A method and apparatus for logging errors in a storage device. As commands are executed by the storage device a list of previously executed commands is maintained. When an error is detected by the storage device, the previously executed commands and certain error condition codes are stored in an error log in a non-volatile memory of the storage device. The storage device is responsive to a command for reading back the values contained in the error log for diagnostic purposes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to disk fault correction techniques for storage devices and, more particularly, to a method of logging commands and error condition codes associated with drive errors.
2. Description of Related Art
The vast majority of personal computer (PC) systems available today come equipped with a peripheral data storage device such as a hard disk (HD) drive. Hard disks are comprised of rigid platters, made of aluminum alloy or a mixture of glass and ceramic, covered with a magnetic coating. Platters vary in size and hard disk drives generally come in two form factors, 5.25 in or 3.5 in. Typically, two or more platters are stacked on top of each other with a common spindle that turns the whole assembly at several thousand revolutions per minute. There is a gap between the platters, making room for a magnetic read/write head, mounted on the end of an actuator arm. There is a read/write head for each side of each platter, mounted on arms which can move them radially. The arms are moved in unison by a head actuator, which contains a voice coilxe2x80x94an electromagnetic coil that can move a magnet very rapidly.
Each platter is double-sided and divided into tracks. Tracks are concentric circles around the central spindle. Tracks physically above each other on the platters are grouped together into a cylinder. Cylinders are further divided into sectors. Depending on the disk drive vendor, a sector is typically comprised of 512 bytes of user data, followed by a number or number of cross-check bytes, a number of error correction code (ECC) bytes and other vendor specific diagnostic information. Thus, these devices are complex electro-mechanical devices and, as such, can suffer performance degradation or failure due to a single event or a combination of events.
There are generally two general classes of failures that can occur in disk drives. The first class is the hard or catastrophic type of failure which causes the drive to quickly and unpredictably fail. These failures can be caused by static electricity, handling damage, or thermal-related solder problems. The second class of failures result from the the gradual decay of other electrical and/or mechanical components within the drive after it is put in service.
Drive failure prediction techniques for this second class of failures are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,583 to Bush et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,411 to Teague et al.
With respect to the first class of failures, the nature of these failures causes them to be very difficult to predict. However, even if prediction is impractical there is still a need to understand the root cause of the hard failure to determine if there is a design or manufacturing defect present in the drives.
Typically, the determination of a hard failure is performed in a lab of the manufacturer after the defective drive has been returned. If the drive is at all operable, certain tests can be performed on the drive to exercise a wide array of operations in an attempt to recreate the failure. Laboratory equipment, such as an ATA bus analyzer, is used to capture information pertaining to the operations and the sequence of operations in order to have a history of information for diagnosing the failure. If the failure can be recreated, the root cause of the problem can be understood.
However, the hard failures are very difficult to recreate. Certain hard failures render the drive fully inoperable. Other hard failures may render the platter or media inoperable while the electronics still function. Still other failures may never be recreated because of certain environmental conditions that are not known.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved means for diagnosing hard failures in disk drives.
According to a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes a method, apparatus and computer system for logging errors of a storage device. The storage device is capable of executing commands received from a host processor and detecting errors in the performance of those commands. The storage device also includes a non-volatile memory or media for storing data and other information as described herein. As commands are received by the storage device a list of previously executed commands is maintained by the storage device. When an error is detected by the storage device, a set of error conditions, such as the ATA task file read registers are stored in the non-volatile memory along with the command list to create an error log. The error log is a useful source of diagnostic information for errors that are difficult to replicate on the storage device.
The storage device is responsive to a retrieve error log command for providing the error logs to a host computer when the command is received. A predetermined number of error logs are maintained by the storage device in a circular buffer with a pointer providing an indication as to which error log is most recent. Additionally, each command has associated with it a time stamp indicating the time when the command was received by the storage device and each error has a time stamp associated with it indicating when the error was detected by the storage device. Additionally, since the storage device is capable of operating in a number of states, such as SLEEP, STAND-BY, ACTIVE/IDLE, and OPERATING state at the time of the error is also stored in each error log. Additionally, the storage device maintains a running count of the number of errors detected.


In a method of managing a cache directory in a memory system, an original system address is presented to the cache directory when corresponding associativity data is allocated to an associativity class in the cache directory. The original system address is normalized by removing address space corresponding to a memory hole, thereby generating a normalized address. The normalized address is stored in the cache directory. The normalized address is de-normalized, thereby generating a de-normalized address, when the associativity data is cast out of the cache directory to make room for new associativity data. The de-normalized address is sent to the memory system for coherency management.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital systems and, more specifically, to a system used to manage a cache directory.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A cache is a collection of data that stores, in a relatively fast memory system, duplicates of data stored elsewhere in a relatively slower memory system. Frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid access in a cache. During processing of the data, cached data can be accessed rather than the original data. Once the cached data has not been accessed for a given amount of time, the cached data is written back to its original memory location and room in the cache is made for new data. Processing speed can be improved significantly through use of a cache.
As shown in FIG. 1, a data cache 10 includes a plurality of cache lines 20, each of which includes an address field 22 and a data field 24. The address field 22 stores the address in main memory of the data that is stored in the data field 24. The address can point to anywhere in the memory space 26 of the system. The memory space 26 can include both physical memory and registers. Sometimes the address space corresponding to registers is referred to as a memory "hole."
Use of a cache presents a challenge in multiprocessor systems. This is because each processor may use its own cache, but all of the processors may share the same main memory. In this case, if two different processors access the same data, but operate on it in their own caches, then the data can become incoherent.
To solve this problem, most multiprocessors systems employ a cache directory 30 to keep track of how cached data is being accessed by different processors. A cache directory includes a plurality of associativity classes 32, each of which includes an address field 34 (that corresponds to an address field 22 in a cache line 20) and a coherency data field 36 that stores data regarding the currency of the data stored in a give cache line 20. By accessing the cache directory 30 a processor can determine if data stored in a cache line 20 is current, or if the processor need to access main memory to update the cache data.
Directory based coherence protocols are extremely common in cache-coherent distributed memory (NUMA) computer systems. A scalability directory records memory blocks (i.e., cache lines) from one node's local memory which are present in the caches of remote nodes. Commonly, the structure of the scalability directory is an array with multiple associativity classes. Minimally, each associativity class contains an address tag field as well as a coherence state associated with each cache line. The scalability directory's size directly limits how much local memory may be cached by remote nodes.
In general, the address tag must be as big as the largest system address that the scalability directory can process. One method for reducing the size of the address tag subtracts the local node's base address. For example, the system address map may support 1 TB of memory (40-bit address). However, the memory installed on a given node may be limited (by DIMM technology, etc.) to a smaller amount. If the local node's base address is subtracted, the most significant address tag bits may be eliminated.
It is also a known feature of system memory maps to define an address range that is used to access physical registers within the hardware or on an I/O device. This address range is referred to as an address "hole" because there is no physical memory associated with it in the main memory DRAMs. For example, in one design point, the memory hole is defined as ending on the 4 GB address boundary and extending downward. In other systems, the size of the memory hole ranges from 64 MB to 4 GB. Since there is no physical memory associated with the hole, the system address must be normalized to remove the hole before the DRAMs are accessed thus allowing the DRAMs to be fully utilized.
Therefore, there is a need for a cache management system that improves performance by reducing the number of bits required for the address tag in a directory.

Method for increasing cache directory associativity classes in a system with a register space memory

International Business Machines Corporation


A system and method for analyzing a Web site log file and generating an expanded log file that compensates for information caching and gateway based Web site access. More particularly, the log file expansion procedure of the present invention works with a log file stored in memory on the server computer. The log file contains a sequence of log records, each log record representing an object request by a client computer. Each log record includes data identifying the requested object as well as some data, such as an Internet address, associated with the client computer or a gateway through which the client computer requested the object. The log expansion procedure analyzes the sequence of log records so as to detect object request patterns indicating that object requests not represented by the log records were satisfied by cached object copies, and then supplements the sequence of log records with inserted log records representing object requests for the objects corresponding to the cached object copies. As a result, the supplemented sequence of log records more accurately represents object requests made by client computers than the initial sequence of log records in the log file. Usage metering and analysis procedures utilized the supplemented sequence of log records to generate analysis reports indicative of object request patterns by the client computers.

Worldwide Web (WWW) sites are commonly known as "servers" while the computers that are used to access information stored on the servers are commonly known as "clients." A WWW site on the Internet produces a chronological log of requests from clients on the Internet. The protocol of the WWW is stateless, meaning that there is no sustained connection between the client and server. Typically, a WWW site contains numerous "pages" of information, and all the pages are interconnected by hypertext links to form an directed graph of pages.
In most instances, a client will first access the "home page" of a WWW site, and then will access a sequence of pages at the site via the hypertext links between those pages. In addition, each page at a WWW site can include references to numerous files, typically image files, that must be downloaded onto a client computer (i.e., a user's computer) before the page can be viewed. When a client computer requests a page that it has accessed via a hypertext link on another page, the "browser" software used on the client computer to access the WWW site will first download that page to local memory. Next it determines from the information In the requested page what additional files, if any, it needs from the server in order to complete the generation of the image for the page. It then downloads the additional files needed to complete generation of the image for the page, and then finally generates the page image for the user to view. Thus, to view a single page, the browser running on the client computer may request and download numerous files from a WWW site. Therefore, the number of object requests in the WWW site's access log file (often called "hits") will typically greatly exceed the number of distinct client sessions in which clients are accessing information from the WWW site.
The widespread use of gateways makes the access logs of WWW sites even less accurate, in that the access requests from numerous clients are routed through one or a small number of gateways to the WWW site. As a result, requests listed in a WWW site's access log where the gateway is the listed requestor may actually represent numerous distinct client sessions, even though the requests all come from the same client computer (the gateway) and even if those requests are received over a relatively short period of time that would otherwise be consistent with a single client session.
A second phenomenon, called caching, further reduces the accuracy of WWW site log files. Caching is the temporary storage of the files for recently accessed WWW pages. Most gateways make extensive use of WWW page caching so as to reduce the number of object requests that need to be issued to WWW sites, especially during peak usage periods when many users of the gateway are requesting the same WWW pages.
Statistically, certain WWW pages tend to be much more popular than others, especially the home pages of popular Web sites, and those pages tend to be cached by gateways, as well as other computers, thereby greatly reducing the number of object request entries in the corresponding Web site log files compared to the number of client sessions actually accessing those popular pages. Note that many client sessions handled by gateways will access Web pages from gateways' caches, and thus the true entry point object requests for those sessions will often not appear in the corresponding Web site log files. Furthermore, for client sessions that access only the most popular pages at a Web site during peak usage periods, it is quite possible that all the accessed pages will be cached pages, and thus no object requests at all for such client sessions will appear in the corresponding Web site log files.
Web page caching is performed not only by gateways, but also by many local area networks as well as by individual desktop computers. As with caching by gateways, such caching tends on a statistical basis to reduce the number of log file entries for the most popular Web pages.
It is an object of the present invention to convert Web site log files into expanded log files that compensate, on a statistically accurate basis, for object requests not included in the site log files.
It is another object of the present invention to generate expanded Web site log files that accurately represent the relative distribution of actual client requests for the different objects at a Web site and to thereby overcome the log file inaccuracies caused by object caching by gateways, network servers and other computers.
It is a further object of the present invention to assign object requests in the expanded log files to synthesized client sessions so as to represent, in a statistically accurate manner, the number of client sessions accessing a Web site and the distribution of objects accessed by those client sessions.
Another object of the present invention Is to generate analyses of Web site usage based on an expanded log file that represents in a statistically accurate manner the information access patterns of the clients of the Web site.

System for log record and log expansion with inserted log records representing object request for specified object corresponding to cached object copies


A device for remotely decoying deer by imitating the sound of deer antlers clashing, comprised of a housing having a movable striker mounted therein. The housing is provided with a series of protrusions which are in interfering contact with the striker and mimic the sound of clashing antlers when contacted by the striker. The striker is provided with a pull line for remotely actuating the striker and with a spring for returning the striker to its pre-actuated position. The present invention may also be provided with a hinge for aligning the device with the direction of pull, a cover for shielding any movement within the device and a cannister for deploying deer scent.

The present invention relates generally to a device for remotely decoying deer when hunting by imitating the sound of deer antlers clashing. The invention provides for producing the sound of antlers clashing at a location remote from the location of the hunter in order to maximize the hunter's chance of intercepting any deer investigating the sound.
Deer hunting generally takes place during the fall of the year and oftentimes the deer hunting season is timed to coincide with the mating season of deer. During the mating season, male deer often compete with one another for territory and females with which to mate. In the process of competing for mates, male deer frequently will fight by locking antlers with one another and pushing and thrusting in order to demonstrate dominance. During the mating season, or "rut" as it is more commonly called, male deer in any given territory are very sensitive to intrusion by other males and are disposed toward investigating any competition among other males which takes place in their territory.
Deer in general, and particularly white tailed deer, are very wary by nature. This is particularly true of the more mature male deer who have survived several seasons of hunting pressure and competition for food and mates by virtue of their wits and instincts. In surviving in the wild, deer rely on sight, sound and primarily smell. It is an observable basic instinct of deer to maneuver themselves into a downwind position so as to be able to scent any activities which they wish to investigate. Accordingly, when male deer are investigating what they believe to be contest among other males for territory and mates, their first instinct is to approach such a conflict from a downwind position to learn more about the situation via scent before approaching the contestants.
One time honored means of attracting deer to a hunter is to imitate the sound of a deer contest by clashing or "rattling" antlers together. This may be accomplished with the use of real antlers or imitation antlers. Most often such rattling is accomplished by a hunter holding an antler in each hand and striking the same together in a measured pattern. Unfortunately, when such a rattling takes place, most deer investigating the same will approach from a downwind position and will smell the hunter creating the rattling noises, perhaps even before the hunter has a chance to see the investigating deer. This is particularly true of the larger, more wary and generally more desirable male deer.
As can be seen from the above discussion, it is therefore desirable to be able to imitate the sound of clashing antlers in a position upwind from the hunter so as to maximize the hunter's chance of intercepting any additional male deer which may investigate the sound. It is also desirable for a hunter to be able to position himself remotely from any movement associated with producing the sound of clashing antlers, so as not to draw the attention of his quarry to him. It is also desirable to imitate the odor of contesting male deer in addition to the sounds produced by such a contest. Accordingly, for these and other reasons, the need exists for a device to remotely decoy deer in order to maximize a hunter's success and chances of bagging a trophy animal.


A bale set-down system and method for setting down bales from an agricultural baling press onto a field includes placing down of at least one bale on a ground, and setting down at least one another bale in a direct vicinity of the first mentioned bale that has already been placed on the ground.

The present invention relates to a bale set-down system and method for agricultural baling presses.
Conventional agricultural baling presses pick up the crops, such as straw, hay or silage, that have been set down on the ground to form a swath, compress them in the pressing chamber to form a bale, and eject these bales out of the pressing chamber as soon as they are made. As a result, the finished bales are set down randomly on the ground and are distributed around the entire field in a usually complex pattern based on the route the driver selected to pick up the swath.
A block baling press is disclosed in EP 0 771 522 B1 that includes a set-down device for setting the bales down in a gentle manner having a multiple-component design and located in a rear region of the block baling press. The bales are set down immediately after the finished bale is tied.
Publication DE 26 56 896 shows a round baling press designed as a fixed chamber compactor. In this case, the finished round bale is set down after a predetermined bale density is reached and the round bale has then been rolled up.
Finally, publication DE 689 06 068 T2 discloses a round baling press designed as a belt press. With this type of baling press, the bales are set down on the field as soon as the tying procedure is started and the predetermined bale size is reached. Unlike the bale density, the size of the bale itself is variable.
None of these agricultural baling presses offers the possibility of setting down bales in a systematic, spacially uniform manner. Instead, the particular bale is set down on the ground, having been ejected out of the compaction space, immediately after it is tied. As a result, the subsequent bale collecting procedure and removal of the bales is complicated and time-intensive.

CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH


Disclosed are novel synthetically-modified B. thuringiensis nucleic acid segments encoding δ-endotoxins having insecticidal activity against lepidopteran insects. Also disclosed are synthetic crystal proteins encoded by these novel nucleic acid sequences. Methods of making and using these genes and proteins are disclosed as well as methods for the recombinant expression, and transformation of suitable host cells. Transformed host cells and transgenic plants expressing the modified endotoxin are also aspects of the invention. Also disclosed are methods for modifying, altering, and mutagenizing specific loop regions between the α helices in domain 1 of these crystal proteins, including Cry1C, to produce genetically-engineered recombinant cry* genes, and the proteins they encode which have improved insecticidal activity. In preferred embodiments, novel Cry1C* amino acid segments and the modified cry1C* nucleic acid sequences which encode them are disclosed.

1.1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of insect control. Certain embodiments concern methods and compositions comprising nucleic acid segments which encode Bacillus thuringiensis-derived δ-endotoxins. Disclosed are methods of altering Cry1 crystal proteins by mutagenesis of the loop regions between the α-helices of the protein's domain 1 or of the loop region between α-helix 7 of domain 1 and β-strand 1 of domain 2 to give rise to modified Cry1 proteins (Cry1*) which have improved activity against Lepidopteran insects. Various methods for making and using these recombinantly-engineered proteins and nucleic acid segments, including development of transgenic plant cells and recombinant host cells are also disclosed.
1.2 Description of the Related Art
The most widely used microbial pesticides are derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. B. thuringiensis is a Gram-positive bacterium that produces crystal proteins which are specifically toxic to certain orders and species of insects. Many different strains of B. thuringiensis have been shown to produce insecticidal crystal proteins. Compositions including B. thuringiensis strains which produce insecticidal proteins have been commercially-available and used as environmentally-acceptable insecticides because they are quite toxic to the specific target insect, but are harmless to plants and other non-targeted organisms.
δ-endotoxins are used to control a wide range of leaf-eating caterpillars and beetles, as well as mosquitoes. B. thuringiensis produces a proteinaceous parasporal body or crystal which is toxic upon ingestion by a susceptible insect host. For example, B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1 produces a crystal inclusion comprising δ-endotoxins which are toxic to the larvae of a number of insects in the order Lepidoptera (Schnepf and Whiteley, 1981).
1.2.1 δ-Endotoxins
δ-endotoxins are a large collection of insecticidal proteins produced by B. thuringiensis. Over the past decade research on the structure and function of B. thuringiensis toxins has covered all of the major toxin categories, and while these toxins differ in specific structure and function, general similarities in the structure and function are assumed. Based on the accumulated knowledge of B. thuringiensis toxins, a generalized mode of action for B. thuringiensis toxins has been created and includes: ingestion by the insect, solubilization in the insect midgut (a combination stomach and small intestine), resistance to digestive enzymes sometimes with partial digestion actually "activating" the toxin, binding to the midgut cells, formation of a pore in the insect cells and the disruption of cellular homeostasis (English and Slatin, 1992).
1.2.2 Genes Encoding Crystal Proteins
Many of the δ-endotoxins are related to various degrees by similarities in their amino acid sequences. Historically, the proteins and the genes which encode them were classified based largely upon their spectrum of insecticidal activity. The review by Höfte and Whiteley (1989) discusses the genes and proteins that were identified in B. thuringiensis prior to 1990, and sets forth the nomenclature and classification scheme which has traditionally been applied to B. thuringiensis genes and proteins. cryI genes encode lepidopteran-toxic CryI proteins. cryII genes encode CryII proteins that are toxic to both lepidopterans and dipterans. cryIII genes encode coleopteran-toxic CryIII proteins, while cryIV genes encode dipteran-toxic CryIV proteins.
Based on the degree of sequence similarity, the proteins were further classified into subfamilies; more highly related proteins within each family were assigned divisional letters such as CryIA, CryIB, CryIC, etc. Even more closely related proteins within each division were given names such as CryIC1, CryIC2, etc.
Recently a new nomenclature has been proposed which systematically classifies the Cry proteins based upon amino acid sequence homology rather than upon insect target specificities. This classification scheme is summarized in Table 1.
TABLE 1REVISED B. THURINGIENSIS δ-ENDOTOXIN NOMENCLATUREANewOldGenBank Accession #Cry1AaCryIA(a)M11250Cry1AbCryIA(b)M13898Cry1AcCryIA(c)M11068Cry1AdCryIA(d)M73250Cry1AeCryIA(e)M65252Cry1BaCryIBX06711Cry1BbET5L32020Cry1BcPEG5Z46442Cry1BdCryE1U70726Cry1CaCryICX07518Cry1CbCryIC(b)M97880Cry1DaCryIDX54160Cry1DbPrtBZ22511Cry1EaCryIEX53985Cry1EbCryIE(b)M73253Cry1FaCryIFM63897Cry1FbPrtDZ22512Cry1GaPrtAZ22510Cry1GbCryH2U70725Cry1HaPrtCZ22513Cry1HbU35780Cry1IaCryVX62821Cry1IbCryVU07642Cry1JaET4L32019Cry1JbET1U31527Cry1KU28801Cry2AaCryIIAM31738Cry2AbCryIIBM23724Cry2AcCryIICX57252Cry3ACryIIIAM22472Cry3BaCryIIIBX17123Cry3BbCryIIIB2M89794Cry3CCryIIIDX59797Cry4ACryIVAY00423Cry4BCryIVBX07423Cry5AaCryVA(a)L07025Cry5AbCryVA(b)L07026Cry5BU19725Cry6ACryVIAL07022Cry6BCryVIBL07024Cry7AaCryIIICM64478Cry7AbCryIIICbU04367Cry8ACryIIIEU04364Cry8BCryIIIGU04365Cry8CCryIIIFU04366Cry9ACryIGX58120Cry9BCryIXX75019Cry9CCryIHZ37527Cry10ACryIVCM12662Cry11ACryIVDM31737Cry11BJeg80X86902Cry12ACryVBL07027Cry13ACryVCL07023Cry14ACryVDU13955Cry15A34 kDaM76442Cry16Acbm71X94146Cry17Acbm71X99478Cry18ACryBP1X99049Cry19AJeg65Y08920Cyt1AaCytAX03182Cyt1AbCytMX98793Cyt1BU37196Cyt2ACytBZ14147Cyt2BCytBU52043AAdapted from: http://epunix.biols.susx.ac.uk/Home/Neil_Crickmore/Bt/index.html1.2.3 Crystal Proteins Find Utility as Bioinsecticides
The utility of bacterial crystal proteins as insecticides was extended when the first isolation of a coleopteran-toxic B. thuringiensis strain was reported (Krieg et al., 1983; 1984). This strain (described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,203, specifically incorporated herein by reference), designated B. thuringiensis var. tenebrionis, is reported to be toxic to larvae of the coleopteran insects Agelastica alni (blue alder leaf beetle) and Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado potato beetle).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,024, 837 also describes hybrid B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki strains which showed activity against lepidopteran insects. U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,279 (corresponding to EP 0221024) discloses a hybrid B. thuringiensis containing a plasmid from B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki encoding a lepidopteran-toxic crystal protein-encoding gene and a plasmid from B. thuringiensis tenebrionis encoding a coleopteran-toxic crystal protein-encoding gene. The hybrid B. thuringiensis strain produces crystal proteins characteristic of those made by both B. thuringiensis kurstaki and B. thuringiensis tenebrionis. U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,016 (corresponding to EP 0303379) discloses a B. thuringiensis isolate identified as B. thuringiensis MT 104 which has insecticidal activity against coleopterans and lepidopterans.
1.2.4 Cry1 Endotoxins
The characterization of the lepidopteran-toxic B. thuringiensis Cry1Aa crystal protein, and the cloning, DNA sequencing, and expression of the gene which encodes it have been described (Schnepf and Whitely, 1981; Schnepf et al., 1985). In related publications, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,448,885 and 4,467,036 (specifically incorporated herein by reference), the expression of the native B. thuringiensis Cry1Aa crystal protein in E. coli is disclosed.
Several cry1C genes have been described in the prior art. A cry1C gene truncated at the 3′ end was isolated from B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai 7.29 by Sanchis et al. (1988). The truncated protein exhibited toxicity towards Spodoptera species. The sequence of the truncated cry1C gene and its encoded protein was disclosed in PCT WO 88/09812 and in Sanchis et al., (1989). The sequence of a cry1C gene isolated from B. thuringiensis subsp. entomocidus 60.5 was described by Honee et al., (1988). This gene is recognized as the holotype cry1C gene by Höfte and Whiteley (1989). The sequence of a cry1C gene is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,133.
The cry1C gene from B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai EG6346, contained on plasmids pEG315 and pEG916 described herein, encodes a Cry1C protein identical to that described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,133. The Cry1C protein described by Sanchis et al., (1989) and in PCT WO 88/09812 differs from the EG6346 Cry1C protein at several positions that can be described as substitutions within the EG6346 Cry1C protein: Cry1C N3661, W376C, P377Q, A378R, P379H, P380H, V386G, R775A.
Significantly, the amino acid positions 376-380 correspond to amino acid residues predicted to lie within the loop region between β strand 6 and β strand 7 of Cry1C, using the nomenclature adopted by Li et al. (1991) for identifying structures within Cry3A. Bioassay comparisons between the Cry1C protein of strain EG6346 and the Cry1C protein of strain aizawai 7.29 revealed no significant differences in insecticidal activity towards S. exigua, T. ni, or P. xylostella. These results suggested that the two Cry1C proteins exhibited the same insecticidal specificity in spite of their different amino acid sequences within the predicted loop region between β strand 6 and β strand 7.
Smith and Ellar (1994) reported the cloning of a cry1C gene from B. thuringiensis strain HD229 and demonstrated that amino acid substitutions within the putative loop region between β strand 6 and β strand 7 ("loop β 6-7") altered the insecticidal specificity of Cry1C towards Spodoptera frugiperda and Aedes aegypti but did not improve the toxicity of Cry1C towards either insect pest. These results appeared to conflict with the aforementioned bioassay comparison between the EG6346 Cry1C protein and the aizawai 7.29 Cry1C protein showing no effect of amino acid substitutions within loop β 6-7 of Cry1C on insecticidal specificity. Accordingly, the cry1C gene from strain aizawai 7.29 was re-sequenced where variant codons for the active toxin region were reported by Sanchis et al., (1989) and in PCT WO 88/09812. The results of that sequence analysis revealed no differences in the amino acid sequences of the active toxins of Cry1C from strain EG6346 and of Cry1C from strain aizawai 7.29. Thus, the prior art on the Cry1C protein of strain aizawai 7.29, in light of the aforementioned bioassay comparisons with the Cry1C protein of strain EG6346, incorrectly taught that multiple amino acid substitutions within loop β 6-7 of Cry1C had no effect on insecticidal specificity. Recently, Smith et al., (1996) also reported unspecified sequencing errors in the aizawai 7.29 cry1C gene.
1.2.5 Molecular Genetic Techniques Facilitate Protein Engineering
The revolution in molecular genetics over the past decade has facilitated a logical and orderly approach to engineering proteins with improved properties. Site specific and random mutagenesis methods, the advent of polymerase chain reaction (PCR™) methodologies, and related advances in the field have permitted an extensive collection of tools for changing both amino acid sequence, and underlying genetic sequences for a variety of proteins of commercial, medical, and agricultural interest.
Following the rapid increase in the number and types of crystal proteins which have been identified in the past decade, researchers began to theorize about using such techniques to improve the insecticidal activity of various crystal proteins. In theory, improvements to δ-endotoxins should be possible using the methods available to protein engineers working in the art, and it was logical to assume that it would be possible to isolate improved variants of the wild-type crystal proteins isolated to date. By strengthening one or more of the aforementioned steps in the mode of action of the toxin, improved molecules should provide enhanced activity, and therefore, represent a breakthrough in the field. If specific amino acid residues on the protein are identified to be responsible for a specific step in the mode of action, then these residues can be targeted for mutagenesis to improve performance.
1.2.6 Structural Analyses of Crystal Proteins
The combination of structural analyses of B. thuringiensis toxins followed by an investigation of the function of such structures, motifs, and the like has taught that specific regions of crystal protein endotoxins are, in a general way, responsible for particular functions.
For example, the structure of Cry3A (Li et al., 1991) and Cry1Aa (Grochulski et al, 1995) illustrated that the Cry1 and Cry3 δ-endotoxins have three distinct domains. Each of these domains has, to some degree, been experimentally determined to assist in a particular function. Domain 1, for example, from Cry3B2 and Cry1Ac has been found to be responsible for ion channel activity, the initial step in formation of a pore (Walters et al., 1993; Von Tersch et al., 1994). Domains 2 and 3 have been found to be responsible for receptor binding and insecticidal specificity (Aronson et al., 1995; Caramori et al., 1991; Chen et al. 1993; de Maagd et al., 1996; Ge et al., 1991; Lee et al., 1992; Lee et al., 1995; Lu et al., 1994; Smedley and Ellar, 1996; Smith and Ellar, 1994; Rajamohan et al., 1995; Rajamohan et al., 1996; Wu and Dean, 1996). Regions in domain 3 can also impact the ion channel activity of some toxins (Chen et al., 1993, Wolfersberger et al., 1996).
1.3 Deficiencies in the Prior Art
Unfortunately, while many laboratories have attempted to make mutated crystal proteins, few have succeeded in making mutated crystal proteins with improved lepidopteran toxicity. In almost all of the examples of genetically-engineered B. thuringiensis toxins in the literature, the biological activity of the mutated crystal protein is no better than that of the wild-type protein, and in many cases, the activity is decreased or destroyed altogether (Almond and Dean, 1993; Aronson et al., 1995; Chen et al., 1993, Chen et al., 1995; Ge et al., 1991; Kwak et al., 1995; Lu et al., 1994; Rajamohan et al., 1995; Rajamohan et al., 1996; Smedley and Ellar, 1996; Smith and Ellar, 1994; Wolfersberger et al., 1996; Wu and Aronson, 1992). For a crystal protein having approximately 650 amino acids in the sequence of its active toxin, and the possibility of 20 different amino acids at each of these sites, the likelihood of arbitrarily creating a successful new structure is remote, even if a general function to a stretch of 250-300 amino acids can be assigned. Indeed, the above prior art with respect to crystal protein gene mutagenesis has been concerned primarily with studying the structure and function of the crystal proteins, using mutagenesis to perturb some step in the mode of action, father than with engineering improved toxins.
Several examples, however, do exist in the prior art where improvements to biological activity were achieved by preparing a recombinant crystal protein. Angsuthanasamnbat et al. (1993) demonstrated that a stretch of amino acids in the dipteran-toxic Cry4B delta-endotoxin is proteolytically sensitive and, by repairing this site, the dipteran toxicity of this protein was increased three-fold. In contrast, the elimination of a trypsin cleavage site on the lepidopteran-toxic Cry9C protein was reported to have no effect on insecticidal activity (Lambert et al., 1996). In another example, Wu and Dean (1996) demonstrated that specific changes to amino acids at residues 481-486 (domain 2) in the coleopteran-toxic Cry3A protein increased the biological activity of this protein by 2.4-fold against one target insect, presumably by altering toxin binding. Finally, chimeric Cry1 proteins containing exchanges of domain 2 or domain 3 sequences and exhibiting improved toxicity have been reported, but there is no evidence that toxicity has been improved for more than one lepidopteran insect pest or that insecticidal activity towards other lepidopteran pests has been retained (Caramori et al., 1991; Ge et al., 1991, de Maagd et al., 1996). Based on the prior art, exchanges involving domain 2 or domain 3 would be expected to change insecticidal specificity.
The prior art also provides examples of Cry1A mutants containing mutations encoding amino acid substitutions within the predicted α helices of domain 1 (Wu and Aronson, 1992; Aronson et al., 1995, Chen et al., 1995). None of these mutations resulted in improved insecticidal activity and many resulted in a reduction in activity, particularly those encoding substitutions within the predicted helix 5 (Wu and Aronson, 1992). Extensive mutagenesis of loop regions within domain 2 have been shown to alter the insecticidal specificity of Cry1C but to not improve its toxicity towards any one insect pest (Smith and Ellar, 1994). Similarly, extensive mutagenesis of loop regions in domain 2 and of β-strand structures in domain 3 of the Cry1A proteins have failed to produce Cry1A mutants with improved toxicity (Aronson et al., 1995; Chen et al., 1993; Kwak et al., 1995; Smedley and Ellar, 1996; Rajamohan et al., 1995; Rajamohan et al., 1996). These results demonstrate the difficulty in engineering improved insecticidal proteins and illustrate that successful engineering of B. thuringiensis toxins does not follow simple and predictable rules.
Collectively, the limited successes in the art to develop synthetic toxins with improved insecticidal activity have stifled progress in this area and confounded the search for improved endotoxins or crystal proteins. Rather than following simple and predictable rules, the successful engineering of an improved crystal protein may involve different strategies, depending on the crystal protein being improved and the insect pests being targeted. Thus, the process is highly empirical.
Accordingly, traditional recombinant DNA technology is clearly not routine experimentation for providing improved insecticidal crystal proteins. What are lacking in the prior art are rational methods for producing genetically-engineered B. thuringiensis Cry1 crystal proteins that have improved insecticidal activity and, in particular, improved toxicity towards a wide range of lepidopteran insect pests.

Methods for generating lepidopteran-toxic polypeptides


A method and apparatus for playing duplicate card games such as blackjack and poker. In operation, after shuffling an appropriately sized deck, each player is supplied with an identical first hand. From there, each player plays against the dealer or house directly and against each other indirectly. To ensure parity, the shuffled deck is duplicated in its exact order for each player so that each player uses the same identically ordered cards when playing against the dealer or house. Depending on how each player plays, the initially dealt cards (e.g., call, hold, etc.), the relative skill level between players may be measured. After each round played, the deck is reshuffled. A running total for all participants is maintained and each player may wager against the dealer or house in the normal fashion. The apparatus includes a processing unit connected to a plurality of displays each of which includes associated control buttons.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for playing a duplicate card game namely blackjack or poker.
There exits in the prior art a number of methods and apparatus for playing card games. The focus of the prior art has been a card game in which the players play against the dealer representing the House or where the players play against themselves. In the case of blackjack, the players play against a dealer. Each player plays an individual hand dealt from a central group of cards. The group of cards may contain one or more fifty-two playing card decks. A problem in prior art methods and apparatuses for playing blackjack is measuring the relative skill of an individual card player against the skill of the other players.
In the case of poker, the players play against themselves. Before and during each hand, money or chips are placed in a pool and awarded to the winner(s) of that hand. Cards are dealt from a central card group. Each player plays a unique set of cards during the hand. A problem with the prior art method of playing cards is, again, that the skill of an individual player is difficult to measure due to each player playing different sets of cards.
In the prior art it is well known to use a common deck of cards. This common deck of cards is used to deal initial hands and additional cards to players who remain in the game and desire to have additional cards allocated to their playing hand. The problem with prior art use of a common deck of cards is the difficultly in determining the relative skill of one player versus another player due to the varying differences in each players hand as it is dealt from a common deck.


A method for calculating values of parameters of a TFT includes calculating a set of simulated current-voltage (I-V) values using state-density-functions over an entire energy band in a band gap of an amorphous semiconductor of the TFT. The method further includes comparing the set of simulated I-V values with a set of measured I-V values of the TFT to determine a value of a parameter of the TFT. The method may further include calculating values of an acceptor state-density-function gA using a set of electrostatic capacity-voltage (C-V) values of the TFT measured according to a frequency. The method may further include determining values of a donor state-density-function gD and values of an interface state-density-function Dit over the entire energy band in the band gap.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the invention relate to a method for calculating parameters of a thin-film transistor (TFT) and a calculating apparatus for performing the method. More particularly, example embodiments of the invention relate to a method for calculating parameters of a TFT including an amorphous semiconductor thin-film and a calculating apparatus for performing the method.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A crystalline material, such as a metal or a semiconductor, typically has atoms that are regularly arranged to form a crystal. A crystal grain has a diameter from about 0.1 μm to over 0.1 m. In contrast, a non-crystalline or amorphous material has a solid body without a long-range regular arrangement of atoms. Compared with a crystalline material having a solid body with a 3-dimensional regular arrangement of atoms, an amorphous material has a solid body with an irregular arrangement of atoms in a long range. The amorphous material may have an arrangement of atoms similar to that of the crystalline material within a relatively short distance, but the atom arrangement of the amorphous material is disordered in a relatively long distance; therefore, the property of the amorphous material is typically not clearly defined.
For example, metal oxide glass is a typical amorphous material. The glass maintains a disordered structure at a room temperature, without being crystallized when being solidified from a liquid state. The amorphous material, which is a broad definition from the glass, is a generic term for referring to a solid body without a crystalline structure. Cooling a liquid-state metal oxide, such as silicon dioxide (SiO2) or boron trioxide (B2O3), to make a crystal is difficult, and an amorphous structure may be maintained. In contrast, the metal or the semiconductor is relatively easier to be crystallized, and forming an amorphous structure in the metal or the semiconductor using a conventional method may be difficult. A semiconductor including an amorphous material is an amorphous semiconductor.
A method for forming an amorphous semiconductor has been invented, and the material made from the method has properties different from properties of crystalline semiconductors. Amorphous silicon is a typical amorphous semiconductor. The amorphous silicon has an unclear band structure, and has a state in a band gap; therefore, the amorphous silicon as a semiconductor may be less desirable than a semiconductor with a single crystalline structure. Nevertheless, the amorphous silicon is inexpensive. A p-n junction diode or a transistor conventionally formed using a single crystalline semiconductor may be formed using a hydro-amorphous silicon that is saturated by hydrogen, given that valance electrons may be controlled. In addition, since the amorphous silicon is deposited with a relatively larger size in a relatively lower temperature, the amorphous silicon may be used as a thin-film transistor (TFT) or a visual receptor for an electro photograph; having a relatively large coefficient of light absorption, the amorphous silicon may be used as a solar cell. Recently, the amorphous silicon may be used as a component of a flexible and transparent display apparatus.
As for an amorphous metal oxide semiconductor, a lowest point of a conduction band is located at a metal cation ns orbital; therefore, the mobility of the amorphous metal oxide semiconductor almost reaches band mobility regardless of directions of the crystal, and the state-density is relatively low. Thus, the mobility of the amorphous metal oxide semiconductor is substantially better than an amorphous silicon semiconductor. Given the mobility advantage, the amorphous metal oxide semiconductor may play a significant role in next generation high performance (flexible and transparent) display apparatuses. Despite of the above-mentioned merits, changes of properties of the amorphous metal oxide semiconductor in response to electrical, optical, and thermal stresses are typically difficult to be quantifiably anticipated. To commercialize a display apparatus using an amorphous metal oxide TFT, the changes of the properties of the amorphous metal oxide semiconductor in response to electrical, optical, and thermal stresses should be defined as parameters in an actual pixel operating environment. Given the parameters, the changes of the properties may be simulated to anticipate the performance of the amorphous metal oxide semiconductor in the actual pixel operating environment.

Method for calculating parameter values of thin-film transistor and apparatus for performing the method


Described herein are various articles that have anti-reflection properties, along with methods for their manufacture and use. The anti-reflection properties are imparted by way of an integral anti-reflection component on a surface of the articles. The articles exhibit a specular reflectance that is less than or equal to about 85 percent of a specular reflectance of the glass substrate alone when measured at wavelengths of about 450 nanometers to about 750 nanometers. The article may also exhibit a specular reflectance of less than 4 percent across the same spectrum.

Anti-reflection technologies are necessary in a variety of applications to reduce the reflection of light from surfaces and/or improve the transmission of light through surfaces. To illustrate, light from an external light source that is incident on a given surface can be reflected from the surface, and the reflected light image can adversely affect how well a person perceives the underlying surface and contents thereof. That is, the reflected image overlaps the image from the underlying surface to effectively reduce the visibility of the underlying surface image. Similarly, when the incident light is from an internal light source, as in the case of a backlit surface, the internal reflection of light can adversely affect how well a person perceives the surface and contents thereof. In this case, the internally reflected light reduces the amount of total light that is transmitted through the surface. Thus, reduced reflection or anti-reflection technologies are needed to minimize external and/or internal reflection of light so as to enable a surface to be seen as intended.
To combat the deleterious effects of increased reflectance and/or decreased transmission in the electronics display industry, various anti-reflection technologies have been developed. Such technologies have involved the use of adhesive films that are directly applied to the surfaces of the display screens or windows to provide reduced reflection surfaces. In certain cases, these adhesive films can be coated with additional multiple index interference coatings that prevent reflections from the screen. Unfortunately, during application of the adhesive films, air is often trapped between the display screen and the film. This results in air pockets that are unsightly and prevent the display image from being seen properly. In addition, such films can be scratched easily during use, and thus lack the durability needed to withstand prolonged use.
Rather than focus on adhesive films, alternative anti-reflection technologies have implemented coatings that are disposed directly on the display surfaces. Such coatings avoid the issues associated with air pockets being created during application, but do not necessarily provide improved durability. For example, some existing polymer-based anti-reflection coatings, such as fluorinated polymers, can have poor adhesion to glass and/or low scratch resistance. In addition, when applied to chemically-strengthened glasses, certain currently-existing coating technologies can actually decrease the strength of the underlying glass. For example, sol-gel-based coatings generally require a high-temperature curing step (i.e., greater than or equal to about 400 degrees Celsius (° C.)), which, when applied to a chemically-strengthened glass after the strengthening process, can reduce the beneficial compressive stresses imparted to the glass during strengthening. On the other hand, if the sol-gel-based coatings are applied to a glass article beforehand, the post-coating chemical strengthening may not be effective to impart the desired level of compressive stress.
There accordingly remains a need for improved anti-reflection technologies that do not suffer from the drawbacks associated with currently-existing technologies. It is to the provision of such technologies that the present disclosure is directed.

Reduced reflection glass articles and methods for making and using same


A footrest for use by a person seated in a wheel-chair facing a toilet facility includes an upper surface capable of accepting a foot thereon and slanting downwardly generally towards the front of the toilet facility. The footrest also includes a lip attached to the upper surface for retaining the foot on the upper surface at a fixed location.

Although restroom facilities have been modified for use by physically disabled persons with, for example, the addition of bars, rails and wider stalls, there is still a certain group of persons, namely, persons confined to wheelchairs, for whom restrooms remain difficult if not impossible to use. These persons usually wear leg bags into which they discharge their urine. A leg bag is normally attached to a shin or calf area of the user's legs and must be periodically emptied into a toilet facility which is typically done while the user is seated in the wheelchair facing the toilet facility. It is difficult, however, for persons confined to wheelchairs to empty their leg bags in present toilet facilities because the leg bag must be placed in close proximity to a rim of the toilet in order to be emptied. At the present time, persons confined to wheelchairs who use leg bags accomplish this act by lifting their legs and resting them on a rim of the toilet facility. However, because toilets are usually made of porcelain or other slick materials and because these persons do not have muscle control in their legs, the leg frequently slips off the toilet rim thereby causing an unsanitary condition. Thus, there is an urgent need for a foot and heel support system which will allow a person seated facing a toilet facility to place his or her foot on a footrest adjacent to the toilet facility and to eliminate the contents of a leg bag while the foot is supported in a stable and comfortable position.
Toilet facilities having footrests are known in the prior art. For example, Romer, U.S. Pat. No. 1,798,632 discloses a toilet facility having a U-shaped footrest resting on a floor and slanting downward towards the rear of a toilet to enable a person to assume the squatting position while using the toilet facility. Likewise, Catchings, U.S. Pat. No. 1,155,885; Finlay, U.S. Pat. No. 2,250,060 and Kristoffersen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,797 discloses toilet facilities having substantially flat footrests positioned on either side of a toilet to enable a person to assume the squatting position while using the toilet. Moulder, U.S. Pat. No. 1,972,233 discloses a toilet facility having multiple seats and a flat footrest to enable use of the facility by smaller children. Griffith, U.S. Pat. No. 1,668,242 discloses a toilet device having a footrest which moves a person seated in a wheelchair on to a toilet facility to enable use of that facility. Bruzenak, U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,979 discloses a toilet facility including handrails which facilitates use of the facility in the squatting position. None of these prior art references, however, discloses a footrest adapted to be used by a person while seated in a chair facing the toilet facility or a footrest that allows a person to empty a leg bag from a seated position in front of the toilet facility with a foot located in a stable and comfortable position.


Organic compounds and organic electroluminescence devices employing the same are provided. The organic compound has a chemical structure represented below:

1. Field
The disclosure relates to an organic compound and organic electroluminescence device employing the same and, more particularly, to an organic compound serving as a host material and a phosphorescent organic electroluminescence device employing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with the development and wide application of electronic products, such as mobile phones, PDAs, and notebook computers, there has been increasing demand of flat display elements which consume less electric power and occupy less space. Organic electroluminescent devices are self-emitting and highly luminous, with wider viewing angles, faster response speeds, and simpler fabrication methods, making them an industry display of choice.
Generally, an organic electroluminescent device was composed of a light-emission layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. When an electric field was applied to the electrodes, the cathode injects electrons into the light-emission layer and the anode injects holes into the light-emission layer. When the electrons recombination with the holes in the light-emission layer, excitons were formed. Recombination of the electron and hole results in light emission.
Depending on the spin states of the hole and electron, the exciton which results from the hole and electron recombination can have either a triplet or singlet spin state. Luminescence from a singlet exciton results in fluorescence whereas luminescence from a triplet exciton results in phosphorescence. The emissive efficiency of phosphorescence is three times that of fluorescence. Therefore, it is crucial to develop highly efficient phosphorescent materials, in order to increase the emissive efficiency of the OLED.
In application of organic electroluminescent devices, phosphorescent guest materials have to be used in combination with host materials which has an energy gap matched therewith, thereby achieving optimal electroluminescent performance and quantum yield. Particularly, since blue and green host materials require larger differences of energy gap between the host and guest materials for electroluminescence, the host materials used in an phosphorescent OLED should have a shorter conjugated system. Further, in order to keep the key characteristics of the organic compound used in OLEDs (i.e. thermal-stability), the host material should also have larger molecular weight, resulting in difficulties for chemical structure designs.
Since conventional, commercially available phosphorescent host materials or phosphorescent host materials disclosed in prior art references merely have the moieties of carbazole or silyl benzene derivatives, the phosphorescent host materials exhibit inferior thermal stability, resulting in devices made therefrom to have low current density and high operating voltage.

Organic compound and organic electroluminescent device employing the same

Abstract: wherein, R1 are independently a hydrogen, or C1-8 alkyl; and R2 is a hydrogen, hydroxy, or C1-8 alkoxy. The organic compounds have a high triplet energy (tEg) gap and apt to transmit the energy to a guest emitter.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


The invention relates to a lighting and/or signaling module comprising a support, a light guide arranged in an enclosure of said support and a mask arranged on the support and extending in front of the light guide. The light guide comprises a longitudinal rib intended to collaborate by engaging with a series of hooks belonging to the support. The mask is intended to mask the mounting zones of the light guide. It comprises one or more windows intended to let through the rays of light emitted transversally by the light guide. The rib extends continuously over essentially the entire length of each of the windows. The rib allows simple, rapid and reliable attachment of the light guide to its support. The continuity of the rib among each of the windows means that the creation of any visible non-uniformity through said windows is avoided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a light guide for a lighting and/or signaling module, notably for a vehicle. The invention also relates to a support for such a light guide. The invention also relates to a lighting and/or signaling module comprising such a support and possibly such a guide arranged on the support.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of motor vehicle lighting and signaling, it is becoming increasingly commonplace for use to be made of optical waveguides. An optical waveguide is, very schematically speaking, an elongate element of transparent material, generally in the form of a cylinder. Near one of the ends of the guide, referred to as the input face of the guide, there is (or are) one (or more) light sources, for example a small-size light source of the light-emitting diode type: the rays of light emitted by this source travel by total reflection along the length of the guide toward its opposite end referred to as the terminal face of the guide. Some of the rays of light passing along the guide will emerge via the face referred to as the front face of the guide because of the presence of reflective elements arranged on the face, opposite to the previous face, referred to as the rear face of the guide. These reflective elements consist for example of prisms, forming reflective facets.
The guide thus emits light along its entire length. It has the advantage of being able to adopt very varied geometric shapes, of being straight or curved into an arc of a circle, and of conveying a lighting surface even to somewhat inaccessible regions of the vehicle light or headlamp. It thus makes a significant contribution toward the style of the light or of the headlamp. Depending on the overall shape of the guide or even on the length thereof, it may prove difficult to attach to the light or headlamp of the vehicle, particularly when there is a need to ensure that the guide maintains a uniform appearance over the entirety of its visible length.
Patent document DE 10 2007 010 023 A1 discloses a signaling device of the flashing indicator type intended to be incorporated into an external rear-view mirror of a vehicle. It comprises a light guide consisting of two elements which are elongate in two parallel longitudinal directions and connected to one another by a central part running along the elements. Lugs for attaching the guide to a support are provided at one of the two ends thereof. The support comprises two longitudinal enclosures which are parallel and of U-shaped overall section. Each longitudinal element of the guide is housed in one of these enclosures. The guide is thus held only by its two ends, the two parallel longitudinal elements being held in their respective enclosures with their exterior surface distant from the surface of the enclosure. This way of attaching the light guide is practicable for guides of short length, and in particular for multiple guides of greater rigidity, the issue being that for simple light guides, there is a risk that such attachment may pose problems, notably problems of uncontrolled contact between the surface of the guide and that of the enclosure.
U.S. Publication No. U.S. 2005/0254253 A1, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,984,062, discloses a vehicle headlamp equipped with two circular signaling modules, each one surrounding a lighting module. Each of these signaling modules comprises a longitudinal light guide of circular overall shape. It is housed in an enclosure, likewise circular and comprising notches intended to collaborate with fixing tabs extending rearward from the rear face of the guide. These tabs are generally flexible and provided with a positive-contact surface able to collaborate with the edge of the corresponding notch of the support. The enclosure is generally circular and of generally rectangular cross section open in such a way as to be able to accept the light guide the corresponding cross section of which is likewise approximately rectangular. The closed end of the enclosure comprises a series of openings intended to let out the rays of light emitted by the light source positioned behind the light guide. This module is fairly advantageous from the standpoint of its simplicity of construction. The fixing tabs do, however, influence the transmission of light. This effect is not excessively troublesome in the module configuration described therein because the enclosure has four openings feeding the guide with light and these are distributed about its circumference. The non-uniformities caused by the fixing tabs are thus reduced. In the case of a light guide fed only via one of its ends, or even by both, this solution does generate non-uniformities that do present a problem. In addition, this type of mounting requires contact between the rear face of the guide and the surface of the enclosure. The rectangular cross section of the guide and of the enclosure also constitute a limitation which may prove penalizing for other applications.

Lighting and/or signaling module for a vehicle comprising a light guide with a rib and a support with means of attachment collaborating with the rib


Positive-working imageable elements can be used to prepare lithographic printing plates. These elements have at least two layers (inner and outer) arranged on a suitable substrate. The inner layer that is closer to the substrate includes one or more polymeric binders that include pendant oxazoline groups and acid groups that are reactive with the oxazoline groups during a post-baking step after development. The resulting imageable elements are more quickly baked in this manner to provide improved run length and resistant to press chemicals.

In conventional or "wet" lithographic printing, ink receptive regions, known as image areas, are generated on a hydrophilic surface. When the surface is moistened with water and ink is applied, the hydrophilic regions retain the water and repel the ink, and the ink receptive regions accept the ink and repel the water. The ink is transferred to the surface of a material upon which the image is to be reproduced. For example, the ink can be first transferred to an intermediate blanket that in turn is used to transfer the ink to the surface of the material upon which the image is to be reproduced.
Imageable elements useful to prepare lithographic printing plates typically comprise one or more imageable layers applied over the hydrophilic surface of a substrate. The imageable layer includes one or more radiation-sensitive components that can be dispersed in a suitable binder. Alternatively, the radiation-sensitive component can also be the binder material. Following imaging, either the imaged regions or the non-imaged regions of the imageable layer are removed by a suitable developer, revealing the underlying hydrophilic surface of the substrate. If the imaged regions are removed, the element is considered as positive-working. Conversely, if the non-imaged regions are removed, the element is considered as negative-working. In each instance, the regions of the imageable layer (that is, the image areas) that remain are ink-receptive, and the regions of the hydrophilic surface revealed by the developing process accept water and aqueous solutions, typically a fountain solution, and repel ink.
Direct digital imaging has become increasingly important in the printing industry. Imageable elements for the preparation of lithographic printing plates have been developed for use with infrared lasers. Thermally imageable, multi-layer positive-working elements are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,311 (Shimazu et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,812 (Shimazu et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,055 (Shimazu et al.), 6,352,811 (Patel et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,228 (Savariar-Hauck et al.), and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0067432 A1 (Kitson et al.).
Other positive-working single- and multi-layer imageable elements containing various unique polymeric binders are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,049,045 (Kitson et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,247,418 (Saraiya et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,726 (Patel et al.).
Various properties are desired in such positive-working imageable elements, including resistance to chemicals used during printing and long run length. This can sometimes be achieved by baking the imaged and developed element before use in printing. This "post-baking" process can be achieved at various elevated temperatures, generally greater than 150° C. and for up to 10 minutes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,783 (Kitson et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,415 (Kitson et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,186,482 (Kitson et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,247,418 (Saraiya et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,291,440 (Ray et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,726 (Patel et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,745 (Ray et al.) describe various means for improving post-bakeability as well as resistance to press chemicals, for example by containing certain polymeric binders.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,636 (Savariar-Hauck) describes negative-working and positive-working lithographic imageable elements that include a polymeric binder with acidic groups and a separate crosslinking agent that contains oxazoline groups.

Multilayer positive-working imageable elements and their use


Organic pigments are capable of catalyzing the decomposition reaction of hydrogen-rich, stabilized, borohydride solutions to generate hydrogen gas on-board an operable hydrogen-consuming device such as a motor vehicle or other combustion engine. The organic pigments are used in hydrogen generating systems and in methods for controlling the generation of hydrogen gas from metal hydride solutions.

Hydrogen gas is a very desirable fuel because it can be reacted with oxygen in hydrogen-consuming devices, such as a fuel cell, combustion engine or gas turbine, to produce energy and water. The use of hydrogen gas can ameliorate environmental pollution; lessen the world's dependency on fossil fuels or petroleum; ease fears of depleted energy sources.
Safe and efficient storage of hydrogen is a prerequisite for widespread commercial use as a fuel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,033 B1 to Amendola et al., discloses the use of stabilized metal hydride solutions as an example of a safe, hydrogen-rich storage medium. Thus, with an abundant supply of metal hydride solutions, research is focused on the release of hydrogen from the storage medium.
The class of metal hydrides known as borohydrides is known to decompose in water, in the following manner: borohydride plus water yields metaborate and hydrogen gas. The chemical reaction illustrated with borohydride is:BH4−+2H2O═BO2−+4H2.
Hydrogen-rich borohydrides are also of interest in electroconversion cells where the alkali metal-containing compound, such as borohydride is oxidized to generate electricity (U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,329 to Amendola; U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,694 B1 to Amendola; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,877 B2 to Finkelshtain et al.). Although oxidation reactions are required to generate electric current, the spontaneous release of hydrogen gas when borohydrides are in contact with water is reported in each of the patents cited above. The borohydride decomposition reaction in water occurs very slowly without a catalyst. Thus, catalysts become the critical component in any hydrogen gas delivery system based on borohydride decomposition.
Catalysts used in hydrogen gas evolution or production of hydrogen compounds have been identified as amines (U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,966 to Vaughan); metal derivative catalysts (U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,951 to Rupert et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,843 B1 to Yagi et al.); and transition metal catalysts (U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,329 to Amendola and U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,033 B1 to Amendola et al.).
There is a need for a broader range of catalytic materials, so that there are more choices for use in hydrogen-consuming devices. The present invention provides consumers with a broader choice of catalysts, which, in some cases, catalyze the hydrogen gas evolution reaction at a rate exceeding that of catalysts identified in the prior art.

Catalysts for the evolution of hydrogen from borohydride solution

University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


A method and system for performing consistency checking of one or more design representations having different design types. A translator for each design type obtains information from each design needed to evaluate rules that are design type-neutral. The described examples also allow a user to add rules using predefined rule terms. In addition, certain examples allow the user to add terms to the rule set and to make new rules with the added terms. Each new term added to a rule set has a corresponding abstraction function in a translator for each design type. Thus, the abstraction functions are not design type-neutral.

As IC design evolves, tools are created to solve new design challenges. These tools produce new and different formats to represent the design. When this occurs, conventional tools lack the ability to check the consistency of a design encoded in several different design representations.
It would be desirable to implement a method, system, and tool that is able to perform syntax and semantic checks for and against a wide variety of design representations.
The figures depict embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One can recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein.


In the information display panel, in which one or more groups of display media are sealed between opposed two substrates, at least one substrate being transparent, and, in which the display media, to which an electrostatic field generated between the substrates is applied, are made to move so as to display information such as an image, at least one substrate of the two substrates (both substrates in the figure) is a laminated substrate in which a first substrate, a low elastic layer and a second substrate are successively laminated from an outer surface, so that a stress concentration at a rib adhesion portion and so on of a partition wall can be reduced, If the laminated substrate with a laminated construction including a buffer layer for reducing stress concentration, it is possible to provide the information display panel, which can improve a mechanical strength with respect to an external force.

As an information display device substitutable for liquid crystal information display devices (LCD), with the use of technology such as an electrophoresis method, an electro-chromic method, a thermal method, dichroic-particles-rotary method are proposed.
As for these information display devices, it is conceivable as inexpensive visual display device of the next generation from a merit having wide field of vision close to normal printed matter, having smaller consumption, or having a memory function, as compared with LCD, and spreading out to a display for portable device and an electronic paper is expected. Recently, electrophoresis method is proposed that microencapsulate dispersion liquid made up with dispersion particles and coloration solution and dispose the liquid between faced substrates, and also it is expected.
However, in the electrophoresis method, there is a problem that a response rate is slow by the reason of viscosity resistance because the particles migrate among the electrophoresis solution. Further, there is a problem of lacking imaging repetition stability, because particles with high specific gravity of titanium oxide is scattered within solution of low specific gravity, it is easy to subside, difficult to maintain a stability of dispersion state. Even in the case of microencapsulating, cell size is diminished to a microcapsule level in order to make it hard to appear, however, an essential problem was not overcome at all.
Besides the electrophoresis method using behavior in the solution, recently, a method wherein electro-conductive particles and a charge transport layer are installed in a part of the substrate without using solution is proposed. [The Imaging Society of Japan "Japan Hardcopy '99" (Jul. 21-23, 1999) Transaction Pages 249-252] However, the structure becomes complicated because the charge transport layer and further a charge generation layer are to be arranged. In addition, it is difficult to constantly dissipate charges from the electro-conductive particles, and thus there is a drawback on the lack of stability.
As one method for overcoming the various problems mentioned above, an information display, in which one or more groups of display media are sealed between opposed two substrates, at least one substrate being transparent, and, in which the display media, to which an electrostatic field generated between the substrates is applied, are made to move so as to display information such as an image, is known. In the known information display panel of this kind, a glass substrate is often used for the above two substrates, but the information display panel using the glass substrate cannot be applied to a field, which needs flexibility. Therefore, in order to construct the information display panel applicable for the filed, which needs flexibility, the information display panel constructed by using a film substrate as the above substrate is proposed. As one example, there is the information display panel constructed by using a film substrate made of a low permeable film such as PES, PC and so on.
In the information display panel constructed by using the film substrate made of a low permeable film mentioned above, use is made of polyethersulfone (PES) or polycarbonate (PC) as the low permeable film, and such a low permeable film is thick and has a predetermined elasticity. In this case, if a stress such as flexure and so on is applied, a stress is concentrated at a rib adhesion portion and so on of the partition walls, which construct a cell between two substrates, and thus there is a possibility to apply a mechanical damage to the information display panel. Therefore, the substrate, to which an external force is at least applied, needs to be a construction in which a stress concentration can be reduced.

Information display panel and information display device


A device for switchably routing down-converted radio frequency (RF) signals from a plurality of inputs to a plurality of outputs, and a method of operating the same. The device includes a respective switch for each output. The device also includes an interconnect arrangement. The interconnect arrangement includes a respective transmission line for each input. Each transmission line includes a plurality of branches for routing a down-converted RF signal received at the input of that transmission line to the switch of each output. The switch of each output is operable selectively to connect one of the transmission lines to its output. The interconnect arrangement also includes a plurality of cross-over points at which two of the branches cross over each other.

Low-noise block down-converters (LNBs) are devices that may be used for satellite TV reception. Typically, they are mounted on a satellite dish for down-converting the received radio frequency (RF) signals. LNBs typically may include features such as a low-noise amplifier, a frequency mixer, a local oscillator and an intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier.
One example of a LNB is a quad LNB. A quad LNB has a single feed-horn that has four outputs that are connected to four different tuners. Each output responds to the tuners band and polarisation selection signals independently of the other outputs, and each output appears to the tuner to be a separate LNB. In devices of this kind, and also in other kinds of devices where it is necessary to selectively switch between different down-converted signals, it is known to provide a switch matrix of the kind shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The switch matrix 2 shown in FIG. 1 includes eight transmission lines 16, 18. The transmission lines 18 are each connected to inputs 4, while transmission lines 16 are each connected to outputs 6. The transmission lines 16, 18 are arranged in a grid or matrix and are provided with shunt switches 8 which can be opened or closed selectively to connect the transmission lines of the inputs 4 to the transmission lines of the outputs 6. In this way, each output can selectively output the down-converted RF signal received at any one of the inputs 4.
A key requirement for down-converters that are used in, for example, satellite TV reception is that the receive channel for each tuner is not polluted by the other channels and/or is not influenced by the channels selected by any of the other tuners of the system. With reference to FIG. 1, it is therefore beneficial if the transmission lines 16, 18 of the switch matrix 2 are well isolated from each other, specifically when they are not connected together by one of the shunt switches 8. However, it can be seen from FIG. 1 that the transmission lines 16 of the outputs 6 cross over the transmission lines 18 of the inputs 4 in a number of places, corresponding to the locations of the shunt switches 8. Each cross-over point can degrade isolation performance of the device due to capacitive and/or magnetic coupling between the transition lines 16, 18. The number of cross-over points that are relevant to the degree of isolation between the transmission lines 16, 18 for a switch matrix 2 of the kind shown in FIG. 1 is influenced by the switching configuration of the matrix. This is explained below in FIGS. 2A-2D.
In each of FIGS. 2A-2D, the configuration or state of the shunt switches 8 is indicated as being either closed (see the dots labelled 12) or open (see the crosses labelled 14).
In the example of FIG. 2A, the shunt switches are configured such that each output 6 is connected to a different input 4. The transmission line 16 connected to each respective output 6 in this example crosses over three of the transmission lines 18. Also, the transmission line 18 connected to each output 6 (through a closed shunt switch 12) itself crosses over three of the transmission lines 16. Therefore, a total of six cross-over points contribute to unwanted coupling that may adversely affect the signal at each output 6.
In FIG. 2B, two of the outputs are connected to a first common one of the inputs, while two of the outputs are connected to a second common input. The transmission lines 16 connected to the top two outputs in FIG. 2B both cross over three of the transmission lines 18 and are connected together via the transmission line 18 connected to the first common input, which itself crosses over the two other transmission lines 16. Similarly, the transmission lines 16 connected to the bottom two outputs in FIG. 2B both cross over three of the transmission lines 18 and are connected together via the transmission line 18 connected to the second common input, which itself crosses over the two other transmission lines 16. In this example therefore, a total of eight cross-over points contribute to unwanted coupling that may adversely affect the signal at each output 6. The amount of unwanted coupling between the transmission lines 16, 18 in this switching state may therefore be higher than in the switching state shown in FIG. 2A.
In FIG. 2C, three of the outputs are connected to a first common input while the fourth output is connected to a different input. The transmission lines 16 connected to the top three outputs in FIG. 2C each cross over three of the transmission lines 18 and are connected together via the transmission line 18 connected to the first common input, which itself crosses over one of the other transmission lines 16. Accordingly, a total of ten cross-over points contribute to unwanted coupling that may adversely affect the signal at these three outputs 6. The transmission line 16 connected the fourth output 6 in this example crosses over three of the transmission lines 18. Also, the transmission line 18 connected to the fourth output 6 (through a closed shunt switch 12) itself crosses over three of the transmission lines 16. Therefore, a total of six cross-over points contribute to unwanted coupling that may adversely affect the signal at the fourth output 6. The amount of unwanted coupling between the transmission lines 16, 18 in this switching state may therefore be higher than in the switching states shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Note that each output also experiences a different amount of unwanted coupling.
In the example of FIG. 2D, all of the outputs are connected to the same common input. The transmission lines 16 connected to all four outputs in FIG. 2D each cross over three of the transmission lines 18 and are connected together via the transmission line 18 connected to the common input. Accordingly, a total of twelve cross-over points contribute to unwanted coupling that may adversely affect the signal at each output 6. The amount of unwanted coupling between the transmission lines 16, 18 in this switching state may therefore be higher than in the switching states shown in any of FIGS. 2A to 2C.
To summarise, when using a switch matrix 2 of the kind shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the amount of unwanted coupling between the transmission lines is dependent upon the switching state of the matrix 2. In some switching states, the amount of coupling between the transmission lines 16, 18 can be high. Also, in some switching states, some ports may experience a different amount of unwanted coupling than the other ports. Because the loading conditions presented to the output ports of the switch matrix 2 is dependent upon the switching state of the matrix, switch matrices of the kind shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are rarely used in radio frequency (RF) designs.

Device and method for switchably routing down-converted RF signals


The present invention relates to a novel ligand compound, a transition metal compound and a catalyst composition comprising the same. The novel ligand compound and the transition metal compound of the present invention may be useful as a catalyst of polymerization reaction for preparing an olefin-based polymer having a low density.

Generally, olefin polymers such as an ethylene copolymer are useful polymer materials used as the material for hollow molded product, an extrusion molded product, a film, a sheet, etc., and have been prepared in the presence of a Ziegler-Natta catalyst system.
The Ziegler-Natta catalyst is a heterogeneous catalyst and is a catalyst used in a system in which the phase of a reactant and the phase of a catalyst are not the same, for example, a system of liquid reactant-solid catalyst, or the like. Such a Ziegler-Natta catalyst is composed of two components and is generally composed of a halogen compound of a transition metal comprising titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), and zirconium (Zr) (for example, TiCl4), alkyllithium, alkylaluminum, etc.
However, the Ziegler-Natta catalyst has the concentration of active species of a few % to tens of % with respect to a transition metal atom, and most transition metal atoms may not demonstrate their function and have defects of not overcoming the limitations as a heterogeneous catalyst.
Recently, as a next generation catalyst which may overcome such defects, metallocene compounds have received the attention. The metallocene compounds are homogeneous catalysts comprising a metal in group 4 and are known to show desirable polymerization activity in olefin polymerization.
[Me2Si(Me4C5)NtBu]TiCl2 (Constrained-Geometry Catalyst, hereinafter, will be abbreviated as CGC) was reported by Dow Co. in the early 1990s (U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,802), and excellent aspects of the CGC in the copolymerization reaction of ethylene and alpha-olefin may be summarized in the following two points when compared to commonly known metallocene catalysts: (1) at a high polymerization temperature, high activity is shown and a polymer having high molecular weight is produced, and (2) the copolymerization degree of alpha-olefin having large steric hindrance such as 1-hexene and 1-octene is excellent. In addition, as various properties of the CGC during performing a polymerization reaction are gradually known, efforts of synthesizing the derivatives thereof and using as a polymerization catalyst have been actively conducted in academy and industry.
Most metallocene catalysts used for polymerization comprise a metal element in group 4 such as titanium, zirconium, and hafnium (Hf) and a supporting ligand as a precursor, and are composed of two aromatic five-member rings and two halogen compounds which are leaving groups. Among them, an aromatic cyclopentadienyl group is generally used as the supporting ligand which is coordinated into a central metal.
Though such a metallocene catalyst is used in a variety of applications comprising an olefin polymerization process, the catalyst activity showed some limitations (particularly in a solution process at temperature conditions of 100° C. or higher), and it is known that, for example, due to a relatively rapid terminal termination reaction (or chain reaction) such as a beta-hydride elimination reaction, an olefin polymer with a low molecular weight showing a molecular weight (Mn) of 20,000 or less at a temperature of 100° C. or higher may be prepared. In addition, the active species of the metallocene catalyst is known to be deactivated at a temperature of 100° C. or higher. Accordingly, in order to increase the applicability of the metallocene catalyst, methods for overcoming the above-mentioned limitations are necessary.

Ligand compound, transition metal compound, and catalyst composition comprising the transition metal compound


Various embodiments of the invention allow to cancel demodulation phase error. In certain embodiments, cancellation is accomplished by determining the phase delay of a drive front end signal that is in phase with an undesired signal and digitally adjusting the demodulation signal with a calibrated signal. The phase delay may be adaptively compensated during regular circuit operation, only at predetermined times, or during a factory calibration.

A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to signal processing of electronic sensors, and more particularly, to systems, devices, and methods of reducing errors in angular rate sensor circuits.
B. Background of the Invention
In some circuit applications, such as in MEMS sensor circuits, the phase difference between a desired signal, such as a sinusoidal waveform of a Coriolis signal generated by a gyroscope and a demodulation phase signal, such as a quantized sinusoidal waveform, must be kept as small as possible to reduce undesired effects, such as offset dependency on the acceleration signals. Some existing approaches estimate a demodulation phase or determine a value based on analytical modeling. The value estimated or calculated at the design level remains associated with the demodulation phase during regular circuit operation. Traditional approaches do not measure and calibrate the demodulation phase and, thereby, fail to take advantage of potential improvements in the rejection of external disturbances, such as acceleration errors.

Adaptive phase delay adjustment for MEMS sensors


A lens-fitted photographic film unit has a main body which is provided with a film supply chamber and a film take-up chamber on opposite horizontal sides of an exposure chamber. A portion of the film unit including the exposure chamber and the film supply chamber is reduced in thickness. The front cover which is attached to the main body has a grip projection having the same shape as the film take-up chamber and a flat portion located in front of the exposure chamber and the film supply chamber. The flat portion is recessed with respect to the grip portion so as to reduce the thickness of most of the film unit. The grip projection makes it possible to hold the film unit with ease. The film unit is surrounded by an outer cover which exposes the grip projection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens-fitted photographic film unit which is thinner than known units and which is provided with a grip that makes it easier to hold.
2. Prior Art
In the lens-fitted photographic film unit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,649, a taking lens, a film advancing mechanism and a shutter mechanism are incorporated in a main body. A photographic film cassette with a 135-type photographic film as defined by ISO code 1007, 1979 version is contained in the main body which is covered by a front cover and a rear cover for protecting the main body as well as the photographic film in a light-tight manner. The main body is provided on opposite horizontal sides of an exposure chamber with a film take-up chamber and a film supply chamber. When the unit is new, the film take-up chamber accommodates the photographic film cassette while the film supply chamber accommodates the photographic film wound in a roll after having been drawn out of the photographic film cassette. The rolled photographic film is rewound on a spool of the photographic film cassette in the film take-up chamber step-by-step, once for each exposure. Such a lens-fitted photographic film unit is box-shaped, and its thickness parallel to the optical axis of the taking lens is only slightly greater than the diameter of the photographic film cassette, in order to enhance its portability.
However, research has recently been carried out in an effort to make the size of compact cameras approach that of a cigarette case or even the size of a credit card. This trend has also been carried out in lens-fitted photographic film units. For this purpose, it has been sought to provide a photographic film cassette with a smaller diameter in order to use it in a lens-fitted photographic film unit. However, this proposal is unacceptable since such a new type of photographic film cassette would require alteration of conventional photographic printers.
The fact that the diameter of the 135-type photographic film cassette cannot be reduced has been an obstacle to making lens-fitted photographic film units thinner. Moreover, miniaturizing cameras increases the danger of occurrence of camera shaking at the time of shutter release.