A method for coating paperboard including the steps of preparing a web of cellulosic fibers, the web having a basis weight of at least about 85 pounds per 3000 ft2, calendering the web at least once to form a paperboard substrate, wherein each of the calendering steps is performed without substantially introducing moisture to the web, and applying a basecoat to at least one surface of the paperboard substrate to form a coated paperboard structure, the basecoat including at least one pigment, the pigment having a sediment void volume of at least about 45 percent, wherein the coated paperboard structure has a Parker Print Surf smoothness of at most about 3 microns.

Paper or paperboard substrates used for printing and packaging are generally required to have good optical properties, excellent smoothness and excellent printability. Additionally, strength and stiffness are required such that the substrates can pass smoothly through high-speed printing and converting machines without breaking or jamming. High stiffness is necessary for maintaining the structural integrity of paperboard products during filling and in subsequent use.
Stiffness has a close relationship to the basis weight and density of the substrate. For a given caliper (thickness), the general trend is that stiffness increases as basis weight increases. However, if one increases basis weight to improve stiffness, more fiber must be utilized, adding to cost and weight.
In addition to the mechanical properties of stiffness and strength, paper or paperboard substrates that will be printed must have a required level of gloss and smoothness. One of the primary means for obtaining smoothness in a substrate is to calender the substrate during production. Calendering causes a reduction in caliper, which typically results in a corresponding reduction in stiffness. This is especially the case with the process of wet stack calendaring. Wet stack calendering requires a rewetting of a sheet that had been previously dried to about 5 percent moisture or less. The now rewetted sheet is passed through a calendering device having two or more rolls. The fiber network is compressed due to the pressure exerted by the rolls. The rewetting of the substrate makes the surface fibers more easily compressed and allows for more aggressive smoothness development. However, this compression densifies the sheet such that product manufactured using a "wet finish" process can have up to a 25% increase in its density after passing through the wet stack calender.
Alternately, manufacturers have attempted to smooth the surface of paperboard by coating the entire surface of the paperboard with a basecoat comprised of various pigments such as clay, calcium carbonate and titanium dioxide and then overcoating this base with a second and sometimes even a third coating, generally referred to as a topcoat. Typically, the more pigment (in the form of pigmented coatings) applied to the surface, the better the resulting smoothness. However, the use of relatively high quantities of pigments usually increases the cost and weight of the paper or paperboard.
The relationship between stiffness and smoothness is generally inversely proportional for a given amount of fiber per unit area. It would be desirable to be able to produce a finished paper or board having a smooth surface that was developed without the need for densification, thereby maintaining maximum thickness with the minimum cellulose fiber usage.

Method for coating dry finish paperboard


A water-based magenta ink composition comprising an aqueous medium, a magenta dye dissolved therein and a pH adjuster, where, as the magenta dye, Color Index Number Acid Red 52 is used; as the pH adjuster, a basic organic compound is used; and the pH of the water-based magenta composition is adjusted to a value within the range of from 8 to 10.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a water-based magenta ink composition suited for ink-jet recording, and an ink-jet recording process making use of it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ink-jet recording is a system in which ink droplets are formed by ink ejection methods of various types (e.g., a system utilizing electrostatic attraction, a system in which mechanical vibration or displacement is imparted to ink by the use of a piezoelectric device, and a system in which ink is heated to cause it to bubble and a pressure produced when it bubbles is utilized), and part or the whole of ink droplets is caused to adhere to recording mediums such as paper to make a record.
As ink compositions used in such ink-jet recording systems, pigment ink compositions or dye ink compositions prepared by dissolving or dispersing water-soluble dyes or pigments of various colors in water or mixed solvents of water and water-soluble organic solvents are known in the art.
Ink compositions for ink-jet recording are required to have various performances such that they cause no clogging at nozzles and in ink channels of the head of a recording apparatus, such that they cause no changes in properties and no deposition of solid matter during their storage, such that they give recorded images having sharp color tones and sufficiently high densities, such that they enable recording without limitation on the type of recording mediums, such that they have a high rate of fixing to recording mediums, such that they have excellent water resistance, weatherability, solvent resistance and abrasion resistance, such that they give recorded images having a good resolution, and such that they have values of physical properties such as viscosity and surface tension within proper ranges. In particular, what is important is the liquid stability that the ink does not cause clogging of, and deposits at, nozzles and ink channels of the recording apparatus.
Pigment ink compositions have a superior weatherability, but have a poor liquid stability since the pigment is dispersed in a solvent. During their storage for a long period of time, the dispersion of pigment may become unstable to cause agglomeration. Hence, they tend to cause clogging at the head nozzles or the like of the ink-jet recording apparatus. Accordingly, it is attempted to make improvement by regulating the constitution of pigment ink compositions as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1-204979, or by controlling the pH of water-based pigment ink compositions as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 64-6074. They, however, can not well endure the use as ink-jet recording inks.
Dye ink compositions, though having weatherability inferior to the pigment ink compositions, do not tend to cause clogging at nozzles and in ink channels of the head of the recording apparatus, and are widely used as ink-jet recording inks.
Many of such dye ink compositions are available as water-based ink compositions prepared by dissolving water-soluble dyes having various chemical structures, in water or mixed solvents of water and water-soluble organic solvents.
Such water-based dye ink compositions may cause a decrease in solubility of dyes to cause deposits of dyes, when the quality of liquid is nearly neutral or acidic. On the other hand, when strongly alkaline, they may cause deformation of members used in the ink-jet recording apparatus, in particular, members made of organic materials, or the organic materials constituting the members may dissolve into the ink, undesirably. They may also be harmful to human bodies, e.g., may attack the cornea, and hence, in order to adjust the pH of inks to the weakly alkaline side, some of them employ pH adjusters such as inorganic salts such as KOH and NaOH or inorganic salt components having a buffer action.
However, such water-based dye ink compositions containing inorganic salts tend to cause the inorganic salt components to deposit at the head nozzles of ink-jet printers, to cause clogging. When the ink compositions are used over a long period of time, the addition of the pH adjuster becomes less effective, so that the pH may become lower and the dye may become deposited to make the liquid stability poor.
Meanwhile, when full-color recorded images are reproduced using water-based dye ink compositions, four primary color inks, i.e., yellow ink, magenta ink, cyan ink and additionally black ink are used, and color tones of recorded images are determined by subtractive color mixing. In order to give recorded images having a sharp color tone as one of performances of the above inks, these inks are also required to form ideal primary colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black whose hues each have no other color tint.
In order to form ideal hues, dyes must be selected. In particular, in the case of magenta ink, only few dyes can reproduce magenta color, and Color Index Number Acid Red 52 (hereinafter often "C.I. Acid Red 52") is usually used. This dye can form a good magenta color, but, when present in ink compositions, may cause a great change in pH as a result of long-term storage, resulting in a poor liquid stability.

Water-based magenta INK composition and ink-jet recording process employing the same


A data logging apparatus for a device function tester comprises a first shift circuit (1) supplied with an output signal of the tester and a strobe signal for shifting the output of the tester by n rates under the timing of a basic clock (T.sub.0), a second shift circuit (2) for shifting the timing of the basic clock (T.sub.0) by n rates, a write pulse generating circuit (3) supplied with the output signal of the shift circuit (2), a third shift circuit (4) supplied with a memory address signal for shifting it by n rates under the timing of the basic clock (T.sub.0), a fourth shift circuit (5) for shifting a pattern address signal by n rates under the timing of the basic clock (T.sub.0), a first memory (6) supplied with the output signal of the first shift circuit (1) and the output signal of the third shift circuit (1) for storing the result of the test shifted by n rates in response to a write command signal, and a second memory ( 7) supplied with the output of the fourth shift circuit (5) and the output of the third shift circuit (4) for storing the pattern address shifted by n rates in response to the write command signal. Data logging can be accomplished without being affected by variable time intervals of write enable strobe pulses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a data logging apparatus. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a data logging apparatus destined for use in an IC (Integrated Circuit) function test system for diagnosing IC devices as to whether or not they function satisfactorily or successfully, wherein the data resulting from the test are recorded in a memory for the purpose of subsequent analysis of fail data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A circuit structure of an IC function test system known heretofore in the art is shown in FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings and will be described below to make clear the subject matter contemplated by the present invention.
In this figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a pattern address counter, 22 denotes a pattern memory, 23 denotes a modulation circuit, 24 denotes a device under test, 25 denotes a driver circuit, 26A denotes a high-selector, 26B denotes a low-selector, 27 denotes a comparison circuit, 28 denotes a memory address counter and 29 denotes a timing generator.
When the device 24 is to be tested as to the function thereof, a designated patter address is placed in the pattern address counter 21. Unless any address pattern is specified, the counter 21 is set to zero. The output of the pattern address counter 21 is inputted to an addressing terminal of the pattern memory 22 which then responds thereto by outputting pattern data.
The pattern data outputted from the pattern memory 22 is processed by the modulation circuit 23, as a result of which a pattern required for testing the function of the device 24 of concern is obtained. The pattern is then applied to the device 24 under test as a corresponding electric signal through the driver circuit 25. A signal outputted from the device 24 under test in response to the application of the pattern data signal is supplied to the inputs of the high-selector 26A and the low-selector 26B, respectively. In case an expected pattern supplied from the pattern memory 22 is of high level, the result of the comparison between the expected pattern and the pattern data signal selected by the high-selector 26A is produced as an output signal of the comparison circuit 27. On the other hand, when the expected pattern is of a low level, the former is compared with the pattern data signal inputted to the low-selector 26B, the result of which is produced as the output signal of the comparison circuit 27. In any case, the output signal of the comparison circuit 27 is supplied to a data logging apparatus 100.
The pattern address counter 21 then places therein a next address under the timing of a basic clock signal T.sub.0 which is produced by the timing generator 29. On the other hand, the memory address counter 28 starts the address counting operation only when the pattern address has reached a data logging start address which has previously been set up as the condition for the data logging before starting the function test. It should however be mentioned that the memory address counter 28 is incremented approximately under the timing of the basic clock T.sub.0.
The data logging apparatus 100 mentioned above is destined to serve as a circuit for writing in a data logging memory (not shown) the pattern addresses, the associated memory addresses and the fail data. The data logging memory also serves for storing time-serially input/output information to be furnished to a device 24 under test upon performing the function test.
Now, operation of the data logging apparatus 100 of the prior art will be elucidated by reference to a timing chart shown in FIG. 5.
In this figure, there are illustrated the basic clock signal T.sub.0 at (a), data of the pattern address at (b), a strobe signal at (c), the output data of the comparison circuit 27 at (d), the fail data at (e), the memory address at (f) and a memory write signal at (g), respectively.
Under the timing of the clock signal T.sub.0 generated by the timing generator 29 and shown at (a) in FIG. 5, application of the signal to the device 24 under test is controlled. At this juncture, a period of the basic timing signal T.sub.0 is referred to as a rate.
The pattern address data shown at (b) in FIG. 5 is generated under the timing of the basic clock T.sub.0 as well.
The strobe signal shown in FIG. 5 at (c) serves as a timing control signal for controlling the timing of fetching the output of the comparison circuit 27 as a signal representing the result of the test. This strobe signal (c) is outputted by a strobe circuit 110 shown in FIG. 4 at time intervals previously set with reference to the basic clock T.sub.0. More specifically, the strobe signal shown at (c) in FIG. 5 may be so set as to fall within a first rate (period) from the rising-up of the basic clock T.sub.0, as indicated by T.sub.1 or fall within a succeeding rate (period), as indicated by T.sub.2 or fall within a n-th rate in more general terms. The numerals shown above the strobe pulses, respectively, indicate the strobe signal identification numbers, respectively, wherein those strobe pulses affixed with the same numeral are produced at the same time interval.
The output data (d) of the comparison circuit 27 represent the results of the comparisons between the output data actually outputted from the device 24 under test and the expected data to be outputted.
Shown at (e) in FIG. 5 are fail data latched from the output (d) of the comparison circuit 27 in response to the strobe signal (c) of FIG. 5.
Shown at (f) in FIG. 5 is the memory address signal which is in synchronism with the basic clock T.sub.0.
Shown at (g) in FIG. 5 is the memory write pulse signal derived by delaying the strobe signal (c) for a predetermined amount.
Assuming now that the pattern addresses N1, N2, N3 and so forth, the fail data A, B, C and so forth and the addresses A1, A2, A3 and so forth are written in the data logging memory, the state of the data written in this memory may be such as shown in FIG. 6. Referring to this figure, although the pattern address data N2 should have been written at the memory address A2, the pattern address data N3 has actually been written at this memory address, which can be explained by the fact that the strobe signal (c) for the pattern address (b) becomes different for the pattern data N2, as can be seen in FIG. 5. More specifically, the strobe signal for the pattern address N2 shown at (b) in FIG. 5 is set to extend into the rate (period) of the pattern address N3 beyond the rate of the pattern address data N2. As a consequence, at the time point when the fail data B shown at (e) in FIG. 5 makes appearance, the pattern address N2 shown at (b) in FIG. 5 has already been replaced by the pattern address N3, whereby the pattern address N3 is erroneously written in the data logging memory at the address A2, as illustrated in FIG. 6.
Under the circumstances, as an attempt to evade the trouble mentioned above, the pattern addresses generated in response to the strobe pulses at different time intervals have heretofore been once latched at timings each corresponding to a half of the time interval of the relevant strobe pulse, whereon the other half of the strobe pulse duration is utilized for realizing the writing of the pattern address and the fail data.
FIG. 7 of the accompanying drawings shows a structure of the data logging apparatus which is so arranged as to latch the data at time intervals corresponding to halves of the strobe pulses, respectively.
In FIG. 7, reference numeral 31 denotes a selector, 32 denotes a flip-flop (FF for short), 33 denotes a write pulse generating circuit, 34 denotes a fail data storing memory, 35 denotes a memory address data latch circuit, 36 denotes a pattern address data latch circuit and 37 denotes a pattern address storing memory.
The memory address data latch circuit 35 is constituted by a selector 35A, another selector 35C, a flip-flop 35B and another flip-flop 35D. Similarly, the pattern address data latch circuit 36 is composed of selectors 36A and 36C and flip-flops (FF) 36B and 36D.
Operation of the data logging apparatus shown in FIG. 7 will be described by reference to a timing chart of FIG. 8.
Shown at (e) in FIG. 8 is the pattern address data latched by the flip-flop (FF) 36B at a timing corresponding to a half of the time interval T.sub.1 of the strobe pulse STD1 selected in response to the strobe select signal by the selector 36A constituting a part of the pattern address data latch circuit 36 shown in FIG. 7, while the pattern address data 2 shown at (f) in FIG. 8 is latched by the flip-flop (FF) 36D in response to the strobe signal STB1 selected by the strobe signal selector 36C of the pattern address latch circuit 36 shown in FIG. 7.
The fail data shown at (g) in FIG. 8 is obtained by latching the output (FIG. 8, d) of the comparison circuit (27 in FIG. 4) in response to the strobe signal STB1 selected by the selector 31 shown in FIG. 7. The memory addresses are also outputted under the timing of the strobe signal STB1 as in the case of the pattern addresses.
In this manner, in the case of the pattern address data 2 shown at (f) in FIG. 8 which is outputted under the timing of the strobe signal 1 shown at (c) in FIG. 8, the pattern address data and the fail data shown at (g) in FIG. 8 are written in the pattern address memory 37 and the fail data memory 34, respectively, in response to the memory write signal derived from the strobe signal, as shown at (i) in FIG. 8, by the write pulse generating circuit 33 shown in FIG. 7.
At that time, the pattern addresses at which the fail data are written correspond to N1, N4, N5 and N6, respectively, because the strobe signal selected by the selectors 31, 35C and 36C is the strobe signal 1 shown at (c) in FIG. 8, and no fail data are written at the pattern addresses N2 and N3.
Consequently, in order to obtain the fail data for the pattern address N2, the strobe signal 2 has to be so selected as to write the fail data at the timing corresponding to a half of the time interval T.sub.2 of the strobe signal 2 to thereby execute again the test with the aid of the strobe signal 2.
The timing relations among the pattern address, the fail data, the memory address and the memory write signal at the time when the strobe signal 2 is selected are shown at (k), (l), (m) and (n), respectively, in FIG. 8.
It is thus apparent that, in general, in order to allow the time interval of the strobe signal to extend so as to fall within the n-th rate (period), it is necessary at the first latch timing to write the fail data at the time interval corresponding to 1/n.
As will be understood from the foregoing, the prior art data logging apparatus indispensably requires the selection of the appropriate strobe signal without fail upon every execution of the data logging, which means that when the data logging is to be performed for all the patterns, selection of the strobe signals of the different time intervals and execution of the test must be repeated, which of course requires a much complicated and expensive circuit configuration, not to say of a problem that a long time is taken for performing the function test of IC devices.

Data logging apparatus with memory and pattern testing device


A mechanical and earthed safety contact intended for both small and large withdrawals of power and may for instance be used for connecting a vehicle to the electrical power net includes a telescopic part with a key and a docking unit, which when in mechanical contact interacts with each other for transmission of electric current. The docking unit includes multiple spring pins, of which one is pushed in when the key reaches the front of the docking unit. Transmission of current between the docking unit and the key can take place only when this pin is pushed in far enough. Contact surfaces on the key are used for exchange of information in interaction with contact surfaces of canals containing the spring pins. The key may have a seal that tightens against such a canal to protect the transmission of energy and signal.

The previously, the commonly known solution for connecting a vehicle to the electricity distribution network is the ordinary engine heater cable. Another, less known, solution is the induction coupling, which is used to convey large currents in the accumulators of electrical vehicles. Both solutions require precision when connecting.
In previous patent applications a technique is described which is used to effect a cordless connection between a vehicle and the electric power net, see Swedish patent application 0502113-4 and published international patent application WO 2007/035165. These applications show a cordless connection which requires very low precision when connecting.

Cordless electrical connection with simple key


A rotating nozzle assembly for a die machine connectable to a dough extruder has a stationary sleeve with a first end having internal and external annular recesses and an annular stepped seating surface and a second end mountable in the die machine mounting plate. A nozzle has a first end rotatably disposed in the stationary-sleeve first-end internal annular recess, a second end and a radially outwardly-protruding annular ring between the first and second nozzle ends. A ring seal is disposed between the stationary-sleeve first-end annular stepped seating surface and the radially outwardly-protruding annular nozzle ring. A nozzle cap is fixedly attached to the stationary-sleeve first end. The nozzle is rotatably disposed in the nozzle cap. The nozzle second end extends beyond the nozzle cap. An annular stepped axial thrust bearing surface in the nozzle cap prevents relative axial movement of the nozzle while allowing rotation of the nozzle.

The present invention relates to a rotating braid-head nozzle assembly for a die machine used in conjunction with a dough extruder for producing a twisted dough product. More particularly, the invention relates to a rotating braid-head nozzle for extruding dough through at least two openings with the rotatable nozzle twisting the dough together to form a twisted dough product having qualities similar to a conventional laminated dough product, such as a cracker.
Extrusion die machines used to form spiral wound pretzel dough products typically utilize rotary nozzles, each having at least one opening through which dough is extruded as the nozzle rotates. The desired pitch of the spiral wound dough product is dependent upon the vertical distance from the extrusion head to the conveyor belt and the speed of the conveyor belt or nozzle speed. A pressure of at least 40-80 psi is generally required in order to force the dough through the extrusion head and out through the opening(s) in the rotating nozzle.
The sealing of the dough from the rotary mechanisms within the die plate of such machines is critical to creating a machine that is both sanitary and capable of operating substantially continuously without significant operator intervention. Standard sealing methods, such as those employed in the prior art apparatus, are susceptible to the abrasiveness of the dough and the high pressures necessary to extrude the dough. Such conventional sealing arrangements often fail prematurely and do not work well due to the high viscosity of the dough and the need to have all of the seals and all other "wetted" parts sanitary in their construction, which is required by the food processing industry. The mechanical seal arrangement in the prior apparatus which was intended to prevent dough from entering the bearings that support the rotating nozzles often fail after a relatively short period of use, requiring the entire extrusion head to be disassembled, cleaned and rebuilt. This involves a time consuming tear down of the equipment during which time the production line is idled.
It would be desirable to provide an extrusion die apparatus having at least two rotating nozzles with a streamlined arrangement to allow extrusion of dough at lower pressures. It would also be desirable to provide an improved sealing arrangement in such an apparatus to prevent the migration of dough into the bearings or other components which support the rotating nozzles in order to diminish or eliminate the need for time consuming tear downs of the rotary nozzle extrusion die for clean out and rebuilding upon seal failure.


The present invention relates to methods of treating dry eye using β-turn peptidomimetic cyclic compounds or derivatives thereof. The β-turn peptidomimetic cyclic compounds can be used alone, in combination and/or in conjunction with one or more other compounds, molecules or drugs that treat dry eye.

Dry eye, also know as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance, and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. It is accompanied by increased osmolarity of the tear film and inflammation of the ocular surface (The Ocular Surface, "The Definition and Classification of Dry Eye Disease: Report of the Definition and Classification Subcommittee of the International Dry Eye Workshop (2007)," 5(2): 75-92 (2007)). Dry eye is recognized as a disturbance of the lacrimal functional unit, an integrated system comprising the lacrimal glands, ocular surface (cornea, conjunctiva and meibomian glands) and lids, and the sensory and motor nerves that connect them. The lacrimal functional unit controls the major components of the tear film in a regulated fashion and responds to environmental, endocrinological, and cortical influences. The unit's function is to preserve the integrity of the tear film, the transparency of the cornea, and the quality of the image projected onto the retina. Disease or damage to any component of the lacrimal functional unit (the afferent sensory nerves, the efferent autonomic and motor nerves and the tear-secreting glands) can destabilize the tear film and lead to ocular surface disease that expresses itself as dry eye.
The major classes of dry eye are aqueous tear-deficient dry eye (ADDE) and evaporative dry eye (EDE). ADDE is due to failure of lacrimal tear secretion and this class can be further subdivided to Sjogren syndrome dry eye (the lacrimal and salivary glands are targeted by an autoimmune process, e.g., rheumatoid arthritis) and non-Sjogren's syndrome dry eye (lacrimal dysfunction, but the systemic autoimmune features of Sjogren's syndrome are excluded, e.g., age-related dry eye). EDE is due to excessive water loss from the exposed ocular surface in the presence of normal lacrimal secretory function. Its causes can be intrinsic (due to intrinsic disease affecting lid structures or dynamics, e.g., meibomian gland dysfunction) or extrinsic (where ocular surface disease occurs due to some extrinsic exposure, e.g., vitamin A deficiency) (See The Ocular Surface, "The Definition and Classification of Dry Eye Disease: Report of the Definition and Classification Subcommittee of the International Dry Eye Workshop (2007)," 5(2): 75-92 (2007)).
Dry Eye is one of the most common ocular problems with an estimated prevalence of 4.91 million people in the United States affecting around 3.23 million women and 1.68 million men over the age of fifty (The Ocular Surface, "The Epidemiology of Dry Eye Disease," 5(2): 93-107 (2007)). Current therapies for dry eye are palliative with a focus on the replacement of tears to reduce symptoms. Over-the-counter artificial tear formulations are available. In addition, a non-pharmacological approach for improving aqueous tear film content is punctual tamponade occlusion. However, punctual tamponade occlusion carries the risk of reduced tear production, clearance and ocular surface sensation. While these palliative therapies have benefits over the short term, they have limited utility in long-term control therapy for dry eye. RESTASIS® (cyclosporine A) is the first prescription product for dry eye therapy. RESTASIS® increases tear production in patients whose tear production is suppressed as a result of ocular inflammation associated with dry eye disease. However, there is a need for therapies that have a broader application than anti-inflammatory medication.
Several clinical studies have found that topical NGF improves the corneal sensitivity in dry eye and increases the number of conjunctival goblet cell density in a study of dogs with surgically induced dry eye (Bonini, S., et al., "Topical Treatment with Nerve Growth Factor for Neurotrophic Keratitis," Ophthalmology, 107: 1347-1352 (2000)). However, due to the fact that NGF stimulates neurite sprouting by neural cells, one of the side effects of administration of topical NGF is ocular pain (Bonini, S., et al., "Topical Treatment with Nerve Growth Factor for Neurotrophic Keratitis," Ophthalmology, 107: 1347-1352 (2000)). In addition, NGF has poor pharmacokinetics and bioavailability and the costs for manufacturing are high. A need exists in the art for alternative methods of treating dry eye.

Beta-turn peptidomimetic cyclic compounds for treating dry eye


A granted TxOP holder transmits the first frame of a QSTA-to-QSTA communication at a power level sufficient to ensure correct reception by the destination and at least detection by the HC, and then, with exceptions, transmits subsequent frames at a power level merely sufficient to ensure correct reception by the destination, regardless of reception or detection by the HC. Subsequent frames that must be received by the HC, such as those changing the TC queue size or requesting extension of the current TxOP, are transmitted at a power sufficient to ensure reception by the HC as well as the destination, as are the last frame(s). The HC is constrained from reclaiming the channel unconditionally merely because of failure to detect activity, and recovery is limited to the TxOP holder.

Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are currently most commonly implemented according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11-1999 standard, often referred to as "wireless fidelity" or "WiFi". A number of working groups are currently developing modifications and extensions to the standard for various purposes. In particular, the IEEE 802.11 Working Group's Medium Access Control (MAC) Enhancements task group (Task Group E) is working to incorporate quality of service (QoS) into wireless local area networks for high quality delivery of video, voice and multimedia (see IEEE 802.11e QoS draft D2.0a, November 2001), while the IEEE 802.11 Task Group H (TGh) is developing a standard for incorporation of dynamic frequency selection and transmit power control into IEEE 802.11a implementations (see "DFS and TPC Joint Proposal for 802.11h", IEEE 802.11-01/169r2).
Energy consumption has become an important issue in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks since mobile terminal battery life is limited. Energy conservation may be achieved in several ways, one of which is utilizing transmit power control (TPC), a mechanism reducing energy consumption and co-channel interference by adapting the radio transmit power to the minimum level required to achieve a desired link reliability (i.e., to guarantee correct reception of a frame). As noted above, the IEEE 802.11h Working Group is developing TPC for 802.11a, and similar algorithms are expected for the 802.11b physical (PHY) layer.
Use of the TPC mechanism in an IEEE 802.11e network operating under the hybrid coordination function (HCF) would be desirable, particularly since direct communication between quality-of-service (QoS) stations (QSTAs) without external control is permitted—that is, one QSTA can transmit to another without first transmitting to the access point/hybrid coordinator (AP/HC). Presumptively individual stations (STAs) would control transmit power during each contention-free period (CFP) and contention-free burst under the HCF operation.
Under one proposed implementation for the HCF, however, the hybrid coordinator (HC) must "hear" all frames in the CFB/CFP. Otherwise the HC, sensing the medium as idle for a distributed coordination function (DCF) inter-frame spacing (DIFS) period, will reclaim the channel and attempt to transmit. In addition, the HC needs to receive certain frames (e.g., to update queue sizes) for correct operation of the QoS-supporting basic service set (QBSS) network. Therefore every QSTA in a QBSS network should transmit every frame at a high enough power so that the HC can hear the frame, which considerably reduces the benefits of TPC. In QSTA-to-QSTA communications, the transmit power may not be as low as possible.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for improving the adaptation of transmit power control to hybrid coordination function operation under quality-of-service supporting basic service set networks.

Aligning 802.11e HCF and 802.11h TPC operations


An approach to recording of television programming for later viewing makes use of a small and relatively inexpensive handheld portable viewer. One or more television programs are loaded into the viewer from a receiver, such as a cable television set-top box. Later, the user selects a loaded program for viewing on the handheld viewer

This invention relates to viewing recorded television programming in a portable device.
Today, television programming is typically viewed on a television set that receives programming that is broadcast over the air from local television stations, or distributed over a cable or satellite-based television network to an in-home terminal such as a "cable box" (also known as a set-top box or a home communication terminal, HCT) that is connected to the viewer's television set. Portable television sets are available for receiving and viewing programming as it is broadcast from local television stations.
Television programming can be recorded on a video tape recorder for later viewing. The most common type of recorder uses VHS tape cartridges. Portable players for recorded VHS tapes are available, for example, integrated with television sets. However, such integrated units are typically large, heavy and not portable, although some players are available for use in cars. In addition to recording television programming on VHS tapes, users can buy or rent prerecorded VHS tapes, for example, with movies recorded on them. DVDs (Digital Video Disks, Digital Versatile Disks) are becoming more popular than VHS for prerecorded movies and programming, and relatively small but expensive portable DVD players are available. As in-home recorders for DVDs become available it is expected that recordable DVDs will begin to replace VHS tapes as a common type of recordable medium. Television programming can also be recorded on an internal storage device in a digital recorder (also known as a Personal Video Recorder, PVR) in the home for later viewing.
Recording and viewing of television programming using the approaches and devices described above either makes use of relatively large and heavy equipment, such as a VHS tape player and a portable television set, or uses expensive equipment such as an in-home DVD recorder and a portable DVD player.


The present invention is to provide a program update apparatus which carry out an updating process automatically in a device built-in system (in particular, in a system for an apparatus that needs to be always operated), and makes the system free from freezing. A downloaded new operation program is stored in a storage area that is separated from a storage area in which a previous operation program that has been operated is stored. Then, the new operation program 24 is activated so that an execution application is operated on the new operation program 24. In the event of a failure in activating the new operation program, the previous operation program is reactivated so that the system is operated on the previous operation program 21. Moreover, in a state where the new operation program or the previous operation program is successfully activated, if the execution application is not activated, the setting required for the execution application is recovered by a recovering application.

The present invention relates to a program update apparatus and a program update method. In particular, the present invention concerns a program update apparatus and an update method thereof, which is used for a bug fixing process and a version-up process of an apparatus built-in system.
In programs of a system such as an apparatus built-in system, a bug fixing process for eliminating bugs and a version-up process for improving a program and for updating data are sometimes required. For this reason, in a conventional system, a program re-writing process in an apparatus built-in system, etc. is sometimes carried out.
FIG. 1, for example, shows a case of a home-use consumption measuring device for measuring energy consumption. The energy consumption measuring device 1 is placed on an outer wall or the like of a house, and energy is supplied to apparatuses 3 for use in the home 2 through a first energy supply line 4, a second energy supply line 5, etc. via the consumption measuring device 1. For example, energy, supplied through the first energy supply line 4, is electricity, and the consumption measuring device 1 measures and calculates the consumption of electricity. Moreover, energy, supplied through the second energy supply line 5, is gas, and the consumption measuring device 1 measures and calculates the consumption of gas.
The objective of such a consumption measuring device is to measure the consumption of energy such as electricity and gas, and these data are used for purposes other than collection of rates. For example, when a detailed consumption trend on an hour basis for a day or a week is obtained, based on the data, the energy supplier can set a detailed charge system on an hour basis for each of the energy consumers, thereby making it possible to improve the service. Moreover, by setting a higher energy consumption charge during a time zone corresponding to a consumption peak, it becomes possible to reduce the gross consumption of energy, and consequently to prevent an energy supply shortage due to concentration of energy consumption onto a specific time zone.
In order to carry out the collection of rates and to effectively use the data as described above, the energy supplier needs to read a meter of a consumption measuring device in each home to check the energy consumption. For this reason, a measurer (inspector), dispatched from a control center (an energy supplier such as an electric company or a gas company) visits each home to read the meter of each consumption measuring device. However, in such a meter reading method for the consumption measuring device in each home using handwork, the number of homes on which meter-reading operations can be conducted per day is limited, and personnel expenses become higher, resulting in low efficiency.
For this reason, a system has been proposed in which the meter-reading operations are automatically carried out on consumption measuring devices placed in respective homes from a remote place. In such a prior-art system, as shown in FIG. 2, a data-collecting device 9 is placed on an electric pole 8 or the like, and the consumption measuring device 1 of each home 2 is connected to the control center 6 through the data collecting device 9. The data collecting device 9 is a device having such a function that data is collected from the consumption measuring device 1 of each home on 2 a fixed time basis to send the resulting data the control center 6. The data collecting device 9 is attached to an inaccessible place for people such as an electric pole 8 because of availability of a power-supply, less interrupting objects in terms of electric waves, and prevention of human touch. The data collecting device 9 is normally connected to the consumption measuring device 1 of each home 2 as well as to the control center 6 through communication lines 10, 11, etc.
Such a system makes it possible to automatically inspect consumption measuring devices of many homes from a remote place (control center 6), to cut personnel expenses, and consequently to eliminate the limit of the number of meter-reading operations per day; thus, it becomes possible to carry out the meter-reading operations efficiently.
Moreover, the following description will exemplify another case in which a device installed in a house is operated from outside. In an example shown in FIG. 3, devices 12A, 12B, installed in a home 2 are connected to a device control unit 14 through signal lines 13, and the respective devices 12A, 12B are operated outside the home 2 through the device control unit 14 connected to a communication line 15 such as a telephone line and a network outside the home 2, or information from the devices 12A, 12B is obtained from outside. For example, in the case when the device 12A is a monitor camera, the image of the monitor camera is monitored from outside by using a mobile computer connected to a telephone line or a mobile telephone, or the image-pickup direction of the monitor camera can be operated, and in the case when the device 12B is a video recorder, a recording reservation of the video recorder can be carried out from outside. In the case when a device 12C is a monitoring sensor required for home security, information from the security system can be obtained outside the home even from a remote place.
Various devices are proposed as such devices connected to the device control unit 14, and pieces of information are different depending on the respective devices, with the result that the system program of the device control unit 14 needs to be rewritten for each of the devices.
Moreover, in the case when those devices are used in a system related to home security, the device control unit 14 should be maintained without freezing during a home security operation. Freezing refers to a state in which no response is received from the device causing incapability of informing the state externally or incapability of receiving inputs from outside. The home security refers to a system for detecting an invasion of any dubious character, a fire, a gas leak, any emergency information, or any emergency or rescue situation, and when any freeze occurs in the device control unit 14, the home security system no longer functions, causing degradation in the reliability of the device control unit 14.
The following description will discuss technical problems with the device built-in system externally connected through communication lines, for example, devices such as the above-mentioned data collector and device control unit.
In the data collector 9 and the device control unit 14, a bug is sometimes found in the system (operation program), and in such a case, any bug fixing operation is required in the system program. Moreover, when any new device (for example, a consumption measuring device 1) is added and connected to the data collector 9 and the device control unit 14, the corresponding functions need to be added to the respective system programs, or the respective system programs need to be updated (renewed). Here, in order to upgrade the programs for bug fixing or addition of new functions., the program of the built-in system inside the data collector 9 and the device control unit 14 need to be re-written.
In the case when such a program re-writing process is required, for example, if an updating program is supplied to the user so as to have the user rewrite the program, it is not possible to expect the user to properly rewrite the program or to carry out a recovering process of a frozen program, in the case when he or she is poor at mechanics. Moreover, in most cases, individual data collectors 9 and device control units 14 are located at remote places from the program supplier (managing center, etc.), and the data collectors 9 and the device control units 14 also tend to be placed at inaccessible places (on electric posts, etc.). Therefore, when the rewriting process of the system program is required, it is necessary to automatically carry out a rewriting process through communication lines, etc. without the necessity of handwork.
Moreover, in the case of device control unit 14, etc. related to home security, it is not possible to stop the system for the rewriting process, and it is necessary to carry out the rewriting process while the system is being operated; therefore, even in the case when the system is frozen during the rewriting process, it is necessary to reactivate the system as a temporary measure and to operate the system.
Therefore, depending on device built-in systems, there have been demands for an updating method in which a program rewriting process is automatically carried out through communication lines, etc. and the system is free from freezing even in the event of an emergency situation.
Even in an conventional system, a program rewriting process of a device built-in system is carried out through a communication line. However, this process is carried out on the premise that a program is operated correctly, and only a check is made as to whether or not the rewriting process has been done correctly. For this reason, no rewriting process is carried out on an essential portion. Further, in the case when only the checksum is utilized for checking the program, in the event of a plurality of errors, the value to be checked might coincide with a correct value, resulting in a possibility of erroneous recognition of a correct rewriting operation.
Moreover, in the conventional rewriting system, it is not possible to properly deal with a program having any bug, and complicated processes such as network downloads cannot be carried out unless the operation system is operated.


A control system for regulating operative control of a surgical instrument by a remote surgeon input device. The surgical instrument is supported by an articulated robot arm, and comprises an end effector connected to a shaft by an articulated coupling. The remote surgeon input device is capable of operatively controlling the surgical instrument by controlling articulation of the end effector, and controlling articulation of the robot arm and coupling. On receiving a request to engage operative control of the surgical instrument by the surgeon input device, the control system initially engages operative control of articulation of the robot arm and coupling by the surgeon input device, whilst maintaining disengagement of operative control of articulation of the end effector by the surgeon input device. Subsequently, the control system engages operative control of articulation of the end effector by the surgeon input device following a manipulation of the surgeon input device.

It is known to use robots for assisting and performing surgery. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical surgical robotic system. A surgical robot 100 consists of a base 102, an arm 104 and an instrument 106. The base supports the robot, and is itself attached rigidly to, for example, the operating theatre floor, the operating theatre ceiling or a trolley. The arm extends between the base and the instrument. The arm is articulated by means of multiple flexible joints 108 along its length, which are used to locate the surgical instrument in a desired location relative to the patient. The surgical instrument is attached to the distal end of the robot arm. The surgical instrument penetrates the body of the patient at a port so as to access the surgical site. At its distal end, the instrument comprises an end effector 110 for engaging in a surgical procedure. In FIG. 1, the illustrated end effector is a pair of jaws. A surgeon controls the surgical robot 100 via a remote surgeon console 112. The surgeon console comprises one or more surgeon input devices 114. These may take the form of a hand controller or foot pedal. The surgeon console also comprises a display 116.
A control system 118 connects the surgeon console 112 to the surgical robot 100. The control system receives inputs from the surgeon input device(s) and converts these to control signals to move the joints of the robot arm 104 and end effector 110. The control system sends these control signals to the robot, where the corresponding joints are driven accordingly. The robot may send feedback signals to the control system 118, for example force feedback as measured by force sensors on the robot arm. The control system receives the feedback signals and converts them to control signals to the surgeon console 112. For example, the control system may convert a feedback signal to a control signal to generate an image on the display 116. As another example, the control system may convert a feedback signal to a control signal to cause the surgeon input device 114 to provide a haptic indication to the surgeon. The control system may be connected to other devices, such as an endoscope. The control system controls the display 116 to display the video signal received from the endoscope.
It is known for the surgeon input device to include a clutch. The control system 118 regulates control of the robot arm in accordance with the clutch. Specifically, when the clutch is engaged, the control system 118 disengages control of the robot arm and instrument from the surgeon input device. When the clutch is disengaged, the control system 118 reengages control of the robot arm and instrument to the surgeon input device. The surgeon may engage the clutch in order to disconnect the surgeon's hand controller from operative control of the robot arm and instrument, thereby enabling the surgeon to move the hand controller to a more comfortable location (or a location with a greater range of movement) within the surgeon console. Once the surgeon has moved the hand controller to the desired position, the surgeon then disengages the clutch in order to reconnect the hand controller to the robot arm and instrument.
FIG. 2 shows a known surgeon's hand controller 200 for manipulating an end effector that comprises a pair of movable jaws. The hand controller 200 has a primary input stem 202. The primary input stem constitutes the distal end of a gimbal system 204 which permits the primary input stem to be moved with three degrees of rotational freedom. The proximal end of the gimbal system is attached to a base by a parallelogram system, part of which is shown at 206, which permits the primary input stem to be moved with three degrees of translational freedom with respect to the base. The primary input stem is provided with two rotatable pincer elements 208, 210 which can be bound by loops 212, 214 to the surgeon's fingers. The surgeon can move the primary input stem 202 with six degrees of freedom to command a change in position of the end effector, and can move the elements 208, 210 to command opening or closing of the jaws of the end effector.
The surgeon is able to disengage/engage control of the hand controller 200 from the end effector by engaging/disengaging a foot clutch pedal (not shown). When the surgeon disengages the clutch pedal, the control system 118 sends control signals to drivers in the hand controller 200 which drive the hand controller to an orientation which matches that of the end effector of the surgical instrument. The surgeon must hold the hand controller in this orientation in order to reengage control of the end effector. The surgeon fully closes the pincer elements 208, 210. The surgeon then opens the pincer elements 208, 210. When the opening angle of the pincer elements matches the opening angle of the end effector jaws, the control system reengages total control of the robot arm and instrument to the hand controller. The reengagement is sudden, and consequently, if not well anticipated by the surgeon, may cause the end effector to move jerkily from the configuration it had during control disengagement. If the end effector jaws had been holding an object during control disengagement, then the sudden reengagement and jerky movement could cause the jaws to drop the object.
Thus, there is a need fora control system which better reengages control of the surgeon input device to the end effector following a period of disengagement.


An assay plate for detecting the presence of a mobile reactant that binds to a immobilized reactant and the methods of making and using the same. An assay plate according to the present invention includes a substrate and at least one dried aliquot of the immobilized reactant, the immobilized reactant being bound to the surface of the substrate. The immobilized reactant binds the mobile reactant when a solution containing the mobile reactant is brought into contact with the immobilized reactant. The mobile and immobilized reactants may be any pair of biological compounds that have a specific affinity for one another. For example the reactants may be nucleic acids or antibody-antigen pairs. The preferred embodiment of an assay plate according to the present invention includes a plurality of assay spots, each spot having a different immobilized reactant or concentration thereof. The preferred method for fabricating an assay plate according to the present invention includes the steps of binding the immobilized reactant to the substrate, washing the substrate to remove any immobilized reactant that is not bound to the substrate and then drying the substrate. The dried assay plates are preferably stored in a water-proof container until used. An assay utilizing an assay plate according to the present invention is carried out by bringing a solution containing the mobile reactant into contact with the dried aliquot or aliquots on the assay plate. The assay plate is then washed to removed unbound material and the amount of mobile reactant bound to the washed assay plate determined. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the washed assay plate is dried prior to measuring the amount of mobile reactant bound to the washed assay plate.

Reactions between biological molecules exhibit an extremely high degree of specificity. It is this specificity that provides a living cell with the ability to carry out thousands of chemical reactions simultaneously in the same "vessel". In general, this specificity arises from the "fit" between two molecules having very complex surface topologies. For example, an antibody binds a molecule displaying an antigen on its surface because the antibody contains a pocket whose shape is the complement of a protruding area on the antigen. This type of specific binding between two molecules forms the basis of numerous biological assays.
For example, nucleic acids are linear polymers in which the linked monomers are chosen from a class of 4 possible sub-units. In addition to being capable of being linked together to form the polymers in question, each unit has a complementary sub-unit to which it can bind electrostatically. In the case of DNA, the polymers are constructed from four bases that are usually denoted by A, T, G, and C. The bases A and T are complementary to one another, and the bases G and C are complementary to one another. Consider two polymers that are aligned with one another. If the sequences in the polymers are such that an A in one chain is always matched to a T in the other chain and a C in one chain is always matched to a G in the other chain, then the two chains will be bound together by the electrostatic forces. Hence, an immobilized chain can be used to bind the complementary chain. This observation forms the basis of tests that detect the presence of DNA or RNA that is complementary to a known DNA or RNA chain. Such detection forms the basis of a number of medical and/or diagnostic tests.
The methods by which the binding of the mobile reactant to the immobilized component of the system is measured varies with the particular reactants. However, a significant fraction of all of the tests involve the measurement of a fluorescent dye that is associated with either the bound or mobile reactant. The dye may be attached to the reactant from the beginning of the process or it may be added through various chemical steps after the mobile and immobilized reactants have been brought into contact with one another.
Systems for medical diagnosis often involve a bank of tests in which each test involves the measurement of the binding of one mobile component to a corresponding immobilized component. To provide inexpensive test kits, systems involving a matrix of immobilized spots have been suggested. Each spot includes the immobilized component of a two component test such as described above. The fluid to be tested is typically brought into contact with the matrix. After chemical processing, the amount of fluorescence associated with each of the spots in the matrix is measured.
The matrix is typically constructed by dispensing small quantities of the immobilized component onto a substrate such as glass or filter paper. In general, prior art assays utilizing such matrices require that the matrix remain wet from the point in the process at which the components are dispensed through the detection of the fluorescence. This requirement leads to a number of problems when these assay are applied in medical diagnosis. First, the buffer solutions utilized in the processing may contain contaminants that have fluorescent emission bands sufficiently close to those of the fluorescent compound of interest that the stray fluorescence gives rise to errors in the assay. The amount of interference depends on the amount of buffer needed in the particular system. If the ratio of buffer solution to bound fluorescent compound is high, even a small degree of contamination of the buffer solution can generate unacceptable errors.
A second problem with wet assay plates relates to the transportation and storage thereof. In medical diagnostic applications, it is anticipated that the assay plates will be prepared by a commercial supplier and shipped to the diagnostic laboratory. The plates would then be stored at the laboratory until needed. The need to provide leak-proof packaging significantly increases the cost of these assay plates.
In addition, the short storage life of wet assay plates at room temperature places additional constraints on the storage and transportation of these assay plates. The biological macromolecules on which these assays are based are easily attacked by various enzymes. These enzymes often appear as contaminants in the various buffer solutions used in preparing and storing the wet assay plates. As a result, the assay plates must be refrigerated to increase their shelf life. The cost of refrigerated storage and transportation significantly increases the cost of assay systems based on wet assay plates. Furthermore, even with refrigerated storage, the useful shelf life of wet assay plates results in significant increases in costs due to the need to discard old assay plates before they are actually used.
A third problem with wet assay plates is the need to read the results of the assay shortly after the chemical processing of the plates. This restricts the reading and interpretation of the results to the laboratory that processed the patient samples with the plates. While this restriction is not very significant in metropolitan settings, it can be a significant problem in rural settings. In which the volume of tests is too low to justify the cost of the equipment and personnel needed to read and interpret the assays. As a result, the patient samples are typically sent to a central laboratory for reading and processing. The need for refrigerated transportation of the samples and the inherent time delays in receiving the results of the tests make this solution to the problem less than optimal.
Finally, prior art wet assay plate systems do not provide a means for archiving the assay plates for later examination since the catabolic enzymes described above will destroy the underlying macromolecules even if the assay plates are stored in a refrigerated environment. An assay plate that provided a cost effective archival storage mechanism which would allow the plate to be read again some time after its original processing would be highly desirable both from a research and a legal point of view. Researchers often wish to examine samples from a large population. The samples in question can often be taken from routine assays if archival storage of the routine samples is available. Unfortunately, present archival storage requires storage of the original samples at liquid nitrogen temperatures. The costs inherent in this approach limit the archiving of samples to special studies.
In legal settings, the ability to re-examine tests performed months or years earlier would be of significant benefit in determining the validity of the earlier performed tests. There are many situations in which the validity of such tests determines the outcome in a legal proceeding.
Broadly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved assay plate system for performing assays based on the binding of biological macromolecules.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an assay plate system in which the assay plates do not need to be shipped or stored in a wet state.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an assay plate system in which the assay plates may be read and archived in a dry state.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

Dry biochemical assay plate and method for making the same


Hemming dies can be mounted on the respective two clamping jigs (22) of hemming processing stages (S1, S2) each having a turn table as a main part. After the hemming dies are allocated to sub-stages (S11), roller hemming processing is performed by hemming processing robots (1A, 1B) or hemming processing robots (2A, 26). Die storage devices (15A, 15B) for housing a plurality of hemming dies in a line are provided near the hemming processing stages (S1, S2). Hemming dies are changed between the die storage devices (15A, 15B) and the sub-stages (S12) of the hemming processing stages (S1, S2) by first and second die changing robots (17, 19). This makes it possible to provide a roller hemming processing system suitable for roller hemming processing in high-variety low-volume manufacturing.

In a patent document 1 and so on, there is known a hemming processing performed by a roller-shaped hemming processing tool held by a robot arm, in addition to a conventional press-type hemming processing by upper and lower dies. On the premise of the press-type hemming processing, there have been proposed hemming processing systems in which tooling change operation of upper and lower dies according to the change of the kind of the workpiece is effectively performed, and which are suitable for high-variety low-volume manufacturing (low volume production of a wide variety of products), in patent documents 2 and 3. Similarly, on the premise of the above-described roller hemming processing, there has been proposed a hemming processing system in which the tolling change operation of the lower die according to the change of the kind of the workpiece is effectively performed, and which is suitable for the high-variety low-volume manufacturing, in a patent document 4.
In the systems described in the patent documents 2 and 3, a set of the upper and lower dies are changed by using truck (carriage) type and other conveying apparatuses, between a press machine and a storage area in which the sets of the upper and lower dies according to the kind of the workpiece are stored.
Moreover, in the system described in the patent document 4, a mounting table for the lower die is prepared near the processing stage. Furthermore, a plurality of sets in which each of lower dies that are different in accordance with the kind of the workpiece is mounted on a common general-purpose jig irrespective of the kinds (types) of the workpiece are prepared, and these are stored on the mounting table for the lower die. Then, when the kind of the workpiece are changed, the lower die and also the general-purpose jig are changed between the processing stage and the mounting table for the lower die by using forklift and so on.
However, in the conventional processing systems described in the patent documents 2 and 3, it is necessary to store a plurality of kinds of upper and lower dies having weights from several tons to several dozen tons in the horizontal manner in a storage area. Accordingly, the occupied area of the storage area necessarily becomes large, so that the space efficiency is deteriorated. Moreover, since the set of the upper and lower dies having the weight from several tons to several dozen tons is changed, the operation of the die change is complicated, the time necessary for the die change is necessarily lengthened, and an actual operation availability (availability factor) of the press machine is deteriorated. Therefore, it is not preferable.
Moreover, in the conventional processing system described in the patent document 4, the change operation of the lower die mounted on the general-purpose jig is performed by the forklift and so on. Accordingly, the change operation of the lower die requires time due to the operation of handling the heavy member, though not to the extent of the time necessary for the change of the set of the upper and lower dies. Therefore, it is not efficient. Moreover, there is a restriction of the number of the lower dies which are stored in the mounting table for the lower die. Accordingly, it is not possible to respond to the high-variety low-volume manufacturing in which the kinds of the workpiece that is the processed object are further increased. For example, in a case where it responds to the respective hemming processings of a front door and a rear door of a plurality of types of the vehicle, like the hemming processing of the door of the vehicle, the number of the lower dies to be stored is necessarily increased. Moreover, the identification of the type of the lower die to be selected and the position of the lower die within the mounting table for the lower die depend on the operator. It is not possible to flexibly respond to the change operation of the lower dies to be frequently performed. Moreover, it needs the larger space for storing the many lower dies each of which has a weight from a few hundred kilograms to several tons, as the kinds of the prepared lower dies are increased. The space efficiency is deteriorated due to the increase of the occupied area for storing the lower dies.


A dialkyl dicarbonate is prepared by contacting an alkyl haloformate with an alkali metal carbonate in the presence of a solvating amount of a solvent. The process of the invention does not require a catalyst, is easy to carry out, does not employ particularly hazardous materials, does not require cumbersome purification steps, and provides a high yield of dicarbonate.

Dialkyl dicarbonates, also known as dialkyl pyrocarbonates, are useful as fermentation inhibitors in wines and fruit juices, as well as reagents in chemical synthesis. Several methods are known for preparing dialkyl dicarbonates, but these methods suffer from various disadvantages such as hazardous starting materials (e.g., phosgene), low yields, and time consuming and/or cumbersome purification steps.
In FR 1,483,460 (Shamshurin--Institut Khimii an Moldavskoisar, granted in 1967) alkyl chloroformate is reacted with potassium or sodium carbonate in the presence of a tertiary amine as a catalyst. While this method is in many respects an improvement over the prior art which proceeded it, it nonetheless is less than an ideal solution. In particular, the purification step necessary to separate the dialkyl dicarbonate from the tertiary amine is rather cumbersome, and the overall process has a disappointingly low yield.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,748 discloses a method of preparing dialkyl dicarbonate which comprises contacting an alkyl haloformate with an alkali metal carbonate in the presence of a catalytic amount of a crown ether and a solvating amount of a solvent.
French Publication No. 2,220,564 discloses a method of preparing dialkyl dicarbonate by carbonation of the corresponding alkali metal alcoholate in tetrahydrofuran followed by reaction with an excess of chloroformate. This method has the disadvantages of having to deal with large amounts of solvent and various hazardous and expensive materials such as metal alkoxides.
An article distributed at the "Chemicals and the Environment Symposium", held at the Fall 1992 Chemspec Meeting, (New Brunswick, N.J.), describes a process for the preparation of dialkyl and diaryl pyrocarbonates. The process generally comprises reacting a chloroformate with 50% sodium hydroxide in the presence of a catalyst without added solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,542 discloses a process for the preparation of di-tertiary butyl dicarbonate which comprises reacting alkali metal tertiary butyl carbonate with methanesulfonyl chloride.
Prior art methods for preparing dialkyl dicarbonates suffer various drawbacks including problems arising from the use of toxic complexing agents or cosolvents, corrosion problems, unsatisfactory space-time yields, and problems incurred in working up the reacting mixture.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process for preparing dialkyl dicarbonates which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and is safe, economical and provides high yields of the desired product.

Uncatalyzed synthesis of symmetrical dicarbonates


A method and system for repairing a damaged hole includes a deformable rod and a fabric wrapped around a middle portion of the rod. A first portion of the rod is inserted into the damaged hole. The rod is stretched to align the middle portion of the rod and the fabric with an inside circumference of the hole. The rod is then relaxed to compress the fabric against the inside circumference of the hole.

The present invention relates generally to a method and system for repairing a damaged hole. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for repairing an enlarged bolt hole on a composite nose cone of a gas turbine engine.
A removable nose cone is regularly attached to a hub in the center of the inlet of a gas turbine engine. The nose cone provides a smooth aerodynamic surface covering for the hub hardware and feeds air into the fan blades. In some engine designs the nose cone rotates with the fan blades.
The nose cone may be attached to the hub with a plurality of attachment bolts that pass through attachment holes on a flange of the nose cone that are aligned with corresponding holes on the hub. The flange includes alternating attachment holes and balance weight holes. The balance weight holes are used to balance the nose cone before installation of the nose cone to the hub by inserting bolts through the balance weight holes. The bolts for the attachment holes are inserted once the nose cone is aligned with the hub.
Due to the operating conditions inside a gas turbine engine, over time the attachment holes and the balance weight holes on the flange become enlarged. An enlarged hole allows the bolt to move around within the hole. Therefore, it may become necessary to restore the bolt holes so that the bolts are properly secured within the attachment holes and the balance weight holes.
One approach to repairing an enlarged hole includes filling the hole with chopped fiber-filled epoxy resin and then drilling out an area where the bolt is to be reinserted. However, this approach is inadequate in terms of its durability. Alternatively, replacing the entire nose cone is extremely expensive.
Therefore, there is a need for a cost-effective, yet durable, method of repairing an enlarged hole on various components.

Fabric bushing installation to repair a hole


An ink-jet printing machine has: a transfer belt that transfers a printing sheet; a sheet feeding unit that feeds the printing sheet; an ink-jet head that performs ink ejection on the printing sheet; a SS roller that presses a central region of the printing sheet between the sheet feeding unit and the ink-jet head; a printing sheet sensor that detects the deformation of the printing sheet; and a guide roller that presses the printing sheet. The rate of a distance A between the SS roller and the printing sheet sensor to a distance B between the upper surface of a transfer belt and the lower end of the printing sheet sensor is approximately equal to the rate of a distance A′ between the guide roller and the ink-jet head to a distance B′ between the upper surface of the transfer belt and the lower end of the ink-jet head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet printing machine and a printing method in which a plurality of inks are ejected from ink-jet heads in order on a printing sheet transferred along a transfer path.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printing machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-276486 shows a printing method in which color inks are ejected on a printing sheet from ink-jet heads aligned along a transfer path formed by a transfer belt. The printing machine transfers the printing sheet fed by a sheet feeding part, performs printing during the transfer, and discharges the printed sheet from a sheet discharging part. With increased demand for high-speed printing, this printing machine is equipped with a transfer belt that performs a high-speed transfer.
Printing sheets often get deformed because of wetness or dryness due to humidity changes. FIG. 1 shows such a printing sheet 2002 with wrinkles 2021 on the edge. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the printing sheet 2002 is transferred into the ink-jet printing machine by a transfer belt 2106a, a deformed portion of the printing sheet 2002 leaves from the upper surface of the transfer belt 2106a and hence contacts with an ink-jet head 2104. This contact causes damage to the ink-jet heads or leads to blocking of ink ejection.
In order to detect the deformation of the printing sheet, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H08-198477 shows a printing machine having an optical sensor.
In order to minimize the leaving of the printing sheet under the ink-jet head, a conventional printing machine has a guide roller provided upstream of the ink-jet head or a steel plate 2053 covering the transfer path to keep pressing the deformation as shown in FIG. 3.

Ink-jet printing machine and printing method


This disclosure relates to a facsimile apparatus connected to an ISDN and having a confirmation function by which an addressor is capable of confirming whether data transmitted by the addressor have reached the addressee with certainty. The apparatus on the transmitting side adds transmission management information to the transmission data and sends both the data and the additional information to an apparatus on the receiving side. Based on the received transmission management information, the apparatus on the receiving side responds by sending information indicating that it has assuredly received the data back to the apparatus on the transmitting side. Thus, transmission of the data is performed with assurance by exchange of management information between the apparatus on the transmitting and receiving sides. Also disclosed is a facsimile apparatus having a function in which a password on the receiving side is provided so that a specific individual can confirm certain receipt of data.

Field of Invention
This invention relates to a facsimile apparatus and, more particularly, to a facsimile apparatus connected to an ISDN.
The Prior Art
FIG. 19 illustrates a known prior-art example of reception control of mail (or confidential mail) in an electronic mailing system. In FIG. 19, a management table 1003 stores mailbox numbers used by addressees (in addition to passwords known solely to these addressees in the case of confidential mail) and registered in the table beforehand. The box numbers are known also to addressors in advance.
An apparatus 1001 on the transmitting side designates a box number and transmits image information indicative of mail (or confidential mail) via a communication line 1001. An apparatus 1102 on the receiving side stores the received image information in a mailbox (or confidential mailbox) 1002 at the location of the designated box number and stores this address as well as such transmission management information as the transmitting party (terminal) number and the addressor number in the management table 1003.
The apparatus 1101 on the transmitting side terminates all processing in response to completion of the transmission of image information. At this time the apparatus 1102 on the receiving side displays a message indicative of the box number and receipt of the mail (or confidential mail) and notifies the addressee. In response, the addressee inputs his own box number (in addition to a password when confidential mail is received). A retrieval unit 1004 performs a search of the registered data (and compares passwords in case of confidential mail) using the inputted data, and generates an output permission signal when the data searched for can be retrieved (and when compared passwords agree in case of confidential mail). In response to the output permission signal, the apparatus 1102 on the receiving side outputs (prints out) the image from the mailbox (or confidential mailbox) 1002.
Thus, the conventional apparatus on the transmitting side is entirely incapable of knowing what the circumstances are following completion of the transmission of image information. Consequently, the addressor is incapable of knowing whether the mail (or confidential mail) information has actually been acquired by the addressee. For example, the addressor cannot know whether the apparatus malfunctioned before the addressee obtained the image or whether the addressee forgot to print out the image. This can cause the addressor anxiety and therefore is undesirable in terms of handling important documents (especially confidential documents and the like).
In addition, there are cases where an image cannot be transmitted because the confidential mailbox of the apparatus on the receiving side is full. Forcing the addressor to wait in such cases is unreasonable.


The liquid crystal display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has a plurality of pixels including a red pixel, a green pixel and a blue pixel. In at least one example embodiment, each of the plurality of pixels has a plurality of subpixels including a first subpixel and a second subpixel. When the grayscale levels of input signals corresponding to the red, green and blue pixels are equal to one another at a given level, the ratio of the difference in luminance between the first and second subpixels of one of the red, green and blue pixels to the maximum luminance of that one of the red, green and blue pixels is greater than the ratio of the difference in luminance between the first and second subpixels of each one of the other two pixels to the maximum luminance of the respective one of the other two pixels.

Liquid crystal display apparatuses are used not only as a large-sized television but also as a small-sized display device such as a display unit of a portable telephone. Although a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode liquid crystal display apparatus, which was often used conventionally, has a relatively narrow viewing angle, wide viewing angle liquid crystal display apparatuses such as in IPS (In-Plane-Switching) mode or VA (Vertical Alignment) mode have been being manufactured in recent years. Since VA mode can realize a higher contrast ratio among such wide viewing angle liquid crystal display apparatuses, VA mode is employed by many liquid crystal display apparatuses.
However, VA mode liquid crystal display apparatuses may provide grayscale reversal when being viewed obliquely. To suppress grayscale reversal, MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment) mode has been employed which forms a plurality of liquid crystal domain in one pixel region. In MVA mode liquid crystal display apparatuses, an alignment control structure is provided on the liquid crystal layer side of a substrate that is at least one of a pair of opposing substrates between which the vertically aligned liquid crystal layer is sandwiched. The alignment control structure is, for example, a liner slit (aperture) or a rib (protrusion) provided on an electrode. The alignment control structure applies alignment control force to one or both sides of the liquid crystal layer to form a plurality of liquid crystal domains (typically, four liquid crystal domains) having different alignment directions, thereby suppressing grayscale reversal.
In addition, in VA mode liquid crystal display apparatuses, an image in an oblique view may be brighter than the image in the front view (see Patent Document No. 1). This kind of phenomenon may be referred to as whitening. In a liquid crystal display apparatus in Patent Document No. 1, each of red, green, and blue pixels has subpixels, luminances of which can be different respectively, thereby suppressing white floating in an oblique view to improve viewing angle characteristics.
FIG. 23 shows a schematic diagram of a liquid crystal display apparatus 800 disclosed in Patent Document No. 1. In the liquid crystal display apparatus 800, different subpixel electrodes 824a, 824b are connected to a common source line S through corresponding TFTs 830a, 830b, and form capacitive couplings with corresponding storage capacitor lines CSa, CSb. In the liquid crystal display apparatus 800, potentials of the subpixel electrodes 824a, 824b are changed when voltages of storage capacitor lines CSa, CSb are different, so that luminances of subpixels Spa, Spb are different, thereby improving viewing angle characteristics.
FIG. 24 shows a schematic diagram of another liquid crystal display apparatus 900 disclosed in Patent Document No. 1. In the liquid crystal display apparatus 900, subpixel electrodes 924a, 924b are connected through different TFTs 930a, 930b to different source lines Sa, Sb, respectively. Also in the liquid crystal display apparatus 900, potentials of subpixel electrodes 924a, 924b are made different so that luminances of subpixels Spa, Spb are different, thereby improving viewing angle characteristics.
It is also known that luminances of two subpixels are made different by lowering the voltage of one of two subpixel electrodes after the subpixel electrodes are charged (for example, see Non-Patent Document No. 1). In a liquid crystal display apparatus disclosed in Non-Patent Document No. 1, one of two subpixels contained in a pixel further has another storage capacitor which is controlled by an adjacent gate line, in addition to a liquid crystal capacitor and a storage capacitor that are similar to those of the other subpixel. Thereby, in the liquid crystal display apparatus in Non-Patent Document No. 1, after a gate line is turned on and subpixel electrodes corresponding to two subpixels are charged, the voltage of one of the subpixel electrodes is lowered when an adjacent gate line is selected. In this way, viewing angle characteristics are improved in the liquid crystal display apparatus disclosed in Non-Patent Document No. 1.


A merchandise dispenser is provided and has a product display tray with a bottom portion for supporting and guiding a rank of product items. The merchandise dispenser also has a spring assembly for advancing the product items forward on the bottom portion. The spring assembly includes a pre-stressed spiral tape having a top surface extending from a mounting end portion thereof and a plurality of light emitting diodes carried in spaced relation on a predetermined length of the top surface of the tape for upwardly illuminating product items when disposed in the product display tray.

The present invention relates to merchandise dispensers that advance a rank of products frontward in a tray as forwardmost products are removed in sequence.
An example of a merchandise dispenser that includes an adjustable spring-powered feature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,464,089 to A. Rankin, V I. The patented Rankin mechanism includes a track mounting an upright pusher that slides along the track. The front of the pusher engages product packages. The pusher carries a spring that has a front end secured adjacent the front of the track and a coil section carried on the pusher. When the track is loaded with merchandise, the coil of the spring is wound and the wound spring provides stored energy that moves the pusher forward.


A positive planographic printing plate precursor includes a support having disposed thereon a lower thermosensitive layer containing a water-insoluble but alkali-soluble polymer compound and an upper thermosensitive layer containing a water-insoluble but alkali-soluble polymer compound, with alkali-solubility increasing under heat, wherein (i) both the upper thermosensitive layer and the lower thermosensitive layer contain an IR absorbing dye, with the ratio of the IR absorbing dye concentration in the upper thermosensitive layer to the IR absorbing dye concentration in the lower thermosensitive layer is 1.6 to 10.0, and/or (ii) the upper thermosensitive layer and the lower thermosensitive layer contain different IR absorbing dyes, and/or (iii) at least one of the upper thermosensitive layer and the lower thermosensitive layer contains an IR absorbent having, in one molecule, at least two chromophoric groups that absorb IR light, with the chromophoric groups bonding to each other via a covalent bond.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a planographic printing plate precursor, and more particularly to a positive planographic printing plate precursor having a recording layer that is rendered alkali-soluble by exposure to an infrared laser.
2. Description of the Related Art
The development of lasers in recent years has been remarkable. In particular, high-output, compact solid-state lasers and semiconductor lasers having an emission range in the near infrared to infrared range are being developed. These lasers are extremely useful as exposure light sources when a printing plate is formed directly on the basis of digital data from a computer or the like.
Positive planographic printing plate precursors for exposure to IR lasers include as essential components a binder resin that is soluble in an aqueous alkali solution, and an infrared (IR) dye that absorbs light to generate heat. In the non-exposed area (image area) of the precursor, the IR dye acts as a dissolution inhibitor that interacts with the binder resin to substantially lower the solubility of the binder resin. In the exposed area (non-image area) of the precursor, however, the interaction of the IR dye with the binder resin is weakened by the heat generated and the binder resin dissolves in alkali developer, whereby the precursor is processed into a planographic printing plate.
However, the difference in various processing conditions between resistance to dissolution of the non-exposed area (image area) in a developer and solubility of the exposed area (non-image area) is still insufficient, and there are problems in that varying processing conditions tends to produce overdevelopment or insufficient development. In addition, it is easy for the surface of the precursor to be compromised by, for example, fine scratches formed in the surface of the precursor when the precursor is handled. When such fine scratches are formed in the surface of the precursor and the surface of the precursor is slightly compromised, the surface solubility of the precursor increases, and when developed, the non-exposed area (image area) of the precursor dissolves to form scratch marks. This lowers printing durability and interferes with ink adhesion to the printing plate.
These problems stem from a fundamental difference in the plate-making mechanism between positive planographic printing plate precursors for IR lasers and positive planographic printing plate precursors, which are processed into printing plates by being exposed to UV light. Specifically, positive planographic printing plate precursors processed into printing plates by being exposed to UV light include as essential components a binder resin soluble in an aqueous alkali solution and an onium salt or quinonediazide compound. The onium salt or the quinonediazide compound not only interacts with the binder resin to lower the solubility of the binder resin at the non-exposed area (image area), but also promotes dissolution by being decomposed by light to generate an acid at the exposed area (non-image area). The onium salt or the quinonediazide compound thus plays two roles.
In contrast, in positive planographic printing plate precursors for IR lasers, IR dyes act only as dissolution inhibitors at the non-exposed area (image area), and do not promote the dissolution of the binder resin at the exposed area (non-image area). In order to produce a difference in solubility between the non-exposed area and the exposed area, a binder resin having a high solubility in alkali developer must be used in the precursor, and this leads to the problems of poor scratch resistance and unstable conditions before development of the precursor.
As means to overcome these problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication (JP-A) No. 10-250255 proposes multiple thermosensitive layers. However, these layers do not substantially utilize changes in solubility in the key process of image formation, but utilize a function in which ablation of an upper layer alters the penetrability of the developer into the layers. Therefore, various problems arise, such as a drop in laser output due to contamination of the optical system resulting from ablation, and contamination of the interior of the device.
JP-A No. 2000-35662 discloses multiple thermosensitive layers including an upper layer and a lower layer, with each of the upper and lower layers containing a light-heat converting material. When carbon black is used as the light-heat converting material as in the embodiments described in the application, problems due to ablation easily arise when sensitivity is raised by increasing the amount of carbon black in the uppermost layer. On the other hand, when the amount of carbon black in the uppermost layer is lowered to prevent ablation, there are problems in that sensitivity is significantly reduced. Thus, it has been difficult to overcome the preceding problems simply by adding a light-heat converting agent to the two layers.


This invention relates to a dry analytical element using a water-soluble indicator which improves measuring accuracy, which comprises a water-impermeable support, a water-permeable layer and a spreading layer having a function to spread a liquid uniformly, wherein a water-soluble indicator for colorimetry is incorporated into the s preading layer.

This invention relates to a dry analytical element for the determination of a substance existing in a liquid sample. The dry analytical element of the invention is particularly useful for the determination of an analyte contained in a biological sample in clinical assay which requires rapid and highly accurate analytical results, such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine or extract of faces.
Recently, dry analytical elements composed of plural layers laminated integrally have been developed as a device for the determination of a small quantity of a liquid sample accurately, and various investigations are being done in order to improve or diversify the dry analytical elements. The dry analytical element contains all reagents for analysis, and can determine only by depositing a drop of liquid sample and measuring a color developed thereon.
Incidentally, indicator compositions used in dry analytical elements are, in general, water-insoluble. The reason is that the dye formed is resistant to diffusion because of being almost insoluble or slightly soluble to water, and as a result, accuracy is improved by the prevention of ringing (Japanese Patent KOKAI 1-320999). On the other hand, selectable reaction systems and indicator compositions for colorimetry are restricted according to the type of analyte, and sometimes, water-soluble indicator compositions must be used. In this case, a special layer for mordanting the water-soluble indicator composition is provided which increases cost and labors.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dry analytical element using water-soluble indicator for colorimetry


An electronic switch includes a housing having a base with opposite inner and outer sides, and a cover body having a main portion that cooperates with the inner side of the base to define a chamber, and an end portion cooperating with the outer side of the base to define a sealing space. A terminal has a connecting part extending through the base and the sealing space and adapted to be connected to the circuit board. A hollow portion projects outwardly from the outer side of the base into the sealing space, and confines an air-discharge hole communicating fluidly with the chamber. A first adhesive layer is disposed in the sealing space without covering the air-discharge hole. A sealing unit is attached to the base, and seals the air-discharge hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a switch, more particularly to an electronic switch that is mountable on a circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional electronic switch 10, as disclosed by the applicant in Taiwanese Patent No. 155965, includes a top cover 11, a conductive ball 12 disposed in the top cover 11, a base 13, and four terminals 14. The top cover 11 is made of plastic, and has a cover main wall 111, and four interconnected sidewalls 112 extending downwardly from a peripheral end of the cover main wall 111. The cover main wall 111 and the sidewalls 112 cooperatively define a chamber 113 having a bottom opening 114. The conductive ball 12 is disposed in the chamber 113. The base 13 is made of plastic, and is inserted into the chamber 113 so as to close the bottom opening 114, thereby confining the conductive ball 12 within the chamber 113. The base 13 has top and bottom surfaces, and four spaced-apart through holes 131 extending through the top and bottom surfaces.
The terminals 14 are inserted respectively into the through holes 131 by a jig (not shown) so as to position the terminals 14 in the respective through holes 131. An epoxy resin 15 is filled within a space defined among the sidewalls 112 of the top cover 11, a bottom surface of the base 13, and the terminals 14, after which an assembly of the top cover 11, the base 13, and the terminals 14 is sent to an oven (not shown) so as to cure the epoxy resin 15, thereby obtaining the conventional electronic switch 10.
Although the aforementioned conventional electronic switch 10 can achieve its intended purpose, during heating of the assembly of the top cover 11, the base 13, and the terminals 14 in the oven, air in the chamber 113 expands when subjected to the high temperature of the oven, and escapes out of the electronic switch 10 through the epoxy resin 15. As a consequence, the epoxy resin 15 is formed with cracks 16, and the surface thereof is rough. Not only is the appearance of the electronic switch 10 affected, but also, the watertight capability of the electronic switch 10 is adversely affected due to the presence of the cracks 16. Hence, the electronic switch 10 gets moist easily, ultimately leading to reductions in the quality and service life of the electronic switch 10.

Electronic switch mountable on a circuit board