The invention concerns arrays comprising hundreds, thousands, to hundreds of thousands of samples and methods for screening thereof. These methods are useful to optimize, select, and discover compounds, compositions, or conditions that prevent, inhibit, induce, modify, or reverse physical-state transitions, particularly in-vivo physical-state transitions relating to disease causing processes. Such compounds, compositions, or conditions can be exploited to treat (e.g., reverse) or prevent the disease itself, the cause of the disease, or the symptoms of the disease.

Many serious diseases of both humans and animals are caused by abnormal physical-state transition of benign or beneficial substances, normally present in the body, such that a disease-causing substance results. Discovery of conditions, compounds, or compositions that prevent or inhibit formation or that reverse formation (e.g., promote dissolution or destruction) of such disease-causing substances is an important part of pharmaceutical development and research. Also important is discovery of compounds, compositions, or conditions that promote desirable physical-state transitions for reversal of disease processes, for example, reversal of osteoporosis by inducing formation of bone mass.
These so-called physical-state-transition disorders are a large and very heterogenous group of diseases. They include disorders caused by undesirable crystallization, bio-mineralization, polymerization, or calculus build up, such as bladder stones, kidney stones, gall stones, tartar build up on teeth, protein precipitation in body fluids, passage of aggregates based on their form or habit, and defects in bone formation or loss of bone mass. Polymerization, multimerization, and macro-molecular structures are significant in diseases, disorders, and conditions such as cancer and metastasis, allergy, e.g., due to IgE complexes, malarial parasite infections with sequestration of hematin, assembly of viral capsids and the like. Additionally, it is now known that structure or conformation changes of proteins are the cause or contribute to a range of very serious human diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, the amyloid diseases, and the prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
The occurrence of these undesirable physical-state transitions can be influenced by the immediate environment. For example, the deposition of calcium phosphate in solid form can be inhibited by the presence of pyrophosphate, even if the local concentration of calcium and phosphate ion would promote such deposition. Likewise, the formation of solids in the urinary system can be altered by controlling the pH of the urine or by preventing nucleation. The tendency of protein to adopt a beta-pleated sheet conformation, typical of the amyloid diseases, is critically dependent on the precise environmental conditions.

Rapid identification of conditions, compounds, or compositions that inhibit, prevent, induce, modify, or reverse transitions of physical state


Provided is a busbar configured to establish a connection between adjacent electrode terminals of a plurality of electricity storage elements each including positive and negative electrode terminals, including: a central region and a pair of end regions that are separated by a pair of parallel folding lines extending along an arrangement direction of the adjacent electrode terminals, wherein the pair of end regions are folded using the folding lines, and are placed on top of one surface of the central region such that the end regions do not overlap with each other.

A power supply device installed in an electric car, a hybrid car or the like includes a battery module in which a plurality of cells are arranged and connected.
Such a battery module includes a plate-shaped busbar that establishes an electrical connection between the electrode terminals of adjacent cells. For example, a configuration has been proposed in which the core wire of a detection wire that detects the voltage of the cells is connected to a wire connection portion formed extending in one piece with the busbar, and is guided to a battery ECU. The busbar can be formed, for example, by punching a plate-shaped member into a predetermined shape.
Meanwhile, there is a need to increase the plate thickness of such a busbar in order to reduce the electrical resistance. However, increasing the plate thickness poses the problem of an increase in size of the wire connection portion, resulting in conflicting needs between the retention of the electrical capacity and the size reduction of the wire connection portion.
Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, a configuration has been considered in which a body portion of the busbar that spans the adjacent electrode terminals is formed in a stacked structure, thus increasing the thickness of only the body portion, and maintaining the conventional thickness of the wire connection portion extending from the body portion. That is, a configuration has been proposed that is formed by folding a single metal plate in two using a folding portion, and placing the folded portions on top of each other.

Busbar, electricity storage module, and wiring module


A fireplace tray positionable on the floor of a fireplace to receive and collect ashes from burning logs in the fireplace. The tray has a collector portion which receives and collects the ashes, a rotatable support mounted to the collector toward a back wall thereof to roll the tray into and out of the fireplace and a front support mounted to the collector toward a front wall thereof to retain the tray in position in the fireplace. The fireplace tray preferably also includes handles mounted to the collector to facilitate handling of the tray and other features which permit collected ashes to be easily disposed of while maintaining the fireplace substantially clean at all times.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fireplace tray; and, more particularly, to a tray which is insertable into a fireplace to receive and collect ashes from burning logs in the fireplace and which is easily removable from the fireplace to permit convenient disposal of the ashes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most people consider a fireplace to be a desirable feature in a home. As a result, most houses include at least one fireplace, and many apartments that have been built in recent years include a functioning fireplace as well.
Usually, a fireplace grate is used to support logs to be burned in the fireplace. A fireplace grate typically comprises a plurality of metal bars shaped and welded together to form a rack to hold the logs above the floor of the fireplace. This provides for better burning of the logs and prevents the logs from rolling out of the fireplace.
As the logs burn on the grate, the ashes simply fall onto the floor of the fireplace and accumulate thereon such that the floor must periodically be cleaned. Removal of the ashes from the floor of the fireplace is a messy and time-consuming job; and, as a result, many people tend to clean their fireplace rather infrequently, allowing the ashes to build up to an unsightly level. Some people find the process of cleaning their fireplace to be so distasteful that they are hesitant to even use their fireplace to any significant extent, while others use manufactured logs which burn somewhat cleaner than wood logs or install a gas fireplace unit in their fireplace which leaves no ashes. Manufactured logs or gas fireplace units generally do not provide as attractive a fire as wood logs, and most people would prefer to burn wood if the fireplace did not become so messy and difficult to clean.
In an effort to alleviate the problem of cleaning a fireplace, various fireplace cleaning tools have been developed and are available in the marketplace. These tools typically include a small broom to sweep up the ashes that have accumulated on the fireplace floor and a small shovel to pick up the ashes and to transfer the ashes to a box, trashbag or the like for disposal. Such tools, however, do not clean the fireplace very well and also tend to disturb the ashes causing clouds of ashes to rise up into the air and to settle onto furniture and other surfaces in the room.
Also known are grates which have a built-in tray or drawer to catch the ashes as they fall from the burning logs (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,625). Such grates, however, are not very attractive and prevent one from using an existing grate that he may have or from selecting a grate design that he might prefer.


A method of treating mucus hypersecretion, the causative factor in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and other clinical conditions involving COPD, comprises administering a compound that inhibits exocytosis in mucus secreting cells or neurones that control or direct mucus secretion. Also described is a compound, for use in the treatment of hypersecretion of mucus, which inhibits mucus secretion by inhibiting mucus secretion by mucus secreting cells, and/or inhibiting neurotransmitter release from neuronal cells controlling or directing mucus secretion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to treatment of mucus hypersecretion, to compositions therefor and manufacture of those compositions. The present invention relates particularly, though not exclusively, to the treatment of chronic bronchitis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and other clinical conditions involving COPD.
2. Description of Related Art
Mucus is a thin film of protective viscoelastic liquid which lines the airways. It is a 1-2% aqueous solution, in which the major components are the glycoconjugates known as mucins. Mucus, including the mucins, is secreted by mucus secretory cells, the surface epithelial goblet cells of the large airways and the mucus cells of the submucosal glands. Mucin release occurs by three mechanisms: constitutive secretion, regulated secretion and protease cell surface activity. Of these it is regulated secretion that responds to external stimuli and is amenable to therapeutic intervention in COPD and asthma. Regulated secretion involves release from intracellular granules by docking and fusion of the granules with the cell exterior to release their contents onto the airway surface. Fusion of the granules can either be with the plasma membrane of the epithelial cell or with the membrane of other granules leading to release via multigranular complexes fused at the cell surface. Regulated secretion of mucins is controlled by humoral factors and by neural mechanisms. The neural mechanisms in humans involve a minor contribution from the adrenergic, sympathetic pathway and a major cholinergic, parasympathetic component. Another important neural pathway regulating mucin secretion, particularly the hypersecretion of pathological conditions, is that of the Non-Adrenergic Non-Cholinergic (NANC) pathway. The NANC component involves both an orthodromic pathway involving neuropeptide and nonpeptide transmitters, and a local sensory efferent pathway involving antidromic fibres from sensory C fibres.
COPD is a common respiratory condition, being the fourth most common cause of death in middle age in the Western world. COPD comprises two related diseases, which usually occur together, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The pathological basis of chronic bronchitis is mucus hypersecretion. The excessive, chronic bronchial secretion results in expectoration, and can last from a few days to many years. The mucus hypersecretion of COPD results in small airway obstruction producing reduced maximal respiratory flow and slow forced lung emptying. There is minimal reversal of the impaired airway function of COPD by bronchodilators and currently no effective therapy for the mucus hypersecretion.
Mucus hypersecretion is also a significant contributing factor to the pathophysiology of asthma. It is a key component in status asthmaticus, and contributes to the chronic symptoms and morbidity of asthma. The mucus hypersecretion component of asthma is not well controlled by current therapies, particularly in severe and chronic cases.
It would accordingly be desirable to treat, reduce or prevent the mucus hypersecretion that causes or leads to these disease conditions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and compounds for the treatment of mucus hypersecretion


Compositions of nanoparticles functionalized with at least one zwitterionic moiety, methods for making a plurality of nanoparticles, and methods of their use as diagnostic agents are provided. The nanoparticles have characteristics that result in minimal retention of the particles in the body compared to other nanoparticles. The nanoparticle comprising a nanoparticulate transition metal oxide covalently functionalized with a silane-functionalized non-targeting zwitterionic moiety.

This application relates generally to contrast agents for diagnostic imaging, such as for use in X-ray/Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). More particularly, the application relates to nanoparticle-based contrast agents, and methods for making and using such agents.
Iodinated aromatic compounds serve as standard X-ray/computed tomography (CT) contrast agents. Similarly, gadolinium chelates are the most commonly used contrast agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Such standard contrast agents are typically of low molecular weight, and they are known to have disadvantages such as rapid clearance, leakage through blood vessel walls, lower sensitivity, high viscosity, high osmolality and toxicity. In the case of contrast agents, it is preferred to have maximum renal clearance of the agents from the body without causing short term or long term toxicity to any organs. Thus there is a need for a new class of contrast agents.
Nanoparticles are being widely studied for uses in medical applications, both diagnostic and therapeutic. While only a few nanoparticle-based agents are clinically approved for magnetic resonance imaging applications and for drug delivery applications, hundreds of such agents are still in development. There is substantial evidence that nanoparticles have benefits over currently used standard contrast agents in terms of efficacy for diagnostics and therapeutics. However, the effects of particle size, structure, and surface properties on the in-vivo bio-distribution and clearance of nanoparticle agents are not well understood.
In view of the above, there is a need for nanoparticle-based contrast agents with improved properties having high renal clearance and low toxicity.

Nanoparticle contrast agents for diagnostic imaging


A microscope objective lens positioning assembly comprises a lens mounting member to which a microscope objective lens defining an optical axis is mounted; a support member; and a pair of leaf springs. Each leaf spring has first and second ends, the first ends of the leaf springs being secured to upper and lower aligned locations respectively on the support member, and the second ends of the leaf springs being secured to corresponding upper and lower locations respectively on the lens mounting member whereby the two leaf springs, the optical axis of the objective lens, and a line between the upper and lower aligned locations on the support member define a parallelogram, the leaf springs flexing in use in response to movement of the lens mounting member.

In the field of microscopes used for scanning biological samples and the like, it is often necessary to refocus the objective lens rapidly in order to compensate for variations in thickness of the biological sample being inspected. This is done by moving the microscope objective lens relative to a support member so as to adjust the distance between the objective lens and the sample. It is difficult to move an objective lens rapidly because the lens and its support assembly typically weigh over 100 grams but in the past this has been achieved by mounting the objective lens support assembly to a piezoelectric element and applying a suitable control signal to the element to cause the element to move the support assembly. The problem with this known arrangement is that a piezoelectric element can only move the microscope objective lens and its support assembly by relatively small amounts, typically less than 500 microns and at relatively low accelerations while requiring purpose built actuators.


A plasma ashing chamber that uses an external radiant power source to uniformly heat the wafer is provided with a double plate window through which radiant heat and exhaust gases flow without interfering with each other.

Single wafer processing machines are increasingly being used in semiconductor fabrication facilities. One reason for this is to maximize control over the processing conditions. Processing conditions are often constituted by the temperature, intensity of radiant energy flux (e.g. ultraviolet or infrared), and/or the flux of atomic or molecular species (e.g. etchant)impinging the wafer. Another justification for using single wafer processing machines is to increase the uniformity of the processing conditions over the surface of the wafer. This is necessary so that each die produced from the wafer will have similar acceptable electrical performance characteristics, regardless of the part of the wafer from which it was cut. In this regard, it should be noted that holding the process conditions uniform over the entire wafer becomes more difficult as the wafer size increases according to the continuing trend in the semiconductor industry.
Certain processes require simultaneous application of radiant energy and reacting species to the wafer. For example, in conducting plasma ashing to remove used photoresist, heating radiation (e.g. infrared and visible light) is applied to the wafer through a window in the chamber and at the same time oxygen which has been excited by flowing it through a microwave plasma discharge is passed over the wafer. In this process the oxygen in an excited state reacts with the heated photoresist borne on the wafer, thereby removing it by oxidizing it into gaseous (e.g. CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 O), and volatile low molecular weight products which are exhausted from the chamber through an exhaust orifice. Thus, in this process there is a need to achieve uniform heating radiation intensity over the wafer and uniform flux of excited oxygen reactants over the wafer.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a prior art plasma asher such as manufactured by Fusion Systems Corporation of Rockville, Md., the assignee of the instant invention. Referring to FIG. 1, gas is supplied from gas supply 1, and flows in conduit 4, through microwave exciter 2. The microwave exciter 2, as known in the art, may take the form of a microwave cavity with a gas conduit 4 passing through it. The gas is formed into a plasma as it flows in to the exciter. Microwave power from microwave generator 3 is fed (e.g. by a waveguide or by direct magnetron antenna coupling) into the microwave exciter to power the plasma. From the exciter the gas, which by action of the plasma excitation, has been chemically activated, flows into the wafer processing chamber, 5. The processing chamber 5, comprises upper, 6a and lower 6b inlet baffle plates, which serve to spread the flow of the reactive gas in order to make it more uniform. The baffle plates 6a, 6b have a symmetric arrangement of orifices as known in the art. Downstream, and below the lower inlet baffle plate 6b, the wafer 7 undergoing processing is positioned horizontally. The wafer is supported by three quartz standoffs 8 (two shown) above the lower wall 9 of the processing chamber. The lower wall, 9 also serves as a radiant energy window through which radiant heating power from incandescent bulbs 10a, 10b passes. Although only two bulbs 10a, 10b are shown in this schematic depiction, in actuality several arranged in a circle are used. The lower wall, 9 may be made of quartz glass and must be of sufficient thickness to bear the external ambient pressure when the chamber is operated under vacuum. The lower chamber wall 9 comprises a central orifice 9a. Upper exhaust pipe section 11a is also made of quartz, and is fused to the central orifice 9a of the lower chamber wall 9. Lower exhaust pipe section 11b is connected to a vacuum pump system 12. The central location of central orifice 9a is important because it contributes, along with arrangement of the baffle plates 6a, 6b to establishing a symmetrical flow of process gas in the processing chamber 5.
However the central location of the central orifice 9a, which requires the central location of upper exhaust pipe section 11a, causes difficulties in achieving uniform radiant power distribution over the wafer 7. The location of the upper exhaust pipe section 11a, interferes with the placement of radiant power sources and optics, and thereby prevents uniform distribution of radiant power over the surface of the wafer. Two examples which represent two known ways of achieving uniform irradiance over a plane, in this case the wafer, which are precluded by the presence of upper exhaust pipe section, 11a in the above described prior art processor, but which can be used according to the invention, as will be disclosed below, are the multiple variable control, multizone planar array illuminator approach, hereinafter referred to simply as "planar array", and the approach of using a custom designed surface of revolution reflector in combination with a single high powered source.
The planar array approach is precluded in the prior art processing chamber described above because it is a essential that the central lamp in the array be located directly below the center of the wafer. This cannot be arranged because the upper section 11a of the exhaust pipe passes through this location.
The surface of revolution reflector approach is precluded because the single high powered source used in this approach must be located directly below the center of the wafer, and as in the former planar array case this can not be arranged.

Double window exhaust arrangement for wafer plasma processor


A concealment device for use with a notary book, the concealment device comprising an opaque, removable, reusable single sheet of static cling material sufficiently wide to cover confidential information contained on pages of the notary book when the notary book is being signed, the sheet having an upper and lower surface, the lower surface configured to secure to the notary book pages by static cling, and a bottom portion having a plurality of identifications that correspond with and align with identifications on the notary book when the concealment device is placed on the open notary book. A combination comprising a notary book having a plurality of notary pages, each notary page comprising a plurality of columns, the book having two pages in an open position for entering information into the notary book and a concealment device placed on the two pages in the open position of the notary book.

A notary public uses a notary journal to record notarized documents. Typical journal entries include the signer's name, address, driver's license information, title of the notarized document(s), and signature. If the information is not concealed, subsequent signers can have access to the personal information of previous signers. Shielding signers from this breach of privacy is therefore desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,946,552 describes a sleeve privacy device that can slip over two sides and a corner of a journal to conceal personal information of previous signers. However, it is clumsy to use.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved concealment device that conceals the personal information of previous signers from subsequent signers.


Non-aqueous ball point pen inks, which contain dyes, resins, solvents and additives which demonstrate improved rheological behavior under the most varied climatic conditions. Leaking and spotting are reliably avoided, and ink production is simplified. Alcohol-soluble cellulose derivatives are used as additives.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to non-aqueous inks for ball point pens.
2. Discussion of the Background
Non-aqueous ball point pen inks contain soluble dyes, resins, solvents, additives and other processing aids and are used to fill ball point pen cartridges.
In particular, the ink, which is generally highly viscous, is not supposed to fail at low and high temperatures. By maintaining a certain flow capacity in the ball point pen cartridge, the ability to start writing immediately and continuous writing must be assured even at low ambient temperatures. On the other hand, even at tropical temperatures, running and spotting should not occur. Furthermore, no droplet formation at the ball point pen tip should occur due to the effect of moisture, even in the form of high humidity.
Ball point pen inks, containing soluble dyes, synthetic resins, solvents, and oleic acid, respectively are known (Seifen-Ole-Fette-Wachse 109, 16/1983, pages 481 to 483).
Attempts have been made to improve the control of viscosity, the ability to start writing and the friction wear resistance by using a synthetic resin and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, dissolved in benzyl alcohol or higher glycols, as a thickener (Seifen-Ole-Fette-Wachse 103, 3/1977, page 76). By adding a resin, the viscosity of the ink at room temperature can be adjusted to the desired value. Usually, values in the vicinity of 10,000 to 20,000 mPa.s are found. In this connection, resins which contain hydroxyl groups yield the highest values, with the same throughput amount. As in the case of hydrogenated ketone resins and styrene/allyl alcohol copolymers, they also demonstrate the relatively flattest viscosity/temperature curve. Other binders, such as oil-free alkyd resins, ketone or aldehyde resins, change the viscosity very greatly when the temperature changes, or they are unstable in a ink, such as a novolak, and result in a decrease in viscosity after only a short time.
In general, all of the previously known binders and resins are insufficient as a sole viscosity regulator. Furthermore, an overly high proportion of resin in the ink formulation is undesirable for reasons of production ease and handling of the ink, adjustment of the color intensity and permanence, and partly for price reasons. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone, which is described in the literature, is used as a thickener to increase viscosity. At proportions of about 3% by weight of the total ink, a clear increase in viscosity can be achieved.
However, the problems associated with temperature changes have not been eliminated. Particularly at higher temperatures, such as those which occur in the summer or in the tropics, a large decrease in viscosity of the inks is not prevented or reduced. Another problem is the great sensitivity to moisture of any kind. Thus, slight amounts of water, such as those which can be contained in other ink raw materials, drastically reduce the ink viscosity. If ball point pens are exposed to high humidity, droplet formation occurs in the tip region, or in the case of open cartridges, the ink leaks out.


A display device having a particular power controller circuit is disclosed. In one aspect, the display includes a plurality of pixels, and a power controller for supplying a first power source voltage and a second power source voltage for providing a driving current of the plurality of pixels wherein the power controller connects at least one of a first high level voltage, a ground, and a capacitor to a first node connected to the first power source voltage, and connects one of a second high level voltage and the ground to a second node connected to the second power source voltage.

1. Field
The disclosed technology relates to a display device, a power control device, and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Technology
A display device includes a display area formed of a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix format. The display area includes a plurality of scan lines formed in a row direction and a plurality of data lines formed in a column line, and the plurality of scan lines and the plurality of data lines are arranged to cross each other. A power source voltage for driving a plurality of pixels is applied to the display area from a power supply device. Each of the plurality of pixels is driven by a scan signal and a data signal respectively transmitted from corresponding scan and data lines.
Recently, display areas for emerging technologies such as eletroluminescents have become wider to account for more applications that demand larger screens such as television sets. As the display area has become larger, the length of the power cable for transmitting a power voltage to the display area from the power supply device has gradually increased. As the length of the power cable grows, noise increases because of parasitic inductance and this negatively influences the operation of the internal circuitry of the display device.

Display device, power source generator device, and driving method of an OLED pixel


Methods of using a mixture as a corrosion inhibitor, moisture or formaldehyde scavenger, reactive diluent, rheological modifier, thermoplastic foam inhibitor, antifreezing agent, decolorizing agent, or drying agent. The mixture consists of from 0 to 100 mole percent of an iminoalcohol compound: ##STR1## wherein: R.sub.1 is a methyl or methylol group, an ethyl or ethylol group, a branched or straight chain alkyl or alkanol group, a cycloalkyl group, or an aryl group; R.sub.2 is a hydrogen atom, a methyl or methylol group, an ethyl or ethylol group, a straight chain or branched chain alkyl or alkanol group, a cycloalkyl group, or an aryl group, or R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are fused together with the attached carbon to form a cycloalkane ring; R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 are, individually, a hydrogen atom, a methyl or methylol group, an ethyl or ethylol group, or a straight chain or branched chain alkyl or alkanol group; R.sub.6 is a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, an ethyl group, or a straight chain or branched chain alkyl group; and R.sub.7 is a hydrogen atom, a methyl or methylol group, an ethyl or ethylol group, a straight chain or branched chain alkyl or alkanol group, a cycloalkyl group, an acyl group, an aryl group, an ester containing group, or an amino containing group; and from 0 to 100 mole percent of an oxazolidine compound having the structure: ##STR2##

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention is generally related to methods of using iminoalcoholoxazolidine mixtures. In particular, the present invention relates to methods of using the mixtures as a corrosion inhibitor, moisture or formaldehyde scavenger, reactive diluent, rheological modifier, thermoplastic foam inhibitor, antifreezing agent, decolorizing agent, or drying agent.
2. Background Of The Art
Moisture curable polyurethane coatings are extensively used as commercial and industrial protective and/or decorative coatings. Polyurethane coatings, known in the industry as one of the toughest coatings available, are routinely applied as protective coatings on exterior walls of buildings, industrial machinery, military equipment and vehicles, commercial and passenger vehicles, and any other surface requiring a protective coating. Moisture curable polyurethane systems are also used extensively as sealants and adhesives.
Moisture curing polyurethane coating systems include a polyisocyanate component which reacts with atmospheric water at room temperature to form useful films. These systems also include pigments, organic solvents, and a variety of adjuvant components, e.g., surface active agents, dispersants, diluents, and filters. Since the polyisocyanate component reacts with even trace amounts of moisture, extreme care must be taken so that the polyisocyanates do not contact water until they are applied to a surface to be coated. Water is, however, unintentionally and unavoidably introduced into the formulation process in the form of dissolved water in solvents, adsorbed and absorbed moisture on the surfaces of fillers and pigments, and atmospheric moisture. Subsequent reaction of the water with the polyisocyanate component of the system results in an irreversible reaction which will harden the product, making it unusable before it can be applied to the surface to be coated. This water must be removed in order to produce an acceptable product. The existing methods for preparing color-pigmented moisture curable polyurethane coatings require expensive equipment to dry the pigments, solvents, and fillers. In the alternative, moisture scavenging agents are added to the coating preparation or are added to the pigments, solvents and other raw materials prior to preparing the coating.
One group of moisture scavenging compounds are the molecular sieves. Molecular sieves adsorb water into their pores, thereby binding the water and preventing it from reacting with the polyisocyanate component. An example of a molecular sieve is sodium potassium aluminosilicate, available from the Mobay Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., under the tradename designation Baylith L Powder. One disadvantage of using molecular sieves is that they reduce the gloss of the cured coating. Another disadvantage of molecular sieves is that they will sometimes plasticize or embrittle the cured coating.
A second group of water scavenging agents widely used to prevent moisture contamination of moisture curable polyurethane coating systems is the monomeric isocyanates. A typical monomeric isocyanate, such as p-toluenesulfonyl isocyanate (Vanchem, Inc. Lockport, Conn.), reacts with water to generate carbon dioxide and the corresponding sulfonamide, e.g., p-toluenesulfonamide. The carbon dioxide diffuses from the pigment grind during the dehydration phase as carbon dioxide gas. A disadvantage of monomeric isocyanates is that they are harmful if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin and are extremely corrosive to the tissues of the mucous membranes, upper respiratory tract, and skin.
There is a need for a moisture scavenger which efficiently, cost effectively, and safely removes water from moisture curable coating systems and from any other preparation where residual water is a problem, without seriously detracting from the performance of the cured coating.
Coating, adhesive or sealant formulations also may include rheological modifiers to reduce viscosity, disperse pigments and improve solvency and flow. Formulations which do not contain rheological modifiers may exhibit a rapid increase in viscosity for a relatively small increase in solids content. The increased viscosity causes the formulation to set quickly resulting in striations in the formulation. Addition of a rheological modifier enables the formulation to flow into a smooth layer before it sets. Conventional rheological modifiers include polyethylene glycols such as Carbowax and polyethylene oxides such as Polyox.
There is a need for a rheological modifier to reduce viscosity and volatile organic content, disperse pigments, and improve the solvency and flow properties of a coating, adhesive or sealant.
Radiation curable coatings are generally composed mainly of radiation curable multifunctional monomers, oligomers and polymers. Restrictions on solvent content in the atmosphere have increased efforts to provide radiation curable coatings which do not contain any volatile components, but instead include components which form either the whole or a part of the hardened film itself. Reactive diluents are used to lower the volatile content of the coatings by reducing the loss of organic solvents into the atmosphere. Reactive diluents are compounds of low volatility which reduce the viscosity of a coating, adhesive or sealant formulation and become a permanent part of the formulation through chemical reaction. Accordingly, reactive diluents are added to radiation curable coatings not only as a diluent, but to reduce viscosity, copolymerize with the oligomers and polymers to form a part of the coating, and contribute to the final properties of the cured film. Examples of reactive diluents for use in coatings are monofunctional acrylic monomers, multifunctional acrylates and methacrylates of alkoxylated and non-alkoxylated polyols such as trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate and 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate and dimethacrylate, difunctional diluents such as 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate and dimethacrylate, and trifunctional diluents such as trimethylolpropane triacrylate and pentaerythritol triacrylate. These reactive diluents pose problems which limit their use in radiation curable coatings. The diluents are known to produce brittle films with severe shrinkage and poor adhesion to substrates, exhibit slow cure response or poor solvency effects, ineffectively reduce viscosity, or cause serious skin irritancy problems.
There is a need for a reactive diluent which exhibits good cure response, low intrinsic viscosity, low film shrinkage, and excellent solvating or viscosity reducing properties.
Formaldehyde is a raw material frequently used in polymeric systems including phenol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde, and melamine-formaldehyde. Exposure to formaldehyde vapors in the workplace is stringently controlled by the use of formaldehyde scavengers. Formaldehyde scavengers capture formaldehyde and hold it in a form having significantly lower formaldehyde vapor pressure. Products such as textiles and plywood typically contain a formaldehyde scavenger to reduce free formaldehyde levels without changing the physical properties of the products. Known formaldehyde scavengers include nitroparaffins such as nitromethane (NM.TM.), nitroethane (NE.TM.), 1-nitropropane (NiPar S-10.TM.) and 2-nitropropane (NiPar S-20.TM.), and amino alcohols such as 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP.TM.), 2-amino-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol (AEPD.RTM.) and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS AMINO.RTM.), which are manufactured by ANGUS Chemical Company.
There is a need for a formaldehyde scavenger which efficiently, cost effectively, and safely removes formaldehyde from polymeric systems and from any other preparation where free formaldehyde is a problem, without seriously detracting from the performance or physical properties of the system.
Corrosion is often prevalent in engine cooling systems. Metals such as copper, iron, steel, aluminum, magnesium and the like are often exposed to high temperatures, pressures and flow rates in these cooling systems. These conditions corrode metal forming corrosion products which may cause engine overheating or engine failure. Lightweight metals in engine components such as aluminum and magnesium are subject to pitting of radiator tubes, crevice corrosion at hose connections, and deposit corrosion from deposition of corrosion products. Corrosion inhibitors are added to antifreeze/coolant compositions and functional fluids which contact metal to prevent and control corrosion in engine cooling systems and other machinery. U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,108 describes oxazolidine derivatives which are used as chelants, anti-copper-corrosion additives and frictional modifiers in automatic transmission fluid, an oxidation inhibitors in middle distillate fuels.
There is a need for a corrosion inhibitor which effectively reduces the incidence of corrosion of metals or alloys, and which may be applied to a surface of a metal or alloy or may be incorporated in a functional fluid which contacts a surface of a metal or alloy.
Phenol-based peroxide inhibitors have been suggested as a substitute for 2,6-di-t-butyl-p-cresol for use in polyol formulations because of the limited supply of the conventional p-cresol inhibitor. However, the phenol-based inhibitors cause discoloration of the polyol. N-(2-hydroxyalkyl)oxazolidines are known decolorizing agents for removing color-forming bodies from a mixture of alkyl substituted phenols.
There is a continuing need for a decolorizing agent which removes the color from a phenol, amine or other discolored preparation.

Iminoalcohol-oxazolidine mixtures and their use


A water supply apparatus 120 of a clothes washer is comprised of an extractable water supply guider 140 from a housing 121. In the initial state that the water inlet 146 is blocked by the plug 131, the pressure of the water is applied to the flange 142 so the water supply guider 140 extracts near the center of the clothes access opening 118. The water running through a water supply passage 141 drops into the clothes basket through a water outlet 143.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clothes washer, more particularly to a clothes washer having a water supply apparatus which is extracted by pressure of water toward a center of a water basket.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A clothes washer is generally comprised of a water basket containing water, a clothes basket rotatably provided in the water basket, and a pulsator vertically extended and rotatably provided in the center of the water basket. The clothes washer further is comprised of a water supply apparatus at the upper portion of a body of the washer.
FIG. 4 illustrates a clothes washer having a typical water supply apparatus. A water supply apparatus 5 is provided in a top cover 10 placed on a body 1 of the washer. Above the water supply apparatus 5 a water supply pipe 11 which is connected with a faucet (not shown) is provided for supplying fluid. At the exit of the water supply pipe 11 a water supply valve 13 is provided to selectively supply water flowing from the water supply pipe 11 to a water supply channel 12. Thereafter, the water contained in the water supply channel 12 drops into a detergent storage box 14 housed in a detergent accessing member 15. The powder or fluid detergent stored in the box 14 dissoves. The dissolved detergent flows into a clothes basket 17 through a discharge channel 16.
In a washer having a conventional water supply apparatus, a large-sized clothes access opening 18 is formed in order to conveniently put clothes into/from the clothes basket 17. Thus, for preventing obstruction of clothes access into/from the clothes basket 17, the water supply apparatus 5 must be arranged at the location above a water basket 3 provided at the outside of the clothes basket 17. Since the water supply apparatus 5 is placed at an outer area at a distance from a vertical wall of the clothes basket 17, there is likely drawback for water to drop at the outside circumference of the water basket 3. Moreover, in the case of the supply of the detergent dissolved water, the vicinity of the water basket 3 will be covered with grime. Further, the detergent dissolved water drops adjacent to the vertical wall of the clothes basket 17 and the detergent dissolved water is unevenly supplied only to the clothes adjacent to the circumference of the clothes basket 17 owing to the rotation of the pulsator.

Clothes washer having a water supply apparatus


An energy converter for converting a sound energy into a kinetic energy is comprised of a source device for radiating the sound energy, and a body having a cover member for absorbing the sound energy and a reflecting member mounted thereon with the cover member in such a manner that the sound energy after passing through the cover member reaches the reflecting member so as to be tangential thereto.

The present invention relates to an energy converter, and in particular to a sound wave operated energy converter which can establish a rotational movement, a linear movement or other movement.
A conventional energy converter, which is pending in the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the Ser. No. of 07/917,964 (filing date: Jul. 24, 1992), is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. The conventional energy converter includes a rotor 23 from which a plurality of equally pitched blades 23a are extended outwardly in the radial direction, and a cylindrical housing 21 in which the rotor 23 and blades 23a are arranged. At an inner surface of the housing 21, there are secured a plurality of equally pitched resonators 22 so as to surround the blades 23a. When each resonator 22 generates a sound wave, the resulting radiation or sound pressure affects the blades 23a, which brings a rotation of the rotor 23.
In the foregoing structure, whenever the blade 23a is substantially perpendicular to the direction along which radiation pressure is transmitted the former can receive the energy of the latter efficiently. Is the blade 23a makes an acute angle with respect to the foregoing direction after the foregoing rotation of the rotor 23a, the energy receipt at the blade 23a becomes less efficient.

Sound wave operated energy corverter for producing different forms of movement


The unit comprises: a casing (1) with a protected interior, a window (2) closed by a transparent element (3) and support means (4) to carry an optical system (5) facing said window (2); image detection means (6) accommodated in said casing (1), facing said optical system (5), an associated with connection means with the exterior for the supply and/or bidirectional signal exchange; and heating means to provide thermal energy to said transparent element (3), or to an adjacent zone thereto, aiming at avoiding lacking transparency problems, due to ambient and climatic factors.

It is well known to use at least one image acquisition unit including an image detector, as an analogue camera or a CCD or CMOS technology device, located in a place of the vehicle's exterior, in order to obtain digitized data representative of some captured images by said image detector, being said data susceptible to be treated later on by electronic means to provide, for example, warning signals for the conductor or a rear image shown on a screen.
It is usual to incorporate one of said image acquisition units in a exterior rear view mirror unit of the vehicle, in order to provide digitized data representative of a rear image, apart from the rear image reflected by the reflector. Due to the fact that the image acquisition unit is located in the exterior of the vehicle, although it is protected up to a certain point against humidity by a specific casing and/or a casing of the rear view mirror, it is exposed to ambient and climatic conditions, which lead to well known problems that may leave the image acquisition unit out of order. The most frequent problems are the following:                appearing of a dew, frost or ice layer in an exterior glass of the image acquisition unit due to elevated exterior humidity conditions in combination with low temperatures;        steaming up in different surfaces which form the optical system of the image acquisition unit, due to the presence of humidity in the interior of the casing and to temperature differences between the interior and exterior of the casing;        accumulation of water drops or snowflakes on the exterior glass of the image acquisition unit, due to rain, snow, water sprinkles, etc.;        accumulation of dust, dirt, etc.
The reflector surface of the rear view mirror is also exposed to the majority of previous stated problems and it is known to incorporate some heating means, for example, in the form of a configuration of serigraphic resistive paste or ink lines on the rear surface of the reflector and connected to a vehicle's direct current power supply, analogue to the one used in the electrically heated rear window.
There is the need to dispose of some means to avoid lacking transparency problems, due to ambient and climatic factors in an exterior glass surface or in the optical system of the image acquisition unit. Nevertheless, neither on the market, nor through any document, no image acquisition unit is known for monitoring the exterior of a vehicle equipped with a heating device for that target.
The aim of the present invention is to provide an image acquisition unit for the monitoring of the exterior of a vehicle, provided with a heating device for providing thermal energy to a transparent element and/or optical system of the unity, in order to avoid lacking transparency problems, due to ambient and climatic factors.

Image acquisition unit with heating device for monitoring the exterior of a vehicle


Policy-driven administration of mobile applications includes receiving a policy defined by a client system. The policy is defined by rules configured for implementation by a scanner and a compliance definition indicative of a threshold acceptability value for output of the implementation of the scanner on a mobile application. The policy-driven administration also includes executing the scanner for the mobile application and identifying an association between a mobile device and the client system. The policy-driven administration of mobile applications further includes controlling access to the mobile application by the mobile device based on results of executing the scanner using the compliance definition.

The present invention relates to mobile applications and, more specifically, to policy-driven administration of mobile applications.
Organizations that supply its members with devices or allow devices into the organization space are faced with the challenges of malicious applications that may infect the devices or worse, gain unauthorized access to the organizations' data. Many known applications collect data from, or through, these devices and use the data in ways that would not be acceptable to a given organization's policies. For example, some applications may collect data about a device user, or use aspects of the device to gain privileged information about the organization.

Policy driven administration of mobile applications

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A bottom hole assembly avoids damaging vibrations that can develop during directional drilling with a rotary steerable system. The assembly has a drill bit, a first collar that rotates with the bit, a rotary steerable tool that controls the bit's trajectory, and a second collar that rotates with the drill string. The first collar between the bit and the tool defines a bend that deflects the bit from the first collar's axis. During operation, this bend causes portion of the assembly to engage the borehole wall to inhibit counterclockwise (CCW) bit whirl by promoting clockwise whirl in the assembly, generating friction against the borehole wall, and dampening vibrations. By inhibiting CCW bit whirl, other damaging vibrations such as CCW whirl in the drill string can also be prevented up the borehole. Alternatively, only the second collar between the tool and the drill string may define the bend, or both collars can define bends.

Some wells may need to be drilled using a complex trajectory to reach multiple target areas or to perform other operations. Therefore, operators must be able to precisely "steer" the drilling direction. To do this, operators can remotely operate a directional drilling device near the drill bit to control the drilling direction. Various types of directional drilling devices are known in the art. One such device uses a variable stabilizer, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,817, to control the drilling trajectory. The variable stabilizer has stabilizer blades that center the drill string within the borehole. Drilling mud pumped downhole is used to control the variable stabilizer by retracting the blades. When selected blades are retracted, the device permits the drilling angle of the drill bit to be changed.
Another directional drilling device is commonly referred to as a bent housing mud motor. This device uses a mud motor disposed on a housing that has an axis displaced from the axis of the drill string. In use, circulated drilling fluid hydraulically operates the mud motor, which has a shaft connected to a rotary drill bit. By rotating the drill bit with the motor and simultaneously rotating the motor and bit with the drill string, the device produces an advancing borehole trajectory that is parallel to the axis of the drill string. However, by rotating the drill bit with the motor but not rotating the drill string, the device can produce a borehole trajectory deviated from the axis of the non-rotating drill string. By alternating these two methodologies, operators can control the path of the borehole.
Another directional drilling device is a rotary steerable system that can change the orientation of the drill bit to alter the drilling trajectory but does not require rotation of the drill string to be stopped. One type of rotary steerable system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,354, which is incorporated herein by reference. Although effective, rotary steerable systems during certain operations can suffer from vibrations and oscillations that can be extremely damaging and hard to control. These uncontrolled vibrations can especially occur when the rotary steerable system is run below a high torque mud motor with a reasonably high speed (i.e., a total bit RPM of about 110). Generally the higher the RPM, the higher the likelihood of CCW whirl.
In particular, a bottom hole assembly having a rotary steerable system essentially acts as a series of rotating cylindrical spring mass systems with variable support points (typically stabilizers or extended blades). The natural frequencies of these spring mass systems can create a variety of damaging vibrations during operation. Ideally, the bottom hole assembly experiences concentric rotation so that drill bit has sliding contact with the borehole wall. Although the assembly may initially be in sliding contact, the assembly eventually tries to ride up the wall in a horizontal borehole, but gravity and bending strain tend to throw the assembly back downslope.
The riding and dropping of the assembly in the borehole can intensify and becomes more violent with increasing impact loads propelling the assembly back and forth across the borehole. Eventually, the multiple impacts can develop into counterclockwise (CCW) bit whirl in which the drill bit is in continuous rolling contact with the borehole wall. At this stage, the frequency of the whirl action jumps dramatically, and the bottom hole assembly oscillates in a counterclockwise direction opposite to the rotation of the drill string. In general, the resulting motion can be defined by a Hypocycloid sub form of general Hypotrochoids. (This is true for a point on the outer surface of the BHA because the center describes a circle of diameter equal to the borehole clearance). The whirl action from the drill bit can travel up the drill string and can affect multiple points on the assembly.
As expected, counterclockwise bit whirl can unevenly wear the drill bit's cutters and can create fatigue in the various components of the bottom hole assembly and drill string. For this reason, operators need a way to reduce or minimize the development of counterclockwise bit whirl in a bottom hole assembly having a rotary steerable system or any other rotary drilling assembly.

Rotary steerable assembly inhibiting counterclockwise whirl during directional drilling


Dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, can cause choking, aspiration of food or liquid into the lungs, incomplete administration of medication, and discomfort to the victims. A method is provided for evaluating the severity of Dysphagia. The method comprises providing at least two sets of orally ingestible materials, each set of orally ingestible material comprising at least two compositions of like materials differing significantly in one property selected from the group consisting of viscosity, adhesiveness, cohesiveness and yield force. A patient ingests a first one of the at least two compositions from a first set of the at least two sets, examining the patients for a dysphagic response to the ingestion of the first one of the at least two compositions, and noting any dysphagic responses. Steps b), c) and d) are repeated for another set of orally ingestible materials which another set of the at least two sets of orally ingestible materials characterizes a property that is different from a property selected from the group consisting of viscosity, adhesiveness, cohesiveness and yield force characterized by the first one of the at least two compositions from a first set of the at least two sets of orally ingestible material.

1. Field of the Invention
Dysphagia is a condition or symptom defined as a difficulty in swallowing. The present invention relates to a method for the standardized measurement of the quality or degree of dysphagia and a kit used for that method.
2. Background of the Art
Dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, is a condition or symptom which can be caused by many different conditions, injuries or diseases. Dysphagia can cause choking, aspiration of food or liquid into the lungs, incomplete administration of medication, and discomfort to the victims. These factors can at least discomfort a patient, but may also interfere with or complicate conventional treatment of patients. Among the many contributions to or causes of dysphagia are head injuries, Parkinsonism, Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, cancer, medication side effects, advanced HIV infections, gastrointestinal disorders, and brain tumors. It has been estimated that more than 10,000 patients a year choke to death as a result of dysphagia.
Dysphagia is a well-recognized condition and has been studied and addressed by doctors and nutritionists (Robertson, Helen M. And Pattillo, Margaret S., Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association, Vol. 54, No. 4, Winter 1993). Such studies have noted that the condition is affected by the temperature, pH, viscosity, volume, size and shape of particulate matter in the ingested sample, and that these conditions can affect the likelihood of a bolus passing safely through the swallowing process.
Robertson et al. (supra) formulated test substances for the videofluoroscopy examination of the patient for visual examination of dysphagia effects on individual patients. An actual structural evaluation of the patient's dysphagia was observed under fluoroscopy. It was further noted in the preparation of the blended materials used during the fluoroscopic examination that the foods used were not by nature smooth and homogeneous, and that they may vary in cohesiveness, adhesiveness, viscosity and texture. It was noted that where materials exhibited the worst two-phase characteristics (fibrous materials in a liquid), the materials were further blended with whipped potato to produce smoother, more cohesive products. Various test points based upon viscosity (ranging from dry, crumbly material, 2000 cps, 800 cps, 250 cps and 100 cps) and texture (Dysphagia/Dental soft, Minced/chopped, and Puree') are intended to be identified on the food preparation menus offered to patients.
Felt, Pat and Anderson, Coleen, Nutritional Management of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia for the Adult Patient: A Therapist's Guide, 1990 describes the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia, diets for dysphagia sufferers, and related matters. The publication noted that swallowing, and therefore dysphagia, occurs in three phases: the oral, pharyngeal and esophageal phases. The publication identifies and provides guidelines for the three phases, and identifies properties of the food or bolus which can attribute to the problem or relieve the problem. Amongst the properties are viscosity, elasticity, and particulateness. Diets based on nutritional requirements and physical properties are provided.
Womak, Pam and Pope, Jane Erwin, Solving the Mystery of Dysphagia, Dietary Manager," March 1992 describes the swallowing process and provides guidelines for the temporary diet management of the dysphagia patient. The viscosity and texture of the food as part of the rheologic evaluation of the food, as well as the seasoning and temperature, are emphasized.
Li, Brasseur, Kern and Dodds, Dysphagia, 7:17-30, 1992 made detailed viscosity measurements on barium sulfate mixtures for use in motility studies of the pharynx and esophagus. The mixtures also used flavorings. The viscosity of the mixtures was described with respect to the concentration of ingredients so that a standard viscosity could be provided for use in motility studies. Viscosity was the primary rheologic property considered for standardization, although viscosity was considered as a function of shear rate. The conclusion suggests that a test kit of bolus substances in which other rheologic characteristics (e.g., elasticity) are included would be of great clinical value.
Although treatment and diagnosis of dysphagia have been addressed, there is little standardization within the medical profession for evaluation of the condition, except by extreme methods such as fluoroscopic examination. In view of dramatic cost controls applied to medical treatment, such evaluations and diagnostic procedures would not likely be approved.


A semiconductor die is attached to a transistor package by a plurality of resilient clamping members, which are bonded at one end to a top surface of the semiconductor die and at another end to a stable surface, such as an emitter, collector, or base lead frame, of the transistor package. The shape and composition of the clamping members provides a resilient force that causes a bottom surface of the die to make and maintain substantially uniform and constant contact with the die attach area of the transistor package, e.g., a mounting flange or non-conductive substrate. The clamping members are preferably conductive and can conduct current from respective transistor cell locations on the die to the respective lead frames to which the clamping members are bonded.

In general, one or more transistor cells (or "chips") are formed on a conductive die, e.g., silicon, which is then attached to a mounting flange as part of a transistor "package." In particular, the conductive die is either attached directly to the flange, or to a non-conductive substrate atop the flange, such as, e.g., beryllium oxide, which acts as an intermediary layer. In either case, a "die-bonding" material, such as, e.g., solder, metal-filled epoxy, or glass, is used to attach the die to the respective flange or substrate. Because the failure rate of transistors is proportional to the temperature of the active area, or junction, of the transistor, one of the most important issues in packaging power transistors is thermal performance. Thus, in order for a die having a plurality of transistors formed thereon to easily transfer heat to an attached heat sink--e.g., via the flange--the die-bonding interface between the die and the heatsink must have a low thermal resistance. Therefore, in addition to providing mechanical support, the bonding material used to attach the die to the package must have a high thermal conductivity.
Epoxy is the most common of these materials and is used in low frequency and DC transistor applications. However, epoxy is a poor thermal conductor, which precludes its use in high frequency applications, such as RF power transistor devices. Instead, hard solders are employed in such devices. Hard solders are relatively low temperature melting alloys that have high strengths, a relatively high thermal conductivity, and are substantially free from thermal fatigue, resulting in elastic, rather than plastic, deformation. Although there exists a number of different hard solders used for attaching dies to packages, a gold-silicon alloy, having a eutectic melting point of 363.degree. C., is the mostly widely used for high frequency applications.
In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the package is heated to 410.degree. C., and the die is then placed on a die attach area of the package (i.e., on the respective mounting flange or non-conductive substrate) with a vacuum tool, and scrubbed against the surface manually until a sufficient melt is formed. A noted problem with this technique, however, is that the die is exposed to relatively high temperatures. In particular, the use of the gold-silicon eutectic as the bonding medium can introduce significant stress in the die upon cooling or under power cycling of the device, due to the lack of plastic deformation ability of the gold-silicon eutectic. These thermal effects can cause cracks if the generated stress exceeds the ultimate strength of silicon. To handle this stress, the use of complex and expensive materials and processes are required. Moreover, to minimize the thermal effects caused by the high processing temperature, the materials surrounding the semiconductor die must have a thermal expansion coefficient that matches that of the die, which greatly limits the choice of materials that can be used.
For instance, referring to FIG. 2, an unsealed prior art power transistor package 10 includes a conductive mounting flange 14 used to conduct heat dissipated from an attached silicon die 12 to a heat sink (not shown). In order to properly perform, the flange 14 must have a thermal expansion coefficient that is approximately that of silicon, (i.e., 2.6.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C.). Copper-tungsten (15% Cu), having a thermal expansion coefficient of 7.0.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C., is extensively used for this purpose because of its relatively low expansion coefficient. Although this copper-tungsten alloy has a relatively high thermal conductivity (178W/m-K), it would be more desirable to exchange the copper-tungsten (15% Cu) flange with a flange composed of a metal with a higher thermal conductivity, such as pure copper. However, because pure copper has a thermal expansion coefficient (16.5.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C.) that is more than six times that of silicon, it cannot be practically used when the chip is processed at the relatively high temperature required for gold-silicon eutectic bonding.
Likewise, even where in intermediary substrate 16 is used to electrically isolate the silicon die 12 from the flange 14, the substrate 16 must have a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of silicon. It must also provide good electrical isolation with minimum capacitance and conductance. Beryllium oxide (BeO), having a thermal expansion coefficient of 8.0.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C., is extensively used for this purpose, since it meets the requirements stated above and is fairly inexpensive compared to, for example, industrial diamond, which has the best overall characteristics, exclusive of cost. Nonetheless, the thermal conductivity and expansion limitations imposed due to the die bonding requirement can restrict the use of other, otherwise advantageous substrate materials.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an alternative process to attach a semiconductor die to the substrate, which can be performed at a relatively low temperature.


Upon capture of video data for a match of a sport at a first time, an apparatus performs detection of event information from the captured video data during a first time-period starting from the first time, where the event information includes information identifying an occurrence timing of an event that occurs in the match of the sport, an event type of the event, and an occurrence position of the event. The apparatus reproduces the video data, on a display screen, with a delay by a second time-period obtained by adding a third time-period longer than or equal to a predetermined time-period to the first time-period, and, upon detection of the event information, continues displaying the event type and the occurrence position of the event, for the predetermined time-period, from a timing that is the predetermined time before the occurrence timing of the event within the reproduced video data.

Up to now, play contents of respective players are recorded as stats information in a sport match. For example, in a basketball match, an operator directly visually observes the match or refers to match video to check events such as passes, shots, goals, and rebounds performed by the respective players and inputs and records the checked contents into a computer as the stats information.
A related-art technology for identifying a particular event from the match video has been proposed, and a related-art technology for automatically generating the stats information by using the above-mentioned technology has also been proposed.

Apparatus and method to display event information detected from video data


Embodiments of the present invention relate to a memory management scheme and apparatus that enables efficient cache memory management. The method includes writing an entry to a store buffer at execute time; determining if the entry's address is in a first-level cache associated with the store buffer before retirement; and setting a status bit associated with the entry in said store buffer, if the address is in the cache in either exclusive or modified state. The method further includes immediately writing the entry to the first-level cache at or after retirement when the status bit is set; and de-allocating the entry from said store buffer at retirement. The method further may comprise resetting the status bit if the cacheline is allocated over or is evicted from the cache before the store buffer entry attempts to write to the cache.

Current processors and/or microprocessors continue to increase their speed of operation as well as provide numerous advanced features. Some of these features include higher bandwidth for instruction fetches, pipelining, streaming single instruction multiple data instructions, dynamic out-of-order execution, faster internal system bus speeds, execution trace cache, advanced transfer cache, and write-back caching. A write-back cache is a cache in which modifications made during execution to data in the cache are not written out to main memory until absolutely necessary. Write-back caching has been available on many microprocessors since the late 1980s, for example, processors starting with the 80486 microprocessor, manufactured by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. In contrast, a write-through cache operates in parallel to write data to the cache and to main memory at the same time. The performance of a write-through cache is not as good as a write-back cache, since a write-back cache has fewer write operations to main memory.
Current write-back caches include a store buffer in which store instruction addresses and data are temporarily written as they become available from the execution core and before they are written out to main memory. As the execution core retires instructions, that is, completes execution, and commits the results to the architectural state, an entry in the store buffer becomes committed and needs to be stored in main memory. The store buffer issues a store to update memory, if the data for the entry is still in the cache, the entry is written in the write-back cache. However, if the entry is not still in the cache or is invalid, due to being cleared out of the cache to make room for another entry or being snooped, the original entry must be read-in to the cache from a higher level memory, for example, a higher level cache or even main memory, before the new entry in store buffer may update memory. Waiting until the entry is about to be written out to the main memory to discover that it is no longer in the cache can adversely impact processor performance, since the store buffer cannot be reclaimed and reused while it is waiting to update memory. Lack of available store buffer entries is a common reason for programs to run slower. One solution is to provide a large enough store buffer that allows all stores to be allocated even for a large execution window. Unfortunately, store buffers this large are not the ideal solution, since they require large area, a lot of power, and are slow to access.
As a result, the problems associated with larger store buffers may be quite significant in typical programs written for out-of-order processor architectures. Therefore, it is useful to minimize the difficulties associated with large store buffers in out-of-order processors, especially speeding up the time it takes to update memory and allow the store buffer entry to be reclaimed.

Apparatus and method for store address for store address prefetch and line locking


An electrodeless HID lamp having a quartz arc tube having a gas fill contained therein, is energized to a discharge state upon the introduction of a high frequency RF current in close proximity thereto, also includes a starting aid stem which extends from the arc tube. An outer jacket surrounds the arc tube and a portion of the starting aid stem. The outer jacket is pinch sealed at the end from which the starting aid stem extends. This pinch sealing results in the formation of a sealed space between the outer jacket and the arc tube and further allows that, by the gripping of the starting aid stem at the pinch seal region, the arc tube is supported in a fixed non-contacting position within the outer jacket. A sealant material can be applied around the starting aid stem at the pinch seal region to prevent leakage of the sealed space formed within the outer jacket.

For an electrodeless high intensity discharge (HID) lamp, it is known that the principles of operation by which improved operating characteristics including high efficacy and good color rendering can be achieved, also yields the advantage that, in the absence of metal to glass seals as found in an electroded discharge lamp, the operating life of the discharge lamp can be greatly extended. U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,938 issued to Johnson et al on Mar. 7, 1989 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, describes an electrodeless HID lamp which is inductively driven by a high frequency RF current to produce a toroidally shaped arc discharge within an arc tube associated with the HID lamp. The arc tube can be ellipsoidally shaped and will contain a gas fill which comprises a combination of sodium halide and cerium halide along with xenon gas in proper weight proportions to generate the white color lamp emission which exhibits the improved efficacy and color rendering properties. U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,938 is hereby incorporated by reference.
One of the design considerations in improving the commercial practicability of the electrodeless HID lamp is the provision of a starting aid for assisting in initiating the arc discharge within the arc tube. An example of a starting aid for an electrodeless HID lamp can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,227 issued to Dakin et al on Aug. 18, 1992 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, such patent application being hereby incorporated by reference. In this patent application, it is disclosed that a starting aid stem, constructed of quartz, is formed in an extending manner from the arc tube. A gaseous fill contained within the starting aid stem is excited to an electric discharge state upon the introduction of a starting current thereto. The starting current is introduced to the starting aid stem by means of an electrical connection capacitively coupled to the upper end of the starting aid stem at a point beyond where the quartz starting aid stem exits an outer jacket associated with the electrodeless HID lamp. The outer jacket is formed around the arc tube entirely and also around a portion of the starting aid stem. Furthermore, the outer jacket is also constructed of quartz.
In disposing the outer jacket around the arc tube and a portion of the starting aid stem, one can achieve several benefits including: protecting against physical damage to the arc tube, protecting against surface contamination of the arc tube that could otherwise cause devitrification of the quartz material, and, preventing hydrogen, oxygen or water vapor from the ambient air from diffusing into the arc chamber thereby adversely affecting the gas mixture therein. One example of an electrodeless HID lamp which utilizes an outer jacket over the arc tube can be found in the previously cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,938. Though shown as having a protective outer jacket, such an approach is impractical for the electrodeless HID lamp which utilizes a starting aid stem extending from the arc tube. In such a construction, it is necessary to have a seal between the outer jacket and the portion of the starting aid stem which exits the outer jacket.
One way to seal between a quartz outer jacket and a quartz starting aid stem is by means of a flared seal. A flared seal is one in which an outwardly flared opening formed on the starting aid stem is formed to a sufficiently large dimension so as to extend over the edges of a cylindrically shaped outer jacket thereby allowing the overlap portion to serve as a sealing means to the space formed between the outer jacket and the arc tube. Such an arrangement has proven effective when the stem member need only be flared out to twice its normal diameter, however, when a factor of five flaring is needed as in the present instance, the stem member may be unnecessarily stressed by this flare seal process. An example of an electrodeless HID lamp which utilizes one type of a flared seal between the outer jacket and the starting aid stem can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,015 issued to R. A. Heindl et al on Sep. 22, 1992 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. With such a flared seal, it has been found that the process for implementing such a seal to an acceptable performance level in a mass production environment requires a time consuming and relatively difficult manufacturing process. For a product intended for mass production manufacturing techniques, it would be advantageous to utilize a sealing process that could be performed using automated equipment rather than the manual process used for the flared seal. Accordingly, though the flared seal arrangement is appropriate for a design stage of a lamp product such as an electrodeless HID lamp, when it is necessary to enter into a high volume production mode of operation, the flared seal approach is impractical.
An alternative to the flared seal arrangement can be found in a conventional electroded lighting product which utilizes a pinch seal to seal the arc tube around the electrode leads which extend through the ends of the arc tube. An example of a lamp using a pinch seal arrangement for sealing lamp lead-in wires within an end region of a lamp envelope can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,353 issued to Danko et al on Apr. 10, 1990 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. In this patent, an inner light transmissive cylinder is sealed within the lamp envelope thereby achieving a second glass or quartz structure within a lamp envelope. Though such a lamp illustrates one glass or quartz structure sealed within another, this lamp utilizes a metal lead-in wire to support the inner quartz cylinder and moreover, such inner cylinder is not joined to the lamp envelope at the point where the pinch seal is performed. With an electrodeless HID lamp, and particularly one which exhibits the quartz starting aid stem of the present invention, it is necessary to both seal the space within the outer jacket which surrounds the arc tube and to support the arc tube within the outer jacket. Furthermore, each of these functions must be accomplished without the benefit of the support that a lead-in wire arrangement can provide as in the instance of the electroded lamp. Of course, it is understood from the incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,938 that an electrodeless HID lamp provides the advantages of eliminating the glass to metal seals which are responsible for a shorter lamp life caused by the deficiency in seal integrity inherent in a glass to metal seal and that the electrodes are no longer involved in the discharge process.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an electrodeless HID lamp having a starting tube extending from the arc chamber and an outer jacket which surrounds the arc chamber and at least a portion of the starting tube wherein the seal between the outer jacket and the extending starting tube constructed of the same materials achieved a high degree of seal integrity and could be implemented on a mass production manufacturing basis.
With respect to the process of sealing quartz material lamp products, it is customary to heat the quartz tube using oxygen-hydrogen or oxygen-natural gas fires, plasma flames or laser beams to a temperature at which the quartz becomes softened; the softened quartz is then pressed or pinched to form a hermetic seal at the end of the quartz tube. The typical application of such a process applies to a lamp product which utilizes a lead in wire. An example of a patent which addresses the problem of a leaky seal in the pinch seal region of the lead-in wire can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,528 issued to Lake et al on Feb. 25, 1975 and issued to the same assignee as the present invention. This patent discusses the fact that voids formed in the sealing process between an arc tube and a tungsten electrode can be filled using a glass sealant. This approach has proven effective in a lamp product having a tungsten electrode where, since the tungsten has a much greater coefficient of thermal expansion than the quartz material of the arc tube, crevices or gaps would inevitably form where the tungsten electrode extends into the quartz envelope without the use of the layer of sealing glass between the tungsten and quartz. Though this approach has proven effective for electroded discharge lamps, the step of coating the tungsten shank with a layer of glass sealant is not one available in the non-electroded quartz to quartz seal region associated with the electrodeless HID lamp of the present invention.

Seal construction arrangement for an electrodeless high intensity discharge lamp


A moving image generating apparatus of the present invention generates moving image data that is smoothly replayed from a taken still image. The apparatus includes: an image storing section that stores a plurality of captured images continuously taken in an exposure time shorter than a frame period of a moving image; a movement computing section that computes a movement of a subject between a timing at which one captured image is taken and a timing at which a captured image taken next to the one captured image is taken, based on a change of a position of the subject in the plurality of captured images; a frame image generating section that performs a blurring processing in a direction in which the subject included in the one captured image moves to generate a frame image from the one captured image, according to the movement of the subject computed from the movement computing section; and a moving image recording section that records, as a moving image, a plurality of frame images each generated from the frame image generating section in association with each of the plurality of captured images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moving image generating apparatus, a moving image generating method, and a program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a moving image generating apparatus and a moving image generating method for generating a moving image, and a program for the moving image generating apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a movie still camera that obtains a moving image with a smooth movement even when taking a still image during recording a moving image, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication 2003-219341. According to this technique, moving image data of which one piece has 640 pixels in a horizontal direction and 480 pixels in a vertical direction are obtained at a constant period. Then, when a release button is pushed during recording the moving image data, still image data with 1280 pixels in a horizontal direction and 960 pixels in a vertical direction are acquired and are recorded in a memory card. At this time, a reduced image having the same magnitude as a piece of image for a moving image is generated from the still image data, and is inserted at the acquisition position of the still image data.
However, according to the technique of Japanese Patent Application Publication 2003-219341, when a user wants to see a still image at a timing aside from the timing at which the user pushed a release button, it is necessary to generate still image data from one piece of moving image data having resolution inferior to that of the still image data. It is desirable that a user can appreciate a clear still image at an arbitrary timing desired by the user in concurrence with enjoying a moving image. It is desirable that a clear still image is taken in a short exposure time than an exposure time for a moving image. However, there has been a problem that a movement of a subject is awkward when the still image taken in the short exposure time is replayed as a piece of image for a moving image.

Moving image generating apparatus, moving image generating method, and program


One or more programmable clock management components of an apparatus in one example are coupled with a backplane. The one or more programmable clock management components comprise a reconfigurable clock management component. Upon receipt of one or more control signals, the reconfigurable clock management component undergoes a reconfiguration to be able to process one or more frequency signals.

Backplane based computer systems comprise one or more circuit boards plugged into one or more sockets of a backplane. The computer system in one example comprises a telecommunication system server. The backplane communicatively couples the circuit boards. The circuit boards comprise one or more clocks. The clocks in one example run more efficiently when synchronized. For example, a frequency signal travels from one of the circuit boards to one or more of the other circuit boards through a signal path in the backplane. The circuit boards employ the frequency signal to maintain clock synchronization of the clocks. Communication errors may result if the circuit boards fail to maintain the clock synchronization.
Clock signals require a redundancy to increase fault tolerance. For example, if a single clock signal source or distribution signal fails, the remainder of the system must continue to function with redundant clock signal sources and distribution signals. The clock source in one example is simplex. As one shortcoming, a single failure in the clock source can disable the entire system.
A first circuit board in one example comprises a clock signal source. The clock signal source generates the frequency signal. The clock source in one example comprises an Ethernet connection, a T1 connection, or a precision oscillator. The first circuit board sends the frequency signal to the signal path of the backplane. The frequency signal comprises a fixed signal on the signal path of the backplane. For example, the signal path always carries the frequency signal from the clock signal source to synchronize the clocks of the other circuit boards. As one shortcoming, the signal path always carries the frequency signal from the same clock signal source.
The clock signal source in one example is coupled to a processor component. The processor component modifies the frequency signal from the clock signal source. For example, the processor component scales the frequency signal by a factor before the circuit board sends the frequency signal to the signal path of the backplane. The clock signal source in one example is hard wired to the processor component. As one shortcoming, the clock signal source always sends the frequency signal to the same processor component.
Thus, a need exists for an increased ability to handle frequency signals from any of a plurality of clock signal sources. A further need exists for an increased ability to handle a plurality of processor components.

Programmable clock management component reconfiguration upon receipt of one or more control signals to be able to process one or more frequency signals


A forming method for a vehicle body member may include a tube making process of forming a steel pipe by welding a steel plate coil; a non-circular tube making process of primary preforming the steel pipe formed in the tube making process so as to have a cross section of a predetermined shape; a bending process of bending and secondarily preforming the steel pipe preformed firstly in the non-circular tube making process; and a hot stamping process of heating the secondarily preformed steel pipe, inserting the heated steel pipe into a mold to form a desired shape, and then, quenching the heated steel pipe to form a vehicle body member, thereby easily forming a vehicle body member having high rigidity.

In general, the upper part of a vehicle body includes a roof forming the roof of the vehicle and at least one pillar which is disposed back and forth along the length direction of the vehicle while supporting the roof.
At least one pillar typically include a front pillar disposed forwardly along the length direction of the vehicle, a rear pillar disposed at the rear, and a center pillar disposed between the front filler and the rear filler.
The opening and closing doors are mounted on the front pillar and the center pillar to be rotatable.
Recently, a vehicle body structure with an upper vehicle body formed by the front and rear fillers without the center filler has been developed and applied to expand the passenger compartment and increase convenience for getting on and off.
However, in such a vehicle body structure, the structural rigidity of the upper vehicle body is inevitably weakened because the center pillar is not used, and various reinforcement structures have been proposed to supplement the weakness of the vehicle body structure, but it was necessary to reinforce the rigidity of the upper vehicle body more effectively with fewer parts without increasing the weight and cost.
Thus, the present applicant has filed "a vehicle body structure" as application numbers of 10-2018-0003192 and 10-2018-0158266, and in the two inventions, a roof side member, which constitutes the upper vehicle body, was made in the form of a tube to increase the stiffness of the upper vehicle body.
The present disclosure relates to a method for forming a roof side member of a tube shape which is applied to the two inventions.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


In a three-dimensional image forming device for forming a phantom three-dimensional image in accordance with an image of an inner face of a tubular structure to be observed, luminance information of pixels corresponding to a prescribed range of each frame image of the tubular structure is obtained under prescribed lighting conditions when an imaging device with an optical axis extending to an axial direction of the tubular structure moves, a relative distances in a depth direction between points and an objective lens is calculated in accordance with the luminance information, pixels corresponding to the prescribed range of each frame image in the inner face of the tubular structure is arrayed in reflection of the relative distance, and the arrayed pixels are combined for a plurality of the frame images to form a three-dimensional image of the inner face of the tubular structure.

Conventionally, regarding use of an endoscope device, generally, the observation region depending on the viewing field of the endoscope inserted in a tubular structure is observed grossly or displayed on a video camera, and is recorded as still image or vide image in a recoding range specified by an observer. In this case, the observed or displayed range is limited within the observation viewing field of the endoscope, and the entire picture is recorded by repeating record of image in local range. In this method, the entire picture cannot be displayed as one seamless picture, and it lacks objectivity in identification of the position of the region of interest. Other method of continuously recording the entire image includes a video imaging method, but the entire picture cannot be displayed simultaneously, and it takes time in viewing. In the conventional methods, only two-dimensional images are recorded, and a three-dimensional structure cannot be recognized. Further, in the conventional methods, it is difficult to record objectively the hardness or motion of tissues composing a tubular structure.
For example, patent document 1 discloses an image forming system for forming continuous seamless expanded still image data inside a tubular structure of this type. This image forming system includes means for acquiring digital image data, pipe projection converting means for forming an expanded diagram in circumferential direction inside the tubular structure for each frame of the acquired digital image data, means for mosaicing, means for compressing image data, and means for compressing image data. The image forming system constructs an entire image by linking in the direction of the central axis of the tubular structure expanded diagrams in circumferential direction of each frame of the endoscopic video image.
Patent document 2 discloses a method of creating an entire image by taking images inside of a tubular structure while monitoring the posture and position information of a camera moving in the tubular structure and linking a plurality of images while matching the observation field of the camera.
Patent document 3 discloses a method of measuring the shape of the inside of a body stereoscopically by directional lighting using an endoscope with a directional scanning lighting device provided at the leading edge of the endoscope. Patent document 4 discloses a method of calculating the three-dimensional information of the subject based on interference fringes formed on the subject and distance information, using an endoscope with an interference fringe projecting unit and a laser spot projecting unit for measuring the distance provided at the leading edge of the endoscope.
Patent document 5, for example, discloses a method of detecting three-dimensional information of the subject by taking images at arbitrary time intervals while varying the amplitude of the illuminating light, and measuring the distance of each point based on the luminance of each point of the taken image and the degree of change of image gain.
Patent document 6, for example, discloses a method of creating strip-like images from 360-degree spatial video image captured using a camera moving in the tubular closure through convex mirror or fisheye lens installed in front of the camera and linking them while correcting them in the direction of camera's motion to display one entire image.
Patent document 7, for example, discloses a method of calculating the length or area of the subject by calculating the relative positions between a pipe having a single cross section and an endoscope from the endoscopic images inside the pipe observed by the endoscope moving in the pipe.
Patent document 8, for example, discloses image processing means for forming a three-dimensional model from a plurality of two-dimensional images taken while varying the optical parameters. Patent document 9 discloses a technique of forming a three-dimensional model from a plurality of images taken while changing the optical parameters. Patent document 10 discloses a technique of extracting stereoscopic information by parallax, by separating the subject observed by an endoscope with a color filter into color components.
Patent document 11, for example, discloses a technique of measuring the hardness of biological tissues by calculating reflection signals from the biological tissues with modulated ultrasonic waves emitted from an ultrasonic transducer mounted at the leading edge of an endoscope.

Three-dimensional-image forming device, three dimensional-image forming method and program

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION CHIBA UNIVERSITY