The invention is an apparatus for cleaning one or more cylindrical filters. An enclosure contains the entire apparatus in which each filter is supported on its own pair of rotating horizontal rollers. An assembly of air nozzles adjacent to a first end of each rotating filter is moved radially across the filter end to blow the particles out of the filter and into a particle collector at the second end. A second assembly of air nozzles at the second end then operates in a similar manner. The positions of the air nozzles are manually adjusted for filters of differing length. A simpler unit has only one assembly of air nozzles, but requires manually reversing the position of the filter for the second operation.

This invention deals generally with an apparatus for cleaning filters and more specifically with an apparatus that blows pressurized air axially through cylindrical filters as the filters are being rotated.
For those of us familiar with only disposable household furnace filters and automobile air filters, the concept of cleaning filters seems ridiculous. However, there are valid reasons for cleaning filters. One reason that is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,588 by Holyoak et al. is to remove contaminants to facilitate the disposal of the filters. Another reason is the exceptionally high cost of some filters.
New government regulations require diesel engines to dramatically clean their exhaust discharge to prevent air contamination because bus and truck diesel engines are a major source of gaseous, particulate hydrocarbons, and carbon pollutants in urban areas. In order to meet the government regulations ceramic diesel particulate filters are installed in such vehicles in the exhaust stream immediately following the catalytic converter. However, such diesel particulate filters are very costly, and replacing them with new ones when they are too dirty is uneconomical.
It would be very beneficial to have available a cleaning system for diesel particulate filters that could automatically clean the filters and do so at a low cost.


A mowing boundary area recognizing apparatus of a mowing robot includes a ground state measurer configured to acquire environment data of a ground based on a grass length on the ground, a determiner configured to determine the grass length on the ground on a basis of the ground environment data to recognize a mowing boundary area, and a controller configured to adjust running of the mowing robot to a mowing area for which mowing is needed.

Mowing work is simple in characteristic, and is mainly performed in the middle of summer. Therefore, when a worker directly performs mowing work by using a mowing apparatus for a long time, physical fatigue is caused to the work. In addition, since the mowing apparatus includes a plurality of mowing blades, the risk of safety accident is high.
Technology for a mowing apparatus, which solves the problem and automates mowing work, is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/913,596, but mowing apparatuses of the related art are mainly designed for a narrow area, such as a garden of a general house or the like, and a standardized area such as a soccer filed or the like.
In particular, the related art mowing apparatus operates in a method where a signal line is separately set in a boundary area so as to differentiate mowing areas. An electromagnetic signal, a radio signal, or an optical signal is used as the signal line of the boundary area, and when the signal is emitted, a mowing robot recognizes a mowing boundary line by using a signal detector included in the mowing robot, and performs mowing work in a mowing area.
As described above, since a related art method of recognizing a mowing boundary area by using a signal line needs an additional apparatus for recognizing a boundary line, the related art method cannot recognize a work area when an error occurs in a signal line recognizing apparatus or a signal line, and moreover, in terms of cost and practicality, it is not appropriate to apply the related art method to a broad and irregular work area.
To overcome limitations of the mowing boundary area recognizing apparatus based on the signal line, a method was proposed in which metal or a magnet is provided near a boundary, and a mowing robot detects the metal or the magnet to recognize the boundary.
However, in the method, a separate apparatus provided near a boundary area is needed similarly to the method using the signal line, a sensor for sensing the separate apparatus is separately added, and mowing work is much affected by an external environment.
Moreover, technology of the related art for determining grass lengths determines whether to perform mowing work by using height information acquired by a lawn length sensor, and does not include a more accurate mowing control function that is performed depending on lawn lengths.

Mowing robot with mowing boundary area and grass length recognizer

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A control system of the invention for regulating a quantity to be controlled based on a deviation of the controlled quantity from a target value thereof and control parameters includes a behavior feature value calculator, a basic state judgment data calculator and a control parameter setter. The behavior feature value calculator detects the period or frequency of behaviors of a specific kind performed by a subject to be controlled. The basic state judgment data calculator calculates the amount of variations in the aforementioned period or frequency. The control parameter setter updates the value of at least one of the control parameters based on the amount of the aforementioned variations.

The present invention relates generally to a control system and a control method as well as to a control state judgment device and a control state judgment method. More particularly, the invention pertains to a system and a method which can offer an increased accuracy in detecting an oscillating state in feedback control operation.
A situation occasionally experienced in feedback control operation is oscillation of a controlled system, or subject, in which a deviation of a quantity to be controlled from a target value thereof cyclically increases and decreases in a regular pattern. It is desirable to instantly detect such an oscillating state and vary appropriate control parameters in a manner suitable for the situation.
When the controlled subject is subjected to cyclically occurring external disturbances, the deviation of the controlled quantity from the target value oscillates (repetitively increases and decreases) in a regular pattern. In the presence of such oscillation, it is difficult to distinguish between the oscillation caused by the disturbances and ordinary oscillation caused by the feedback control operation. In a process of controlling the heading of a ship, for example, it is difficult to distinguish between an oscillating state caused by feedback control operation and an oscillating state caused by the influence of such external disturbances as cyclical rises and falls of ocean waves. Although it might be possible to distinguish between two kinds of oscillation based on whether the amplitude of periodic changes in the controlled quantity exceeds a preset threshold or not, the value of the threshold to be preset greatly varies with the type and nature of the controlled subject and seriousness of disturbances, so that this threshold approach imposes a great deal of difficulty in designing a control system.


Programmable power management using a nanotube structure is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes coupling a nanotube structure of an integrated circuit to a conductive surface when a command is processed, and enabling a group of transistors of the integrated circuit based on the coupling the nanotube structure to the conductive surface. A current may be applied to the nanotube structure to couple the nanotube structure to the conductive surface. The nanotube structure may be formed from a material chosen from one or more of a polymer, carbon, and a composite material. The group of transistors may be enabled during an activation sequence of the integrated circuit. In addition, one or more transistors of the group of transistors may be disengaged from the one or more power sources (e.g., to minimize leakage) when the nanotube structure is decoupled from the conductive surface.

Conventional power management techniques (e.g. setting power of a voltage region) in an integrated circuit are static in nature (e.g., determined during a design phase). One such technique may involve using a low-voltage integrated circuit to reduce an amount of power required. However, this may reduce the integrated circuit's performance (e.g., maximum operable frequency may be lower).
Another technique involves assigning multiple pre-determined power regions with power regulators (e.g., to create different voltage levels on different parts of the integrated circuit). Multiple pre-determined power regions may be formed by combining lower and/or higher voltage circuits in the integrated circuit using custom power planes. In this case, expensive custom masks and/or specialized circuits that have a fixed association with a specific voltage plane may be required.
The integrated circuit may draw more power than is needed for an application even when part or all of the device is not being fully utilized. The definition of under utilization can include operating at frequencies beyond what is needed at the requisite voltages required to support that frequency of operation to parts of the device that are idled or 'static' and consuming power due to leakage. Leakage (e.g., undesired current that flows when a transistor is in the "off" state; for example, MOS/CMOS devices using ultra-thin gate oxide leakage current is primarily a tunneling current across the gate oxide) is a particularly troublesome problem because it is resistant to many conventional power management techniques. Effective power management of a integrated circuit is critical to effective use of the circuit. Too much power consumed may reduce battery life of a device incorporating the integrated circuit, and/or may cause overheating of the integrated circuit.


A capacitance transducer has a first hermetically sealed cavity adapted to deform in response to an applied force, such as pressure or acceleration, and a second hermetically sealed cavity adapted to resist deformation in response to such applied force. The cavities are formed between two doped silicon layers separated by a selectively etched electrically insulating spacer layer. Multiple medial electrically insulating cavity area spacer segments within the second cavity resist deformation thereof in response to the applied force to be measured. The capacitance transducer can be manufactured from doped silicon wafers using well developed silicon wafer processing techniques.

Variable capacitance semiconductor transducers with built-in reference capacitors have been constructed and used, for example, to sense pressure variations, acceleration forces and the like. Parallel plate capacitors are known wherein one plate is formed of a semiconductor material and the other plate is a dielectric, such as quartz. Generally, oppositely disposed surface areas of the respective plates are metalized to provide the conductive regions of the capacitor. Doping the semiconductor plate with a high impurity concentration has also been utilized to form a conductive region in the semiconductor capacitor plate. Typically, the semiconductor plate includes a thin diaphragm portion which deflects in response to the applied force, such as a pressure differential across it.
The accuracy of such semiconductor pressure transducers, especially in the microbar pressure range, is adversely effected by changes in capacitance due to thermal effects and other environmental conditions acting on the transducer additional to the force to be measured. Temperature changes cause variation in plate separation due to thermal expansion or contraction of the material acting as a spacer between the plates. Plate area is also varied by thermal expansion and contraction of the plates. These variations in plate separation and area are sometimes called thermal offset. Temperature changes may also cause deflection of the sensor diaphragm due to creation of stress within the diaphragm parallel to the surface of the plates.
Correction of these thermal effects, for example, by calibration or selection of dielectric material having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the semiconductor material, is expensive and time consuming and often not entirely effective. The accuracy and utility of a capacitive transducer can be enhanced if the thermal effects are distinguished from the effects of the pressure or other force being measured. A variable capacitance transducer is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,790 to Golke et al for measuring pressure variations, having an integrated semiconductor reference capacitance transducer. An epitaxial layer on the surface of a silicon substrate wafer forms a diaphragm over an aperture through the silicon wafer. A second similar area of the epitaxial layer is positioned over an area of the silicon substrate wafer having no such aperture. Thus, the second, reference transducer is not responsive to environmental pressure. By comparing the capacitance of the two transducers, the thermal and other effects which deform the reference transducer can be distinguished from the effects of the environmental pressure deforming the primary transducer.
The Golke patent suggests that in prior semiconductor transducers, thermal stress was almost totally due to the use of an upper plate of dielectric material having a different coefficient of thermal expansion from that of the lower semiconductor plate. The Golke device employs silicon wafers for both the upper and lower plate. The principle and reference transducers of the Golke device have a common upper plate of monocrystalline silicon doped with N+impurities to provide electrical conductivity. The gap between the upper plate and the two lower plates of the transducers is determined by the aggregate thickness of a number of stacked films plus eight polysilicon stops. The polysilicon stops are secured to a passivation layer on the upper plate by a thin film technique, such as vacuum deposition. Golke notes that the stops are preferably all of the same height to ensure an equal separation between the plates and the two transducers. There is a recognized need to ensure the uniformity of the spacing between the plates of transducer devices of this type, having reference transducers integrated with a primary transducer.

Capacitance transducer article and method of fabrication


Methods and compositions for synthesizing biopolymers using an intercalator are provided. Aspects provide compositions and methods for synthesizing biopolymers with non-natural backbones or non-natural biopolymer subunits using natural biopolymer templates. Other aspects provide compositions and methods for synthesizing biopolymers using a template with a non-natural backbone on non-natural biopolymer subunits.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to methods and compositions for the synthesis of biopolymers, in particular natural or non-natural nucleic acids and analogous polymers.
2. Related Art
DNA and RNA oligonucleotides, and their structural analogs, have found numerous applications as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Nucleic acids are the polymers used by living organisms for the storage of genetic information, and are thus a primary therapeutic target for the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases, and for vaccine development. During the past decade, interest in anti-sense and anti-gene therapy has motivated the development of DNA and RNA molecules that bind at specific points within the human genome or to specific messenger RNA sequences. More recently, the discovery of small RNA molecules that naturally interfere with gene expression has presented additional possibilities for how RNA may also be used to treat acquired and genetic diseases. Thus, methods to prepare RNA, DNA, and polymers in large scale are of great importance to the medical field for drug development and will soon be for use as therapeutics.
Living organisms, including humans, have developed protective mechanisms to degrade foreign nucleic acids that gain entry to the cells or the intercellular fluid of the organism. Such foreign, or exogenous, nucleic acids include RNA and DNA polymers introduced by naturally-occurring viruses. These same anti-pathogen defense mechanisms, however, also limit the lifetime of nucleic acid polymers introduced into a human body for therapeutic purposes. Thus, it is of great importance to develop methods for the improved synthesis of non-natural structural analogs of RNA and DNA that can function in similar capacities as natural nucleic acid polymers, but that are not susceptible to the same modes of enzymatic degradation. Structural analogs of the natural nucleic acids (or "non-natural" nucleic acids) include, but are not limited to, DNA and RNA-like polymers in which the natural backbone has been modified by the addition or removal of one or more chemical groups. These modifications range from the methylation of the ribose sugar, to the radical replacement of the backbone with a peptide-like backbone. Broadly defined, nucleic acids analogs, or non-natural nucleic acids, are any polymers that have chemical appendages to the polymer backbone similar in chemical structure to the natural nucleotide bases (i.e. A, adenine; C, cytosine; G, guanine; U, uridine; T, thymine) that allow the formation of base pairs for the transfer of nucleotide sequence information. Although the synthesis of natural nucleic acid polymers has become routine in many commercial and academic laboratories, the synthesis of non-natural nucleic acid polymers (i.e., synthetic analogs) is typically much more expensive and can require a substantial investment of time and resources for the development of a synthetic procedure for each new variation in nucleic acid chemical structure. Thus, methods that can facilitate the synthesis of natural and non-natural nucleic acids are of great economic and medicinal importance.
RNA and DNA molecules with a wide range of novel properties, including catalytic, molecular recognition and therapeutic activities, have been isolated from pools of RNA and DNA polymers, respectively, that initially contain a large number of random nucleotide sequences. This process is accomplished by multiple rounds of activity-based selection for nucleic acid molecules with a desired property from the pool of random sequences, followed by the enzymatic amplification of selected sequences using naturally-derived polymerases. Known as "in vitro selection" or "SELEX", this procedure represents one of the most powerful forms of combinatorial chemistry.
The enzymatic amplification of nucleic acid sequences during each cycle of the SELEX procedure is an essential component of this procedure, as nucleic acid amplification leads to the exponential enrichment of sequences in a sample that have the desired molecular properties. The polymerases used to amplify nucleic acid molecules as part of the SELEX process were initially isolated from living organisms, and are still produced within host cells by fermentation. The amino acid sequences of these polymerases are either identical to that derived from a natural source, or are a genetically-modified variant of a natural polymerase. Natural polymerases or derivatives thereof cannot synthesize non-natural nucleic acids.
A process similar to SELEX for the selective amplification of non-natural RNA-like polymers would undoubtedly produce molecules superior to RNA for many applications. For example, an RNA-like polymer with a backbone that is resistant to cleavage and degradation by natural ribonucleases could be far more effective as an antibiotic because it would have a longer active time within the body. Another example would be the selection of a catalytic RNA-like polymer with a non-natural backbone that has charged groups with a pKa near neutrality. Such a catalyst would be sensitive to pH, and thus small changes in pH could be used to regulate catalytic activity. However, because naturally-derived nucleic acid polymerases can only replicate RNA or DNA, the realization of in vitro selection with non-natural polymers will either require extensive evolution of existing polymerases, or the development of new methods for molecular replication. An editorial on the SELEX procedure by a pioneer of this technique clearly states that the ability to accomplish in vitro selection using naturally-derived polymerases comes with the severe limitation that selection can only be carried out with natural polymers (Szostak, 1997). Thus, it is well appreciated by experts in this field that methods to replicate non-natural polymers would greatly expand the power of in vitro selection. Accordingly, the development of improved methods for the enzyme-free synthesis of nucleic acids and analogous polymers could be of great value to the fields of polymer chemistry, materials science, biotechnology and medicine.
Those skilled in the art of nucleic acid synthesis have toiled for decades to improve methods for enzyme-free template-directed synthesis of nucleic acids with only modest gains. For example, considerable effort has focused on the potential for inorganic cations to improve existing methods for the chemical coupling of nucleic acids in aqueous solution (Lohrmann et al, 1980; Rohatgi et al., 1996). In contrast, virtually no studies have investigated the possibility that a specific interaction between a small molecule and the nucleic acid bases could be used to enhance enzyme-free synthesis of nucleic acid polymers.
Thus, the collective body of research conducted by the scientific and medical communities demonstrates a need for more efficient methods for the chemical ligation of both natural and non-natural oligonucleotides in aqueous solution. Furthermore, there is a need for methods to efficiently couple nucleic acid polymers in solution using catalysts that are easily separated from the product molecules, so that the products can subsequently be used in therapeutic applications. An efficient, enzyme-free method for the coupling of both natural and non-natural nucleic acid oligonucleotides along a template strand would have substantial commercial value, as such methods will enable the in vitro selection of non-natural nucleic acid polymers with desirable therapeutic and catalytic properties.

Intercalation-mediated synthesis of polymers


The present invention teaches an antitheft device whereby the detection accuracy of an unauthorized intruder into a vehicle can be improved, comprising a section for judging whether or not there is an approaching object T toward a vehicle M based on information obtained from a surround monitoring sensor for monitoring the surround of the vehicle M, a section for judging whether or not the approaching object T toward the vehicle M is a suspicious person based on information obtained from a motion sensor for monitoring the periphery and/or the inside of the vehicle M when it is judged that there is an approaching object T toward the vehicle M, and a section for conducting processing such as lighting-on of an indicator when the approaching object T toward the vehicle M is judged to be a suspicious person.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antitheft device, a monitoring device and an antitheft system and, more particularly, to an antitheft device for preventing vehicle theft, a monitoring device for monitoring a vehicle and an antitheft system.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Both the number of cases and the incidence of theft such as vehicle theft and theft from a vehicle are tending upward. Therefore, in recent years, various antitheft devices for preventing vehicle theft (including theft from a vehicle) have been proposed (for example, Japanese Kokai No. 1999-7561 and No. 2000-231691).
FIG. 29 is a block diagram schematically showing the principal part of an antitheft system comprising a conventional antitheft device. Reference numeral 1 in the figure represents an antitheft device, comprising a microcomputer 2 including a CPU 3, and a ROM 4 and a RAM 5, an EEPROM 6 in which an ID code preset for each vehicle, and a receiving section 7 for receiving signals (signals including an ID code) sent from a portable transmitter 13 an authorized driver carries with him/her.
The microcomputer 2 is connected to a door open/closed state detection sensor 8 for detecting the open/closed state of doors, a door locked state detection sensor 9 for detecting the locked/unlocked state of the doors, an intrusion detection sensor 10 for detecting intruding objects into a vehicle, an audible alarm generator 11 for generating an audible alarm and a communication device 12 for reporting to the police, a security company or the like.
The microcomputer 2 sets or cancels an arming mode for being on the alert for vehicle theft and the like, based on a signal sent from the portable transmitter 13, the ID code stored in the EEPROM 6, the open/closed state of the doors and the locked/unlocked state thereof.
For example, when a proper ID code, or the ID code stored in the EEPROM 6 is received with all the doors locked, the arming mode is selected. On the other hand, when the proper ID code is received with all the doors unlocked, the arming mode is canceled.
When an intruder into the vehicle is detected by the intrusion detection sensor 10 with the arming mode set, the microcomputer 2 controls the audible alarm generator 11 so as to generate an audible alarm, or controls the communication device 12 so as to report the occurrence of vehicle theft to a security company or the like. Thus, by sounding an alarm or reporting to a security company or the like when an intruder into the vehicle was detected by the intrusion detection sensor 10, it appears to become possible to restrict damage to a minimum even if the damage was caused by vehicle theft or the like.
As a conventional intruder detection sensor, a vibration sensor for detecting breaking of glass and a sensor for ultrasonically detecting the motion of a person who intruded into the vehicle without authorization are exemplified, but there is a possibility that these sensors frequently cause errors in detection. For example, a cat walking on the vehicle roof or a person who passed by the vehicle might be detected as an intruder.
In order to reduce such errors in detection, the sensitivity of these sensors may be set lower, but the lower sensitivity might have the opposite effect of being incapable of detecting an intruder to be detected.
As described above, by sounding an alarm or reporting to a security company or the like when an intruder into the vehicle was detected by the intrusion detection sensor 10, it appears to become possible to minimize damage even if the damage was caused by vehicle theft or the like.
However, modi operandi of thefts have been sophisticated, for example, they wait for an alarm to stop, or they previously work for preventing an alarm from sounding. Therefore, antitheft devices having higher effects of crime prevention have been required. And it is also extremely important to appropriately monitor approaching objects toward the vehicle for the prevention of theft.

Antitheft device, monitoring device and antitheft system


In a valve device for a fuel tank, a fuel liquid level of filling-up fuel feed and an allowable fuel amount of additional fuel feed can be easily and appropriately changed by replacing only a part of components forming the valve device. A first valve chamber has a structure of positioning an open end below a support portion of a first float having a passage portion for a fluid. A second valve chamber includes a support portion of a second float having a passage portion for the fluid. The first valve chamber and the second valve chamber are formed by fitting a lower-portion including the support portion and the open end of the first float and the support portion of the second float relative to an upper-portion including a first valve opening and a second valve opening.

The present invention relates to an improvement of a valve device for a fuel tank attached to a fuel tank of an automobile, a two-wheel vehicle, and the like so as to form one portion of a ventilation passage of the fuel tank for communicating inside and outside of the fuel tank in an open valve state.
There is a valve device for a fuel tank shown in Patent Document 1 wherein two floats are housed in a parallel manner inside a case having a circular shape on an outline in horizontal cross section, and the two floats float up in stages by a fuel liquid level inside the fuel tank to close two valve openings (sealing seats) so as to detect filling-up fuel by a sensor of a fuel feed gun, and carry out an automatic stop of fuel feed, and subsequent additional fuel feed.
Patent Document 1
Japanese Patent No. 3966762


Compression, transmission and decompression of gray-tone imagery data includes receiving a gray-tone image suitable for printing at least a portion of a pattern onto a substrate by operation of an electron beam lithography system, aggregating sets of lines of the gray-tone image into trilines, sequentially encoding each of the trilines of the gray-tone image by operation of one or more encoders, the one or more encoders equipped with a codebook configured to store a plurality of triline fragments and a write location and transmitting the encoded trilines of the gray-tone image to a set of decoders of the digital pattern generator via a set of data pathways established between the one or more encoders and each of the decoders.

A lithographic process includes the patterned exposure of a resist allowing portions of the resist to be selectively removed, thereby exposing underlying areas for selective processing, such as etching, material deposition, ion implantation and the like. Typically, lithographic processes utilize ultraviolet light for selective exposure of the resist. In addition, charged particle beams (e.g., electron beams) have been used for high resolution lithographic resist exposure. The use of e-beam based lithography systems allows for relatively accurate control of the electron beam at relatively low power and relatively high speed.
Electron-beam lithography has typically been limited to applications which do not require high throughput due to practical limitations, such as limitations on beam current. The maskless reflective electron beam lithography system utilizes a unique patterning transducer which partially overcomes these limitations and enables higher total currents and potentially higher throughput than was available in prior systems. Due to the high system throughput there is now a need for a high rate of pattern data flow since geometric data must be communicated to the electron-beam tool's print head, which becomes problematic as throughput increases. An additional feature of reflective electron beam lithography (REBL) is that the patterning transducer is maintained at elevated electrical potential, requiring pattern data to be transmitted to it over fiber optic links.
In raster-style electron-beam lithography systems, pattern data transmission has usually not employed data compression, as a bit-stream, in the case of binary beam-blanking, or a byte-stream, in the case of gray-tone blanking, has been sufficient to supply pattern data at the needed rates. However, in the REBL system, each digital pattern device (DPG) may consume pattern data at rates up to ˜0.5 terabyte/second, a high rate even by the standards of today's commercial telecommunications systems. Without data compression, REBL's data system would require a large number of optical fibers and fiber-optical components, making the packaging of these parts of the system ungainly and complex.
There are currently numerous general purpose compression methods. However, common methods involve decompression algorithms which are relatively complex, and as a result may not be suitable for 'on-chip' implementation in a system like REBL, whose patterning transducer (the dynamic pattern generator) consists of a CMOS chip in which numerous data streams must be simultaneously decompressed and which must therefore accommodate multiple copies of the de-compression circuit. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and system suitable for curing the defects of the prior art.

System and method for compressed data transmission in a maskless lithography system


A programmable streaming data processor that can be programmed to recognize record and field structures of data received from a streaming data source such as a mass storage device. Being programmed with, for example, field information, the unit can locate record and field boundaries and employ logical arithmetic methods to compare fields with one another or with values otherwise supplied by general purpose processors to precisely determine which records are worth transferring to memory of the more general purpose distributed processors. The remaining records arrive and are discarded by the streaming data processor or are tagged with status bits to indicate to the more general purpose processor that they are to be ignored. In a preferred embodiment, the streaming data processor may analyze and discard records for several reasons. The first reason may be an analysis of contents of the field. Other reasons for record blocking may have to do with tagging records that are to be visible to particular users depending upon a series of concurrent transactions.

This invention relates to distributed data processing systems that use multiple processing unit groups, and in particular to a programmable streaming data processor that performs initial primitive functions before data is further handled by a more general purpose job processor.
Among the applications that continue to make the greatest demands on data processing systems are those that require management of massive amounts of information. Indeed, the ability to efficiently access data stored in related files, most commonly known as Data Base Management Systems (DBMS), continues to drive development of complex but efficient system architectures. Present day DBMS systems are used to manage many different forms of data, including not only field oriented records but almost any form of data including text, images, sound, video clips and similar less structured data. DBMSs are, therefore, now expected to provide an efficient, consistent, and secure method to store and retrieve data of varying types.
It is now common in high performance systems to distribute the processing load among multiple processors, and thus provide for processing of data in parallel. These systems take a data query such as may be presented in a Structured Query Language (SQL), and develop an optimized plan for parallel execution. One processor may be used as a dispatcher to analyze the query, set up communication links between the various parallel processors, instruct the processors as to how to carry out the query, and insure that results are sent back to the server that initiated the query. Therefore, in such a distributed environment, data may typically be stored on an array of storage devices. One or more computers attached to the disk drives are responsible for reading data and analyzing it, by executing portions of the query.
Even though queries may be optimized for parallel processing in this manner, the problem with such a system is that data must be still retrieved from the disk and placed in a processor's memory prior to analyzing it. Only then can the processors operate on the data. Thus, although this approach off loads specific jobs from the responsibility of a single processor, valuable time is still spent in the process of data retrieval and storage among the distributed processors. Even if only a portion of the data retrieved is extraneous, the time spent fetching it is wasted.
The speed at which data analysis can be performed is limited to the speed at which the entire set of data can be transferred into one of the distributed processor's memories and, processed by its Central Processing Unit (CPU). Disks are inexpensive; thus, many disks can be used to store extremely large databases. Since all of them may be read in parallel, the effective data transfer rate of such a system is almost arbitrarily fast. Usually the bandwidth of the communication network connecting the distributed processors is less than the aggregate data transfer rate of the disks. Furthermore, the time required by the CPUs to analyze the data retrieved from the disks is typically far longer than the time required to retrieve the data. Bottlenecks occur, thus, either in the communication network or in the CPU processing, but not on the disks themselves.
Certain development efforts known as active disk drives and/or intelligent drives, have attempted to push processing bottlenecks from the network down to the disk elements themselves. Such efforts sought to place a processor directly on the disks, such as located on a hardware interface card connected to a disk drive device. This assembly of custom hardware card and disk then acts as a high powered disk drive. By placing methods for intelligently filtering and retrieving data on the local disk, this approach reduces the load on a host computer's Central Processing Unit. However, this approach requires custom disk assemblies so that industry standard disk drive interfaces must be modified. This increases the overall cost and complexity of installation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to a method for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of multiple sclerosis, and to the use of erythropoietin for this purpose and for the manufacture of a medicament for the intermittent treatment and/or intermittent prophylaxis of multiple sclerosis.

The present invention relates to a method for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of multiple sclerosis and also the use of erythropoietin for this purpose and also for the production of a drug for intermittent treatment and/or intermittent prophylaxis of multiple sclerosis.
With approx. 80 to 110 cases of multiple sclerosis (MS) per 100,000 persons, multiple sclerosis is the most frequent chronic disease of the central nervous system. A third of patients thereby shows a primary or secondary progressive course of the multiple sclerosis, for which no therapy has been available to date. In particular no therapy is available which would achieve an improvement in the symptoms.
Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein produced naturally in the body, having a molecular weight of 34,000 D. It is an essential growth factor for the production of erythrocytes and was isolated for the first time already in 1977.
Erythropoietin has been in frequent clinical use for many years in patients with renal anaemia, in the case of nephrodialysis, in order to obtain fairly large quantities of autologous blood before planned operations, and it also appeared in press headlines as a doping agent.
Erythropoietin thereby proved to be exceptionally well tolerated. There should be mentioned as a relevant side-effect, in particular the often therapeutically desired stimulation of haematopoiesis with polyglobuly as well as arterial hypertension which is rarely to be observed. Both effects can be expected mainly after chronic erythropoietin administration. If required, these can be remedied relatively easily by medicinal treatment or blood-letting. Intolerance reactions or anaphylactic reactions are rarities with erythropoietin. WO 00/61164 discloses the use of EPO for the protection of neuronal tissue, in particular also of the central nervous system. It is mentioned in passing in this document that multiple sclerosis might also be treated with EPO.
There is considered by EPO or erythropoietin in the sense of the present invention and also in WO 00/61164, any erythropoietin, whether native or recombinant, from humans or another mammal, whether in native sequence or even after sequence changes or sequence shortening, any type of erythropoietin analogue, erythropoietin fragments or even substances binding to the erythropoietin receptor or erythropoietin agonists. The definition for erythropoietin or EPO according to WO 00/61164 is adopted in its entirety in the present application. Accordingly, by EPO and by erythropoietin any substance is meant, which can activate EPO-activated receptors in systemic application, i.e. also any type of variants, fragments or analogues. Further useable EPO variants are published for example in the following publications:
Leist et al., Science 2004, Vol. 305, pp. 239-242, WO 86/03520, WO 85/02610, WO 90/11354, WO 91/06667, WO 91/09955, WO 93/09222, WO 94/12650, WO 95/31560, WO 95/05465.
An overview of known EPO variants and analogues which can also be used in their entirety in the present invention and also of their known fields of use appears in Brines and Cerami, Nature Reviews, Neuroscience, June 2005, Vol. 6, pages 484-494.
It is not of particular relevance in the present invention whether the EPO analogues or erythropoietin fragments which are used have a haematopoietic effect or not. This is explained more precisely further on.
WO 00/61164 in fact discloses the use of EPO for the treatment of multiple sclerosis but indicates no experimental data or treatment regime.

Method for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of multiple sclerosis, and use of erythropoietin for the manufacture of a medicament for the intermittent treatment and/or intermittent prophylaxis of multiple sclerosis


A binder locking clip (100) used with a binder metal (10) having a locking member (50) with a slot (62) formed therein. The clip has a first leg (102) and a second leg (104). The legs are spaced apart from each other and one of the legs has a detent (106) formed in it. The detent fits in the slot and engages a post (56) with respect to which the slot is movable when the locking member is moved. The clip engages the post when the frame member is moved in a direction by which the binder metal can be opened to prevent movement of the locking member in that direction.

This invention relates to binders employing a post and sleeve or "catalog" metal, and more particularly, to a clip for locking the metal closed during shipment or storage of the binder.
Catalog binders are binders used to hold a substantial quantity of material. Typically the binder is sized to individuals sheets of material which, for a catalog, would include pages having part numbers, part specifications, prices, etc. The binder would be kept at a counter or desk for ready reference by sales people, countermen, etc. to look up needed information for servicing a customer. Since catalogs are continually updated with new pages, the binders are provided with a metal the is referred to as a post and sleeve type metal. That is, the metal includes a hinged section having a frame with a series of spaced sleeves extending orthogonally from the frame. A second frame element has a series of spaced posts received in the sleeves. This frame element locks to one side of the metal. When the metal is unlocked, the second frame element is removed from the first. This allows catalog pages to be inserted in the binder. After insertion, the second frame element is intermitted with the first and locked in place.
It has been found that when the binders are shipped from a distribution center to satellite stores or offices, the weight of the catalog pages stored in the binder can cause the binder to come open. When this occurs, the two frame elements can separate from one another resulting in the binder's contents spilling out. The result is a mess. Pages can be lost or misfiled when everything is reassembled. It would be convenient to have a simple mechanism which would prevent this problem from occurring.


A infrared ray detector includes a first metal layer; a second metal layer on the first metal layer and configured to absorb infrared rays; a thermistor layer below the second metal layer, the thermistor layer having a resistance that changes according to infrared rays absorbed in the second metal layer; a thermal leg below the thermistor layer and separated from the first metal layer; and a control unit configured to control a gap between the first metal layer and the thermal leg.

1. Field
At least one example embodiment relates to infrared ray detectors and/or methods of detecting infrared rays using the same, and more particularly, to infrared ray detectors that compensate for temperatures and/or methods of detecting infrared rays using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An object having a temperature T radiates a wide range of light, which has a maximum value at a specific wavelength due to blackbody radiation. For example, light radiated to surroundings from an object having a temperature T radiates infrared rays having a maximum value at a wavelength of approximately 10 μm. When the infrared rays are incident to a thermal mass that is supported by a thermal leg, the temperature of the infrared rays is increased. Due to the temperature change of the incident infrared rays, characteristic changes of a material, such as, resistance change, polarity change, electromotive force change, or bending change may be obtained according to the type of material. Thus, a thermal image may be obtained using the thermal characteristics of the material. In particular, a method of realizing a thermal image using a resistance change of a material may involve a bolometer.
Key factors that determine the magnitude of a temperature change in a pixel are an amount of incident energy that is proportional to the multiple of an average optical absorption rate of a pixel at a given wavelength range and the area of the pixel, a thermal mass of the pixel, and a thermal conductance of the pixel.
In order to realize a thermal camera having a high resolution and a high temperature precision, an array having a format higher than a VGA class has been developed through a reduction of pixel size. However, the reduction of the pixel size results in the reduction of a pixel area, which reduces the amount of incident energy and reduces the length of the thermal leg. As a result, the thermal conductivity of the pixel is increased, and accordingly, the temperature change thereof is reduced and the temperature noise figure is increased. Therefore, currently, a pixel size is limited by a diffraction limit of the wavelength (˜10 lm), where an object radiates infrared rays having a maximum value.

Infrared ray detector and method of detecting infrared rays by using the same


An aspheric face form measuring method calculates phase information of interference light from light intensity of a fringe pattern image obtained by detecting interference light that is formed by measurement light and reference light reflected off a subject aspheric face being overlaid. The method changes a relative distance between an optical system and the subject aspheric face and transitions a position of a null region. The method performs calculation of form data for a vertical incident region where measurement light is vertically incident to the subject aspheric face, using phase information and a scanning amount. The method performs calculations of form data, of the null regions, a non-vertical incident region that is outside of the vertical incident region. The method also composites a plurality of partial form data of the subject aspheric face previously calculated, using each of a plurality of the phase information and scanning amounts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to aspheric face form measuring to measure a form such as an aspheric face optical element or the like, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an interferometer has been widely used as a form measuring apparatus to perform form measuring of work where high precision is desired, such as optical parts of a semiconductor exposure apparatus or the like. An interferometer divides a beam of light emitted from a light source into a reference light and measurement light, recombines the measurement light and reference light that have been reflected from a subject face, and by detecting the combined light here (interference light) obtains a fringe pattern image. A phase is calculated from the optical strength of the fringe pattern image, and the phase there of is converted into height information, whereby form measurement of a subject face is performed.
Now, in the event of the above-described form measuring being performed, if the obtained fringe pattern image is a single color stripe overall (one color), the image thereof can be used to perform form measuring of the entire subject face. However, in the case that the subject face is an aspheric form, a sparse portion (portion where the stripe is one color) and a dense portion will arise in the fringe pattern. In the portion of the fringe pattern that is sparse, the curvatures of the spherical face and subject face of the measurement light are roughly the same, whereby the measurement light reflects off the subject face and returns by the same optical path, and other than a optical path difference that occurs by reflecting off the subject face, little optical path difference occurs as compared to the reference light. On the other hand, in the portion where the fringe pattern is dense, the optical path difference of the measurement light and referencing light, which results from the measurement light not being vertically incident as to the subject face, is not negligible, and if the measurement error is great, performing form measurement is difficult, which is complicated by a problem with sensor resolution.
Now, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-45168, various methods such as a so-called ring stitch method have been proposed as a method to measure an aspheric form. This ring stitch method changes the relative distance between a subject aspheric face and the origination point of measurement light (e.g. a pinhole or reference sphere face), and obtains a fringe pattern image while the fringe pattern moves a sparse portion (ring null region) in the diameter direction. From the fringe pattern from the obtained fringe pattern images, phase data of the sparse portions that can be used to measure form is obtained, the multiple points of phase data are connected, and transformed into height data, thereby obtaining the form of the subject aspheric face.
Now recently, EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) light has been proposed as a light source to be used in semiconductor exposure apparatuses, and there is demand for measurement of the form of the subject with even higher precision.
In an EUV exposure apparatus, a projection optical system is configured with aspheric mirrors throughout, and a form measuring apparatus disclosed in PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2008-532010 (P. 33, FIG. 24) has been proposed as a measuring device that can measure a high precision aspheric optical device such as an EUV exposure apparatus mirror at a precision greater than the precision in demand (e.g. 0.1 nm RMS).
The form measuring apparatus disclosed in PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2008-532010 (P. 33, FIG. 24) has a basic configuration of a Fizeau interferometer which causes the reference light reflected off a reference sphere and the light that transmits the reference sphere and reflects off the subject aspheric face to interfere, and obtains the fringe pattern with two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. According to this form measuring apparatus, unlike the above-described ring stitch method, the difference between the fringe pattern phase of the aspheric face ring portion and the fringe pattern phase of the ring null region are used to express unevenness information in the vertical direction as to the subject aspheric face. Also, the horizontal coordinates, i.e. coordinate information on a plane vertical to the aspheric face axis (center axis) of the subject aspheric face are obtained from the scanning amounts of the subject aspheric face. Approximate values of the scanning amounts of the subject aspheric face can be measured with an end-measuring machine. Further, high precision measurements based on the fringe pattern phases are realized by using the fringe pattern phases on the aspheric axis portion of the subject aspheric face and correcting the measurement values of the end-measuring machine.
The measuring method of the form measuring apparatus disclosed in PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2008-532010 (P. 33, FIG. 24) is called a fringe pattern zone scanning method. The features thereof include measuring the phase difference and scanning amount using the fringe pattern phase of an aspheric face axis portion and the fringe pattern phase of a ring null region, and the distance information from the end-measuring machine, and finding three-dimensional form information of the subject aspheric face by solving a predetermined equation. That is to say, the form of the portion of a subject aspheric face can be directly obtained from just a pair of fringe pattern phase and end-measuring information, whereby measurement information of adjacent steps is unnecessary. Therefore, for example, accumulation of measurement error which becomes a problem in form-measuring methods such as the above-described ring stitch method does not occur, and high precision measuring can be performed.
The method in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-45168 has various innovations so that the error does not accumulate in the Z-axis direction, but error accumulation in the horizontal coordinates is not taken into consideration. Also, the inaccuracy of using the phase data for the entire ring null region is not taken into consideration.
On the other hand, the method in PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2008-532010 (P. 33, FIG. 24) has high measurement precision, but of the fringe pattern phases in the ring null regions, only the forms for the vertical incident region where measurement light is incident vertical to the subject face can be measured. Therefore, in the case of measuring the form of the entire face of the subject face, just a circular cross-section form can be obtained from the phase information of one step, and in order to measure the form of the entire face at sufficient data density, a large number of steps is needed, leading to a problem in that the measuring takt time becomes that much longer.

Aspheric face form measuring method, form measuring program, and form measuring apparatus


A disposable mask that includes a filter media capable of filtering particles of a size appropriate for its purposes, while providing excellent breathability. The mask is formed from multiple layers of filtration material having the general configuration of a trapezoid. The mask is secured by straps to the head of a wearer. The straps are arranged to be approximately coextensive with a line extending from the edges which define the opening of the mask so that the edges are pulled into tight sealing engagement with the face of the wearer.

Disposable masks have been manufactured for many years. In the medical field, most of these masks have been for use in preventing contamination of a patient by the breath of healthcare personnel. In recent years with increased concern for infection of healthcare personnel with airborne pathogens, such as the hepatitis B virus, it has become necessary to prevent not only the contamination of patients due to exhalation from healthcare personnel, but also to prevent infection of healthcare personnel due to inhalation of airborne infection particles. It has become even more important in view of the advent of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the recent increase in infectious tuberculosis associated with many HIV patients.
In addition, it has been found that aerosols having airborne liquid and solid particles are generated not only by the exhalation of infected patients, but also by certain procedural manipulations and processes that impart energy to any microbial suspension. Surgical procedures involving use of drills and saws are particularly prolific producers of the aerosols which may contain tuberculosis, HIV or other pathogens from an infected patient. Concern with tuberculosis has been increasing since new strains of the disease show strong resistances to multiple types of drug treatment.
In addition, it has been shown that many of the viral hemorrhagic fevers such as yellow fever, Rift Valley fever and perhaps Rocky Mountain spotted fever, rabies and smallpox can be transmitted through aerosols. A considerable number of studies have been made which are now beginning to identify the transmission of such viruses through "non-accident" situations. Accordingly, it is now believed that many of those "non-accident" situations result from aerosol contamination.
Of the current medical masks on the market, it appears that many are not effective against aerosols. One of the presently available molded-type surgical masks has almost no resistance to particles smaller than 2 microns and has a low efficiency in blocking particles as large as 9 microns. Some masks apparently demonstrate somewhat better qualities, but none appeared to be fully satisfactory in preventing the passage of aerosols through the mask or around the periphery of the mask.
One type of mask is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,012,505 issued on Aug. 27, 1935 to S. J. Goldsmith. Another type of disposable face mask is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,567. This mask is molded and has been especially configured in an effort to avoid the leakage of the flow of gases past the edges of the mask. Obviously, leakage cannot be tolerated when attempting to control aerosols. U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,341 issued Aug. 19, 1986 to Vance M. Hubbard and Welton K. Brunson shows a conventional rectangular face mask having a trapezoidal pleat. Rectangularly shaped masks, including the mask shown in patent '341, have less than the optimal fit to prevent the passage of aerosols between the periphery of the masks and a wearer's face. An additional folded type mask is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,566 issued Aug. 25, 1987 to Elvin L. Boyce. This patent illustrates another attempt to prevent the flow of fluids past the edges of a mask.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a mask which will prevent the passage of aerosols through the mask and maintain the ability of the mask to provide a sufficiently low pressure drop so that the wearer can breathe comfortably. A further need has arisen for a mask to seal totally around the periphery of the mask to prevent bypass of aerosols between the edges of the mask and the face of a wearer.


An integrated circuit comparator comprises a differential amplifier, a source follower circuit coupled to a gate terminal of a first transistor in the differential amplifier, and an output circuit. One or more source follower circuits may be utilized in connection with the differential amplifier, and one or more source follower circuits may be utilized in connection with the output circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application is related to U.S. Ser. No. 09/651,631, filed on Aug. 30, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,512,400. The present application is also related to U.S. Ser. No. 10/298,626, filed on Nov. 18, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,021.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional CMOS voltage comparator 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The CMOS voltage comparator 10 includes a differential amplifier 11 and an inverter 12. A reference voltage VR is applied to one input of the differential amplifier 11, i.e., a gate terminal of a transistor 21, and an input voltage V1 to be compared to the reference voltage is applied to another input to the differential amplifier 11, i.e., a gate terminal of a transistor 22. In operation, when the input voltage V1 becomes higher than the reference voltage VR, an output signal on a line 25 switches from a low voltage, for example, a logic level "zero," to a high voltage, for example, a logic level "one." When the input voltage V1 becomes lower than the reference voltage VR, the transistor 22 turns off, the input signal to the inverter 12 becomes high, and the output signal VOUT changes from a high state to a low state. In this manner, the input voltage V1 is compared to the reference voltage VR. Ideally, the transition between logic levels at the output line 25 will occur when V1 is equal to VR, there being no offset voltage. Also ideally, the transition between logic levels will occur with no time delay, the speed of the comparator 10 being very fast. These ideals are rarely, if ever, attained.
Comparators are widely used in integrated circuits, for example, in analog-to-digital converters and as voltage signal receivers on interconnections and clock distribution lines. Two primary concerns in the application of comparators are the mismatch of transistor characteristics, resulting in voltage offsets, and the speed of operation, or time delay in operation. Because one of the basic components of a comparator is a differential amplifier, which typically involves three transistors coupled in series, operation of the comparator becomes slower and less reliable as power supply voltages are reduced. Lower power supply voltages result in lower magnitudes of the excess of gate voltage above the threshold voltage of the MOS transistors. The switching current, or saturation current, depends upon the square of this excess gate voltage:Ids=(uCo) (W/L) (VGS−VT)2/2The time, t, required to discharge a capacitor with charge Q can be estimated as:t=Q/IdsIf the excess of gate-to-source voltage above threshold (VGS−VT) is small, the delay time will be long, and the circuits will operate at low switching speeds.
The inverter 12 of FIG. 1 is a conventional single-ended input, single-ended output, CMOS amplifier. To illustrate the operation of the inverter amplifier 12, assume a power supply potential 26 is 1.6 volts, i.e., VDD equals 1.6 volts DC. Assume further that the quiescent input and output voltages are at VDD/2, or 0.8 volts DC. Both the PMOS transistor 28 and the NMOS transistor 30 are assumed, for purposes of illustration, to have matching characteristics and matching threshold voltages of 0.5 volts. That is, VTN equals 0.5 volts, and VTP equals −0.5 volts. In practice, different sizes or W/L ratios can be used to compensate for the fact that the transistors do not have matching characteristics. Assuming the stated values, the turn-on time for the inverter amplifier 12 is approximately three nanoseconds, whereas, the turn-off time for the inverter amplifier 12 is on the order of tens of nanoseconds.
Low switching speeds and circuit functional failure at low power supply voltages are even more acute in differential amplifiers that form part of a comparator circuit, such as the comparator circuit 10 of FIG. 1. In the differential amplifier 11 of the comparator circuit 10 of FIG. 1, three devices, transistors 21, 23, 24, are coupled in series between the power supply potential 26 and the power supply ground 29. Also, three other transistors 22, 24, 27 are coupled in series between the power supply potential 26 and the power supply ground 29. Each of the transistors 21, 22, 23, 24, 27 needs a reasonable magnitude of excess gate voltage above threshold to operate properly. With the power supply potential 26 equal to 1.5 volts DC, the turn-on time for the comparator 10 is just over one nanosecond, while the turn-off time is on the order of 3–4 nanoseconds. When the power supply potential 26 is dropped to 1.2 volts DC, the turn-on time lengthens to approximately 4 nanoseconds, while the turn-off time lengthens to approximately 6 nanoseconds. When the power supply potential 26 is dropped even further, to 0.9 volts DC, the turn-on time for the comparator 10 is again approximately 4 nanoseconds, but the turn-off time approaches 10 nanoseconds, becoming so long that the comparator 10 begins to function incorrectly.
The present invention is directed to eliminating, or at least reducing the effects of, some or all of the aforementioned problems.


A power on/off mechanism of a plug-in unit driven by an insertion/ejection device in a printed circuit board (PCB) which is adapted to various power switch on/off switches in accordance with a characteristic of a plug-in unit, thus reducing manufacturing costs and easily maintaining parts. The mechanism includes a power switch on/off lever having a protrusion formed in one end thereof which is inserted into a guide groove formed in a center portion of the handle when inserting/ejecting the plug-in unit and a jaw formed in another end thereof for receiving the power switch lever. The power switch on/off lever is inserted into a lever engaging hole formed in the bracket, and the power switch lever is position in the interior of the jaw. When plug-in unit is inserted into the sub-rack, one end of the power switch on/off lever is inserted into the guide groove formed in the handle, the protrusion of the lever is lowered along the guide groove, the other end of the lever is lifted, and the power switch lever in the interior of the jaw of the lever turns to the on state. When ejecting the plug-in unit from the sub-rack, one end of the power switch on/off lever is ejected from the guide groove of the handle, the protrusion of the lever is lifted along the guide groove, and the power switch lever turns to the off state from the on state through a dead point.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power switch on/off mechanism of a plug-in unit driven by an insertion/ejection device in a PCB (Printed Circuit Board), and particularly, to an improved power switch on/off mechanism of a plug-in unit driven by an insertion/ejection device in a PCB wherein a power switch installed in a plug-in unit can be activated in cooperation with a PCB insertion/ejection device which is used for inserting/ejection a plug-in unit into/from a sub-rack assembly.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
As the construction of the electronic system becomes complicated and high-integrated, a plurality of accurate electronic elements are mounted in a circuit pack. Therefore, the input/output (I/O) per PCB, namely, the number of connector pins reaches about 1,000.
Therefore, when inserting/ejecting a plug-in unit (a circuit pack) into/from a sub-rack of a system, when the connector pins of the plug-in unit are connected with the connector pins of a backplane installed in a sub-rack assembly and are separated therefrom, the connector pins do not concurrently contact therewith, so that the power is supplied to the plug-in unit under an unstable and inaccurate connection condition therebetween, thus causing a malfunction and damage of the circuit system.
In order to prevent the above-described problems, an on/off mechanism of a plug-in unit power switch is provided in an insertion/ejection device which is used for inserting/ejecting a plug-in unit into/from a sub-rack of the system and a printed circuit board (PCB), so that the power is supplied to the circuit system in such a manner that the connection pins of the plug-in unit and the connector pins of the backplane of the sub-rack assembly are accurately connected, and the supply of the power to the circuit system is stopped before the connector pins of the plug-in unit and the connector pins of the backplane of the sub-rack assembly are separated from each other, thus increasing the reliability of the system.
FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an operational sequence whereby a conventional circuit pack power on/off mechanism of an insertion/ejection device activates a power switch installed in a printed circuit board (PCB).
As shown therein, in the conventional circuit pack power on/off mechanism, a plug-in unit power switch 540 is installed in a printed circuit board (PCB) 550. A power switch lever 530 is installed in one end of the power switch 540. A power switch on/off protrusion 560 is integrated within handle 510 wherein the power switch lever 530 is inserted into the interior of a jaw 520 for an on/off operation of the power switch lever 530.
As shown in FIG. 9A, in order to install the plug-in unit into the sub-rack assembly, the handle 510 is upwardly moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in the drawings, the plug-in unit is forwardly moved along a guide rail 570. Thereafter, the handle 510 is further moved, the connector pins of the plug-in unit and the connection pins of the backplane are not accurately connected. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9B, the power switch on/off protrusion 560 of the handle 510 is inserted into the power switch lever 530 inside the jaw 520, so that the lever 530 is set at an on-state.
However, in the conventional on/off mechanism of the plug-in unit power switch, since the power switch lever 530 is converted into an on-state in a state that the connection pins of the plug-in unit and the connector pins of the backplane are nearly connected, the power switch on/off protrusion 560 is integral with the handle 510, and the handle 510 and the power switch on/off protrusion 560 are integrally moved, when inserting/ejecting the plug-in unit, the connection pins of the plug-in unit and the connector pins of the backplane may be separated from each other before the power switch lever 530 is fully converted into an off state.
In addition, when inserting/ejecting the plug-in unit having the power switch into/from the sub-rack, the on/off timing of the power switch installed in the PCB is very important. In the conventional on/off mechanism of the plug-in unit power switch, since there is no element for controlling the on/off timing of the power switch 540, it is impossible to accurately control the on/off timing of the power switch 540.
Generally, in accordance with the characteristic of the circuit pack, the on/off function of the circuit pack may be provided in the PCB of the plug-in unit. In the conventional on/off mechanism of the power switch, since the power switch on/off protrusion 560 and the handle 510 are integrally formed, and an insertion/ejection device to which the power switch on/off mechanism is adapted and another insertion/ejection device to which the same is not adapted must be separately fabricated, the fabrication cost is increased, and there are problems in maintaining the system. In addition, it is impossible to selectively use the above-described different functions.

Power switch on/off mechanism of plug-in unit driven by an insertion/ejection device in a printed circuit board

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A peak detector circuit employs a line receiver of the ECL type, with the analog input signal to be tracked as a receiver input. The other receiver input is connected to the circuit output. A capacitor connects the output node of the circuit to threshold reference voltage input. The capacitor is charged through a resistor from the output of the line receiver when the input signal exceeds the voltage on the output node, and the capacitor discharges to the reference input through this resistor and another resistor connecting the receiver output to the reference input. The output voltage tracks the peaks of the input signal. Oscillation of the receiver is avoided by using a threshold reference greater than zero. The dynamic range of the output can be extended to a level higher than that of ECL levels by summing the thresholds of a number of these detectors, using an operational amplifier.

This invention relates to peak detector circuits, and more particularly to a tracking peak detector of the type used in communications circuits.
In communications circuits such as signal reception equipment used in local area networks or the like, it is often necessary to derive a threshold, or a number of thresholds, from a variable amplitude signal. The thresholds will change as the input signal changes. For example, in a communication channel, the length of the link can vary between installations, and thus the signal amplitude at the receiver will vary.
Various peak detector circuits have been previously described. For example, peak detector circuits are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,533,844, 4,605,867, 4,906,864, and 4,987,323. These prior circuits have been complex and expensive, have used circuit components not compatible with the integrated circuit devices typically used in high speed communications interfaces and computers, or otherwise have been less than optimum for use in the proposed environment. As used herein, a high speed communications interface sends data on the order of 100 Mbits/sec or more.


Provided are a coating method, a display substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device. The coating method includes: forming a micro-fluid channel on a first surface of a first substrate, wherein the first surface is a surface to be coated of the first substrate, and a sidewall of the micro-fluid channel is the first surface of the first substrate; immersing one end of the micro-fluid channel into ink, to enable the ink to fill the micro-fluid channel; and drying the ink filling the micro-fluid channel to form a thin film on the first surface of the first substrate. The present disclosure can help implement uniform film formation of a quantum dot light-emitting layer at a high resolution, reduce the process difficulty of a high-resolution product and improve the device performance and the display performance.

A Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode (QLED) is an emerging display device. Compared with other types of display devices, the QLED has the main characteristics of unique quantum size effect, macroscopic quantum tunneling effect, and surface effect, etc., as it adopts quantum dots having more excellent performance and made from a more stable material as the light-emitting material. Thereby, the QLED presents excellent physical properties, especially excellent optical properties, such as narrow emission spectrum, high light color purity, high light-emitting efficiency, tunable light color, favorable light-emitting stability, etc. Thus, a QLED display product has the merit of low power consumption, a long service life, high color purity, favorable stability, etc., and therefore has a broad development prospect.

Coating method, display substrate and manufacturing method thereof, and display device


A process for fabricating compact contactless flash memory array for semiconductor EEPROM devices having a number of memory cell units is disclosed. Field oxide layers for the flash memory array are first grown over the surface of an SOI wafer. Gate oxide layers are then grown. Floating gates are then formed by patterning the first polysilicon layer. Source/drain buried bitlines for the flash memory array are formed. A first BPSG (borophosphosilicate glass) layer is deposited and then reflown and etched back. An oxide-nitride-oxide layer is formed. A second polysilicon layer is deposited with in-situ dope. A WSi.sub.x layer then forms. Stacked gates for the flash array are formed by patterning into the formed oxide-nitride-oxide, second polysilicon and WSi.sub.x layers. The stacked gates are then covered with a second BPSG layer. Contact openings for the source/drain buried lines are formed. Metal lines leading into the contact openings are then formed for interconnecting the memory cells in the flash memory array with peripheral control circuits of the semiconductor EEPROM devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a process for fabricating the memory cell configuration of high-density semiconductor electrically-erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM) devices. In particular, the present invention relates to a process for fabricating compact contactless memory arrays on Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) for flash EEPROM devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the process of fabrication of the compact contactless flash array on SOI for the flash EEPROM devices and provides for the elimination of the short channel effect during a hot carrier programming phase of the devices.
2. Technical Background
Scaling down of the physical dimensions of the memory cell configuration for semiconductor flash EEPROM devices is indispensable for the upcoming next generation of high-density non-volatile memory devices. In the effort conducted for the scaling down of the basic memory cell units in these flash EEPROM devices, several configurations have been proposed. For example, R. Kirisawa, S. Aritome, R. Nakauama, T. Endoh, R. Shirota and F. Masuoka proposed a NAND structure in their paper "A NAND structured cell with a new programming technology for highly reliable 5-V only flash EEPROM,"1990 Symposium on VLSI Technology, pp. 129-130. This NAND structure does need special design on source and drain regions, which suffer from band-to-band tunneling or even junction breakdown during extraction of electrons out of floating gates. This problem leads to unintentional damage on the thin oxide and difficulty in scaling the sources and drains of flash cells.
On the other hand, B. J. Woo, T. C. Ong, A. Gazio, C. Park, G. Atwood, M. Holler, S. Tam and S. Lai proposed another "FACE" structure in their paper "A novel memory cell using flash array contactless EPROM (FACE) Technology,"1990 IEDM, pp. 90-94. This basic structure, although featuring compact cells for the high-density flash EEPROM devices, does suffer significant short channel effects during the hot carrier programming phase of use. As is well known, short channel effect in memory cell units will easily and likely lead to device punch-through. As device miniaturization technology in semiconductor fabrication advances, this problem represents a serious drawback in the down-scaling of the device memory cells.

Process for fabricating SOI compact contactless flash memory cell


A cooling circuit to receive a cooling fluid includes at least one shaped cooling pin disposed in the cooling circuit. The at least one shaped cooling pin has a first end and a second end extending along an axis. The first end has a first curved surface defined by a minor diameter and the second end has a second curved surface defined by a major diameter. The first curved surface is to be upstream in the cooling fluid and the minor diameter is less than the major diameter.

Gas turbine engines may be employed to power various devices. For example, a gas turbine engine may be employed to power a mobile platform, such as an aircraft, rotorcraft, etc. In the example of the gas turbine engine powering a mobile platform, certain operating environments, such as desert operating environments, may cause the gas turbine engine to ingest fine sand and dust particles. These ingested fine sand and dust particles may pass through portions of the gas turbine engine and may accumulate in stagnation regions of cooling circuits within turbine components, such as turbine airfoils, associated with the gas turbine engine. The accumulation of the fine sand and dust particles in the stagnation regions of the cooling circuits in the turbine components, such as the turbine airfoil, may impede the cooling of the turbine airfoil, which in turn, may reduce the life of the turbine airfoil leading to increased repair costs and downtime for the gas turbine engine.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a turbine component, such as a turbine airfoil, having one or more shaped cooling pins, which enable the cooling of the turbine component, such as a turbine airfoil, while reducing a stagnation region within the cooling circuit. Stated another way, it is desirable to provide the turbine airfoil having the one or more shaped cooling pins, which reduce the accumulation of fine sand and dust particles, thereby maintaining the cooling of the turbine airfoil in operating environments having fine sand and dust particles. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Cooling circuit with shaped cooling pins


A folding elliptical exercise machine that allows for easy, safe, and quick storage and being capable, upon a single motion by a user, of changing its shape into a substantially compact form for storage, and vice versa, is provided. The elliptical exercise machine comprises first and second reciprocating foot supports interconnected to the frame, each foot support having a first end and a second end with a collapsible joint therebetween, wherein each reciprocating foot support is collapsible such that the exercise machine can be moved between the operating position and the storage position in a single step by rotating a rear portion of a base support structure upward and toward a front portion of the base support structure. A method for changing the position of the elliptical exercise machine of the present invention from an operating position to a storage position, and vice versa, also is provided.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to exercise equipment and, more specifically, to elliptical exercise machines.
2. The Relevant Technology
Exercise machines having alternating reciprocating foot supports configured to traverse or travel about a closed path to simulate a striding, running, walking, and/or a climbing motion for the individual using the machine are well known, and are commonly referred to as elliptical exercise machines or elliptical cross-trainers. In general, an elliptical or elliptical-type exercise machine comprises a pair of reciprocating foot supports designed to receive and support the feet of a user. Each reciprocating foot support has at least one end supported for rotational motion about a pivot point, with the other end supported in a manner configured to cause the reciprocating foot support to travel or traverse a closed path, such as a reciprocating elliptical or oblong path or other similar geometric outline. Therefore, upon operation of the exercise machine, each reciprocating foot support is caused to travel or traverse the closed path, thereby simulating a striding motion of the user for exercise purposes. The reciprocating foot supports are configured to be out of phase with one another by 180 degrees in order to simulate a proper and natural alternating stride motion.
An individual may utilize an elliptical exercise machine by placing his or her feet onto the reciprocating foot supports. The individual may then actuate the exercise machine for any desired length of time to cause the reciprocating foot supports to repeatedly travel their respective closed paths, which action effectively results in a series of strides achieved by the individual to obtain exercise, with a low-impact advantage. Therefore, there is a long standing need in the general area of exercise devices for a non-impact device, and one with an elliptical motion satisfies this need.
The user of an elliptical machine, however, is often faced with the dilemma of where to store their exercise machine when it is not in use. Thus, there is a need to provide an elliptical machine that allows for easy, safe, and quick storage.

One-step foldable elliptical exercise machine


A stretch label adapted to be fitted to a container includes a stretch film, having a self-shrinking property, and a printing layer. The stretch film, in turn, includes a substrate made from an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer or a mixture of a low density polyethylene and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and a surface layer made of a polyolefin resin. The surface layer is harder than the substrate and is provided on at least one surface of the substrate. The surface layer is the outer surface layer of the stretch label when the stretch label is fitted to the container.

This invention relates to a stretch label adapted to be applied to a container, especially a container having a circular cross-section, including a container in the form of a bottle made of plastic, such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle, a glass bottle, a metal can, or the like.
A conventional stretch label of this type is made by forming a stretch film into a tubular shape by bonding both ends of the stretch film together via adhesive. The stretch film is made of a synthetic resin which possesses a self-shrinking property and has an excellent elastic shrinking property. An inner surface of the stretch film has a printing layer displaying an ornamental design, a trademark, etc. The stretch film, having a tubular shape, is radially expanded and fitted to a container, such as a PET bottle, for forming the stretch label.
In the event that the container with the conventional stretch label described above is accidentally impacted from the outside, such as during the transportation or packing process, the surface of the stretch label may be easily damaged. The reason the stretch label may be easily damaged is that the conventional stretch film is made of a single layer of a soft ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer film positioned at the outermost surface of the conventional stretch label, such that the surface may be easily damaged. As a result, the appearance of the stretch label is deteriorated and the stretch label may even be torn.
Another problem with the conventional stretch label occurs when the container has to hold an item, such as food, beverage or a chemical product, which requires that the container be sterilized by spraying hot water at temperatures of 70.degree. to 90.degree. C. over its outer surface for 5 to 40 minutes. In this case, the conventional stretch label may be elongated due to the hot water, causing wrinkles and/or a slackening of a surface of the stretch label, such that there are gaps between the stretch label and the container.
In addition, when the conventional stretch label and the container are simultaneously expanded by the heat of the hot water, they are subsequently contracted by a cooling treatment. Since the expansion and contraction properties of the container are different from those of the stretch label, the initial heating and subsequent cooling of both results in a wrinkling or slackening of a surface of the stretch label, deteriorating the appearance of the conventional stretch label.
Furthermore, when hot water is sprayed on a container having a conventional stretch label thereon, upper and lower ends of the stretch label curve away from the container resulting in both upper and lower ends of the label being separated from the container. In addition, hot water may seep into any separated portion between the stretch label and the container, causing the stretch label to slip off the container.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stretch label, at least one surface of which possesses a scratch resistibility, while maintaining the appearance thereof without causing wrinkles and slackening, and slipping off of the stretch label from a container, when the stretch label is fitted to the container.


The invention relates to an amorphous metal alloy which may be used in the field of mechanical applications, in particular as a spring. This amorphous metal alloy corresponds to the formula FeaCObNicNbdVeBfTag in which: 0≦a≦70; 0≦b≦70; 8<c≦60; 1≦d≦19; 1≦e<≦10; 12≦f≦25; 0≦g≦5; with 20≦a+b≦70; 50≦a+b+c≦90; 5≦d+e≦20; and a+b+c+d+e+f+g=100.

A particular feature of the amorphous metal alloys, also called metallic glasses, is that they do not have long-range atomic order. They are of considerable interest for mechanical applications as they can have a high breaking stress and a wide range of elastic loading. In general, metallic glasses have a far higher breaking stress than crystalline alloys with equivalent Young's modulus.
These materials have a very high Ashby index σ2/E, which positions them as materials of choice for making springs for energy storage. However, a study of the mechanical properties of metallic glasses shows that only metallic glasses based on Fe or Co would be capable of competing with the best known spring steels and alloys. Among these alloys, there are the Fe—Si or Fe—Co—Si or Fe—Si—B alloys used for their magnetic properties in the form of ribbons about thirty microns in thickness in the cores of inductors, as well as alloys intended for forming bulk metallic glasses, for example in [Gu et al., Mechanical properties of iron-based bulk metallic glasses, J. Mater. Res. 22, 258 (2007)]. It is also known that these alloys are brittle, either after shaping in the case of magnetic tapes, or intrinsically brittle in the case of bulk metallic glasses.
Now, mechanical application, notably as a spring, requires tolerance to plastic deformation and/or fatigue strength, which implies a certain ductility of the material. Moreover, most of these alloys are magnetizable, which can cause disturbances of certain elements of a mechanism.
Some scientific works mention the existence of plasticity for certain compositions of metallic glasses based on Fe or Co, for example Fe59Cr6Mo14C15B6 disclosed in the work mentioned above.
European patent application EP 0018096 relates to powders consisting of ultrafine grains of transition metal alloy containing boron, notably at the rate of 5 to 12 at %. These powders are intended for the manufacture of cutting tools.
European patent application EP 0072893 relates to metallic glasses essentially consisting of 66 to 82 at % of iron, of which 1 to 8% can optionally be replaced with at least one element selected from nickel, cobalt and mixtures thereof, from 1 to 6 at % of at least one element selected from chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, titanium, zirconium and hafnium and from 17 to 28 at % of boron of which 0.5 to 6% can optionally replaced with silicon and 2% at most can be replaced with carbon. These metallic glasses are intended for tape recorder reading heads, cores of relays, transformers and similar equipment.
International patent application WO 2010/000081 describes the use of a ribbon consisting of an amorphous metal alloy of formula Ni53Nb20Zr8Ti10Co6Cu3 as barrel spring.
Despite numerous tests on compositions known in the state of the art, for example Fe59Cr6Mo14C15B6, the inventors were unable to obtain results usable for the intended applications in mechanics, owing to the brittleness of the material obtained in the form of ribbon. Therefore they searched for alloys specifically suited to the requirements of mechanical applications.
More precisely, the inventors have defined specifications that an essentially amorphous metal alloy must satisfy in order to be used in a mechanical application, more particularly as a spring element. Thus, the metal alloy must:                allow the production of a metallic glass (amorphous alloy) with a thickness of 1 micron or more, in the form of ribbon produced for example by rapid solidification ("melt-spinning" or "planar flow casting"), or in the form of thin wire produced for example by water quenching (A. O. Olofinjana et al., J. of Materials Processing Tech. Vol. 155-156 (2004) pp. 1344-1349) or by disk quenching (T. Zhang and A. Inoue, Mater. Trans. JIM, Vol. 41 (2000) pp. 1463-1466);        have high mechanical strength;        preferably, be ductile in the form of a ribbon or wire as described above, i.e. does not break when stressed to 180° (diameter at break less than 1 mm when the ribbon or wire is folded on itself) and having a range of plastic deformation;        preferably have a capacity for annealing (i.e. no degradation of the mechanical properties following a heat treatment for forming).


A disposable-type carrying case wherein the parts that house contact lenses cannot be re-sealed is realized via an easy-to-use construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a contact lens carrying case, and more particularly to a so-called disposable-type carrying case that is discarded once the contact lenses contained therein are removed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a so-called disposable-type carrying case has been proposed as a container for housing contact lenses. With this type of disposable-type carrying case, the interior of the case is maintained in a sterile state when new, and the case is discarded after it is used for storing or cleaning the contact lenses. When this type of carrying case is used, the contact lenses are always stored in the sterile interior of the case. Consequently, the carrying case need not be cleaned each time the contact lenses are to be stored or cleaned therein, and the contact lenses can be stored and cleaned in a clean environment.
In order to reliably prevent the user from reusing this type of disposable carrying case, it must be made impossible to seal the case once it has been opened and the contact lenses removed. Accordingly, a method has been proposed in the conventional art whereby the lens housing areas of the case interior are covered by a film, which is affixed to the case main units using an adhesive. This method employs the principle that once the film is removed, the adhesive power of the adhesive weakens due to exposure to the air, thereby preventing the lens housing areas that were covered by the film from being re-sealed. (See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open 2002-142838.)
However, with the conventional method in which the case is sealed using an adhesive, the adhesive can adhere to the fingers when the user attempts to remove the contact lenses, making the case difficult to handle.
A disposable-type carrying case is sometimes marketed as a product together with so-called 'disposable contact lenses' intended for only one day's use, with the lens storage solution already present in the carrying case. In this case, a process whereby the film is affixed to the case main units must be carried out during the product manufacturing stage, and during this affixation process, in order to ensure that the contact lenses remain sealed in the case, the degree of adhesion of the film (for example, the existence of areas of the film that are not adhering to the case main units) must be monitored strictly, which is inconvenient from a manufacturing standpoint.
In addition, no design has yet been proposed for a conventional disposable-type carrying case that reliably prevents the lens housing areas from being resealed using a method other than adhesion.
Accordingly, with the foregoing in view, an object of the present invention is to resolve the problems described above and to realize, via an easy-to-use construction, a disposable-type carrying case in which the lens housing areas cannot be re-closed.

Abstract: In the case main unit 10B of a contact lens carrying case 10, when a handle 12 that is integrally formed with a cover unit 20B is rotated in the clockwise direction, end portions 27G and 27H that are integrally formed with the handle 12 are gradually lifted up starting with the parts thereof that are near the handle 12 while engaging members 40G and 40H are fixed in position. When this occurs, first bridges 29G and 29H that are connected to end portions 27G and 27H are strongly pulled in the direction of rotation of the handle 12 while maintaining connection to top portions 41G and 41H. As a result, the first bridges 29G and 29H are sheared off from the end portions 27G and 27H and the engaging portions 40G and 40H detach from the cover unit 20B.