Rapid throughput of still image compressed data (e.g. JPEG) is achieved for presentation of images in rapid succession for browsing or browsing by panning within large images by using a hardware decoder adapted for presentation of moving images to reduce the processing load which must be performed in accordance with software although the still image data is incompatible with still image data in many respects; some of which necessarily lead to a loss of image fidelity. The still image data is partially decoded (e.g. entropy decoded) in software processing and re-encoded and reformatted to a form which can at least be accepted by the hardware decoder even though not compliant with any particular moving picture data standard (e.g. MPEG). Storage in the hardware decoder is reallocated to provide, in combination with a reduction of slower software processing, a throughput increase of four-fold or more. Software processing of the still image data is also allowed to proceed and the result substituted for the result of the hardware decoding if a given image is viewed for a time sufficient for the software image processing to be completed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data processing for the digital transmission, storage, retrieval and display of arbitrary images and, more particularly to the rapid decoding of images from digital data for presentation in potentially rapid sequence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pictorial and graphics images contain extremely large amounts of data and, if digitized to allow transmission or processing by digital data processors and exploitation of various benefits of digital transmission, such as increased noise immunity and error recovery, often require many millions of bytes to represent respective pixels of the image or graphics with good fidelity. The sheer quantity of data in images therefore presents a severe processing burden. However, pictorial data is often susceptible to substantial data compression without significant loss of image fidelity. That is, image data compression often allows representation of images with less data in order to save storage costs or transmission time and costs with little or no perceptible effect on image fidelity.
The most effective compression is achieved by approximating the original image, rather than reproducing it exactly. The JPEG standard, discussed in detail in "JPEG Still Image Data Compression Standard" by Pennebaker and Mitchell, published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference, allows the interchange of images between diverse applications and provides the capability of producing digital continuous-tone color images in multi-media applications.
JPEG is primarily concerned with images that have two spatial dimensions, contain gray scale or color information, and possess no temporal dependence, as distinguished from the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard. JPEG compression can reduce the storage requirements by more than an order of magnitude and improve system response time in the process. A primary goal of the JPEG standard is to provide the maximum image fidelity for a given volume of data and/or available transmission bandwidth or processing time and any arbitrary degree of data compression can be accommodated although, depending on image content, data compression may be limited by loss of the image detail or features of interest. However, it is often the case that data compression by a factor of twenty or more (and reduction of transmission or processing time and storage capacity by a comparable factor) will not produce artifacts which are noticeable to the average viewer.
The JPEG standard should be viewed as a family of compression techniques which have different properties and imply different advantages in regard to hardware requirements, processing time and the like. Since maximum preservation of image fidelity relative to image data file size and the flexibility to customize compression techniques to exploit characteristics of image content are principal goals of the JPEG standard, encoding and decoding may be computationally intensive and require significant amounts of time for a single image, particularly since JPEG coding and decoding is usually carried out in software (since it is generally efficient to download the particular portion of JPEG corresponding to the image content with the image rather than to determine the particular JPEG family member with the properties best corresponding to image and file content from resident software or hardware) and the higher speeds of special purpose chips are not generally available to most users. Therefore, the JPEG standard also allows various modes of operation such as are referred to as sequential or progressive in order to more quickly present a portion of the image or the full image at reduced resolution (increasing over time), respectively, so that the image may be more quickly identified and processing terminated and begun on another image if it is determined that a particular image is not of interest upon viewing of a partially decoded image. Iterating through a sequence of images is often referred to as browsing.
It can be appreciated that when a person may wish to look through a group of hard-copy images, such as photographs, each image may be viewed for only a fraction of a second in order to find and/or select an image of interest. It is desirable to be able to provide a similar capability in displaying images from digital data. Therefore, it has been the practice to use sequential or progressive operation of JPEG standard compression techniques to deliver an increasing fraction of the image at full detail or the full image at increasing resolution so that an image which is not desired can be rejected as soon as it is recognizable by the viewer. However, software implementations of JPEG processing may not allow the frequency of image presentation to be acceptably high consistent with providing images adequate for recognition.
The situation is somewhat different under the MPEG standard which must support image frame rates above the flicker fusion frequency of human visual perception. To do so, additional compression is provided by exploiting data which remains constant between frames, image motion sensing and prediction for interpolation to reduce decoding demands and the like. The subject matter of the data for which MPEG compression is used will also generally include long sequences of related images such as are presented in a motion picture which is marketed to subscribers. Therefore, the intended market economically supports the widespread availability of set-top boxes (STBs) including special purpose data processing chips capable of very fast decoding and presentation of images.
However, MPEG decoders and the MPEG standard itself are not well-adapted to decoding of sequences of independent images (even though independent "I-frame" images are periodically decoded, with intra-coded B-frames and P-frames between them, in accordance with the MPEG standard) and cannot be directly used for single images encoded under the JPEG standard while preserving the detail and fidelity desired in single images. In fact, since the anticipated applications for JPEG and MPEG were quite different when those standards were promulgated, incompatibilities between the coding techniques were tolerated such that transcoding from JPEG to MPEG data was not considered practical or even possible without unacceptable reduction of image quality even though MPEG to JPEG transcoding was supported.
For example, so-called "oddification" (described at page 272 of "MPEG Video Compression Standard", published by Chapman & Hall, New York, N.Y., 1997, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference) provided in the MPEG standard unavoidably leads to a reduction in image fidelity in any transcoding from JPEG to MPEG. Therefore, while economically justifiable, the utility of special purpose moving picture decoder chips and STBs is quite limited relative to the amount of compressed digital image data and digitized and compressed libraries of images currently available and foreseeable.
Many libraries of images have been developed in which rapid browsing is desirable. In addition to increased use of digital electronic cameras by individuals and which present many advantages over film cameras (not the least of which encourages the generation of increased numbers of images, many of which may be later discarded and storage space reused), electronic files are being increasingly used to archive and provide rapid access to large quantities of documents, such as personal checks, negotiable certificates, legal records and the like.
Among such documents, a person may wish to browse images based on an arbitrarily located area such as check number or payee. The location of this information in the image may be inconsistent with progressive (since detail is not immediately available) or sequential (since the region of interest may not be near the top of the document) JPEG operation. Further, in such a case, the nature of the browsing done may require even less viewing time per image that can be conveniently allowed to determine that a particular image is not of interest.
In summary, while JPEG processing provides optimal single image quality for a given data volume, it is only widely available in software implementations that do not support desired image presentation frequencies for browsing or full image presentation or full resolution at presentation rates (or throughput in regard to, for example, decoding of a single image or several images which may each be very large) approaching those frequencies. Current applications do not economically support widespread availability of special purpose hardware to increase JPEG encoded image presentation speed notwithstanding the development of many libraries which would most desirably be accessed by browsing. Widely available MPEG hardware capable of suitably high image presentation frequency is not compatible with JPEG encoded data and, at the present state of the art, transcoding from JPEG to MPEG is considered to be impractical and to lead to unavoidable and generally unacceptable reduction in image fidelity, particularly if the transcoding process is lossy.
In this regard, transcoding of incompatible formats for lossless data compression is known. FIG. 5-17 on page 77 of the above-incorporated JPEG text illustrates transcoding between the Huffman and Arithmetic entropy coders for the JPEG standard. Converting the Group 3 facsimile standard into the better compressing Group 4 facsimile standard has been often done once the error recovering built into the Group 3 standard is not needed (e.g. inside computer systems). Karl M. Marks, ("A JBIG-ABIC compression engine for digital document processing," IBM Journal of Research and Development, Vol 42, No. 6 pp. 753-758 (November 1998)) describes a chip that can encode or decode the bi-level image compression algorithms JBIG and ABIC. Thus conversion between them was made easy. The worst case for JBIG was not acceptable and so temporary storage of the documents converted into the ABIC version was preferred.

Browsing JPEG images using MPEG hardware chips

International Business Machines Corporation


An electrical connector for connection between a chip module and a circuit board is disclosed to include a housing defining a plurality of terminal slots, first terminals respectively mounted in the terminal slots, second terminals respectively mounted in the terminal slots and movable relative to the first terminals for compression contact with the first terminals respectively, a holding down cover for holding down the chip module on the terminal terminals, and a locking lever for locking the holding down cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly, to an electrical connector designed for compression contact with a chip module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, some electronic products (such as computers) use a LGA (Land grid array) module for performance enhancement. A LGA module uses laminate substrate to form the landing pad and the exposed pad. A conventional electrical connector for use with a LGA module, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, an electrically insulative housing 100, a plurality of terminals 200 respectively mounted in the electrically insulative housing 100, and a plurality of solder balls 300 respectively provided at the bottom side of each of the terminals 200 and soldered to a circuit board (not shown). Each terminal 200 has a body 400, a bottom mounting portion 500 extending from the bottom side of the body 400 for bonding to the circuit board, and a top contact portion 600 for the contact of a chip module. These terminal 200 have a high conductivity. However, it is difficult to install the terminals 200 in the electrically insulative housing 100. Further, the terminals 200 wear quickly with use and may be permanently deformed, affecting electric connection between the chip module and the circuit board.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electrical connector that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.


A method and system for setting an initial dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) power of a secondary carrier after a transmission gap are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method includes determining a filtered DPCCH power of first carrier. The method further includes determining a power offset. The method also includes calculating the initial DPCCH power of the secondary carrier by adding the determined filtered DPCCH power of the first carrier to the determined power offset.

In recent years mobile operators have started to offer mobile wireless broadband communication service based on Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), e.g., Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA). Further, fuelled by new devices designed for data applications, the end user performance requirements are steadily increasing. Moreover, the increased demand for mobile broadband service has resulted in traffic volumes being handled by high speed packet access (HSPA) enabled WCDMA networks.
Enhanced Uplink (EUL) was introduced in the 3GPP Rel-6 standard to improve HSPA performance. Since the uplink transmission from a wireless device to a base station is, by design, non-orthogonal, fast closed-loop power control is necessary to address the near-far problem, where a wireless device captures a strong signal from a nearby source, making it difficult to receive a weak signal from a source located further away. The base station, which may be referred to as a node B (NB) in a WCDMA network, measures the received signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) and sends power control commands in the downlink transmission from the NB to the wireless device e.g., user equipment (UE), to adjust the transmission power. Power control commands can be transmitted using a dedicated physical channel (DPCH) or, to save channelization codes, the fractional dedicated physical channel (F-DPCH). The non-orthogonality between wireless devices causes interference leakage between the wireless devices. As a result, the uplink throughput is often limited to 2-3 megabits per second (Mbps) in scenarios with multiple wireless devices.
To enable high-bitrate operation in a real-network environment it is necessary to isolate wireless devices using high-bitrate or high receive power from wireless devices that are vulnerable to the high interference created by the high-bitrate wireless devices, e.g., wireless devices engaged in voice communications, which require considerably lower receive power at the base station. One way to accomplish this within the current HSPA technology is to make use of a "clean carrier" concept. Briefly, in this concept, carriers are divided into regular carriers and clean carriers. The regular carriers provide the basic needs of a wireless device. The clean carriers are dedicated exclusively to high-bitrate transmissions. On a clean carrier, wireless devices are scheduled by the network to transmit one at a time by Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), as much as possible in order to avoid interfering with one another.
There are different methods for accomplishing this within the current, pre Rel-12 3GPP standard. One method is to make use of the Inter-Frequency Handover (IFHO) procedure and another method is to make use of the 3GPP Rel-9 Dual-Carrier high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA) feature (also known as Dual Cell enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) operation). In the 3GPP Rel-12 standard work item, in further enhanced uplink (EUL) enhancements, current various uplink improvements which can improve the HSPA performance are standardized. One of the sub-topics being discussed by the 3GPP standards entities is to enable high user bitrates in single and multi-carrier uplink mixed-traffic scenarios via enhancements to the existing Rel-7 continuous packet connectivity (CPC) and Rel-9 Dual-Carrier HSUPA features for a more efficient "clean carrier" operation.
In terms of power control, in the current CPC base line algorithm, whenever there is an interruption in the transmission, the power of the DPCCH is derived from the previous value that was used in the last slot before the transmission gap on the corresponding carrier. While the current standardized solution can be a good approach when the wireless device is dealing with short gaps, it can be highly inaccurate when dealing with long inactivity periods, since in those cases the channel would be completely uncorrelated. Since the channel could be completely uncorrelated between the transmissions when using the longest values defined for the current wireless device discontinuous transmission (DTX) cycle of 2 lengths (i.e., 32, 40, 64, 80, 128, 160 subframes), inheriting power from the previous transmission would require a longer re-establishment time for proper inner-loop power control.
Thus, while the power control according to the current standard can be effective for short gaps, the channel quickly gets uncorrelated after longer DTX periods, leading to longer re-establishment time for proper inner-loop power control.

Setting initial transmission power for a secondary carrier after a transmission gap


A pixel circuit for an active matrix organic light-emitting diode display system includes a first input node, a second input node, first power supply node, a second power supply node, a triode switch circuit, a storage capacitor, an organic light emitting diode, and a resistive element. The triode switch circuit is connected to the first and second input nodes. The storage capacitor is connected between an output of the triode switch circuit and the second power supply node. The organic light-emitting diode is connected between the output of the triode switch circuit and the second power supply node. The first resistive element is connected between the output of the triode switch circuit and the first power supply node.

In general, various types of display devices are used for computer and video systems including, for example, LCD (liquid crystal display) devices and LED (light emitting diode) display devices. A typical display device comprises a number of display elements or "pixels" arranged in rows and columns to form a matrix on a glass substrate. Active matrix backplanes, such as those used for driving OLED displays, typically include thin-film transistor (TFT) devices in the pixel circuitry, which operate as switching and driving components. An OLED generates light in response to current flow through an organic compound which is fluorescent or phosphorescent and excited by electron-hole recombination. Some known active-type OLED configurations incorporate two, three and four TFTs per pixel (2-TFT, 3-TFT, 4-TFT). A TFT-based OLED uses a TFT to control the amount of current flowing through the OLED based on data signals corresponding to a displayed image, which are received by the TFT. There are various disadvantages to active TFT-based OLED displays.
For example, the cost of the TFT backplane is a significant portion of the total display including the frontplane and packaging. Indeed, TFT backplanes are typically formed of low temperature poly silicon TFTs that are capable of delivering a large current and therefore, yielding a bright display. However, the poly silicon TFT fabrication process is expensive and complex as it requires many (e.g., nine) photoengraving process (PEP) steps to manufacture the TFTs. Moreover, the operation of the TFTs that drive an OLED can change over time, resulting in lack of uniformity of the current used to drive the OLED. For example, the threshold voltages of TFTs can vary over time due to electrical stress that is induced when driving OLED devices, as well as other factors or conditions that can temporarily or permanently change the threshold voltages of the TFTs. Since an OLED is a current-driven element in which the luminance depends on the amount of current flowing through the OLED, if the driving TFTs do not supply a uniform current, or if the driving current changes with time, the resultant image generated by the OLED display will degrade. For example, an increase in the threshold voltage of a driving TFT causes less current to pass through the OLED, thereby decreasing the brightness of the OLED.

Method for operating active matrix display system having triode switch driver circuitry


A highly fluorinated benzene compound is reacted with acryloyl chloride to ield a fluorinated liquid product which is used to impregnate a reinforcing structure. Upon impregnation, the liquid material is polymerized at about 55.degree.C. to produce a reinforced polymeric structure, which can be a circuit board. The polymer has dielectric constant of about 2.1, which is very low compared to the polymers used presently.

Dielectric constant is defined as a measure of the ability of a dielectric to store an electric charge. A dielectric is a nonconducting substance or an insulator. Dielectric constant is directly proportional to capacitance of a material, which means that capacitance is reduced if dielectric constant of a material is reduced. For high frequency high-speed digital circuits, capacitance of substrates and coatings are critical to reliable functioning of the circuits. Present computer operations are limited by the coupling capacitance between circuit paths and integrated circuits on multilayer boards. The computing speed between integrated circuits is reduced by this capacitance and the power required to operate them is increased.
With recent trends toward microminiaturization and utilization of very thin conductor lines, close spacings, and very thin insulation of 5 mils or less, greater demands are being placed on the insulating layer. Insulating materials must possess very low dielectric constants and at the same time must retain other required engineering and manufacturing properties. For high frequency linear circuits, such as those used in radar assemblies, the dielectric constant of insulators again becomes important, especially since it may vary with changes in frequency.
Poly(tetrafluoroethylene), which is a solid at room temperature and is known as Teflon.RTM. dielectric material, has dielectric constant in the range of 2.00-2.08 and tetrafluoroethylene which is a gas at room temperature, has dielectric constant in the range of 1.89-1.93. Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) is completely chemically inert, has excellent electrical properties, has outstanding stability, and retains mechanical properties at high temperatures. The problem with poly(tetrafluoroethylene) is that it is not processable. Teflon.RTM.AF dielectric material, a commercial material, is believed to be a terpolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, perfluoropropylene and a derivative of hexafluoracetone. Teflon AF material is believed to have a dielectric constant of 1.92 and although it is more processable that poly(tetrafluoroethylene), it still lacks adequate processability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,998 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,296 disclose fluorinated diacrylic esters which are prepared by reacting a substituted benzene with acryloyl chloride in a highly fluorinated solvent in the presence of a tertiary amine, such as triethyl amine, or another acid acceptor, at 5.degree. to 20.degree. C. The monomer is purified and can then be polymerized. The fluorinated diacrylic esters of this patent are disclosed to be useful particularly in dental and biomediacal applications.
The conventional material for ordinary printed circuit boards is epoxy resin impregnated glass fiber laminates although paper laminates may still be used in less arduous environments, such as in hi-fi equipment and domestic appliances. The use of flame retardant materials has become almost universal use to danger of fire in electronic and electrical equipment. The metal foils, preferably copper, applied to the non-conducting layers of a circuit board are usually 25 to 75 microns in thickness although some are 5 to 12 microns.
Multilayer printed circuit boards have been made of organic polymers, such as glass epoxy resins, since such materials have a low dielectric constant of about 4, however, it is impossible to directly mount integrated circuit chips in such boards because of their poor thermal resistance and inadequate physical properties to produce many insulated internal layers. This brought forth alumina ceramic circuit boards but problems were encountered due to the high dielectric constants of 9 to 10. With the advent of super computers, there is a tendency to use pulses with high frequency. At high frequency, the delay of propagation of signals is increased due to the relatively high dielectric constant of the insulating material. Also, there is an increase in electrostatic capacitance between adjacent wiring conductors which results in attenuation of signals as well as decrease in circuit impedance, if high dielectric constant insulator materials are used for insulators.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,998 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,296 to Griffith et al. disclose fluorinated diacrylic esters useful in dental and in biomedical applications as well as in the traditional acrylic applications such as coating, casting, encapsulanting, caulking, and the like.

Fluorinated resins with low dielectric constant

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


A Globally Unique IDentifier (GUID) is used to match an authorization request with an authorization response for a transaction between a merchant and a consumer upon an account within a payment processing system where the payment amount is unknown until after the merchant receives the authorization response that includes the GUID. After receiving the authorization response and when the payment amount is known, the merchant forms a transmission that has information for delivery to an issuer of the account. This information is sufficient for the issuer to forward the payment amount from the account to pay the merchant for the transaction. While including the GUID and the payment amount, the information does not include an identifier of the account.

Multiple activities are involved in processing a transaction between a consumer and a merchant for a product or service that is payable upon an account issued to the consumer by an issuer within a payment processing system. Typically, processing of the transaction involves an authorization activity followed by a clearing and settlement activity (collectively "remittance"). Clearing includes the exchange of financial information between the issuer and an acquirer of the merchant and settlement includes the transfer of funds.
Referring to FIG. 1, a cross-functional flow chart depicts an exemplary method of authorizing and remitting a transaction using an account identifier of the account. When the merchant and the consumer engage in the transaction, the consumer may give the merchant the account identifier (e.g., the account number) of a corresponding account of the consumer upon which the transaction is to be made payable. The account identifier is then used throughout both the authorization and the remittance of the transaction to distinguish the transaction from among many of the transactions.
At a step 102, the merchant may transmit to the issuer, via an acquirer, an authorization request including the account identifier and a quantity of funds to be authorized by the issuer. The acquirer forwards the authorization request to a transaction handler who in turn forwards the authorization request to the issuer. At step 106, the issuer verifies whether the account identifier is valid or whether the balance of the account corresponding with the account identifier can cover the quantity of funds. The issuer forms, for forwarding to the merchant, an authorization response to the authorization request including the account identifier. Depending on the response to the authorization request, the merchant may release the good and/or service to the consumer or decline releasing of the good or service to the consumer at a step 110.
Several verifications can occur during the authorization. For instance, the issuer may verify (i) the integrity of the account; (ii) an available balance of the account as greater than or equal to the payment (e.g., the quantity of funds to be authorized by the issuer); (iii) that the account is an account that the issuer issued to the consumer; or (iv) a combination of the forgoing. The transaction handler may evaluate the authorization request to determine if the authorization request is populated according to predetermined standards, or the transaction handler may verify that the account is part of a loyalty program within the payment processing system. The acquirer may verify that the acquirer is associated with the merchant. Moreover, a risk analysis may be done on the account to determine a likelihood that there will be a successful clearing and settling of the payment from the account based on features of the account such as: the category of the account (e.g., gold card versus platinum card), the geographical location of the branch of the issuer where the account was first opened, a past transaction history of the account including a rate at which multiple past remittances were successfully conducted, or a combination thereof.
Similarly, during remittance, the account identifier is used to route the payment to the merchant and to match the payment with the corresponding authorization. At a step 114, the merchant may batch multiple clearing and settling requests of multiple transactions into one transmission, wherein each clearing and settling request in the batch is associated with a corresponding account identifier. The transmission for the batch is submitted by the merchant to its acquirer who in turn forwards the batch to the transaction handler. The acquirer or the transaction handler use the account identifier to sort the transactions within the batch based on each corresponding payment processing system of the account (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, or American Express). At a step 116, the transaction handler uses the account identifier of each corresponding clearing and settling request within the received batch to determine which issuer should receive the corresponding clearing and setting request.
At a step 118, the issuer receives the corresponding clearing and settling requests each including a corresponding account identifier. For each clearing and settling request, the issuer withdraws the payment from the account corresponding to the account identifier and forwards the payment to an issuer clearing bank. At a step 120, the issuer clearing bank forwards the payment associated with the account identifier to a transaction handler settlement bank. At a step 122, the transaction handler settlement bank forwards the payment associated with the account identifier to an acquirer settlement bank. At a step 124, the acquirer settlement bank forwards the payment associated with the account identifier to the acquirer. At a step 126, the acquirer makes the payment associated with the account identifier available to the merchant. Finally, at a step 128, the merchant receives the payment and uses the associated account identifier to balance the accounting of the transaction, such as by matching the payment with a corresponding authorization response from among a plurality of authorization responses.
Other steps that the transaction handler, or other entities within the payment processing system, may conduct during remittance include: adjudicating the final quantity of funds, determining how the payment can be transferred from the issuer to the acquirer, evaluating fees that may apply in transferring the funds, applying a foreign-to-domestic currency conversion, if applicable, or a combination thereof.
Reliance on the account identifier, in whole or in part, to distinguish the transaction from among the plurality of transactions within the payment processing system exposes the corresponding consumer to risks. For example, the merchant may locally store a plurality of the account identifiers for later submission of corresponding clearing and settling requests. Storing the account identifier of a corresponding consumer may pose risks to the corresponding consumer such as when unauthorized access to the stored account identifier leads to theft, fraud, or credit damage.
The foregoing points out a need to provide secure processing of authorization and remittance of transactions payable upon the account within the payment processing system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Transaction processing using a global unique identifier


A branch portion 107 branches a modulating signal into two signals in opposite phases. One of them is inputted to an FM laser element 102. The other one is adjusted in propagation delay and in amplitude and then is inputted to an IM suppressing laser element 110. The FM laser element 102 outputs an optical-frequency-modulated signal around a wavelength .lambda.1, whose optical intensity is also modulated. A local light source 104 outputs light at a wavelength .lambda.0, which is different from the oscillation wavelength .lambda.1 of the FM laser element 102 by .DELTA..lambda.. The IM suppressing laser element 110 outputs an optical-intensity-modulated signal. The three lights are combined and inputted to a photodetection portion 106. The photodetection portion 106 applies a heterodyne detection to inputted lights to output an FM modulated signal corresponding to a beat signal of the outputted optical signal from the FM laser element 102 and the outputted light from the local light source 104 at frequency corresponding to the difference .DELTA..lambda. between the original two wavelengths, and also cancels the average-value variation component in the FM modulated signal with an electrical signal produced by square-law detecting the optical-intensity-modulated signal from the IM suppressing laser element 110, thereby producing an ideal FM modulated signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to FM modulation devices, and more particularly to a modulation device that produces wider-band frequency-modulated signal (hereinafter referred to as FM modulated signal) by using a semiconductor laser element.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a structure of a conventional FM modulation device. In FIG. 3, the conventional FM modulation device includes a signal source 301, a laser element for FM modulation (hereinafter referred to as an FM laser element) 302, a first optical waveguide portion 303, a local light source 304, a second optical waveguide portion 305, and a photodetection portion 306. The structure and operation of this conventional FM modulation device will now be described in detail.
The signal source 301 outputs an electrical signal as the original signal for FM modulation. The FM laser element 302 is formed of a semiconductor laser element, for example. With constant injection current, it oscillates light at a wavelength .lambda.1. When the injection current is amplitude-modulated, its outputted light is modulated in intensity and also in oscillation wavelength (optical frequency), and it outputs optical-frequency-modulated signal around the wavelength .lambda.1. The first optical waveguide portion 303 guides the optical signal outputted from the FM laser element 302. The local light source 304 outputs light at a wavelength .lambda.0, which is different from the oscillation wavelength .lambda.1 of the FM laser element 302 by a given quantity .DELTA..lambda.. The second optical waveguide portion 305 guides the unmodulated light from the local light source 304. The two lights guided by the first and second optical waveguide portions 303 and 305 are combined and inputted to the photodetection portion 306. The photodetection portion 306 is formed of a photodiode having a square-law detection characteristic, for example. It has the property of outputting variations in optical intensity of the inputted light as variations in current amplitude (hereinafter referred to as IM-DD components), and it also has the property of, when two lights of different wavelengths are inputted thereto, producing a beat component of the two lights at a frequency corresponding to the wavelength difference (this operation is called a heterodyne detection). Accordingly, the photodetection portion 306 outputs the beat signal of the outputted optical signal from the FM laser element 302 and the outputted light from the local light source 304 at a frequency corresponding to the wavelength difference .DELTA..lambda. between the two lights. This beat signal is an FM modulated signal resulting from the original electrical signal from the signal source 301.
As described above, the FM modulation device that converts an electrical signal into an optical-frequency-modulated signal by utilizing the characteristic that a semiconductor laser element, for example, varies its oscillation wavelength in accordance with the injection current (called wavelength chirp), and further converting it into an electrical signal by an optical heterodyne detection can easily realize wide-band FM modulation performance with very large frequency deviation, such as cannot be realized with popular electric modulation devices, through the use of appropriate FM laser element 302 and local light source 304. This enables FM modulation to wide-band signals, like multi-channel frequency-division-multiplexed signals used in CATV etc.
Currently, the CATV most generally uses the AM (Amplitude Modulation) transmission system. This method requires the transmission method to present a very good noise characteristic (e.g., SNR: 51 dB or higher). On the other hand, the FM (Frequency Modulation) transmission method has the advantage that it does not require a very good noise characteristic, unlike the AM transmission method, although it requires a wider transmission band. Accordingly, when AM-FDM (Frequency Division Multiplex) signal currently used in CATV is simultaneously converted into an FM signal by using an FM modulation device having the above structure and then transmitted, the AM signal requiring high SNR can be transmitted through a transmission line with inferior noise characteristic. (For example, refer to K. Kikushima et al., "150-km Non-Repeated 60-Channel AM-Video Transmission Employing Optical Heterodyne AM/FM Converter," ECOC'95, Th.L.3.1, Brussels, 1995.)
However, since the outputted optical signal from the FM laser element 302 contains an optical intensity modulation component, the FM modulated signal produced by the FM modulation device shown in FIG. 3 contains not only a frequency variation but also an average-value variation component, which considerably deteriorates signal quality in FM demodulation. This problem will now be described in detail.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing relations between spectral shapes and waveforms of the wide-band FM modulated signal produced in a conventional FM modulation device. It is assumed here that the signal source 301 outputs a frequency-division-multiplexed multi-channel signal as the original signal for FM modulation. When the optical signal outputted from the FM laser element 302 has only the optical frequency modulation component, the produced wide-band FM modulated signal is an ideal FM modulated signal as shown in FIG. 4(a), whose spectrum is in a symmetrical shape about the carrier at the frequency fc corresponding to the difference in oscillation wavelength between the FM laser element 302 and the local light source 304, (.lambda.1-.lambda.0). On the other hand, as has been explained referring to FIG. 3, when the optical signal outputted from the FM laser element 302 is modulated not only in optical frequency but also in optical intensity (IM modulation), the waveform of the modulated signal contains the amplitude variation (IM modulation component) as shown in FIG. 4(b) (a signal like this is called an FM+IM signal, hereinafter), whose spectral shape is not symmetrical. Further, in the conventional FM modulation device shown in FIG. 3, the optical intensity modulation component is square-law-detected in the photodetection portion 306, and the component (IM-DD component) is superimposed upon the FM modulated signal. Then, as shown in FIG. 4(c), the average-value level of the generated FM+IM signal will vary with the IM-DD component.
Described next is the waveform deterioration caused in FM demodulation when the FM modulated signal contains the average-value variation. FIG. 5 shows a typical structure of a demodulation circuit for wide-band FM modulated signal. This diagram also shows waveforms which will be presented in individual portions when an ideal FM modulated signal is inputted to this FM demodulation circuit.
In FIG. 5, the FM demodulation circuit includes a discrimination portion 501, a delay portion 502, an AND gate 503, and a low-pass filter (LPF) 504. The discrimination portion 501 is formed of logic element, such as AND gate, for example. It discriminates the inputted FM modulated signal with a given threshold Vref to convert (to pulse) the FM modulated signal into a pulse signal (logic signal). The discrimination portion 501 has two output ports. One of its outputted signals is directly inputted to the AND gate 503, and the other one is delayed by a given quantity in the delay portion 502 and then inputted to the AND gate 503. The AND gate 503 produces AND signal of the two inputted pulse signals. The LPF 504 passes only the low-frequency components in the outputted signal from the AND gate 503. The amplitude variation component obtained in this way uniquely corresponds to the frequency variation component in the inputted FM modulated signal. The FM modulated signal can thus be demodulated.
However, as stated above, the conventional FM modulation device cannot produce an ideal FM modulated signal. It outputs an FM modulated signal that contains average-value variation (IM-DD component). Accordingly, when the inputted FM modulated signal is discriminated with a given fixed threshold Vref as in the FM demodulation circuit shown in FIG. 5, it is difficult to correctly discriminate the signal, as can be seen from FIG. 6. Then the demodulated signal will provide deteriorated waveform.
As described above, the FM modulation device with the structure shown in FIG. 3 has its unique problem that the IM-DD component generated by the photodetection portion 306 and superimposed upon the wide-band FM modulated signal decreases the discriminating accuracy in FM demodulation and causes waveform deterioration. In other words, when a wide-band FM modulated signal is produced by utilizing the optical frequency modulating operation by a semiconductor laser element and the heterodyne detection, optical intensity modulation is produced as well as optical frequency modulation, which causes average-value variation in the wide-band FM modulated signal. Then FM demodulation cannot be correctly performed.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A liquid ejecting apparatus ejects a liquid supplied from a liquid container including a storage unit in which data is written and a liquid level detector which detects a liquid level of the contained liquid. The liquid ejecting apparatus includes: an abnormality detecting unit which receives a signal indicating the liquid level of the liquid from the liquid level detector and analyzes the signal to detect abnormality of the liquid level detector; and a writing unit which writes data indicating the abnormality in the storage unit when the abnormality is detected.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique capable of writing data in a storage unit mounted in a liquid container.
2. Related Art
A liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printing machine or a micro-dispenser receives a liquid such as ink from a liquid container and ejects the liquid. The liquid container is provided with a non-volatile storage unit in which a manufactures date, a manufacturer, a serial number, and the like of the liquid container are stored.
The liquid ejecting apparatus can record various types of information in a storage unit provided in the liquid container. For example, JP-A-2004-188634 discloses a storage unit in which as information on a printing apparatus, a serial number of the printing apparatus, information such as the number of jam occurrences, cumulative operation time of the printing apparatus, and the number of print paper sheets are stored. In addition, in JP-A-2004-314642, as data on a use record of a liquid container, information on a cleaning situation, an exchange situation, and a final user is stored.
Manufacturers of the liquid containers can recover the used liquid containers and easily gather the information on the liquid ejecting apparatuses or the information on use situation of the liquid containers by analyzing the information stored in the storage units. However, in order to improve a quality of the liquid container and deal with problems with the liquid container, other useful information other than the above-described information has to be stored.

Liquid ejecting apparatus, liquid container, and data writing method


Methods for changing a rate-control (RC) setting during video encoding, performed by an RC controller and a video encoder, are provided. An embodiment of the method comprises determining whether change in the RC setting is allowed for encoding a next portion of a video sequence, detecting a request for changing the RC setting before encoding the next portion of the video sequence if the RC setting is allowed to be changed; and executing video encoding for the next portion of the video sequence ceaselessly utilizing the changed RC setting when detecting the request.

The invention relates to video encoding, and more particularly, to systems and methods for changing a rate-control setting during video encoding.
A video sequence (VS) can be seen as a series of static frames, requiring considerable storage capacity and transmission bandwidth. A 90-min full color video stream, for example, having 640×480 pixels/frame and 15 frames/second, requires bandwidth of 640×480 (pixels/frame)×3(bytes/pixel)×15(frames/sec)=13.18(MB/sec) and file size of 13.18(MB/sec)×90×60=69.50(GB). Such a sizeable digital video stream is difficult to store and transmit in real time, thus, many encoding techniques have been introduced to reduce the required memory size and transmission bandwidth.
MPEG standards ensure video encoders create standardized files that can be opened and played on any system with a standards-compliant decoder. Digital video contains spatial and temporal redundancies, which may be encoded without significant sacrifice. MPEG coding is a generic standard, intended to be independent of a specific application, involving encoding based on statistical redundancies in temporal and spatial directions. Spatial redundancy is based on the similarity between adjacent pixels. MPEG encoding employs intra-picture spatial compression to remove spatial redundancy by using DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform). Temporal redundancy refers to identical pixels repeatedly shown in adjacent video frames, providing smooth, realistic motion in video. MPEG relies on prediction, more precisely, motion-compensated prediction, for temporal encoding between frames. MPEG utilizes, to create temporal encoding, I-Frames, B-frames and P-frames. An I-frame is an intra-coded frame, a single image heading a sequence. I-frames are only encoded to reduce spatial redundancy within the frame with no reference to previous or subsequent frames. P-frames are forward-predicted frames, encoded with reference to a previous I- or P-frame, with pointers to information in a previous frame. B-frames are encoded with reference to a previous reference frame, a subsequent reference frame, or both. Motion vectors employed may be forward, backward, or both.
MPEG achieves encoding by quantizing the coefficients produced by applying DCT to 8×8 blocks of pixels in an image and through motion compensation. Quantization is basically division of the DCT coefficient by a quantization scale related to quality level, with higher indices for better encoding efficiency but lower quality, and lower indices for the reverse.
Typical approaches for a MPEG video encoder utilize a constant bit-rate (CBR) for a group of picture (GOP) regardless of the complexity of each video interval. Bit-rate is used to determine the video quality and defines how much physical space that one second of video requires in bits. CBR technique assumes equal weighting of bit distribution among GOPs which results in reducing the degree of freedom of the encoding task. The CBR encoding outputs a bitstream with a output rate kept at almost the same rate regardless of the content of the input video. As a result, for a video interval with simple content, the encoding quality will be good; however, for a video interval with complex content, the encoding quality will be poor. Generally speaking, the encoding quality of the CBR encoding is not smooth.
Since the VS is inherently variable, a better encoding approach has been introduced by employing a variable birate (VBR) encoder algorithm. Generally speaking, a VBR encoder produces non-constant output bit-rate during a period of time, and a complex frame consumes a higher bit-rate than that of a plain frame. As a result, the encoding quality of the VBR encoding is more smooth than that of a CBR encoding.

Systems and methods for changing rate-control setting during video encoding


A composite electrode in a channel substrate for a PALC display panel comprises a core that includes a metal and a surface layer of a resistive anodic oxide of the core metal.

This invention relates to a cathode structure for a plasma addressed liquid crystal display panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,553 discloses apparatus for addressing data storage elements. A practical implementation of the apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,553 is illustrated schematically in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings.
The display panel shown in FIG. 5 comprises, in sequence from below, a polarizer 2, a channel substrate 4, a cover sheet 6 (commonly known as a microsheet), a layer 10 of electro-optic material, an array of parallel transparent data drive electrodes (only one of which, designated 12, can be seen in the view shown in FIG. 2), an upper substrate 14 carrying the data drive electrodes, and an upper polarizer 16. The channel substrate 2 is typically made of glass and is formed with multiple parallel channels 20 in its upper main face. The channels 20, which are separated by ribs 22, are filled with an ionizable gas, such as helium. An anode 24 and a cathode 26 are provided in each of the channels 20. The channels 20 are orthogonal to the data drive electrodes and the region where a data drive electrode crosses a channel (when viewed perpendicularly to the panel) forms a discrete panel element 28. Each panel element can be considered to include elements of the layer 10 and the upper and lower polarizers 2 and 16. In the case of a color display panel, the panel elements include color filters (not shown) between the layer 10 and the upper substrate 14. The region of the upper surface of the display panel that bounds the panel element constitutes a single pixel 30 of the display panel.
The anodes in the several channels are held at ground potential. When a suitable negative voltage is applied to the cathode in one of the channels, the gas in that channel forms a plasma that provides a conductive path at the lower surface of the cover sheet 6. If the data drive electrode is at ground potential, there is no significant electric field in the volume element of electro-optic material and the panel element is considered to be off, whereas if the data drive electrode is at a substantially different potential from ground, there is a substantial electric field in that volume element of electro-optic material and the panel element is considered to be on.
It is conventional to assemble a display panel of the kind shown in FIG. 5 by forming a channel substrate assembly, including the channel substrate and the cover sheet, forming an upper substrate assembly, including the upper substrate, the data drive electrodes, and the layer of electro-optic material, and attaching the upper substrate assembly to the channel substrate assembly. In manufacture of the channel substrate assembly, the cover sheet is placed over the upper surface of the channel substrate and is frit sealed to the channel substrate around the periphery thereof.
It is known to fabricate the cathodes in a PALC display panel using a nickel or chromium base layer having a coating of a finely divided rare earth hexaboride, such as LaB.sub.6, dispersed in a glass matrix. The rare earth hexaboride is used as the coating material on the nickel or chromium base layer because it has a low work function so that it is an efficient emitter of electrons, and has a moderate heat of sublimation so that it is sputter resistant. However, there are some features of this cathode structure that might be considered less than optimal in some applications. For example, it is desirable that the coating material should have a fairly high resistivity so that an electric field that will force electrons to the surface of the cathode for emission into the plasma can be established in the coating material, but the conductivity of a rare earth hexaboride is rather high and consequently the field may be considered smaller than optimum. Further, when the cathode is formed, it may have asperities (convex regions in which the radius of curvature of the surface is or approaches zero, such as points, ridges or edges of the cathode), such that the electric field is non-uniform over the cathode and consequently the current density is non-uniform, leading to high temperatures and the possibility of arcing between the cathode and anode in a given channel.
In a helium-neon (HeNe) laser, the cathode is typically a tube of aluminum. In a HeNe laser that operates in the normal glow condition, there is a tendency for sputtering to take place at the cathode. It has been found that the problem of sputtering at the cathode of a HeNe laser can be ameliorated by anodically oxidizing the aluminum cathode.
A layer of aluminum oxide can be formed on a body of aluminum either thermally, by heating in an oxidizing atmosphere, or anodically, by establishing an oxidizing plasma between the aluminum body connected as anode and a cathode. Thermal aluminum oxide is a good insulator. When thermal oxide is formed on a body of aluminum, the thickness of the oxide layer is generally uniform and does not depend on the topography of the surface. When an anodic oxide layer is formed on a body of aluminum, the thickness of the layer depends on the topography of the surface, because the rate at which the anodic oxide is formed depends on the current density and the current density depends on the topography. The anodic oxide is formed preferentially at asperities of the aluminum body.

Cathode structure for a plasma addressed liquid crystal display panel


This invention relates to acylated enol derivatives of known elastase inhibitors. These compounds are useful in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases, including cystic fibrosis and emphysema or as prodrugs of compounds which are useful in the treatment of said diseases.

This invention relates to compounds which are either elastase inhibitors or are prodrugs of elastase inhibitors, useful for a variety of physiological and end-use applications.
Human neutrophil elastase has been implicated as an agent contributing to the tissue destruction associated with a number of inflammatory diseases such as chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. J. L. Malech and J. I. Gallin, New Engl. J. Med., 317(11), 687 (1987). Elastase possesses a broad range of proteolytic activity against a number of connective tissue macromolecules including elastin, fibronectin, collagen, and proteoglycan. The presence of the enzyme elastase may contribute to the pathology of these diseases.
Normal plasma contains large quantities of protease inhibitors that control a variety of enzymes involved in connective tissue turnover and inflammation. For example, .alpha.-1-proteinase inhibitor (.alpha.-1-PI) is a serine protease inhibitor that blocks the activity of elastase. .alpha.-1-PI has received considerable interest because reduction in plasma levels to less than 15% of normal is associated with the early development of emphysema.
In addition to plasma derived protease inhibitors, secretory fluids, including bronchial, nasal, cervical mucus, and seminal fluid contain an endogenous protease inhibitor called secretory leukoprotease inhibitor (SLPI) that can inactivate elastase and is believed to play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the epithelium in the presence of inflammatory cell proteases. In certain pathological states .alpha.-1-PI and SLPI are inactivated by neutrophil oxidative mechanisms allowing the neutrophil proteases to function in an essentially inhibitor-free environment. For example, bronchial lavage fluids from patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been found to contain active elastase and .alpha.-1-PI that had been inactivated by oxidation.
In addition to oxidative mechanisms, neutrophils possess non-oxidative mechanisms for eluding inhibition by antiproteases. Neutrophils from patients with chronic granulomatous disease are capable of degrading endothelial cell matrices in the presence of excess .alpha.-1-PI. There is considerable in vitro evidence that stimulated neutrophils can tightly bind to their substrates such that serum antiproteases are effectively excluded from the microenvironment of tight cell-substrate contact. The influx of large numbers of neutrophils to an inflammatory site may result in considerable tissue damage due to the proteolysis that occurs in this region.
Applicants have determined that elastase is one of the primary neutrophil proteases responsible for cartilage matrix degeneration as measured by the ability of neutrophil lysate, purified elastase and stimulated neutrophils to degrade cartilage matrix proteoglycan. Furthermore, applicants have previously discovered peptide derivatives useful as elastase inhibitors, exerting valuable pharmacological activities. For example, peptide derivatives useful as elastase inhibitors wherein the carboxy terminal carboxyl group has been replaced by a pentafluoroethylcarbonyl (--C(O)C.sub.2 F.sub.5)group and which the amino terminal amino acid is protected by various heterocycle-containing groups such as a 4-morpholinecarbonyl group are disclosed in European Patent Application OPI No. 0529568, inventors Peet et al., with a publication date of Mar. 3, 1993. Applicants have recently discovered acylated enol derivatives of known elastase inhibitors, such as those disclosed in European Patent Application OPI No. 0529568, which are useful as prodrugs of the known derivatives, or are elastase inhibitors in their own right.

Acylated enol derivatives as prodrugs of elastase inhibitors


A system for seamless distributed job control between a multifunction peripheral and a host. A host, such as a personal computer, is linked with one or more multifunction peripherals. Each multifunction peripheral has at least scanning and printing capability. However, the peripherals do not require extensive memory or processing capability, because the processing and storage of data is accomplished by the host. A user potentially may operate the peripheral through a peripheral interface or through a user interface of the host.

The present invention relates generally to systems utilizing multifunction peripherals in combination with a host, such as a personal computer, and particularly to a system in which the multifunction peripheral utilizes a processor and a memory of the host. This permits use of a to multifunction peripheral without the added expense of providing such a peripheral with its own internal extensive memory and complex processor.
Multifunction peripherals are widely used for such tasks as scanning, copying and faxing. Many of these multifunction peripherals have a single structure or housing in which the multiple capabilities or functionalities are combined. For example, some multifunction peripherals can be used to scan documents into memory, and to print copies based on the stored data or to initiate sending of the data as a facsimile transmission.
Normally, multifunction peripherals can be used as stand-alone devices without being connected to a host device, such as a personal computer. However, it is also common to connect multifunction peripherals to a personal computer via parallel ports. This allows a user to utilize at least some of the functionality of the multifunction peripheral through the PC interface.
Even though a PC interface can be utilized, many users prefer to use the multifunction peripheral essentially as a stand-alone device to perform simple tasks like copying and sending facsimile transmissions. The user can thus avoid bringing the computer to full power, if not in use, and also avoid interrupting someone working at the personal computer, if it is in use. Also, many users prefer the simple, push-button interface commonly found on multifunction peripherals, rather than the mouse and/or keyboard interface of the personal computer.
This desire of certain users to utilize the multifunction peripheral interface and to effectively use the multifunction peripheral as a stand-alone unit has heretofore necessitated the use of internal memory and processor power in the peripheral. Thus, even when the peripheral is connected to a personal computer, there is a duplication of costs for providing both the personal computer and the multifunction peripheral with independent memories and processors.
It would be advantageous to utilize the memory and processing power of a host device, such as a personal computer, for the multifunction peripheral without requiring that a user utilize the host interface.
The present invention features a system for utilizing a host in controlling a peripheral task. The system comprises a host having a processor and a memory. The system also includes a peripheral having at least a scanner and a printer. A communication link couples the host and the peripheral to permit data to flow therebetween. However, data scanned by the scanner is stored in the memory of the host, and the functionality of the scanner and the printer is controlled by the processor of the host.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a system is provided for distributing job control between a multifunction peripheral and a personal computer. The system includes a personal computer having a processor and a memory. A multifunction peripheral is placed in communication with the personal computer. The multifunction peripheral includes a scanner and a printer, but the functionality of the scanner and the printer is controlled by the processor and the memory of the personal computer.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for distributing job control between a multifunction peripheral and a host to eliminate the need for a complex peripheral processor and extensive peripheral memory. The method includes setting scan parameters at a peripheral, and providing a signal to a processor of a host unit to initiate the scan. The method further includes utilizing the host unit processor to scan a desired image based on the scan parameters, and storing the desired image in a memory of the host unit.

Seamless distributed job control between a multifunction peripheral and a host


A diode laser of the buried heterostructure type with transverse injection and a lateral bipolar transistor structure are monolithically and coaxially formed in the same set of semiconductor layers to make an integral laser device that emits a constant level of optical power stabilized against unpredictable variations. The base region of the transistor structure is formed coaxially with the laser waveguide, so that laser power passes into or through the transistor base. Electrical feedback is provided from the transistor to the laser via a resistor between the collector of the transistor and the anode of the laser, thereby controlling the current delivered by an external current source to the laser.

The present invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor lasers, and more specifically to a semiconductor laser coaxially integrated with a phototransistor.
Semiconductor lasers, also referred to as diode lasers, are well known in the art. These devices generally consist of a planar layered semiconductor structure having one or more active layers bounded at their ends by cleaved surfaces that act as mirrors for the optical resonator. In one form of this structure the layers on one side of the active layer or layers are doped with impurities so as to have an excess of mobile electrons, while on the other side of the active layer(s) the semiconductor layers are doped with impurities so as to have a deficiency of mobile electrons, therefore creating an excess of positively charged carriers called holes. Layers with excess electrons are said to be n-type, i.e. negative, while layers with excess holes are said to be p-type, i.e. positive. Activation of the laser is achieved by applying an electrical potential between the p-side and the n-side of the layered structure, thereby driving either holes or electrons or both in a direction perpendicular to the planar layers so as to "inject" them into the active layers, where electrons recombine with holes to produce light. Optical feedback provided by the cleaved mirrors allows resonance of some of the emitted light to produce coherent "lasing".
In another form of diode laser, one region of the active layer or layers in the plane of the active layer is made to be p-type while another region in the plane of the active layer is made to be n-type. A p-n junction is thereby formed in the active layer or layers, so as to drive electrons or holes in a direction parallel to the plane of the active layers. A p-type optical waveguide for the lasing action can be formed by placing n-type regions on either side of the p-type region, thereby forming an n-p-n laser structure, as described by Thornton, et al., in Unified Planar Process for Fabricating Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors and Buried-Heterostructure Lasers Utilizing Impurity-Induced Disordering, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 53, no 26, pp. 2669-2671, (1988). Activation of the p-type waveguide is achieved by applying an electrical potential between the p-side and n-side of both junctions, thereby injecting electrons into the p-type region, where they recombine with holes to produce light. Similarly an n-type optical waveguide for the lasing action can be formed in an n-type active layer or layers, by placing p-type regions on either side of the n-type region, thereby forming a p-n-p laser structure. Activation of the n-type waveguide is achieved by applying an electrical potential between the p-side and n-side of both junctions thereby injecting holes into the n-type region, where they recombine with electrons to produce light. Both of these structures are known as transverse junction lasers because the p-n junction lies across, i.e. transverse to, the active layers.
The transverse n-p-n or p-n-p laser structure described above also functions as a bipolar transistor as disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,468, dated Jan. 22, 1991, to Thornton. For example, FIG. 1 shows the n-p-n structure fabricated by impurity-induced layer disordering on a semi-insulating substrate with the base, emitter, and collector contacts for the transistor all placed on the top surface of the semiconductor layers. Since the base region is necessarily kept very narrow, on the order of a few microns in width, the base contact is placed remote from the active base region with a conductive path allowed around and under one of the n-type regions. As with other transistor structures, the bipolar n-p-n device is operated in common-emitter mode by applying a positive voltage between the p-type base and the n-type emitter, thereby forward-biasing the base/emitter junction, and a positive voltage between the n-type collector and the n-type emitter, thereby reverse-biasing the collector base junction.
It is well known in the art that a transistor structure can be used as an optical detector with gain by introducing the incident light into the base region. See, e.g. J. C. Campbell, Phototransistors for Lightwave Communications, in Semiconductors and Semimetals, vol. 22, part D, edited by W. T. Tsang, pp. 389-447, Academic Press, (1985). In the phototransistor, excess electron-hole pairs are created in the base by absorption of the input light. The electrons diffuse to and are collected by the reverse-biased collector junction, leaving excess holes in the p-type base that lower the forward-biased potential on the emitter junction, causing electrons to be injected to the base from the emitter. Because of the exponential dependence of current on junction potential in a forward-biased junction, more electrons are injected into the base than the holes created by the incident light, resulting in a current gain. Thus the current proportional to the incident light power generated in the base is amplified by normal transistor action.
Optical detectors monolithically integrated with diode lasers have been of considerable interest to those skilled in the art, as a way to monitor the level of power emitted by a diode laser, especially for monolithic arrays of independently addressed lasers. One approach, described by Merz, et al., in Integrated GaAs-Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x As Injection Lasers and Detectors with Etched Reflectors, Applied Physics Letters vol. 30, No. 10, pp. 530-533, (1977), employs a detector region containing the same layer configuration as the laser, located outside the laser resonator but coaxial with the direction of lasing and coupled to the laser by an underlying passive waveguide layer. A second approach, described by Iga, et al., in GalnAsP/InP Laser with Monolithically Integrated Monitoring Detector, Electronics Letters vol 16, pp. 342-343, (1980), employs a detector region containing the same layer configuration as the laser, separated from the laser by an etched groove. Both of these approaches employ in-line detectors which are outside the laser cavity and require at least one laser facet to be etched. Other novel methods and apparatus employing in-line detectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,604 assigned to the assignee hereof. In addition to in-line detection techniques, Kobayashi, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,100, dated Jun. 16, 1987, has disclosed the use of a diffraction grating within the laser cavity to deflect light in a direction normal to the plane of the active layer of the laser and into an integrated detector. Other methods and apparatus for deflecting light out of a laser cavity into a detector region are disclosed in the aformentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,604.
One important application for a photodector integrated with a diode laser is in a feedback loop that stabilizes the power emitted by the laser against unpredictable variations. Thermal fluctuations are especially deleterious to maintaining constant optical power output, especially during pulsed modulation. For example, heating of the laser chip unavoidably occurs when the applied laser current is abruptly increased at the beginning of a pulse. Since a laser's output power is temperature dependent, this time-dependent, or transient, heating normally causes the power output to decrease or "droop" during the pulse. Furthermore, transient heating during a sequence of pulses can have a cumulative effect on the temperature that depends on the number and frequency of the pulses. For example, if the time between successive pulses is large, the device will be given sufficient time to cool, so that the application of the driving current has a large temperature effect, i.e. droop, during the next pulse. The shorter the time between pulses, the less time the device has a cool between one pulse and the next, leading to a sustained increase in the temperature of the laser. This sustained temperature increase results in a further decrease in amplitude of the output pulse obtained with a constant level of input current.
There is presently a need in the art for apparatus and methods which provide accurate and reproducible control of the optical energy contained in each pulse of an intensity-modulated light beam. For example, as described in concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/906,145 and incorporated herein by reference thereto, digital printing on a photosensitive recording medium requires accurate control of the optical energy delivered in each pulse. In systems currently known to those skilled in the art, a predetermined amount of energy is delivered in each pulse by turning on the optical beam to a desired power level for a fixed time interval. This approach requires that the laser output power be reproducible from pulse to pulse and constant during a pulse, in order that the optical energy delivered in each pulse be accurately controlled. Accurate control is especially important in printing with different grey levels formed by varying the number of exposed spots or when exposing very closely spaced spots in order to control the formation of an edge. Power fluctuations can arise from many sources, including for example ambient thermal fluctuations, laser self-heating, laser degradation, fluctuations in the drive current, and/or the pattern of modulation. Since these fluctuations occur within each pulse and are very difficult to predict, control, or eliminate, they are commonly not compensated for. Thus there is presently a need in the art for apparatus and methods which provide accurate and reproducible control of the level of pulsed optical power emitted by an intensity-modulated diode laser.
Each of the integrated detectors of the prior art discussed above is formed by a simple p-n junction diode. A p-n junction diode of this type provides an electrical signal proportional to the laser power but does not provide amplification of the photo-generated current. Consequently such a detector requires an additional stage of amplification to produce feedback control sufficient to maintain constant laser output in the presence of unpredictable variations in laser temperature, drive current, or modulation pattern. Additional amplification can be obtained from an off chip circuit or by monolithically incorporating a remote transistor on the chip, e.g. as described by Katz, et. al., in a Monolithic Integration of GaAs/GaAlAs Bipolar Transistor and Heterostructure Laser, Applied Physics Letters vol. 37, pp. 211-213 (1980). However, instantaneous stabilization of the laser's output power requires high-speed electrical coupling from the detector to the transistor to the laser. Consequently, external circuitry is adequate to compensate slow variations of power but not for instantaneous stabilization during short pulse modulation such as encountered in laser printing systems. Similarly, with on-chip amplification, the required response times dictate that the transistor amplifier be physically located close to the laser/detector structure. Consequently, remote amplifying transistors are not suitable for use with more than two closely spaced lasers on a chip because the transistors must be placed too far from the laser/detector structure to allow adequately fast response. Accordingly, there is presently a need in the art for a compact monolithic apparatus emitting constant optical power either continuously or from pulse to pulse. These and other problems are addressed by various aspects of the present invention, which will be summarized and then described in detail below.

Semiconductor laser with integrated phototransistor for dynamic power stabilization


An electrical generator or motion sensor including a) a pair of elongated L shaped supports (15) fixed at one end but free to move at the other b) a coil (14) secured to the supports remote from the fixed end c) an array of permanent magnets (12) arranged adjacent the coil such that movement of the coil through the magnetic field induces an electric current in the coil. To rectify the current the supports are made of a piezoelectric polymer membrane so that movement of the coil stresses the membrane to generate a voltage that is used to turn on a MOSFET transistor rectifier.

For some time there has been interest in harvesting energy from vibrations or motion such as walking to provide power as a replacement for batteries. Two sources of electric power have been used previously piezoelectric devices and magnetic devices.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,412,355 and 4,471,353 disclose a switch that powers a transmitter to switch on a remote light using the current generated by a magnet on a vibrating reed interacting with a coil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,132 generates electric power from the linear movement of a magnet through a coil
U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,138 uses a sprung magnet on a key of a key board moving in a coil to generate electric power to recharge batteries on a portable computer or similar device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,516 discloses a wireless remote controller, which replaces batteries with a piezo generator actuated by a push button or turning wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,749 discloses a power generator for devices on a train which uses the motion of the train to oscillate a magnetic piston within a coil.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,719 provides a torch with a magnet able to reciprocate within the torch barrel which is wound with coils. The arrangement includes a capacitor for storing charge.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,901 discloses an automobile wheel with a magnet and coil arranged so that deflection of the tire causes relative motion between the magnet and the coil to generate electricity.
WO 01/20760 discloses a micro piezo generator comprising a micro fabricated silicon cantilever with a piezo layer on the cantilever so that vibration of the cantilever to generate current.
There is a need for a device which can generate electrical power without being actively actuated but which simply relies on the vibration or movement of the body or article to which it is attached.


When a housing of a waterproof main terminal is fixed onto the outside surface of a case with a screw, a through hole is sealed with a seal surface of a packing pressed onto the outside surface of the case. Furthermore, the elastic force of the packing placed so as to be in tight contact with the whole circumference of the terminal ensures high waterproofing performance between the terminal and the housing, so the one packing can perform waterproofing both between the case and the housing and between the terminal and the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof main terminal screwed onto an electronic device case.
2. Description of the Background Art
In an electronic device used in a water-entering environment, such as within an engine room of a car, a waterproof main terminal is used to connect an electronic component within an electronic device case to an external device. For an electronic device handling large current, a waterproof main terminal made by insert-molding a metal terminal into a resin housing is often used to connect to an external device via a harness.
One example of conventional waterproof main terminals was an O-ring as presented in Patent Document 1 that is used for waterproofing between an electronic device case and housing of a waterproof main terminal screwed onto the case. Also, waterproofing is needed between a metal terminal and a resin housing because a gap may occur due to difference of linear expansion coefficient. A well known waterproofing method for this case is to apply a chemical agent to the metal terminal and perform edging to increase the creeping distance between the terminal, and the resin of the housing that are insert-molded. Another known method is to apply a special agent to the terminal to join the metal and the resin.
On the other hand, a fluid level detector presented in Patent Document 2 includes a terminal, for electrically connecting a Hall element included in a body as main part to the outside, the terminal being integrally molded with a seal rubber and insert-molded into the body. According to this method, the seal rubber compressively deformed when the body is molded keeps compressed also after molding, generating a surface pressure between the seal rubber and the body. Furthermore, the temperature of the resin increases to high when the body is molded, which causes the seal rubber to adhere tightly to the body. Thus, high sealability is achieved between the seal rubber and the terminal and between the seal rubber and the body.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 4,453,729    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 4,089,522
However, the method of performing edging on the metal terminal to increase the creeping distance between the terminal and the housing cannot completely eliminate the gap between the terminal and the housing, so the sealability is incomplete. Furthermore, the method of joining the terminal and the housing limits the material of the terminal and imposes many restrictions to manufacturing, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost.
Furthermore, according to the Patent Document 2, since the body as main part is not screwed onto the electronic device, waterproofing is not performed between the electronic device case and the body. Generally, the waterproof main terminal to be screwed onto the electronic device case requires waterproofing at two locations, or specifically, the O-ring between the case and the housing and a packing between the housing and the terminal. This increases the number of parts and makes fabrication man-hours complicated, thereby increasing the cost.


A multiple speed computer control device for use in providing touch commands from a user, comprising a roller ball and a roller assembly supporting the roller ball, wherein the roller assembly responds to pressure applied to the roller ball so as to produce a control signal. The invention further provides a method of controlling the speed of movement of a cursor on a display screen, comprising the steps of providing a control element, moving the control element to a first predetermined position corresponding to a first speed of movement of the cursor and moving the cursor at the first speed of movement in response to moving the control element to the first predetermined position. In another embodiment of the invention, an adjustable computer control device is provided, comprising a keyboard, a rotatable housing positioned in the keyboard, and a control positioned in the housing.

This invention relates to a novel process and device for entering data and commands into a computer. In most computer systems the operator uses a typewriter style keyboard to enter data and commands. The results of these inputs and commands are displayed on a CRT monitor. A "cursor" is used to locate the current position on the monitor where data are loaded or where commands are carried out. The position of the cursor is controlled in a variety of ways. Most computer systems use particular keystrokes or combinations of keystrokes to move the cursor around the screen of the monitor. In some systems special keys are designated to command the computer to move the cursor in particular directions, i.e. up, down, left or right. Other devices are also available to move the cursor such as joysticks, "mice," etc.
There are various disadvantages associated with each of these systems. The systems which use specially designated keystrokes to move the cursor are limited in the variety of tasks and the speed with which they can be used. This is because they can only move the cursor at one speed, in one direction, and only one character place at a time. This is so evidently limiting that many new computer operating systems now incorporate an additional device to move the cursor, usually a "mouse". However the mouse, while more versatile and faster, has inherent limitations of its own.
To those knowledgeable in the art the mouse is a device which provides signals to control the position of a cursor on the monitor display of computer systems. The mouse consists of a small housing fitted with a roller ball in its underside. Any movement of the "mouse" on a flat surface turns the roller ball. The roller ball is connected to sensing devices which register its movements. This sensing device is well known to those knowledgeable in the art and needs only a brief description here. As the mouse is moved over a flat surface in various directions the roller ball rotates. The roller ball's movement is appreciated by the sensors which then enter the positional data into the computer. The computer then moves the cursor on the monitor screen a distance which corresponds to the movement of the roller ball.
There are a number of inherent disadvantages to this system also. First, the mouse requires a relatively large flat surface adjacent to the computer keyboard upon which to operate. Therefore the mouse cannot easily be used where desktop space is limited. Similarly use with portable or "laptop" computers or with arcade games is very difficult.
The second major difficulty with using a mouse is the need for the operator to remove his or her hands from the keyboard in order to operate the mouse. This requires the operator to look away from the keyboard or monitor and to then visually locate the mouse. The operator must then move his hand towards the mouse, locate the mouse with his hand, and then place his hand correctly on the mouse. Now the operator is able to use the mouse to instruct the computer. After finishing his task with the mouse the operator must again remove his hand from the device he is using and visually locate the next device he wishes to use, in this case the keyboard. Next he must move his hand to the keyboard and locate the "home keys" to correctly position his fingers for use of the keyboard. All of these actions require time to complete and thereby reduce the efficiency of the operator.
A third difficulty is that the location of the cursor changes as the operator does his work while the computer "remembers" the cursor position for the mouse as being located at the last point that the mouse was used. When the operator wants to use the mouse at the current location on the screen he must first move the "mouse cursor" to the present work location before being able to use the mouse.
The present invention solves all of these problems. It eliminates the need for a relatively large flat surface adjacent to the computer keyboard upon which to operate and thereby makes it useful in new situations and activities, it eliminates many operator actions by enabling the operator to keep his hands on the home keys of the keyboard while using a device which performs the functions of the mouse thereby increasing efficiency of operation, and it provides a simple method of repositioning the mouse cursor position to the active screen position.


Lecithin and 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3 diol (BNPD) are used to inhibit corrosion in boiler steam condensate systems. Aqueous steam condensate corrosion inhibiting compositions of these components are also disclosed. BNPD is also used as a preservative in lecithin containing and in other GRAS additive containing compositions.

Steam condensate corrosion protection is an important aspect of plant operation. An increase in the quantity and quality of condensate results in water and heat savings for the boiler industry.
The action of dissolved gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide leads to condensate corrosion. When carbon dioxide dissolves, it reacts with water to form carbonic acid. The acid depresses the pH of the condensate and increases corrosion of the metallurgical parts in contact with the condensate. The corrosion may become manifest as a groove or the like found especially in steam headers or condensate return units. It can often weaken the pipe wall, especially at the threaded joints thereof, and such corrosion can also contribute to an increase in copper and iron that is returned to the boiler. Obviously, increases in metal levels in the boiler water can lead to troublesome deposit formation.
Oxygen, when present in the condensate, can cause a localized type of corrosion in the form of pitting. This type of corrosion can cause accelerated failure of the associated metallurgy due to localized concentration of this pitting problem in a small area of the condensate system.
Historically, three major approaches have been used to inhibit condensate system corrosion. Neutralizing amines have been used to neutralize the carbonic acid formed in the systems via control of system pH to the range of about 7.5-9.0. Morpholine, diethyaminoethanol, and cyclohexylamine are common neutralizing amines that are in use today. Typically, these neutralizing amines provide good protection against carbonic acid attack but offer little protection against oxygen based corrosion.
Filming amines, on the other hand, provide a thin protective barrier on the metallurgy in contact with the system condensate and protect the metal surfaces against both carbonic acid and oxygen attack. Additionally, a combination of the neutralizing and filming amines combines the elevated pH approach of the neutralizing amines and the film forming function of the filming amines to neutralize carbonic acid while providing a protective barrier film.
Steam condensate lines of boiler systems used in the food and beverage industry create special problems. Generally, these cannot be treated by conventional corrosion inhibition treatments due to regulatory prohibitions. Accordingly, corrosion inhibitors that were on the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list were initially tested by our research group. From the GRAS inhibitors tested, lecithin was chosen for further development due to its performance and dispersability in water.
Lecithin is found in all living organisms, and the commercial grades are generally isolated from soybeans. Lecithin is a mixture of diglycerides of stearic, palmitic, and oleic acids, linked to the choline ester of phosphoric acid. Since it is a natural substance, lecithin is readily biodegradable and subject to rapid decomposition when under microbial attack. Microbial degradation of lecithin destroys the structure of the compound, and eliminates its protective corrosion inhibition capability in the steam condensate. Lecithin-based products, therefore, require preservation or they will not survive even short-term storage prior to use.
The application of a corrosion inhibitor to the steam condensate of a boiler servicing a food or beverage operation requires that the inhibitor, and all components of the inhibitor formulation, have approvals for that use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A lecithin-based inhibitor, being a natural product, meets the FDA standards.
In most steam condensate operations (non-FDA), the application of preservatives to a corrosion inhibitor used to treat the condensate is unnecessary or easily accomplished with commercially available preservatives. This is not the case with a lecithin-based inhibitor that is adapted for usage in boiler systems that must comply with FDA regulations. The possibility of food contact requires that all of the inhibitor formulation components be FDA acceptable. The likely rapid biodegradation of the lecithin-based inhibitor during storage dictates that the inhibitor itself must be preserved, and the FDA requirement that all components of a product formulation carry FDA approval further dictates that the corrosion inhibitor must be preserved by a compound with FDA clearance for direct food contact.
In the development of the inhibitor, many known compounds (all FDA cleared) were evaluated as preservatives for lecithin. Among those tested were sorbates, benzoates, lactoferrin, sulfites, BHT, polysorbates, quaternary ammonium salts, isothiazolins, propionates, and other FDA approved preservatives. All of these were rejected because they were ineffective as preservatives in this application, destabilized the lecithin dispersion, or hindered the corrosion inhibition of the lecithin component.

Steam condensate corrosion inhibitor compositions and methods


Synthetic methods for the in-situ formation of olefin metathesis catalysts are disclosed, as well as the use of such catalysts in metathesis reactions of olefins and olefin compounds. In one aspect, a method is provided for synthesizing an organometallic compound of the formula

Olefin metathesis has become an exceptionally powerful and applicable method for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds in organic and polymer synthesis. Ruthenium-based complexes (1-3) are the most commonly employed olefin metathesis catalysts in academic and industrial laboratories, because they can be handled in air and are tolerant of various organic functional groups.
(see (a) Schrodi, Y.; Pederson, R. L. Aldrichim. Acta 2007, 40, 45-52. (b) Grubbs, R. H. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2007, 349, 34-40). However, the syntheses of these complexes are relatively cumbersome, usually involving more than one step and requiring isolation of the catalysts to remove catalyst-inhibiting by-products such as liberated phosphine ligands (Scheme 1). (see, e.g., (a) Schwab, P.; Grubbs, R. H.; Ziller, J. W. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118, 100-110. (b) Scholl, M.; Ding, S.; Lee, C. W.; Grubbs, R. H. Org. Lett. 1999, 1, 953-956. (c) Chatterjee, A. K.; Morgan, J. P.; Scholl, M.; Grubbs, R. H., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 3783-3784. (d) Kingsbury, J. S.; Harrity, J. P. A.; Bonitatebus, P. J., Jr.; Hoveyda, A. H., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121 (4), 791-799. (e) Garber, S. B.; Kingsbury, J. S.; Gray, B. L.; Hoveyda, A. H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 8168-8179. (f) Fürstner, A.; Guth, O.; Duffels, A.; Seidel, G.; Liebl, M.; Gabor, B.; Mynott, R., Chem.-Eur. J. 2001, 7, 4811-4820. (g) Fürstner, A.; Thiel, O. R.; Ackermann, L.; Schanz, H.-J.; Nolan, S. P., J. Org. Chem. 2000, 65, 2204-2207. (h) Monsaert, S.; Drozdzak, R.; Dragutan, V.; Dragutan, I.; Verpoort, F., Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2008, 432-440).
Therefore, a one-step procedure that forms highly active olefin metathesis catalysts and does not require purification or isolation would provide certain advantages. Ideally, the new procedure should be as atom-economic as possible. In particular, a new method that requires only one equivalent of expensive ligands (e.g., PCy3) per ruthenium center would be desirable.
Previous attempts to generate olefin metathesis catalysts in situ focused on the preparation of ruthenium vinylidene (see (a) Katayama, H.; Ozawa, F., Coord. Chem. Rev. 2004, 248, 1703-1715. (b) Katayama, H.; Ozawa, F., Organometallics 1998, 17, 5190-5196. (c) Louie, J.; Grubbs, R. H., Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2001, 40, 247-249.) and allenylidene species (see (a) Dragutan, I.; Dragutan, V., Platinum Met. Rev. 2006, 50, 81-94. (b) Fürstner, A.; Liebl, M.; Lehmann, C. W.; Picquet, M.; Kunz, R.; Bruneau, C.; Touchard, D.; Dixneuf, P. H., Chem.-Eur. J. 2000, 6, 1847-1857. (c) Schanz, H.-J.; Jafarpour, L.; Stevens, E. D.; Nolan, S. P., Organometallics 1999, 18, 5187-5190). However, these types of complexes proved less active in olefin metathesis than their ruthenium-alkylidene counterparts. For example, ruthenium allenylidene complex 4 can be very conveniently prepared in a one-step procedure involving the treatment of [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 with 1,1-diphenylprop-2-yn-1-ol in the presence of two equivalents of PCy3 (Scheme 2). (See Schanz, H.-J.; Jafarpour, L.; Stevens, E. D.; Nolan, S. P., Organometallics 1999, 18, 5187-5190). Unfortunately, 4 is inactive in olefin metathesis although its chemical isomer-ruthenium-indenylidene complex 3a-shows good activity. (See; and Schanz, H.-J.; Jafarpour, L.; Stevens, E. D.; Nolan, S. P., Organometallics 1999, 18, 5187-5190).

Recently the Schrodi and Bruneau groups have published interesting chelating indenylidene catalysts. (See Jimenez, L. R.; Gallon, B. J.; Schrodi, Y. Organometallics 2010, 29, 3471-3473, incorporated herein by reference, and Kabro, A.; Roisnel, T.; Fischmeister, C.; Bruneau, C. Chem.-Eur. J. 2010, 16, 12255-12261).
Despite the advances achieved in the preparation of olefin metathesis catalysts, a continuing need exists for new synthetic methods for preparing such catalysts. Of particular interest are methods that provide techniques for the preparation of new catalysts, while also providing for better utilization of reactants and improved product yields.

Method for in-situ formation of metathesis catalysts

Abstract: comprising contacting a precursor compound of the formula (X1X2MLjL1kL3m)i with an acetylenic compound comprising a chelating moiety, optionally, in the presence of a neutral electron donor, wherein M is a Group 8 transition metal, L, L1, L2, and L3 are neutral electron donors, X1 and X2 are anionic ligands, j is 1, 2, or 3; k is zero, 1, or 2; m is zero or 1; n is 1 or 2; and i is an integer; with the proviso that k is zero when the precursor compound is contacted with the acetylenic compound in the presence of the neutral electron donor, and R1 and R2 are independently selected from hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heteroatom-containing hydrocarbyl, substituted heteroatom-containing hydrocarbyl, and functional groups, wherein R1 and R2 are linked and together form one or more cyclic groups, R2 and L2 are linked and together form one or more cyclic groups, and any other two or more of X1, X2, L1, L2, L3, R1, and R2 can be taken together to form one or more cyclic groups. The invention has utility in the fields of catalysis, organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, and industrial and fine chemicals chemistry.