A ornamental lighting device for interchanging light covers for respective holidays. The ornamental lighting device includes a plurality of light sockets. Each of the light sockets is operationally coupled to a power cord. A plurality of light bulbs is each removably coupled to one of the light sockets. Each of a plurality of light coverings comprises a substantially hollow housing having an opening therein for receiving one of the light bulbs. Each of the light coverings is removably couplable to one of the light sockets. Each of the light coverings comprises a generally translucent material. The light coverings each have a shape resembling a holiday symbol.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lighting devices and more particularly pertains to a new ornamental lighting device for interchanging light covers for respective holidays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of lighting devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, lighting devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,365; U.S. Pat. No. 2,042,905; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 400,272; U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,013; U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,530; and U.S. Des. Pat. No. 383,226.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new ornamental lighting device. The inventive device includes a plurality of light sockets. Each of the light sockets is operationally coupled to a power cord. A plurality of light bulbs is each removably coupled to one of the light sockets. Each of a plurality of light coverings comprises a substantially hollow housing having an opening therein for receiving one of the light bulbs. Each of the light coverings is removably couplable to one of the light sockets. Each of the light coverings comprises a generally translucent material. The light coverings each have a shape resembling a holiday symbol.
In these respects, the ornamental lighting device according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of interchanging light covers for respective holidays.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of lighting devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new ornamental lighting device construction wherein the same can be utilized for interchanging light covers for respective holidays.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new ornamental lighting device apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the lighting devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new ornamental lighting device which is not anticipated, render-ed obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art lighting devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a plurality of light sockets. Each of the light sockets is operationally coupled to a power cord. Each of a plurality of light bulbs is removably coupled to one of the light sockets. Each of a plurality of light coverings comprises a substantially hollow housing having an opening therein for receiving one of the light bulbs. Each of the light coverings is removably couplable to one of the light sockets. Each of the light coverings comprises a generally translucent material. The light coverings each have a shape resembling a holiday symbol.
There has thus been Outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining g at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to he understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including s Such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new ornamental lighting device apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the lighting devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new ornamental lighting device which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art lighting devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new ornamental lighting device which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new ornamental lighting device which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new ornamental lighting device which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such ornamental lighting device economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new ornamental lighting device which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new ornamental lighting device for interchanging light covers for respective holidays.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new ornamental lighting device which includes a plurality of light sockets. Each of the light sockets is operationally coupled to a power cord. Each of a plurality of light bulbs is removably coupled to one of the light sockets. Each of a plurality of light coverings comprises a substantially hollow housing having an opening therein for receiving one of the light bulbs. Each of the light coverings is removably couplable to one of the light sockets. Each of the light coverings comprises a generally translucent material. The light coverings each have a shape resembling a holiday symbol.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new ornamental lighting device that allows the user to leave the strand of lights up year around and change the light coverings such that they represent the current holiday being celebrated.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention. Its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.


A flow cytometer apparatus and methods for detecting and clearing a clog therein are disclosed. An example method for detecting a clog may include (i) detecting, via a fault detection system of a flow cytometer, a first plurality of events associated with a first aliquot from a first sample well, (ii) determining a count of the first plurality of events associated with the first aliquot, (iii) determining whether the count of the first plurality of events is below a minimum count tolerance and (iv) (a) if the count of the first plurality of events is below the minimum count tolerance, then determining that the flow cytometer has a clog, (b) if the count of the first plurality of events is equal to or above the minimum count tolerance, then detecting a second plurality of events associated with a second aliquot from a second sample well.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Flow cytometry is a technology employed in cell counting, cell sorting, biomarker detection and protein engineering, for example, conducted by suspending cells in a stream of fluid and passing them by an electronic detection apparatus. Flow cytometry allows simultaneous multiparametric analysis of the physical and/or chemical characteristics of up to thousands of particles per second. A flow cytometer may be capable of actively separating and isolating particles that have properties of interest and may permit automated quantification of set parameters.

Methods and apparatus for real-time detection and clearing of a clog


A plasma ignition device 20 includes a spark plug 100, a DC power supply 210, an AC power supply 220, and a coupling section 300. The coupling section 300 includes a capacitor 320 which electrically connects the AC power supply 220 to the spark plug 100. The coupling section 300 reduces the capacitance of the capacitor 320 in the second ignition mode in which transmission of AC power is halted, as compared with that in the first ignition mode in which AC power is transmitted to the spark plug 100.

A conventionally proposed plasma ignition device includes a DC power supply for generating DC power used to generate spark discharges, and an AC power supply for generating AC power used to generate AC plasma, and is configured such that the DC power and the AC power are coupled together and transmitted to a spark plug (refer to, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In such a plasma ignition device, in order to restrain flow of DC power to the AC power supply, the AC power supply is electrically connected to the DC power supply and to the spark plug via a capacitor.

Plasma ignition device and plasma ignition method


A "Reply to All" command may be selectively blocked by a sender in an electronic mail system. The "Reply to All" command may be disabled in response to selection and enablement of a "Block Reply to All" option when the message is composed by the sender. After the sender transmits the message, the message is displayed in a window on a computer operated by a receiver. If the "Block Reply to All" option has been enabled, then the "Reply to All" command is disabled at the computer operated by the receiver. The disabling of the "Reply to All" command may be visually represented by a change in the display.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a method, apparatus and article of manufacture for controlling an electronic mail system, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus and article of manufacture for blocking a "Reply To All" command for received messages in an electronic mail system.
2. Description of Related Art
We are truly in an information age. Now more than ever, moving enormous amounts of information rapidly across great distances is one of our most pressing requirements. From the largest of corporations to small one-person or family-owned entrepreneurial efforts, more professional people are discovering that the only way to be successful in the nineties is to realize that technology is continuously advancing and that they must somehow keep up.
Likewise, researchers from all corners of the earth are finding that their work thrives in a networked environment. Immediate access to the work of colleagues and a "virtual" library of millions of volumes and thousands of papers affords them the ability to incorporate a body of knowledge heretofore unthinkable. Work groups can now conduct interactive conferences with each other, paying no heed to physical location. The possibilities are endless.
Currently we have at our fingertips the ability to talk in "real-time" with someone in Japan, send a sizable contract to a group of people who will critique it, see if a computer sitting in a lab in some remote location is turned on, and find out if someone happens to be sitting in front of their computer in Europe, all inside of thirty minutes. No airline could ever match that travel itinerary.
The desire to communicate is the essence of networking. People have always wanted to correspond with each other in the fastest way possible, short of normal conversation. In computer networking, electronic mail is the most prevalent application of this. Electronic mail allows people to write back and forth, and send documents without having to spend much time worrying about how the message actually gets delivered.
People that share common interests are inclined to discuss their hobby or interest at every available opportunity. One modern way to aid in this exchange of information is by using a mailing list. Since electronic mail is hinged around the concept of an address, a mailing list identifier representing and comprised of electronic mail addresses is a natural evolution of electronic mail usage. Any information routed to the mailing list identifier is redistributed and sent to out to the electronic mail addresses associated with the mailing list identifier. The actual electronic mail addresses associated with the identifier may be added to or deleted from as needs arise. Thus, any mail sent to the mailing list identifier will "explode" out to each person named in the file maintained on a computer. Each person on the mailing list may then reply to the electronic mail message.
A recipient of an electronic mail message often may reply to the message by selecting among options display on a menu. A new message window may be displayed and the reply is automatically addressed to the sender. Thus, the recipient of a message may select to send a reply only to the sender of the message. However, it is often possible for the recipient to also send a reply to all members addressed by the original message. If the recipient chooses to send the reply to the sender and the other addressees, the reply may be automatically routed to the sender of the original message and to everyone who received it. This "Reply To All" command or option is therefore useful for carrying on group discussions electronically. If the sender does not want the recipient to send a reply to the sender and the other recipients, the sender must place specific instructions in the body of the message.
Some electronic mail programs allows the "Reply To All" option to be set as the default. This often results in an barrage of inadvertent mailings and can become a nuisance. Thus, caution must be used when replying to a message sent to a group mailing list.
It can be seen then that there is a need for a method, apparatus and article of manufacture that blocks a "Reply To All" option with an electronic mail system.

Blocking a "reply to all" option in an electronic mail system


A laser driven flyer plate utilizing an optical fiber connected to a laser. The end of the optical fiber has a layer of carbon and a metal layer deposited onto it. The carbon layer provides the laser induced plasma which is superior to the plasma produced from most metals. The carbon layer plasma is capable of providing a flatter flyer plate, converting more of the laser energy to driving plasma, promoting a higher flyer plate acceleration, and providing a more uniform pulse behind the plate. In another embodiment, the laser is in optical communication with a substrate onto which a layer of carbon and a layer of metal have been deposited.

The present invention generally relates to flyer plates and, more specifically, to laser initiated flyer plates having multiple layers of material.
Flyer plates have been used for detonating explosives since their invention in the late 1960's. Originally, these flyer plates were electrically operated, utilizing an electrically produced plasma to accelerate the plate. It was subsequently discovered, after development of the laser, that laser induced plasmas could be used for plate acceleration.
Current laser initiated explosives or energetic materials operate by either of two methods: thermal runaway, or exploding a metal film to generate a high temperature in a manner similar to an exploding bridgewire. The first of these, thermal runaway, is a slow process requiring a period ranging from several hundred microseconds to several milliseconds to attain plate acceleration. Additionally, thermal runaway requires the addition of undesirable additives to the energetic material in order to reduce energy and thermal requirements to a practical level.
The second, the exploding metal film, is effective for detonation of low density (.apprxeq.0.5 Theoretical Maximum Density-TMD) secondary explosives, but is not effective to produce detonation at reasonable energies for high density (=.apprxeq.0.9 TMD) explosives.
There is currently significant interest in inertial confinement fusion, where large amounts of energy are directed at a sphere of fuel. Although laser beams are now being used in testing, it is conceivable that multiple flyer plates could be launched at the fuel sphere, or that an imploding flyer plate could be on the fuel sphere. The flyer plate may reduce or eliminate the pre-heat problem with large, high power lasers. The invention also finds application in one-dimensional impact of metals or other materials used in shock physics and high strain rate materials research.
The basic prior process for accelerating foils by laser beams involves focusing a laser beam on a free-standing foil in order to convert a portion of the thickness of the foil into a plasma. This plasma will drive a segment of the foil toward a target. Conventional laser interaction with metals produces penetration of the laser beam into the metal of only a few hundred angstroms. The energy deposited in the metal by the laser results in formation of a plasma within a few ns, which plasma drives a flyer plate toward a target.
This process, although effective in settings where laser, focusing lens and free standing foil can all be located in reasonably close proximity is not amenable to use in harsh environments, where equipment such as lasers would not be suitable. It is also not suitable for all geometries, as when sufficient access to the foil is not possible. Additionally, when the laser is used in outside or unsecured applications, it is susceptible to damage and perhaps even false initiation. These problems were overcome by the previous invention which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,528, issued Jul. 9, 1991, entitled Fiber Optic Mounted Laser Driven Flyer Plates. This patent teaches the launching of flyer plates directly from the end of optical fibers. This allows the plate to be launched from positions inaccessible to and remote from the laser light source.
These prior laser initiated flyer plate systems were based primarily on either a single layer of metal, or multiple layers of metal, dielectric, and metal, on a substrate or optical fiber end. While all are effective, there are significant differences in plate velocity and kinetic energy.
The present invention improves upon these prior flyer plate systems by the introduction of a layer of carbon between the substrate or fiber optic end and the flyer plate. This layer of carbon provides several benefits which allow the launched plates to attain higher terminal velocities than was achieved with the prior art.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide laser initiated flyer plates which are capable of attaining high terminal velocities.
It is another object of the present invention to provide laser initiated flyer plates in which the pressure of the driving plasma is equalized across the spatial extent of the flyer plate, creating a flatter plate.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy


A system for use in transferring data packets across different clock domains using an input data register for receiving a block of data packets with the input data register and a plurality of interface registers located in the first clock domain for transferring a block of data packets from the input register to a second clock domain in response to a request signal with the system prioritizing the transfer of multiple data packets within the block of data packets by length in order to transfer the longer word packets first and the shorter word packets last with the shortest word packets within the block bundled together and simultaneously transferring across an asynchronous interface.

In certain applications, data from a plurality of Input/Output Processors (I/OPs) in a first clock domain is transferred to a Second Level Cache (SLC) in a second clock domain. The difference in data transfer rates because of the two different clock domains can cause slowdown in the data transfer. To handle the slowdown in data transfer, data buffers can be used to temporarily store the data giving the system time to catch up. While handling the temporary storage of data, the data buffers usually require numerous logic chips to provide the necessary data storage space.
In order to compensate for the different data transfer rates without storing the data in buffers, the present invention uses multiple registers to transfer data from a bridge at a rate fast enough to keep up with the transfer of data into the bridge.
The system prioritizes the transfer of data packets to ensure each of the input/output processors have equal access. With the present system, the data packets within a group of data packets are transferred by size with the longer data packets transferred from the bridge before the shorter data packets. After transfer of the longer data packets, the shortest data packets in the group of data packets are grouped together to fill the interface registers and are then transferred from the bridge to the cache during a single transfer cycle.

System for data transfer across asynchronous interface


A position detector includes a magnet disposed between first ends of first and second magnetic flux transmission parts and a magnet disposed between second ends of the first and second magnetic flux transmission parts. The position detector also includes a Hall IC that moves within a gap and relative to a rotating body. The Hall IC detects a density of the magnetic flux from the first and second magnetic flux transmission parts and outputs a signal according to the density of the magnetic flux passing therethrough in order to detect a position of a detection object. The position detector has third and fourth magnetic flux transmission parts disposed at ends of the first and second magnetic flux transmission parts in a non-contacting manner. As a result, the position detection accuracy of the position detector is improved.

Generally, a magnetic-type position detector detects a change in the position of a detection object relative to a reference part. The magnetic-type position detector may utilize a magnetic flux generator such as a magnet. For example, a position detector disclosed in a patent document 1 (i.e., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP-A-H10-104044) is configured to form a closed magnetic circuit having two magnets and two magnetic flux transmission parts that are disposed on a reference part. In such structure, the two magnets are respectively bound by the ends of the two mutually-facing magnetic flux transmission parts. A flow of spill magnetic fluxes from one transmission part to the other occurs within a gap between the respective ends of the two magnetic flux transmission parts. A magnetic flux density detector is configured to move together with the detection object within the gap between the two magnetic flux transmission parts, and to output a detection signal according to the density of the magnetic flux passing therethrough. In such manner, the position detector detects the position of the detection object relative to the reference part based on an output signal that is output from the magnetic flux detector.
In the position detector of the patent document 1, the magnetic flux flows from one magnetic pole to the other in a flying manner around the magnets. Therefore, the absolute value of the density of the magnetic flux which passes through the magnetic flux density detector steeply increases at an end portion of the gap between the two magnetic flux transmission parts (i.e., within a proximity of the magnets). Such magnetic flux may deteriorate the linearity of the signal outputted from the magnetic flux density detector, and may lower the position detecting accuracy at the end portion of the movable range of the detection object.
Therefore, the position detector of the patent document 1 uses bypass yokes that are disposed in contact with both end portions of the magnetic flux transmission parts and the magnets, for forcefully flowing and guiding the "flying" magnetic flux which are otherwise flying from one magnetic pole to the other. In such manner, the steep rise of the absolute value of the magnetic flux density at the end portion of the gap between the two magnetic flux transmission parts is prevented, and the linearity of the signal outputted from the magnetic flux density detector is secured for a wide movable range of the detection object.
However, the position detector of patent document 1, in which the bypass yokes in contact with the end portions of the two magnetic flux transmission parts and the magnets, the magnetic flux generated from the magnet may largely flow to the bypass yoke, thereby causing a decrease of the magnetic flux flowing in the two magnetic flux transmission parts. When the amount of the magnetic flux flowing in the magnetic flux transmission parts decreases, the amount of the spill magnetic flux flowing in the gap between the magnetic flux transmission parts also decreases. In such case, the dynamic range of the magnetic flux density detected by the magnetic flux density detector decreases, which may lead to the deteriorated position detection accuracy of the position detector having such structure.

Position detector with magnetic flux transmission parts enclosed between two other magnetic flux transmission parts


A LIDAR system is described for detecting surroundings, including a laser light source for emitting a laser light, a receiving device for receiving a laser light reflected by the surroundings, and a control device for activating the laser light source, the control device being configured to activate the laser light source for emitting a continuous light beam and to continually modulate the emitted light beam, so that the light beam includes a multitude of successive codes.

LIDAR sensors are often used in vehicles in order to survey the surroundings of the vehicle. In the process, pulsed lasers that have a high peak power are used. Such a system is schematically depicted in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a LIDAR system 1, including a laser light source 2 and a receiving device 3. In this system, it is provided that a laser light is emitted via laser light source 2 to surroundings 200, laser light 9 reflected from surroundings 200 being receivable by receiving device 3.
It is provided that the laser light is emitted exclusively pulsed. Thus, for example, a first pulse 300, a second pulse 400 and a third pulse 500 are shown in FIG. 1. In addition, the emitted laser light is deflected by a deflection device 14 in order to generate a scan movement 100. Such a system, however, has the following disadvantages:                Once each light pulse 300, 400, 500 is emitted, it is necessary to wait a certain period of time in order for all potential reflections of emitted light pulses 300, 400, 500 to be received by receiving device 3. If this is disregarded, ambiguities may result which may result in false results. Thus, system 1 is slow and inflexible.        LIDAR system 1, like any system that emits individual pulses, may be very easily disrupted. This may take place unintentionally as a result of other LIDAR systems in the same wave length range, as a result of truck toll bridges, as they are installed, for example, on German expressways, or as a result of speed monitoring stations. A disruption as the result of a malicious attack is also conceivable. Such malicious attacks have already been discussed in the related art.        The eye safety of such systems that use a laser must, in general, be assessed for the worst case scenario. In conventional systems, a single high-energy light pulse may not impair eye safety, when considering a worst-case scenario; however, the possibility of the combination of the energy of multiple pulses may exist and may result in very strict limitations in the transmission power of laser light source 2. Consequently, known LIDAR systems 1 are also limited hereby.        The generation of very high peak powers requires very high currents, which may be generated only by expensive hardware. In addition, extensive problems with regard to electromagnetic compatibility arise as a result of high currents.


A process for the living anionic polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylic monomers, involving polymerizing the monomers in the presence of an initiator comprising a carbanion and a metal or nonmetal salt of perchloric acid. The initiator has the formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 =a linear or branched alkyl group having one to six carbon atoms, R.sub.2 =a phenyl or alkyl group having one to six carbon atoms, R.sub.3 =a phenyl or an ester group and M.sup.+ is an alkali, alkaline earth metal or quarternary ammonium cation containing 1-8 carbon atoms in an alkyl group thereof.

The anionic polymerization of non-polar monomers such as styrene and dienes are well known in the prior act (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,351,924; 4,414,372; Brit. Patent No. A-0 145 263; Macromolecules 1984, 17, 1415-1417). The feasibility of preparing well-defined homo and block copolymers with terminal-functional groups has been demonstrated using this technique. However, the extension of this method to polar monomers such as alkyl(meth)acrylates is complicated and requires specific experimental conditions that minimizes the occurence of secondary reactions arising due to the nucleophilic attack of carbonyl group and acidic-hydrogen atom of the acrylates (Polymers, 3, 175,1962; J. Polym. Sci.
Poly. Chem., 12, 2295,1974; and Polym. J., 4, 271, 1973).
The secondary side reactions in anionic polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylate are basically due to the solvation of metal ions by carbonyl group, present in both the monomer and the propagating species.
To avoid such side reactions, many approaches are documented in the prior art. The external solvation of the metal ion by a polar solvent at low temperature helps in controlling ion-pair aggregation and minimizes the secondary reactions. Thus, for successful living anionic polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylate one requires the use of a sterically bulky anion in polar solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) at low temperature, typically less than -70.degree. C. Atempts have been made to alter the reactivity of the propagating species by adding adjuvants such as solvating agents (J. Polym. Sci. Part A, Poly. Chem., 28, 1033, 1990), alkali metal alkoxides (Makromol. Chem., 191, 1657,1990), alkali halides (Luxemborg patent 85627, Nov. 5, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,824,1988), aluminum alkyls (Polym. Bull., 20(6),505, 1988). Other new initiator systems have also been described for the living anionic polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylates. These are, aluminum porphyrin(Macromolecules, 20, 3076,1987), metal free anionic initiators (Polym. Prep. 32(1), 296, 1991 and Macromolecules, 24, 1697, 1991) and other metal catalysts (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 114,5460 and 4908, 1992).
Highly stabilized anionic initiators bearing tetra-n-butyl ammonium cations have been claimed as good initiating systems for alkyl(meth)acrylates at 25.degree. C. and above (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 27,1373, 1988; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,537, 1993). The process of nucleophile assisted group transfer polymerization of silyl ketene acetals is also useful for the living polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylates and other a,B,-unsaturated carbonyl monomers. Substantial progress has been achieved recently in the controlled polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylates by group transfer polymerization method (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 105, 5706, 1983; New Methods of Polymer Synthesis, J. R. Ebdon; Ed, Blackie, pp 22-75, 1991).
However, one of the drawbacks of the group transfer polymerization method, is the difficulty in synthesizing block copolymer of alkyl(meth)acrylates with monomers such as styrene, dienes and heterocyclic monomers. Resonance stabilized metal free carbanion initiators are also limited to only alkyl(meth)acrylates and does not allow sequential block copolymerization with styrene and dienes.
It is well known that use of specific adjuvants in the anionic polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylates modify the reactivity of propagating chain end and thus help to minimize undesirable side reactions during propagation. For example, tert-alkoxides as adjuvants, stabilizes the propagating chain end and is used to suppress the intramolecular cyclization (auto termination) reaction (Polym. Prep., 29(2), 29, 1988; Makromol. Chem., 193,101,1992, and J. Makromol. Chem., 194, 841, 1993).
The use of an alkali halide such as LiCl also has a beneficial effect and plays a major role in influencing the dynamic equilibrium of aggregated and non-aggregated ion-pairs during polymerization. In presence of LiCl, anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate and t-butylacrylate proceed satisfactorily, giving good control on molecular weight and polydispersity. However, such a control in presence of LiCl can only be achieved in a polar solvent such as tetrahydrofuran at -78.degree. C. (Macromolecules, 24, 4997, 991; 20, 1442, 1987; and 23, 2618, 1990). Using conventional anionic initiators such as 1,1'-diphenylhexyl lithium, alpha-methyl styryl lithium, diphenyl methyl lithium and alkyl alpha-lithioisobutyrate and LiCl, no control on polymerization of alkyl(meth)acrylate can be achieved in toluene or toluene-tetrahydrofuran mixtures (9:1 v/v).
Anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate in toluene-tetrahydrofuran 9:1 (v/v) solvent at -78.degree. C. is complicated and often leads to gel formation due to uncontrolled propagation reaction. This situation can be improved by addition of LiCl but only broad MWD (1.5) poly methyl methacrylate can be obtained at -78.degree. C. (Macromolecules 23, 2618-2622, 1990).

Process for the living anionic polymerization of alkyl (methacrylic) monomers using a novel initiator system

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


A microcomputer performs a total of 100 sampling actions during a 1 sec sampling period for obtaining a plurality of battery voltage data V. In each sampling period, a minimum value .upsilon.min and a maximum value .upsilon.max are stored in a RAM 53. A peak value VMAX, used for detecting a peak battery voltage in the charging operation, is renewed by a largest data among the sampled minimum values .upsilon.min. A differenc .DELTA.V between the peak value VMAX and the maximum value .upsilon.max is calculated the end of each sampling period. And, when the calculated difference .DELTA.V exceeds a predetermined value, a judgement is made that the battery is fully charged.

The present invention relates to a battery charging apparatus and a battery charging method for charging rechargeable batteries including alkali electrolytic solution type secondary batteries, such as nickel-cadmium batteries and nickel-hydrogen batteries.
A conventionally known method for detecting a full-charge condition of a nickel-cadmium battery or the like is performed by sampling a battery voltage at predetermined intervals during a charging operation. The value of the sampled battery voltage increases in accordance with the progress of the charging operation. This maximum value (VMAX) is memorized after finishing every sampling. Then, a newly sample battery voltage (V) is compared with the memorized maximum value. When the difference (.DELTA.V=VMAX-V) is equal to or larger than a predetermined value (.delta.), it is regarded that the battery voltage value showed a decline after reaching a peak. That is, when the battery is fully charged, the battery voltage (V) causes a predetermined voltage drop from the peak value (VMAX). Upon detecting this characteristic decline of the battery voltage (.DELTA.V.gtoreq..delta.), the charging operation is stopped. This conventional charging method is referred to as a "-.DELTA.V charge control method" and, for example, disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,057.
Generally, this kind of monitoring operation for detecting the battery charging condition is realized by a microcomputer. The battery voltage is A/D converted when it is processed by the microcomputer.
However, when a sampled battery voltage value is near a threshold of an A/D converter, a converted digital value possibly fluctuates or hunts between two digital values due to a quantization error. For example, when a resolution is 256 bits/5 V full scale, an input voltage may have a value in the vicinity of 128.5/256*5 V. In this case, the converted digital value fluctuate between 128 and 129.
If the above-described predetermined value (.delta.) is 1 bit, this will result in a failure in the judgement of the charging condition.
To avoid this malfunction, the predetermined value (.delta.) must have a larger margin equal to or larger than 2. However, setting a large margin in the charging operation is not preferably in that the sensitivity in the detection of the fully-charged condition is worsened. Needless to say, the lowered sensitivity results in an excessive charging. The cycle life of the battery will be shortened undesirably.

Battery charging operation and a detection of a fully charged condition of the charged battery


This invention provides methods for modifying glycosylation patterns of glycopeptides, including recombinantly produced glycopeptides. Also provided are glycopeptide compositions in which the glycopeptides have a homogeneous glycosylation pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of methods for remodeling glycopeptide to provide glycopeptides with novel and/or substantially uniform glycosylation patterns.
2. Background
A. Protein Glycosylation
The biological activity of many glycopeptides is highly dependent upon the presence or absence of particular oligosaccharide structures attached to the glycopeptide. Improperly glycosylated glycopeptides are implicated in cancer, infectious diseases and inflammation (Dennis et al., BioEssays 21: 412-421 (1999)). Moreover, the glycosylation pattern of a therapeutic glycopeptide can affect numerous aspects of the therapeutic efficacy such as solubility, resistance to proteolytic attack and thermal inactivation, immunogenicity, half-life, bioactivity, and stability (see, e.g., Rotondaro et al., Mol. Biotechnol. 11: 117-128 (1999); Lis et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 218: 1-27 (1993); Ono et al., Eur. J. Cancer 30A (Suppl. 3), S7-S11 (1994); and Hotchkiss et al., Thromb. Haemost. 60: 255-261 (1988)). Regulatory approval of therapeutic glycopeptides also requires that the glycosylation be homogeneous and consistent from batch to batch.
Glycosylation is a complex post-translational modification that is highly cell dependent. Following translation, proteins are transported into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), glycosylated and sent to the Golgi for further processing. The resulting glycopeptides are subsequently targeted to various organelles, become membrane components, or they are secreted into the periplasm.
During glycosylation, either N-linked or O-linked glycopeptides are formed. N-glycosylation is a highly conserved metabolic process, which in eukaryotes is essential for viability. N-linked glycosylation is also implicated in development and homeostasis; N-linked glycopeptides constitute the majority of cell-surface proteins and secreted proteins, which are highly regulated during growth and development (Dennis et al., Science 236:582-585 (1987)). N-glycosylation is also believed to be related to morphogenesis, growth, differentiation and apoptosis (Kukuruzinska et al, Biochem. Biophys. Acta. (in press) (1998)).
In eukaryotes, N-linked glycosylation occurs on the asparagine of the consensus sequence Asn-Xaa-Ser/Thr, in which Xaa is any amino acid except proline (Kornfeld et al., Ann Rev Biochem 54:631-664 (1985); Kukuruzinska et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:2145-2149 (1987); Herscovics et al., FASEB J. 7:540-550 (1993); and Orlean, Saccharomyces Vol. 3 (1996)). O-linked glycosylation also takes place at serine or threonine residues (Tanner et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 906:81-91 (1987); and Hounsell et al., Glycoconj. J. 13:19-26 (1996)). Other glycosylation patterns are formed by linking glycosylphosphatidylinositol to the carboxyl-terminal carboxyl group of the protein (Takeda et al., Trends Biochem. Sci. 20:367-371 (1995); and Udenfriend et al., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 64:593-591 (1995).
The biosynthesis of N-linked glycopeptides is initiated with the dolichol pathway in the endoplasmic reticulum (Burda, P., et al., Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1426:239-257 (1999); Kornfeld et al., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 54:631-664 (1985); Kukuruzinska et al., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 56:915-944 (1987); Herscovics et al., FASEB J. 7:540-550 (1993)). At the heart of the dolichol pathway is the synthesis of an oligosaccharide linked to a polyisoprenol carrier lipid. The oligosaccharide, GlcNAc2Man9Glc3, is assembled through the glycosyl-transferase catalyzed, stepwise addition of monosaccharides. The dolichol pathway is highly conserved between yeast and mammals.
After the assembly of the dolichol-oligosaccharide conjugate, the oligosaccharide is transferred from this conjugate to an asparagine residue of the protein consensus sequence. The transfer of the oligosaccharide is catalyzed by the multi-subunit enzyme oligosaccharyltransferase (Karaoglu et al., Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology LX:83-92 (1995b); and Silberstein et al., FASEB J. 10:849-858 (1996). Subsequent to the transfer of the oligosaccharide to the protein, a series of reactions, which shorten the oligosaccharide occur. The reactions are catalyzed by glucosidases I and II and α-mannosidase (Kilker et al., J. Biol. Chem., 256:5299-5303 (1981); Saunier et al., J. Biol. Chem. 257:14155-14161 (1982); and Byrd et al., J. Biol. Chem. 257:14657-14666 (1982)).
Following the synthesis and processing of the N-linked glycopeptide in the endoplasmic reticulum, the glycopeptide is transported to the Golgi, where various processing steps result in the formation of the mature N-linked oligosaccharide structures. Although the dolichol pathway is highly conserved in eukaryotes, the mature N-linked glycopeptides produced in the Golgi exhibit significant structural variation across the species. For example, yeast glycopeptides include oligosaccharide structures that consist of a high mannose core of 9-13 mannose residues, or extended branched mannan outer chains consisting of up to 200 residues (Ballou, et al., Dev. Biol. 166:363-379 (1992); Trimble et al., Glycobiology 2:57-75 (1992). In higher eukaryotes, the N-linked oligosaccharides are typically high mannose, complex and mixed types of structures that vary significantly from those produced in yeast (Kornfeld et al., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 54:631-664 (1985)). Moreover, in yeast, a single α-1,2-mannose is removed from the central arm of the oligosaccharide, in higher eukaryotes, the removal of mannose involves the action of several mannosidases to generate a GlcNAc2Man5 structure (Kukuruzinska et al., Crit Rev Oral Biol Med. 9(4):415-448 (1998)). The branching of complex oligosaccharides occurs after the trimming of the oligosaccharide to the GlcNAc2Man5 structure. Branched structures, e.g. bi-, tri- and tetra-antennary, are synthesized by the GlcNAc transferase-catalyzed addition of GlcNAc to regions of the oligosaccharide residue. Subsequent to their formation, the antennary structures are terminated with different sugars including Gal, GalNAc, GlcNAc, Fuc and sialic acid residues.
Similar to N-glycosylation, O-glycosylation is also markedly different between mammals and yeast. At the initiation of O-glycosylation, mammalian cells add a GalNAc residue directly to Ser or Thr using UDP-GalNAc as a glycosyl donor. The saccharide unit is elongated by adding Gal, GlcNAc, Fuc and NeuNAc. In contrast to mammalian cells, lower eukaryotes, e.g., yeast and other fungi, add a mannose to Ser or Thr using Man-P-dolichol as a glycosyl donor. The saccharides are elongated by adding Man and/or Gal. See, generally, Gemmill et al., Biochim. Biophys Acta 1426: 227-237 (1999).
Efforts to elucidate the biological mechanism of protein glycosylation and the glycosylation patterns of glycopeptides had been aided by a number of analytical techniques. For example, N-linked oligosaccharides of recombinant aspartic protease were characterized using a combination of mass spectrometric, 2D chromatographic, chemical and enzymatic methods (Montesino et al., Glycobiology 9: 1037-1043 (1999)). The same workers have also reported the characterization of oligosaccharides enzymatically released from purified glycopeptides using fluorescent-labeled derivatives of the released oligosaccharides in combination with fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE) (Montesino et al., Protein Expression and Purification 14:197-207 (1998)).
Cloned endo- and exo-glycosidases are standardly used to release monosaccharides and N-glycans from glycopeptides. The endoglycosidases allow the discrimination between N-linked and O-linked glycans and between classes of N-glycans. Methods of separating glycopeptides on separated glycans have also become progressively more sophisticated and selective. Methods of separating mixtures of glycopeptides and cleaved glycans have also continued to improve and techniques such as high pH anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC) are routinely used for the separation of individual oligosaccharide isomers from a complex mixture of oligosaccharides. Recently, a large-scale organic solvent (acetone) precipitation-based method for isolating saccharides released from glycopeptides was reported by Verostek et al. (Analyt. Biochem. 278: 111-122 (2000). Many other methods of isolating and characterizing oligosaccharides released from glycopeptides are known in the art. See, generally, Fukuda et al., GLYCOBIOLOGY: A PRACTICAL APPROACH, Oxford University Press, New York 1993; and E. F. Hounsell (Ed.) GLYCOPEPTIDE ANALYSIS IN BIOMEDICINE, Humana Press, Totowa, N.J., 1993.
B. Synthesis of Glycopeptides
Considerable effort has been directed towards the identification and optimization of new strategies for the preparation of saccharides and glycopeptides derived from these saccharides. Included amongst the many promising methods are the engineering of cellular hosts that produce glycopeptides having a desired glycosylation pattern, chemical synthesis, enzymatic synthesis, enzymatic remodeling of formed glycopeptides and methods that are hybrids of one or more of these techniques.
Cell host systems have been investigated in which glycopeptides of interest as pharmaceutical agents can be produced in commercially feasible quantities. In principle, mammalian, insect, yeast, fungal, plant or prokaryotic cell culture systems can be used for production of most therapeutic and other glycopeptides. In practice, however, a desired glycosylation pattern on a recombinantly produced protein is difficult to achieve. For example, bacteria do not N-glycosylate via the dolichol pathway, and yeast make only oligomannose-type N-glycans, which are not generally found in humans. (see, e.g., Ailor et al. Glycobiology 1: 837-847 (2000)). Similarly, plant cells do not produce sialylated oligosaccharides, a common constituent of human glycopeptides (see, generally, Liu, Trends Biotechnol 10: 114-20 (1992); and Lerouge et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 38: 31-48 (1998)). As recently reviewed, none of the insect cell systems presently available the production of recombinant mammalian glycopeptides will produce glycopeptides with the same glycans normally found when they are produced in mammals. Moreover, glycosylation patterns of recombinant glycopeptides frequently differ when they are produced under different cell culture conditions (Watson et al. Biotechnol. Prog. 10: 39-44 (1994); and Gawlitzek et al., Biotechnol. J. 42: 117-131 (1995)). It now appears that glycosylation patterns of recombinant glycopeptides can vary between glycopeptides produced under nominally identical cell culture conditions in two different bioreactors (Kunkel et al., Biotechnol. Prog. 2000:462-470 (2000). Finally, in many bacterial systems, the recombinantly produced proteins are completely unglycosylated.
Heterogeneity in the glycosylation of a recombinantly produced glycopeptides arises because the cellular machinery (e.g., glycosyltransferases and glycosidases) may vary from species to species, cell to cell, or even from individual to individual. The substrates recognized by the various enzymes may be sufficiently different that glycosylation may not occur at some sites or may be vastly modified from that of the native protein. Glycosylation of recombinant proteins produced in heterologous eukaryotic hosts will often differ from the native protein. For example, yeast and insect expressed glycopeptides typically contain high mannose structures that are not commonly seen in humans.
An area of great interest is the design of host cells that have the glycosylation apparatus necessary to prepare properly glycosylated recombinant human glycopeptides. The Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell is a model cell system that has been particularly well studied, because CHO cells are equipped with a glycosylation machinery that is very similar to that found in the human (Jenkins et al., Nature Biotechnol. 14: 975-981 (1996)). In contrast to the many similarities between the glycosylation patterns of glycopeptides from human cells and those from CHO cells, an important distinction exists; glycopeptides produced by CHO cells carry only α-2,3-terminal sialic acid residues, whereas those produced by human cells include both α-2,3- and α-2,6-terminal sialic acid residues (Lee et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264: 13848-13855 (1989)).
Efforts to remedy the deficiencies of the glycosylation of a particular host cell have focused on engineering the cell to express one or more missing enzymes integral to the human glycosylation pathway. For example, Bragonzi et al. (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1474: 273-282 (2000)) have produced a CHO cell that acts as a 'universal host' cell, having both α-2,3- and α-2,6-sialyltransferase activity. To produce the universal host, CHO cells were transfected with the gene encoding expression of α-2,6-sialyltransferase. The resulting host cells then underwent a second stable transfection of the genes encoding other proteins, including human interferon γ (IFN-γ). Proteins were recovered that were equipped with both α-2,3- and α-2,6-sialic acid residues. Moreover, in vivo pharmacokinetic data for IFN-γ demonstrate improved pharmacokinetics of the IFN-γ produced by the universal host, as compared to the IFN-γ secreted by regular CHO cells transfected with IFN-γ cDNA. A similar study is reported by Weikert et al. (Nature Biotechnology 17: 1116-35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph (1999).
In addition to preparing properly glycosylated glycopeptides by engineering the host cell to include the necessary compliment of enzymes, efforts have been directed to the development of both de novo synthesis of glycopeptides and the in vitro enzymatic methods of tailoring the glycosylation of glycopeptides. Methods of synthesizing both O-linked and N-linked glycopeptides have been recently reviewed (Arsequell et al., Tetrahedron: Assymetry 8: 2839 (1997); and Arsequell et al., Tetrahedron: Assymetry 10: 2839 (1997), respectively).
Two broad synthetic motifs are used to synthesize N-linked glycopeptides: the convergent approach; and the stepwise building block approach. The stepwise approach generally makes use of solid-phase peptide synthesis methodology, originating with a glycosyl asparagine intermediate. In the convergent approach, the peptide and the carbohydrate are assembled separately and the amide linkage between these two components is formed late in the synthesis. Although great advances have been made in recent years in both carbohydrate chemistry and the synthesis of glycopeptides, there are still substantial difficulties associated with chemical synthesis of glycopeptides, particularly with the formation of the ubiquitous β-1,2-cis-mannoside linkage found in mammalian oligosaccharides. Moreover, regio- and stereo-chemical obstacles must be resolved at each step of the de novo synthesis of a carbohydrate. Thus, this field of organic synthesis lags substantially behind the de novo synthesis of other biomolecules such as oligonucleotides and peptides.
In view of the difficulties associated with the chemical synthesis of carbohydrates, the use of enzymes to synthesize the carbohydrate portions of glycopeptides is a promising approach to preparing glycopeptides. Enzyme-based syntheses have the advantages of regioselectivity and stereoselectivity. Moreover, enzymatic syntheses can be performed using unprotected substrates. Three principal classes of enzymes are used in the synthesis of carbohydrates, glycosyltransferases (e.g., sialyltransferases, oligosaccharyltransferases, N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases), glycoaminidases (e.g., PNGase F) and glycosidases. The glycosidases are further classified as exoglycosidases (e.g., β-mannosidase, β-glucosidase), and endoglycosidases (e.g., Endo-A, Endo-M). Each of these classes of enzymes has been successfully used synthetically to prepare carbohydrates. For a general review, see, Crout et al., Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 2:98-111 (1998) and Arsequell, supra.
Glycosyltransferases have been used to modify the oligosaccharide structures on glycopeptides. Glycosyltransferases have been shown to be very effective for producing specific products with good stereochemical and regiochemical control. Glycosyltransferases have been used to prepare oligosaccharides and to modify terminal N- and O-linked carbohydrate structures, particularly on glycopeptides produced in mammalian cells. For example, the terminal oligosaccharides have been completely sialylated and/or fucosylated to provide more consistent sugar structures which improves glycopeptide pharmacodynamics and a variety of other biological properties. For example, β-1,4-galactosyltransferase was used to synthesize lactosamine, the first illustration of the utility of glycosyltransferases in the synthesis of carbohydrates (see, e.g., Wong et al., J. Org. Chem. 47: 5416-5418 (1982)). Moreover, numerous synthetic procedures have made use of α-sialyltransferases to transfer sialic acid from cytidine-5′-monophospho-N-acetylneuraminic acid to the 3-OH or 6-OH of galactose (see, e.g., Kevin et al., Chem. Eur. J. 2: 1359-1362 (1996)). For a discussion of recent advances in glycoconjugate synthesis for therapeutic use see, Koeller et al., Nature Biotechnology 18: 835-841 (2000).
Glycosidases normally catalyze the hydrolysis of a glycosidic bond, however, under appropriate conditions they can be used to form this linkage. Most glycosidases used for carbohydrate synthesis are exoglycosidases; the glycosyl transfer occurs at the non-reducing terminus of the substrate. The glycosidase takes up a glycosyl donor in a glycosyl-enzyme intermediate that is either intercepted by water to give the hydrolysis product, or by an acceptor, to give a new glycoside or oligosaccharide. An exemplary pathway using a exoglycoside is the synthesis of the core trisaccharide of all N-linked glycopeptides, including the notoriously difficult β-mannoside linkage, which was formed by the action of β-mannosidase (Singh et al., Chem. Commun. 993-994 (1996)).
Fucosyltransferases have been used in synthetic pathways to transfer a fucose unit from guanosine-5′-diphosphofucose to a specific hydroxyl of a saccharide acceptor. For example, Ichikawa prepared sialyl Lewis-X by a method that involves the fucosylation of sialylated lactosamine with a cloned fucosyltransferase (Ichikawa et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114: 9283-9298 (1992)).
Although their use is less common than that of the exoglycosidases, endoglycosidases have also been utilized to prepare carbohydrates. Methods based on the use of endoglycosidases have the advantage that an oligosaccharide, rather than a monosaccharide, is transferred. Oligosaccharide fragments have been added to substrates using endo-β-N-acetylglucosamines such as endo-F, endo-M (Wang et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 37: 1975-1978); and Haneda et al., Carbohydr. Res. 292: 61-70 (1996)).
In addition to their use in the preparing carbohydrates, the enzymes discussed above have been applied to the synthesis of glycopeptides as well. The synthesis of a homogenous glycoform of ribonuclease B has been published (Witte K. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 119: 2114-2118 (1997)). The high mannose core of ribonuclease B was cleaved by treating the glycopeptide with endoglycosidase H. The cleavage occurred specifically between the two core GlcNAc residues. The tetrasaccharide sialyl Lewis X was then enzymatically rebuilt on the remaining GlcNAc anchor site on the now homogenous protein by the sequential use of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase, α-2,3-sialyltransferase and α-1,3-fucosyltransferase V. Each enzymatically catalyzed step proceeded in excellent yield.
Methods combining both chemical and enzymatic synthetic elements are also known. For example, Yamamoto and coworkers (Carbohydr. Res. 305: 415-422 (1998)) reported the chemoenzymatic synthesis of the glycopeptide, glycosylated Peptide T, using an endoglycosidase. The N-acetylglucosaminyl peptide was synthesized by purely chemical means. The peptide was subsequently enzymatically elaborated with the oligosaccharide of human transferrin glycopeptide. The saccharide portion was added to the peptide by treating it with an endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase. The resulting glycosylated peptide was highly stable and resistant to proteolysis when compared to the peptide T and N-acetylglucosaminyl peptide T.
In conjunction with the interest in the use of enzymes to form and remodel glycopeptides, there is interest in producing enzymes that are engineered to produce desired glycosylation patterns. Methods of producing and characterizing mutations of enzymes of use in producing glycopeptides have been reported. For example, Rao et al. (Protein Science 8:2338-2346 (1999) have prepared mutants of endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase that are defined by structural changes, which reduce substrate binding and alter the enzyme functionality. Withers et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,812) have prepared mutant glycosidase enzymes in which the normal nucleophilic amino acid within the active site has been changed to a non-nucleophilic amino acid. The mutated enzymes cannot hydrolyze disaccharide products, but can still form them.
The overall structure and the structure of the active site of both mutated and native enzymes have been characterized by x-ray crystallography. See, e.g., van Roey et al., Biochemistry 33: 13989-13996 (1994); and Norris et al., Structure 2: 1049-1059 (1994).
Despite the many advantages of the enzymatic synthesis methods set forth above, in some cases, deficiencies remain. The preparation of properly glycosylated glycopeptides is an exemplary situation in which additional effort is required and effort is being directed to improving both the synthesis of glycopeptides and methods of remodeling biologically or chemically produced glycopeptides that are not properly glycosylated. To realize the potential of enzymatic oligosaccharide and glycopeptide synthesis and glycopeptide remodeling, there is a need for new synthetic approaches. Since the biological activity of many commercially important recombinantly and transgenically produced glycopeptides depends upon the presence or absence of a particular glycoform, a need exists for an in vitro procedure to enzymatically modify glycosylation patterns on such glycopeptides. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.


A zoom lens barrel includes a code plate and brushes which selectively come into contact with the code plate to detect focal length variance during zooming, so that focal length data thus detected can be transmitted to a camera body through a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board, one of the code plate land brushes being secured to a mounting member and the other of the brushes or code plate being secured to a linearly movable member. The brushes are provided with elastically deformable lengths which can be connected to the FPC board, and a connecting portion thereof connected to the code plate. The mounting member or linearly movable member to which the brush assembly is secured is provided with an FPC board inserting groove with which the elastically deformable legs of the brushes can come into contact. The FPC board is provided with an insertion portion which is inserted between the FPC board inserting groove and the elastically deformable legs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens barrel, and more precisely, relates to a zoom lens barrel in which a change in focal length during zooming is detected by a zoom code plate together with zoom brushes which come into contact with the code plate, so that focal length data thus detected can be transmitted to a camera body through a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, in a known zoom lens barrel having a cam ring which is rotated to effect the zooming, the change in focal length caused by the zooming is detected by a zoom code plate secured to a stationary ring of a camera together with zoom brushes which come into slide contact with the code plate during the rotation of the cam ring. The zoom code plate is provided with a predetermined pattern of contacts (contact pattern). Upon zooming, the zoom brushes are rotated together with the cam ring to come into slide contact with the zoom code plate, so that the focal length data corresponding to the focal length can be sent to a drive control circuit of the camera. Consequently, data necessary to control the camera is selected from each of a plurality of data tables of variable information and input to the drive control circuit of the camera body, in accordance with the focal length data.
In the known zoom lens barrel as mentioned above, in which the focal length data detected by the detecting means (zoom code plate together with zoom brushes) is sent to the drive control circuit of the camera body through the FPC board which is connected to the zoom brushes, the zoom brushes are soldered to the FPC board. The soldering is however, troublesome and costly.
Furthermore, since the control data corresponding to the detected focal length data is selected from each data table of variable information and is input to the drive control circuit of the camera body in accordance with the focal length data detected, it is absolutely necessary to accurately dispose the zoom brushes and the zoom code plate in predetermined reference positions. Otherwise, the angular position of the cam ring relative to the stationary ring of the camera body would not be accurately determined, thus resulting in a failure to detect a correct focal length during zooming.
Moreover, in a conventional zoom lens barrel, the zoom code plate is circumferentially secured to the outer peripheral surface of the stationary ring, and the zoom brushes secured to the cam ring are rotated on the zoom code plate in the circumferential direction of the stationary ring. Consequently, it is very difficult to establish an accurate and optimal relative position of the zoom code plate and the zoom brushes by a fine adjustment, for example, upon assembling. To this end, it is necessary to make the shape and position of the zoom code plate and the zoom brushes extremely precise, thus resulting in an increase of the manufacturing cost thereof.
In addition to the foregoing, since the operation of the camera is controlled in accordance with the focal length data detected by the zoom brushes which are brought into slide contact with the zoom code plate, the zoom brushes must be pressed against the zoom code plate at a constant predetermined pressure to accurately read the signals. This, however, requires an expensive and complex arrangement in the conventional zoom lens barrel.

Zoom lens barrel with focal length detector


In a content providing system, in a case where the display of an advertisement is instructed during the playback of content data, a client device pauses the playback of content data and plays back the advertisement data. A content providing device, after the advertisement data is played, increases the amount of time for which the content data can be played by an amount predefined for the advertisement Also, the content providing device, after transmitting the advertisement data, transmits content data corresponding to the amount of time for which content data can be played.

Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a content providing system, a content providing device, a client device, a control method, and a storage medium, and in particular to a content service provided via a network.
Description of the Related Art
Client devices such as personal computers (PCs) that can connect to a network are widespread. Due to the pervasiveness of these kinds of devices, the network population on the Internet is increasing. In recent years, various services that use the Internet have been deployed, and entertainment services, such as games and the like, have been provided.
Amongst the services for network users, are so called online game services such as MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), for example. For example, a user, by launching a browsing application n a client device and connecting to a service providing server, can enjoy contents provided by such an online game service.
Amongst the online game services, there are services in which display of advertisements is made a condition of the provision of the content. The methods of displaying the advertisements can take many forms, but in every case is the condition that the advertisement be forcedly displayed simultaneously with the content. However, in simultaneously displaying an advertisement during the provision of content, it may bring about the following kind of bothersome situations for the user of the content. For example, there are cases in which the display of an advertisement causes the display area of the content to be narrower. Also, because processing resources for the display of the content are divided due to the update processing for displaying the advertisement, a delay, etcetera, in the display of the content could occur. In order to alleviate the drawbacks of this kind of displaying of advertisements, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2008-040622 discloses means of providing advertisements in which a user can select whether the timing of the display of a pop up advertisement is before, during or after the playback of the content.
However, in the case where, as in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2008-040622, the advertisement is played back before the content or particularly in the case where the advertisement is played back after the content, there is the possibility that the user will purposely not watch the display of the advertisement. In this case, the effect that advertisers wish to achieve with the advertisement cannot be achieved making the form of provision unappealing to advertisers.
Also, in the case where an advertisement is displayed during the playback of the main content, in order to prevent the above mentioned problems regarding simultaneous display, a form of displaying advertisements is conceivable in which the content is temporarily paused and the advertisement is displayed as has been done in television broadcasting. The timing of display of advertisements in television broadcasting is intentionally set to match the structure of the program by the producers of the content. However, with video distribution services that use the Internet, for example, an enormous number of videos are provided to users as content. Because it is not realistic for producers/service operators to set the advertisement display timing for such an enormous amount of content, normally the display timing of advertisements is set based on a specific criteria.
However, in the case where the advertisement display timing is automatically set in this way, the pausing of the playback of the main content in order to display advertisements has no relation to the substance of the content being displayed. For this reason, it is possible that the user's interest will be dampened. Meanwhile, in particular, in the case of interactive content such as online game services, because the progress of the content changes depending on the user, automatically setting the advertisement display timing is fraught with difficulty.

Content providing system, device, and control method for providing different increments based on selected advertisement


A rotor includes a plurality of vanes and is connected to a rotatable shaft of a motor arrangement. A casing includes a pump chamber and elongated holes. The pump chamber receives the rotor in such a manner that the rotor is eccentric to the pump chamber. Each elongated hole penetrates through the casing and has an elongated cross section. A major axis of the elongated cross section of each elongated hole extends in a direction of eccentricity of the rotor relative to the pump chamber. Each bolt is received through a corresponding elongated hole of the casing and is threadably engaged with a mount to connect the casing to the mount. The casing holds each bolt in a minor axial direction of the elongated cross section of the corresponding elongated hole to limit substantial movement of the male threaded screw member in the minor axial direction of the elongated hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a vane pump, and specifically to a vane pump, which can be effectively used in, for example, a fuel vapor leakage check module that checks fuel vapor leakage.
2. Description of Related Art
A known vane pump compresses and discharges fluid by rotating a rotor, which includes vanes and is eccentrically received in a pump chamber of a casing in such a manner that the rotor is connected to a rotatable shaft of a motor. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-90107, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,474, discloses one such vane pump, which is used in a fuel vapor leakage check module that checks leakage of fuel vapor from a fuel tank and which depressurizes or pressurizes the interior of the fuel tank. In this type of vane pump, a pump flow rate is important since the pump flow rate has a significant influence on the performance of the fuel vapor leakage check module. The pump flow rate can be adjusted by adjusting an amount of deviation of the rotational center of the rotor relative to the center of the pump chamber (i.e., a degree of eccentricity of the rotor relative to the pump chamber).
In one previously proposed vane pump, bolts are installed through a casing and are threadably engaged with a mount of a motor, so that the casing is securely connected to the mount by the bolts. The degree of eccentricity of the rotor and thereby the pump flow rate of the vane pump may be adjusted by loosening the bolts and then moving the casing relative to the mount.
However, the holes of the casing, which receives the bolts, are formed as cylindrical loose holes to allow relative movement of the casing relative to the mount. Thus, the position of the casing relative to the mount can be relatively easily displaced in a radial direction of each loose hole. Therefore, it takes a relatively long time to find an appropriate position of the casing relative to the mount, at which a desired pump flow rate is achieved.
Thus, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a vane pump, which allows minimization of the time required to adjust a pump flow rate of the vane pump. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method for adjusting a pump flow rate of such a vane pump. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a fuel vapor leakage check module having such a vane pump.
To achieve the objectives of the present invention, there is provided a vane pump that includes a motor arrangement, a rotor, a casing and at least one male threaded screw member. The motor arrangement includes a rotatable shaft and a support that rotatably supports the rotatable shaft. The rotor includes a plurality of vanes and is connected to the rotatable shaft. The casing includes a pump chamber and at least one elongated hole. The pump chamber receives the rotor in such a manner that the rotor is eccentric to the pump chamber. Each of the at least one elongated hole penetrates through the casing in a direction parallel to the rotatable shaft and has an elongated cross section. A major axis of the elongated cross section of each of the at least one elongated hole extends in a direction of eccentricity of the rotor relative to the pump chamber. Each of the at least one male threaded screw member is received through a corresponding one of the at least one elongated hole of the casing and each of which is threadably engaged with the support to connect the casing to the support. The casing holds each of the at least one male threaded screw member in a minor axial direction of the elongated cross section of a corresponding one of the at least one elongated hole to limit substantial movement of the male threaded screw member in the minor axial direction of the corresponding one of the at least one elongated hole.
To achieve the objectives of the present invention, there is also provided a method for adjusting a pump flow rate of the vane pump. According to the method, the pump flow rate of the vane pump is monitored, and at the same time, the casing is moved relative to the support in a state where the at least one male threaded screw member is loosened. Then, a position of the casing relative to the support is determined based on a result of the monitoring of the pump flow rate of the vane pump.
To achieve the objectives of the present invention, there is also provided a fuel vapor leakage check module for checking leakage of fuel vapor from a fuel tank. The fuel vapor leakage check nodule includes the vane pump. The fuel vapor leakage check module checks leakage of fuel vapor from the fuel tank through depressurization or pressurization of an interior of the fuel tank by the vane pump.

Vane pump, method for adjusting pump flow rate of vane pump and fuel vapor leakage check module having vane pump


A full charge sensing apparatus for sensing a fully charged state of a secondary battery based on an equivalent circuit model of the secondary battery includes a measuring unit that measures a voltage and a current during charging of the secondary battery, a learning unit that performs a learning process on a plurality of parameters in the equivalent circuit model using a result of measurement of the measuring unit, and a determining unit that determines that the secondary battery is in a fully charged state in a case where, among the parameters on which the learning process has been performed by the learning unit, a parameter corresponding to a reaction resistance of the secondary battery is greater than a predetermined threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a full charge sensing apparatus and a full charge sensing method.
2. Background of the Invention
In the related art, determination of whether a secondary battery has reached a fully charged state is carried out by determining whether or not an SOC (State of Charge), which is a charging rate, has reached 100%. Such an SOC-sensing method may be, for example, a method as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-091217 in which a stable voltage OCV (Open Circuit Voltage) of the secondary battery is measured and an SOC is predicted from this OCV.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2008-145349 discloses a technique in which, since SOV=100% does not always hold at the time the OCV is measured, in order to deal with such a case, a change in SOC after the measurement of OCV is computed by hour integration based on a continuous observation of an electric current.
With the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-091217, a fully charged state is determined based on a correlation between OCV and SOC, and the correlation between OCV and SOC varies depending on a type of the secondary battery. Therefore, for example, as in the case of a lead-acid battery of automobiles where a product arbitrarily selected from a group of products supplied from various manufactures by a user is used, there may be a case in which the fully charged state cannot be determined accurately.
With the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2008-145349, in order to compute a change in SOC caused by the entering/exiting of the electric current into/out of the secondary battery, it is necessary to compute a ratio of an amount of entry/exit against a capacity of the secondary battery. However, there may be a case where the fully charged state cannot be determined accurately, since an individual difference and a sensing error exist for this capacity.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a full charge sensing apparatus and a full charge sensing method capable of accurately determining the fully charged state regardless of the type of secondary battery.

Full charge sensing apparatus and full charge sensing method


A screen device in which a screen is provided in a contractable and expandable manner between a pair of screen installation frames, at least one of which is movable in a sliding manner, and the screen can be opened and closed by pulling it sideways, and which has upper guide frames for guiding the screen installation frames while covering their upper end sections. The screen installation frames have, at their upper end sections, fall-down prevention guide sections. The upper guide frames have, in their insides, guide rail projections which prevent, by holding the fall-down prevention guide sections, the upper end sections of the screen installation frames from coming out of the upper guide frames.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screen device which is useful as a curtain, a blind, a screen, a partition and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shielding or light control means such as a curtain and a blind, or as a screen or a partition, a screen device provided with various kinds of mechanisms has been conventionally developed, and has been put into practical use.
As such a screen device, the present applicant has developed a novel screen device, in which cloth, a sheet, or a net is freely folded and unfolded by pleating.
In the device, a screen 2 is interposed between a pair of screen installation frames 1 and 1, at least one of which can slide, in such a manner as to be contractable and expandable by pleating, and further, the screen 2 can be opened and closed by a sliding motion of the screen installation frame 1, as shown in, for example, FIG. 16. In the device, the independence of the screen 2 can be maintained by a wire stretched across the screen installation frames 1 and 1.
The screen device includes an upper guide frame 3 serving as a member for guiding the sliding motion of the screen installation frame 1, and further, the upper guide frame 3 covers the upper end section of the screen installation frame 1.
Additionally, the present applicant has developed and put into practical use a screen device, in which a screen can be more smoothly opened or closed with stability.
As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, in the device, the upper guide frame 3 covers the upper end section of the screen installation frame 1, so as to guide the sliding motion of the screen installation frame 1. In the meantime, a slide guide frame 5 is additionally provided. The slide guide frame 5 is fixed at one end thereof to either one of the screen installation frames 1, and further, is bent at the other end thereof to be freely inserted into the other screen installation frame 1. The slide guide frame 5 may be constituted of a so-called caterpillar, in which rigid units 6, each having, for example, a side wall 6a and a bridge 6b, are disposed continuously to each other. The lower slide guide frame 5 can slide along a rail 7. The slide guide frame 5 formed by continuously disposing the rigid units 6 has bendability and rigidity, thereby smoothly opening and closing the screen 2 with stability.


Portable communication devices are provided. A portable communication device includes a housing, an antenna, and a push button. The housing includes a first receiving portion and a second receiving portion. The antenna is detachably disposed in the first receiving portion. The antenna includes a first engaging portion. The battery is detachably disposed in the second receiving portion. The battery includes a second engaging portion. The push button is disposed in the housing and includes a third engaging portion and a fourth engaging portion. The third engaging portion movably engages with the first engaging portion to fix the antenna to the housing. The fourth engaging portion movably engages with the second engaging portion to fix the battery to the housing.

The invention relates to portable communication devices.
FIG. 1a is a rear view of a conventional portable communication device 100. The portable communication device 100 comprises a housing 101, an antenna 102, a battery 103, and a push button 104.
FIG. 1b is a diagram of an antenna 102 of the conventional portable communication device 100. The antenna 102 may have a decorative pattern 105 thereon. The antenna 102 comprises a connection portion 106. The antenna 102 is fixed to the housing 101 by engaging the connection portion 106 with a corresponding recess (not shown) of the housing 101, allowing easy replacement of the antenna 102.
Because the connection portion 106 may rotate in the recess occasionally, it is difficult to keep the decorative pattern 105 on the antenna 102 facing the front.
FIG. 1c is a schematic diagram of the battery 103 engaged with the push button 104 in the conventional portable communication device 100. FIG. 1d is a schematic diagram of the battery 103 detached from the housing 101 of the conventional portable communication device 100. The battery 103 comprises a recess 107, and the push button 104 comprises a hook 108. When the recess 107 engages with the hook 108, the battery 103 is fixed to the housing 101. When the user applies an external force 109 on the push button 104, the recess 107 is separated from the hook 108, allowing detachment of the battery 103 from the housing 101.
To replace the antenna 102 and the battery 103, the antenna 102 and the battery 103 must be detached from the housing 101 one by one, an inconvenient and time-consuming process.


A fuel control apparatus for a vehicle, having an electric pump configured to have electric power supplied, to supply fuel from a fuel tank to an injector of an internal combustion engine through a fuel pipe, and a control unit configured to have the internal combustion engine stop automatically when a first predetermined condition is satisfied, and after having the internal combustion engine stop automatically, start automatically when a second predetermined condition is satisfied, includes an operation unit configured, when the control unit has the internal combustion engine stop automatically, to supply electric power from a predetermined electric power supply apparatus to the electric pump, to have the electric pump operate.

Conventionally, a control apparatus has been known that executes control for automatically stopping, and then, automatically starting, an internal combustion engine (see, for example, Patent Document 1). While a vehicle is traveling, such a control apparatus cuts off fuel supply when the vehicle speed is greater than or equal to a predetermined vehicle speed within a predetermined vehicle speed range, to have the internal combustion engine stop automatically, and then, to have the internal combustion engine start automatically when the vehicle speed is below the predetermined vehicle speed. This configuration can make fuel efficiency performance improved because fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is cut off by automatically stopping the internal combustion engine while the vehicle is traveling.

Fuel control apparatus for vehicle and fuel control method for vehicle


An exercise apparatus includes left and right arm driven members pivotally mounted on a frame. In a first mode of operation, the arm driven members are free to move in opposite directions relative to one another. In a second mode of operation, the arm driven members are constrained to move in a common direction relative to the frame. Leg driven members may be movably mounted on the frame and linked to the arm driven members.

The present invention relates to exercise methods and apparatus and more particularly, to unique arm exercise assemblies which are suitable for use on various types of exercise equipment.
Despite many advances in the field of exercise equipment, room for improvement remains with respect to arm exercise arrangements and/or total body exercise machines.
The present invention provides unique methods and apparatus for operating left and right arm driven members or handles on an exercise machine. In a first mode of operation, the handles are movable in opposite directions relative to one another, and in a second mode of operation, the handles are constrained to move in a common direction.
On a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handles are pivotally mounted on a frame, and left and right leg driven members are movably mounted on the frame. The handles are linked to the leg driven members on the preferred embodiment, but may be operated independently on some of the alternative embodiments. Additional features and/or advantages will become more apparent from the detailed description that follows.


An operation method and an electronic device thereof is provided. The electronic device includes a touchscreen, and a controller. A pressure of a touch input made to the touchscreen of the electronic device is detected. A crop mode is set based on an association between the crop mode and the pressure. A crop boundary is designated by the touch input according to the set crop mode.

With the growth of mobile communication technologies, electronic devices have become essential communication devices. The electronic devices provide various supplementary services of camera, data communication, video play, audio play, messenger, schedule management, alarm functions and the like as well as a voice communication function. The electronic devices provide various programs for using the functions, and enable users to perform input to the electronic devices through many input methods or with many input means.
Recently touchscreen devices provide touchscreen inputs, which have increased the usefulness of electronic devices while maintaining a degree of compactness, diversifying the functions of the electronic devices. These touchscreen devices arrange transparent touch panels together with display panels, thereby allowing the primary input device to double as the primary output device. These touch panels are classified into a variety of touch panels such as resistive touch panels, capacitive touch panels, ultrasonic touch panels, light (infrared) sensing touch panels, electromagnetic induction touch panels and the like.
Generally, the touchscreen device receives input data from contact generated by a user's finger. But touchscreen device may also receive input from a pen-shaped input means (generally, called a 'touch pen' or 'stylus') as an auxiliary data input means. Also, the touchscreen device is equipped with a sensing means separate from the touch panel of the touchscreen device, which enables touch pen data input and touch panel data input to be received independently of one another.

Method for processing input and electronic device thereof


For use with CVD apparatus, an apparatus and method for detecting the end point of a post treatment after an in-situ cleaning operation is provided such that reactive chemical species which remain after an in-situ cleaning operation can be accurately removed so that they do not cause harm to a film formed after the cleaning operation. The end point detection apparatus includes a reactor, an RF electrode, an RF power supply, a gas supply pipe for forming a thin film, a gas supply pipe for in-situ cleaning, a detector for detecting discharge characteristic values (i.e. the self-bias voltage, the electrode voltage, and the discharge impedance) during the post treatment performed after the in-situ cleaning, and a monitor/determining circuit for monitoring an output from the detector. When a post treatment is performed in the reactor after in-situ cleaning, a gas for in-situ cleaning is introduced through the gas supply pipe, and the reactor is in-situ cleaned using reactive chemical species, after which the post treatment is performed in the reactor so that the remaining reactive chemical species are removed. During the post treatment, the discharge characteristic values are measured, and the point in time at which the changes in the measured values shift to nearly constant values is assumed to be the end point of the post treatment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for detecting the end point in time of a post treatment after an in-situ cleaning operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
During the manufacture of thin film transistors (TFTs) for liquid-crystal displays or semiconductor devices, a plasma enhanced chemical -apor deposition (PECVD) apparatus is used to manufacture thin films of amorphous silicon (a-Si), or silicon-containing compounds, such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride. In the PECVD apparatus, the silicon-containing compound films and silicon-based polymer are deposited on electrodes and on the inner wall of a reactor other than a substrate. The thickness of the deposited silicon-containing compound film increases as the thin films are repeatedly formed. When the thickness of the deposited silicon-containing compound film reaches a certain film thickness, the deposited silicon-containing compound film peels off from the inner wall and the electrodes, and forms fine particulates. If the fine particulates land on a substrate surface, defects occur in the TFTs, resulting in a deterioration in the yield of manufactured electric devices. Therefore, in a conventional PECVD apparatus, a silicon-containing compound deposited on the electrodes and the inner wall must be removed before the silicon-containing compound deposited on the electrodes and the inner wall peels off.
Since, in the PECVD apparatus, thin films are formed under a reduced pressure in a reactor, it is preferable that the silicon-containing compound be removed after a short period of time and without exposing the interior of the reactor to atmospheric air. For this purpose, performing an "in-situ cleaning" operation is most effective. The in-situ cleaning is what is commonly called a plasma self-cleaning technique. In the plasma self-cleaning technique, silicon-containing compounds deposited on the electrodes and the inner wall are removed by using reactive chemical species, such as fluorine radicals, produced by an electric discharge plasma. The plasma self-cleaning technique is widely used in PECVD apparatus for large-scale production requiring a high yield and a high-uptime ratio.
When the interior of the reactor is in-situ cleaned by active chemical species, these species adhere onto the electrodes and the inner wall of the reactor at the same time the silicon-containing compound deposited on the electrodes and the inner wall is removed. The reactive chemical species then remain inside the reactor after the in-situ cleaning process. Problems occur if an attempt is made to manufacture another silicon-containing compound thin film in the reactor while the reactive chemical species remain. For example, one of the following can occur: the silicon-containing compound film is not formed on the substrate at all; the deposition rate of the silicon-containing compound film decreases; the characteristics of the silicon-containing compound film deteriorate Considerably; or the silicon-containing compound film characteristics before the cleaning process are not reproduced. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the remaining reactive chemical species from the reactor after the in-situ cleaning process.
Various methods have been considered to remove the remaining reactive chemical species. Particularly effective is a seasoning operation after the in-situ cleaning process is completed but before the formation of the thin film is restarted. In the seasoning operation, a silicon hydride gas or a mixture of silicon hydride gas and another gas, such as for example hydrogen, nitrogen, or ammonia gas, which are used to form the thin film, are introduced into the reactor. A plasma is then generated in the silicon hydrogen gas or the mixture gas in order to remove the remaining reactive chemical species. This is hereinafter referred to as a "post treatment." According to this post treatment, reactive chemical species remaining on the electrodes and the inner wall, for example fluorine radicals, are sealed up in a silicon-based film formed on the electrodes and the inner wall, or they are transformed into a volatile silicon fluoride and evacuated. Reactive chemical species, which remain on the electrodes and the inner wall after the in-situ cleaning process, then react heavily with chemical species produced by a thin film formation gas plasma, such as the mixture gas plasma of silicon hydride and hydrogen. Thus, it is possible to almost completely remove the reactive chemical species by such a post treatment.
There has, however, been no method of directly detecting the end point of the post treatment. Hitherto, the end point has been determined empirically through data stored from the post treatment experiments in individual apparatus.
However, this presents a problem that when the end point is determined empirically, there is no confirmation as to whether the post treatment has been carried out inside the reactor for an appropriate processing time period. An excessive processing tire period causes the throughput to decrease and causes the electrodes and the inner wall cleaned in the in-situ cleaning process to be contaminated again at this stage of the post treatment. On the other hand, if there is an insufficient processing time period, reactive chemical species remaining after in-situ cleaning are nut completely removed. As a result, the thin film formed after the post treatment does not reproduce the thin film characteristics, such as electrical conductivity, achieved before the in-situ cleaning process.

Apparatus and method for detecting end point of post treatment