is coupled to the inner joint member so as to allow torque transmission. A recessed portion is formed in a bottom portion of the outer joint member, and an embedded stopper that enters the recessed portion of the outer joint member is mounted to a shaft end portion of the shaft opposed to the recessed portion. The embedded stopper is allowed to interfere with the recessed portion of the outer joint member at an angle that is smaller than an incorporating angle of the balls and larger than a maximum operating angle during use of the joint.

As a constant velocity universal joint which is used as a unit configured to transmit a rotational force at constant velocity from an engine to a wheel of an automobile, there are given two types, specifically, a fixed type constant velocity universal joint and a plunging type constant velocity universal joint. Both of those constant velocity universal joints each have a structure capable of coupling two shafts on a driving side and a driven side to each other, and transmitting rotational torque at constant velocity even when each of the two shafts forms an operating angle.
It is necessary that a drive shaft configured to transmit power from an engine to a wheel of an automobile be adaptable to angular displacement and axial displacement caused by a change in relative positional relationship between the engine and the wheel. Therefore, in general, the drive shaft has the following structure. The plunging type constant velocity universal joint which allows both the axial displacement and the angular displacement is installed on the engine side (inboard side), and the fixed type constant velocity universal joint which allows only the angular displacement is installed on the wheel side (outboard side). Both the constant velocity universal joints are coupled to each other through intermediation of the shaft.
The fixed type constant velocity universal joint described above cannot allow the axial displacement, but can allow a large operating angle (maximum operating angle of 45° or more). In this respect, the fixed type constant velocity universal joint described above is applied to a wheel side of a drive shaft for a front wheel of an automobile in many cases.
Meanwhile, the fixed type constant velocity universal joint is applied to a wheel side of a drive shaft for a rear wheel of an automobile or a propeller shaft for an automobile in some cases. In this case, unlike for the front wheel of an automobile, it is unnecessary to set the maximum operating angle to 45° or more. For the rear wheel of an automobile, the maximum operating angle is 20° or less, and for the propeller shaft, the maximum operating angle is 10° or less.
As described above, in the drive shaft for a rear wheel of an automobile, the maximum operating angle is 20° or less, which is small. Therefore, in order to attain reduction in weight and cost of the constant velocity universal joint, there is used an outer joint member, which is reduced in axial dimension by shortening track grooves as compared to an outer joint member to be used in the drive shaft for a front wheel of an automobile.
In this case, at the time of assembling a constant velocity universal joint for a front wheel, under a state in which an angle equal to or larger than the maximum operating angle is formed, balls are incorporated. After installing a shaft, the shaft and an outer joint member interfere with each other at an angle smaller than an angle allowing the balls to be incorporated. With this structure, the balls are prevented from slipping and dropping off track grooves of the outer joint member.
However, in the constant velocity universal joint including the outer joint member having a small axial dimension as described above, which is to be used in the drive shaft for a rear wheel of an automobile, when a large operating angle is formed, the operating angle exceeds the angle which causes the balls to drop off before the shaft interferes with the outer joint member, with the result that the balls slip and drop off the track grooves of the outer joint member.
In view of the above, there have been proposed various constant velocity universal joints each having a measure for preventing the balls from slipping and dropping off the track grooves of the outer joint member at the time of handling the constant velocity universal joint (for example, see Patent Literatures 1 and 2).


The present invention provides a lead for attachment to a cylindrical protector element with a circular contact ring thereon and a circular groove adjacent and axially inward of the contact ring. The lead is a conductive member with a first end and a second end opposite thereto. The second end has an arcuate surface with a ridge protruding therefrom than is sized to engage the groove of the protector element and guide the element until a portion of the contact ring of the element is disposed against the arcuate portion of the second end of the lead.

Current attachment of leads to contact rings on gas tube protector elements of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,023 were developed when the standard surge test that the contact was required to withstand was 8.times.20 at 10,000 amps per side one time. Recently, a requirement in the telecommunications industry have required that the attachment point between the lead and the contact ring of the gas tube withstand an 8.times.20 surge test at 20,000 amps per side up to 20 times. It has been found that convential attachment points between gas tube protector elements and leads sometimes fail this more rigorous standard. Therefore, a need exists for an improved attachment between the lead and the gas tube ring contact to withstand the more rigorous standard. Additionally, the attachment of leads to gas tube ring contacts is often cumbersome and difficult to automate. Therefore a need exists for an improved attachment that allows easier and reliable automation.

Surge protector and lead assembly with improved contact area between the protector and lead


The diversity techniques—space time block code (STBC), maximum ratio combining (MRC)—with multiple antennas provide better reliability than general system. But there are some limitations such as size, cost, hardware complexity, etc, because of multiple antennas. In this letter, we propose a cooperative transmission technique using STBC. We can overcome those limitations and give the gain of cooperative transmission diversity in a concept of virtual multi-input multi-output (MIMO) with single transmit antenna.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of cooperative transmission in an SISO (single input single output) OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) uplink system. More particularly, the present invention relates a method of cooperative transmission technique using STBC. We can overcome limitations of MIMO (multiple input multiple output) and give the gain of cooperative transmission diversity in a concept of virtual MIMO with single transmit antenna
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) is a combination of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and frequency division multiple access (FDMA). Recently, the OFDMA was proposed as one of the reasonable solutions for broadband wireless multiple access systems such as the digital video broadcasting—return channel terrestrial (DVB-RCT) system which is return channel in terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T). For improved performance of DVB-RCT system, space-time block code (STBC) which increases the capacity and reliability could be considered, and MRC which provides best performance with highest average output SNR could be applied.
In OFDMA uplink system with two transmit antenna, a STBC is exploited to efficiently detect the information by subscriber terminal. To apply a transmitting diversity (TD) scheme, the full rate space-time block code proposed by Alamouti is used at the base station as
                    x        =                  [                                                                      x                  1                  p                                                                              x                  2                  p                                                                                -                                                            (                                              x                        1                        p                                            )                                        *                                                                                (                                          x                      1                      p                                        )                                    *                                                              ]                                    [                  Equation                                                              1                ]
where each row is transmitted from a certain antenna at the same time, and each column is transmitted from a same antenna within two time slot and (·)* denotes the complex conjugation operation.
And the signals via two antennas are combined with MRC technique as a kind of receiving diversity (RD). Under the assumption of perfect channel estimation, the combined signal of p-th user, in the frequency domain, is represented by{circumflex over (X)}p=(H1p)*·R1p+(H2p)*·R2p  [Equation 2]
where {circumflex over (X)}p and H1p denote detected signal and the channel between the transmitter and the i-th receiver respectively. And R1p represents the received signal of p-th user at i-th antenna in [Equation 2].

Method of cooperative transmission technique in a orthogonal frequency division multiple access uplink system


A low cost portable fiber optic fluorometer is packaged as a personal computer peripheral and is based on interchangeable modules. One embodiment of the fluorometer comprises an excitation source, a detector, a signal processor, frequency source, wavelength selector, and an optical interface. The optical interface is exclusively fiber optic-based, thereby simplifying optical alignment and reducing the cost of the fluorometer. In another embodiment, the excitation source is an inexpensive monochromatic excitation source. In this case, the monochromatic excitation source and the first wavelength selector are preferably removable and replaceable, so that the fluorometer is advantageously able to generate different excitation wavelengths and detect different emission wavelengths. A fluorescence measurement method comprises the steps of generating an excitation signal; transmitting the excitation signal to a system under study which, in response, generates an emission signal; and detecting both the excitation signal and the emission signal with the fluorometer, and then using the detected excitation signal as a reference signal to calibrate the fluorometer and to nullify distortion errors in the emission signal. The use of the excitation signal as a reference signal provides an advantageously simple way to calibrate the fluorometer and to nullify distortion errors in the emission signal. An alternative method allows the precise shapes of the emission signal and the excitation signal to be profiled. The fluorometry method and apparatus can both advantageously be used for performing both direct fluorescence lifetime measurements and for performing phase fluorometry.

1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of fluorescence spectroscopy. More particularly, the present invention relates to a low cost portable fiber optic fluorometer that is packaged as a personal computer peripheral or on a personal computer expansion card and is based on interchangeable modules.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Historically, fluorescence spectroscopy has been widely used in chemical, biochemical, and biomedical research. Although there are a virtually unlimited number of different ways in which fluorescence spectroscopy could be applied, specific fluorescence spectroscopy applications include chemical sensors, process control systems, systems for studying cellular phenomena, systems for determining molecular structure, and temperature and viscosity measurement systems.
A number of different fluorescence spectroscopy techniques exist, including intensity-based techniques and fluorescence lifetime techniques. According to intensity-based techniques, information regarding a system under study is obtained by measuring the relative intensity of emissions from a sample at one or more wavelengths. According to fluorescence lifetime techniques, information is obtained by exciting a fluorescent sample with an excitation signal in the form of a pulse of light, and then directly measuring the exponential decay of the resulting emission signal from the sample. A variation of the fluorescence lifetime technique is phase fluorometry. According to phase fluorometry, information is obtained by illuminating a fluorescent sample with a modulated excitation signal, thereby causing the sample to emit an emission signal which is also modulated. The time delay between excitation of the sample and emission causes a phase difference between the excitation and emission signals. The phase difference is a function of the fluorescence lifetime; accordingly, measuring the phase difference enables the fluorescence lifetime of the system under study to be calculated. Thus, in contrast to the fluorescence lifetime techniques which measure a fluorescence lifetime directly, phase fluorometry involves measuring a fluorescence lifetime indirectly by measuring the phase difference between an excitation signal and an emission signal.
The main advantage of fluorescence spectroscopy is the high sensitivity which can be achieved due to the favorable time scale of fluorescence emissions. Nevertheless, despite this advantage, fluorescence spectroscopy has failed to achieve widespread commercial acceptance outside the laboratory research setting.
The lack of widespread commercial acceptance is due to the fact that existing fluorometers are bulky, expensive, require precise optical alignment, and are difficult to calibrate. Specifically, existing fluorometers comprise numerous large and expensive components. The excitation source is typically a laboratory grade light source, such as a gas laser or a high-powered arc lamp. The detector is typically a spectrograph which collects and records the entire spectrum of light returned from the system under study. (Existing fluorometers are designed to permit the study of fluorescence emission at a wide range of wavelengths, e.g., from the ultraviolet to the near infrared.) Moreover, because precise optical alignment is required between the various subcomponents, existing fluorometers require an optical bench which floats on a pneumatic system in order to reduce vibrations. Finally, calibration of existing fluorometers is extremely difficult, especially in a commercial setting where environmental conditions are more likely to be adverse as compared to a laboratory setting. Existing fluorometers are thus not only expensive to purchase but also are expensive to set up and maintain.
Thus, what is needed is a fluorometer that is relatively inexpensive, that is small in size, that is tolerant to environmental hazards such as vibration, and/or that is relatively easy to calibrate.

Modular fiber optic fluorometer and method of use thereof


The invention relates to compositions of DOTA derivative compounds, lanthanoid-DOTA derivative molecular complex, and lanthanoid-complex encapsulated solid lipid particles or capsules, and methods of making and using the compositions. The solid lipid particles or capsules contain micelle cores stabilized by a hyperbranched polymer shell based from a crosslinked DOTA derivative compound or crosslinked lanthanoid-DOTA derivative complex. These solid lipid particles or capsules can be used in various applications, such as contrast agents or drug delivery vehicles.

Biomedical imaging, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is a compelling imaging method as it allows peering into body with non-ionizing radiation. The images thus acquired enable the diagnosis and treatment of conditions that were previously revealed only by the scalpel. Generating new nanoscale imaging agents that can provide precise and high contrast views of lesions that would guide focused and effective treatment is certainly going to benefit biomedical imaging.
Multimodal nanoparticles are great vehicles with which to achieve simultaneous targeting, imaging, and drug delivery, an important goal in modern pharmacology (BHANU P. S. CHAUHAN: HYBRID NANOMATERIALS: SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION, AND APPLICATIONS, (John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, N.J., 2011)). As part of this effort, an MRI imaging agent comprised of gadolinium complexes has recently been assembled on the surface of silver nanoparticles (Siddiqui et al., J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 337:88 (2009)). Noble metal NPs have been used in the development of multifunctional agents for the diagnosis and/or treatment of disease, because noble nanoparticles such as gold and silver nanoparticles are easy to synthesize. Such particles can be made multifunctional by supporting moieties anchored on their surface.
However, certain drawbacks exist in the use of noble metal particles for routine clinical use. For instance, these particles are expensive, and the use of these particles is inefficient because of an unused interior volume. Moreover, metal particles above 5-8 nm diameters are cleared only slowly through a hepatic pathway.
Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) offer an important alternative for the formation of multimodal theranostic agents (Lammers et al., Acc. Chem. Res. 44(10):1029 (2011); Andreozzi et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 22:808 (2011)). They have certain characteristics that suit them for combined drug delivery and diagnostics (Muller et al., Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 50:161 (2000)). Gd-containing SLNs has been reported as MRI contrast agents (Morel et al., Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 45:157 (1998)). In that report, the uptake of gadolinium diethylenetriamine-N,N,N′,N″N″-pentaacetate (GdDTPA) and gadolinium tetraazacyclododecanetetraacetic acid (GdDOTA) to form the contrast agents was described, but the question of the contrast agent's location in relation to the surface of the SLN particle was left open. As a result, the mechanisms of contrast enhancement by Gd-containing SLNs could not be specified. In this type of particle, the subsurface/surface location of the contrast agent determines the degree to which proton spin relaxation of water is due to inner sphere, T1 relaxation (surface) or outer sphere T1 and T2, or susceptibility relaxation (subsurface) (Fossheim et al., J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 7:251 (1997)). In a follow-up study, a lipid with a polar GdDTPA headgroup was embedded in an SLN surface with GdDTPA confined to the surface (Zhu et al., J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 6:996 (2006)). A more recent paper describes the incorporation of the [GdDTPA]2− complex within an SLN core for magnetic resonance colonography. The latter particles were prepared in a miniemulsion in which [GdDTPA]2− was introduced in an aqueous phase that also contained monostearin (Sun et al., Magn. Reson. Med. 65:673 (2011)). It has also been described that the incorporation of neutral gadolinium acetylacetonate (GdAcAc) in SLNs, generated by nanotemplate engineering, can be used for crossing the blood brain barrier in neutron capture therapy of brain lesions (Oyewumi & Mumper, Bioconjugate Chem. 13:1328 (2002)).
The SLN platform has been found advantageous in the above studies from a clinical perspective because of its nanoscale size, biocompatibility, and biodegradation properties that aid clearance. However, the application of SLNs as imaging agents, possibly combined with drug release as theranostic agents, still has not been well developed.
In the United States, MRI contrast agents employ the DTPA ligand and its derivatives to coordinate the contrast-inducing ion Gd3+. DTPA is constructed from a diethylene triamine backbone. One attractive feature of DTPA is the ease with which it can be chemically modified to adjust its pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. However, GdDTPA with a stability constant of 1022 M−1 has a significant toxicological drawback. It has been shown to induce nephrogentic systemic fibrosis (NSF) a condition that is sometimes fatal resulting from the release of Gd3+ ions due to renal insufficiency (see Bongartz, Magn. Reson. Mater. Phy. 20:57 (2007), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety). GdDOTA is more stable by several orders of magnitude with a stability of constant of 1028 M−1 (see Magerstadt et al., Magnet. Reson. Med. 3:808 (1986), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety). What is therefore needed is a GdDOTA-based agent that contains functional groups based on DOTA ligands that enables the compositions to be useful in MRI applications. This invention answers that need.

Lanthanoid complex capsule and particle contrast agents, methods of making and using thereof


There is provided that a substrate comprising a glass substrate 2 constituted by a glass including a silicon oxide. The glass substrate has a through-hole 3 communicating with a front surface and a rear surface of the glass substrate, and filled with a metal material. The substrate is realized by forming an anchor part by selectively etching a silicon oxide on a sidewall surrounding an inside of said through-hole 3 before filling the metal material and by filling the inside of said through-hole 3 with the metal material after forming the anchor part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a substrate, a manufacturing method of a wiring substrate, a glass substrate and a wiring substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with respect to a wiring substrate mounted with electronic components such as MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System), there is a demand for enabling high-density mounting of electronic components and so on with ensuring connection reliability. In response to this demand, the present inventors have proposed that by using, not a resin substrate, a glass substrate which has good properties such as smoothness, hardness, insulation and heat resistance as a core substrate and by filling with metal a through-hole communicating with a front surface and a rear surface of the glass substrate, conduction of each electrical wiring formed on the front and rear surfaces of the substrate can be surely ensured; thereby making it possible to respond to finer wiring, higher density and so on (for example, referring to patent document 1).
The wiring substrate composed of such glass substrate is manufactured by the following procedure. Specifically, as described in, for example, the patent document 1, a step of filling the through-hole with metal by plating method is performed after performing a step of forming the through-hole on the glass substrate. Then, in the earlier stage of the step of filling the through-hole with metal, either one of the two opening parts of the through-hole formed on the front and rear surfaces of the glass substrate is sealed with metal, after that, by depositing metal on the bottom of the sealed hole from the opening part side and by growing metal toward the opening part; the through-hole is filled with metal.
Patent document 1: WO2005/027605

Manufacturing method of substrate, manufacturing method of wiring substrate, glass substrate and wiring substrate


The invention relates to methods and compositions utilizing Renilla green fluorescent proteins (rGFP), and Ptilosarcus green fluorescent proteins (pGFP). In particular, the invention relates to the use of Renilla GFP or Ptilosarcus GFP proteins as reporters for cell assays, particularly intracellular assays, including methods of screening libraries using rGFP or pGFP.

The field of biomolecule screening for biologically and therapeutically relevant compounds is rapidly growing. Relevant biomolecules that have been the focus of such screenings include chemical libraries, nucleic acid libraries, and peptide libraries in search for molecules that either inhibit or augment the biological activity of identified target molecules. With particular regard to peptide libraries, the isolation of peptide inhibitors of targets and the identification of formal binding partners of targets has been a key focus. However, one particular problem with peptide libraries is the difficulty of assessing whether any particular peptide has been expressed, and at what level, prior to determining whether the peptide has a biological effect.
The green fluorescent protein from Aequorea victoria (hereinafter "aGFP") is a 238 amino acid protein displaying autofluorescent properties. The crystal structure of the protein and several point mutants has been solved (Ormo, M. et al. (1996) Science 273: 1392–95; Yang. F. et al. (1996) Nature Biotechnol. 14: 1246–51). The fluorophore, consisting of a modified tripeptide, is buried inside a relatively rigid β-can structure, where it is almost completely protected from solvent access. The protein fluorescence is sensitive to a number of point mutations (Phillips, G. N. (1997) Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 7: 821–27). Since any disruption of the structure allowing solvent access to the fluorophoric tripeptide results in fluorescence quenching, the fluorescence appears to be a sensitive indication of the preservation of the native structure of the protein.
Uses of GFP as a biological marker, such as gene expression, protein targeting, protein interactions, and biosensors, are well known. The extensively examined aGFP folds efficiently at or below room temperature, but fails to fold properly at higher temperatures. Aggregation of the protein appears to occur when overexpressed in certain organisms, resulting in weak fluorescence. In addition, the fluorescence of the native aGFP has a low quantum yield, which has prompted a search for variants of aGFP with improved stability and fluorescence properties. Although expression of aGFP is generally non-toxic to the cell in which it is expressed, there is some suggestion that aGFP is cytotoxic and may induce apoptosis in expressing cells (Liu, H. S. et al. (1999) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 260: 712–17). Finally, aGFP has been used as a scaffold for peptide display. However, some peptide insertions at the surface loops of aGFP result in low fluorescence, which suggests that aGFP may be sensitive to structural perturbations.
In view of the physical and biological properties of aGFP, other forms of GFPs are desirable with fluorescence and stability characteristics different from aGFP. Green fluorescent proteins have been cloned from Renilla reniformis (hereinafter "rrGFP"), Renilla muelleri (hereinafter "rmGFP"), and Ptilosarcus gurneyi (hereinafter "pGFP") (see WO 99/49019, hereby expressly incorporated by reference). The core chromophore sequence of the rGFP and pGFPs is different from aGFP, and the Renilla forms have fluorescence characteristics with higher molar absorbance coefficient and narrower absorption/emission spectra as compared to aGFP (Ward, W. W. et al. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254: 781–88). The lack of significant homology to aGFP suggests that Renilla and Ptilosarcus forms provide important alternatives to the extensively exploited aGFP. Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide compositions and methods comprising rGFP and pGFP.


The present invention relates to provision of an extreme pressure agent-containing grease composition using, as a thickener, a urea-based thickener, the grease composition being excellent in both torque transmitting efficiency and leakage prevention performance and also excellent in wear resistance and load resistance. The grease composition contains a base oil (A), a urea-based thickener (B), and an extreme pressure agent (C), wherein                particles containing the urea-based thickener (B) in the grease composition satisfies the following requirement (I):

A grease is easy to achieve sealing as compared with lubricating oils and is able to achieve downsizing and weight reduction of a machine to be applied. Accordingly, the grease has hitherto been widely used for lubrication of a variety of sliding portions of automobiles, electrical machinery and appliances, industrial machinery, industrial machines, and so on.
In recent years, the grease is also used in a speed reducer to be used for industrial robots and the like, a speed increaser to be used for wind turbine generator systems, etc., and so on.
The speed reducer has such a mechanism that by applying a torque to an input side, the speed is reduced toward an output side, thereby transmitting the torque.
The speed increaser has such a mechanism that by applying a torque to the input side, the speed is increased toward the output side, thereby transmitting the torque.
The grease to be used in the lubricating sites of the speed reducer and the speed increaser is required to have excellent torque transmitting efficiency from the viewpoint of transmitting the torque applied to the input side toward the output side without being wasted.
Here, a grease for which excellent torque transmitting efficiency is required as in the grease to be used in the lubricating sites of the speed reducer and the speed increaser, etc. is also required to have a capacity of reducing wear and seizure in the lubricating sites as far as possible taking into consideration the matter that a high load is liable to be applied in the lubricating sites at the time of torque transmission.
For example, PTL 1 describes that by using a grease composition containing a base oil, a thickener, molybdenum dithiophosphate, and a calcium salt, such as calcium sulfonate, damages of a metal contact part at a high temperature are reduced, thereby enabling a speed reducer to have a long life.

Abstract: Requirement (I): an arithmetic average particle diameter of the particles on an area basis as measured by the laser diffraction/scattering method is 2.0 μm or less, and                the extreme pressure agent (C) is at least one selected from an organic metal-based extreme pressure agent, a sulfur-based extreme pressure agent, a phosphorus-based extreme pressure agent, and a sulfur-phosphorus-based extreme pressure agent.


An interconnecting structure for electrically connecting a first electronic device with a second electronic device is provided. The first electronic device has two first bond-pads, and the second electronic device has two second bond-pads electrically connected to the two first bond-pads respectively. The interconnecting structure includes a signal transmission structure electrically connected to the two first bond-pads and the two second bond-pads; and a ground device disposed between the first electronic device and the second electronic device so that the first electronic device and the second electronic device have a same ground potential.

Generally, compared to the way of bondwire connection, the cost of the interconnecting structure for connecting a chip with another chip or for connecting a chip with a carrier, such as the ribbon interconnecting structure or the flip-chip packaging, is higher. However, due to the high inductance of the bondwire itself, the operational bandwidth is quite narrow, usually below 30 GHz. Therefore, in the application of a higher frequency, e.g. 60 GHz WiGig, the bondwire cannot be used as the interconnecting structure for connecting a chip with another chip. Usually, there are two ways to solve the high inductance issue of the bondwire. The first way is to use the bondwire having a shorter length. However, the length of the bondwire is limited to the interval or height between chips or between the chip and the carrier, so the bandwidth is still limited. The second way is to dispose a plurality of bondwires on a bond-pad to reduce the inductance effect of the bondwire. However, the mutual inductance between bondwires is increased so that the equivalent inductance value cannot be reduced. Hence, the actual effect is still limited.
Using the bondwire and the plate capacitor on the chip or carrier to realize a multistage low pass filter is another commonly used interconnecting structure for connecting a chip with another chip or for connecting a chip with a carrier. However, such interconnecting structure consumes a quite large area, and does not consider and design the interconnecting structure of the ground between chips or between the chip and the carrier. Therefore, such interconnecting structure is unfeasible in practice. Another way is to use the plate capacitor on the carrier, in cooperation with the bondwire, to generate the L-C-L (inductor-capacitor-inductor) equivalent circuit. However, this way results in a quite narrow operational bandwidth and consumes the area, which is not practical.
The U.S. Pat. No. 7,242,266 uses the tapered and stepped transmission lines, in cooperation with the bondwire, to reduce the inductance effect of the bondwire. However, the structure used consumes a large area, and the cost thereof is high. In addition, the interconnecting structure of the ground between chips or between the chip and the carrier is not designed. Therefore, this patent is unfeasible in practice.
The U.S. Pat. No. 7,227,430 uses the transmission lines and the open stub to reduce the inductance effect of the bondwire. However, this patent consumes a considerable number of transmission lines and a large area, and the cost thereof is high. Moreover, the interconnecting structure of the ground between chips or between the chip and the carrier is not designed. Therefore, this patent is unfeasible in practice.
In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, an interconnecting structure for electrically connecting a first electronic device with a second electronic device is provided. The particular design in the present invention not only solves the problems described above, but also is easy to be implemented. Thus, the present invention has the utility for the industry.

Interconnecting structure for electrically connecting a first electronic device with a second electronic device


The method allows the configuration of a blind control device being capable of sending at least one automatic control command at a time changing in the course of a year in a periodic manner, the period being equal to the calendar year. It is wherein it comprises a first step comprising the input of a first time at which the automatic control command must be emitted on a first given day of the year and the input of a second time at which the automatic control command must be emitted on a second given day of the year, and an automatic step of calculating each time at which the automatic control command must be emitted on any other day of the year.

The invention relates to a method for configuring a control device of a home-automation appliance, the control device being capable of sending at least one first automatic control command at a time changing in the course of a calendar year in a periodic manner, the period being equal to the calendar year. The invention also relates to a control device for a home-automation appliance, being capable of sending at least one first automatic control command at a time changing in the course of a calendar year.
Document EP 0 447 849 discloses a motorized blind or shutter control device in which control timetable for the blind or shutter are stored in table form. For each day of the year, a first time for opening the shutter or unfurling the blind and a second time for closing the shutter or folding back the blind are stored in a memory. One and the same first time and one and the same second time is assigned to several consecutive days.
As an alternative to storage in table form, the control times can be determined by calculation according to a mathematical function input into memory. Specifically, if its timetable is fixed by the sunrise and sunset times, the latter vary in the course of the year, according to laws which can be approximated by functions of cosine type. These laws of variation depend on geographical location, in particular longitude and latitude.
In application EP 0 447 849, the stored control timetable or the function making it possible to calculate it are based on a reference geographical location, in this instance the town of Frankfurt.
Provision is made that, as a function of the geographical location where the control device is installed, the user or the installer can input certain information (relating to latitude and longitude) so as to automatically recalculate the opening and closing times.
Also, document U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,407 discloses a timetable programming device for controlling equipment. It comprises in particular an astronomical clock for emitting, for example, commands at sunrise times.
Also, document CA 2,300,465 discloses a timetable programming device for controlling home-automation equipment. The device also comprises an astronomical clock, the inputting of a latitude parameter being necessary for its operation.
Also, document DE 30 19 279 describes an automatic timetable control device for roller shutters, for which the installer or the user can manually input an offset with respect to the opening and closing control time based on the sunrise or sunset times. Thus, an offset of a quarter of an hour before sunrise can be input as set value.
The control devices of this type are linked to a clock or comprise a clock. During their operation, the current time, given by the clock, is compared with the opening and closing control times. These control times include optional time-offset instructions with respect to the sunrise and sunset times, the time-offset instructions being configured by the installer or the user. When the current time corresponds to a control time, the command associated with this control time is transmitted to the roller shutter for execution.
The blind opening control times correspond substantially to the sunrise times and the blind closing control times substantially correspond to the sunset times.
Document EP 0 447 849 seeks to simplify with respect to the state of the art the storing of the control timetable in memory, in particular by applying the same control times on several consecutive days.
On the other hand, the procedures allowing the modification of the reference timetable to obtain the desired control times remain complex or fairly rigid. In the case of document EP 0 447 849, the installer or the user must as seen previously input latitude and longitude data which are not necessarily always obvious to find. In the case of document DE 30 19 279 also, the time-offset instruction is applied on every day of the year without distinction.
Moreover, these devices hardly make it possible, if at all, to take into account the characteristics of the environment of the building where they are installed, such as the geographical characteristic (presence of mountains or buildings which block out the sunlight during part of the day) or the characteristic of use of the building determining the activity of the users.

Method for configuring a roller shutter automatic control device and roller shutter automatic control device


During a series of processes performed on a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus, processing history data containing items such as transport time, processing time, plate temperature, revolution per minute of spin motors and flow rate of solutions is obtained for each substrate. When a substrate with a process defect is detected in an inspection block, the processing history data on that substrate is compared with reference data. A processing unit or transport robot in which processing history data falls outside a predetermined range set as the reference data is judged as abnormal, whereby a defective processing unit or defective transport robot is identified. Thus provided is a substrate processing apparatus capable of identifying a defective processing unit or defective transport robot quickly and accurately.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus in which transport robots transport semiconductor substrates, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for optical disks or the like (hereinafter briefly referred to as "substrates") to a plurality of processing units each for performing a predetermined process such as photolithography on such substrates.
2. Description of the Background Art
As is well known, products such as semiconductors and liquid crystal displays are manufactured by performing a series of processes including cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, formation of interlayer dielectric films, thermal processing, dicing and the like, on the above-described substrates. Widely used as a so-called coater/developer is a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing units for performing, for example, among the series of processes, resist coating, development and their associated thermal processes, respectively, are incorporated, and transport robots circularly transport substrates between the respective processing units, so that the substrates are subjected to a series of photolithography processes.
In accordance with the recent demand for higher accuracy in apparatus control and processing accuracy of such substrate processing apparatus, it is desired to keep track of various types of measured data obtained during actual processes such as processing time, processing temperature, revolution per minute of motors and flow rate of chemical solutions, as processing history data. Accordingly, techniques for collecting various types of data during processes performed on substrates using a control system installed in a substrate processing apparatus, to thereby accumulate the collected data as the processing history are proposed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-343694 and 2002-280278.
Turning to the case in which a substrate with a process defect occurs in the above-described substrate processing apparatus, an operator of the apparatus conventionally makes an inspection on the apparatus to make clear the cause of such defect, to thereby identify a processing unit in which abnormal processing has been conducted. Identifying a defective processing unit requires a great deal of time, and it is an extremely difficult operation particularly for an inexperienced operator, causing at worst a problem in that a defective processing unit cannot be identified accurately.

Substrate processing apparatus for inspecting processing history data


A device for improved vision into or out of at least one eye of a subject. The device comprises an enclosing vessel for holding one or more lenses in front one or two eyes of the subject and for holding a substance whose refractive index is matched to the refractive index of the cornea. The vessel is adapted to seal the substance to the face around the eye or eyes of the subject thereby allowing focusing into or out of the eye or eyes.

Optical aberrations can impede a person's vision and interfere with diagnostic and medical procedures. Most optical aberrations occur in the cornea and the tear film, with additional contribution from the crystalline lens and marginally from the ocular humours. In the case of dilated pupils, the actual focus spot size on the retina is in the range of 20-100 micrometers, instead of the theoretical range of 1-2 micrometers. This blurs severely the details available to the eye. In addition, the tear film and crystalline lens vary with time, further affecting the spot size.
In addition to affecting a person's eyesight, poor optical conditions can also reduce the effectiveness of eye examinations and treatment. An ophthalmologist examining the eye is restricted to details no finer than the focus spot size. This significantly limits his or her ability to locate early warning signs of abnormalities, diagnose ocular diseases, or perform follow-ups on eye operations. Corneal aberrations also interfere in the examination and treatment of other parts of the eye, such as the aqueous humour and the crystalline lens.
An eye surgeon applying a laser beam to the retina to treat the eye is limited by optical aberrations which result in a large beam spot, thereby causing neighboring areas of the retina to be heated and unnecessarily damaged. And, because of limitations on his or her own view, the surgeon might not even be aware of these damages. These aberrations in the cornea are somewhat reduced by the use of a contact lens attached to the eye with an intervening immersion gel. The device also keeps the lids open during the surgery, but it causes great inconvenience to the patient.
It would therefore be beneficial to have a solution for overcoming the deleterious effects of corneal aberrations on vision, diagnosis, and treatment.
One set of prior art solutions employs some form of scanning in one, two or three dimensions, which enables sequential separation and measurement of the details. This group includes the scanning slit lamp, the scanning laser ophthalmoscope, optical coherence tomography, and acoustic imaging, among others. The optically measuring devices suffer less from the aberrations, but have a limited resolution nevertheless. Another powerful method is adaptive optics, where correction for the ocular aberrations is performed in a servo loop. This method allows direct imaging of the interior of the eye, and in combination with other methods such as mentioned here, even finer scanning of details. It is described by Williams and Liang in U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,719, "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING VISION AND THE RESOLUTION OF RETINAL IMAGES". A similar solution for laser surgery is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,999, "LASER EYE SURGERY SYSTEM USING WAVEFRONT SENSOR ANALYSIS TO CONTROL DIGITAL MICROMIRROR DEVICE (DMD) MIRROR PATTERNS" by Williams et al. Unfortunately, all of these methods are rather complicated and the instrumentation takes up large volume. The equipment used is cumbersome, expensive, and many parts of the technology are still immature.
When high resolution is not essential, it is possible to trade it for a very large field. Goniometric devices such as the Abraham or Goldmann objectives were devised in order to gain access to up to 180 degrees in the eye, using up to four mirrors. But the price to be paid is a loss of magnification, and even demagnification of the observed—or laser treated—portions of the retina or the iris. These objectives are placed on the anaesthetized cornea using an immersion gel or fluid, such as methyl cellulose.
A number of prior art references refer to the use of filled goggles. It should be noted that in the context of this disclosure, the word "goggles" refers to a device worn over one or both eyes and comprising an enclosed volume, sealed to the face, which can be filled with a medium such as a liquid or gel, thereby covering all of the eye with the medium. Herbert, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,956, "WET CORNEA TELESCOPE", describes a telescope that has a fluid-filled cell all the way to the cornea for improved optical quality. Herbert (again), in U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,261, "METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE CURVATURE OF A CORNEA", suggests the use of flat goggles filled with fluid for measurement and calculations for fitting contact lenses. Silverman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,068, "ULTRASONIC SCANNING OF THE EYE USING A STATIONARY TRANSDUCER", describe an ultrasonic scanner for the eye, which is attached to liquid-filled goggles for better acoustic contact. Monteleone and Monteleone describe in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,281, "GOGGLES FOR PREVENTING EXPOSURE KERATITIS", fluid-filled goggles for maintaining proper environment for eyes with corneal keratitis.
Thomas Young, "On the mechanism of the eye", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 91, 23-88, 1801, and later M. Milodot and J. Sivak, "Contribution of the cornea and the lens to the spherical aberration of the eye", Vision Research vol. 19, 685-687, 1979, and then P. Artal et al., "Compensation of corneal aberrations by the internal optics in the human eye", Journal of Vision 1, 1-8, 2001, all show how liquid-filled flat goggles gloss over corneal aberrations in order to separate the optical functions of the cornea and crystalline lens. The largest disadvantage of this method is the need to add very strong positive lenses next to the flat goggles. This is required to further compensate the tens of dioptres of optical power in the cornea itself, lost by its immersion in the fluid. Without this external compensation, the magnifying power of the eye is lost, both for the person wearing the goggles and for the doctor looking into the eye, or operating on it.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide goggles filled with a substance whose refractive index is matched to the refractive index of the cornea, thus reducing the effects of corneal aberrations and tear film variations and improving ocular vision.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the present specification and reviewing the accompanying drawings.

Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd.


Disclosed is a method for production of recombinant human iduronate 2-sulfatase (rhI2S) (the 26th to 550th amino acids of SEQ ID NO: 10) in a large scale, with a high purity, and mannose 6-phosphate residues. The method comprises the steps of (a) culturing rhI2S (the 26th to 550th amino acids of SEQ ID NO: 10)-producing mammalian cells in a serum-free medium, (b) collecting culture supernatant, (c) subjecting the culture supernatant to cation-exchange column chromatography, (d) to dye affinity column chromatography, (e) to anion-exchange column chromatography, and (f) to a column chromatography employing as solid phase a material having affinity for phosphate group, and (g) to gel filtration column chromatography, in the order.

Iduronate 2-sulfatase (I2S) is a lysosomal enzyme having an activity to hydrolyze a sulfate ester bond in a glycosaminoglycan molecule such as heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate. Patients of Hunter's syndrome genetically lack I2S activity. Lack of this enzyme causes abnormal metabolism of heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate, which then leads to accumulation of fragments of the latter molecules in tissues such as the liver and kidney, and also to excretion of heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate in urine. These abnormalities then cause diverse symptoms in patients suffering Hunter's syndrome, including skeletal deformities and severe mental retardation.
The fact that the patients suffering Hunter's syndrome show scarce I2S activity has already been known since 1970's, and an abnormality of I2S gene was expected to be the cause of this disease. In 1999, human gene encoding I2S was isolated and confirmed to be the responsible gene for this disease (see LPL 1).
Based on the fact mentioned above, I2S replacement has been attempted since 1970's to improve the clinical conditions of the patients, including transplantation of normal macrophage (see LPL 2) and infusion of normal serum (see LPL 3) to supplement I2S activity in the patients. The results of those attempts showed that the concentration of heparan sulfate in patients' urine decreased by the supplementation of I2S activity, suggesting that I2S replacement therapy should have a clinical efficacy against Hunter's syndrome, though improvement in clinical symptoms was not confirmed. Practical application of the I2S replacement therapy, however, has been extremely limited due to the lack of supply of this enzyme.
Isolation of the gene encoding I2S in 1999 made it possible to produce I2S in a large scale using recombinant technology, and to use this enzyme as a medicament for the enzyme replacement therapy for Hunter's syndrome (see PTL 1). However a method has not been reported so far for providing I2S with such a high purity as is sufficient for the enzyme to be directly used as a medical drug.

Method for production of recombinant human iduronate 2-sulfatase


According to one embodiment, an article recognition device includes a storage unit, an image interface, a distance information interface, and a processor. The storage unit stores outline information indicating an outline of an article. The image interface acquires a captured image. The distance information interface acquires distance information from a distance sensor. The processor recognizes a first article from the captured image, specifies an article area in which the first article appears from the captured image based on the outline information, acquires an article area distance between a surface of the first article and the installation base on which the first article is placed, which appear in the captured image, based on the distance information, and determines whether the first article is disposed overlapping a second article based on the outline information and the article area distance.

Among article recognition devices, there is a device which captures an image of an installation base on which an article is installed and recognizes the article based on a captured image. Such an article recognition device captures an image of the article of the installation base from one side and acquires the image.
Therefore, in the related arts, the article recognition device has a problem that it cannot be determined whether the articles are arranged in an overlapping manner.


The capacitive voltage transformer is provided for a metal-enclosed, gas-filled high-voltage system. It has a cylindrical capacitor having two coaxially arranged, electrically conducting cylinders (12, 13), of which one internally arranged cylinder (12) is at a high voltage potential and outwardly bounds a current-carrying conductor (5) of the system. An externally arranged one of the two cylinders (13) is inserted in an electrically insulated fashion into the metal enclosure (4). In a first embodiment of the voltage transformer the internal cylinder (12) has an enclosing tube (16) formed from a material having a lower coefficient of linear thermal expansion than copper. In a second embodiment there is provided, for the purpose of correcting the transformed voltage values, a device which detects the value of the current carried in the conductor (5), and in which the change in the capacitance of the cylindrical capacitor is determined as a function of a change in temperature caused by the current carried in the conductor (5). The accuracy of the transformed voltage values is increased by both embodiments.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention proceeds from a capacitive voltage transformer for a metal-enclosed, gas-filled high-voltage system according to the preamble of patent claim 1. Such a voltage transformer contains a cylindrical capacitor having two coaxially arranged, electrically conducting cylinders of which an internally arranged cylinder is at a high voltage potential, and an externally arranged cylinder is inserted in an electrically insulated fashion into the metal enclosure. Such a voltage divider can be accommodated in a space-saving fashion in the metal enclosure and can be combined in a simple way with a current transformer.
2. Discussion of Background
In this case, the invention refers to a prior art such as emerges, for example, from EP-A2-522 303. A combined current and voltage transformer, published in this prior art, for a metal-enclosed, gas-filled high-voltage system has a tubularly constructed metal-enclosed section, a conductor guided along the tube axis, and a hollow cylindrical measuring electrode, which is inserted into the metal enclosure in an insulating fashion and concentrically surrounds the conductor, which preferably carries the phase current. The measuring electrode forms with the conductor a cylindrical capacitor which decouples the electric field emanating from the conductor and corresponding to the high voltage supplied, and acts as an overvoltage capacitor of a capacitive voltage divider.
Depending on the measurement task, it is necessary for the voltage values transformed by this apparatus to have a more or less high level of accuracy. The gain influencing the accuracy of the transformed voltage values depends on the temperature of the cylindrical capacitor acting as voltage sensor, as well as on the density of the insulating gas present in the system. The gas density and the temperature of the measuring electrode, acting as external cylinder, of the cylindrical capacitor can be measured with a low outlay, and be taken into account in a simple way when correcting the ratio accuracy. By contrast, there is a problem in measuring the temperature, likewise featuring in the ratio accuracy, of the conductor, which is at a high voltage potential and acting as the internal cylinder of the cylindrical capacitor.

Capacitive voltage transformer for a metal-enclosed, gas-filled high-voltage system


A method and apparatus for selecting a value or change in value of a measurement variable for an observation of an object, comprising: receiving models for the object defined in terms of an observation parameter and a measurement variable; selecting values of the measurement variable; for each model, determining a value of the observation parameter for each selected value; for each selected value, determining a value of an expected classification potential level using the determined values; and selecting a value of the measurement variable dependent upon the potential level values; wherein the potential level is an expected level of: the information or lack of information, and/or the certainty or uncertainty, with which the object could be classified if a measurement of the observation parameter were taken of the object at the respective value of the measurement variable.

The problems of detection and classification arise in many fields. A detection problem is, for example, one of detecting a target object in a certain environment. A classification problem is, for example, one of determining to which class or group of objects the detected target object belongs. An example field in which detection and classification problems arise is the field of mine counter measures (MCM). In the field of mine counter measures, the classification of a detected object is required to be performed in order to identify the detected object as a mine, and ideally a particular type of mine.
Current mine counter measures rely on an operator interpreting signals, for example from Sonar and/or an electro-optics sensor, to identify a target as a mine and classify the detected mine accordingly. This is a difficult task that requires a skilled operator and sufficiently clear conditions.
Current mine counter measures sometimes use mine detection/classification decision aids. These decision aids are based on Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) of a single view or measurement of a target. However, there is a large amount of uncertainty as to the target under observation. Mine detection and classification is currently inefficient, and tends not to be feasible in any but the most benign environments, using a single measurement or observation of a particular facet of a target.
Other mine-classifiers based on analytical models, or state-transition matrices often fail because targets are typically not well represented by simple analytical, or piecewise stationary models.
Quite separate from the field of object classification, particle filters are known. Particle filters are a type of Monte Carlo based recursive estimator. Particle filters are typically used to estimate the state of a system, that is changing in time, at a particular point in time, e.g. at a future time. A future state of a dynamic and noisy system is estimated using present observations of the system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Calibrating reflector device to calibrate an optical measuring system having an optical fiber optics probe, for example, for measuring the oxygen saturation of blood. The calibrating reflector device comprises a housing that is open on one end, a reflecting device in the form of an opaque layer in which reflecting particles are embedded, as well as a positioning plug with a central bore, in which the fiber optics probe can be received with a certain frictional resistance. A transparent layer is disposed between the front end of fiber optics probe and the reflecting layer, on whose surface the front end of fiber optics probe can be arranged by the positioning plug.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a calibrating reflector device for an optical measuring system which has an optical fiber optics probe, with a housing that is open on one side, a reflecting device with a specific reflection behavior and a positioning device, which places the front end of the fiber optics probe in the housing of the reflecting device.
2. Description of Related Art
A calibrating reflector device of the type to which the present invention relates is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,633.
Calibrating reflector devices are used to calibrate optical measuring systems which are used to measure parameters of a sample, which can be detected by spectroscopic differences in the sample. These include, for example, catheter oxygen measuring systems, which are used to measure the oxygen saturation of the blood. To measure the oxygen saturation of the blood in vivo, the fiber optics probe is placed in the circulatory system of the patient.
In such optical measuring systems, the fiber optics probe comprises, for example, a thin tube with two optical waveguides whose measuring-side end is cut off vertically and polished. The light coming from a light source, going through an optical waveguide when measuring, strikes the sample to be measured and is scattered by the sample. The scattered light is recollected and evaluated for measurement. The measurements take place with light of various wavelengths, and, for example, the oxygen saturation of the blood is determined by a ratio formation of the measured values of various wavelengths.
Optical measuring systems of this type have to be calibrated, since the systems age over time and a measured value drift occurs. The reason for this lies, e.g., in such facts as that water accumulates in the plastic of the optical waveguide, that transmission changes occur, that the reproducibility of the connector between the fiber optics probe and the light source to be connected or the evaluating device to be connected changes, or that the light-sending diodes of the light source age.
Without a calibration of the optical measuring system, no absolute measurements can be obtained, only relative values can be measured. A measurement of absolute values requires a readjustment of the optical measuring system to a standard. For this purpose, calibrating reflector devices are used, which represent such a standard and are used before the actual measurement to calibrate the optical measuring system. To calibrate the optical system, the optical fiber optics probe is placed in the calibrating reflector device, which has a specific fixed reflection behavior. Then, the measuring system is calibrated from the results of measurements obtained, for example, by adjusting the obtained measuring signal amplitude on the measuring device. After calibration with a calibrating reflector device, which is used only once, the actual measurements can take place.
Calibrating reflector devices of the usual type of construction can be subdivided into so-called solid-state reflectors and so-called cavity reflectors.
An example of a known cavity reflector is the initially mentioned calibrating reflector device, which is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,633. In this known device, reflecting particles are embedded in the front surface of an inside wall of the housing, and the front end of the fiber optics probe is placed at a predetermined distance opposite this front surface. For calibration, light of specific wavelengths is thrown by the fiber optics probe onto the front surface having the reflecting particles and the light reflected from the surface is absorbed and used for calibration.
However, in such a cavity reflector, the optical properties are influenced by the surface condition of the cavity walls, i.e., the inner walls of the housing, the surface condition of the light exit surface on the front end of the fiber optics probe and the exact positioning of the fiber optics probe in the housing. Since such reflectors are produced as a unit in an injection molding process, the optical properties are, moreover, influenced by the distribution, shape and size of the reflecting particles, which are embedded in the housing wall.
An example of a known solid-state reflector can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,164. In this solid-state reflector, a solid element is provided inside a housing, in which light-dispersing particles are embedded and cause a clouding, so that this solid-state element has a specific known reflection behavior and forms the measuring standard. To assure a reliable contact between the surface of this solid-state element and the front end of the fiber optics probe, the solid-state element is mounted in the housing to be axially resiliently displaceable, i.e., in the axial direction of the fiber optics probe. Additionally, the opposite side of the solid-state element, relative to the fiber optics probe, is provided with a pretensioning device, for example, in the form of a spring, by which the solid-state element is pressed firmly against the front end of the fiber optics probe during calibration.
However, in such solid-state reflectors, the optical properties of the reflector are influenced by the distribution, shape and size of the reflecting particles in the solid-state element. These parameters can be poorly controlled in the production of the reflector. The reflecting particles on the surface of the solid-state element, because of the spring pretensioning, are in a constant firm contact with the front end of the fiber optics probe, so that the danger exists that the particles detach themselves from the solid-state element. Moreover, it is not possible to easily change the type of particle since, as a rule, a change of the production process is necessary to do so. As a result, the variability of the reflection behavior in such reflectors is small.
In the solid-state reflector described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,164, stray reflections, especially on the coupling surface of the front end of the fiber optics probe, which occur, for example, in cavity reflectors can be avoided by the resilient pressing of the solid-state element against the front end of the fiber optics probe; however, the firm contact produced between the probe and solid-state element causes the particle distribution to be at least partially disturbed.

Calibrating reflector device for an optical measuring system


According to the invention, there is provided an exhaust gas purification device for purifying an exhaust gas discharged from an engine having cylinders including first and second cylinders. An exhaust stroke in the first cylinder is carried out next to an exhaust stroke in the second cylinder. The exhaust gas purification device comprises exhaust branch passages which are connected to the cylinders, respectively. The exhaust branch passages include first and second exhaust branch passages which are connected to the first and second cylinders, respectively. The exhaust gas purification device comprises a common exhaust passage connected to the exhaust branch passages, a catalyst positioned in the common exhaust passage for purifying an exhaust gas, and an exhaust gas recirculation passage connected to the first exhaust branch passage. The exhaust gas recirculation passage introduces the exhaust gas from the first exhaust branch passage into an intake passage which is connected to the cylinders. According to the invention, a reducing agent is fed to only the second cylinder during the power or the exhaust stroke in the second cylinder to promote the purifying operation of the catalyst when the exhaust gas is introduced into the intake passage via the exhaust gas recirculation passage.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an exhaust gas purification device for purifying an exhaust gas discharged from an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
An exhaust gas purification device is known for purifying an exhaust gas, in particular, nitrogen oxide (NOx) discharged from an engine. For example, the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-74022 discloses an exhaust gas purification device comprising a NOx catalyst which adsorbs NOx and hydrocarbon (HC) on a surface thereof to activate the NOx and HC, and reacts the activated NOx with the activated HC to purify the NOx, and a HC feeding valve for feeding HC to the NOx catalyst.
When the velocity at which the flame is transmitted in the cylinders during the power stroke of the engine (hereinafter, referring to as "flame transmitting velocity") is large, the amount of the NOx generated in the engine is large. Further, when the temperature at which the fuel is burned in the cylinders during the power stroke of the engine (hereinafter, referring to as "fuel burning temperature) is high, the amount of the NOx generated in the engine is large.
On the other hand, an inert gas decreases the flame transmitting velocity. Therefore, when the amount of the inert gas in the intake air is large, the flame transmitting velocity is decreased. Further, the inert gas absorbs the heat. Therefore, when the amount of the inert gas in the intake air is large, the fuel burning temperature is low.
In the exhaust gas purification device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-74022, in order to restrict the generation of the NOx in the engine, exhaust gas including inert gas such as CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 O is introduced into an intake air to decrease the flame transmitting velocity and lower the fuel burning temperature.
Further, in the exhaust gas purification device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-74022, in order to prevent the HC from being introduced into the intake air, the exhaust gas to be introduced into the intake air is withdrawn from one of exhaust passages while the HC is fed into the other exhaust passages.
However, since the exhaust strokes in the cylinders are sequentially carried out, there is a possibility that the pressure in the exhaust passages into which the HC is fed becomes higher than that in the exhaust passage from which the exhaust gas to be fed into the intake air is withdrawn. In this case, the HC in the exhaust gas may be introduced into the intake air.
Therefore, the object of the invention is to prevent HC to be fed into a catalyst from being introduced into the intake air.


Azacycloalkane derivatives of structural formula I are selective inhibitors of stearoyl-coenzyme A delta-9 desaturase (SCD1) relative to other known stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturases. The compounds of the present invention are useful for the prevention and treatment of conditions related to abnormal lipid synthesis and metabolism, including cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis; obesity; diabetes; neurological disease; metabolic syndrome; insulin resistance; and liver steatosis.

At least three classes of fatty acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) desaturases (delta-5, delta-6 and delta-9 desaturases) are responsible for the formation of double bonds in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acyl-CoAs derived from either dietary sources or de novo synthesis in mammals. The delta-9 specific stearoyl-CoA desaturases (SCDs) catalyze the rate-limiting formation of the cis-double bond at the C9-C10 position in monounsaturated fatty acyl-CoAs. The preferred substrates are stearoyl-CoA and palmitoyl-CoA, with the resulting oleoyl and palmitoleoyl-CoA as the main components in the biosynthesis of phospholipids, triglycerides, cholesterol esters and wax esters (Dobrzyn and Natami, Obesity Reviews, 6: 169-174 (2005)).
The rat liver microsomal SCD protein was first isolated and characterized in 1974 (Strittmatter et al., PNAS, 71: 4565-4569 (1974)). A number of mammalian SCD genes have since been cloned and studied from various species. For example, two genes have been identified from rat (SCD1 and SCD2, Thiede et al., J. Biol. Chem., 261, 13230-13235 (1986)), Mihara, K., J. Biochem. (Tokyo), 108: 1022-1029 (1990)); four genes from mouse (SCD1, SCD2, SCD3 and SCD4) (Miyazaki et al., J. Biol. Chem., 278: 33904-33911 (2003)); and two genes from human (SCD1 and ACOD4 (SCD2)), (Zhang, et al., Biochem. J., 340: 255-264 (1991); Beiraghi, et al., Gene, 309: 11-21 (2003); Zhang et al., Biochem. J., 388: 135-142 (2005)). The involvement of SCDs in fatty acid metabolism has been known in rats and mice since the 1970's (Oshino, N., Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 149: 378-387 (1972)). This has been further supported by the biological studies of a) Asebia mice that carry the natural mutation in the SCD1 gene (Zheng et al., Nature Genetics, 23: 268-270 (1999)), b) SCD1-null mice from targeted gene deletion (Ntambi, et al., PNAS, 99: 11482-11486 (2002), and c) the suppression of SCD1 expression during leptin-induced weight loss (Cohen et al., Science, 297: 240-243 (2002)). The potential benefits of pharmacological inhibition of SCD activity has been demonstrated with anti-sense oligonucleotide inhibitors (ASO) in mice (Jiang, et al., J. Clin. Invest., 115: 1030-1038 (2005)). ASO inhibition of SCD activity reduced fatty acid synthesis and increased fatty acid oxidation in primary mouse hepatocytes. Treatment of mice with SCD-ASOs resulted in the prevention of diet-induced obesity, reduced body adiposity, hepatomegaly, steatosis, postprandial plasma insulin and glucose levels, reduced de novo fatty acid synthesis, decreased the expression of lipogenic genes, and increased the expression of genes promoting energy expenditure in liver and adipose tissues. Thus, SCD inhibition represents a novel therapeutic strategy in the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders.
There is compelling evidence to support that elevated SCD activity in humans is directly implicated in several common disease processes. For example, there is an elevated hepatic lipogenesis to triglyceride secretion in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients (Diraison, et al., Diabetes Metabolism, 29: 478-485 (2003)); Donnelly, et al., J. Clin. Invest., 115: 1343-1351 (2005)). The postprandial de novo lipogenesis is significantly elevated in obese subjects (Marques-Lopes, et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 73: 252-261 (2001)). There is a significant correlation between a high SCD activity and an increased cardiovascular risk profile including elevated plasma triglycerides, a high body mass index and reduced plasma HDL (Attie, et al., J. Lipid Res., 43: 1899-1907 (2002)). SCD activity plays a key role in controlling the proliferation and survival of human transformed cells (Scaglia and Igal, J. Biol. Chem., (2005)).
Other than the above mentioned anti-sense oligonucleotides, inhibitors of SCD activity include non-selective thia-fatty acid substrate analogs [B. Behrouzian and P. H. Buist, Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids, 68: 107-112 (2003)], cyclopropenoid fatty acids (Raju and Reiser, J. Biol. Chem., 242: 379-384 (1967)), certain conjugated long-chain fatty acid isomers (Park, et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1486: 285-292 (2000)), a series of pyridazine derivatives disclosed in published international patent application publications WO 2005/011653, WO 2005/011654, WO 2005/011656, WO 2005/011656, and WO 2005/011657, all assigned to Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and a series of heterocyclic derivatives disclosed international patent application publications WO 2006/014168, WO 2006/034279, WO 2006/034312, WO 2006/034315, WO 2006/034338, WO 2006/034341, WO 2006/034440, WO 2006/034441, and WO 2006/034446, all assigned to Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
The present invention is concerned with novel azacycloalkane derivatives as inhibitors of stearoyl-CoA delta-9 desaturase which are useful in the treatment and/or prevention of various conditions and diseases mediated by SCD activity including those related, but not limited, to elevated lipid levels, as exemplified in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance.
The role of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase in lipid metabolism has been described by M. Miyazaki and J. M. Ntambi, Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids, 68: 113-121 (2003). The therapeutic potential of the pharmacological manipulation of SCD activity has been described by A. Dobryzn and J. M. Ntambi, in "Stearoyl-CoA desaturase as a new drug target for obesity treatment," Obesity Reviews, 6: 169-174 (2005).

Azacycloalkane derivatives as inhibitors of stearoyl-coenzyme a delta-9 desaturase


In arrangement for keeping clean the nozzles of an ink print head with a large number of nozzles, the printhead having an ink print module or of several ink print modules assembled in stacked construction, and a seal bonnet and a wiping lip arranged positionally on the ink print head, a cleaning module is provided alongside the ink print modules on the ink print head, and the seal bonnet is flexibly positioned on the ink print head and is formed so that the front surface of all the ink print modules, as well as the front surface of the cleaning module, can be simultaneously covered. In addition, the seal bonnet is kinematically coupled with the wiping lip. Cleaning ensues by expelling ink and/or suctioning ink into the seal bonnet, and subsequently emptying the seal bonnet of ink, and mechanically wiping off the ink print head.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method and an arrangement for keeping the nozzles of an ink print head clean, in particular of an ink print head having a large number of nozzles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ink print heads are provided for use in small, fast printers, which themselves are a component of modern machines for franking postal materials or for printing addresses or for product labeling.
In contrast to the usual office printers with line-by-line printing, the printing ensues as a unique impression in one passage of the print medium. Due to this necessarily larger printing breadth (approximately an inch), the number of ink nozzles to be arranged under one another is substantially more than in ink print heads for office printers. In order to fulfill current customer desires (blocks with word and image characters) for franking machines with good print quality, print resolutions of close to 200 dpi (dots per inch) are required. This means ink print heads with 200 nozzles.
In these print heads it must be ensured that relevant security-oriented print image data, such as value, date and machine number for franking machines, are printed without omission of print points (dots).
Since fast-drying inks must be used, there is a high risk that the ink will dry in the nozzles that are not used (activated) for a longer time, or that the nozzles will become clogged by the accumulation of dust and ink residue in the area of the nozzles.
For preventing or remedying clogging of the nozzles, a number of different solutions is known, such as uncovering and vacuuming of the nozzle surface of the ink print head, expelling ink through all nozzles, wiping the nozzle surface with a wiping lip, and supplying cleaning agents to the nozzle surface; see German OS 38 10 698 and European Application 0 285 155.
All these measures have in common that they ensue exclusively during print pauses, whose spacing can be far apart in time from one another in printers that print frequently and for long durations, such as franking machines. Clogging is accordingly probable.
An ink jet printer with several nozzles is known (German OS 33 11 735) in which detection means registers when a nozzle or several nozzles are in an unused state for a predetermined time period, and in which the result of the detection is evaluated by control means, and ink is caused to be expelled through the nozzles concerned. In other words, the time duration of the print pauses is measured by signal measurement means, and if the print pause exceeds a predetermined time limit, rinsing of the nozzles used for printing is carried out by rinsing means before printing. In order to be fairly certain that the nozzles also remain truly capable of functioning, the print pauses must be relatively short; accordingly, the writing operation must be interrupted for the purpose of cleaning. Thus the operating time of the printer is reduced and the ink consumption is essentially increased by this cleaning method.
Furthermore, a cover for the nozzles of a partial-vacuum ink print head operating with fast-drying inks is known; cf. European Application 0 173 939. By means of the cover, it is intended that the ink be prevented from drying at the nozzle ends in the print pauses, while it is also intended to ensure that the ink meniscus is neither touched nor pushed back.
For this purpose, the cover has a circumferential sealing element and a membrane, which form a pressure chamber when the cover is set on the nozzle surface. The internal tension of the membrane is smaller than the surface tension of the ink meniscuses. In this relatively small pressure chamber, a rapid saturation of the air with moisture occurs as a result of ink solution agents that evaporate at first, so that drying out of the nozzles is avoided over shorter print pauses. This arrangement, however, does not offer protection against nozzles drying out that are not used for a longer time during operation.
Another known apparatus (cf. German OS 38 25 045 and German OS 38 25 046) for cleaning the nozzle surface of an ink print head has a wiping element arranged movably in front of the nozzle surface, and in addition to the ink nozzles has a nozzle from which cleaning fluid is expelled against a guard screen and is diverted from this screen onto the nozzle surface. The wiping element is a belt that contains a number of openings adjacent to one another in the direction of the belt, the belt being transported past the nozzle surface in one direction. According to the position of the belt, the nozzles are released (opened) or covered. The belt is fashioned as an endless belt and is contained in a belt cartridge with a drive. During print operation, the belt lies with one of its openings in front of the nozzle openings and releases these openings for the expelling of ink. In the transition from print operation to print pause, at first cleaning fluid is expelled drop by drop through the cleaning nozzle. Subsequently the belt is moved forward in its direction of transport so far that instead of the opening, the following section of the belt moves in front of the nozzle surface and covers it. The edge of the opening wipes over the nozzle surface and thereby cleans this surface of accumulated contamination.
As is clear, this apparatus serves only for a rough cleaning of the nozzle surface. Clogging of the nozzle openings as the belt slides by is not precluded, nor is a drying out of nozzles.
In another known method (cf. German 32 03 014), an air cell is positioned in front of the nozzle opening for preventing clogging of the nozzles of an ink printer. This cell has an outer opening aligned with the nozzle opening, through which outer opening the ink drops fly onto the print medium. During operation, the ink jet is accompanied by an air jet from the air cell that annularly surrounds the ink jet, and is thereby accelerated. During a print pause, in order to keep the nozzle moist, the outer opening of the air cell is closed by means of a porous covering body and the moisture in the air cell is increased by letting ink into the air cell while the air is evacuated from the air cell.
At the beginning of the print operation, the ink in the air cell is rinsed out of this air cell through the outer opening by means of increased air pressure. For this purpose, the covering body is turned away, and a receptacle holder for the ink is brought in front of the outer opening. After emptying the air cell, the outer opening is blown free of ink by the air streaming through. The receptacle holder is removed and the print medium is brought into position.
The apparatus for accomplishing this known method includes an impulse-actuated pressure cell, an ink cell pressure-coupled with the pressure cell and connected to an ink cartridge via an ink duct, an air cell that is divided from the ink cell by a wall having a first opening and that is connected with the atmosphere by an outer opening, and a pump that during operation is connected with the air cell via an air line and that places the air line under a partial vacuum when operation is not taking place.
A cover apparatus can be positioned in front of the outer opening, and a valve is contained in the air line that relieves the pressure in the air line during non-pressure operation, and in preparation for the print operation raises the pressure so far that the ink contained in the air cell is pressed out through the outer opening. A receiving container, adjustable in two positions, is arranged for collecting the ink pressed out of the air cell.
An ink level state sensor in the air line switches off the supply of ink if the ink level reaches the sensor.
Although it is advantageous to integrate a part of the cleaning apparatus in the ink print head, this solution still has some disadvantages. Protection against drying out and clogging ensues in this known apparatus only during print pauses. The air stream during operation can lead to a faster drying out, at least for the nozzles that are seldom or not at all used. Since the printing ink is also used to maintain moisture in the print pauses and is then pressed into an external receptacle holder each time before printing begins, this procedure is costly with respect to time; moreover, ink is lost each time. Also, the ink meniscus can be pushed back to an undesirable extent.
Moreover, the mechanical expense (a covering body as well as a receptacle holder that can be positioned outside the ink head, and also a pump with a valve and a sensor inside the ink head) is considerable.

Arrangement for keeping the nozzles of an ink print head clean