An improved power supply for the AN/PRC-117G military radio has been developed. The presently disclosed power supply includes an AC-DC power conversion module; a DC-DC power module and an onboard battery backup. The disclosed power supply is an adaptable power supply which configures to provide AC-DC power; DC only power and battery backup power. The AC and DC power modules are independent and separable, and may be configured by the radio user to remove the AC module and operate in a DC only mode. The adaptability of the power supply includes universal power supply for the Harris Corporation Falcon III series of radios which includes the AN/PRC-117G; RF-7800H-MP; RF-7800M-MP; RF-7800-RC; AN/PRC-160 and the RF-7800-RT intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance terminal.

The U.S. military employs a type of radio transceiver known as the AN/PRC-117G. The AN/PRC-117G is used in line of sight, and non-line of sight modes and can be carried by an individual, mounted in vehicles or mounted at a fixed sight. The AN/PRC-117G's design includes several related radios which use the same specifications for power input these radios include the RF-7800H-MP; RF-7800M-MP; RF-7800-RC; AN/PRC-160 and the RF-7800-RT intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance terminal. These radios are manufactured by Harris Corporation and are widely used within the U.S. military for commonality between air, ground and naval forces. In the manpack mode the AN/PRC-117G is attached to a portable lithium battery which provides the radio's power. The lithium battery has a fixed life measured in hours and must be replaced. When used in a vehicle, aircraft, vessel or fixed installation the AN/PRC-117G and related radios use a power supply which is also known as a battery eliminator. The power supply eliminates the need for the manpack battery and can use global AC or DC power and convert the power to the correct voltage and current for the radio. Currently, existing AN/PRC-117G power supplies are manufactured as a unitary design. This design provides an AC conversion function integrated into the design and the AC conversion module is not separable from the DC conversion function. In applications such as vehicles, aircraft and vessels where the AC conversion function is not needed the current power supply is inseparable from the functionality. Existing AN/PRC-117G power supply designs have fixed cable connections which limit installation and design. The cable connectors on existing designs are on one side of the power supply and are fixed. For installations where cable connections are made from the opposite side installation requires complex cable routing and connections and increases strain on both the cables and the connectors.


An abutment (10) for supporting a dental prosthesis including a post (30) and a shoulder (10a), wherein the shoulder comprises a concavely curved chamfer surface extending radially outwards from a base of the post, the post comprising at least one flat surface (35) which runs directly into the chamfered surface such that the chamfered surface is non-uniform.

Implants have long been used in the field of implant dentistry. Dental implants are used to replace individual teeth or as a support structure for anchoring more complex abutment structures, which generally replace several or even all of the teeth. The materials used for the dental implants are often titanium and alloys thereof, and increasingly ceramic materials. These materials have the necessary strength for withstanding the mechanical loads that occur, and they are at the same time sufficiently biocompatible.
The shape and construction of the dental implant depends mainly on the exact purpose for which it is used. The implants are often constructed in two parts, in which case they consist of an anchoring part, often referred to in isolation as the implant, and of a separate abutment. The anchoring part is either embedded completely in the bone, that is to say to the height of the alveolar crest, or protrudes by a few millimeters from the alveolar crest into the soft tissue. The abutment is mounted on the anchoring part either after the latter has become incorporated (osseointegrated) into the bone or directly after the anchoring part has been inserted. It can also be attached to the anchoring part prior to insertion. Ultimately, the desired prosthetic element (e.g. bridge or crown) is connected to the abutment. The prosthetic element can be adhesively bonded, cemented or screwed onto the abutment. It is also possible for the implant to be constructed in one part, such that the anchoring part and the abutment are produced from one piece. Hence in such implant systems the integral anchoring part and abutment are positioned within the mouth at the same time.
One-part implants have good mechanical stability but have disadvantages from an aesthetic point of view. Such implants are currently made in most cases of titanium or a titanium alloy, which is why the visible part of the implant can create an undesired metallic appearance. In addition the abutment shape and angulation, relative to the anchoring part, must be selected prior to insertion. This provides the surgeon with less flexibility and room for error in the placement of the implant.
By contrast, two-part implants are more versatile in use, because the anchoring part and the abutment can be adapted individually to the particular requirements. However, the multi-part structure can have a negative impact on the mechanical stability of the overall implant or the overall structure. An advantage of two-part implants is that the abutment can be made from a different material than the anchoring part, and in this way a surface can be obtained whose colour merges satisfactorily with the surrounding tissue.
In recent times, ceramic materials with sufficient mechanical stability have also become available, such that one-part or two-part dental implants can be produced from ceramic materials.
EP 1 609 436 describes a ceramic implant of this kind. The dental implant is composed of an anchoring part for anchoring in the bone and of an abutment for receiving a prosthetic superstructure. The implant is produced in one piece from a material based on zirconium oxide.
The dental implants known from the prior art and made of a ceramic material or other material have proven difficult to handle. The abutment often has a more or less circular cylindrical shape which, combined with the hard and smooth surface of the ceramic material, makes it difficult to grip. In addition, the abutment section of a one piece implant has to have special structures, e.g. grooves, indents, projections and the like, in order to allow the dental implant to be screwed into the drilled hole provided for it. In conventional abutments, there is also a danger that the prosthetic elements mounted on them will break relatively easily in their apical end area. This is because of the shaping which, in the apical end area of the prosthetic elements, must narrow in diameter and smoothly join to the circumference of the implant. In the end area of the prosthetic element lying on the abutment therefore, fractures may occur in thin-walled areas under mechanical loading. This is a particular problem with ceramic prosthetics, which are brittle and therefore prone to chipping.


Methods, systems, apparatuses and program products are disclosed for context sensitive selective control of usage of connection(s) to telecommunications networks, especially Internet and the like.

Modernly, malware on PCs (Personal Computers) is increasingly convoluted and harmful. Anti-malware products have sprung up to combat the problem. In response, malware has begun to develop features that target the anti-malware products themselves so as to damage their effectiveness. In response, techniques have been developed to harden anti-malware products against attack.
One particular problem is that anti-malware products commonly have a need to access updated information (for example data tables of virus signatures) and an efficient way of doing this is via Internet-based downloading. A need has existed to provide for such downloading and similar activities to occur without risk of the downloading process itself becoming compromised by a malware attack. There is a need to robustly control (particularly to alternately grant and disallow) access to communications, especially to and from Internet. In particular it is desirable to be able to deny access to the Internet to ordinary OSes (Operating Systems) and to any programs that they load pending completion of the downloading (and perhaps of integrity verification) of anti-malware information such as virus signatures.
Previously developed solutions address these issues only in part and there remains significant room for improvement.

Preventing access of a network facility in response to an operation

Abstract: Provision is made for allowing certain resource(s) to exploit Internet while disallowing other resource(s) from doing the same, and making the implementation hardened against attack or compromise. An exemplary implementation is to allow anti-malware products to update over Internet while preventing malware from interfering or using the same communications resource simultaneously. Previously developed implementations have shortcoming that are overcome by the present invention.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A low profile self-ligating orthodontic bracket having a base plate which may be adhesively attached to the lingual or labial surface of a tooth, and which includes a transverse slot extending across the front surface of the base plate for receiving an arch wire, and which includes a cover plate extending over the slot and resiliently self-biased against the front surface of the base to force the arch wire down into the slot. The cover plate may be turned outwardly by the orthodontist to permit the arch wire to be inserted into the slot or removed from the slot, and when the cover plate is released, it moves with force against the front surface of the base to trap the arch wire in the slot.

The invention is concerned with an improved low profile self-ligating orthodontic bracket which may be adhesively attached to the lingual or labial surface of a tooth.
Self-ligating orthodontic brackets are known and are described, for example, in Wallshein Patents 3,052,028 and 3,724,074 as well as in other patents. Rosenberg Patent 4,712,999, for example, discloses a convertible self-ligating orthodontic bracket which is effective, but which involves a separate cover plate rotatable attached to the bracket base. The Rosenberg appliance makes no provision for arch wires that don't get fully engaged into the arch wire slot. A feature of the self-ligating orthodontic bracket of the present invention is its simplicity in that it involves a unitary integral construction without separate parts which are susceptible to being accidentally swallowed and which are difficult to apply. Also, if an arch wire is not fully engaged into the arch wire slot, the feature of this self-ligating bracket is that the continuous pressure applied by the bracket cover continually, progressively pulls the arch wire into the arch wire slot so the arch wire may exert its force when tightly engaged. This makes this simple self-ligating bracket active in part while the other action necessary for tooth positioning is the arch wire force itself.
As pointed out in the Rosenberg patent, there has been a steady improvement in orthodontic devices, and the trend has been to miniaturization and enhanced appearance from a cosmetic viewpoint, as well as increased simplification in the installation and removal procedures. At present, small slotted brackets are employed which are bonded directly to the labial or lingual surfaces of the teeth. A curved arch wire conforming to the patient's dental arch is formed of a special alloy, and pre-torqued by the orthodontist to produce the desired movement of the patient's teeth. This arch wire is fitted into the slots in the brackets in accordance with the prior art practice and the arch wire is tied down to each bracket by a arch wire or elastic donut. The application of the ligating wire requires considerable skill on the part of the orthodontist and long chair time for the patient. Moreover, the arch wire often must be removed from time to time for bending or replacement during the course of the treatment, calling for repetitive ligating operations and increased patient/orthodontist time.
When elastic donuts are used, they have a tendency to discolor and, in addition, they rapidly lose their elasticity. Accordingly, the efficiency of elastic donuts in securing the arch wire to the base of the bracket diminishes and they quickly become ineffective.
These foregoing disadvantages point to the desirability for each orthodontic bracket to incorporate a rapid clamping and unclamping device, that is, to be self-ligating, so that the need for ligating wires, elastic donuts and the like may be reduced, if not completely eliminated.
As mentioned above, prior self-ligating brackets conceived to overcome the foregoing problems have usually resulted in complex structures which are expensive to manufacture and contain separable parts which may accidentally be swallowed and are difficult to use. In addition to the Rosenberg patent, self-ligating brackets having separable parts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,371,337; 4,077,126; 4,419,178; 3,444,621; 4,268,249; 3,327,393; and 4,355,975.
Although the self-ligating orthodontic brackets disclosed in the Wallshein patents 3,052,028 and 3,724,074 do have a unitary construction, the configuration of the orthodontic brackets has been found to be inappropriate for the firm and proper retention of the arch wire in the base portion of the bracket.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a one-piece self-ligating slotted orthodontic bracket which has a low profile for comfort, and which is constructed to have a cover which exerts a continual force on the arch wire that may not fit all the way into the slot, so that over time the cover will slowly force the arch wire firmly and positively into the slot to be firmly retained on the bracket. The bracket may be easily applied either to the lingual or labial surface of a tooth. Moreover, the orthodontic bracket of the present invention is conceived to be easily constructed. In its very simplest and basic design, it may be compared to the action of the one-piece clothespin that is spread to hold the clothesline firmly in its grip.

Self-ligating low profile orthodontic bracket


A method of controlling an automotive electric power steering system includes estimating a first road reaction torque from driver""s steering torque detected by a steering torque detector. A second road reaction torque is estimated from the steering angle detected by a steering angle sensor. A returning torque compensator calculates a steering wheel-assisting torque from the second road reaction torque. An assisting torque is generated by an electric motor according to the result of the calculation, and is controlled in a direction to return the steering wheel to its center position. The returning torque compensator determines whether the steering angle sensor is faulty when the difference between the first and second road reaction torques is greater than a given value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automotive electric power steering controller that uses an electric motor to generate torque for assisting driver""s steering force to thereby supplement the steering force supplied to the steering system. The invention also relates to a method of controlling this electric power steering controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the structure of the prior art electric power steering controller described, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 186994/1995. This controller has a steering torque detector 1 for detecting steering torque when the driver steers. A steering torque controller 2 calculates an assisting torque based on the output from the steering torque detector 1 and produces an output signal indicating the calculated assisting torque. A motor speed detector 3 detects the speed of an electric motor. A damping compensator 4 calculates and produces a damping compensation signal based on the motor speed detected by the motor speed detector 3. A motor acceleration detector 5 detects the acceleration of the motor using the output from the motor speed detector 3. An inertia compensator 6 calculates and produces an inertia compensation signal based on the motor acceleration detected by the motor acceleration detector 5. A judging unit 7 makes a decision as to whether the output from the steering torque detector 1 and the output from the motor speed detector 3 are identical in sense and supplies the result of the decision to all of the steering torque controller 2, the damping compensator 4, and the inertia compensator 6. A first adder 8 produces the sum of the assisting torque signal, the damping compensation signal, and the inertia compensation signal. This sum is referred to as the target torque. A motor current determiner 9 calculates and produces a target current signal from the target torque. The aforementioned motor is indicated by numeral 10, produces a motor current value corresponding to an applied voltage, and generates an assisting torque that is roughly in proportion to the motor current value, thus driving the steering mechanism. A motor current detector 11 detects the current value of the motor 10. A second adder 12 finds the difference between the target current signal produced by the motor current determiner 9 and the motor current value detected by the motor current detector 11. A motor driver 13 determines a voltage applied to the motor 10 according to the error between the target current signal calculated by the motor current determiner 9 and the motor current value detected by the motor current detector 11 and applies the determined voltage to the motor 10. A vehicle speed detector 14 detects the speed of the vehicle and sends a signal indicating the detected vehicle speed to all of the steering torque controller 2, damping compensator 4, and inertia compensator 6.
The operation of the prior art electric power steering system constructed in this way is now described. When the driver of the automobile steers the steering wheel, the produced steering torque is measured by the steering torque detector 1 and sent to the steering torque controller 2. This torque controller 2 calculates the assisting torque that is roughly in proportion to the output signal from the steering torque detector 1 and drives the motor 10 according to the assisting torque signal. In this way, the motor supplements the driver""s steering torque. Consequently, the steering torque that the driver must produce is alleviated.
At this time, the judging unit 7 makes a decision as to whether the output from the steering torque detector 1 and the output from the motor speed detector 3 are identical in sense. If they are identical, neither the damping compensator 4 nor the inertia compensator 6 is operated; only the steering torque controller 2 is operated. The steering torque controller 2 determines the assisting torque signal according to both output from the steering torque detector 1 and vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed detector 14. The target torque is determined from this determined assisting torque signal. The motor current determiner 9 determines the motor driving current.
If they are not identical, the steering torque controller 2 is not operated; the damping compensator 4 and the inertia compensator 6 are operated. The target torque is determined from the output from the damping compensator 4 and from the output from the inertia compensator 6. The motor current determination unit 9 determines the motor driving current. If the vehicle speed is low, the target torque is made identical in direction with the rotation of the motor. If the vehicle speed is high, the target torque is made opposite in direction to the rotation of the motor. Accordingly, when the driver is steering the steering wheel, the electric power steering system supplements the driver""s steering torque to alleviate the torque necessary for the steering. When the driver is returning the steering wheel, if the vehicle speed is low, the electric power steering system assists the steering wheel to return to its center position. If the vehicle speed is high, the motor 10 is so controlled that the steering wheel is prevented from returning to its center position at an excessively high speed.
Generally, the driver steers when the vehicle turns round road curves or across road junctions and then the vehicle returns to straight-line driving. At this time, he or she returns the steering wheel by making use of spontaneous returning force of the steering wheel owing to reaction torque applied from the road surface through the tires. However, when the vehicle speed is low or the steering wheel is rotated through only a small angle during high-speed driving, the reaction torque applied from the road surface through the tires is weak and so the reaction torque is less than the frictional torque within the steering mechanism. Therefore, the steering wheel often does not return to its center position when the vehicle returns to straight-line driving. In this case, accordingly, the driver must apply torque to the steering wheel in returning the steering wheel. Consequently, the steering feeling deteriorates.
To cope with this problem, the prior art technique makes a decision as to whether the output from the steering torque detector 1 and the output from the motor speed detector 3 are identical in sense at low vehicle speeds. If they are not identical, the motor driving current is so set that the motor 10 is rotated in the forward direction. In this way, the returnability of the steering wheel at low vehicle speeds is improved.
In the prior art technique, when the driver steers while the reaction torque applied from the road surface through the tires is small as encountered when the vehicle turns a junction at a low speed or when turns a curve of a mildly winding road at a high speed, the steering wheel is kept stationary unless the driver applies torque in a direction to return the steering wheel. Hence, the motor 10 does not rotate. At this time, the judging unit 7 cannot judge whether the output from the steering torque detector 1 and the output from the motor speed detector 3 are identical or not. Consequently, the motor driving current cannot be so set that the motor is rotated in the forward direction. Hence, the returnability of the steering wheel cannot be improved.
Furthermore, in the prior art technique, the motor driving current is only allowed to be so set that the motor is rotated in the reverse direction. In consequence, the returnability of the steering wheel cannot be improved.
The present invention has been made to solve the foregoing problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric power steering controller which is for use in a vehicle and which permits the driver to return the steering wheel to its center position without applying torque in the direction to return the steering wheel when the driver steers while reaction torque applied from the road surface through the tires is small as encountered when the vehicle turns a junction at a low speed or when the vehicle turns a curve of a mildly winding road at a high speed. The steering controller controls the returning steering wheel using a steering angle corresponding to driver""s will and can improve the returnability of the steering wheel under every driving condition.
It is another object of the invention to provide an electric power steering controller capable of coping with faults of sensors if such faults occur.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of controlling such an electric power steering controller.
According to this invention an electric power steering controller mounted in an automobile and using torque generated by an electric motor to supplement driver""s steering torque, said electric power steering controller comprising:
a steering torque detection means for detecting the steering torque applied by the driver;
a steering angle detection means for detecting a steering angle;
a first road reaction torque estimation means for estimating a first road reaction torque that tires receive from the road surface using the steering torque detected by the steering torque detection means;
a second road reaction torque estimation means for estimating a second road reaction torque using the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means; and
a returning torque compensation means for controlling the assisting torque of said electric motor in a direction to return the steering wheel to its original position according to the second road reaction torque estimated by the second road reaction torque estimation means, said returning torque compensation means judging that the steering angle detection means is at fault when a difference between the first road reaction toque and the second road reaction torque is greater than a given value.
According to this electric power steering controller, the returnability of the wheel can be improved under any operating conditions.
Furthermore, the electric power steering controller wherein said returning torque compensation means judges that there is a fault when a difference between two estimated road reaction torques is kept greater than a given value for a given time.
According to this electric power steering controller, the the power steerinng controller assures detection of a fault if such a fault is present.
Furthermore, the electric power steering controller wherein there is further provided a steering speed detection means for detecting a steering speed, and wherein said returning torque compensation means judges that there is a fault when the steering speed detected by said steering speed detection means is less than a given value and, at the same time, a difference between two estimated road reaction torques is greater than a given value.
According to this electric power steering controller makes the decision operation reliable.
Furthermore, the electric power steering controller wherein said returning torque compensation means judges that there is a fault when the first road reaction torque is greater than other estimated road reaction torque by more than a given value.
According to this electric power steering controller assures that such a fault is detected.
Furthermore, the electric power steering controller wherein said returning torque compensation means judges that the motor has locked when the first road reaction torque is kept greater than other estimated road reaction torque by more than a given value for a given time.
According to this electric power steering controller makes the reliable the operation to judge whether the motor has locked.
Furthermore, the electric power steering controller wherein said returning torque compensation means has a function of judging road conditions and wherein, if the returning torque compensation means judges that a road surface condition is a non-high friction, any decision as to whether the detection means are at fault is not made.
According to this electric power steering controller decisins as to whether the detection means are at fault are made depending on the road surface condition.
In addition, an electric power steering controller mounted in an automobile and using torque generated by an electric motor to supplement driver""s steering torque, said electric power steering controller comprising:
a steering torque detection means for detecting the steering torque applied by a driver;
a lateral acceleration detection means for detecting lateral acceleration of the automobile;
a first road reaction torque estimation means for estimating a first road reaction torque that tires receive from the road surface using the steering torque detected by the steering torque detection means;
a third road reaction torque estimation means for estimating a third road reaction torque from the lateral acceleration of the automobile detected by said lateral acceleration detection means; and
a returning torque compensation means for controlling the assisting torque produced by said electric motor in a direction to return the steering wheel to its original position according to the third road reaction torque estimated by said third road reaction torque estimation means, said returning torque compensation means judging that the lateral acceleration detection means is at fault when a difference between the first road reaction torque and the third road reaction torque is greater than a given value.
According to this electric power steering controller, the returnablility of the steering wheel can be improved under every operating condition, and the power controller can cope with fault in lateral acceleration detection mean if such faults are present.
In addition, an electric power steering controller mounted in an automobile and using torque generated by an electric motor to supplement driver""s steering torque, said electric power steering controller comprising:
a steering torque detection means for detecting the steering torque applied by the driver;
a yaw rate detection means for detecting yaw rate of the automobile;
a first road reaction torque estimation means for estimating a first road reaction torque that tires receive from the road surface using the steering torque detected by said steering torque detection means;
a fourth road reaction torque estimation means for estimating a fourth road reaction torque from the yaw rate of the automobile detected by said yaw rate detection means; and
a returning torque compensation means for controlling the assisting torque produced by said electric motor in a direction to return the steering wheel to its original position according to the fourth road reaction torque estimated by said fourth road reaction torque estimation means, said returning torque compensation means judging that the yaw rate detection means is at fault when a difference between said first road reaction torque and said fourth road reaction torque is greater than a given value.
According to this electric power steering controller, the returnability of the steering wheel can be improved under every operating condition,and the power steering controller can cope with a fault in the yaw rate detection means if such a fault is present.
In addition, an electric power steering controller mounted in an automobile and using torque generated by an electric motor to supplement driver""s steering torque, said electric power steering controller comprising:
a steering torque detection means for detecting the steering torque applied by the driver;
a first road reaction torque estimation means for estimating a first road reaction torque that tires receive from the road surface using the steering torque detected by said steering torque detection means;
a fifth road reaction torque detection means for detecting a fifth road reaction torque; and
a returning torque compensation means for controlling the assisting torque produced by said electric motor in a direction to return the steering wheel to its original position according to the fifth road reaction torque detected by said fifth road reaction torque detection means, said returning torque compensation means judging that any one of the road reaction torque detection means is at fault when a difference between the first road reaction torque and the fifth road reaction torque is greater than a given value.
According to this electric power steering controller renders reliable the decision made as to whether the road reaction torque is abnormal.
Furthermore, the electric power steering controller wherein said returning torque compensation means judges that there is a fault when the first road reaction torque is kept greater than the fifth road reaction force by more than a given value for a given time.
According to this electric power steering controller decisions as to whether the detection means are at fault are made depending on the road condition.
In addition, a method of controlling an electric power steering controller mounted in an automobile by using torque generated by an electric motor to supplement driver""s steering torque, said method comprising the steps of:
estimating a first road reaction torque using the steering torque;
estimating a sixth road reaction torque using any one of a steering angle, lateral acceleration of the automobile, and yaw rate of the automobile detected by detection means;
controlling the assisting torque of said motor in a direction to return a steering wheel to its center position according to the estimated sixth road reaction torque; and
making a decision based on a difference between said first road reaction torque and said sixth road reaction torque as to whether said detection means are at fault.
According to this method of controlling an electric power steering controller, the returnability of the steering wheel can be improved under every operating condition, and the power steering controller can cope with a fault in the detection means if such a fault is present.
Furthermore, a method of controlling an electric power steering controller, wherein it is judged that there is a fault when a difference between the first and sixth road reaction torques is kept greater than a given value for a given time.
According to this method of controlling the electric power steering controller assures detection of a fault in the detection means if such a fault is present.
Furthermore, a method of controlling the electric power steering controller, wherein road conditions are judged, and wherein, if the road surface condition is a non-high friction, any decision as to whether the detection means are at fault is not made.
According to this method of controlling the power steering controller, a decision as to whether the detection means are at fault can be made depending on the road surface condition.
Other objects and features of the invention will appear in the course of the description thereof, which follows.

Electric power steering controller and method of controlling same


A container filling plant having a container closing machine with a bearing system to guide a reciprocating shaft in the container closing machine. The bearing system is designed to be cleaned to minimize the presence of contaminants in the bearing system and in the product in the containers to be closed.

1. Technical Field
This application relates to a beverage bottling plant having a beverage bottle closing machine with a bearing system to guide a reciprocating shaft in the beverage bottle closing machine.
This application further relates to a bearing system for the bearing of a shaft with a bearing bushing or sleeve that can be introduced into a receptacle boring of a machine or sliding component, support bearing and similar components, whereby recesses are provided at least in the receptacle boring for the feed and discharge of media.
2. Background Information
In the food or beverage packaging industry, such as beverage bottling, it is very important to take steps to minimize the contamination of the food or beverage during the packaging process. For example, in the bottling of beverages, it is very important to keep the machinery of the beverage bottling plant as clean and free from contaminants as possible. During the bottling process, it is not uncommon for the amounts of the beverage being filled into the bottles to splash or foam or otherwise be deposited on the surfaces of the machinery. Such amounts of beverage can cause the machinery to become dirty or sticky and possibly result in the production of contaminants that could contaminate the beverage in the bottles, thereby rendering the beverage undesirable or even unsafe for consumption. In addition, naturally occurring amounts of dust and dirt in the beverage bottling plant environment can be deposited and accumulate on the beverage bottling plant machinery. Again, such dirt and dust can possibly result in the introduction of contaminants into the beverage during bottling.
Unfortunately, much of the machinery used in the food and beverage packaging industry is relatively large and complex, and therefore often difficult to clean and maintain in a clean state. It is therefore advantageous to utilize machinery and parts therefor that are relatively easy to clean.
In connection with this application, the term "shaft" is used to also mean axles, guide rods or similar elements that execute a linear and/or rotating movement relative to the bearing system that is associated with it. For purposes of simplification, only the term "shaft" will be used, although this choice of terminology is in no way intended to restrict the scope of this application.
Bearing systems of this type for the bearing of rotating shafts are used, for example, in plain hydrostatic bearings that are made of ceramic materials for machine tools, in particular grinding machines, lathes etc. with strict requirements in terms of running precision, running speed or damping characteristics. For example, a plain hydrostatic bearing for machine tools has a support bushing and a bearing bushing, which is realized in the form of a complex, ring-shaped ceramic body with an outside surface that faces the support bushing and an inside surface that faces a shaft or spindle, and said inside surface has at least three rounded cavities to hold contact, lubricant or cooling media (DE 103 32 390 A1).
DE 195 26 497 A1 discloses a combined axial-radial plain bearing with ceramic bearing surfaces. Between these bearing surfaces, a recess is provided for the formation of a hydrodynamic lubricant wedge.
The components that are made of ceramic material are primarily realized only in the form of almost flat molded components, and therefore, in spite of their enormous advantages, can be used only to a limited extent in the area of contact between rotating and static components. Moreover, their rigidity is significantly limited, in particular with reference to the inevitable vibrations or displacements.
DE 23 56 817 A1 discloses a radial plain bearing for a shaft that rotates in one direction with a plurality of lubricant transport grooves in the bearing boring that run in the peripheral direction of the bearing or at a right angle to it and are connected with pressure pouches in the part of the bearing that holds the shaft. The bearing part is sealed externally by means of conical nipples. A realization of this type is unsuitable for the through-transport of media for cleaning or sterilization applications, for example, which is neither provided nor necessary in the prior art described above.
In certain industrial sectors such as the food, pharmaceutical or beverage industries, for example, there are very stringent requirements in terms of the cleaning or sterilization of machines and their components. These requirements are specified in certain countries in the form of specific legal standards or are required for certain product certifications such as those issued by the FDA, for example. These requirements relate in particular to sterile and clean room machines, as well as to bottling and packing machines or portions of a cold aseptic bottling operation.

Beverage bottling plant having a beverage bottle closing machine with a bearing system to guide a reciprocating shaft in the beverage bottle closing machine


The present invention is an electronic isolator that provides low input to output insertion loss, high output to input insertion loss, and substantial asymmetric isolation between a source circuit and a load circuit. The invention actively reduces noise and reflected power appearing on the isolator output. In numerous embodiments, the invention operates in circuit applications from dc through millimeter wave. Multistage electronic isolator embodiments provide increased isolation and greater noise reduction. In other embodiments, the electronic isolator also removes noise appearing on its input. In another embodiment, the invention is configured for high power applications. This embodiment includes circuitry for redirecting power away from the load into resistors or other dissipative elements. In another embodiment, the electronic isolator is configured to remove signal distortion produced by one or more power amplifiers in the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of electronic isolators.
2. Background Art
Electronic circuits are often made up of a number of discrete "stages" where the output of a first stage is provided as input to a subsequent second stage. To maximize performance, it is sometimes desired to provide isolation between the stages, so that the operation of the first stage is not affected by the operation of the second stage. Generally, this has been accomplished by employing an isolator between the circuit stages. However, currently available isolators suffer from a number of disadvantages.
Referring to FIG. 1, a multistage circuit is symbolically indicated. The circuit consists of a source stage 100 that provides output to a load stage 120. The source and load stages are separated (and isolated) by an isolator 110. The isolator 110 minimizes unwanted interactions between the source and load stage and protects circuitry of the source stage from damage due to power reflections from the load stage. Currently isolators are implemented by one of several methods, including magnetic isolators and circulators, rat race circuitry, and resistive pads. These solutions all have significant limitations in performance and applicability.
Magnetic Isolators
The magnetic isolator is a common implementation of the isolator function. Magnetic isolator devices use Faraday rotation to differentiate between waves traveling in different directions. A magnetic isolator generally consists of a magnetic material (typically a ferrite) sandwiched between two poles of a permanent magnet. The effective operation of such a device requires that a significant portion of a wavelength be physically present in the device. This requirement in turn effectively determines the physical size of the magnetic isolator. (The size is also dependent on both the permitivity and permeability of the ferrite material as well as the strength of the permanent magnet that is used to bias the ferrite material.)
The magnetic bias is used to create a non-reciprocal environment within the ferrite that induces a polarization change in a propagating wave. This polarization change is used to direct the wave along a particular path, either to the output or to a dummy load. Since these devices make use of the wave characteristics of the signal, changing the frequency changes the dependent phase characteristics, and the resulting isolation parameters of the isolator. The result is a relatively narrow band device (10%-20% being typical) that is relatively large and costly. As a result, the use of magnetic isolators is typically restricted to certain applications where the size can be accommodated, such as test equipment and the interface between high power amplifiers and antennas being the principle applications.
Rat Race Circuit
The rat race circuit is a closed loop or circuit path. It relies on the constructive and destructive interference of signals to produce low insertion loss and high isolation effects. If a transient signal is introduced at a point along the closed path, it propagates in both directions. At some point(s) the two signals constructively interfere and an output port of the proper characteristic impedance can be located there. The signals destructively interfere at the input port as they continue to propagate around the circuit or are reflected off the output port. Similarly, it is possible to locate a point(s) where a signal injected at the output port constructively interferes while at the same time the same signal injected at the input destructively interferes. This point is the location of the third port in a circulator configuration.
A disadvantage of the rat race approach is that as an interference system, it is inherently narrow band. The second problem is that the path length of the closed loop must be a significant portion of a wavelength. Preferably, it will be several wavelengths long. Thus, even at microwave frequencies, the path may be too long to be practical. It is certainly much too long to be incorporated into an integrated circuit much below W-band.
Pads
Another approach has been the use of "pads" which are resistor networks having specified input and output characteristic resistances and a specified attenuation of the input signal. Pads operate by attenuating the signals for both forward and reverse directions. This isolation reduces the amount of feedback to the source stage but requires the source stage to provide a higher gain and output power to compensate for the loss in the desired input to the load stage. For example, if it is desired to have 10 dB of isolation between stages of an amplifier, then the pad would need to be a 10 dB attenuator and the previous stage would need to have 10 times the gain and 10 times the output power. This additional power requirement may be too expensive to achieve or may unduly limit circuit performance.
Pads can be made asymmetric by having different input and output resistances. However, these are typically used where a true impedance transformation is desired. In most applications, the impedance levels are the same and standardized to enable easy interface with commercial test equipment. As a result, the use of isolation pads is usually limited to low power circuits and compensation for the loss is achieved by added gain stages, or added gain and power from the down stream circuitry, an expensive and complicated solution.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A reflective liquid crystal display device is integrated with a liquid crystal display panel (1), detects display surface illuminance by a plurality of light sensors (10) provided in the vicinity of the display surface, and in accordance with the detection result, controls luminous intensity of a front light (lighting means) (19) using a lighting control circuit (22) so that the display surface illuminance becomes a predetermined magnitude. Even if the use environment of the reflective liquid crystal display device changes, or more specifically, intensity of external light shone from outside of the device into the display surface varies, the configuration allows controlling automatically the amount of emission from the front light to automatically maintain an appropriate display luminance and to reduce electric power consumption.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional reflective liquid crystal display device. In the figure, a liquid crystal display panel 1001 consists of a pixel matrix 1005, a scan driver circuit 1008, and a data driver circuit 1009, while each pixel constituting the pixel matrix 1005 is configured by a pixel TFT (thin film transistor) 1002, a liquid crystal capacitor 1003, and an additional capacitor 1004. The gate of each TFT 1002 in the pixel matrix 1005 is connected to a respective scan line 1006, and scanned by the scan driver circuit 1008. The source of each TFT 1002 in the pixel matrix 1005 is connected to a respective data line 1007, through which signals from the data driver circuit 1009 are written into each liquid crystal capacitor 1003. Provided as external circuits are: an image signal processing circuit 1016 for processing externally inputted image signals; a driver control circuit 1017 for controlling the scan driver circuit 1008 and the data driver circuit 1009; and an LED driver circuit 1021 for driving according to synchronization signals LEDs 1020 used as a light source for a front light 1019 installed on the front display side of the liquid crystal display panel.
Next, operations will be explained. The inputted image signals are inputted into the image signal processing circuit 1016, and then outputted to the data driver circuit 1009 as RGB data with a predetermined timing. In addition, the driver control circuit 1017 generates, according to the inputted synchronization signals, control signals for controlling the scan driver circuit 1008 and the data driver circuit 1009.
In the data driver circuit 1009, to begin with, shift pulses are generated by a start pulse STH and a shift clock signal CLKH that are inputted. Then the data for a single line is developed by the shift pulses sequentially latching RGB data for the single line. After being latched further with a common latch pulse LP, the latched RGB data is converted into analog signals and transferred to each data line.
Meanwhile, in the scan driver circuit 1008 shift pulses are sequentially generated by a start pulse STV and a shift clock signal CLKV that are inputted, and serve as signals for scanning the scan lines 1006.
In each pixel circuit that constitutes the pixel matrix 1005, when the scan line 1006 connected to the TFT 2 is scanned by the scan driver circuit 1008, the TFT 1005 turns conductive. Then the analog signal for the display line outputted to each data line 1007 from the data driver circuit 1009 is applied through the TFT 1002 to the liquid crystal capacitor 1003 and the additional capacitor 1004. The drain of the TFT 1002 is connected to a reflective electrode (not shown in the figure). A voltage in accordance with the difference between the voltage being applied via the TFT 1002, and the voltage of a transparent opposing electrode is applied to the liquid crystal capacitor 1003, and by the liquid crystal optically responding to the voltage, the reflectance of the RGB dots for each pixel varies in accordance with the RGB data. Thus, displaying onto the display surface is carried out.
Meanwhile, the LEDs 1020 that are the light source for the front light 1019 installed on the front side of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are driven by the LED driver circuit 1021 so that a forward current can flow, and then emit light. The front light 1019 is generally used as an auxiliary light source under a use environment in which, particularly in a room, for example, light incident from outside into the liquid crystal display panel 1001 is feeble.
Moreover, for example in another conventional reflective liquid crystal display device shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-158034, between a pair of polarizers a liquid crystal display element is disposed to configure the device. In addition, between the liquid crystal display element and the polarizer an optical guide plate is disposed with an airspace intervening, and lamps are set up respectively along the outer sides of the opposing edge faces of the optical guide plate.
Thus it is disclosed that a light source device including an optical guide plate and a light source can be disposed on the front (display surface) side, whereby when the light source is on, even and favorable lighting is achieved, and when the light source is off, the optical guide plate turns transparent not to interfere with the incident light from outside, and to achieve favorable display.
Furthermore, in a conventional transmissive liquid crystal display device shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 4-174819, it is disclosed that a light detection signal output from a separately provided photodetector is inputted, and that the device includes memory for beforehand storing a correlation between the light detection signal and the light intensity, and a controller 5 for adjusting the light intensity of a backlight in accordance with the signal output from the memory.
There has been a problem that in the conventional reflective liquid crystal display device including a front light (a light source unit installed on the front (display surface) side of the liquid crystal display device and including an optical guide plate and a light source) as mentioned above, because the luminous intensity of the front light is constant, if the external light illuminating from outside of the device varies, it causes the display surface illuminance to vary, whereby the display luminance varies.
There has been another problem that under a relatively bright use environment, even if an adequate display luminance is achieved with external light only, because the amount of emission from the front light is constant, the front light consumes electric power in vain.
There has been a further problem that the transmissive liquid crystal display device with a backlight requires memory for storing the relation between the result of detecting external light intensity and the amount of backlight emission, whereby the scale of a circuit increases.
The present invention has been made to resolve the conventional problems above-mentioned, and aims to provide a reflective liquid crystal display device in which even if the light intensity of the external light illuminating from outside of the device varies, the amount of front light emission can be automatically controlled to maintain automatically an appropriate display luminance.

Reflection liquid crystal display apparatus


A method of tracking a container closure used to seal liquid in a container is provided, comprising applying a trackable indicia to a container closure, wherein the trackable indicia is unique to the container closure; recording an associated data set comprising a plurality of parameters related to the liquid in the container; correlating the associated data set with the trackable indicia; applying the container closure to the container to seal the liquid within the container; maintaining a database of the trackable indicia corresponding to the associated data set; and scanning the trackable indicia to retrieve the associated data set from the database. The method of the invention also includes utilization of a container closure having inherent natural imperfections and/or patterns on the top and/or sides of the closure and obtaining scanned images and data thereof which are analyzed and utilized for closure and container identification and likewise serve as scannable trackable indicia.

There is a critical need for establishing multilateral communication between producers, distributors, retailers and consumers of wine and its bottling and sealing components. Cork, bottle, and wine producers, distributors, and retailers as well as wine consumers should have direct communication with one another to share data regarding a myriad of information related to the wine authenticity, quality, age, evolution, value, price, location, as well as information about the consumer, such as age, ethnicity, location, user profile and social characteristics.
Cork producers, wine producers, bottling producers, and their associated distributors currently have their own databases, profiles, and other information related to their aspects of the final wine product sold at a retailer. Still, consumers of wine have their own social profile information databases that are particular to them. Finally, retailers of wine have their own databases of their inventory, sales, and local consumers. However, the retailer is currently the primary entity which enjoys direct communication with the consumer at the time of sale, with the exception being consumers purchasing wine directly from a winery via a tasting room. The other entities related to the wine value chain would also like to have direct communication with the consumer at the time of sale.
During the lifecycle of a wine bottle, including bottling, packaging, shipping, storage, and purchase, all of the entities related to a bottle's lifecycle would be interested in continued updating of information from each other entity so that they can make the most informed decisions on the aspect of the value chain related to their expertise. For instance, a retailer would like to inform a wine distributor of their peak sales days, hours, and consumer profiles. Also, a wine distributor would like to inform a wine producer of changes in the wine characteristics (aging or maturation), real-time geographical sales information, and other critical data. Likewise, consumers would like to know more about the wines and other beverages they purchase and consume. There is also a desire to ensure authenticity of beverages, such as wines, champagnes, and other liquids, such that a consumer can be certain that the wine in the bottle is the actual wine of the producer on the label. In addition to those concerns, there is a need to trace the wine bottle's path through the market during its life cycle.
While the following description may refer to wine in many instances, the present invention applies to any liquid contained in a container, consumable or otherwise, where it is important to track details about the liquid in the container. Similarly, although the following description may refer to corks as one type of container closure, particularly those used to seal wine bottles, the present invention more broadly relates to any form of removable closure that is used to seal the container, including those closures having scannable naturally-occurring imperfections and/or patterns. With specific reference to wines, one way of establishing this system is to provide a means of tracking a cork used in the bottle which contains the wine. Because the cork always accompanies the wine contained in the bottle, from the bottling until the cork is removed, it is a convenient platform on which to base such a tracking method as described below.

Tracking method for containers having removable closures


A method of automatically optimizing medical three-dimensional visualizations is providing, including isolating a plurality of anatomical structures within the medical three-dimensional visualization (40), calculating the number of ray intersects, that intersect more than one of the plurality of anatomical structures, for a plurality of casting angles (42), selecting an optimum casting angle that minimizes said ray intersects from one of said plurality casting angles (44), and displaying the optimized medical three-dimensional visualization from said optimized casting angle (48).

The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for medical imaging visualization, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automated optimization of medical three dimensional visualizations.
Medical imaging commonly utilizes medical scanning devices such as computed tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to produce two-dimensional images of anatomical structures. Groups of such two dimensional images, representing slices of the anatomical structure, can be analyzed in order for physicians to identify pathologies within the anatomical structure. Originally a physician was often required to analyze the plurality of slices in order to conceptually visualize the resulting three-dimensional structure.
With the introduction of advances such as multi-slice helical CT, routine clinical examinations can easily produce several hundred to over a thousand images per patient study. This can place significant limitations on the productivity of physicians and radiologists since examination of images slice by slice can take considerable time and can easily lead to fatigue. In order to accommodate such large numbers of images, medical imaging has turned to the use of three-dimensional visualization tools to assist physicians in examining these images.
A wide variety of three-dimensional visualization tools are presently available to facilitate examination of the images. Multi planar reformation (MPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP), volume rendering (VR), and surface rendering (SR) tools are just a few of the available visualization tools. These tools are capable of processing and displaying large quantities of information. Often, however, operators do not have the time to go through the entire volume of reconstructed data to determine the optimal parameters of the three-dimensional image generation. Commonly default sets of parameters are utilized to produce the MPR, MIP, VR, or SR images.
The predefined 3D image orientations and number of 3D images often leave significant room for improvement. Diagnostic quality can be significantly degraded by overlapped structures due to inappropriate selection of the 3D casting angles. Anatomical structures often cannot be clearly visualized in the resulting 3D image due to this overlapping. This often not acceptable for proper diagnosis. Although parameters may be adjusted and the number of 3D images may be modified, often such reconstruction may result in an undesirable expense of time and cost. Furthermore, reprocessing of the original two-dimensional data sets may become impractical or impossible if the original imaging data is archived or deleted. Clinical studies may find such reprocessing is not an available option.
It would therefore be highly desirable to have a three dimensional imaging apparatus and method that would automatically optimize the resulting three-dimensional visualization such that adequate 3D casting angles are utilized. It would further be beneficial for such an apparatus and method to optimize the number of 3D images produced such that an adequate visualization of the anatomical structure was provided.

Automated optimization of medical 3D visualizations


A low SAPS lubricating oil composition exhibiting excellent piston cleanliness having up to 0.3 wt. % sulfur, up to 0.08 wt. % phosphorus, and a sulfated ash content up to 0.80 wt. % comprising an overbased alkali metal or alkaline earth metal alkyl salicylate detergent having a low soap content.

Environmental concerns have led to continued efforts to reduce the CO, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of compression ignited (diesel-fueled) and spark ignited (gasoline-fueled) light duty internal combustion engines. Further, there have been continued efforts to reduce the particulate emissions of compression ignited light duty internal combustion engines. To meet the upcoming emission standards for passenger cars, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will rely on the use of additional exhaust gas after-treatment devices. Such exhaust gas after-treatment devices may include catalytic converters, which can contain one or more oxidation catalysts, NOx storage catalysts, and/or NH3 reduction catalysts; and/or a particulate trap.
Oxidation catalysts can become poisoned and rendered less effective by exposure to certain elements/compounds present in engine exhaust gasses, particularly by exposure to phosphorus and phosphorus compounds introduced into the exhaust gas by the degradation of phosphorus-containing lubricating oil additives. Reduction catalysts are sensitive to sulfur and sulfur compounds in the engine exhaust gas introduced by the degradation of both the base oil used to blend the lubricant, and sulfur-containing lubricating oil additives. Particulate traps can become blocked by metallic ash, which is a product of degraded metal-containing lubricating oil additives.
One of the most effective antioxidant and antiwear agents, from both a performance and cost-effectiveness standpoint, used conventionally in lubricating oil compositions for internal combustion engines comprises dihydrocarbyl dithiophosphate metal salts. The metal may be an alkali or alkaline earth metal, or aluminum, lead, tin, molybdenum, manganese, nickel or copper. Of these, zinc salts of dihydrocarbyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) are most commonly used. While such compounds are particularly effective antioxidants and antiwear agents such compounds introduce phosphorus, sulfur and ash into the engine that can shorten the service life of exhaust gas after-treatment devices, as described supra.
To insure a long service life, lubricating oil additives that exert a minimum negative impact on such after-treatment devices must be identified, and OEM specifications for "new service fill" and "first fill" lubricants are expected to require maximum sulfur levels of 0.30 wt. %; maximum phosphorus levels of 0.08 wt. %, and sulfated ash contents below 0.80 wt. %. Such lubricating oil compositions can be referred to as "low SAPS" (low sulfated ash, phosphorus, sulfur) lubricating oil compositions.
At the same time, the selected lubricating oil composition must provide adequate lubricant performance, including adequate wear protection and detergency. The performance of lubricating oil compositions used in light duty spark and compression-ignited vehicular internal combustion engines, specifically antiwear and engine cleaning performance, must be maintained at the high level dictated by the "new service", and "first fill" specifications of the OEM's.
European patent application 1 167 497 A2 discloses a low SAPS lubricating oil composition comprising an ashless dispersant with a certain nitrogen content, a metal-containing detergent containing an organic acid metal salt selected from the group comprising an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of an alkyl salicylic acid and an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of an alkylphenol providing a certain sulphated ash content, a zinc dialkyldithiophosphate providing a specified phosphorus amount and an oxidation inhibitor. Lubricating oils formulated in accordance with this patent application are stated to exhibit good high temperature detergency despite the lower sulfur, phosphorus and sulphated ash levels of the compositions.


A process yield of a semiconductor device is enhanced. To that end, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising a substrate having a component mount face with semiconductor chips mounted thereon, the substrate being provided with a plurality of connection leads, and a cap made of resin, placed over the component mount face of the substrate so as to cover the same, the a cap having a first body part, and a second body part larger in thickness than the first body part. Because product information in the form of inscriptions is engraved on the top surface side of the second body part of the cap, the product information can be displayed without the use of an ink mark, it is possible to prevent occurrence of marking defects due to ink bleed, and so forth, thereby enhancing the process yield of a memory card (the semiconductor device).

The invention relates to a semiconductor device and a technology for manufacturing the same, and in particular, to a technology effective for application to a semiconductor memory card (hereinafter referred to merely as a memory card).
With a method for manufacturing a conventional molded card, and a conventional molded card backing, at least one among characters, numbers, marks, symbols, and patterns, for identification of the card, in a protruded or depressed state, is formed on the top surface or the back surface of a backing of the molded card formed by injection molding, (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-326668 (FIG. 2)

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same


Disclosed is a system for transmitting dynamic data over a network to a computer resource, the system including at least one receiver configured to receive dynamic data and convert dynamic data into a digitized sinusoidal signal, and a computing resource configured for communication with the network and configured to receive the digitized sinusoidal signal from the at least one receiver, the computing resource configured to employ a Fast Fourier Transform to convert the digitized sinusoidal signal into output data that includes phase data, amplitude data, and frequency data of the digitized sinusoidal signal, the output data being transmittable over the network in at least one packet.

In the field of industrial equipment monitoring, monitoring components may generate various signals representative of dynamic conditions. The signal-generating components are typically sensors and transducers positioned on or otherwise closely associated with points of interest of the machine systems. The signals are used to analyze the performance of the machine system. Machine systems thus instrumented may include rotary machines, assembly lines, production equipment, material handling equipment, power generation equipment, as well as many other types of machines of varying complexity.
When in raw format, dynamic data pertaining to the dynamic conditions of the machine (and collected by the sensors) consists of very large quantities of information, and therefore has too large a bandwidth for transmittal over a network. Thus, a system that can analyze, extract appropriate information, efficiently pack data and compress the information from the large quantities of dynamic data so it can be transmitted to a remote user over a network is desirable.


Dendroamide derivatives are disclosed which are useful in cancer therapy, especially in treating multidrug resistant cells.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the term used to describe the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy, a resistance which can occur intrinsically or which can be acquired following a course of chemotherapy treatment. Acquired MDR occurs when tumor cells that survive initial chemotherapy are found to possess increased resistance to both the original therapeutic drug and other unrelated drugs.
Studies of acquired MDR have shown that the resistance is correlated with increased expression of cell surface glycoproteins known as P-glycoprotein and/or multidrug resistance related protein (MRP). It is believed that the mechanism of MDR involves decreased accumulation of anticancer drugs in cells due to energy-dependent transport of the drugs out of the cancer cells, which is mediated by P-glycoprotein or MRP.
Reversing agents or chemosensitizers have been discovered which reverse MDR by competing for the transport systems which are responsible for resistance. The reversing agents compete for drug binding to P-glycoprotein and/or MRP, thus effecting increased cellular accumulation of anticancer agents. Agents that reverse MDR include certain calcium channel blockers, calmodulin antagonists, alkaloid analogs, steroids and hormonal analogs, some hydrophobic cationic compounds and cyclosporins.
For example, verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, is a potent and effective reversing agent in cultured cells. Verapamil has been shown to sensitize MDR cells to anticancer drugs, promote intracellular accumulation of those drugs and compete for binding to P-glycoprotein (Tsuruo et al., Cancer Res. 41:1967 (1981)). A serious impediment to the use of verapamil and other calcium-channel blockers is the potentially life-threatening cardiovascular effects in humans at the doses required to reverse MDR (U. DeFaire and T. Lundman, J. Cardiol. 6:195 (1977); Candell et al., Chest 75:200 (1979)).
Because of their demonstrated effectiveness in attenuating drug resistance in tumor cells, the development of MDR reversing agents in anticancer chemotherapy continues to be an area of active investigation. However, a need exists for new reversing and/or chemosensitizing agents which enable treatment of drug resistant cells, so as to allow intracellular accumulation of anticancer drugs with less systemic toxicity, thereby overcoming the above-noted drawbacks attendant the use of the MDR reversing agents reported to date.

Dendroamide compounds and their use in chemosensitizing multidrug resistant cells


Systems are disclosed for securing near vertically deployed seismic detector systems in a cased well borehole from oscillatory motion during a seismic survey. In one embodiment a generally cylindrical body member of an unsymmetrical shape having one flat side is used opposite a selectably extensible backup locking arm. In a second embodiment a generally symmetrical cylindrical body member having sets of four essentially coplanar contacting feet disposed at 90 degree circumferential spacing an opposite ends is provided. The sets of locking feet on opposite ends of the tool body member are phased 45 degrees apart circumferentially with respect to each other. Locking edges and feet may be magnetically assisted if desired.

Seismic exploration systems employing arrays of detectors deployed vertically in well boreholes have become important in recent years. Usually such systems have a plurality of detectors deployed along a well borehole at different vertical depths. Each detector may comprise, for example, a one component hydrophone or a three component geophone (i.e. a geophone detector capable of detecting the x, y, and z orthogonal spatial components of seismic waves arriving at its location). These systems include an electronic digitizer for digitizing the measured geophone components' amplitudes, and also, a transmission system for transmitting the digitized signal representation as time series of digital numbers uphole to a receiving system including a recorder and processor. The vertically deployed seismic detectors are usually connected together by well logging cable, which may be of the conventional armored seven conductor type, or by fiber optic cable, if desired.
In conducting borehole seismic surveys it is desirable to deploy a large number of seismic detectors in a well. Usually modules as described above, may be spaced at 10 foot intervals and may be joined together by jumper cables. In using three component borehole seismic detectors it is important that each detector be firmly attached to the borehole wall in order to properly capture the three spatial components of particle motion of arriving seismic waves or signals. In the prior art this has typically been accomplished by the use of a mechanical locking arm which can be extended from the side of a tool to urge, or force, the body member of the tool against the borehole wall opposite the locking arm. These locking arm systems have usually been operated from the earth's surface by controlling electrical motors and gear drives attached to them, or by controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid to a down hole hydraulic drive system connected to the arm. Such locking arm mechanisms contain many precision moving parts and high pressure seals and rapidly become the most complicated part of the downhole seismic system, as well as that associated with most tool malfunctions or breakdowns. In this regard, a catastrophic tool breakdown of the locking arm system can cause the tool to become stuck in well borehole, requiring an expensive "fishing" operation to retrieve it.
Accordingly, it would be most desirable to have a borehole seismic tool locking system which is less complicated, more reliable, and less likely of catastrophic failure requiring fishing.
Other than catastrophic sticking, other modes of locking arm failure can also occur. Detector tool body members are generally of elongated cylindrical shape. Typically there are two pairs of stabilizing feet on the side of the tool opposite the locking arm (backside of the tool). One pair of feet is generally near the top of the tool and other pair of feet are near the bottom of the cylindrical tool module. The purpose of these feet is to prevent the tool from rocking or moving sideways and introducing undesirable oscillations into the measurements. If the tool is properly centered in the casing of a cased well borehole, this works well, as the locking arm works along a true diagonal of the casing. However, errors can occur because most well boreholes are not perfectly vertical. The elongated cylindrical tool body tends to ride against the downhole side of the casing as the tool is moved through the borehole. This results in one of the upper, lower, or both pairs of feet being in engagement with the borehole wall prior to deployment of the locking arm. When the locking arm is then extended, these contacting or engaged feet tend to falsely anchor the tool body to the downhole side of the casing, and only along that side. This provides an unstable, false anchor which may later release, allowing the tool to oscillate.
In the past it has been attempted to deploy the locking arms of the seismic tool modules while keeping the module moving to avoid this problem. This works well if only one tool module is used, but becomes increasingly difficult as more tool modules are employed. It would therefore, be highly desirable to provide a seismic tool locking system which could securely lock a tool in place while the tool was motionless and still avoid the tool "false locking" or eccentering problem just described.

Borehole seismic detector system employing stabilizers


An imaging apparatus capable of preventing redeposition of dust on an imaging device to efficiently achieve dust removal. The imaging apparatus includes a driving device vibrating the imaging device, a posture detecting device detecting a posture of the imaging apparatus, and a controller allowing the imaging device to be vibrated on the condition that the detected posture of the imaging apparatus is a predetermined posture to remove dust deposited on the imaging device. For example, the imaging device is vibrated on the condition that the posture of the imaging apparatus is a normal posture. Alternatively, the imaging device is vibrated so long as it is determined that an opening for lens mounting in a body of the apparatus is pointed down and a photographic lens is not mounted.

In a digital camera which serves as an imaging apparatus for capturing an image using an imaging device, such as a CCD, deposition of dust, such as fine particles of a substance or dirt, on the imaging device causes a degradation in quality of the captured image. Particularly, in a lens interchangeable digital camera, dust easily enters the camera during change of a lens. Disadvantageously, deposition of dust on an imaging device relatively often occurs.
As a technique of dealing with such deposition of dust on an imaging device, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-159711 discloses an approach.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-159711, a digital camera has a "playback mode", a "shooting mode", and a "dust removal mode". In the dust removal mode, a CCD (imaging device) is vibrated to remove dust on the imaging device.
In the above-described technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-159711, unfortunately, dust temporarily removed from the imaging device by vibration may be again deposited on the imaging device according to circumstances when the vibration is applied to the imaging device. Assuming that an interchangeable lens is mounted on the camera, for example, when the imaging device is driven and dust on the imaging device is temporarily removed, the removed dust is deposited on another part in the camera. In this case, dust may be moved by vibration applied to the camera while the camera being carried and may be again deposited on the imaging device.
A first challenge of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of preventing redeposition of dust on an imaging device to efficiently remove dust.
In the above-described technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-159711, dust is removed in the dust removal mode. During the shooting mode, the imaging device is not vibrated in order to remove dust. Accordingly, when dust is again deposited on the imaging device during shooting for any reason, it is necessary to perform an operation of switching the mode to the dust removal mode in order to remove dust.
A second challenge of the present invention is therefore to provide an imaging apparatus capable of appropriately removing dust during shooting without switching the apparatus to a dust removal mode.


According to the present invention, there is provided a resin composition which can provide an insulating resin having excellent heat resistance and flame retardance after curing and showing a low dielectric constant.. A fluorine-containing photo-setting resin composition comprising a polymer containing fluorine or a fluorine-containing group represented by general formula [II]: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are selected from the group consisting of H, F, CH.sub.3 and CF.sub.3 ; R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 are selected from the group consisting of CH.sub.2 and CF.sub.2 ; x and y show 0 to 4 and m shows 30 to 1000, and a photopolymerization initiator, which is a solid at ambient temperature, melts between 100.degree. and 150.degree. C., has a melt viscosity of not greater than 10.sup.6 poise and is photocurable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel hexafluoro-1,3-butadiene prepolymer, curable materials using the same and laminates comprising the curable materials and more particularly, to materials for print circuit substrates having excellent heat resistance, moisture resistance and electric properties.
The present invention also relates to a fluorine-containing photo-curable resin composition, and varnish and prepreg using the resin composition as well as their use.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
For polymerization of hexafluoro-1,3-butadiene, radical polymerization and anion polymerization have been investigated. In the former radical polymerization, polymerizable composition occurs at random so that the polymerization product is a mixture of 1,2-polymer and 1,4-polymer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,521) (Journal of Polymer Science, Part B, 6, 639-642, 1968). The latter anion polymerization has been considered as an effective means for obtaining polymer having excellent steric regularity; however, it has been pointed out that when an alkyl lithium, Grignard reagent, an alkoxide or the like is used as a reaction initiator, the yield of polymer is as extremely poor as less than 1%.
For this reason, it is the actual situation that in spite of realizing a low water absorption and a low moisture vapor permeability thereby to expect improvement in moisture resistance, decrease in a dielectric constant, improvement in the surface quality, imparting heat resistance, etc., hexafluoro-1,3-butadiene polymer has not been applied to curable materials which are obtained by impregnating fibrous substrates including a glass prepreg, a glass mat, etc. with the polymer.
On the other hand, severe requirements for laminate materials used in multilayer circuit substrates for electron devices have been made to reduce their dielectric constant, from viewpoints of improving reliability on moistureproof and reliability on heat resistance and increasing computation speed of computers. As a means therefor, it has been investigated to apply fluorine materials (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-29454). The main trend of investigations on fluorine materials is toward thermoplastic saturated fluorocarbon materials but it has not been reported to apply thermosetting fluorine materials.
Thermoplastic saturated fluorine materials encounter many problems that material fluidity in laminate processing is poor, a thermal expansion coefficient is large due to a low glass transition point of molded products, dimensional stability in molded laminate products which is the key in achieving a minute circuit is inferior, wettability to fibrous substrates such as glass, Kevlar, etc. is poor to worsen impregnation property, it is difficult to improve mechanical strength, etc. It is thus difficult to apply thermoplastic fluorine materials to laminate materials.
As insulating materials having a specific dielectric constant of less than 3, there are hitherto known fluorine resins represented by polytetrafluoroethylene, tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer, etc.; hydrocarbon resins such as polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, etc. These insulating materials are generally used widely.
Fluorine resins are flame retardant as compared to hydrocarbon resins; however, as stated above fluorine resins are thermoplastic and inferior in mechanical property and dimensional stability at high temperature. To solve the problems, fluorine resins such as polytetrafluoroethylene as described above are incorporated into thermosetting resins which can form a crosslinking structure.
For example, there is known a method which comprises incorporating fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, etc. into a resin composition comprising epoxy-modified polybutadiene, epoxy resin, carboxylic acid anhydride and a radical polymerization initiator, thereby to reduce a dielectric constant of insulating resin (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-72700).
Further in a process for preparing a laminate which comprises laminating resin boards obtained by impregnating a reinforcing material of the board with a fluorocarbon resin and adhering the boards, a 3-dimensionally crosslinked fluorocarbon resin layer is formed on the surface of the boards by plasma polymerization or sputtering, etc. so that an insulating material is improved in its mechanical property and dimensional stability at high temperature and the dielectric constant is reduced (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-106344).
However, even though saturated fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, etc. is incorporated into conventional insulating resin such as epoxy resin or polybutadiene resin to attempt to reduce its dielectric constant, the insulating material has merely a poor affinity to fluorine resin. Furthermore, saturated fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, etc. has a high melting point and is insoluble in a solvent; it is thus difficult to prepare varnish. Accordingly, an uneven portion is caused in the resin layer after curing. In addition, due to curing by heating, there are problems in dimensional accuracy and dimensional stability. For these reasons, mismatching tends to occur which makes it difficult to use these mixed resins as an insulating material for multilayered printing plate particularly requiring high density and high accuracy.
Further in the prior art methods by means of plasma polymerization or sputtering, resins are synthesized in the gaseous phase so that an efficiency of forming a resin layer is poor. To reach a desired thickness, a long period of time is required. In addition, crosslinking occurs at random since it is difficult to control the crosslinking reaction, and a thermal expansion coefficient is large due to free volume in the resin. Furthermore, high vacuum is required for plasma polymerization. Therefore, plasma polymerization or squttering results in poor productivity.

Fluorine-containing curable resin composition and use thereof


An input signal provided to an input terminal is terminated by coupling the input terminal to a ground voltage through a pull down transistor if the input signal at the input terminal is at a “high” level and coupling the input terminal to a power voltage through a pull up transistor if the input signal at the input terminal is at a “low” level. Termination circuits are provided including on die termination circuits.

Signal termination techniques are, conventionally, used to reduce or prevent a transmitted signal from being reflected from a receiving side toward the transmitting side. Generally, a signal termination technique is provided on a board with a semiconductor device, such as a semiconductor memory device, rather than being provided by the semiconductor device itself. Signal lines are arranged to transmit a signal between devices on the board, and a termination voltage and a termination resistor are arranged at end portions of the signal lines to thereby terminate the signal.
However, as the number of signal lines has increased, it has become difficult to arrange the termination voltage and the termination resistor. As a result, techniques have been introduced that terminate a signal within the device mounted on the board rather than on the board. These techniques may be collectively referred to as on die termination (ODT).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a conventional on die termination technique. A memory controller 10 and a memory 20 are provided. The memory 20 includes a command buffer (CB) 22, a command decoder (CD) 24, data input buffers (DIB) 26-1 to 26-n, and on die termination circuits (ODT) 28-1 to 28-n. In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 21 denotes a command input pad(s) for inputting a command, and reference numerals 23-1 to 23-n denote data input pads for inputting data.
The memory controller 10 transmits a command (COM) and data (DA) through command lines corn and data lines da. The memory 20 performs a write operation or a read operation in response to the command (COM) input through the command pad(s) 21. The command buffer 22 buffers a command (COM). The command decoder 24 decodes the buffered command output from the command buffer 22 to generate a write command or a read command and an on die termination control signal. Each of the data input buffers 26-1 to 26-n buffer data DA inputted through the data input pads 23-1 to 23-n in response to the on die termination control signal output from the command decoder 24. Each of the on die termination circuits 28-1 to 28-n is enabled in response to the on die termination control signal output from the command decoder 24 to terminate signals inputted through the data input pads 23-1 to 23-n.
The on die termination technique of FIG. 1 is described with reference to a memory system, however, an on die termination circuit can be arranged on a data input pad (or terminal) of any device having a data input function.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional on die termination circuit. The on die termination circuit of FIG. 2 includes inverters 11 to 13, a PMOS transistor P1, and an NMOS transistor N1. In FIG. 2, TE denotes an on die termination control signal and reference numeral 23 denotes a data input pad.
In the circuit of FIG. 2, when an on die termination control signal TE of a "low" level is applied, the inverter 12 generates a signal of a "low" level and the inverter 13 generates a signal of a "high" level. Thus, the PMOS transistor P1 and the NMOS transistor N1 are turned off so that the pad 23 goes to a high impedance state. When the die termination control signal TE is at a "high" level, the inverter 12 generates a signal of a "high" level and the inverter 13 generates a signal of a "low" level. Thus, the PMOS transistor P1 and the NMOS transistor N1 are turned on, so that the pad 23 has a power voltage VCC/2. Therefore, a signal applied through the pad 23 is terminated to a level of VCC/2.
However, when the on die termination control signal TE is at a "high" level and a signal of a "high" level is applied through the pad 23, the signal of a "high" level applied through the pad 23 is not raised completely to the "high" level. This is because the PMOS transistor P1 and the NMOS transistor N1 are turned on so that a current continually flows through the NMOS transistor N1.
Also, when the on die termination control signal TE is at a "high" level and a signal of a "low" level is applied through the pad 23, the signal of a "low" level applied through the pad 23 does not drop completely to the "low" level. This is because the PMOS transistor P1 and the NMOS transistor N1 are turned on so that a current is continually supplied through the PMOS transistor P1.
The conventional on die termination circuit of FIG. 2 may be advantageous for high speed operation in that a signal applied through the pad 23 does not experience a "full swing" between a power voltage (VCC) and a ground voltage when on die termination is provided but has a disadvantage in that the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor are always turned on during on die termination operation so current consumption occurs from the power voltage to the ground voltage, thereby increasing power consumption.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating another conventional on die termination circuit. The on die termination circuit of FIG. 3 includes an inverter I4, a NOR gate NOR1, a NAND gate NA1, a PMOS transistor P2, and an NMOS transistor N2. When an on die termination control signal TE of a "low" level is generated, the NAND gate NA1 generates a signal of a "high" level output. The inverter I4 generates a signal of a "high" level so the NOR gate NOR1 generates a signal of a "low" level. Thus, the PMOS transistor P2 and the NMOS transistor N2 are turned off and on die termination operation is not performed.
When the on die termination control signal TE at a "high" level and a signal of a "high" level is applied through the pad 23, the NAND gate NA1 generates a signal of a "low" level and the PMOS transistor P2 is turned on. The inverter I4 generates a signal of a "low" level and the NOR gate NOR1 generates a signal of a "low" level and the NMOS transistor N2 is turned off. Therefore, the signal of a "high" level applied through the pad 23 is terminated to a power voltage (VCC) level.
When the on die termination control signal TE is at a "high" level and a signal of a "low" level is applied through the pad 23, the NAND gate NA1 generates a signal of a "high" level and the PMOS transistor P2 is turned off. The inverter I4 generates a signal of a "low" level and the NOR gate NOR1 generates a signal of a "high" level and the NMOS transistor N2 is turned on. Therefore, a signal of a "low" level applied through the pad 23 is terminated to a ground voltage level.
The conventional on die termination circuit of FIG. 3, may be advantageous in that either the PMOS transistor or the NMOS transistor is turned on during on die termination and, therefore, current flow does not occur from a power voltage to a ground voltage, thus, potentially decreasing power consumption. However, it may not be appropriate for high speed operation in that a signal applied through the pad experiences a full swing between VCC and ground.

Input termination circuits and methods for terminating inputs


A displacement detection apparatus includes a scale unit and a detection head unit. The scale unit has a reference track unit and sub-track units, the pitch directions of these units being different from one another. The detection head unit has three or more detection units configured to read scales of the reference track unit and the sub-track units and to output signals in accordance with the read scales. The three detection units detect displacement in two orthogonal directions on a plane parallel to a plane along which the detection head unit moves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a displacement detection apparatus used to detect linear displacement, rotational displacement, etc., in a machine tool, an industrial machine, a robot, etc., and particularly relates to a displacement detection apparatus configured to detect displacement in a plurality of directions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a displacement detection apparatus is used to detect an amount of linear movement, a linear position, an amount of rotational movement, and a rotation angle for intended purposes, such as positioning, controlling, and displaying a position of a machine tool, an industrial machine, a robot, etc. In recent years, a displacement detection apparatus capable of detecting a positional deviation of a uniaxial moving stage, that is, an amount of displacement in a plurality of directions is demanded.
As a displacement detection apparatus capable of detecting an amount of displacement in a plurality of directions, for example, the one described in Patent Literature 1 is known. This displacement detection apparatus has a magnetic scale on which a first magnetized part magnetized as an N pole and a second magnetized part magnetized as an S pole are sequentially arranged alternately on a two-dimensional plane, and a magneto-electric converting device that moves on the magnetic scale. Then, on the magnetic scale, a two-dimensional magnetic grating is formed by the first magnetized part and the second magnetized part.    [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1993-89480