Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to the display of multidimensional structures and provide a method, system and computer program product for managing an integrated multidimensional view of a structured collection of objects. In one embodiment of the invention, a data processing system can be configured to render an integrated view of a multidimensional structured collection of objects. The data processing system can include a GUI for a host application in a computing platform and multidimensional view processing logic coupled to the host application. The logic can include program code enabled to render a single, integrated multidimensional view of a structured collection of objects in the GUI.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to object hierarchies and more particularly to the visual presentation of a structured collection of objects in a graphical user interface (GUI).
Description of the Related Art
Electronic objects in a data processing system often are organized hierarchically in a parent-child relationship. Specifically, the earliest file systems for computing environments provided a hierarchical directory structure in which electronically stored documents could be stored in specific directories or folders. Directories and folders, collectively viewed as containers, could be nested to provide a level of organization for electronic documents akin to a tree having a root node, leaf nodes and intermediate branches and connecting nodes.
Contemporary data structure theory expands upon the notion of the hierarchical directory structure to provide the most common form of genus-species data organization not only for file storage, but for general objects in memory as well. While hierarchical trees are known to be constructed programmatically in a number of ways, the most common way is the linked list of nodes in a tree formation. Generally, the hierarchical tree can be visually rendered in a GUI by providing collapsible nodes such that the hierarchy can be viewed merely as a root node, or the hierarchy can be viewed in fully expanded form to reveal the hierarchical tree. Of course, as each node in the hierarchy can be expanded or collapsed individually, any portion of the hierarchical tree can be viewed within the GUI is most computing users have become accustomed to understand.
While the conventional hierarchical tree structure has proven quite effective in illustrating one-dimensional parent-child relationships among stored objects in a structured collection, the modern GUI is at a loss to illustrate multidimensional relationships in a structured collection of objects. Yet, many stored objects enjoy multi-faceted relationships including, not only parent-child relationships, but also membership and access privileges relationships, date, time and place relationships, related resources relationships, and alerts, notifications and alarms relationships. For example, a structured collection of tasks in an activity not only can include an ordering of tasks and nested sub-tasks, but also the structured collection of tasks can be viewed from the perspective of users permitted access to modify certain tasks, resources required to complete certain tasks, or dates, times and places for performing certain tasks.
Recognizing the multidimensional nature of structured collections of objects, conventional solutions propose the juxtaposition of different hierarchical trees within a GUI to provide different views of the structured collection, where each hierarchical tree is of only one dimension of interest. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,024 to Alimpich et al. for DATA PROCESSOR CONTROLLED DISPLAY INTERFACE WITH TREE HIERARCHY OF ELEMENTS VIEW EXPANDABLE INTO MULTIPLE DETAILED VIEWS, upon selection of a parent object in a tree hierarchy, the child objects for the parent are displayed in multiple, different views in separate screen regions in order to display attributes of one of the different types of child objects.
The type of solution provided by Alimpich et al. is also apparent in U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,896 to Alimpich et al. for DATA PROCESSOR CONTROLLED DISPLAY INTERFACE WITH TREE HIERARCHY OF ELEMENTS VIEW EXPANDABLE INTO MULTIPLE DETAILED VIEWS, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,394. to Herzberg et al. for DOING BUSINESS EMPLOYED LINKED TREES HAVING RETRIEVABLE EMBEDDED INFORMATION, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,176 Sang'udi et al. COMPUTER RELATED METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING DATA VISUALIZATION IN EXTERNAL DIMENSION(S). In all such cases, however, separate views are provided for each dimension resulting in a cluttered screen and incoherent presentation for the end user.

Integrated multidimensional view of hierarchical objects


Disclosed are a manufacturing method of a membrane electrode assembly capable of increasing the interfacial adhesion between a polymer electrolyte membrane and a catalyst layer, improving substance delivery and performance, and enhancing hydrogen permeation resistance or oxygen permeability; a membrane electrode assembly manufactured thereby; and a fuel cell comprising the membrane electrode assembly. The manufacturing method of the present invention comprises the steps of: adding a catalyst and a first ionomer to a solvent and dispersing the same, thereby producing a dispersed mixture; adding a second ionomer to the dispersed mixture, thereby producing a coating composition; and applying the coating composition directly onto at least one side of the polymer electrolyte membrane.

A fuel cell is a power generation system for directly converting chemical reaction energy of hydrogen and oxygen contained in a hydrocarbon-based material, such as methanol, ethanol, or natural gas, into electrical energy. A representative example of such a fuel cell is a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The PEMFC has attracted attention as a next-generation energy source, and particularly in a vehicle-related field, research has been actively conducted to commercialize the PEMFC due to advantages thereof, such as environmental friendliness.
In a fuel cell system, a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA), which substantially generates electricity, has a structure in which an anode electrode (also referred to as a "fuel electrode" or an "oxidation electrode") and a cathode electrode (also referred to as an "air electrode" or a "reduction electrode") are disposed in the state in which a polymer electrolyte membrane including a proton conductive polymer is interposed therebetween.
A composition for formation of each electrode includes a catalyst, an ionomer, a solvent, and an additive. Among the above-mentioned ingredients, the catalyst is a principal factor that determines the activation and durability of the fuel cell. A Pt/C catalyst, in which a carbon support having a large specific surface area and high electrical conductivity is impregnated with platinum nanoparticles, is most widely used as a platinum-based catalyst for the oxidation electrode (the anode electrode) and the reduction electrode (the cathode electrode). However, the Pt/C catalyst is produced using pure platinum, which is an expensive metal, whereby it is difficult to reduce the price of the catalyst. In addition, oxygen is adsorbed on the surface of platinum due to an oxygen reduction reaction at the reduction electrode, whereby platinum oxide is generated. At this time, overvoltage occurs, and therefore a considerable amount of energy is lost. For this reason, commercialization of the fuel cell has been delayed.
Meanwhile, among various techniques that have been developed in order to commercialize the fuel cell, a direct coating technique, which is a technique of directly coating an electrode on a polymer electrolyte membrane, has attracted attention as a new MEA manufacturing technique for commercializing the fuel cell. Representative examples of the direct coating technique include slot die coating and spray coating.
In order to effectively realize direct coating, however, it is essential not only to develop a technique of processing a polymer electrolyte membrane but also to develop an electrode composition for direct coating that is capable of improving interfacial binding strength between the polymer electrolyte membrane and the electrode.

Manufacturing method of membrane electrode assembly, membrane electrode assembly manufactured thereby, and fuel cell comprising membrane electrode assembly


The present invention proposes a method for controlling transmission resources of a radio access network adapted to transmit data packets in real time traffic and in non-real traffic, the method comprising the steps of obtaining information related to transmission resources required for handling real time traffic; and reserving transmission resources for handling non-real time traffic based on a knowledge of the overall available transmission resources of a radio transceiver device of said radio access network and the information related to the transmission resources required for handling real time traffic by said radio transceiver. Transmission resources are subsequently activated based on channel elements which are identified by pre-selected channel element identifiers. This alleviates the use of hitherto required time consuming channel activation procedures as well as the need to refer to any bearer information.

A general block circuit diagram of a radio access network as a part of a radio telecommunication network is shown in FIG. 1.
As is illustrated therein, a terminal device or mobile station MS denoted by reference numeral 3 communicates via an air interface (radio interface) with a radio transceiver device or base station BS denoted by reference numeral 2. It is to be noted that for purposes of a simplified explanation, only one mobile station MS and base station BS, respectively, are shown in FIG. 1, while in practice plural base stations BS constitute a network and each is adapted to communicate with a plurality of mobile stations.
Each of respective base stations BS 2 is controlled by and communicates with a radio network control device or radio network controller RNC denoted by reference numeral 1. Communication between a respective base station BS 2 and the radio network controller RNC 1 takes place via a so-called Iub interface. Via this Iub interface, traffic data or use data respectively, as well as control data are exchanged between the base station BS 2 and the radio network controller RNC 1.
Such networks are meanwhile capable of transmitting data in units of packets (e.g. according to an asynchronous transmission mode ATM). Among the data to be transmitted it can be distinguished between two types of traffic. Firstly, in such a network there exists so-called real time (RT) traffic which is for example due to ongoing phone calls, so that real-time data packets are to be transmitted. Secondly, in such a network there exists so-called non-real time (NRT) traffic which is for example due to files or other data entities to be transmitted, so that non-real time data packets are to be transmitted at scheduled points of time.
Scheduling and/or admitting respective traffic components to be transmitted via the network is handled by an admission control means denoted by 1A as a part of the radio network controller RNC 1. The admission control means 1A is adapted to handle both, real time traffic as well as non-real time traffic.
Hitherto known systems adopt a transmission principle known as code divisional multiple access CDMA or wideband CDMA (WCDMA), according to which physical channels (frequencies) are accessed using different codes. Each used code then represents one channel. A so-called bearer is then defined by a frequency and a used code, for example.
Thus, for transmitting packet data in real time and in non-real time, the entire available physical resources at a base station BS 2 were beforehand divided (partitioned) in real time channels reserved and/or designated for real time traffic and in non-real time channels reserved for non-real time traffic.
Then, in case of data packets to be transmitted in either real time or non-real time, respective channel activation and/or deactivation procedures had to be performed. Such procedures are, however, time consuming which causes a drawback for the data packet allocation functionality in CDMA and/or WCDMA systems, since they had for example to rely on slow common control channels on the Iub interface.
Moreover, due to the beforehand division of channels into real time and non-real time channels, physical resources often remained unused which limited the maximum possible traffic amount handled by the network.

Method for managing physical resources of a radio access network


Provided are compounds of the formula:

Chronic pain represents a major health and economic problem throughout the world.
Despite major advances in understanding the physiological and pathological basis of pain, an ideal analgesic is yet to be discovered. Among analgesic drugs, the opioid class of compounds still remains the effective treatment agents for severe and chronic pain. For instance, see Parrot, Using opioid analgesic to manage chronic non-cancer pain in primary care, J. Am. Board Fam. Pract, 1999, 12, 293-306 and Cherny, New strategies in opioid therapy for cancer pain, J. Oncol. Manage 2000, 9, 8-15.
The existence of three opioid receptor types, mu opioid receptors (MOR), delta opioid receptor (DOR) and kappa opioid receptor (KOR) has been clearly established and is confirmed by cloning of these three receptors from mouse, rat, and human cDNAs. Along these lines, see Dhawan et al., International Union of Pharmacology. XII. Classification of Opioid Receptors, Pharmacol. Rev. 1996, 48, 567-592; and McCurdy et al., Opioid Receptor Ligands. In Burger's Medicinal Chemistry, Drug Discovery and Development, 7th ed.; Abraham et al., Eds. John Wiley & Sons: New York, N.Y., 2010.
All three opioid receptor types are located in the human central nervous system and each has a role in the mediation of pain. Morphine and related opioids currently prescribed as potent analgesics for the treatment of pain produce their analgesic activity primarily through their agonist action at the mu opioid receptors. The general administration of these medications is limited by significant side effects such as respiratory depression, muscle rigidity, emesis, constipation, tolerance, and physical dependence. For example, see Duthie, Adverse Effects of Opioid Analgesic Drugs, Br. J. Anaesth. 1987, 59, 6177 and van Ree et al., Opioids, Reward and Addiction: An Encounter of Biology, Psychology, and Medicine. Pharmacol. Rev. 1999, 51, 341-396.
A large body of evidence indicates the existence of physiological and functional interactions between mu and delta receptors. Ligands with agonist or antagonist action at the delta receptor, for example, have been shown to modulate the analgesic and adverse effects of mu agonists. See, for instance, Traynor et al., Delta opioid receptor subtypes and cross-talk with mu receptors. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 1993, 14, 84-86; Rothman et al., Allosteric Coupling Among Opioid Receptors: Evidence for an Opioid Receptor Complex, In Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, Volume 104, Opioid I; Hertz et al., Eds; Springer-Verlag; Berlin, 1993; pp. 217-237; Jordan et al., G-Protein-coupled receptor heterodimerization modulates receptor function. Nature 1999, 399, 697-700; George et al., Oligomerization of mu and delta Opioid Receptors, J. Biol. Chem. 2000, 275, 26128-26135; Levac et al., Oligomerization of opioid Receptors: Generation of novel signaling units, Curr. Opin. Pharmacol., 2002, 2, 76-81.
On the other hand, agonist action at the delta receptors potentiate mu receptor mediated analgesic effects and antagonist action at the delta receptor suppresses the tolerance, physical dependence, and related side effects off mu agonists without affecting their analgesic activity. In a study using the nonpeptide ligand naltrindole, Abdelhamid et al. demonstrated that the delta receptor antagonist greatly reduced the development of morphine tolerance and dependence in mice in both the acute and chronic models without affecting the analgesic actions of morphine. See Abdelhamid et al., Selective blockage of delta opioid receptors prevents the development of morphine tolerance and dependence in mice. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 1991, 258, 299-303. Fundytus et al., reported that continuous infusion of the delta selective antagonist TIPP[Ψ] by the intracerbroventricular (icv) route in parallel with continuous administration of morphine by the subcutaneous route to rats attenuated the development of morphine tolerance and dependence to a large extent. See Fundytus, et al., Attenuation of morphine tolerance and dependence with the highly selective delta-opioid receptor antagonist TIPP[Ψ]. Eur. J. Pharmacol 1995, 286, 105-108.
Schiller et al., found that the peptide ligand DIPP-NH2[Ψ] displayed mixed mu agonist/delta antagonist properties in vitro and that the compound given icv produced analgesic effect with no physical dependence and less tolerance than morphine in rats. See Schiller et al., Four different types of Opioid Peptides with mixed mu agonist/delta Antagonist Properties Analgesia 1995, 1, 703-706; and Schiller et al., The Opioid mu agonist/delta antagonist DIPP-NH2-[Ψ] produces a potent analgesic effect, no physical dependence, and less tolerance than morphine in rats, J. Med. Chem. 1999, 42, 3520-3526.
Studies with antisense oligonucleotides of delta receptors have demonstrated that reduction of receptor expression diminishes the development and/or expression of morphine dependence without compromising antinociception produced by mu agonists. See Suzuki et al., Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to delta opioid receptors attenuates morphine dependence in mice, Life Sci. 1997, 61, PL 165-170; and Sanchez-Blazquez et al., Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides to opioid mu and delta receptors reduced morphine dependence in mice: Role of delta-2 opioid receptors, J. Pharmacsol. Exp. Ther. 1997, 280, 1423-1431. Furthermore, genetic deletion studies using delta receptor knockout mice have shown that these mutant mice retain supraspinal analgesia and do not develop analgesic tolerance to morphine. Zhu et al., Retention of supraspinal delta-like analgesia and loss of morphine tolerance in delta opioid receptor knockout mice, Neuron, 1999, 24, 243-252.
Discovery of nonpeptide opioid ligands possessing a balanced profile of mixed mu agonist/delta antagonist activity has been a challenge. In an early study focusing on naltrexone-derived heterocycle annulated morphinan ligands, it was found that compounds arising by fusion of a heteroaromatic ring such as a pyridine ring on the C5-C6 of the C-ring gave pyridomorphinans that displayed high affinity binding at the opioid receptors. The binding affinity and functional activity are modulated by the substituents placed at the 5′-position on the pyridine moiety. For example, the introduction of aromatic groups such as a phenyl group or a 1-pyrrolyl group at this position gave ligands with high binding affinity and improved antagonist potency as determined in bioassays using mouse vas deferens smooth muscle preparations. See Ananthan et al., Synthesis, opioid receptor binding, and biological activities of naltrexone-derived pyrido- and pyrimidomorphinans, J. Med. Chem. 1999, 42, 3527-3538; and Ananthan et al., Synthesis, opioid receptor binding, and functional activity of 5′-substituted 17-cyclopropylmethylpyrido[2′,3′:6,7]morphinans. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2003, 13, 529-532.
Interestingly, among phenyl ring substituted analogues, the p-chlorophenyl compound displayed a mixed mu agonist/delta antagonist profile of activity in the smooth muscle assays in vitro. In analgesic activity evaluations, this compound displayed partial agonist activity in the tail-flick assay and a full agonist activity in the acetic acid writhing assay after icv or ip administration in mice, and it did not produce tolerance to antinociceptive effects on repeated ip injections. Studies in mice with selective antagonists, characterized this compound as a partial mu agonist/delta antagonist. See Wells et al., In Vivo Pharmacological Characterization of SoRI 9409, a Nonpeptidic opioid mu-agonist/delta-antagonist that produces limited antinociceptive tolerance and attenuates morphine physical dependence. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2001, 297, 597-605. In in vitro biochemical assays using [35S]GTP-γ-S binding, this compound, however, failed to display mu agonist activity in guinea pig caudate membranes as well as in cloned cells expressing human mu receptors. See Xu et al., SoRI-9409, a Non-peptide opioid mu receptor agonist/delta receptor antagonist, fails to stimulate [35S]-GTP-γ-S binding at cloned opioid receptors. brain res. bull. 2001, 55, 507-511. A similar pyridine annulations strategy when applied to oxymorphone and hydromorphone frameworks led to ligands that displayed mixed mu agonist/delta antagonist activity although with somewhat weak mu agonist potency. See Ananthan et al., Identification of ligands possessing mixed μ agonist/δ antagonist activity among pyridomorphinans derived from naloxone, oxymorphone, and hydromorphone. J. Med. Chem. 2004, 47, 1400-1412.
Bivalent ligands possessing a mu agonist unit such as oxymorphone tethered to a delta antagonist unit such as naltrindole by a 16 to 21 atom chain have been investigated as ligands targeting mu-delta heterodimers. Among such compounds, bivalent ligand whose spacer was 16 atoms or longer produced less dependence than morphine; ligands possessing spacer lengths of 19 atoms or greater produced less physical dependence and tolerance. See Daniels et al., Opioid-induced tolerance and dependence in mice is modulated by the distance between pharmacophores in a bivalent ligand series. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2005, 102, 19208-19213.
Schmidhammer and coworkers explored a number of morphinans possessing an alkoxy substituent at the 14-position. The morphinan templates explored include 6-oxomorphinans, 6-aminomorphinans, indolomorphinans and benzofuromorphinans. Depending upon the template and the substituents, compounds with varying profiles were obtained. See Schmidhammer, et al., Synthesis and biological evaluation of 14-alkoxymorphinans. 4. Opioid agonists and partial opioid agonists in a series of N-(cyclobutylmethyl)-14-methoxymorphinan-6-ones. Helv. Chim. Acta 1989, 72, 1233-1240; Schmidhammer et al., Synthesis and biological evaluation of 14-alkoxymorphinans. 1. Highly potent opioid agonists in the series of (−)-14-methoxy-N-methylmorphinan-6-ones. J. Med. Chem. 1984, 27, 1575-1579; Schmidhammer et al. Synthesis and biological evaluation of 14-alkoxymorphinans. (−)-N-(cyclopropylmethyl)-4,14-dimethoxymorphinan-6-one, a selective mu opioid receptor antagonist. J. Med. Chem. 1989, 32, 418-421; Schmidhammer et al., Opioid Receptor Antagonists. Elsevier: New York, 1998; pp. 83-132; Schmidhammer, et al., 14-Alkoxymorphinans-A series of highly potent opioid agonists, antagonists, and partial agonists. Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 1993, 1, 261-276. Some of the compounds especially those derived from 6-oxomorphinans with 3-phenylpropoxy group at the 14-position were very potent nonselective opioid agonists with no measurable antagonist activity. See Greiner et al., Synthesis and biological evaluation of 14-alkoxymorphinans. 18. N-substituted 14-phenylpropyloxymorphinan-6-ones with unanticipated agonist properties: extending the scope of common structure-activity relationships. J. Med. Chem. 2003, 46, 1758-1763; Lattanzi et al. Synthesis and biological evaluation of 14-alkoxymorphinans. 22. (1) Influence of the 14-alkoxy group and the substitution in position 5 in 14-alkoxymorphinan-6-ones on in vitro and in vivo activities. J. Med. Chem. 2005, 48, 3372-3378.
There have been suggestions that antagonists at MOR, DOR and KOR are potentially useful as immunosuppressants, anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory agents and as treatment agents for addiction, drug abuse, alcoholism, obesity and a variety of neurological diseases. See Schmidhammer et al., Opioid Receptor Antagonists. Elsevier: New York, 1998; pp. 83-132.

Heterocycle-fused morphinans, use thereof and preparation thereof

Abstract: Provided are compounds of the formula:

Abstract: R1; R2, R3; R4; A; X; Y and Z are defined in the present disclosure; pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, deuterium forms thereof, isomers thereof, and mixture thereof; and processes for their preparation. The compounds can be used for treating a patient suffering from a condition that is capable of treatment with an agonist and/or antagonist of the opioid receptors and are especially useful a patient suffering from pain, treating a patient in need of an immunosuppressant to prevent rejection in organ transplant and skin graft, in need of an anti-allergic agent, in need of an anti-inflammatory agent, in need of a brain cell protectant, for drug and/or alcohol abuse, to decrease gastric secretion, for diarrhea, for cardiovascular disease, for a respiratory disease, in need of a cough and/or respiratory depressant, for mental illness, for epileptic seizures and other neurologic disorders.


A method and apparatus for a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) connection between terminals are provided. The method of a group owner terminal that establishes the P2P connection between terminals includes determining a terminal to be operated as a next owner terminal among terminals included in a group connected via the P2P connection, and transmitting information about general member terminals included in the group to the next owner terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a peer-to-peer connection between terminals, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for reconfiguring a group of terminals that perform communication through the peer-to-peer connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
An infrastructure mode and an ad-hoc mode are defined in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) defined in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. In the ad-hoc mode, a plurality of 802.11 radio stations perform direct communication without having to use an access point or other wired network connection. Accordingly, and the ad-hoc mode is a type of a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) mode. The ad-hoc mode is useful because a wireless network can be promptly and easily configured in an environment where a wireless infrastructure does not exist. However, the ad-hoc mode has problems in that a supported data rate is limited to 11 Mbps, security is limited, and power saving is difficult.
A P2P mode, i.e., a direct mode, including a group owner terminal and a general member terminal has recently been proposed. In the direct mode, a terminal that desires to perform a P2P operation first performs a P2P discovery procedure to search for at least one neighboring P2P terminal and then establishes a P2P network by performing a P2P group owner negotiation procedure and a channel negotiation procedure with respect to the at least one found neighboring P2P terminal. Therefore, a plurality of P2P terminals can communicate with each other by using a terminal determined as a group owner.
However, when a plurality of P2P terminals communicate with each other by establishing a P2P network using a terminal determined as the group owner, as described above, if the group owner terminal is disassociated, e.g., due to movement or a power off, a procedure of re-negotiating the group owner has to be performed among the remaining general member terminals. Accordingly, it is inconvenient and time-consuming to re-establish the P2P network among the remaining general member terminals.

Apparatus and method for reconfiguring peer-to-peer connection between terminals


A spindle protective structure capable of reliably detecting coolant leakage from a jointing device and protecting a spindle. A flow sensor is provided in the line of a drain pipe for discharging coolant leaking from the rotary joint, so that an alarm is made when the flow of coolant in the drain pipe exceeds a predetermined value. Since the coolant leaking from the jointing device is detected directly and an alarm is outputted, coolant leakage can be found out more quickly than by observing visually whether the flow of coolant jetting from a tip of a tool is normal or not.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spindle protective structure in a spindle-through coolant feeder.
2. Description of Related Art
As a spindle structure used in a high-speed rotating machine tool such as a drilling machine and a tapping machine, or a machining center, there is known a spindle-through coolant feeder for flowing machining fluid for cooling and removing dust though an axial center of a spindle.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic sectional views of conventional spindle structures using spindle-through coolant.
In the spindle structure of FIG. 6, an axial through hole 2 is bored through a spindle 1 and a pipe 4 is connected to an end of the spindle 1 through a rotary joint 3 so that coolant from the pipe 4 is led through the rotary joint 3 and the though hole 2 to a tip of a tool 5. A drain pipe 6 is provided at the rotary joint 3 in order to discharge coolant overflowing in the rotary joint 3 to the outside.
Such structure is not free from problems such as power loss and oscillation of the spindle 1, since the spindle 1 is driven by an induction motor 8 through a gear train 7, a belt or the like. Therefore, it is not necessarily suitable for real high-speed rotation.
In order to solve the above problems, a spindle structure shown in FIG. 5 has been proposed. In this structure, in addition to a though hole 2 bored through a spindle 1, an axial through hole 10 is bored through a rotor shaft of an induction motor 8. The spindle 1 and the rotor shaft 9 are coupled by a coupler 11, and coolant from a pipe 4 is led through a rotary joint 3 which is fitted to a rotary joint support housing 12 provided at an end of the induction motor 8 and then through the through hole 10 and the through hole 2 to a tip of a tool 5. Since the spindle 1 is driven by the induction motor 5 directly, the structure is free from problems such as power loss and oscillation of the spindle 1, and suitable for real high-speed rotation. A drain pipe 6 is provided at the rotary joint support housing 12 in order to discharge coolant overflowing in the rotary joint 3 to the outside.
In recent spindle-through coolant feeders, coolant of high pressure such as 70 atm. is generally used in order to raise the efficiency of discharging dust and cooling a knife edge of a tool 5 and to improve a finished state of a workpiece. Therefore, if a flaw is made at a rotary joint 3, there is a risk that a large amount of coolant may leak out in a moment. In the case of the structure of FIG. 6, coolant may reach the periphery of the spindle 1, and in the case of the structure of FIG. 5, coolant may flow directly inside the induction motor 8. In either case, it may cause serious problems such as rust, abnormal rotation, or electrical failure. Further, if coolant is not fed to the tip of a tool 5 normally, the tool 5 or a workpiece may be damaged.
Conventionally, flow control of coolant is performed checking the flow of coolant jetting from the tip of a tool 5 by visual observation, or performed depending on a flow sensor provided in the line of a pipe 4 for feeding coolant. In such conventional flow control, leakage of coolant around a rotary joint 3 cannot be detected directly, so that it takes time for an operator to deal with the leakage. Therefore, the conventional flow control is not enough to solve the above mentioned problems related to recent use of high pressure coolant.


Protective eyeglasses resistant to fogging while being worn by a wearer. The eyeglasses comprise a frame front which spans across the wearer's face and includes a forward side, an aft side, at least one middle portion extending over the wearer's eyes, and a pair of end piece portions near the wearer's temples. Attached to the middle portion of the frame front is at least one lens which is positioned over the wearer's eyes and defines front and back surfaces. Additionally, disposed within the frame front is at least one forwardly directed aperture which defines a ventilation channel for facilitating airflow through the frame front adjacent the lens. The ventilation channel defined by the aperture is sized and configured to facilitate the circulation of air over the back surface of the lens to resist the fogging thereof.

Protective eyewear or eyeglasses (e.g., sunglasses) having tinted lenses are commonly used in connection with various sports and other activities to protect the participant's eyes. Eye protection is especially needed when the sport or other activity involves unshielded high-speed travel wherein the eyes are susceptible to being impacted by small particles of foreign matter at velocities which equal the rate of travel. Examples of such sporting activities wherein eye protection is recommended include downhill skiing, snowmobiling, cycling, jet skiing and motorcycle racing to keep snow, water, dust, insects, small rocks, etc., out of the participant's eyes.
When protective eyeglasses are used in relation to the above-identified activities, a well-known problem that is often encountered is the fogging or misting, i.e., the build-up of condensation, on the inside surfaces of the lenses. The fogging problem is particularly severe when the wearer is warm and/or perspiring, with the outdoor environment being cool and/or damp. As will be recognized, the fogging of the lenses of the eyeglasses interferes with the wearers vision, and thus presents a potentially hazardous condition.
The problem of lens fogging has been recognized in the prior art wherein several solutions have been proposed to prevent such fogging from occurring. More particularly, in the prior art there are thermal lenses which each consist of a single lens of increased thickness. The increased thickness of the thermal lenses is operative to isolate the outside surfaces of the lenses exposed to the cooler air from the inside surfaces of the lenses which are exposed to the warmer air. Also known in the prior art are double glass lenses, each of which consists of a pair of lens halves separated by an intermediate air-filled space or void. The double glass lenses are also operative to facilitate the isolation of the outermost and innermost surfaces of the lenses from each other. However, the prior art thermal and double glass lenses significantly add to the bulk and weight of the eyeglasses in which they are used, and thus are uncomfortable to wear and not desirable for use in relation to sports activities.
There is also known in the prior art various coatings which are applied to the inside surfaces of the lenses for purposes of immediately condensing or absorbing any mist or fog which accumulates on the inside surfaces. However, such coatings are only effective for an extremely limited duration of time, with the inside surfaces of the glasses periodically needing to be dried in some manner.
It has been recognized in the prior art that the most effective manner of preventing the fogging or misting of the lenses of eyeglasses is to improve air circulation behind the lenses thereof, i.e., exhausting the warm humid air and replacing it with cool drier air. To facilitate such air exchange, there has been developed in the prior art eyeglasses incorporating miniature fans powered by portable batteries carried by the user. However, the eyewear incorporating these miniature fans is extremely complex and costly to manufacture, and is also bulky and of high weight. There has also been developed in the prior art eyeglasses which include ventilation ports disposed within various locations about the periphery of the frame so as to surround the lenses thereof. However, in these prior art eyeglasses, because of the manner in which the ventilation ports are configured and/or oriented, they typically provide either too little or too great a rate of air flow therethrough. Insufficient air flow through the ventilation ports makes the inclusion of the ventilation ports in the frame largely ineffective for purposes of preventing the fogging of the lenses. At the other extreme, too great a rate of air flow through the ventilation ports results in a pressure build-up or in uncomfortably high "winds" across the wearer's eyes. Moreover, the ventilation ports included in the prior art eyeglasses are often sized and configured in a manner wherein foreign manner, e.g., dust, can pass therethrough into the wearer's eyes.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for eyeglasses which can safely and adequately protect a wearer's eyes and are resistant to fogging. Such eyeglasses should be simple in construction and thus inexpensive to manufacture, and should further be lightweight so as not to unduly interfere with the wearer's participation in a certain sports activity.

Fog-resistant sunglasses incorporating ventilation channels


A colored visibly opaque, highly efficient NIR-transmitting optical filter displaying angle insensitivity is based on one-dimensional photonic crystals. The filter comprises a photonic crystal stack comprising at least one high refractive index layer and two low refractive index layers respectively disposed along a first side and a second side of the high refractive index layer. The photonic crystal stack may have 10 or fewer layers. The filter transmits a first portion of an electromagnetic spectrum having a first range of predetermined wavelengths in an infrared light range or near infrared light range, while reflecting a second portion of the electromagnetic spectrum having a second range of predetermined wavelengths in a visible light range to generate a reflected output. In certain aspects, a refractive index contrast between the at least one high refractive index layer and at least one of the two low refractive index layers is ≥ about 40%.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Visibly-opaque, but near-infrared (NIR)-transmitting filters have received considerable interest due to their irreplaceable roles in various applications including NIR spectroscopy, security imaging, optical detections, to name an important few. In recent years, decorative NIR filters that exhibit aesthetic colors are also highly desired to both enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and hide the unappealing appearance of sensors (e.g., proximity sensors, gesture sensors, and camera monitoring systems) integral to advanced technologies in various applications, such as vehicles, cell phones, tablets, and the like.
Organic dyes or pigments that can absorb ultraviolet (UV) and visible light, but transmit NIR waves provide one option. However, these organic materials suffer from short lifetimes due to their susceptibility to environmental factors, such as moisture, high temperature and constant UV exposure. Structural NIR-transmitting filters that are patterned at the subwavelength scale to excite either guided-mode resonance (GMR) or surface plasmon polariton (SPP) have been demonstrated to address the aforementioned challenges. However, the coupling of incident light into those resonances needs to be achieved with the subwavelength gratings, which require complicated fabrication procedures, such as e-beam lithography and focused ion beam milling, rendering them difficult for large-area applications. Moreover, the resulting transmission spectra are highly sensitive to an angle of incidence due to the momentum matching condition, thereby dramatically limiting their potential for many applications.
Another more cost-effective method to create NIR transmission while blocking the visible light uses one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystals (PCs), which are made of periodic layered structures of alternating high and low index materials. By locating the passband in the NIR range, while the stopband in the visible light range, adjustable NIR transmission performance can be achieved by selecting different constituent materials and layer thicknesses. However, as the structures based on single-periodic stacks have very limited stopband bandwidth, stacking of different period units are typically required to produce overlapping multiple stopbands to broaden the stopband, in order to block all the visible light transmission. As a result, these conventional PC-based filters typically more than ten layers, typically up to hundreds of layers, which increases the manufacturing cost and yields issues. It would be desirable to develop a more robust, streamlined, cost-effective, high-efficiency photonic crystal filter capable of transmitting NIR, while blocking certain wavelengths of visible light and thus reflecting certain predetermined colors.

Decorative near-infrared transmission optical filter devices

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN


A processing system selectively allocates space to store a group of one or more cache lines at a cache level of a cache hierarchy having a plurality of cache levels based on memory access patterns of a software application executing at the processing system. The processing system generates bit vectors indicating which cache levels are to allocate space to store groups of one or more cache lines based on the memory access patterns, which are derived from data granularity and movement information. Based on the bit vectors, the processing system provides hints to the cache hierarchy indicating the lowest cache level that can exploit the reuse potential for a particular data.

A processing system typically includes a memory subsystem having memory modules to store data to be accessed by instructions being executed. The memory subsystem can be organized into a memory hierarchy having a main memory at the top of the hierarchy to store a larger quantity of data that can be accessed by the executing instructions, and one or more caches at lower levels of the memory hierarchy to store subsets of the data stored at main memory. Typically, the lower data is stored in the memory hierarchy the more quickly it can be accessed by the processor. To further enhance processing efficiency, the processing system can implement a memory management protocol that governs the particular set of data stored at each level of the memory hierarchy. For example, the processing system can implement a memory management protocol that moves data that has recently been requested for access to lower levels of the memory hierarchy, with the expectation that the data will be accessed again by the processor in the near future, and moves data that has not been accessed recently to higher levels of the memory hierarchy. However, a general memory management protocol that is based on static allocation and replacement policies can result in polluting caches with data that has low reuse potential and wasteful movement of data between levels of the memory hierarchy, impacting both processing efficiency and power consumption of the processing system.

Adaptive cache management based on programming model information


The stability and balance offered by an article of footwear is improved by including a rigid layer in an outsole assembly of the article of footwear. The rigid layer may include a material of at least a predefined rigidity. For example, an outsole may be fitted with a carbon fiber plate that maintains the shape and a flatness of the outsole assembly. The rigid layer may be attached to one or more other layers that may be configured for impact force attenuation and comfort. In one or more arrangements, the rigid layer may be sandwiched between two other layers. Alternatively, the rigid layer may be insertable into a layer of the outsole. A channel may cut into a layer of the outsole to distribute weight to an outside portion of the outsole. This distribution of weight to the outside portion of the outsole may improve stability and balance.

A conventional article of athletic footwear includes two primary elements, an upper and a sole structure. The upper provides a covering for the foot that securely receives and positions the foot with respect to the sole structure. In addition, the upper may have a configuration that protects the foot and provides ventilation, thereby cooling the foot and removing perspiration. The sole structure is secured to a lower portion of the upper and is generally positioned between the foot and the ground. In addition to attenuating ground reaction forces (i.e., imparting impact force attenuation), the sole structure may provide traction and control foot motions, such as pronation. Accordingly, the upper and the sole structure operate cooperatively to provide a comfortable structure that is suited for a variety of ambulatory activities, such as walking and running.
The sole structure of athletic footwear generally exhibits a layered configuration that may include a comfort-enhancing insole, a resilient midsole formed from a polymer foam material, and a ground-contacting outsole that provides both abrasion-resistance and traction. In some athletic activities, an athlete may be required to establish a stable and balanced stance in order to achieve some goal. For example, in firearm based athletic events, having a stable and balanced position may affect the accuracy and overall performance of the athlete (i.e., increase in stability may provide an increase in accuracy). Current outsoles often use substantially flexible materials and configurations to provide comfort and impact force attenuation for the wearer. However, outsoles composed using such flexible materials and configurations are prone to deformation (e.g., due to a wearer's shift in weight) and thus, may cause instability in a wearer's stance.
It would be desirable to provide a footwear support system that reduces or overcomes some or all of the difficulties inherent in prior known devices. Particular objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, those who are knowledgeable or experienced in this field of technology, in view of the following disclosure of the invention and detailed description of certain embodiments.

Article of footwear with improved stability and balance


A combat vehicle restraint system accommodates a wide range of soldiers, both with and without battle, arctic, or chemical gear. The restraint system includes lengthened belts and an adjustable buckle position. The belts include loops for locating and grasping the belts, and separate lap and shoulder belts with small narrowing ends to prevent catching on gear. The belts are extendable from Inertial reels which are calibrated for off-road operation. The buckle engages each belt separately and includes a single action release. The buckle position is easily adjusted using an oversized knob so that a soldier may easily find and adjust buckle length in the dark, wearing heavy gloves, or with muddy slippery fingers. The latch/unlatch mechanism and associated hardware is an open frame type to reduce or eliminate affects of mud, dust, water or other contaminants on operation.

The present invention relates to occupant restraint systems for vehicles used in combat zones and in particular to a seat harness providing ease of use and improved occupant protection.
From 1985 to the present, a standard automotive style 3-point restraint system (i.e., harness) with a push button release buckle has been supplied in military Humvee vehicles. This harness has resulted in numerous safety problems because it was not designed for the unique requirements of soldiers in combat situations
A recent solicitation from the government to improve occupant safety and usage included many requirements. One of the top requirements was to fit a wide range of soldiers both with and without battle gear. Battle gear is equipment worn by the soldier when in hostile situations. The gear includes personal armor, a vest for carrying equipment, a backpack, a water container (Camel Back) and numerous other types of additional equipment. A result of wearing battle gear is that the soldier sits further forward in the seat than normal.
The standard automotive style 3-point harness presently used connects to fixed vehicle attachment points. Unfortunately, such fixed points are in relation to the seat, not necessarily to the occupant, and may not be easy to use or provide the desired occupant protection. For example, the buckle position affects vehicle ingress and rapid emergency egress, and affects effective harness operation in the event of an accident. As a result, the known fixed buckle position may result in difficulty in using the harness and therefore may not be used, and when used may fail to protect an occupant from injury in the event of an accident.


An air bag 1 is provided. At a vehicle side impact, the air bag 1 unfolds from an upper part of a vehicle body downwardly. The air bag 1 includes an airbag body 10 having an inside foundation cloth 8a and an outside foundation cloth 8b, and a pair of inner-cloths 19a, 19b arranged in the airbag body 10. The inside inner-cloth 19a is joined to the outside inner-cloth 19b through two inner junctions 21, 21 separated from each other in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. The inner-cloths 19a, 19b have front ends, rear ends and intermediate portions between the inner junctions 21, 21, all of which are joined to the foundation cloths 8a, 8b through overlapping junctions 22a, 22b. In arrangement, the overlapping junctions 22a of the inside inner-cloth 19a are shifted from the overlapping junctions 22b of the outside inner-cloth 19b forwardly. Consequently, triple-layer tubular expansion chambers 25a, 26, 25b are defined in the airbag body 10, allowing a passenger's head to be received certainly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air bag for absorbing a lateral impact applied on a passenger (or passengers) in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-268880 discloses an air bag constructed so as to soften a side impact applied on a passenger (passengers) when a vehicle is subjected to a lateral impact. In accommodation, the above air bag is rolled up (folded like a roll) and accommodated in each of side-roof rails. The side-roof rails are positioned on both sides of an upper part of a vehicle body. The air bag is connected to an inflator. When a vehicle has a lateral impact (side collision), the air bag is instantly supplied with gas from the inflator for expansion. Then, the air bag unfolds its expanded body downwardly and enters between a vehicle's side component (e.g. side glass, door, etc.) and a passenger, like a curtain. Owing to this interposition of such a swollen curtain, the air bag serves to absorb an external force from vehicle's sideways to some degree and soften a side impact applied on the passenger in the vehicle, in particular, a passenger's head.
The air bag includes an airbag body like an airtight pouch. The airbag body consists of two sheets of foundation cloths: one in its unfolded state is positioned on the side of a side glass, while the other cloth in the unfolded state is positioned on the side of a passenger. For distinction, the former foundation cloth will be referred to as "outside foundation cloth" hereinafter, while the latter cloth will be referred to as "inside foundation cloth" hereinafter. In production, the periphery (rim) of the outside foundation cloth is joined to the periphery of the inside foundation cloth. In the resulting airbag body, its interior space is divided into a plurality of tubular expansion chambers through a plurality of junctions running up and down in the interior space. Each junction is provided by joining a part of the outside foundation cloth to a part of the inside foundation cloth. In this way, on each side of both foundation cloths, a plurality of tubular expansion chambers are lined up along a fore-and-aft direction of vehicle.
In other words, the airbag body has the tubular expansion chambers arranged in double file along the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle. Here, it should be noted that these tubular expansion chambers are not juxtaposed in the direction of a width of the air bag (referred to as "width direction of airbag" hereinafter) but the uniserial (single file) tubular expansion chambers on the side of the outside foundation cloth are shifted from the uniserial tubular expansion chambers on the side of the inside foundation cloth by half chamber, which seems to be a kind of "alternate" arrangement. That is, in lateral view, respective boundaries among the tubular expansion chambers on the side of the outside foundation cloth do not overlap those on the side of the inside foundation cloth. Such an alternate arrangement of the expansion chambers comes from a consideration that the air bag is preferably formed so as to enable at least one tubular expansion chamber to certainly receive a passenger's head within an entire length of the air bag in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle.
In view of alleviating a side impact applied on a passenger's head more effectively, however, it is desirable that the air bag is constructed so that two or more tubular expansion chambers may receive a passenger's head on condition that these tubular expansion chambers are piled on each other in the width direction of air bag. In fact, such an improvement is desired in the conventional air bag mentioned above.


A device for measuring physical characteristics includes a beam generator selectively generating a target beam. The device further includes two angle detectors that measure the respective angles between the beams and, respectively a vertical and a horizontal axis. The device further includes a calculator that calculates the distances to said points as well as the distance between the two points.

a. Field of Invention
This application pertains to an automatic apparatus and method for measuring various dimensions such as the distance between two points. More specifically, the distance is obtained from a remote location by measuring the distances from the remote location to each of the points, measuring other parameters to determine the distance therebetween, wherein preferably a single laser device is used to make all the measurements. Other dimensions characteristic of objects such areas, volumes and/or relative positions of different objects are obtained by using three or more points.
b. Description of the Prior Art
It is frequently important to measure the distance between two points. For example, surveyors have a large number of tools and devices and disposal to measure the distances between landmarks, as well as their elevation and relative bearing.
Contractors and other professionals in the building industry often need to measure distances between various critical points as well. Traditionally this was accomplished by extending or laying down a measuring tape between the two points and reading the distance from the tape. If the tape was too short, or if there are obstacles between the points, then intermediate measurements are made along the path between the two points. Of course, this process is tedious and time-consuming. Moreover, in some instances, one or both points of interest are inaccessible and therefore the distance between them can be determined using indirect means or approximations.
Recently, the task of measuring devices has been eased somewhat by the availability of electronic measurement devices. These devices are now readily available and work by sending out an ultrasound, laser or other types of beams and determining the transit time required for the beam to reach the selected point, and return. One such device, called the Laser Dimension Master is made by Calculated Industries of Carson City, Nev. The device has a head rotatable between two perpendicular positions and generates an ultrasound beam for making measurements and a visible laser beam for aiming the device. While these devices are easy to use, most of them can still only measure the distance from the measuring device and a remote point and cannot be used from a remote location to measure the distance between two arbitrary points. One exception presently known are the laser measuring device made by Lasermeters of Edmond, Okla. (See Lasermeters.com). This company makes a line of devices under the name of Disto. A Disto device can be used to measure the distance between two points using three measurements. First, the device is directed at the first point and a measurement is taken. Next, the device is directed at an intermediate point disposed along a perpendicular line to the line between the two points and a second measurement is taken Finally, the device is directed at the second point and a third measurement is taken. The distances between the first point, the intermediate point, and the second point are determined using the Pythagorean theorem, and then added. This approach has many problems which render it impractical for most applications. First, the user must determine by eye the location of the intermediate point. Obviously this process introduces a degree of uncertainty and inaccuracy. Second, in most instances, except in very special instances, the intermediate point does not even fall between the two points, in which case, the distances must be subtracted, not added. Devices are also known that measure electronically the orientation of an object with respect to the North Pole. These devices or electronic compasses are used in various transportation means for navigation, in surveying devices, and so on. Moreover, historically, devices were well known, such as water bubbles and plumb lines that could be used to determine whether a flat member or surface was truly vertical or horizontal or to indicate the angle between a surface and a vertical or horizontal axis. More recently, devices have become available that measure such angles electronically and provide a digital signal indicative of the angle of a selected surface or line and either the vertical or horizontal axis. One such device is the Macklanburg-Duncan Electronic Digital Protractor available from Sears, Inc. of Chicago-part NO. #00940195000.

Automated method and apparatus for distance measurement


A method and device for enabling determination of periodic errors of a heterodyne interferometer. According to the method, repeated calibration measurement occurs for a constant calibration distance divided up into two distance segments. One of the distance segments is measured with the interferometer and the other is measured by an additional measuring system and does not present a periodical error with regard to the distance measured. Before each calibration measurement the distance segment measured by the interferometer is modified slightly. The second distance segment is modified accordingly in the opposite direction. The sum of the distance segment modifications must correspond to at least one optical wave length of the interferometer around the measuring wave length. Using the various calibration measurement results for the constant calibration distance, the periodic error components are separated and a wavelength dependent error curve is determined in order to correct all interferometer measurements.

1. Field of the Invention
Precision interferometer measurements, as are, for example, needed for measurements on masks and wafers in the semiconductor industry, have a resolution of well below the laser wavelength. To this end, the phase shift is electronically interpolated. This creates errors which lie far beyond the resolution of the measuring arrangement and occur periodically.
2. Description of the Related Art
Commercial high-resolution interferometers all work using the heterodyne principle, the two frequency components used being split by different polarizations. Even here, a periodic error occurs along the distance measured, but this is less due to the inaccuracy of the electronic interpolation, rather it has its basis in mechanical stresses in the components through which the laser beam passes. These mechanical stresses produce stress birefringence in the optical components which interfere with the ideal polarization of the two beam components relative to one another.
Periodic errors are just some of a whole range of errors which considerably impair the resolution and reproduceability of high-resolution interferometers. Examples of known causes of error include the fluctuating wavelength of the laser, electronic errors, optical errors and atmospheric fluctuations in the surroundings of the measuring arrangement. Since, in recent years, it has been possible to increase the resolution of interferometers to a great extent, great inroads are also being made into the elimination of individual errors and their causes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,260 A describes a high-resolution interferometer as part of a device for measuring position, in which by substantial enclosure of the beam paths and controlled supply of gas with known temperature and composition, the effect of air-pressure fluctuations and short-term temperature changes on the result of the measurement is minimized. Periodic errors are, however, not addressed there.
The problem of periodic errors in interferometer measurements has, however, been known for a long time. The manufacturers of commercial interferometers have also dealt with the question of periodic errors in interferometer measurements. This problem has also been dealt with in the article "Nonlinearity in Interferometer Measurements" by Robert C. Quenelle, Hewlett Packard Journal, April 1983, page 10. Even here, the peak values of the periodic error are indicated with an order of magnitude of 5 nm. It has hitherto not been possible to correct this error. However, there was neither any great need to carry out such correction, since hitherto known precision interferometer arrangements still had resolving powers above this 5 nm limit and the periodic error could therefore be classed as negligible.
The object of DE 40 31 291 A1 was to improve the interpolation or, alternatively, to reduce systematic periodic errors which occur through optical polarization perturbations. To this end, a heterodyne double interferometer is provided in which the beam path is split and the measurement signals are detected separately. In order to make it possible to orient the polarization directions of the two elementary beams ideally orthogonally to one another, adjustable analyzers are arranged in front of the two measuring detectors. In this case it is possible to compensate for the periodic errors with an orthogonal arrangement of the analyzers, or alternatively, with a parallel arrangement of the transmission directions of the analyzers, increased resolution of the measurement can be achieved. The inaccuracy in the measurement of the heterodyne double interferometer can therefore be improved to the submicrometer range with this arrangement.
A disadvantage with the previously known measuring arrangement is that considerable changes to the interferometer structure compared with known structures are needed. Indeed, the additional incorporation of a beam splitter, of an additional detector for the two elementary beams and of two analyzers in existing interferometer structures is not straightforward merely on the grounds of space. Furthermore, periodic errors which result from the electronic interpolation remain unaffected. Therefore, using this method, the inaccuracy of the measurement can merely be improved to the submicrometer range.
New interferometer arrangements for ultraprecision measurements have since reached a resolving power of the order of magnitude of below one nanometer, so that there is a need to eliminate the periodic error as far as possible.

Method and device for heterodyne interferometer error correction


A method and composition is provided for treating skin conditions including those arising from dermatologic disorders, chronoaging and environmental abuse. Non-ring esterified C.sub.11 -C.sub.30 alkyl or alkenyl esters of salicylic acid are used as the active component in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Most preferred is tridecyl salicylate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns methods of treating skin with compositions containing certain esters of salicylic acid.
2. The Related Art
Skin is subject to deterioration through dermatologic disorders or normal aging (chronoaging) as well as extrinsic factors (environmental). Dermatologic disorders include such conditions as acne, dry skin, dandruff, keratosis, pruritus, inflammatory dermatoses, eczema, psoriasis and tenia pedis (athlete's foot).
Chronoaging results in the thinning and general degradation of skin. As skin naturally ages, there is reduction in the cells and blood vessels that supply the skin. There is also a flattening of the dermal-epidermal junction which results in weaker mechanical resistance. Older individuals increasingly develop facial fine lines, wrinkles, leatheriness, yellowing, sagging, mottling (hyperpigmentation), age spots and the general signs of aging.
Extrinsic factors are primarily those caused by exposure to sun. Changes are most prominent in light skinned individuals who burn easily and tan poorly. The results of photodamage may be identical to those of aging except appearing at an accelerated rate. Wrinkling, yellowing, leatheriness, mottling and hyperpigmentation are all associated with sun damage. Most disturbing to many individuals is the wrinkling effect. It is a prime reminder of the disappearance of youth. As a result, there have been many reports of cosmetic treatments aimed at the elimination of wrinkles.
PCT applications WO 93/10755 and WO 93/10756 report salicylic acid as an effective anti-wrinkling agent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,407 reports use of ring acylated salicylic acid as a treatment against skin aging. Salicylic acid has also been described for the treatment of acne in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,227 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,228. Moreover, salicylic acid has been used for the removal of warts, corns and calluses; for the treatment of psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff; and for the topical treatment of ringworm infection. A listing of commercially available products containing salicylic acid will be found in the Physician's Desk Reference, 45th Edition, 1991, page 323.
Ring alkylated salicylic acid has been reported in Japanese Patent 4036238 (Takasago Perfumery KK) for treatment of acne vulgaris.
Significant irritation is often associated with the use of salicylic acid. Another problem is that salicylic acid is not always readily formulatable into oily compositions. Derivatives of salicylic acid most often leave the acidic function free. Irritation caused by acidity is therefore not prevented by such derivatives.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a treatment for a variety of dermatologic disorders such as acne, dry skin, dandruff, keratosis, pruritus, inflammatory dermatosis, eczema, psoriasis and tinea pedis.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a treatment for chronoaging conditions including wrinkling and fine lines, leatheriness, yellowing, sagging, mottling (hyperpigmentation), age spots and the general signs of aging.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a treatment for acne and pimples.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a treatment against environmental abuse to skin including wrinkling and fine lines, yellowing, leatheriness, mottling and hyperpigmentation.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a treatment to improve the condition of skin with a composition and active that does not impart irritation.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following summary and detailed discussion.

Skin treatment with salicylic acid esters

Elizabeth Arden Company, Division of Conopco, Inc.


A liquid dispenser utilizes a collapsible container that contains a supply of liquid. The collapsible container is received within a chamber that has a stationary wall. A moveable member is adjustable into contact with the collapsible container within the chamber. An indicator displays an estimated amount of liquid remaining in the collapsible container based on a position of the moveable member. The moveable member may squeeze the collapsible container against the stationary wall to thereby increase pressure within the liquid in the collapsible container to urge an outlet valve towards an open position in order to resolve any clogs in the valve.

Several appliances utilize liquid dispensers. For example, stand alone beverage dispensers and refrigerators may include built-in beverage dispensers. Washing machines, hand soap dispensers and dishwashers may also utilize liquid dispensers to dispense liquid detergents. A class of flexible containers that contain consumables such as flavorant, beverage concentrate, or chemicals such as detergents or soaps have a pump mechanism built into them. The pump mechanism is actuated by an actuator, typically a solenoid, situated on the host appliance. Alternatively, the collapsible containers may include only a built-in valve that is actuated to allow liquid to flow out under the force of gravity or squeezing force applied to the collapsible container. United States Patent Publication No. US2006/0016347 to Girard et al. shows an appliance that includes a collapsible container attached to a pump for providing flavorant to a beverage.
When using such a collapsible container containing a liquid consumable, it can be desirable to know the amount of liquid remaining within the container. Furthermore, between uses, an outlet valve on the container can stick or clog, as residue from the dispensed liquid within the bag dries out and solidifies.

Liquid dispenser with collapsible container


If a print medium size is set as a print setting for print target data, a print control apparatus causes a printing unit to print an image with a size corresponding to the print medium size based on the print target data. If the print medium size is not set as the print setting, the print control apparatus causes the printing unit to print an image with a size corresponding to a candidate print medium size obtained by a sensor detecting the size of the print medium.

1. Field of the Disclosure
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a storage medium each of which causes an image to be printed based on print target data.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are known techniques in which, when a printing apparatus performs printing, a paper width sensor included in the printing apparatus detects the width of printing paper for use in printing and the printing apparatus scales a print target image in such a way as to fit the paper width detected by the paper width sensor.
As one of techniques to dispense with a user operation for selecting the paper size, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-155043 discusses a technique to detect the width of printing paper via a sensor and to scale print data in such a way as to fit the detected paper width for printing.
In the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-155043, a print target image is inevitably scaled (enlarged or reduced) based on the paper width information detected by the sensor. Therefore, when printing paper, the size of which is greatly different from the size of printing paper to be used for printing, is set in the printing apparatus, appropriate printing may not be performed.
For example, in the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-155043, even if the size of printing paper is set by the user as one of the print settings about the print target data, an image may be scaled according to a result of detection of the paper width by the sensor irrespective of the set size of printing paper. Accordingly, when printing paper, the size of which is greatly different from the size of printing paper set as one of the print settings, is set in the printing apparatus, an image with an inappropriate size may be printed.

Print control apparatus, print control method, and storage medium


A light emitting device capable of simplifying its manufacturing process and/or suppress vacuum leakage by improving its terminal structure and a display device having the same. The light emitting device includes a first substrate assembly, a second substrate assembly, and a sealing member for bonding the first substrate assembly with the second substrate assembly. The first substrate assembly includes a first substrate main body having recess portions, first electrodes within the recess portions, electron emission regions on the first electrodes, and second electrodes at a distance away from the electron emission regions and fixed to a surface of the first substrate assembly. Here, a first portion of the second electrode including a first end portion of the second electrode is exposed out of a region surrounded by the seal member and out of the seal member and is used as a terminal connected to an external circuit.

1. Field
The following description relates to a light emitting device and a display device having the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A light emitting device can emit light and include a front substrate having a phosphor layer and an anode thereon and a rear substrate having an electron emission region and driving electrodes thereon. The front substrate and the rear substrate form a vacuum chamber together with a sealing member by integrally bonding edges (or edge portions) thereof by the sealing member and exhausting the internal space. In the light emitting device, electrons that are emitted toward the front substrate from the electron emission region excite the phosphor layer, thereby emitting light.
In such a light emitting device, a terminal for applying a signal by an external circuit to driving electrodes is formed by a separate thick film and/or thin film process, and the terminal and the driving electrodes are electrically connected by various suitable bonding processes. However, in such a connection structure, because a separate thick film and/or thin film process and bonding process should be performed, its manufacturing method is relatively complicated and its manufacturing cost is relatively high.
In the above-described light emitting device, when the front substrate and the rear substrate are closely bonded by the sealing member and the inside of the vacuum chamber is at a high vacuum state, electron emission efficiency and life-span of the electron emission region can be improved. However, because the electron emission region and driving electrodes are formed on the rear substrate and a phosphor layer and an anode are formed on the front substrate, a bonding surface thereof that is formed may not be flat, and a portion in which bonding is formed with the sealing member may be inappropriate. In this case, because vacuum of the vacuum chamber may leak, the vacuum degree may be deteriorated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Light emission device and display device including same


A print media moving apparatus includes a web guide positioned immediately upstream relative to a roller. The web guide has an arcuate surface including three sections with the second section located between the first and third sections. The arcuate surface includes a peak in the second section. The roller, having a diameter and rotational axis, includes three sections with the second section located between the first and third section as viewed along the rotational axis. The diameter of the roller in the first and third sections is greater than in the second section. The three sections of the web guide correspond to the three sections of the roller such that the contour of the arcuate surface causes the print media, after leaving the web guide, to contact the first and third sections of the roller prior to contacting the second section of the roller.

In a digitally controlled printing system, such as an inkjet printing system, a print media is directed through a series of components. The print media can be a cut sheet or a continuous web. A web or cut sheet transport system physically moves the print media through the printing system. As the print media moves through the printing system, liquid, for example, ink, is applied to the print media by one or more printheads through a process commonly referred to a jetting of the liquid. The jetting of liquid onto the print media introduces significant moisture content to the print media, particularly when the system is used to print multiple colors on a print media. Due to its moisture content, the print media expands and contracts in a non-isotropic manner often with significant hysteresis. The continual change of dimensional characteristics of the print media often adversely affects image quality. Although drying is used to remove moisture from the print media, drying too frequently, for example, after printing each color, also causes changes in the dimensional characteristics of the print media that often adversely affects image quality.
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a portion of the print media as the print media passes over two conventional rollers that support the print media under each row of printheads. During an inkjet printing process, the print media can expand as the print media absorbs the water-based inks applied to it. When the direction of expansion is in a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of media travel 100, it is often referred to as expansion in the crosstrack direction 102. Typically, the wrap of the print media around a roller of an inkjet printing system produces sufficient friction between the print media and the roller that the print media is not free to slide in the crosstrack direction even though the print media is expanding in that direction. This can result in localized buckling of the print media away from the roller to create lengthwise ripples, also called flutes or wrinkles, in the print media. Flutes or ridges 104, 106 can be produced in the print media due to expansion of the print media in the crosstrack direction 102 because the print media cannot slip on the rollers 108, 110. Flutes can become permanent creases in the paper as the print media passes over a roller if the flutes have sufficient height as the print media approaches the roller and the wrap angle of the print media is high.
As such, there is an ongoing need to provide digital printing systems and processes with the ability to effectively handle print media expansion associated with the absorption of water by the print media.

Transport using peaked web guide and roller


A method for making hollow stiffening elements with co-curing technique on a structure made of composite material 1 includes the use of at least a lamination and polymerization spindle 2 upon which is positioned at least a rolled section 3. The rolled section 3 forms at least a hollow structure 11 where there is the spindle 2, including the following operational phases: coating the spindle 2 with at least a first anti-adherent layer 41; coating the spindle 2 with at least a second heat-shrinking layer 42; heating the coated spindle 2; positioning the spindle 2 on the surface of the structure 1; laminating the surface 1 through at least a rolled section 3; heating the structure 1 with at least a positioned rolled section 3; extracting the spindle 2 from the hollow structure 11.

The present invention refers to a method for making stiffening elements, made by co-curing technique, for structures made of composite material, comprising at least a hollow section.
The co-curing or co-polymerization technique is able to entirely polymerize some parts of structures made of composite material in a sole polymerization cycle.
There are known processes of production of structures made of composite material wherein lamination spindles are used. These structures are normally made in polymeric material and are used for the making of rigid panels comprising hollow elements.
These spindles are arranged on the structure for being covered by rolled sections, normally made of carbon, which determine the stiffening of this structure.
In this solution, the spindle enters in direct contact with the rolled sections, used for the stiffening of the structure, both during the posing and during the stiffening phase, normally in autoclave.
With this method, it is then really difficult the extraction of the spindle from the hollow elements after the heating of the structure, causing also high costs for the cleaning of the hollow elements made in this way.
Furthermore, the contact between the spindle and the rolled section can cause a contamination of the rolled section itself, which can vary its physical and structural characteristics causing a reduction of the performances of the rolled section in relation to the stiffening.
A further drawback of the known art is related to the impossibility of moving the spindle after the posing of the rolled sections on the structure made of composite material, because the polymeric material of the spindle usually creates a high coefficient of friction with the rolled section.

Method for making hollow stiffening elements


Metallic substrates having a deformable vitreous coating, obtainable by applying an alkali metal silicate-containing coating sol to the substrate and thermally densifying the layer thus obtained in a two-stage heat treatment process, the heat treatment being carried out, in the first stage, either (A) in an oxygen-containing atmosphere or (B) in a vacuum at a residual pressure of ≦15 mbar and, in the second stage, in a low-oxygen atmosphere up to full densification with formation of a vitreous layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to metallic substrates having a deformable, especially cold-deformable, vitreous coating, to a process for their production and to their use.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Vitreous coatings on metal substrates such as steel or aluminum are generally produced by means of enameling processes. To this end, a particulate composition is applied to an adhesive layer applied beforehand and melts on heating to give a glass. In order to obtain continuous, impervious layers, however, the layer thicknesses generally have to be >50 μm. As a result of this, the layers, though, become inflexible and brittle, they are sensitive to bending, shock and impact, and flake off. Thermal injection processes too are incapable of producing deformable layers.
Various investigations on the application of thin inorganic layers to steel surfaces by means of the sol-gel process have already been carried out. For example, attempts have been made to apply zirconium dioxide layers to stainless steel in order to improve the corrosion resistance. Borosilicate glass layers have also been investigated. However, it was found that the refractory systems (high-melting oxides such as ZrO2) do not lead to impervious layers via these techniques and that the borosilicate glass layers can be applied only in layer thicknesses significantly below 1 μm, so that sufficient mechanical and chemical protection is not ensured. These processes have therefore not gained any industrial significance.
It is also known that transparent, crack-free and also one-dimensionally flexible vitreous layers with layer thicknesses in the lower μm range can be produced on metal surfaces with specific alkali metal ion-containing SiO2 coatings sols which comprise colloidal SiO2 particles; see DE 19714949 A1 and DE 10059487 A1. The nanoparticles present in the coating sols used there can be added to the sol from an external source or else generated in situ. The layers are applied with customary techniques and, after a drying step at temperatures up to 500° C., thermally densified. The thermal densification can be effected either in air or alternatively in oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere. The coatings thus produced are only suitable for industrial applications in which a limited hydrolytic stability and no moisture-sensitive attrition resistance are required and in which the visual appearance plays only a minor role.
For example, it has been found that layers on stainless steel which have been densified at 500° C. under air have good scratch resistance (<150 μm in the IEC test with 20 N and tungsten carbide tip, radius 1 mm), but, on closer inspection, they have readily discernible discolorations in different gray to brown tones which may occur more or less homogeneously or else inhomogeneously, i.e. in a blotchy manner. Moreover, it is found after boiling for about 1 hour in tap water that the scratch resistance falls significantly (≧230 μm in the IEC test with 20 N and tungsten carbide tip, radius 1 mm), the layer changes its appearance and may peel off partially from the substrate.
On the other hand, it is found that layers densified at 500° C. under N2 atmosphere do not show the slight discolorations described above but have very poor chemical stability.
In both cases, cold deformation of the coating, for example on stainless steel sheet, is not possible. The layers burst even at bending radii of <5 mm (two-dimensional).
It is apparent that these unsatisfactory properties of the coatings are based on an inhomogeneous, unsuitable and irreproducible microstructure of the layers. An exact analysis is not possible, since the layers are vitreous and hence X-ray-amorphous. The structural units are within the lower nm range and, owing to their chemical composition (alkali metal silicate) are very low in contrast even for ultra-high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.
Owing to these unsatisfactory properties, serious disadvantages arise in the subsequent processing of coated metal substrates. For example, it is not possible to carry out any thermoforming-like reshaping processes. Equally, use in hot aqueous media is only possible to a limited extent.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide metallic substrates having a deformable vitreous coating with improved mechanical and chemical properties.

Metallic substrates comprising a deformable glass-type coating

EPG (ENGINEERED NANOPRODUCTS GERMANY) AG


Provided are compositions and methods of improving a plant growth factor. The compositions and methods contain combinations of plant growth regulators such as plant growth retardants and inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis or action. The ethylene inhibitors comprise substituted oxime-ethers having the general formula: ##STR1## where R1 and R2 independently of one another are C1-C6-alkyl, n is 2 or 3 and R3 is hydrogen or C1-C6-alkyl. Specific inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis or action include: {(isopropylidene)-amino!oxy}-acetic acid-2-(methoxy)-2-oxoethyl ester, {(isopropylidene)-amino!oxy}-acetic acid-2-(hexyloxy)-2-oxoethyl ester, {{cyclohexylidene)-amino!oxy}-acetic acid-2-(isopropyloxy)-2-oxyethyl ester (methoxy)-2-oxoethyl ester, ((isopropylidene)-amino!oxy acetic acid, aminooxyacetic acid, aminoethoxyvinylglycine, rhizobitoxine, silver ions (e.g. silver thiosulfate), and 2,5-norbornadiene. The plant growth retardants include: compounds with quaternary ammonium, phosphonium or sulphonium moieties such as mepiquat chloride and chloromequat chloride; compounds that contain a nitrogen containing heterocycle such as paclobutrazol, uniconazole and ancymidol; compounds such as acylcylohexanediones (e.g., trinexapac-ethyl and prohexadione-Ca) and daminozide. Low rate application of the methods and compositions are preferred.

Agriculture workers actively seek ways to improve the economic output of commercial crops. For example, in cotton crops, workers seek to improve such growth factors as increased boll set, increased floral initiation, decreased floral abscissionincreased germination, decreased boll abscission, and enhanced root growth. Workers also seek to increase plant tolerance to environmental stress.
Formulations containing plant growth regulators (PGRs) have been developed to improve the economic yield of agricultural plants. Plant growth retardants and inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis or action are two types of PGRs. Some plant growth retardants have been shown to inhibit gibberellin biosynthesis resulting in the reduction of shoot height in small grains and cotton. This reduction in shoot height has a strong economic benefit since it provides for less lodging in small grains and reduction of excessive vegetative growth. It also provides more uniform ripening in cotton.
Three groups of gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitors are known. The first group encompasses compounds with quaternary ammonium, phosphonium or sulphonium moieties. One example of a compound from this group is mepiquat chloride, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,798 and incorporated herein by reference. Mepiquat chloride may increase cotton yields, boll load, lint yield and seed yield. Mepiquat chloride is also known to reduce vegetative growth, plant height and boll rot. Mepiquat chloride also induces uniform ripeness if the plants are treated early during their development. Chloromequat chloride is also a representative compound of this group.
The second group of plant growth retardants encompasses compounds with a nitrogen containing heterocycle such as flurprimidol, paclobutrazol, uniconazole and ancymidol.
The third group encompasses acylcylcohexanediones (such as trinexapac-ethyl and prohexadione-Ca) and daminozide.
It is known that ethylene is involved in plant senescence and plant stress reactions. Ethylene is also involved in leaf, flower, and fruit abscission. Hence, agents that inhibit or regulate the production of ethylene in plants or control its action have been developed in an effort to improve the yield of agricultural crops. Inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis include substituted oxime-ethers as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,811, incorporated herein by reference. These compounds are also described in PCT Application WO 95-02211, incorporated herein by reference, as being soil amendment compositions that increase the assimilation of nitrogen by higher plants.
Other inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis and action include aminoethoxyvinylglycine ("AVG"), aminooxyacetic acid ("AOA"), rhizobitoxine, and methoxyvinyl glycine ("MVG"). Silver ions (e.g. silver thiosulfate), and 2,5-norbornadiene inhibit ethylene action.
Plant growth regulators have also been used to protect crops from the effects of environmental stress. Gianfagna, T. J. et al. "Mode of Action and Use of Growth Retardants in Reducing the Effects of Environmental Stress on Horticultural Crops: Karssen, C. N. et al. (eds.) Progress in Plant Growth Regulation, pp. 778-87 (1992). For example, researchers found that if ethephon was applied at a low rate (0.08 mM) it significantly delayed bloom in peach and reduced side effects. Researchers also found that ethephon increased the yields and hardiness of several horticultural plants.
Although PGRs have been developed as a means to improve agricultural crop yields, certain obstacles make the actual use of the PGR prohibitive. For example, many of the compounds display phytotoxicity. Other compounds are difficult to synthesize.
Many compounds require high rate applications to be effective. For example, PCT Application WO 93/07747, incorporated herein by reference, describes an improvement in a plant growth factor by applying aminoethoxyvinylglycine ("AVG"), an inhibitor of ethylene biosynthesis, to cotton plants. As the rate of AVG treatment increased, so did the improvement. (WO 93/07747, Examples 24). Assuming that a spray volume of 500 I/ha was used, the rates of application described in WO 93107747 would be approximately 62.5 to 500 g ai/ha (ai=active ingredient). The maximum rate response occurs at the highest rates.
High rate applications may result in a significant waste of material and may result in the discharge of the PGRs into the surrounding environment. Also, although many of these compounds may induce a beneficial growth habit, they do not provide consistent improvement in plant growth factors. Other compounds may lose their effectiveness or cause a reduction in yield when applied to species which are under some form of environmental stress.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to formulate a PGR that not only improves a plant growth factor but one that also reduces toxicity. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a PGR that has lower application rates and has limited environmental impact.

Plant growth retardants in combination with inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis or action


Processes for fabricating structured, relatively large area, ultra-thin polymer films are disclosed. For instance, such a process may include spinning a thermoplastic polymer film onto an etched wafer that serves as a mold for the thermoplastic polymer film, baking the thermoplastic polymer film on a hotplate at a curing temperature, delaminating the thermoplastic polymer film in water, and peeling the thermoplastic polymer film from the etched wafer, producing a structured thermoplastic polymer film that has structures corresponding to areas where the wafer has been etched.

Fabrication of polymer-based optical devices requires low loss materials with high strength and exceptional thickness uniformity over large areas. To reduce loss in applications ranging from x-ray to ultraviolet (UV) optics, very thin materials are required. At long wavelength ranges, absence of an absorption band in the spectrum of interest is desirable. Methods for incorporating topography into the films further enhance their utilization.
Conventionally, ultra-thin thermoplastic polymer films are molded by thermo-stamping, nano imprinting, and thermoforming. In the film fabrication processes, a stamp is applied to the film at a temperature above the glass transition temperature, causing the material to flow to form the structure of the stamp. Highly parallel stamping processes and uniform temperature control are required to maintain a uniform height across large areas. Other processes used to form topography on a polymer film include photolithography and etch back. However, this is limited by etching uniformity, which can vary significantly across a wafer and is detrimental in UV applications, for instance. Additionally, photolithography processes are relatively expensive. Accordingly, an improved process for producing ultra-thin, highly uniform, structured polymer films may be beneficial.

Fabricating ultra-thin structured polymer films

United States of America as represented by the Administrator of NASA


Systems and methods for improving security in computer-based authentication systems by using physical unclonable functions are presented. A computing device used to provide authentication includes an array of physical unclonable function devices. Rather than storing user passwords or message digests of passwords, the computing device generates a message digest based on a combination of a user ID and corresponding password. This message digest forms part of challenge (together with instructions for responding to the challenge). A challenge response generated by measuring physical parameters of set of physical unclonable function devices specified by the message digest. This allows the computing device to provide authentication without storing information which could be used by an attacker to compromise user credentials.

Conventional authentication systems store user authentication information including user identifiers (such as a number or username) and associated authentication credentials (such as passwords) in lookup tables or databases. To improve security, many systems obscure the user identifiers and/or the credentials by encrypting the user information or applying hashing functions to the user information so that a hacker cannot readily determine users' credentials by obtaining unauthorized access to the user authentication information stored by the system. In some conventional systems, a user has no fixed credentials and instead responds to an authentication challenge instructing the user (or user device) to perform mathematical or other operations on information shared by the user and the authentication system but unknown to a potential hacker or other unauthorized third party.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Password management with addressable physical unclonable function generators

Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of Northern Arizona University