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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to communications systems and methods for operating same. In one aspect, the present invention relates to systems and methods for using a near field antenna in a mobile wireless device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless communication technology that is being developed for interactive use in consumer electronics, mobile devices and PCs. This technology enables the exchange of data between two devices in close proximity and is an extension of the ISO/IEC 14443 proximity-card standard for radio frequency identification devices (RFID) that combines the interface of a smartcard and a reader into a single device. The effective range of these devices is just a few centimeters; however, that distance makes it possible to activate the link without contact. Alternatively, the systems can be designed to require light contact to activate the link. There is increasing interested in using NFC systems in wireless mobile systems for numerous applications, such as electronic keys, mobile payment and ticketing and electronic financial transactions.
The most ergonomic way of using a NFC equipped mobile device, i.e., by pointing the device as a “magic wand,” where some angulations (θ) exist between the NFC mobile device and the other NFC capable device. However, this assumes that this configuration is technologically feasible. This also assumes that there is no necessity for the mobile NFC device to be aligned (parallel) with the NFC capable device. In reality, this is not true. The NFC antenna is typically placed on the battery back door, and to activate the NFC link, it is necessary to hold the mobile phone against the NFC capable device and in a perfectly aligned way such that the Tx and the Rx coils electromagnetically couple.
In view of the foregoing it is apparent that there is a need for an improved antenna configuration for use in NFC mobile devices. | {
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People with typical eyesight perceive depth of field while viewing three dimensional objects. They also rely on their depth of field perception when they undertake ordinary, commonplace activities such as driving a car, walking down the street, and playing sports. Most people closely associate their ability to perceive depth with reality. However, the majority of computer images, digitally generated images, movies and television programs are viewed as a series of two-dimensional images. While viewing computer images, digitally generated images, movies and television programs in two dimensions, the audience does not experience a realistic three-dimensional, stereoscopic perspective. Viewing movies and television programs in this three-dimensional perspective gives the viewer an additional element of reality.
For a person with normal eyesight, perceiving depth of field is achieved by close interactions between the person's nerve endings, brain, and eyes. When viewing an object, the right eye perceives a slightly different image than the left eye. This slightly different image between the right eye and left eye is normal because the right and left eyes reside in different locations relative to the object being viewed. The nerve endings of each eye perceive the right image and left image of the right and left eye, respectively. The nerve endings then transmit these images to the brain. The brain utilizes both the right and left images to produce a depth of field or stereoscopic perspective for the person viewing the object. These interactions occur very rapidly and appear naturally to the viewer.
There are numerous prior devices that attempt to provide viewers with a stereoscopic perspective while viewing a two-dimensional image. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,802,769 and 4,012,116 both only provide a stereo-effect image for still images. Further, both of these references require the viewers to be located at a center location relative to each device in order to experience the stereo-effect image. Accordingly, since each device is not attached to the viewer, these devices fail to provide the viewer with the stereo-effect image, once the viewer changes position such that the viewer is no longer aligned with the center of the device; it is unreasonable to expect an average viewer to remain motionless so that these types of applications are only temporarily effective. In addition, these devices taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,802,769 and 4,012,116, only display still images. As a result, these devices have very limited applications.
Other stereoscopic viewers utilize polarizing filters to display right and left images to each corresponding eye of the user. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,623,219, 4,719,507, and 4,744,633, teach the use of polarizing filters to display stereoscopic, animated images. In these references, one image is modulated by linearly polarized high intensity light. The other image is modulated by an orthogonally disposed component of the above linearly polarized high intensity light. The viewers wear polarized glasses to allow each eye to view the respective left and right images. These systems suffer the drawback of only being effective for three-dimensional viewing when the image has been specially encoded for left and right images. Further, the use of these polarizing filters decreases the efficiency of the system because a portion of the light waves are lost in the decoding process. This decrease in efficiency results in images that lack the more vivid qualities of unfiltered images.
Three-dimensional glasses, with one red lens and one blue lens, are also very well known. Similar to the polarizing filters discussed above, this technique utilizes color filter so that one image is modulated by blue light waves and the other image is modulated by red light waves. This suffers similar drawbacks of the polarizing filters described above which include the need to encode a left image and a right image and the loss in efficiency because the left and right images need to be decoded. Further, because of the colored lenses, the viewer cannot perceive natural, balanced colors.
Some stereo viewing devices use two full displays. One display is provided for each of the user's eyes. Each of the display is provided with the appropriate data for forming the image that would naturally be seen by that one of the user's eye. Such a system adds cost due to duplication of display and light sources. Additionally, it has been observed that errors in registration between the displays, errors in focus, color and update rates of the two displays relative to one another can disorient or nauseate a user.
What is needed in a low cost method and apparatus of producing appropriate stereo images for a user's left and right eyes which are uniform and eliminates optical errors. What is needed is a device which displays three-dimensional stereoscopic images from a two-dimensional image source. What is further needed is a device which allows the user to view three-dimensional stereoscopic images without utilizing filters and while allowing the user to move freely. What is further needed is a device that does not expose the viewer to potentially harmful radiation from a cathode ray tube. | {
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Magnetic recording media such as video tapes and audio tapes are required to have excellent electromagnetic conversion properties, running property and durability.
For satisfying the above requirements, various attempts have so far been tried.
For the purpose of improving all of the electromagnetic conversion properties, running property and durability, there is proposed a magnetic recording medium in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter called JP O.P.I.) No. 60-93626/1985, in which a surface roughness R.sub.a (M) of a support surface on a magnetic layer side is controlled to not greater than 0.03 .mu.m; a surface roughness Ra(B) of a support surface opposite to the magnetic layer is controlled to 0.02 to 0.1 .mu.m; and R(M) and R(B) satisfy the following equation: R.sub.a (M) <R.sub.a (B).
However, a waviness on a support surface deteriorates the electromagnetic conversion properties. If a support surface opposite to a magnetic layer is roughened by providing high protrusions thereon, the protrusions on a wound tape are liable to stick into a magnetic layer surface and roughen it; a dropout is caused by scraping-off of the high protrusions in manufacturing; and further, the high protrusions are scraped off while running in a deck and the fillers contained therein may damage the support surface to produce noises. Because of the above reasons, the electromagnetic conversion properties cannot always be improved even if the roughness of a support surface on a magnetic layer side is simply minimized.
On the contrary to the above, there is proposed a magnetic recording medium in JP 0.P.I. No. 57-150130/1982, in which the surface roughness of a support on a magnetic layer side is roughened more than that of the support surface opposite thereto in order to improve the electromagnetic conversion properties.
However, a very smooth support surface opposite to the magnetic layer is liable to cause troubles in transporting such as weaving or sticking in a calendering process.
Further, there are disclosed various recording media in JP O.P.I. 185224/1987 where .mu.K and Rrms of a magnetic layer are controlled to lower a head stain; in JP 0.P.I. 268118/1988 where a magnetic layer contains a binder comprising a vinyl chloride resin having a phosphoric acid group and a polymer having a functional group, and alumina having an average particle size of 0.1 to 0.3 .mu.m; and in JP 0.P.I. 275022/1988 where foregoing alumina is replaced with carbon black having an average particle size of 20 to 120 .mu.m.
However, mere control of .mu.K and Rrms of a magnetic layer involves such problems that head stain is not necessarily lowered and that the electromagnetic conversion properties are rather deteriorated and an abrasion of a magnetic head is increased.
Addition of alumina for elimination of head stain is liable to have a problem that head stain is inevibaly increased, and adding carbon black for solving the head stain problem is liable to inevitably result in deteriorating the electromagnetic conversion properties.
Further, any one of the above technologies are not suitable for improving dispersibility of a magnetic powder by treating the surfaces thereof with SiO.sub.2.
Further, there are proposed the magnetic recording media in JP O.P.I. 146129 to 146131/1989 where a magnetic layer contains a hydrate of metal oxide to reduce a rubbing noise; and in JP O.P.I. 77030/1983 where there is used a plastic film support having a specific contact angle with water to increase adhesiveness of a magnetic layer to a support.
The magnetic recording medium containing a metal oxide hydrate involves the problem that dispersibility of a coating solution for a magnetic layer is worsened, so that the electromagnetic conversion properties are deteriorated. Further, the magnetic recording medium comprising a plastic film support having the specific contact angle with water also has the problem that an additive to the plastic film is liable to deteriorate rigidity of the support, which in turn results in deteriorating a running property and a durability of the recording medium. | {
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The present invention relates to transducers of the type used to produce a sonic output. More specifically, the present invention relates to controlling the sonic output from a transducer using a feedback technique.
Sonic transducers, and in particular ultrasonic transducers, are used in a wide variety of applications to provide a sonic output. For example, ultrasonic transducers are used for imaging, medical therapy, motors, sonar systems, welding, cleaning, instrumentation, chemical activation, machining and vaporizing. One example use in the medical field is in the Copalis(copyright) testing system available from DiaSorin Inc. of Stillwater, Minn. In the Copalis(copyright) testing system, an ultrasonic transducer is used for resuspension of particles in a fluid.
One problem commonly associated with ultrasonic transducers is the inability to accurately control the energy delivered by the ultrasonic transducer. This is largely due to the inability to accurately determine the energy level of the ultrasonic output provided by a drive element in the transducer. This has made it difficult to accurately ascertain whether the ultrasonic transducer is providing the desired level of ultrasonic energy to the work piece.
One technique used to overcome the problem of controlling the output is to accurately calibrate the transducer prior to use. However, the output energy level is dependent upon a number of different factors and can experience drift during operation. For example, a change in the force applied to the transducer can affect the energy output. The delivered energy level is also affected by factors such as drive voltage, ambient temperature, temperature rise due to self heating of the transducer during operation, and a change in the resonant frequency of the transducer. This problem is exacerbated because the ultrasonic transducer must operate in the stable and desired frequency regimes in order to operate efficiently.
One technique for automatically controlling the drive signal frequency applied to an ultrasonic transducer is to compare the phase of the drive voltage signal to the phase of the drive current signal. When the voltage and current signals are in phase, the ultrasonic transducer is operating at a resonant frequency. However, this technique is complex, inefficient, and does not provide a direct indication of the amount of energy in the ultrasonic transducer. Another technique is to use a separate sensor spaced apart from the ultrasonic transducer to monitor the energy output. However, this technique is sensitive to standing waves which may cause inaccurate readings. Further, this technique can be inaccurate due to interfacial changes between materials.
Other techniques of controlling the transducer use a sense element to determine if the transducer is operating at resonance. Such techniques are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,166, issued Jun. 10, 1975, and entitled AUTOMATIC FREQUENCY CONTROL FOR A SANDWICH TRANSDUCER USING VOLTAGE FEEDBACK; U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,478, issued Apr. 8, 1980, and entitled ELECTRONICALLY TUNABLE RESONANT ACCELEROMETER; U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,843, issued Mar. 1, 1988, and entitled ULTRASONIC VIBRATOR AND DRIVE CONTROL METHOD THEREOF; U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,044, issued Apr. 3, 1984, and entitled TRANSDUCER WITH A PIEZOELECTRIC SENSOR ELEMENT; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,963, issued Jul. 16, 1996, and entitled MICRODEVICE WITH FERROELECTRIC FOR SENSING OR APPLYING A FORCE. Although above mentioned techniques describe the use of a separate sense element to detect if the transducer is operating at a mechanical resonant frequency, these techniques have not monitored and controlled the energy level of the transducer.
A sonic transducer includes a transducer body and a sonic drive element coupled to the transducer body to produce a sonic output in response to an applied electrical input. An electromechanical transducer such as a sonic transducer includes a transducer body and an electromechanical drive element coupled to the transducer body to produce an electromechanical output, such as a sonic output in response to an applied electrical input. A sense element is coupled to the drive element and is configured to provide an electrical feedback output related to the electromechanical output. The electrical feedback output is adapted to be used to control the applied electrical input to the drive element. | {
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The present invention relates to optical semiconductor devices that have optical semiconductor elements and relates, in particular, to an optical semiconductor device which can be utilized for an optical communication device that transmits and receives optical signals by means of an optical transmission medium of an optical fiber or the like.
The optical semiconductor device of the present invention is used for electronic equipment such as digital TV (Television) sets, digital BS (Broadcasting Satellite) tuners, CS (Communication Satellite) tuners, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) players, CD (Compact Disc) players, AV (Audio Visual) amplifiers, audio devices, personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PC's), personal computer peripherals, portable telephones and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) devices. Moreover, the optical semiconductor device can also be used for electronic equipment such as automobile onboard equipment of car audio devices, car navigation devices and sensors, sensors of robots in factories and control equipment, the equipment used in environments of wide operating temperature ranges.
An optical semiconductor device that connects optical semiconductor elements of a light-emitting diode (LED) and a photodiode (PD) with an optical fiber cable has conventionally been known and used for optical communications between devices and in homes and automobiles.
As these optical semiconductor devices, as shown in FIG. 31, those which are fabricated by utilizing transfer molding with a transparent resin are widely used. In the optical semiconductor device shown in FIG. 31, an optical semiconductor element 102 bonded onto a lead frame 101 with a conductive adhesive paste 103 is encapsulated with a transparent resin 106, and the optical semiconductor element 102 and the optical fiber cable 111 are optically connected with each other by a lens 110 formed of the translucent resin. The optical semiconductor element 102 is electrically connected to the lead frame 101 by a wire 104. Moreover, an integrated circuit chip 105 for controlling the driving of the optical semiconductor element 102 is mounted bonded onto the lead frame 101 with the conductive adhesive paste 103.
In general, the transparent resin used for an optical semiconductor device as described above has had a problem that the coefficient of linear expansion thereof has been increased by the use of the transparent resin filled with no filler making great account of the optical characteristics, which has led to a problem in the environmental resistance (thermal shock resistance, heat dissipation and so on).
Therefore, an optical semiconductor device (shown in FIG. 32), which can be encapsulated with a mold resin filled with filler by devising the construction of the optical semiconductor device, is disclosed (refer to, for example, JP 2000-173947 A). In the optical semiconductor device shown in FIG. 32, a glass lens 212 is stuck to only the optical part of an optical semiconductor element 202, the element is mounted on a lead frame 201 with a conductive adhesive paste 203, and an electrode located at the periphery of the optical part of the optical semiconductor element 202 is electrically connected to the lead frame 201 via a wire 204. Subsequently, by transfer forming with a mold resin filled with filler, the optical semiconductor element 202 and the wire 203 can be encapsulated with a mold resin portion 207 without shielding an optical path through which light enters and goes out of the optical semiconductor element 202.
Moreover, as a semiconductor device resin encapsulating technique, as shown in FIG. 33, a resin encapsulating technique for providing a first encapsulating resin portion 308 that integrally encapsulates the main body constituents including a lead frame 301, a semiconductor element 302 bonded onto the lead frame 301 with a conductive adhesive paste 303 and a bonding wire 304 that connects these members, and a second encapsulating resin portion 309 that is formed to cover at least part of the outer peripheral portion of the first encapsulating resin portion 308 and selecting the first and second encapsulating resin portions 308 and 309 so that the coefficient of linear expansion of the second encapsulating resin portion 309 is made smaller than the coefficient of linear expansion of the first encapsulating resin portion 308 is also disclosed (refer to, for example, JP 04-92459 A).
Since the conventional optical semiconductor device is fabricated by transfer molding with the transparent resin filled with no filler, there are great differences in the coefficient of linear expansion among the transparent resin, the lead frame, the optical semiconductor element and the bonding wire, and this leads to a problem that the troubles of wire disconnection, package cracking and so on occur due to thermal stresses. There is a further problem that the transparent resin has a thermal conductivity of about 0.17 W/m·K, which is much smaller than that of a metal (e.g., a copper material has a thermal conductivity of 365 W/m·K), and this makes it difficult to dissipate heat generated in the optical semiconductor element, limiting the operating range at high temperature. Due to the problems, it is very difficult to fabricate a highly reliable optical semiconductor device.
Moreover, it is known that the coefficient of linear expansion and the thermal conductivity can be adjusted by filling the mold resin with filler. However, since it is difficult to achieve filling of filler (or it is permissible to achieve filling of filler only by a small amount) due to a reduction in the light transmittance in the optical semiconductor device of which the optical characteristics are valued, there has been a problem in fabricating a highly reliable optical semiconductor device. Therefore, in order to use a mold resin filled with filler, as shown in FIG. 32, a structure in which a glass lens is mounted in the light-receiving portion of an optical semiconductor element and the lens is partially peripherally encapsulated with a resin, can be considered. However, actually in this structure, a glass lens can be placed in the optical part when an optical semiconductor element of a comparatively large size (several millimeters to several tens of millimeters square) as in a CCD. In contrast to this, in an optical semiconductor element of a small size (several hundreds of micrometers square) as in an LED, a very small glass lens needs to be used since the optical part is very small, and there are the problems that:
(i) it is difficult to fabricate a minute glass lens;
(ii) it is difficult to achieve mutual bonding and alignment between the optical part and the glass lens; and
(iii) interfacial separation occurs due to a difference in the coefficient of linear expansion between the glass and the mold resin due to thermal stresses.
Moreover, there is a problem that the wire bonding cannot be carried out when a glass lens that is larger than the optical part of the optical semiconductor element is employed since the glass lens overlaps the electrode located adjacent to the optical part of the optical semiconductor element. Moreover, another method for a structure in which a semiconductor device electrically connected to a lead frame with a bonding wire is covered a first encapsulating resin, and the peripheral portion of the first encapsulating resin is further covered with a second encapsulating resin, as disclosed in FIG. 33, by which the coefficient of linear expansion of the second encapsulating resin is made smaller than the coefficient of linear expansion of the first encapsulating resin to reduce the separation between the encapsulating resins due to thermal stresses, is also considered. However, since the coefficient of linear expansion of the first encapsulating resin is greater than the coefficient of linear expansion of the second encapsulating resin, there occurs a problem that the first encapsulating resin is formed in a swelled state due to heat at the time of forming the second encapsulating resin, and the contraction of the first encapsulating resin becomes greater than that of the second encapsulating resin at the time of cooling after the formation, causing separation at the resin interface and reducing the reliability of the moisture resistance and so on. | {
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For many applications it is important to control the amount of material that is present in a flow of a flowable substance. For other applications it is important to control the distribution of material added with a flow of a flowable substance. For still other applications it is important to control both the amount of material that is added with a flow of a flowable substance and the distribution of material added with the flow of a flowable substance. To control the amount of material added and/or to control the distribution of material added, it is important to measure or monitor the volume flow of a flowable substance.
For steel fibre reinforced concrete it is extremely important to control the amount of reinforcing fibres added to the concrete and/or to control the distribution of the reinforcing fibres over the concrete volume. Control of the amount and/or the distribution of steel reinforcing fibres added to the concrete is for example important to guarantee a correct reinforcement. Especially for structural applications strict process control and/or quality control is important.
At present it is difficult to control the amount of fibres added to fibre reinforced concrete once the reinforcing fibres are in the concrete, fresh or hardened. Today process and quality control is done by wash-out tests. In wash-out tests at regular intervals during the unloading of the concrete samples of concrete are taken from the truck mixer. As wash-out tests require sampling, weighing, washing out and counting or weighing of the steel fibres, these tests are time consuming and labour intensive. Furthermore these tests have the disadvantage that they require special equipment and might deliver results too late.
There are instruments available on the market to determine the amount of steel fibre present in a cube of concrete (fresh or hardened) by inductive measurements. A drawback of this technology is the required calibration. Furthermore this technology does not allow on-line measurement. The samples need to be filled completely with concrete and three measurements are required along the three main axes to determine the amount of steel fibres present.
Therefore it is clear that there is an urgent need for control mechanisms to measure or monitor the amount and/or distribution of steel reinforcing fibres during the unloading of the steel fibre reinforced concrete. | {
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Work machines can be used to move material, such as pallets, dirt, and/or debris. Examples of work machines include fork lifts, wheel loaders, track loaders, excavators, backhoes, bull dozers, telehandlers, etc. The work machines typically include a work implement (e.g., a fork) connected to the work machine. The work implements attached to the work machines are typically powered by a hydraulic system. The hydraulic system can include a hydraulic pump that is powered by a prime mover, such as a diesel engine. The hydraulic pump can be connected to hydraulic actuators by a set of valves to control flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic actuators. The pressurized hydraulic fluid causes the hydraulic actuators to extend, retract, or rotate and thereby cause the work implement to move.
The work machine may further include a propulsion system adapted to propel the work machine. The propulsion system may include a hydraulic pump that is powered by the prime mover. The propulsion system may include a hydrostatic drive. | {
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(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable broadcasting system by which an image signal is broadcast by an on-demand-video service method through a cable network such as a public network of Broadband Integrated Service Digital Network (B-ISDN) or a cable television (CATV) and a transmission center employed therein.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In a cable broadcasting system based on a cable network, such as represented by the CATV, a program is broadcast according to a timetable for each channel like in a wireless broadcasting service. Subscribers of the cable broadcasting system choose a program according to a time slot and a channel thereof specified in the timetable, although only a few dozen channels are available due to bearer capability.
Recently, a new service method taking the advantage of the two-way method of the CATV, i.e. a pay-TV or a pay-per-view service, has been in practical use, in which a program is provided only to the subscribers who have requested the program. By such a method, although various programs and accompanying services are available for a charges, the subscribers still have to choose their program according to a time slot d a channel as specified in the timetable.
It is therefore the subscribers who arrange their schedule to the program they would like to watch, and when they missed the program or would like to watch it again, they have to wait for a repeat. Thus, a limited number of the available channels provide the subscribers limited options to a program selection and a less flexible schedule. In brief, the subscribers can neither choose a program among various kinds or programs nor watch it at their convenience with the conventional cable broadcasting system. Therefore, and on-demand-video service method is proposed in order to add the options, by which a program selected from a large program library in a broadcasting station is transmitted to the subscribers at their request.
Such a video distribution system capable of answering the subscribers' request is proposed in "FM Multiplex High-Vision Optical CATV System by a Demand-Access Method", by Mikio Maeda Nippon Hoso Kyokai Giken, Shingakugiho Vol. 89 No. 304 (OQE8 9 91-95) pp. 7-12, and "Alan F. Graves (Bellcore) `Switched digital video-The opportunities and challenges of Heathrow` Pro. National Communication Forum Vol. 43 No. 2 pp. 1125-1128."
According to the system, upon receiving the subscribers' requests for the programs, the broadcasting station selects each program and transmits it only to those who have requested it.
However, the system requires transmission line in a star network in order to connect the broadcasting station directly to each subscriber and a switch device for each subscriber for the program selection. Therefore, introducing the on-demand-video service method to the CATVs with existing transmission lines in a tree network requires a complete line exchange. Furthermore, more massive and complicated hardware will be necessary at the broadcasting station, thereby increasing service costs. In addition, since the system proposed in the aforementioned publication is supposed to be available to the timetable, the options in the program selection remain limited. | {
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The present invention relates to a method and a system for configuring a monitoring device for monitoring a spatial area, in particular for configuring a monitoring device for failsafely monitoring a working area of a machine or installation, which is operated in an automated manner.
Working areas of machines or installations operating in automated manner are traditionally safeguarded by mechanical barriers (protective fences, protective doors) and/or by light barriers, light curtains, laser scanners et cetera as protection against accidents. As soon as a person or an object breaks through the barrier, the machine or installation is stopped or otherwise rendered harmless.
In the case of complex machines and installations, the expenditure for such protection can become very high. Light barriers, light curtains and the like must be aligned and mounted very accurately. Moreover, they can only monitor a straight area between light transmitter and light receiver so that a plurality of light barriers, light curtains et cetera are needed in order to protect a complex working area all around. In addition mechanical barriers and conventional light barriers, light curtains et cetera only provide limited flexibility so that the adaptation of the monitoring and protective spaces to changing working environments is expensive.
In order to avoid these disadvantages, it has been proposed for some time to safeguard the working spaces of hazardous machines and installations by means of cameras and modern methods of image processing. Such a method and a corresponding device are described, for example, in WO 2004/029502 A1, which is incorporated by reference herewith. This monitoring device uses at least two image recording units which simultaneously record the working area of the machine to be protected. The images of the two image recording units are subjected to stereo analysis including three-dimensional scenery analysis methods in order to determine range information.
DE 10 2004 020 998 A1, which is also incorporated by reference herewith, discloses another aspect of such a monitoring device, namely an advantageous implementation of the imaging optics for the image recording unit. In addition, it is proposed here to arrange at least one reference object within the monitored area in order to detect, for example, an impairment of the reliability of detection due to contamination, water drops and other items.
EP 1 065 522 B1 discloses a monitoring device wherein the propagation times of light pulses are detected by means of an image recording unit in order to obtain a three-dimensional image of a monitored spatial area. A comparison with previously stored reference values is supposed to allow to detect if an object has penetrated into a monitored area.
Further monitoring devices using image recording units are disclosed by DE 197 09 799 A1 and DE 101 38 960 A1. The first-mentioned document proposes a stereoscopic image evaluation for generating three-dimensional image signal sets and comparing them with corresponding reference signal sets. Objects can be detected if the current scene situation deviates from the reference model. DE 101 38 960 A1 proposes a method wherein range information is determined by means of brightness differences.
Finally, DE 41 13 992 A1 discloses a method for automatic three-dimensional monitoring of hazardous spaces wherein the images from at least two electronic imagers are evaluated with computer assistance in the monitoring phase. In this arrangement, the at least two imagers are calibrated to a common coordinates system This method operates in accordance with the principle of crossed light barriers. In the monitoring phase, the pixels of the imagers are checked for changes.
All these monitoring devices have in common that they attempt to record a three-dimensional image of the monitored spatial area in order to decide whether the machine or installation has to be stopped. The term “three-dimensional image” means an image of the spatial area which, in addition to the usual (2-dimensional) image, also comprises range information from individual or all objects in the spatial area. The range information can be obtained, for example, by propagation time measuring methods, stereoscopic image processing or in any other way.
Monitoring devices operating in accordance with this principle only need little installation and assembly expenditure since they can observe the spatial area from a central position. In addition, they are very flexible since the individual monitoring areas can be flexibly defined. In principle, arbitrarily curved courses and contours within the three-dimensional image can be defined as “virtual protection fences” or “virtual protection spaces”. As soon as an object penetrates into the virtual protection space or breaks through a virtual protection fence, a safety function is triggered as is known from the protection with protective doors, light barriers, light gratings and the like. It is also easily possible to change or adapt the virtual protection area when the machine or installation is in operation.
On the other hand, the high flexibility due to the virtual protection areas provides difficulties when setting up and configuring the monitoring device at a machine or installation. During assembly of a protective fence or a light curtain at a machine or installation, the course of the protection area can be easily recognized due to the mechanical arrangement of the barriers. However, this does not apply to the monitoring devices with virtual protection spaces.
Moreover, the position and the exact course of the virtual protection spaces is a safety-related feature. It should be ensured that a virtual protection space in reality extends exactly where it is intended to extend. Otherwise, undetected break-ins into the hazardous area of the monitored installation and thus grave injuries and personal damage could occur. In addition, it is desired to ensure that there are no gaps in the virtual protective fence which is difficult due to the high degree of freedom of design and flexibility of the virtual protective spaces.
Abovementioned DE 41 13 992 A1 proposes, for setting up a protective space, to place so-called measurement markings onto spatial positions which are intended to span a monitoring area. After that, the space coordinates of the measurement markings are determined by means of the recorded images. The space coordinates obtained span the monitoring area. However, this method for setting up monitoring areas is not optimal because the setting-up requires physical access to the marking points. In addition, DE 41 13 992 A1 does not disclose any mechanisms for ensuring failsafe configuration of a monitoring area. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs), and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an enterprise framework for creating, replacing, or modifying services on the SOA.
2. Background of the Related Art
Many service oriented architectures available today provide a generic system to meet customer needs that are common to a variety of customers. Although many architectures strive to meet most customer needs out of the box, it may not be possible to meet all customer needs in a core product that is sold to a large customer base. As such, many customers must extend or modify the behavior of the core product (e.g., core code base of service implementations within the SOA) to meet their specific needs. Modifications may also require access to source code and are generally more costly and difficult to maintain throughout upgrades etc. The term “core product” as defined herein refers to any item delivered in a product intended for more than one customer. The term “custom” as defined herein refers to any item added by a customer to supplement or change the core product (i.e., a supplement or change that is not shared by more than one customer). Source code may be in the core product or custom product, as well as any item supporting the source code, such as, configuration and deployment descriptors.
Furthermore, many customers customize the core product without consulting the core product provider. As a result, many customizations result in pervasive changes to the core product. For example, many customizations are currently accomplished via surround code and include new tables and stored procedures. Alteration of existing tables may disrupt standard product functions posing support issues. As illustrated above, by altering the core product, costs significantly increase for customers when attempting to upgrade the core product. For example, many customers may not be able to forward fit their customizations into the new upgraded core product. This, in turn, has lead to many customers resisting upgrades and/or using product combinations in non-standard configurations that may cause support and product management issues.
In addition, many architectures may not provide for easy integration with third party products either in front or behind service interfaces. For example a customer may wish to add a new service or replace a generic service with another third party product. Again, customers in today's market alter the core product in order to implement third party products, which may lead to complications when an upgrade or additional new products are available for the core product. | {
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Databases have evolved from simple file systems to massive collections of data serving a variety of users and numerous distinct applications. Online database systems may be configured to receive an ongoing stream of new and updated information, to update their records accordingly, and to allow for relatively small queries of the up-to-date data in real-time. A database warehouse is typically a storage facility for large amounts of data that allows for a more in-depth analysis of the data, using derived and/or aggregated information based on the data to identify groups of records within the database that share common characteristics, for example.
Some database warehouses are used for basic data that is relatively static over time. In such data warehouses, explicitly calculating additional data values that are derived and/or aggregated from the basic data, and dedicating disk space for the storage of the additional data values, may be justified if the data values are frequently used for responding to queries, and especially if the amount of data overall is not very large. However, when a data warehouse stores data that is frequently updated, and when queries to the data warehouse demand very up-to-date information, it is not always feasible to pre-calculate and store the derived and aggregated data. Instead, virtual tables, known as views, may be used to store formulas and instructions for calculating derived and aggregated data values from the basic data. When a query comes in, the view may be calculated on the fly in volatile memory using up-to-date data, and the view's data values may then be made available for responding to the query.
Although the use of views and other types of virtual tables reduces the need for disk storage space and allows for frequent updating of the data, when the data warehouse is used for storing massive amounts of data, calculating and using the views, which will also be huge, can be very taxing of the system's memory and processing resources. Furthermore, accessing and manipulating the massive views in memory in response to a query can take a prohibitively long amount of time.
These deficiencies are especially relevant for views that provide a comprehensive offering of basic and derived data from a massive data warehouse because such views are often generated, at least in part, by the execution of “join” operations between tables, either actual or virtual, that individually provide access to smaller portions of the data. Join operations are very expensive with respect to system memory and processing resources. In addition, the resulting view is typically much larger than either of the tables being joined, since it represents the Cartesian product of the original tables. Because of this, attempts have been made to design database optimization engines that automatically eliminate join operations when possible. However, improper elimination of “inner join” operations may produce incomplete or incorrect results. For any type of join, when the tables being joined comprise tens of millions of records, each of which may comprise thousands of attributes, managing temporary storage in memory, access, and manipulation of the data becomes extremely cumbersome. Complex queries submitted to the system may take many hours, or even more than a full day, to be completed, tying up system resources for the duration. Furthermore, once such a view is generated, reading the records of the view represents a significant processing operation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a peak/bottom detection circuit for detecting the peak level or bottom level of a laser output, and more specifically, to a peak/bottom detection circuit used for controlling the laser output of an optical head for rewritable optical disks (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-RAM).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a conventional peak detection circuit, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the waveform of its operation.
As shown in FIG. 1, an input signal SA is supplied to an input terminal 50, and a peak hold signal SB is output from an output terminal 54.
An operation amplifier 51 compares the input signal SA with the peak hold signal SB, and while the input signal SA is being higher than the peak hold signal SB (SA>SB), the output from the operation amplifier 51 is set at "H" level, and the diode 52 is turned on. The diode 52 supplies a charge current ICC to a hold capacitor 53, so as to charge the hold capacitor 53. The level of the peak hold signal SB increases as the hold capacitor 53 is charged as shown in FIG. 2.
Further, when the level of the input signal SA is set to that of the peak hold signal SB or less (SA.ltoreq.SB), the operation amplifier 51 sets its output to "L" level, and the diode 52 is turned off. Thus, the peak hold signal SB is set in a hold state as shown in FIG. 2.
As the above-described operation is repeated sometimes, the peak hold signal SB is held at substantially the peak level of the input signal SA.
However, in the peak detection circuit shown in FIG. 1, the charge current ICC is not controlled, and therefore it is difficult to finish charging the hold capacitor 53 quickly. Therefore, as can be seen in FIG. 2, the peak hold signal SB, in some cases, exceeds very much the peak level of the input signal SA. This results in a detection error ERR, which greatly decreases the accuracy of the peak detection.
Further, in some other cases, the peak detection is stopped in the middle of its operation, and set in a hold state. In the circuit shown in FIG. 1, it is necessary to switch the input signal SA to the level of the peak hold signal SB or less, in order to execute such a control as just described. This control causes a complexity to the laser output control system or peak detection circuit, which leads to an increase in the product cost.
Further, when the input signal SA is switched, a switching noise is generated. If the peak detection circuit detects the switching noise, a highly accurate peak detection will become further difficult. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The material most commonly used for leading edges for reinforced aircraft is Glare, a metallic laminate of fiberglass-reinforced fibers made up of several thin layers of metal, usually aluminum, placed between preimpregnated layers of fiberglass, joined by means of an epoxy-type resin. The unidirectional preimpregnated layers can be aligned in different directions to meet the required reinforcement conditions.
Glare belongs to metallic aerospace materials; it is not a composite material. Therefore the application and manufacture of Glare is very close to that of aluminum, having very little in common with composite material structures in terms of design, manufacture, inspection and maintenance.
In modern aircraft, the cost of implementing Glare is very high while at the same time its capacity to adapt to the deformability requirement and its capacity to absorb energy coming from impacts are extremely complex.
The present invention is therefore aimed at solving these drawbacks for the case of leading edges for aircraft made of reinforced composite material. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Recent progress in genome base sequence analysis technologies has provided a rapid improvement in analysis speed and a reduction in analysis cost, whereby analysis of the structure of genomes of various organisms is proceeding at dramatic speed. Current methods for inferring a function of a gene from its deciphered base sequence depend on the presence or absence of a similar sequence found by searching sequence data of DNA or protein registered in an international database, such as GenBank or DDBJ, using, for example, PSI-BLAST algorithm (Altschul et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389-3402 (1997)) or the like. In these methods, the similarity between sequences and functions is estimated from the similarity between known nucleic acids or proteins and sequences. In order to estimate the amino acid sequence of a protein coded by a base sequence, various programs aimed at gene modeling for predicting the positions of exons or introns from the genome base sequence have been developed. An attempt to realize full automation is proceeding, however accurate gene modeling essentially requires manual editing of a result of prediction, though accuracy problems remain unsolved.
Some databases and programs for predicting gene expression sites based on a genome base sequence have been developed (Ghosh, Nucleic Acids Res., 21:3117-3118 (1993); Ghosh, Nucleic Acids Res., 26:360-361 (1998); Heinemeyer et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 26:362-367 (1998)), though accuracy problems remain unsolved.
For plants, a database compiling about 400cis element motifs in an expression control region for a plant gene, to which transcription regulatory elements bind has constructed (Higo et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 26:358-359 (1998); Nucleic Acids Res. 27:297-300 (1999)). When analysis is carried out using a base sequence inferred as a promoter as a query, each cis element motif present in the base sequence is displayed. However, although there is a possibility that these function as cis elements, no evidence exists that these actually function as cis elements. Therefore, there is a demand for the development of a method for inferring a gene expression site (expression tissue/expression organ) using a genome base sequence.
Clarification of gene expression sites would help reveal functions of individual genes and could make it possible to isolate and utilize a promoter portion. In the field of plants, development of tissue-specific promoters would make possible gene expression specific to individual tissues using transformation technologies or inhibition of gene expression. For example, if an anther-specific promoter were developed, the following applications would be expected.
It has been known that a F1 hybrid (first filial generation) generated by crossing between varieties may have a more excellent property than that of its parents. This inter-variety crossing has conventionally attracted attention as a method for breeding crops. For crops, such as rice, which perform self-pollination, methods for producing a male sterility strain have been studied as a technology required for utilization of such a property. Conventionally, male sterility strains have been searched for among plant gene resources, or mutagenesis has been used for selection of a male sterility strain. However, these methods have difficulty in introducing a male sterility gene into a commercial variety and their use is limited.
A recent promising approach is a method of utilizing biotechnology to link a promoter, which expresses in an anther and/or pollen, with a gene having a function to inhibit formation of an anther and/or pollen (e.g., nuclease, protease, and glucanase) and introduce the linked genes into a plant so as to prevent formation of fertile pollen. An alternative promising approach is a method of using a promoter, which is to be expressed in an anther and/or pollen, so as to transcribe antisense RNA for a gene which is to be expressed upon formation of an anther and/or pollen, or a method of introducing ribozyme, which decomposes mRNA for the gene, into a plant.
There are several known promoters for genes which are expressed in an anther and/or pollen. However, unfortunately, the activities of the promoters are too low for practical use, or the expression time thereof is limited. It would be very useful to isolate a promoter which functions at each developmental stage of an anther or pollen, clarify features of each promoter, and produce a promoter cassette having a high activity so as to artificially control formation of an anther and/or pollen.
Therefore, for example, if a promoter, which has a high activity, may be practically used, and is directed to a desired site (e.g., an anther or pollen), can be obtained from a gene of rice, such a promoter can contribute much to breeding of crops, such as rice. Further, in order to modify a component of each tissue of flower, such as a protein involved in adhesion of a petal pigment or pollen to a pistil, it is necessary to obtain a gene which is to be expressed in a flower.
To this end, required is a method for efficiently searching a DNA database, in which a vast number of genome base sequences are stored, for a gene which is to be expressed in a flower, or a method for efficiently screening a genome DNA library for a gene which is to be expressed in a desired site (e.g., flower). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a torque sensor for monitoring a rotary torque applied to a rotating body. More specifically, the invention relates to a magnetostriction type torque sensor for detecting magnetostriction caused by application of rotary torque on the rotating body, such as a drive shaft of an automotive vehicle, a steering column shaft or a steering shaft in an automotive steering system, an input clutch shaft or other rotary shaft in an automotive power transmission, a spindle of a machine tool, a rotary shaft of an electric motor and so forth. Further particularly, the invention relates to compensating for errors caused by temperature variation in the measurement of applied torque.
2. Description of the Background Art
Japanese Patent First (unexamined) Publication (Tokkai) Showa No. 61-127952 and Japanese Patent First Publication (Tokkai) Showa No. 61-17953 disclose previously proposed torque sensors of the type which are for front contact with the rotating body in which the torque is being measured. In these prior art arrangements, one or more sensor elements are disposed about the rotating body in an automotive power transmission casing and secured to ribs, flanges or the like of the casing by way of screws or the like.
These sensor arrangements are arranged to project from their mounting sites and juxtapose the peripheral outer surface of the shaft in which torque is to be sensed and to include U-shaped cores on which exciting and measuring coils are wound. Theses torque sensors have suffered from the drawback that as they are exposed to only a portion of the rotating shaft, they tend to be subject to "eccentricity" noise which is generated when the shaft is subject to the application of torque which induces twisting deformation and causes the portion of the shaft to which the sensor is exposed to become momentarily eccentric.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent First Publication (Tokkai) Showa No. 62-185136 discloses the monitoring of a rotary torque applied to an object shaft, in which is provided axially spaced sections of magnetic anisotropy by providing mutually different directions of magnetic fields. Opposing these sections, torque detector coils are provided. The torque detector coils are so designed as to monitor magnetostriction magnitude caused by twisting deformation of the associated sections of the object shaft which is caused by application of the rotary torque. The torque detector coils are further designed to generate output signals corresponding to the detected magnetostriction magnitude.
The torque sensor shown tends to be subject to the influence of heat causing error in the measurement of the applied torque. Namely, in case the torque sensor is used for monitoring driving torque at the engine output shaft or rotary shaft in a power transmission, heat created by combustion in the engine is apt to be transmitted. Similarly, in the case of a machining tool, heat created in an electric motor tends to be transmitted to the rotary shaft. In the alternative, when the rotary shaft is supported by means of a bearing, friction between the outer periphery of the rotary shaft and the bearing tends to create heat. Such heat transmitted to the rotary shaft causes a temperature gradient in the axial direction of the rotary shaft. The temperature difference in different portions of the shaft causes a difference in magnetic permeability. This results in variation of impedance in respective detector coils to cause an error in the output signals of the coils. Such a temperature dependent error clearly degrades accuracy in measurement of the applied torque. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In most operating systems, a file can be exclusively locked by an application or a host. If a second application tries to access the file, the second application will not be able to do so. Similarly, in virtualized environments, only a single user is able to access a virtual disk (VMDK) at any one time to ensure consistency of the data on the virtual disk. For example, a virtual disk may be exclusively locked by the single user and accesses to the virtual disk may be orchestrated by a virtual machine management module.
There may, however, be instances where the virtual disk may be opened without the knowledge of the virtual machine management module. In virtual environments employing input-output (IO) filters, a background thread (or a daemon) can access and exclusively lock a virtual disk without coordinating this action through the virtual machine management module. As a consequence, virtual machine management module operations related to opening a virtual disk would fail without a solution to unlock the disk. As one example, after a virtual machine (VM) crashes, a daemon may access the virtual disk associated with the virtual machine to perform IO operations, thereby locking the disk. When an attempt is made by the virtual machine management module to power on the VM, the attempt fails because the virtual disk is locked and there is no existing solution for the virtual machine management module to unlock the disk. For some automated solutions, a virtual machine management module that manages virtualized environments does not expect that a virtual disk will be locked, and virtual machine management module operations would fail without a clear resolution of how to find the user that has locked the virtual disk and how to ask the user to release the virtual disk. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to data processing systems and, more particularly, to the use of storage devices, such as nonvolatile memory systems in data processing systems.
Recently, the number of devices using nonvolatile memories has increased. For example, an MP3 player, a digital camera, a mobile phone, a camcorder, a flash card, and a solid state disk (SSD) are examples of devices that use nonvolatile memories as storage devices.
As more devices use nonvolatile memories as storage devices, the capacity of the nonvolatile memory is generally increasing. One method for increasing memory capacity is use of a so-called multi level cell (MLC) method in which a plurality of bits is stored in one memory cell.
A two-bit MLC may be programmed to have any one of four states 11, 01, 10 and 00 according to distribution of a threshold voltage. Over time, however, cells may be stressed through frequent programming operations and erase operations along with temperature variation. The threshold voltage levels for cells that are programmed and erased more frequently may vary more than the threshold voltage levels for cells that are programmed and erased less frequently. This may result in the threshold voltage levels shifting, which can cause errors in reading the data contained therein. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for quantifying drug delivery. More specifically, it relates to the method and the application for quantifying microbubble drug delivery using contrast-enhanced ultrasound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultrasound-Triggered Microbubble Destruction (UTMD) is a promising strategy to increase local drug concentration at pathologic site while reducing systemic toxicity wherein drug is loaded in micron-sized or nanometer-sized bubbles whose destruction is then triggered by ultrasound at the treatment site in order to deliver drug to the target. However, in clinical applications, other factors pose additional challenge. First, the ultrasound is attenuated to different degrees before they reach the target due to different tissue thickness and composition and tumor structure. Second, the concentration of micro-bubbles in the target area can vary depending on vascular factors such as tumor angiogenesis or tumor central necrosis. Third, if antibody-conjugated microbubbles are used, they will aggregate at specific sites so as to enhance the effect of ultrasound-triggered drug delivery. These factors will affect the actual amount of microbubble destroyed and influence the efficacy of drug delivery and a way to quantify ultrasound-triggered microbubble destruction will be useful to clinicians.
Several imaging modalities including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) have been used to monitor drug pharmacokinetics. However, all of these have their limitations. Despite the advantage of high tissue and spatial precision, none rigid pseudo signal and ionizing radiation of MRI, it doesn't allow to be used on individuals with implants such as pacemakers or defibrillators, the sensibility of partial contrast agent is inferior, and cannot provide fix-quantity drug delivery. On the other hand, the PET/SPECT requires radiolabelled microbubbles for depicting local drug concentration that risks the whole body of the subject under radiation.
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging uses microbubbles loaded with filling gas. By means of the difference in echogenicity between the gas in the microbubbles and the soft tissue, it generates the reflected ultrasound and thus distinctive image with better contrast. While this method can assure the presence of microbubbles at the treatment site and is of the advantage of non-invasive, high resolution, instant scan, non-radioactive, low cost and user friendliness, the signal saturation of the image during the destruction of bubbles triggered by the ultrasound disqualifies the ultrasound as a quantifying tool. In recent studies, some scholars have attempted to quantify UTMD indirectly using a downstream method, by measuring the difference in echogenicity between and upstream location and a downstream location. However, in clinical operation, because the downstream vessel is a complex venous network that contains a mixture of sonicated and non-sonicated blood and the angiogenesis of tumors varies with different individuals. These make it difficult to measure vascular sonographic signal accurately, at or near the drug delivery zone. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Digital editions of magazines and newspapers have become extremely popular in recent years with the advent of intelligent tablets, such as Apple's iPad™, Google's Nexus™, or Microsoft's Surface™. Consequently, print publishers feel a growing need to offer a digital version of their publications, which have traditionally only been available in printed form.
While many publishers offer a web, on-line version of their publications, this service is often limited by the bandwidth available for use by the user's electronic device, and does not allow for off-line consultation of the complete edition when the device is no longer connected to the internet, such as when on a plane, as but one example. In addition, it is known that many readers consulting news websites merely skim through the headlines, without thoroughly reading the articles themselves.
In addition to websites, some renowned newspapers and magazines offer a downloadable, digital version of their printed edition, which may be consulted either off-line or on-line. Some publishers offer their own application for viewing these publications, such as USAToday™, while other publishers use widely-available programs such as Adobe Viewer™, Zinio™ and Kiosque™, to name a few. There is thus a wide spectrum of applications for tablets, desktops and/or laptops which allow for the downloading and reading of digital editions.
Most digital editions are provided in Adobe™'s pdf format, offering little or no interactivity to the users, in addition to being time-consuming and bulky to download. This may be one of the reasons why tablet users are not embracing digital editions of magazines and newspapers as expected. The Daily™'s newspaper experiment, offering a tablet-only publication (The Daily™), ceased after only two years of operation, demonstrating that a viable model for digital newspapers had yet to appear.
One drawback of some existing viewer applications is that they do not allow users to start reading their digital publication unless the publication has been completely downloaded. Another limitation of existing applications is that downloading of the digital publication is made sequentially, according to a preset order, one page after the other. While this standard downloading mode may be suitable for readers of books or movies, which are read or viewed chronologically, it is not always well suited for readers of magazines or newspapers, some of whom may first want to flip through the entire edition before deciding which sections to read thoroughly. In addition, these sections are not necessarily the first sections in the edition.
It is also known that a user's “waiting tolerance” for the download of digital content is only of a few seconds. It is thus a challenge for publishers to deliver digital editions of magazines or newspapers that are both rich in content, interactive, with high-quality images and/or animations, and also which may also be consulted rapidly, without further delaying readers from accessing content of the edition.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,477,331 to WEI et al. relates to an apparatus and a method for creating an electronic version of a printed newspaper or of a magazine. The creation of the electronic version of the newspaper requires scanning the printed newspaper.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,747,970 to SANCHEZ et al. relates to systems and methods for receiving preview content on a mobile device and for displaying more detailed information upon request by the user of the mobile device. The preview content sent to the mobile devices is web-based content which is broadcasted, in contrast with compiled content sent to a dedicated software application.
Also known to the Applicant are U.S. Pat. No. 8,131,093; U.S. Pat. No. 8,209,623; US 2011/0173188; US 2008/0271095 and US 2012/0096094.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved system and method for allowing users to rapidly have access to a digital edition, without sacrificing content size and/or quality of the edition. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
(1) Summary of the Invention
The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner and to a filter assembly therefor. It will be understood that the term "vacuum cleaner" is here used so as to encompass any type of cleaning apparatus which uses the creation of a vacuum to draw air along an airflow path.
(2) Description of Related Art
Vacuum cleaners of both the upright and cylinder types operate by utilizing a motor or fan unit to draw air along an airflow path from a dirty air inlet to a clean air outlet via some sort of filtering or dirt/dust separating apparatus. The air which passes along the airflow path thus passes through the motor or fan unit.
It is known to filter the air passing along the airflow path before it is expelled to the atmosphere. If the appropriate filter is located upstream of the motor or fan unit, any particles of dirt, carbon, etc. becoming entrained within the airflow inside the motor or fan unit will inevitably be expelled into the atmosphere with the airflow. If the filter is located downstream of the motor or fan unit, any dirt or dust remaining in the airflow after it has passed through the filtering or dirt/dust separating apparatus will pass through the motor or fan unit. This may cause the motor or fan unit to become unbalanced which will shorten its life and may result in premature failure. Also, dust can collect and build up in the region of the motor or fan unit which can result in sudden unwanted releases of large quantities of fine dust which can cause blockage of the filter or damage the motor or fan unit.
A very few manufacturers have, prior to the date of this application, been fitting electrostatic filters both before and after the motor or fan unit. This has the advantage of preventing dusty air from passing through the motor or fan unit and also of preventing any particles released within the motor or fan unit from escaping into the atmosphere. However, two problems have been identified in respect of this arrangement. Firstly, even if the operator remembers to change one of the filters, the second filter is rarely changed. Presumably this is because changing the first filter gives the operator sufficiently improved performance for the changing of the second filter to be thought unnecessary or else the second filter is forgotten. Secondly, the operator has difficulty in ascertaining that the filters require changing because they are not easily visible.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum cleaner having filters arranged both before and after the motor or fan unit which is easy and convenient to operate and to maintain. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to radiography technology, in particular to an image reconstruction method for a dual-energy CT image with high-energy X-rays.
2. Description of Prior Art
Computerized Tomography (CT) technique has been widely applied in the fields of medical diagnosis and industrial lossless detection. Demand for the CT technique, including application of a huge number of X-ray imaging-based CT imaging systems (hereafter referred to as XCT system for short), in public security and social safeguard is also growing with the evolution of the society. The XCT systems can be categorized into mono-energy CT and dual-energy CT in terms of the utilized imaging techniques. The mono-energy and dual-energy XCTs, of which the techniques are relatively sophisticated, are mainstream XCTs in reality applications, though multi-energy X-ray imaging technique has made some progress. The mono-energy XCT can obtain information on the internal structure and physical characteristics of an object by reconstructing an attenuation coefficient image of the tomogram of the object, while it cannot distinguish and determine exactly what substance is comprised in the object. On the other hand, the dual-energy XCT can obtain not only information on the attenuation coefficient of the substance within the object but also information on composition of the substance through the reconstruction approach. For example, typical information on composition of the substance is effective atomic number and equivalent characteristic density of a substance. With such information, it is possible to perform substance recognition with a high accuracy and thus to provide an efficient inspection approach in the field of public security.
Dual-energy XCT technology has entered a relatively sophisticated stage and been widely used in the medical imaging and security inspection on small-sized objects. In most of dual-energy XCT systems, X-rays of low-energy, generally below 200 KeV, are commonly used in imaging. The reasons for choosing a low energy spectrum are that: first, it is easier to generate X-rays of low-energy by an X-ray tube, and protection against radiation can be implementation in a simpler way for X-rays of low-energy; second, the attenuation coefficients of different substances vary greatly in this energy spectrum, and thus the image of a substance has a better distinguishability; last, the scanned object is usually of a small size and causes less attenuation to X-rays, which enables the application of dual-energy XCT systems utilizing low-energy X-rays.
In security inspection on bulk cargoes, however, the penetrating ability of X-rays in the lower energy spectrum is far from sufficiency, and thus it is impossible to obtain clear and usable projection data for image reconstruction. In general, X-rays in the energy spectrum of MeV order, ranging from 1 to 10 MeV, are required for X-ray radiography. The conventional low-energy, dual-energy reconstruction methods are not suitable for the MeV-order energy spectrum any more, due to a fundamental fact that, in these method, the interaction between X-rays and a substance will result in only two types of effects, photoelectric effect and Compton scatter, without electron pair effect. On the other hand, in the application of high-energy, dual-energy technology, X-rays generally possess a greater energy than the lowest energy 1.02 MeV produced by the electron pair effect. As a result, the conventional methods based on the above two types of effects cannot be adopted any more, and it is desirable to develop new technology for the high-energy, dual-energy application. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
When operating in an infrastructure mode, wireless local area networks (WLANs) typically include an access point (AP) and one or more client stations. WLANs have evolved rapidly over the past decade. Development of WLAN standards such as the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n Standards has improved single-user peak data throughput. For example, the IEEE 802.11b Standard specifies a single-user peak throughput of 11 megabits per second (Mbps), the IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g Standards specify a single-user peak throughput of 54 Mbps, the IEEE 802.11n Standard specifies a single-user peak throughput of 600 Mbps, and the IEEE 802.11ac Standard specifies a single-user peak throughput in the gigabits per second (Gbps) range. Future standards promise to provide even greater throughputs, such as throughputs in the tens of Gbps range. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to standby operation of a fuel cell power plant which generates electric power using a reformate gas.
Tokkai Hei 8-306379 published by the Japanese Patent Office in 1996 discloses standby operation of a fuel cell power plant which generates power in a fuel cell stack using a reformate gas.
According to this prior art, when power supply by the fuel cell power plant is not required, the fuel cell power plant is operated to achieve an output of 25-30% of a rated output. This output is used to electrolyze water in order to produce hydrogen. The resulting hydrogen is re-supplied to the fuel cell stack.
Due to this low-output standby operation, when power supply is required, rated operation of the fuel cell power plant can be rapidly established. Furthermore, since hydrogen produced during the standby operation is re-supplied to the fuel cell stack, consumption of reformate gas during standby operation can be maintained at low levels.
When electrolyzing water, supply of water must be ensured. When the fuel cell power plant is mounted in a vehicle, a water supply device has also to be installed in the vehicle. However, it is difficult to ensure a space for the water supply device with a water tank in the vehicle.
As a result, in a vehicle-mounted fuel cell power plant, it is preferred that water is not electrolyzed and low-output standby operation with only the aim of maintaining the temperature of the fuel cell stack is performed.
In a fuel cell power plant using a reformer to generate a reformate gas by partial oxidation, the temperature of the reformate gas is controlled by the amount of air supplied to the reformer. During standby operation in order to maintain the temperature of the fuel cell stack, the amount of air supplied to the reformer is conspicuously lower than during rated operation. The air supply amount is generally controlled using a valve. However problems arise in maintaining control accuracy of the valve throughout the wide range from the minute flow amounts above to the high flow amounts during rated operation.
It is therefore an object of this invention to realize standby operation adapted to a fuel cell power plant mounted in a vehicle.
In order to achieve the above object, this invention provides a fuel cell power plant comprising a fuel cell stack generating power using a hydrogen-rich gas, a hydrogen-rich gas generating mechanism which produces a hydrogen-rich gas by an exoergic reaction of a vaporized fuel and air, a first air supply passage which supplies air to the hydrogen-rich gas generating mechanism, a second air supply passage which supplies air to the hydrogen-rich gas generating mechanism, and a cut off valve which cuts off the first air supply passage. The second air supply passage is set to have a smaller cross sectional area than the first air supply passage. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to semi-rigid tube-bending tools and more particularly to a tool for bending semi-rigid coaxial cables.
2. Background of the Invention
The increased use of higher frequencies in microwave equipment, coupled with denser packaging, have led to a greater utilization of solid-jacketed R.F. cables referred to as semi-rigid. For example, 97 unique semi-rigid cable assemblies are used in the AN/APS-116 Radar and its associated Ground Support Equipment. Fabrication of such semi-rigid cable assemblies must be carefully performed and each assembly must, in general, be treated as a microwave component assembly due to the increased assembly sensitivity to flaws and irregularities at the higher frequency levels of the microwave band. In order to prevent such flaws and irregularities, specialized tools and techniques are required to properly fabricate the semi-rigid cable assembly.
A major step in the fabrication of a particular semi-rigid cable assembly is the forming or bending of the raw stock (which is normally straight) into the desired shaped of configuration. This is necessary to assure proper installation into the applicable equipment. Semi-rigid cable has an outer jacket (conductor) and a center conductor, separated by a Teflon-type dielectric. In exacting applications, the distance between the inner and outer conductors must remain the same, and deformation of the outer jacket (conductor) is not permitted. During the forming or bending operation, the cable must be supported and the bend made preferably in a single motion to prevent wrinkles and deformation of the outer jacket. After the bend has been completed, it is not advisable to rebend the cable.
The required bending operation has in the past been performed with the T-1107 and T-2101 bending tools manufactured by Omni Spectra, Incorporated. But, these tools are limited to use with two cable diameters (i.e., 0.141 and 0.085 inches). The tools provide for only two bend radii for each cable diameter. No means are provided for determining the number of degress of bend. The use of these tools requires extensive operator training and results in trial-and-error fabrication methods. These tools will not perform all of the required bending operations.
Other devices have been developed for specialized bending applications. In some instances common tubular stock has been used for bending mandrels. But, the use of these various tools results in specialized techniques, operator training, and the absence of standardized fabrication procedures. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to joining articles, such as heat exchanger components, by brazing. More particularly, the present invention relates to inventive methods of brazing and adhering brazing materials to components to be brazed. The invention also includes coating compositions for use in such methods.
One popular brazing process is the NOKOLOC brazing process developed by Alcan International Ltd., of Montreal, Canada. Briefly, the process includes the steps of forming an assembly, applying a brazing slurry to the assembly, blowing off the excess slurry, drying the slurry onto the assembly, and then passing the assembly through a brazing furnace. The brazing slurry generally includes a brazing alloy and a flux material, but may include additional materials.
The NOKOLOC brazing process is commonly used for the manufacture of all- aluminum heat transfer products such as condensers and oil coolers used for automotive and commercial applications. Corrosion of such components is an important issue in the industry, especially in automotive applications due to the constant exposure to road salts, acid raid and the like. Consequently, it has become a common practice in the industry to flame spray small amounts of zinc onto the components to protect the surfaces of the tubes and fins of such heat transfer products. However, the flame spraying process is expensive, wasteful and presents safety and environmental risks. In addition, this process has led to difficulties in the brazing process and in the resultant product. For example, uneven or heavy application of the zinc can erode the aluminum tubes and can cause holes to form in the final product. In addition, the zinc becomes an important part of the "filler metal" between the components since the zinc melts at a much lower temperature than the brazing material. This results in a "zinc rich filet" between the components, and such filets have a tendency to corrode rather rapidly because the zinc is used as a "sacrificial" material that corrodes before the underlying components.
Another problem encountered in the NOKOLOC brazing process is that more "filler metal" is often required at the junction between the tubes and headers of a heat exchanger assembly than between the tubes and fins. To overcome this problem, many manufacturers currently apply a paste-like substance which contains a high amount of powdered silicon to act as a filler metal in the junction between the tubes and headers prior to brazing. The paste-like substance provides additional filler metal between the tubes and headers and adds additional mechanical strength to the filet. One such substance is known under the designation Omni-Paste and is commercially available from Omni-Technologies Corp. of Epping, N.H. However, such materials are expensive and occasionally interfere with the brazing process through the action of silicon erosion of the underlying aluminum tubes and headers.
One other known method for providing more "filler metal" at the juncture between the tubes and headers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,048. That patent discloses a process of applying pure silicon powder to the heat exchanger components, and the powder, at brazing temperatures, diffuses into the underlying aluminum material and causes an eutectic mixture to form. The eutectic mixture then melts at a lower temperature and forms a filler metal that brazes the assembly together. However, it has been found that the pure silicon powder does not work well when added to the brazing slurry in the NOKOLOC brazing process. Rather, the silicon powder must be applied to the tubes in a more evenly distributed manner. When the silicon is not evenly applied to the components, the silicon causes uneven formation of the filler metal, which leads to erosion of the tubes, fins and headers of the product.
One advantageous method of brazing heat exchanger components in order to overcome the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art is described in co-invented and co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,698 (U.S. application Ser. No. 08/220,159). Briefly, that patent teaches advantageous methods of applying differential coating compositions of brazing materials to heat exchanger components prior to assembling and brazing the components. By pre-coating the aluminum or other material with selected differential coatings, the invention permits relatively uniform and selective application of zinc and silicon (as well as other brazing materials) to the aluminum components to avoid problems associated with the prior art brazing processes. In one embodiment, the patent teaches that a liquid cement can be used to apply the brazing materials (such as powdered or particular flux material, brazing alloy, zinc or silicon) onto the aluminum components in a coating. One such liquid cement, which is both a binder and vehicle, is commercially available and sold under the trademark NICROBRAZ, and available from Wall Colmonoy Corporation, Madison Heights, Mi. However, such liquid cements are toxic and result in environmental, safety and health concerns when used in a brazing process. Such liquid cements may also have adverse chemical reactions with other brazing materials and may leave a corrosive residue on the assembly.
Adhesives other than liquid cements can also present certain problems when used in the brazing process. Specifically, such adhesives are almost universally hydrocarbons, and the heat of the brazing process can break the bonds between the hydrogen and carbon atoms, leaving unwanted carbon residue on the finished product. The unwanted carbon residue can cause corrosion initiation sites to form on the heat exchanger components. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates clock generators, and more particularly to a universal clock generator which is employed to selectively generate different clock rates for a plurality of different applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current circuit design typically employs a library of different circuit components. This library, which may be called a design library, is employed to select different prefabricated components needed to construct a circuit. A design library having many circuit components is often more difficult to search and incurs addition maintenance costs. It is therefore advantageous to reduce the number of the circuit components in the design library. Reducing the number of components also saves layout time and saves the library maintenance cost. In general, to simplify a circuit by reducing the number of circuit components is one goal of the designer. For example, in a 1 Gbit dynamic random access memory (DRAM) design, many ring oscillators are used to generate clocks with different oscillating frequencies. This provides for the implementation of different DC generators. For example, for a Vpp (or the boosted word-line voltage, e.g., 3.1V) active generator, a 30 MHz of clock is needed, for a Vbb (or the substrate bias voltage, e.g., xe2x88x920.5 V) active generator, a clock of 7 MHz is needed. For a generator to be used for a data path control, a clock of 5 MHz is needed, etc. Therefore, several oscillators are required in the Gb DRAM design to be used to generate different voltage levels. More clocks are also needed for other applications, for example, creating system timing, regulating refresh rate, etc.
It is time consuming to create each clock generator and individually trim each clock generator to provide a desirable oscillation rate for a specific application. Prior art devices include multiple clock frequency systems which are typically very complex and bulky. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,581, a multiple clock system for multiple processor configurations is disclosed. A master clock system is used to synchronize sub-clock systems so that the multiple mainframe computers are capable of communicating with each other in real-time. This is the extension of the classic Phase Lock Loop (PLL) design. The PLL design has many variations, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,247. More detailed design theory and information on PLL""s can be found in the book entitled, Phase-Locked Loops Design, Simulation and Applications, by Roland E. Best, third edition, 1997.
Through digital or analog methods, a PLL circuit is able to generate a clock frequency that is an integer or fraction multiple of a reference frequency. The generated frequency has its phase synchronized with the reference frequency by using a charge pump and a voltage control oscillator (VCO). Although PLL designs tend to be very bulky, the PLL design is needed in conventional chip design for clock synchronization so that high-speed digital operation can be carried out in a parallel or pipe-lined manner. The PLL design is also localized. Clock signals generated from PLL are not easily sent to places on a chip where the signals may be needed.
Therefore, a need exists for a universal clock generator which can tailor the clock rate for different applications or usage. A further need exists for the universal clock generator to have a modular design to provide frequencies in a wide range using the same design, such that the layout, library maintenance, verification, simulation, etc. of the design are simplified. A still further need exists for a universal clock which can be customized at any location on a chip to service a specific application.
A universal clock generator circuit, in accordance with the present invention, includes an oscillator unit including circuitry for providing a first clock frequency. A plurality of load blocks are also included. The load blocks are selectively connectable to the oscillator such that a range of clock rates are derived from the first clock frequency by selectively connecting a number of the load blocks to the oscillator unit to provide one of a plurality of clock frequencies from a same output.
Another universal clock generator circuit, in accordance with the present invention, includes an oscillator unit including circuitry for providing a first clock frequency and a plurality of resistor blocks including resistive elements. The resistor blocks are selectively connectable to the oscillator. A capacitor block has at least one capacitor element which is selectively connectable to the oscillator unit. The plurality of resistor blocks and the capacitor block include selective connections which are enabled and disabled to adjust the first clock frequency by selectively connecting a number of the resistor blocks and capacitor elements to the oscillator unit to provide one of a plurality of clock frequencies from a same output.
In alternate embodiments, the oscillator may include a ring oscillator. The load blocks may include resistor blocks for adjustment of the one of a plurality of clock frequencies. The load blocks may include a plurality of groups of resistor blocks, and the groups of resistor blocks provide a plurality of levels of adjustment of the one of a plurality of clock frequencies. The load blocks may include resistor blocks, and the resistor blocks may include first blocks and second blocks. The first blocks are connected in series and have a first end connected to a voltage source and a second end connected to the oscillator unit. The second blocks are connected in series and have a first end connected to a ground and a second end connected to the oscillator unit. The first blocks and the second blocks are preferably symmetrical relative to each other.
The load blocks include connections therebetween. The connections may include fuse structures for enabling and disabling the load blocks to selectively connect the load blocks to the oscillator unit. The connections may include transistors for enabling and disabling the load blocks to selectively connect the load blocks to the oscillator unit. The load blocks may include a capacitor block having at least one capacitor element which is selectively connectable to the oscillator unit to further adjust the one of a plurality of clock frequencies. The load blocks may include a plurality of groups of capacitance elements, the groups of capacitance elements providing a plurality of levels of of the one of a plurality of clock frequencies. The plurality of load blocks may include programmable connections.
A universal clock generator circuit layout, in accordance with the present invention includes an oscillator circuit for providing a first clock frequency, and a plurality of resistor blocks including resistive elements. The resistor blocks including a first group of resistor blocks and a second group of resistor blocks. The first group of resistor blocks are connected in series and have a first end connected to a source and a second end connected to the oscillator circuit. The second group of resistor blocks are connected in series and have a first end connected to a ground and a second end connected to the oscillator circuit. A capacitor block has at least one capacitor element connected to the oscillator circuit. The plurality of resistor blocks and the capacitor block include selective connections which are enabled and disabled to adjust the first clock frequency by selectively connecting a number of the resistor blocks and capacitor elements to the oscillator unit to provide one of a plurality of clock frequencies from a same output.
In alternate embodiments, the resistor blocks may include a plurality of different resistance values for levels of adjustment of the one of a plurality of clock frequencies. The first blocks and the second blocks are preferably symmetrical relative to each other. The selective connections may include fuse structures for enabling and disabling the resistor blocks and the capacitive elements to selectively connect the resistor blocks and the capacitive elements to the oscillator circuit. The selective connections may include transistors for enabling and disabling the resistor blocks and the capacitive elements to selectively connect the resistor blocks and the capacitive elements to the oscillator circuit. The plurality of resistor blocks may include programmable connections. The layout is employed at a plurality of locations on a chip to provide different clock frequencies. The layout is the only type of clock circuit employed on a chip to provide different clock frequencies at a plurality of locations on the chip.
A method for providing clock signals on a chip, in accordance with the present invention, includes the step of providing a universal clock generator circuit comprising an oscillator unit including circuitry for providing a first clock frequency, and a plurality of load blocks, the load blocks being selectively connectable to the oscillator such that a range of clock rates are derived from the first clock frequency by selectively connecting a number of the load blocks to the oscillator unit to provide one of a plurality of clock frequencies from a same output. The method further includes the steps of placing the universal clock generator circuit at a plurality of locations on a semiconductor chip and trimming the load blocks to provide a clock frequency from each universal clock generator circuit on the semiconductor chip.
In other methods, the step of trimming the load blocks may include the step of providing connections and disconnections between the load blocks while forming the load blocks. The step of trimming the load blocks may include the step of providing connections and disconnections between the load blocks by respectively employing anti-fuses and fuses between the load blocks. The step of trimming the load blocks may include the step of providing connections and disconnections between the load blocks by employing transistors between the load blocks to enable and disable connections. The step of trimming the load blocks may include the step of eliminating load blocks from a layout to reduce layout area. The step of trimming the load blocks may also include the step of providing connections and disconnections between the load blocks by programming transistors between the load blocks to enable and disable connections. The step of programming transistors may include programming the transistors by employing a memory storage device. The transistors may be programmed after the semiconductor chip has been fabricated or packaged.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Virtual router redundancy protocols (VRRPs) allow several routers on a multi-access link to utilize the same virtual internet protocol (IP) address. One example of a VRRP is described in the, Request for Comment (RFC) document series, document number RFC 2338. In accordance with the VRRP, one of the routers is selected as a master, while the other routers act as backup routers in the case of failure of the master router. Thus, several routers share a virtual IP address and media access control (MAC) address to form a “virtual routing system,” that consists of the several physical routers. Computers connected to the virtual routing system view the system as a single device, i.e., a signal router.
The particular physical router selected as the master at any given time performs routing of network packets through the virtual routing system. If the master router fails, however, one of the backup physical routers can be selected as a new master router so that routing through the virtual routing system can continue without significant interruption. VRRP eliminates single points of failure in network settings by providing a protocol that supports redundant router connections.
In many cases, VRRP allows for load sharing, in which different redundant routers are assigned as the master for different computers coupled to the virtual routing system. In that case, each redundant physical router of the virtual routing system carries traffic, but if one of the redundant physical routers fails, another of the redundant physical routers can be assigned the traffic of the failed router. In other words, when load sharing is used, different redundant physical routers operate as masters with respect to traffic received from different sources. Load sharing can improve throughput through the virtual routing system by utilizing the capabilities of each redundant physical router, while still providing the ability to adapt to failures of one of the physical routers. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Indocyanine green (ICG), a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye, is a substance approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the examination of the lymphatic system, the heart, the liver and the vascular system. Particularly, indocyanine green is known as an excellent probe for imaging of metastatic lymph nodes and mapping of sentinel lymph nodes, which are performed for early diagnosis of breast cancer.
A sentinel lymph node is the first lymph node which is closest to a primary tumor and to which cancer cells metastasize from the primary tumor. Thus, the sentinel lymph node is known as a good index that indicates the metastasis of solid tumors to local lymph nodes. If there is no metastasis of cancer cells to the sentinel lymph node, it can be seen that there is no metastasis of cancer cells to other lymph nodes, suggesting that unnecessary dissection of lymph nodes is avoided. In other words, the biopsy of a sentinel lymph node in melanoma or breast cancer makes it possible to avoid unnecessary dissection of lymph nodes.
Indocyanine green has shortcomings of low hydrophilicity, low light stability, low photon yield, and low sensitivity. Further, indocyanine green has shortcomings in that it susceptible to nonspecific aggregation and is chemically degraded by external light, solvents and a change in temperature. In addition, it has a problem in that it is easily absorbed by serum proteins due to its low molecular weight and hydrophobic nature, and is eliminated through the kidneys. The blood half-life of indocyanine green is about 2-4 minutes. Thus, the development of an indocyanine green-based probe having a long blood half-life is required to increase the efficiency of diagnosis.
Furthermore, because indocyanine green easily diffuses in vivo, there are shortcomings in that a surgical operation for dissecting a sentinel lymph node using indocyanine green imaging should be performed within 30 minutes and in that a deep lymph node cannot be detected. In an attempt to overcome such shortcomings, nanomaterial-based indocyanine green probes, for example, nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles and the like, have been studied, and there have been studies focused on increasing the in vivo and in vitro stability of indocyanine green by encapsulating indocyanine green in nanoparticles or by using micelles composed of polymers, phospholipids and calcium phosphate (A. K Kirchherr et al. Mol Pharm. 6:480, 2009, V. B. Rodriguez et al. J Biomed Opt. 13:14, 2008: E. I. Altinoglu et al. Nano. 2:2075, 2008). When indocyanine green was encapsulated in nanoparticles, the physical and chemical stability of indocyanine green against external light and temperature were significantly increased, but when an indocyanine green probe was applied for clinical diagnosis, it was not specific for the site to be imaged.
Another typical probe for lymph node imaging is a lymph node imaging probe prepared by conjugating a radioisotope to mannosyl serum albumin, which is crucially used in the imaging and diagnosis of lymph nodes in the nuclear medicine field (G. Mariani, et al. J. Nucl. Med., 42:2001). Particularly, when radioactive colloids are injected into breast cancer or melanoma tumors and absorbed into lymph nodes, a sentinel lymph node, which is the first lymph node to which the colloids moves, can be imaged, dissected, and biopsied to determine whether cancer cells metastasized to the sentinel lymph node. Thus, there is an advantage in that unnecessary dissection of lymph nodes during surgical operations can be avoided. However, the probe having a radioactive isotope conjugated thereto is a probe that is used to determine the position and orientation of lymph nodes before a surgical operation, and has a shortcoming in that it cannot be used for real-time imaging during a surgical operation. Thus, it is required to develop a probe that can be used for real-time imaging during a surgical operation.
Under such technical circumstances, the present inventors have found that a complex of indocyanine green and mannosyl serum albumin overcomes the shortcoming of low in vivo stability of indocyanine green, and that when it is injected during a surgical operation, it can accurately detect the position of lymph nodes by detecting and imaging macrophages abundantly present in lymph nodes, thereby completing the present invention. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The invention relates to the processing of telecommunications signaling in order to establish communications paths, and in particular, to processing Signaling System #7 (SS7) signaling messages to establish communications paths.
A telephone call typically comprises both call signaling and caller information. Call signaling is typically data (i.e. the called number) that is used by the switches to establish call connections. The call connections carry the caller information (i.e. voice). A telecommunications switch contains a processor that can process telecommunications signaling in order to select call connections. These switches also contain a switching matrix that can establish the selected connections. The combination of the signaling processor and the switching matrix in the switch is problematic. Additional cost and complexity are added by the matrix. Signaling processors are needed that are not combined with the switching matrix.
In the United States, the predominant form of telecommunications signaling is Signaling System #7 (SS7). In addition, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) equipment is being developed to transport all types of traffic at high speeds over Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) connections. Signaling processors are needed that can process SS7 signaling and select ATM connections.
The present invention comprises a telecommunications signaling processor that processes Signaling System #7 (SS7) telecommunications signaling messages to select Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) virtual connections and provide control messages indicating the selected ATM virtual connections. The signaling processor comprises: a computer system, data structures, originating process logic, and terminating process logic. The computer system stores data structures and executes stored logic. A call control data structure contains information pertinent to individual calls. A circuit data structure contains information pertinent to telecommunications connections. An exception data structure contains information pertinent to call route exceptions. A caller number data structure contains information pertinent to caller numbers. A called number data structure contains information pertinent to called numbers. A routing data structure contains information pertinent to route selections. Originating process logic is stored in the computer system and processes information from SS7 signaling messages that relates to an originating circuit and accesses the data structures to request a terminating ATM virtual connection. Terminating process logic is stored in the computer system and processes information from SS7 signaling messages and to select the terminating ATM virtual connection in response to the request from the originating process. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In the subterranean drilling and completion industry there are times when a hydrocarbon material located within a subterranean formation is difficult and costly to extract for further processing. For example, hydrocarbon materials including high molecular weight hydrocarbons, such as asphaltenes (e.g., bitumen) and various paraffins, have conventionally required expensive and inefficient extraction processes, such as steam injection processes, to suspensionize, detach, and extract the hydrocarbon materials. In addition, the presence of such high molecular weight hydrocarbons in the extracted hydrocarbon material may necessitate additional processing and costs, as such hydrocarbons can have limited commercial utility and can require expensive and complex refining processes (e.g., cracking processes) to be converted into commercially viable products.
It would, therefore, be desirable to have improved methods of extracting a hydrocarbon material, such as a hydrocarbon material including high molecular weight hydrocarbons, from a subterranean formation to overcome one or more of the above problems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus adapted to detect amount of remaining toner.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrostatic capacitance detection method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-44184 and a light transmission method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-131936 are used as mechanisms for detecting amount of toner remaining in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Detection of remaining amount of toner according to the electrostatic capacitance detection method is used as a technique ideal for application primarily to an image forming apparatus having an AC bias power supply for non-contact development, such as a monochrome image forming apparatus. Detection of remaining amount of toner according to the light transmission method is used as a technique ideal for application primarily to an image forming apparatus, such as a color image forming apparatus, which performs contact development of non-magnetic toner by DC bias and which does not have an AC bias power supply for development.
FIG. 16 illustrates the configuration of an image forming apparatus as one example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 16, a charging roller 2 serving as charging means uniformly charges the surface of a photosensitive drum 1 serving as an image carrier. An exposure unit 3 then subjects the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 to exposure scanning based upon image information, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image. Next, the electrostatic latent image is visualized by toner (developer) contained in a developing unit 4, whereby a toner image, i.e., developer image, is formed on the photosensitive drum 1. Printing paper 16 contained in a paper-feed cassette 8 is fed into the image forming apparatus by a feed roller 9 and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the printing paper 16 by a transfer roller 11 serving as transfer means. The unfixed toner image on the printing paper 16 is fixed on the printing paper 16 by a fixing unit 12 using heat and pressure.
FIG. 17 illustrates the configuration of a developing unit as one example of the developing unit 4 used in the image forming apparatus. In the developing unit 4 shown in FIG. 17, toner 20 is stored in a toner container 100 serving as a toner accommodating unit. By rotating a stirring bar 103, the toner 20 is conveyed to the opening of the toner container 100 located at a developing position where the developing unit 4 and photosensitive drum 1 oppose each other. The opening of the toner container 100 has a developing roller 101, which serves as a developer carrier, for supplying the toner 20 to the electrostatic latent image that has been formed on the photosensitive drum 1. The toner 20 is supplied to the developing roller 101, and toner 20 that has not contributed to development of the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 and has been returned to the developing unit 4 is scraped off the developing roller 101 by an RS roller 102, which is placed in contact with the developing roller 101. The developing unit 4 is constructed as a process cartridge removably installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus and is in wide use. Since the image formation described above is carried out using the toner 20, it becomes necessary to prompt the user to replenish the toner 20 when only a small amount of toner is left. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus has a mechanism for detecting remaining amount of toner. This mechanism detects the amount of toner 20 remaining inside the process cartridge, i.e., inside the developing unit 4. A mechanism and method for detecting remaining amount of toner based upon two methods, namely electrostatic capacitance detection and light transmission, will be described below.
FIG. 18 illustrates the configuration of a mechanism for detecting remaining amount of toner based upon electrostatic capacitance detection. An antenna 104 in FIG. 18 is an electrode for detecting remaining amount of toner and is disposed in parallel with the developing roller 101 and spaced a prescribed distance away from the roller. The antenna 104 possesses electrostatic capacitance between itself and the developing roller 101. As the toner 20 inside the toner container 100 is consumed, the toner between the developing roller 101 and antenna 104 decreases. As a result, the dielectric constant between the developing roller 101 and antenna 104 decreases and so does the electrostatic capacitance. By sensing the change in electrostatic capacitance, the amount of toner 20 remaining in the toner container 100 can be detected. In other words, when a prescribed AC voltage is applied to the developing roller 101 by an AC developing high-voltage power supply 105, an AC current value Il conforming to the electrostatic capacitance of an equivalent capacitor 106 formed between the developing roller 101 and antenna 104 is obtained. The AC current value Il is proportional to the product of the frequency and amplitude of the AC developing high-voltage power supply 105 and electrostatic capacitance of the equivalent capacitor 106. The AC current value Il is rectified by a rectifying circuit constructed by diodes 201, 202, resistor 203 and capacitor 204, converted to a voltage value V1 and input to the inverting input terminal of a comparator 108. Similarly, when a prescribed AC voltage is applied to a reference capacitor 107 by the AC developing high-voltage power supply 105, an AC current value 12 conforming to the electrostatic capacitance of the reference capacitor 107 is obtained. The AC current value I2 is rectified by a rectifying circuit constructed by diodes 205, 206, resistor 207 and capacitor 208, converted to a reference voltage value V2 for detecting remaining amount of toner and input to a non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 108. The result of comparison by the comparator 108, i.e., a detection result 110 conforming to the remaining amount of toner, is sent to a controller (not shown) within the image forming apparatus. Based upon the detection result 110, whether the amount of toner 20 remaining inside the toner container 100 is less than a prescribed amount of toner can be detected.
Further, FIG. 19 illustrates the configuration of a mechanism in which the comparison circuit based upon the comparator 108 of FIG. 18 is replaced by an integrating circuit formed by an operational amplifier 109, resistors 209, 210 and capacitor 211. Here the error between the voltages V1, V2 applied to inverting and non-inverting input terminals of the operational amplifier 109 is amplified and detected as the detection result 110. That is, the amount of toner remaining inside the toner container 100 can be detected successively as an analog quantity (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-44184).
FIG. 20 illustrates the configuration of a mechanism for detecting remaining amount of toner based upon the light transmission method. As shown in FIG. 20, the toner container 100 is provided with transparent windows 401, 402 through which light is transmitted. A photodiode 403 serving as a light-emitting member is provided. A phototransistor 404 serving as a light-receiving member is placed at a position where it will intercept light that has passed through the windows 401, 402 when the light is emitted from the photodiode 403. That is, an optical circuit is formed in such a manner that light emitted from the photodiode 403 passes through the interior of the toner container 100 and is received at the phototransistor 404 situated opposite the photodiode 403. As the toner 20 inside the toner container 100 is consumed, the time it takes for the optical circuit to be formed when the toner is stirred inside the toner container 100 by rotating the stirring bar 103, i.e., the time it takes for light to be transmitted, lengthens. The amount of toner 20 remaining inside the toner container 100 can be detected by sensing a change in the light transmission time. In other words, when light emitted from the photodiode 403 has been sensed, the time it takes for a pulsed voltage waveform that is output from the phototransistor 404 to exceed a preset value is sensed. By sending the sensed time to a controller (not shown), it is possible to sense whether the amount of toner 20 remaining inside the toner container 100 has fallen below a prescribed amount or to sense the remaining amount of toner 20 inside the toner container 100 successively as an analog value (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-131936).
Thus, detection of the amount of remaining toner by the electrostatic capacitance detection method is used as a technique ideal for application to a monochrome image forming apparatus having an AC bias power supply for development. Further, the detection of amount of remaining toner by the light transmission method is ideal as a technique for application to a color image forming apparatus that does not use an AC bias power supply for development.
Recently, a developing unit 4 from which the stirring bar 103 has been removed from within the toner container 100 has been proposed for the purpose of reducing the size, weight and cost of the developing unit 4, as illustrated in FIG. 21. However, since the developing unit 4 does not have means for stirring the toner 20 inside the toner container 100, it is difficult to employ the light transmission method in order to detect the remaining amount of toner. In this developing unit 4, therefore, the selection made is detection of remaining amount of toner by the electrostatic capacitance detection method that senses a change in the electrostatic capacitance of the equivalent capacitor 106 formed between the developing roller 101 and RS roller 102.
It should be noted that the RS roller 102 is a member for removing toner from and supplying it to the developing roller 101. In this case, it is required that a color image forming apparatus be provided anew with a special-purpose AC power supply 111 for applying AC voltage to either the developing roller 101 or RS roller 102 only at the time of detection of remaining amount of toner in order to detect the remaining amount of toner by the electrostatic capacitance detection method. Providing the AC power supply 111 raises the cost of the image forming apparatus proper and is a factor that impedes a reduction in the cost of the developing unit 4. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to a positive type photoresist composition used for preparation of a printed circuit board or an integrated circuit. More particularly, it relates to a positive type photoresist composition which, when coated or electrodeposited on a board, forms a film exhibiting no tack at room temperature and excellent adhesive properties with respect to the board.
For keeping up with recent progress in electronic appliances, higher densification and integration as well as a finer circuit pattern are required of a printed circuit board as a carrier of an electronic circuit. For this reason, a surface packaging system is applied extensively for attaching electronic components to the board, in which there are formed increasing numbers of through-holes which play the role of electrical connection across the front and back sides of the board. By the through-holes are meant apertures the inside wall of which is plated with metal and which play the role of electrical connection across the front and back sides of the board and fixture of the electronic components on the board.
For preparing the printed circuit board having these through-holes and fine circuit patterns, it is necessary to protect the inner wall of the through-holes from the etching liquid.
However, with the method of laminating a photosensitive film known as a dry film employed extensively at present, it is difficult to laminate the metal surface uniformly. Moreover, since the film itself has a larger thickness of the order of 50 .mu.m in general, and since the pattern of the etching resist produced upon exposure and development is not sharp, the through-holes with small diameters cannot be coated satisfactorily. Hence, with the laminating method, the fine circuit pattern cannot be realized.
On the other hand, with the method of uniformly applying an etching resist by electrodeposition, if a conventional negative type electrodeposition photoresist consisting mainly of a light curable resin is employed, the volume of light irradiated into the through-hole and hence the curing effect falls short, so that the electrically conductive layer of the inner wall of the through-hole can hardly be protected.
For obviating these shortcomings, researches are conducted at present for developing a positive type photoresist in which an exposed area is dissolved during development and an unexposed area functions as a protective layer, or a positive type electrodeposition photoresist capable of electrodeposition coating.
So long as the positive type photoresist is concerned, it has been proposed to use a quinone diazide compound and an alkaline solution as a photosensitive agent and as a developing solution, respectively. With the positive type photoresist, the area irradiated with light is rendered alkali-soluble so that the resist is dissolved and removed, while the area not irradiated with light is alkali-insoluble and hence is left without being removed. As a result, a protective layer may be formed without light irradiation on the inner wall of the through-hole which is hardly accessible to light.
It is noted that novolak or vinyl resins are currently employed as a resin which is a main component of the positive type photoresist employing the quinone diazide compound as the photosensitive agent. However, the novolak resin exhibits only poor adhesiveness to the board. On the other hand, the vinyl resin is unable to cause photomask adhesion because of tack in the coating film before and after irradiation, while exhibiting poor compatibility with the quinone diazide compound and poor stability of the electrodeposition liquid. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Conventional surgical headlights are not sterile. Conventionally, the illumination beam is directed towards and manipulated within the surgical field through the motion of the wearer's head. If this direction is uncomfortable for the wearer, the wearer must either break the sterilization by physically redirecting the beam or else having an assistant adjust the headlight. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The actions of the neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) as a major modulatory neurotransmitter in the brain, are mediated through a number of receptor families termed 5-HT1, 5-HT2, 5-HT3, 5-HT4, 5-HT5, 5-HT6, and 5-HT7. Based on a high level of 5-HT6 receptor mRNA in the brain, it has been stated that the 5-HT6 receptor may play a role in the pathology and treatment of central nerve system disorders. In particular, 5-HT6 selective ligands have been identified as potentially useful in the treatment of certain CNS disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, anxiety, depression, manic depression, psychoses, epilepsy, obsessive compulsive disorders, migraine, Alzheimer's disease (enhancement of cognitive memory), sleep disorders, feeding disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, panic attacks, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), withdrawal from drug abuse such as cocaine, ethanol, nicotine and benzodiazepines, schizophrenia, and also disorders associated with spinal trauma and/or head injury such as hydrocephalus. Such compounds are also expected to be of use in the treatment of certain gastrointestinal (GI) disorders such as functional bowel disorder. See for example, B. L. Roth et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 1994, 268, pages 1403–14120, D. R. Sibley et al., Mol. Pharmacol., 1993, 43, 320–327, A. J. Sleight et al., Neurotransmission, 1995, 11, 1–5, and A. J. Sleight et al., Serotonin ID Research Alert, 1997, 2(3), 115–8.
While some 5-HT6 modulators have been disclosed, there continues to be a need for compounds that are useful for modulating 5-HT6. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Hepatitis C is a major health problem world-wide. The World Health Organization estimates that 170 million people are chronic carriers of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), with 4 million carriers in the United States alone. In the United States, HCV infection accounts for 40% of chronic liver disease and HCV disease is the most common cause for liver transplantation. HCV infection leads to a chronic infection and about 70% of persons infected will develop chronic histological changes in the liver (chronic hepatitis) with a 10-40% risk of cirrhosis and an estimated 4% lifetime risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. The CDC estimates that each year in the United States there are 35,000 new cases of HCV infection and approximately ten thousand deaths attributed to HCV disease.
The current standard of care is a pegylated interferon/ribavirin combination at a cost of approximately $31,000/year. These drugs have difficult dosing problems and side-effects that preclude their use in almost half of diagnosed patients. Pegylated interferon treatment is associated with menacing flu-like symptoms, irritability, inability to concentrate, suicidal ideation, and leukocytopenia. Ribavirin is associated with hemolytic anemia and birth defects.
The overall response to this standard therapy is low; approximately one third of patients do not respond. Of those who do respond, a large fraction relapses within six months of completing 6-12 months of therapy. As a consequence, the long-term response rate for all patients entering treatment is only about 50%. The relatively low response rate and the significant side-effects of current therapy anti-HCV drug treatments, coupled with the negative long term effects of chronic HCV infection, result in a continuing medical need for improved therapy. Antiviral pharmaceuticals to treat RNA virus diseases like HCV are few, and as described above are often associated with multiple adverse effects.
A number of recent publications have described NS5B inhibitors useful in the treatment of hepatitis C infection. See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0189602 (disclosing certain pyridazinones); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0252785 (disclosing selected heterocyclics); and International Publication Nos. WO 03/059356, WO 2002/098424, and WO 01/85172 (each describing a particular class of substituted thiadiazines).
While there are, in some cases, medicines available to reduce disease symptoms, there are few drugs to effectively inhibit replication of the underlying virus. The significance and prevalence of RNA virus diseases, including but not limited to chronic infection by the hepatitis C virus, and coupled with the limited availability and effectiveness of current antiviral pharmaceuticals, have created a compelling and continuing need for new pharmaceuticals to treat these diseases. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to expansion anchors for securing rock bolts in drill holes in mine roofs or other rock formations, and more specifically to an expansion anchor, and elements thereof, having novel features particularly adapted for use in relatively small diameter drill holes, either with or without a resin bonding material, with a bolt or rod of diameter previously used with larger expansion anchors.
Expansion anchors have for many years been one of the more common means employed in the support and stabilization of mine roofs and similar rock formations. Such anchors include a radially expansible shell and a tapered nut, commonly termed a camming plug, threaded onto one end of a bolt which is inserted into a drill hole in the rock formation. The diameter of the expansion shell in the unexpanded condition is very close to that of the drill hole so that the shell will frictionally engage the hole wall and be restrained from rotation as the bolt is rotated, thereby moving the camming plug axially on the bolt threads and expanding the shell into tightly gripping engagement with the hole wall. The bolt is then tensioned to a desired degree by applying the required amount of torque, forcing the bolt head, or a washer carried thereon, against a bearing plate engaging the rock surface around the entrance to the drill hole.
Another widely used means of anchoring bolts or other elongated rods, such as steel reinforcing rods ("rebar") within drill holes are cement or resin materials which fill the annular space between at least a portion of the rod and the drill hole wall and harden to bond the rod to the rock. Such materials are available in the form of two-compartment cartridges containing a resin and a catalyst which are separated from one another until insertion of the cartridge into the drill hole, at which time the rod is advanced into the hole to rupture the cartridge, release the two components, and mix them together by rotation of the rod.
Bolt anchoring systems employing both mechanical expansion anchors and resin bonding have also been proposed in various forms. In past years the amount of mixing of the resin components which resulted from insertion of the bolt and rotation thereof only for the time required to expand a conventional mechanical anchor was insufficient to provide the desired fully hardened condition of the mixture. For this reason, a number of combined resin-mechanical anchoring systems have been devised to ensure that the full advantages of both types of anchorage are realized. These include, for example, special forms of packaging to permit pre-mixing of the components while using a conventional expansion anchor, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,898 to Montgomery, and means for delaying expansion of the shell to extend the time of bolt rotation, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,188,815 to Schuermann et al.
Resin systems available in two-compartment cartridges at the present time, such as that marketed by DuPont under the trademark Fasloc, do not require special provisions for mixing when used in combination with expansion anchors. That is, the components are sufficiently mixed by rupturing the cartridge and forcing the components out as the bolt is inserted, and by rotation of the bolt to set a conventional expansion anchor in the usual manner, i.e., with about 3-5 seconds of rotation.
Although roof bolt expansion anchors of steel have been employed in a number of designs, the vast majority of such anchors presently in use are made of malleable iron. One of the most popular designs of malleable iron expansion anchor includes a shell having four prongs or leaves extending integrally from a closed ring at one end to opposite, free ends, with an open space or slot between adjacent leaves. The small end of the tapered nut or camming plug is inserted in the opening defined by the free ends of the leaves and is threaded on the end of a bolt extending through the expansion shell. After insertion into the drill hole, the bolt is rotated to move the camming plug axially between the leaves, the latter thus being expanded radially from their free ends, and bent outwardly from their opposite ends which remain integrally attached to the ring. The shell and plug are maintained in assembled relation on the bolt prior to use either by a support nut threaded on the bolt under the shell or by a bail having end portions engaged with the shell and extending over the plug.
Prior art successful commercial forms of these so-called four-prong shells and associated camming plugs have been produced in embodiments 11/4" or more in outside diameter by conventional casting techniques. However, smaller anchors which are simply scaled-down versions of these conventional anchors do not operate properly. One problem stems from the fact that a bolt at least 5/8" in diameter must be used, regardless of the size of the expansion anchors, so that the desired amount of tension may be applied to the bolt upon installation. Thus, while the dimensions of the shell and plug must be smaller, the plug must still be tapped with internal threads of the same diameter as in the larger anchors. Also, the threaded length of the plug cannot be substantially reduced and still maintain the required length of engagement with the bolt threads. Other problems arise from the requirements of obtaining proper bending of the leaves as they expand, providing sufficient contact area of the leaf surfaces with the bore hole wall, preventing excessive elongation or destruction of the shell leaves due to extreme compressive forces upon full installation, and ensuring adequate flow of the resin components around and through the shell in systems which combine resin and mechanical anchoring.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a malleable iron mine roof expansion anchor of the four prong type for use in a combination mechanical-resin anchor system in drill holes on the order of 1" in diameter with a 5/8" bolt.
Another object is to provide a mine roof expansion anchor having a unique combination of dimensions and details of configuration which insure proper operation and anchorage capacity in a four prong anchor having a maximum outside diameter of 1" for use with a 5/8" bolt.
A further object is to provide a malleable iron mine roof expansion anchor for use in a drill hole slightly over 1" in diameter with a 5/8" bolt, and having dimensional and constructional features which insure proper operation and holding capacity when used both with and without supplementary resin anchoring.
Still another object is to provide a novel tapered camming plug for a mine roof expansion anchor having constructional features particularly useful in relatively small scale versions of such anchors, and when used in conjunction with resin anchoring.
A still further object is to provide a novel leaf configuration for incorporation in a four-prong malleable iron expansion anchor shell having a maximum external diameter of not more than 1" and properly operable with a roof bolt 5/8" in diameter.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, description will be given of a conventional technique.
The conventional communication apparatus or device, when adopting a natural air-cooling system because of a small number of transceiver units 2, includes a housing 1, i.e., a natural air-cooling rack 1 in which a branching unit 3, a transceiver unit 2 for natural air-cooling, and a modem/controller unit 5 are installed downward in this order as shown in FIG. 1A. In each transceiver unit 2 in FIG. 1B, heat is radiated from a natural air-cooling radiator 7. If a large number of transceiver units 2 are packed into the conventional apparatus and hence forced air-cooling is employed to cope with high-density mounting of the transceiver units 2. The housing 1 includes a branching unit 3, a transceiver unit 2 for forced air-cooling, and a modem/controller unit 5 that are arranged from the top in this order as shown in FIG. 2A. When a fan unit 4, which is disposed above or below transceiver units 2 shown in FIG. 2B, is activated, heat is radiated from the forced air-cooling radiator 8 of the transceiver unit 2.
As for an example of the conventional technique using natural air-cooling, specifically, a “microwave communication device” that radiates heat by means of radiation fins attached to a housing (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-13063). Also, there is described an example of the conventional art using forced air-cooling, namely, a “communication device mounting structure and heat radiation method for the same” in which heat is radiated from the device via heat radiation fins while fans suctions air (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-140015). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Hydrostatically propelled harvesting machines and the like, where a significant time delay exists between a change in the travel speed and the effect of the change in speed on engine loading or machine function, typically require speed controls. Known speed controls for harvesting machines have been employed to reduce the travel speed of the machine at a fast rate when the engine begins to lug, which may be caused by the machine encountering a sudden increase in crop density or toughness. However, because of the delay between a change in speed and the effect thereof on machine loading, regenerative instability in the system may occur with such speed controls if the travel speed of the machine is allowed to recover at the same fast rate. For example, in the case of a combine harvester, there is a significant delay between the time the header picks up crop material and the time at which the crop material reaches the thresher, which is the primary source of engine load variation. If the travel speed of the combine is allowed to recover or increase at a fast rate after the travel speed has been reduced, because of the crop transport delay between the header and thresher, the travel speed may increase above a desired equilibrium speed causing the header to pick up an excessive amount of crop material before the engine is loaded sufficiently by the thresher to limit the travel speed. When the excessive crop flow reaches the thresher, the engine will lug, resulting in a slowdown of the combine and repetition of the cycle.
In order to prevent such regenerative instability, speed controls for harvesting machines have been known which slow the travel speed of the harvester at a fast rate in response to lugging of the engine and subsequently allow the travel speed to recover at a slow rate to prevent regenerative instability or surging of the speed. The recovery time for such known speed controls may be on the order of 10-20 seconds after the travel speed has been slowed due to engine lugging. The slow recovery rate is not only annoying for the operator of the machine, but also reduces harvesting productivity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to the electrical, electronic, and computer arts, and, more particularly, to methods for forming fins in integrated circuits comprising FinFETs.
Multi-gate field-effect transistors (FETs) are of considerable interest because of their superior electrostatic integrity, as well as their promise of lower supply voltages, reduced threshold voltages, and extended scalability. FinFETs are one form of such multi-gate device. In a FinFET, a narrow channel feature (i.e., fin) is raised above the substrate and passes under a gate, which effectively wraps around the fin. The gate is thereby capacitively coupled to the top as well as the sides of the fin. So structured, very little leakage current passes through channel portions of the fin when the device is in the off state. This allows the use of lower threshold voltages and higher switching speeds. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates generally to the detection of conductors near inductive coupling loops, and more specifically to the detection of cookware on a cooktop or heating surface and determination of the size and/or the temperature of the cookware located thereon.
Cookware detection, size determination, and temperature determination features for induction heating cooking appliances provide added convenience to usera as well as allowing an added level of safety to be incorporated into cooking surface control schemes. For example, in some induction cooktops, power is disabled to heating elements until a presence of an item of cookware is detected on the cooktop, therfore providing automatic power control to heating elements while conserving energy and at least partially reducing a likelihood of injury from contact with unoccupied heating elements.
In at least one known pan detection system, an induction coil is used and the presence of an item of cookware on the cooking surface induces frequency changes detected in a detection circuit coupled to the controls for operating heating elements. However, electronic components used in such applications are sensitive to heat degradation because the heat generated in a cooking surface environment changes electronic components values and tolerances over time. In addition, during cooking cycles, the electronic components are exposed to fluctuating heat generated in the cooking elements so electronic component values and characteristics fluctuate during the cooking cycle. As applied to the known detection systems, the heat fluctuation in the cooking environment, and thus the fluctuations in component value, induces fluctuations in a detected frequency in the detection circuit. These fluctuations in frequency require a sophisticated control circuit with a particular bandwidth to accurately detect presence of cookware and to control heating elements accordingly.
Accordingly, it would therefore be desirable to provide a circuit for accurately detecting cookware presence and size for an induction based cooking system that is not based upon frequency change as the detection mechanism, thereby eliminating the problems associated with fluctuating component values induced by exposure to heat in the cooking environment.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method of detecting the presence of a conductor, for example a piece of cookware, near an inductive coupling loop includes the steps of introducing an excitation signal to a coupling loop, measuring the amount of signal distortion induced in the coupling loop by the excitation signal, and monitoring the harmonic content of the distorted signal.
The inductive coupling loop is located within a cooking surface or cooktop, near a heating element. A signal generating circuit is used to generate an excitation signal that is applied to the coupling loop. The effect of a conductor, such as a piece of cookware, is to distort the excitation signal as the cookware is positioned over the coupling loop. The distortion is in the form of harmonics of the excitation signal, and the harmonics are detected with a detection circuit. Therefore by detecting signal distortion harmonics rather than frequency changes, a cookware detection system is provided that is not as susceptible to heat effects of the cooktop in comparison to known detection systems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a data transferring and/or receiving apparatus, method, and program storage medium, all in which data is transferred either within a single computer or among a number of computers.
Up until now, for transferring information displayed on a screen within a single computer, a user interface technique, which is referred to as xe2x80x9cdrag and dropxe2x80x9d, has been used. In the drag and drop technique, a subject that is being displayed on a computer screen, for example an icon, which represents information concerning a file stored in, for example, a hard disk, is clicked and dragged to a desired folder with a mouse and then dropped there. According to the drag and drop technique, the user is able to handle a subject displaced on a computer screen as if he/she were moving a real object, thereby enabling the user to naturally operate the computer.
However, if it is desired that a subject displayed on a screen is to be transferred to a different screen, i.e., when data, such as a file, is to be transferred between different computers, a natural user interface technique, such as the drag and drop technique, is not conventionally provided. For example, if a subject is to be transferred between different screens, the user is required to execute a command, such as a remote file copy command or an information transfer command.
In this manner, conventionally, even though a file transfer operation is performed between different computers, an op ration is disadvantageously conducted on the screen of a single computer. This type of user interface technique is far from representing the concept that a real object is being moved. Thus, the user is unable to perform a natural and simple operation in order to transfer a file between different computers.
Accordingly, in view of the above background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data transferring and/or receiving apparatus, method, and program storage medium, all of which use a user interface that enables natural and simple data transfer in a single computer or natural and simple data transmission among a number of computers.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transferring apparatus including a data storage unit for storing data. A display/input unit displays information concerning the presence of the data stored in the data storage unit and is operated by an input operation unit. A network connector transmits data via a network that is provided with a management table in which management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered. A controller registers in the management table, upon selecting by the input operation unit the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on the display/input unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data. The controller also transfers, upon obtaining a data transmission request that has been provided by the input operation unit from a device on the network, data corresponding to the information indicating the presence of the data represented by the registered management information from the data storage unit to the device on the network.
In the aforementioned data transferring apparatus, there is provided a management table on the network in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the operation input unit is registered. The management table on the network is shared with other apparatuses connected to the network. In the above-described data transferring apparatus, when the information concerning the presence of the data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data is registered in the management table. When the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus is selected by the input operation unit, the selected apparatus checks for the management information in the management table and requests the apparatus of the present invention to transmit data indicted by the management information in the management table. Then, the data transferring apparatus of the present invention transmits the data corresponding to the management information to the apparatus that has requested data transmission.
In the aforementioned data transferring apparatus, the display/input unit may be operated by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. The controller may identify, upon selecting by the input operation unit the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on the display/input unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit and may register the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number.
In the aforementioned data transferring apparatus, the management table in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered is provided on the network according to the ID number of the input operation unit. In this data transferring apparatus, when the information concerning the presence of the data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data is registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number of the input operation unit. When the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus is selected by the input operation unit having the above ID number, the selected apparatus checks for the management information registered in they management table having the above ID number and requests the apparatus of the present invention to transmit data indicated by the management information registered in the management table having the above ID number.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data receiving apparatus including a data storage unit for storing data. A display/input unit displays information concerning the presence of the data stored in the data storage unit and is operated by an input operation unit. A network connector transmits data via a network that is provided with a management table in which management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered. A controller requests, upon performing an input operation on the display/input unit by the input operation unit, a device on the network indicated by the management information registered in the management table to transmit data corresponding to the management information. The controller also receives the data from the device on the network and stores it in the data storage unit.
In the aforementioned data receiving apparatus, there is provided a management table on the network in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered. The management table on the network is shared with other apparatuses connected to the network. In this data receiving apparatus, when the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the management information registered in the management table is checked, and a request is provided to the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus indicated by the management information registered in the management table to transmit data corresponding to the management information. The apparatus that has received the data transmission request transmits the data corresponding to the management information. The data receiving apparatus then receives the data and stores it.
According to the aforementioned data receiving apparatus, the display/input unit may be operated by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. The controller may identify, upon performing an input operation on the display/input unit by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit, and may request the device on the network indicated by the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number, to transmit the data corresponding to the management information.
In the above-described data receiving apparatus, the management table in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered is provided on the network according to the ID number of the input operation unit. When the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number of the operated input operation unit is checked. Then, a request is provided to the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus indicated by the management information registered in the management table having the above ID number to transmit data corresponding to the management information having the above ID number.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transferring and receiving apparatus including a data storage unit for storing data. A display/input unit displays information concerning the presence of the data stored in the data storage unit and is operated by an input operation unit. A network connector transmits data via a network that is provided with a management table in which management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered. A controller checks for, upon performing an input operation on the display/input unit by the input operation unit, management information registered in the management table. If there is no management information registered in the checked management table and the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the controller registers the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table. The controller further transfers from the data storage unit to the device on the network, upon obtaining a data transmission request that has been provided by the input operation unit from the device on the network, data corresponding to the information concerning the presence of the data represented by the registered management information. On the other hand, if management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table, the controller requests the device on the network indicted by the management information to transmit data corresponding to the management information and receives the data from the device on the network and stores it in the data storage unit.
In the aforementioned data transferring and receiving apparatus, there is provided a management table on the network in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered. The management table on the network is shared with other apparatuses connected to the network. When the information concerning the presence of the data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the selected data is registered in the management table. When the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus is selected by the input operation unit, the selected apparatus checks for the management information registered in the management table and requests the apparatus of the present invention to transmit data indicated by the management information. The data transferring and receiving apparatus transmits the data corresponding to the management information to the apparatus that as requested data transmission. Further, in this data transferring and receiving apparatus, when the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the management information registered in the management table is checked, and a request is provided to the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus indicated by the management information registered in the management table to transmit data corresponding to the management information. The apparatus that has received the data transmission request transmits the data corresponding to the management information. Then, the data transferring and receiving apparatus receives the data and stores it.
In the aforementioned data transferring and receiving apparatus, the display/input unit may be operated by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. The controller any identify, upon selecting the information concerning the presence of the data indicated on the display/input unit by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit and may check for management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number. If there is no management information registered in the checked management table and the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the controller may register the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number. In contrast, if management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table, the controller may request the device on the network indicated by the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number to transmit data corresponding to the management information.
In the aforementioned data transferring and receiving apparatus, the management table in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered is provided on the network according to the ID number of the input operation unit. When the information concerning the presence of the data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data is registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number of the input operation unit. When the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus is selected by the input operation unit having the ID number, the selected apparatus checks for the management information registered in the management table having the above ID number and requests the apparatus of the present invention to transmit data indicated by the management information registered in the management table having the above ID number. Further, in this data transferring and receiving apparatus, when the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number of the input operation unit is checked, and a request is provided to the apparatus of the present invention or another apparatus indicated by the management information registered in the management table having the above ID number to transmit data corresponding to the management information having the above ID number.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transmitting system including a network provided with a management table in which management information representing information concerning the presence of data is registered. A number of data transferring and receiving apparatuses are connected on the network. Each of the data transferring and receiving apparatuses has a data storage unit for storing data. A display/input unit displays information concerning the presence of the data stored in the data storage unit and is operated by an input operation unit. A network connector transmits data via the network. A controller checks for, upon performing an input operation on the display/input unit by the input operation unit, management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data registered in the management table. If there is no management information registered in the checked management table and the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the controller means registers the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table and further transfers from the data storage unit to the device on the network, upon obtaining a data transmission request that has been provided by the input operation unit from the device on the network, data corresponding to the information concerning the presence of the data represented by the registered management information. Conversely, if management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table, the controller requests the device on the network indicated by the management information to transmit data corresponding to the management information and receives the data from the device on the network and stores it in the data storage unit.
In the aforementioned data transmitting system, the management table provided on the network is shared with the data transferring and receiving apparatuses connected to the network. When the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on a single data transferring and receiving apparatus is selected by the input operation unit, the data transferring and receiving apparatus registers the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table. Then, when the above data transferring and receiving apparatus or another data transferring and receiving apparatus is selected by the input operation unit, the selected apparatus checks for the management information registered in the management table and requests the above data transferring and receiving apparatus to transmit data indicated by the management information registered in the management table. In the data transmitting system, the above data transferring and receiving apparatus then transmits the data corresponding to the management information to the apparatus that has requested data transmission. The data transmitting system then receives the data and stores it.
In the above-described data transmitting system, the display/input unit of each of the data transferring and receiving apparatuses may be operated by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each have in an ID number. The controller of each of the data transferring and receiving apparatuses may identify, upon selecting the information concerning the presence of the data indicated on the display/input unit by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit and may check for management information in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number. If there is no management information registered in the checked management table and the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on the display/input unit is selected by the input operation unit, the controller may register the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table corresponding to the identified ID number. On the other hand, if management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table the controller may request the device on the network indicated by the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number to transmit data corresponding to the management information.
In this data transmitting system, when the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on a single data transferring and receiving apparatus is selected by the input operation unit, the data transferring and receiving apparatus registers the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table corresponding to the ID number of the operated input operation unit. When the above data transferring and receiving apparatus or another data transferring and receiving apparatus is selected by the input operation unit, the selected apparatus checks for the management information registered in the management table having the ID number and requests the above data transferring and receiving apparatus to transmit data indicated by the management information registered in the management table having the ID number.
According to a yet further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transferring method including the steps of registering, upon selecting information concerning the presence of displayed data by an input operation unit, management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in a management table provided on a network, and transferring, upon obtaining a data transmission request that as been provided by the input operation unit from a device on the network, data corresponding to the information concerning the presence of the data represented by the registered management information to the device on the network.
In the aforementioned data transferring method, there is provided a management table on the network in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered. The management table on the network is shared among apparatuses connected to the network.
In this data transferring method, the information concerning the presence of the displayed data may be operated by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. If the information concerning the presence of the displayed data is selected by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit may be identified, and the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data may be registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number.
In this data transferring method, the management table in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered is provided on the network according to the ID number of the input operation unit.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data receiving method including the steps of identifying, upon performing an input operation by an input operation unit, management information registered in a management table provided on a network and requesting a device on the network indicated by the management information to transmit data corresponding to the management information, and receiving the data from the device on the network and storing it.
In this data receiving method, there is provided a management table on the network in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered. The management table on the network is shared among the apparatuses connected to the network.
In the data receiving method, an input operation may be performed by a ingle input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. Upon performing an input operation by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit may be identified, and the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number may be checked, and a request may be provided to the device on the network indicated by the management information to transmit the data corresponding to the management information.
In this data receiving method, the management table in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered is provided on the network according to the ID number of the input operation unit.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transferring and receiving method including the steps of checking for, upon performing an input operation by an input operation unit, management information representing information concerning the presence of data registered in a management table provided on a network, registering in the management table, in a case where there is no management information registered in the checked management table and where the information concerning the presence of the displayed data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data, and transferring, upon obtaining a data transmission request that has been provided by the input operation unit from a device on the network, data corresponding to the information concerning the presence of the data indicated by the registered management information to the device on the network, and requesting, in a case where the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table, the device on the network indicated by the management information to transmit data corresponding to the management information, and receiving the data from the device on the network and storing it.
In the aforementioned data transferring and receiving method, there is provided a management table on the network in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered. The management table on the network is shared among the apparatuses connected to the network.
In the data transferring and receiving method, an input operation may be performed by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. Upon selecting the information concerning the presence of the displayed data by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit may be identified, and the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number may be checked. If there is no management information registered in the checked management table and if the information concerning the presence of the displayed data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data may be registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number. In contrast, if the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table, a request may be provided to the device on the network indicated by the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number to transmit data corresponding to the management information.
In this data transferring and receiving method, the management table in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered is provided on the network according to the ID number.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transmitting method including the steps of registering, upon selecting information concerning the presence of data displayed on a transmitting side by an input operation unit, management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in a management table provided on a network, checking, upon performing an input operation on a receiving side by the input operation unit, the management information and requesting the transmitting side to transmit data corresponding to the management information, transferring to the receiving side from the transmitting side, upon obtaining the data transmission request, the data corresponding to the information concerning the presence of the data to indicated by the registered management information, and receiving the data by the receiving side and storing it.
In the data transmitting method, there is provided a management table on the network in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered. The management table on the network is shared between the transmitting side and the receiving side connected to the network.
In the aforementioned data transmitting method, an input operation may be performed by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. Upon selecting the information concerning the presence of the data displayed on the transmitting side by the input operation unit, the transmitting side may identify the ID number of the operated input operation unit and may register the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number. Upon performing an input operation on the receiving side by the input operation unit, the receiving side by the input ID number of the operated input operation unit and may check the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number. The receiving side may provide a request to the transmitting side to transmit data corresponding to the management information.
In this data transmitting method, the management table in which the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data selected by the input operation unit is registered is provided on the network according to the ID number of the input operation unit.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transferring program storage medium storing a program that executes processing including the steps of registering, upon selecting information concerning the presence of displayed data by an input operation unit, management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in a management table provided on a network, and transferring, upon obtaining a data transmission request that has been provided by the input operation unit from a device on the network, data corresponding to the information concerning the presence of the data indicated by the registered management information to the device on the network.
In the aforementioned data transferring program storage a medium, the program may execute the following processing. If the information concerning the presence of the displayed data is operated by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number, and is selected by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit may be identified, and the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data may be registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data receiving program storage medium storing a program that executes processing including the steps of requesting, upon performing an input operation by an input operation unit, a device on a network indicated by management information representing information concerning the presence of data registered in a management table provided on a network to transmit data corresponding to the management information, and receiving the data from the device on the network and storing it.
In the aforementioned data receiving program storage medium, the program may execute the following processing. Upon performing an input operation by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number, the ID number of the operated input operation unit may be identified, and a request may be provided to the device on the network indicated by the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number to transmit data corresponding to the management information.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a data transferring and receiving program storage a medium storing a program that executes processing including the steps of checking for, upon performing an input operation by an input operation unit, management information representing information concerning the presence of data registered in a management table provided on a network, registering, in a case where there is no management information in the checked management table and where the information concerning the presence of the displayed data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data in the management table, and transferring, upon obtaining a data transmission request that has been provided by the input operation unit from a device on the network, data corresponding to the information concerning the presence of the data indicated by the registered management information to the device on the network, and requesting, in a case where the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table the device on the network indicated by the management information to transmit data corresponding to the management information, and receiving the data from the device on the network and storing it.
In the aforementioned data transferring and receiving program storage medium, the program may execute the following processing. An input operation may be performed by a single input operation unit or a number of input operation units, each having an ID number. Upon selecting the information concerning the presence of the displayed data by the input operation unit, the ID number of the operated input operation unit may be identified, and the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number may be checked. If there is no management information registered in the checked management table and if the information concerning the presence of the displayed data is selected by the input operation unit, the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the selected data may be registered in the management table in correspondence with the identified ID number. Conversely, if the management information representing the information concerning the presence of the data is registered in the checked management table, a request may be provided to the device on the network indicated by the management information registered in the management table in correspondence with the ID number to transmit data corresponding to the management information.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description of the Invention and the Figures. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for configuring transmission of device-to-device (D2D) control information in a wireless communication system.
Related Art
3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long-term evolution (LTE) is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity. The 3GPP LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement.
Recently, there has been a surge of interest in supporting proximity-based services (ProSe). Proximity is determined (“a user equipment (UE) is in proximity of another UE”) when given proximity criteria are fulfilled. This new interest is motivated by several factors driven largely by social networking applications, and the crushing data demands on cellular spectrum, much of which is localized traffic, and the under-utilization of uplink frequency bands. 3GPP is targeting the availability of ProSe in LTE rel-12 to enable LTE become a competitive broadband communication technology for public safety networks, used by first responders. Due to the legacy issues and budget constraints, current public safety networks are still mainly based on obsolete 2G technologies while commercial networks are rapidly migrating to LTE. This evolution gap and the desire for enhanced services have led to global attempts to upgrade existing public safety networks. Compared to commercial networks, public safety networks have much more stringent service requirements (e.g., reliability and security) and also require direct communication, especially when cellular coverage fails or is not available. This essential direct mode feature is currently missing in LTE.
As a part of ProSe, device-to-device (D2D) operation between UEs has been discussed. For D2D operation, D2D control information needs to be transmitted. Accordingly, a method for configuring transmission of the D2D control information may be required. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
Some example embodiments may relate to a fingerprint sensor. More particularly, some example embodiments may relate to a fingerprint sensor having an increased sensing performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a fingerprint sensor obtains a fingerprint image of a finger by generating an analog signal having a magnitude proportional to a capacitance between a finger and a sensing electrode included in a pixel, and comparing magnitudes of the analog signals generated by the pixels.
A difference between a capacitance between the finger and a sensing electrode included in a pixel on which a ridge of a fingerprint is located and a capacitance between the finger and a sensing electrode included in a pixel on which a valley of the fingerprint is located is very small. Therefore, a difference between a magnitude of the analog signal generated by the pixel on which a ridge of the fingerprint is located and a magnitude of the analog signal generated by the pixel on which a valley of the fingerprint is located also may be very small.
For this reason, a fingerprint sensor generally performs an integration operation on the analog signal generated by the pixels accumulatively, and obtains the fingerprint image of the finger based on the integrated signal.
As the number of times the integration operation performed on the analog signal increases, a sensing performance may increase. However, as the number of times the integration operation is performed on the analog signal increases, a magnitude of the integrated signal may also increase, thus, a size of an integration circuit may be increased. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In recent years, the potential has escalated for the use of micromechanical elements in a variety of technical arenas such as semiconductor devices. Typically the micromechanical elements are integrated into semiconductor devices, and are housed in cavities or voids formed upon or within, for example, a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device. While integrating the micromechanical element onto the CMOS substrate, it is equally important to provide adequate environmental protection for the micromechanical elements, and provide electrical connection to the upper layers of the circuit.
The micromechanical element could be moveable or non-moveable, for example, a charge transfer device movable between electrodes or a microfuse element which blows on the application of a suitable current. One of the principal concerns facing the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) industry is that the micromechanical elements are highly sensitive to their operational environments which include thermal, chemical and mechanical exposure which may be detrimental to the performance of the semiconductor device. Hence, it is desirable to provide such micromechanical elements with some form of protective seal or seals.
The device incorporating the micromechanical element may equally become damaged, for example, while being handled during subsequent packaging steps or to provide electrical connection to the upper circuit; hence, the need for suitable protection.
It can be appreciated that micromechanical elements require stringent measures of protection, therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide reliable an enclosure for the micromechanical element in the form of hermetic seals, without increasing the size and cost of the devices. It can be seen therefore, that there is a need to fabricate reliable micromechanical elements for use in semiconductor devices. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention is directed to a 360.degree. electronically scanned sonar and in particular to a sonar having a thinned transducer array.
Conventional volume scanning sonars have transducers in which the array elements are arranged in some type of cylindrical configuration having a matrix of rows (layers) and columns (staves) in which the elements are space .lambda./2 apart. U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,869 which issued to McCool et al. on Nov. 5, 1968 describes such a transducer. In order to scan horizontally and/or vertically with such a transducer, a control system energizes the elements in the array at predetermined times forming a beam which is scanned either horizontally or vertically. U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,622 which issued to Hutchison et al. on Jan. 7, 1975, describes an electronic scanning switch for beam forming in sonar systems, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,763 which issued to Kits van Heyningen on Jan. 4, 1977 describes a further electronically stabilized beam former system for a cylindrical type array in which the transducer is also curved in the vertical direction.
The cost for a large full array sonar transducer can be reduced somewhat by eliminating some of the elements in the array in order to form a thinned array. In linear antenna arrays of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,372 which issued to Unz on Dec. 18, 1973 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,848 which issued to Leeper on Jan. 31, 1978, the elements are nonuniformly spaced at what is considered to be optimal non-periodic positions in the array. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The mobile IP protocol enables a mobile node to move freely from one point of connection to another in various networks it visits along its route. When the mobile node attaches to a visited network, it may need to perform protocol operations to obtain authenticated network access. Once the mobile node is authorized to access the visited network, it may then engage in communications that might require support for features such as Quality of Service (QoS), header compression, buffering, and security. Typically, a mobile node would communicate a request for such features at its point of connection to the visited network. However, the visited point of connection may need to ensure that the mobile node is appropriately authorized by a trusted agent, such as a domain Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server or the like, prior to actually enabling the requested features.
When a mobile node leaves the current visited point of connection and attaches to a new point of connection for another visited network, the mobile node must often repeat the operations to obtain authenticated network access. Furthermore, the new visited point of connection may also need to determine if the mobile node is appropriately authorized to access the requested features. However, during the movement of the mobile node from one connection point to another there should be minimal disruption to an application running on the mobile node. Unfortunately, a disruption may arise due to response latency, packet loss, and the like, during a handover of the mobile node from one point of connection to another point of connection. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention is concerned with improvements in and relating to periodontal probes and apparatus incorporating such probes.
A periodontal probe is an instrument used in dentistry to measure the depths of pockets or recesses which form between the tooth and the gum when the patient is suffering from an oral disorder known as periodontoclasia. It also is employed in endodontic techniques involving measurements of root canals. In contrast to a conventional probe, the tine of a periodontal probe is marked at predetermined distances along its length, usually by means of grooves formed into the material of the tine, so that the user can, at least in theory, see how far the probe has penetrated a pocket, recess, or root canal, and thus determine its depth. A periodontal probe should be light in weight, as no excessive pressure should be applied to the floor or bottom of the pocket, recess, or root canal if accurate measurements are to be obtained, and its tip should be blunt, especially so that piercing of the soft floor or bottom of a pocket or recess is avoided.
Periodontal probes made of metal have been available for many years. The simplest form of periodontal probe is one, generally formed of stainless steel, having a round or flattened tine, the tine having a number of transverse grooves formed in it along its length. In practice, however, it is difficult to see the grooves to determine the depth of the pocket or recess because there is little effective difference in color between the grooves and the rest of the tine.
In order to overcome this problem, it has been proposed to fill the grooves with a material of contrasting color to the material of the tine. However, it has been found, in practice, that the rings of colored material tend to chip and/or wear during handling and repeated cycles of sterilization.
Examples of certain periodontal probes developed heretofore are disclosed in the following prior patents:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,292 to Weissman, dated Feb. 2, 1971, illustrates a dental guage including a flexible and extendable member operated by a slide on a handle movable relative to a scale on the handle.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,223 to Lautenschlager et. al., dated May 20, 1980, includes a scale-marked measuring shaft slidably carried by a sleeve on the head of the instrument and actuated by a collar movable along a threaded portion of an elongated handle to cause a leaf spring to project the measuring shaft into a gingival sulcus. The shaft has spaced scale markings therealong.
3. Published British Patent Application Ser. No. 2,086,232A discloses a dental probe having a conventional scale arrangement on the probe member.
4. Though not directed to a periodontal instrument, U.S. Pat. No. 2,949,107 to Ziegler, dated Aug. 16, 1960, pertains to a dental vitality instrument known as a pulp tester and includes a probe terminal for contacting a tooth to determine the vitality thereof by means of an electric current. The probe is supported within a casing extension of translucent material within which a small electric bulb is mounted and is illuminated by batteries within the handle of the instrument. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In recent years, as an illuminator for a projector, there is an illuminator that irradiates a phosphor layer with excitation light from a plurality of light sources to produce fluorescence used as image light (see PTL 1, for example). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Digital photo frames have been provided which can present, on a computer-controlled display, digital photographs. These frames mimic in size and shape traditional photo frames, but have the advantages of allowing users to rapidly view multiple photos in succession without flipping through a hard copy album, and allowing users to quickly and easily change the image that is presented in the frame without having to remove the back of the frame and swap hard copy photos.
As understood herein, enhancements can be provided to the bezel framing the digital photo display. Moreover, present principles understand that in general, the illumination of bezels in consumer electronics devices may be improved for visual appeal and effect. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a cover window and an apparatus and method for manufacturing the cover window.
Discussion of the Background
Recently, various mobile electronic devices are being widely used. Examples of mobile electronic devices include tablet personal computers (PCs) that have become widely popular in recent years, as well as small electronic devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and the like.
Such mobile electronic devices include a display unit for providing visual information, such as images and video, to users so as to implement various functions the devices possess. When it comes to display units, components for driving a display unit have been downsized, and display units and their functions have been one of the most important features of the electronic devices. For example, display units that can be bent at a set angle have been manufactured.
In current technology, display units can be made flexible and bendable. Typically, a cover window may be attached to the outer surface of the display unit to protect the exterior of the display unit. The cover window may be formed of various materials. For example, the cover window may be formed of a glass material or a synthetic resin. The cover window may be injection-molded by using a synthetic resin material. However, when a cover window is manufactured by injection molding, it is prone to delamination or deformation, which can be often detected when the reliability thereof is examined. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to agents and nucleic acid targets for regulating gene expression. More specifically, the present invention relates to compounds, compositions, and methods for regulation of the expression of nucleic acids encoding Bcl-2.
2. Technical Background
The genetic blueprint of mankind is written and stored in the chromosomes found in the nuclei of somatic cells. These chromosomes are each made up of a single molecule of DNA. DNA is a double-stranded polymer compound whose strands are chains of the nucleotide subunits adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. These chains are held to each other by hydrogen bonds formed between complementary nucleotides on the chains. Adenine (A) forms hydrogen bonds with thymine (T); and guanine (G) forms hydrogen bonds with cytosine (C). Contiguous sets of three of these nucleobases in the nucleotide strands code for individual amino acids. Together, the nucleotide chains of DNA code for all of the various proteins needed to build, maintain, and fuel the human body.
Proteins are translated from transcribed copies of DNA called messenger RNA. Messenger RNA is made when DNA partially unwinds, allowing the sequence of the DNA to be copied and transcribed by cellular machinery. Messenger RNA is made of similar components as DNA, with the substitution of uracil for thymine and the substitution of ribose for deoxyribose in all nucleotides. Once the transcription of a messenger RNA is completed, it is transported from the nucleus to the cytosol. There, the mRNA is engaged by the enzymes that are the protein-manufacturing machinery of the cell. The enzymes and other associated molecules making up this machinery bind to the mRNA and begin to interpret the code of the messenger RNA. As they do so, they also assemble and bind the amino acids encoded into chains to produce the protein coded for by the original DNA.
Illnesses and disease states such as some cancers have been linked to the over-, under-, or mis-production of specific proteins. In some of these cases, a defect present in the gene causes the production of messenger RNAs that code for a nonfunctional or inefficient protein. Additionally, some diseases may be controlled by increasing or decreasing the normal production of a protein. Specifically, it is thought that in some cancers, if the gene coding for a specific protein could be regulated, the cancer would abate, or would become more susceptible to treatment. As a result of this, much research has been conducted to find a method of modulating the activity of a gene. In one specific study, it was determined that down-regulation of Bcl-2 production in prostate cancer cells inhibited their growth and rendered them susceptible to adriamycin-induced apoptosis. Shi et al., Cancer Biother. Radiopharm., 16(5):421-9 (October 2001).
One technology used for regulating the expression of a gene is antisense technology. Antisense technology controls the production of a protein by binding a molecule to the nucleic acid coding for the protein. Generally this molecule is a short length of DNA or RNA commonly referred to as an antisense oligonucleotide. These oligonucleotides are complementary to a segment of the nucleic acid. In use, these antisense oligonucleotides are administered to a cell or tissue desired to be treated. The oligonucleotides are taken into the cell where they associate with and bind to a region of the nucleic acid encoding the protein to which they are complementary. This binding prevents normal interaction of the nucleic acid with cellular machinery such as RNA translation enzymes or induces the degradation of the message RNA. This inhibits or prevents proper translation of the message RNA.
Antisense is regarded by many as a powerful technology since the antisense oligonucleotides used may be carefully targeted to specific regions on the nucleic acids, thus preventing interaction of the oligonucleotides with other molecules not desired to be inhibited or activated. These specific regions of the selected nucleic acids are often referred to as target sequences. Because antisense oligonucleotides may be so carefully targeted to these target sequences, antisense oligonucleotides may be used to provide compositions, such as drugs, that have near-absolute specificity, high efficacy, low toxicity, and few side effects.
These benefits are overshadowed, however, by the difficulty involved in locating effective antisense oligonucleotides for use with a gene. Despite the fact that generally there are a large number of potential oligonucleotides available for each individual gene, different antisense oligonucleotides have different effects on gene expression. This has been shown to be due at least in part to the final folded structure of the nucleic acid which may block access to some regions of the nucleic acid sequence, thus rendering some oligonucleotides ineffective. Further, the work of characterizing effective sites must be repeated for each individual gene desired to be targeted. This process is generally a long and expensive one. Many disease states, including cancer, stand to benefit from successful antisense therapies, but oligonucleotides useful with specific genes are elusive.
Bcl-2 is an inner mitochondrial membrane protein that has been shown to block apoptotic cell death in some specific cell types. The expression of Bcl-2 has been shown to be involved in apoptosis in the thymus (Kanavaros et al., Histol. Histopathol. 16(4):1005-12 (October 2001). Bcl-2 has also been shown to play a role in prostatic cancers, and has been specifically linked to aggressive tumors common in specific racial groups. Shi et al., Cancer Biother. Radiopharm., 16(5):421-9 (October 2001); Slothower, Study Suggests Bcl-2 Gene as a Cause for Aggressive Prostate Cancer in African American Men, U.C. Davis Med. Ctr., (May 1998). As briefly noted above, a study in which Bcl-2 production was down-regulated in prostate cancer cells showed inhibition of cell growth and increased sensitivity to treatments designed to induce apoptosis. Shi et al., Biother. Radiopharm., 16(5):421-9 (October 2001).
Accordingly, it would be an advancement in the art to provide inhibitory oligonucleotide compounds configured to bind to, and consequently, to modulate the activity of nucleic acids encoding proteins which play a role in diseases such as cancer. It would be a further advancement to provide effective target sites for Bcl-2 gene regulation. It would be an advancement in the art to provide oligonucleotides complementary to effective antisense target regions of a nucleic acid encoding Bcl-2. It would be a further benefit in the art to provide compositions such as medications, including such oligonucleotides. Finally, it would be an improvement in the art to provide methods of using such oligonucleotides and compositions.
Such oligonucleotides, target regions, compositions including such oligonucleotides, and methods of their use are disclosed herein. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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With the rapid growth in large collections of digital images and increasing capabilities for quickly and conveniently acquiring such images in natural settings, interest in developing efficient ways for extracting useful information from these images in an automated fashion is increasing as well. For example, the wide proliferation of mobile computing devices (such as smart phones) with integrated cameras and network (e.g., Internet) access gives rise to a desire for technologies that enable analyzing a picture of an object of interest—such as a product, building, etc.—on the fly to retrieve relevant information associated with the object (e.g., a product description, the name of the building, etc.). It will be evident that object-detection and -recognition capabilities have vast application potential in e-commerce, tourism, and other contexts.
Accordingly, much research has and is being done on computer-vision approaches for detecting and recognizing certain types of objects within images. Given the ubiquity of text objects (such as words, number, or symbols) in our environment, text-recognition is a task of particular importance. A number of text-recognition approaches that are successful in certain circumstances have been developed. For instance, commercially available optical character recognition (OCR) systems achieve high performance on text-containing images obtained, e.g., by scanning a page of a book or other printed medium, where text is typically displayed in constrained settings, e.g., on a uniform (typically white) background, in standard fonts, etc. However, these systems generally do not provide satisfactory performance on textual images acquired in natural settings, e.g., photos of bill boards, traffic signs, product labels, etc. Such images are often characterized by noisy backgrounds, perspective, irregular sizes and fonts, unusual aspect ratios, and so on, resulting in low classification performance (i.e., incorrectly identified text) and/or an impracticably high computational load. Accordingly, alternative text-recognition approaches that achieve higher performance particularly on images of text occurring in natural settings are desirable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The conventional water heater includes a tank to contain water to be heated and an outer jacket or casing which is spaced from the tank. It has been the practice in the past to insulate the water heater by a layer of fiber glass which is positioned in the space between the tank and the outer jacket.
More recently, water heater tanks have been insulated through use of a foamable resin, such as polyurethane. The resin is introduced in the liquid state into the space between the tank and jacket and the resin expands to fill the space and provide a semirigid foam resin insulating layer.
As the heat conductivity of the foam resin, such as polyurethane foam, is lower than that of fiber glass, the thickness of the insulation can be reduced to obtain the same insulating characteristics, as opposed to a layer of fiber glass. This results in a reduced overall size for a water heater of given capacity, thereby resulting in substantial material savings, as well as shipping and handling savings.
In the production of water heaters, certain components are installed within openings in the tank during the manufacture of the water heater, such as the thermostat, drain valve, and electric heating element, if the water heater is of an electric type. These components are generally threaded to spuds that are welded to the outer surface of the tank wall bordering openings in the tank wall, and the outer jacket of the water heater has openings through which these components extend to the exterior. With components of this type, the resin when introduced into the space between the tank and jacket, will foam around the components and bond to the components. However, the space or gap between the components and the openings in the jacket must be sealed to prevent the resin from leaking through the gap to the exterior.
Other components for the water heater, such as nipples which are connected for the water inlet and outlet pipes and the pressure relief valve, are normally installed by the plumber during the on-site installation of the water heater and thus access holes must be provided in the foam resin layer through which these components can be attached to the tank.
In one manner of providing the foam resin insulation, an annular bag is positioned in the space between the tank and jacket and serves as a compartment to receive the liquid resin. To provide access openings through the foamed resin layer, the inner and outer surfaces of the bag are pinched or heat sealed together to prevent the resin from expanding into the heat sealed areas. However, this method of providing the access openings develops openings which are of substantially different size than the components which are subsequently to be attached to the tank with the result that there are gaps in the insulation layer which reduces the overall efficiency of the insulation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Diversity techniques are widely used in wireless communications to improve the signal performance. Spatial diversity typically uses two or more antennas spatially separated. The system performance is generally limited by the cross-correlation coefficient between the two spatially diversified antennas. The optimum performance occurs only when the cross-correlation coefficient approaches zero.
Polarization diversity provides an alternative to spatial diversity for base station communications. It has been widely used in cellular system (GSM), Personal Communications Services (PCS), and more recent systems including advanced wireless service (AWS) and WiMax. In actual communication systems, signals encounter multi-path propagation and multiple reflections, which cause depolarization of the signal. As a result, the antenna at the base station need not be aligned with vertical linear polarization. A dual polarization base station antenna creates two branches by using an antenna with dual simultaneous polarizations oriented orthogonally to each other. In general, the two branches of the dual polarization base station antennas are implemented by planar radiating elements slanted at +45° and −45° with respect to the main axis of the antenna. For each branch, the slant 45° polarized antenna signals may be represented by two polarization components, one polarization component that is vertical and the other that is horizontal, namely E(theta) and E(phi), respectively. The slanting angle (θ) of the radiating element depends on the E(theta) and E(phi),
θ = ± tan E phi E theta ( 1 )
Theoretically, E(theta) and E(phi) need to maintain the same power across an azimuth (typically horizontal) cut in order to provide an effective performance for a wireless base station site with perfectly slanted ±45° dual polarized fields over the field of view of the antenna. The ideal antenna transmission pattern has substantially rotationally symmetric E(theta) and E(phi) radiation patterns along a typical 120° sector coverage with E(theta) equal to E(phi) over the entire range. In reality, prior art base station antennas are not able to maintain E(theta) and E(phi) within 3 dB of each other over an azimuth range equal to 120° sector coverage. In addition, an ideal antenna performance would maintain E(theta) and E(phi) equal to each other over the entire applicable bandwidth, which typically covers a 30% range from about from 85% to about 115% of the center frequency. Again, in reality, prior art base station antennas are not able to maintain E(theta) and E(phi) within 3 dB of each other over a 30% bandwidth as well as over a 120° azimuth range.
In the wireless communication industry, base station antennas with different azimuth beamwidths are required by many operators. The azimuth beamwidths range between 18° and 120°. With a dipole, the azimuth beamwidth can be easily achieved below 65°. Multiple columns of dipoles with predetermined power distribution can achieve azimuth beamwidths as low as 18° with both E(theta) and E(phi) exhibiting similar signal strength along the 3 dB beamwidth coverage. For azimuth beamwidth above 65°, however, the E(phi) 3 dB beamwidth is limited to around 70° due to the nature of the dipole. In order to achieve wider azimuth beamwidth, the prior solution has been to increase the beamwidth of the E(theta). With this technique, the antenna loses the rotationally symmetric radiation patterns, and the slant 45° dipole leans to a smaller slanting angle based on the differences between E(theta) and E(phi) as described by equation (1), which causes the dual polarized dipoles to no longer be orthogonal to each other. As a result, the communication performance drops near the edge of the cell, potentially causing more dropped calls between the mobile unit and the base station.
Runyon, U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,053, describes a dipole antenna element with drooped dipole arms that can improve the radiation pattern performance by increasing the E(phi) 3 dB beamwidth to more than 70°. However, the matching bandwidth of the droop arm dipole is limited by its nature to less than 10% to fit the PCS frequency band from 1850-1990MHz, equivalent to seven percent of the center frequency. As a result, the beam pattern performance is limited to the PCS frequency band for which the dipole was designed. In general, prior art dual polarization base station antennas have not been able to achieve beam pattern performance with the E(theta) and E(phi) 3 dB beamwidths within 5° of each other, while maintaining E(theta) and E(phi) within 3 dB of each other over a wide beamwidth, such as 120°, and over a wide bandwidth, such as 30% of the center frequency.
As a result, there is an ongoing need for dual polarization base station antennas with improved E(theta) and E(phi) beam pattern performance characteristics. In particular, there is an ongoing need for dual polarization base station antennas that can achieve beam pattern performance with the E(theta) and E(phi) 3 dB beamwidths within 5° of each other, while maintaining E(theta) and E(phi) within 3 dB of each other over a wide beamwidth, such as 120°, and over a wide bandwidth, such as 30% of the center frequency | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Remote emissions sensing systems generally are known. One such system comprises a source of electromagnetic radiation arranged to pass a beam of radiation through the exhaust plume of a motor vehicle as the motor vehicle passes by the system, and one or more detectors arranged to receive the radiation after it passes through the exhaust plume of the vehicle. A filter may be associated with one or more detectors to enable the detector to determine the intensity of electromagnetic radiation having a particular wavelength or range of wavelengths. The wavelengths may be conveniently selected to correspond to wavelengths absorbed by molecular species of interest in an exhaust plume (e.g., HC, CO, CO2, NOx, or other molecular species). The one or more detector output voltages that represent the intensity of the electromagnetic (em) radiation measured by that detector. The voltages are input to a processor. The processor calculates the difference between the known intensity of the light source and the intensity detected by the detectors to determine the amount of absorption by particular molecular species (based on predetermined wavelengths associated with that species). Based on the measured absorption(s), the concentration of one or more molecular species in the emissions may be determined in a known manner. For various reasons, inaccuracies can occur when remotely sensing emissions.
Some remote emission sensing systems do not have the capability to detect NOx. Other systems detect NOx, but suffer from various drawbacks. One problem is that when detecting the NOx concentration present in an exhaust plume, the presence of ambient NOx can adversely affect the accuracy of the detected concentration. For example, if two cars pass a test station within a relatively short time period, NOx emissions from the first car may linger and be mixed with the exhaust plume of the second car thereby skewing the measurement of NOx concentration of the second car. Other sources of ambient NOx may lead to a similar result.
A second problem arises, due to variations in light source intensity. Generally, to detect the NOx concentration in an exhaust plume, the output of a detector adapted to determine the amount of absorption of the light beam due to the presence of NOx is compared to a value indicative of the intensity of the light source, with the difference representing the amount of absorption due to the presence of NOx.
Typically, a standard value is used for the light source intensity. However, variations in the actual intensity of the source can cause inaccuracies in the detected amount of NOx. A third problem arises due to the presence of noise. Other problems and drawbacks exist. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This disclosure generally relates to a non-volatile memory device and, more particularly, to a row selection circuit for applying wordline voltages based on each operation mode to wordlines of a selected block.
There are growing demands for electrically erasable and programmable semiconductor memory devices in a semiconductor memory device. In addition, such memory devices trend toward higher capacity and integration density. A NAND flash memory device is an example of a non-volatile memory device that can meet higher capacity and integration density without the need to refresh stored data. Since the NAND flash memory device continuously holds data even when a power supply is interrupted, it has widely been used in electronic apparatuses (e.g., portable terminals, handheld computers, cellular phones, digital cameras, etc.).
A conventional NAND flash memory device 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, a NAND flash memory device includes a memory cell array 20, a row selection circuit (X-SEL) 40, and a sense and latch circuit 60. The memory cell array 20 has a plurality of cell strings (or NAND strings) 21 that are coupled to bitlines BL0-BLm, respectively. The cell string 21 of each column includes a string selection transistor SST serving as a first selection transistor, a ground selection transistor GST serving as a second selection transistor, and a plurality of EEPROM cells MCn (n=0-15) serially connected between the selection transistors SST and GST. The string selection transistor SST of each column has a drain coupled to a corresponding bitline and a gate coupled to a string selection line SSL. The ground selection transistor GST has a source coupled to a common source line CSL and a gate coupled to a ground selection line GSL. Flash EEPROM cells MC15-MC0 are serially connected between a source of the string selection transistor SST and a drain of the ground selection transistor GST. Further, the flash EEPROM cells MC15-MC0 are each coupled to their corresponding wordlines WL15-WL0.
A memory cell array 20 constitutes a memory block and is a so-called xe2x80x9cmatxe2x80x9d. Although only one memory block is illustrated in the figure, a number of memory blocks may be arranged with the same structure as shown in FIG. 1. In this case, the memory blocks are to share bitlines BL0-BLm.
The string selection line SSL, the wordlines WL0-WL15, and the ground selection line GSL are electrically connected to a row selection circuit 40. The row selection circuit 40 selects one of the wordlines WL0-WL15 according to address information, and applies wordline voltages based on each operation mode to a selected wordline and unselected wordlines. This will be explained in detail below. Bitlines BL0-BLm arranged through the memory cell array 20 are electrically connected to the sense and latch circuit 60. The sense and latch circuit 60 senses data from flash EEPROM cells of a selected wordline through the bitlines BL0-BLm in a read operation mode, and applies a power supply voltage or a ground voltage to the bitlines BL0-BLm based on data to be programmed in a program operation mode, respectively.
In a program operation mode, the row selection circuit 40 applies a program voltage Vpgm (e.g., 18V) to a selected wordline and applies a pass voltage Vpass (e.g., 10V) to unselected bitlines. In a read operation mode, the row selection circuit 40 applies a ground voltage GND to a selected wordline and applies a read voltage Vread (e.g., 4.5V) to unselected wordlines. A program voltage, a pass voltage, and a read voltage are higher than a power supply voltage (e.g., 3V). In order to apply a voltage higher than a power supply voltage according to address information, a circuit capable of switching the higher voltage is necessary for the row selection circuit 40. A switch pump scheme or a boosting scheme is used to construct the circuit capable of switching the higher voltage.
A row selection circuit 40 using the switch pump scheme is partially illustrated in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 2, a row selection circuit 40 includes a decoding block 42, a switch pump block 44, and a switch block 46. The decoding block 42 has NAND gates G1 and G2. Address signals DA1-DAi are supplied to the NAND gate G1, and an output signal and a control signal BLKWLdis are supplied to the NAND gate G2. The control signal BLKWLdis is held high during an erase/program/read operation. The switch pump block 44 is coupled to a BLKWL node (or referred to as xe2x80x9cblock wordlinexe2x80x9d), and has a NAND gate G3, a capacitor C1, and NMOS transistors MN1-MN4 that are connected as shown in the figure. The switch block 46 has pass (or transfer) transistors SW1-SW0 each transferring selection signals SS, S15-S0, and GS to their corresponding signal lines SSL, WL15-WL0, and GSL. Gates of the pass transistors SW0-SW17 are commonly coupled to the BLKWL node. The decoding block 42 and the switch pump block 44 constitute a block decoder for selecting a memory block.
When at least one of the address signals DA1-DAi is low, an output signal of the decoding block 42 is made low. In this case, the switch pump block 44 does not perform a pump operation irrespective of a clock signal CLK. On the other hand, when all the address signals DA1-DAi are high, the output signal of the decoding block 42 is made high. In this case, the switch pump block 44 operates based on a low-to-high/high-to-low transition of the clock signal CLK (wherein the low level is a ground voltage level, and the high level is a power supply voltage level). According to the transition of the clock signal CLK, a capacitor C1 repeatedly carries out a charge/discharge operation. If the capacitor C1 is charged by a pumping charge according to the high-to-low transition of the clock signal CLK, the pumping charge is transferred through an NMOS transistor MN1 to increase a voltage of the BLKWL node. When the clock signal CLK then transitions from low to high, a VPP0 voltage (Vread in a read operation, and Vpgm in a program operation) is applied to a gate of the NMOS transistor MN1 through an NMOS transistor MN2 that is shut off by a gate-source voltage difference after predetermined time.
If the capacitor C1 is recharged according to the high-to-low transition of the clock signal CLK, the pumping charge is transferred through the MNOS transistor MN1 to increase a voltage of the BLKWL node. When the clock signal then transition from low to high, the VPP0 voltage is applied to the gate of the NMOS transistor MN1 via the NMOS transistor MN2. As the above procedure is repeated, the voltage of the BLKWL node may be boosted up to xe2x80x9cVPP0+Vtn3xe2x80x9d finally (wherein the xe2x80x9cVtn3xe2x80x9d represents a threshold voltage of an NMOS transistor MN3, and serves to clamp the voltage of the BLKWL node when it is boosted over a required voltage). Therefore, the BLKWL node has a high voltage enough to transfer the program voltage Vpgm/read voltage Vread to a corresponding wordline.
However, a switch pump structure shown in FIG. 2 is not suitable for a low voltage NAND flash memory device. This reason is described below. The clock signal CLK is made low as a power supply voltage is lowered, which means that pumping time required for boosting the voltage of the BLKWL node up to a required voltage becomes elongated. Further, as the pumping operation is carried out, threshold voltages of the NMOS transistors MN1 and MN2 are increased by the body effect. As a result, a voltage level of the BLKWL node is limited by the increased threshold voltage. A row selection circuit using a boosting scheme has been proposed for overcoming disadvantages of the pumping structure.
A circuit diagram of a row selection circuit using a boosting scheme is illustrated in FIG. 3.
Referring to FIG. 3, a row selection circuit 40 includes a decoding block 42xe2x80x2, a precharge block 44xe2x80x2, a switch block 46xe2x80x2, and NMOS transistors MN5, MN10, and MN11. The decoding block 42xe2x80x2 has NAND gates G4, G5, and G6. Address signals DA1-DAi are provided to the NAND gate G4. An output signal of the NAND gate G4 and a control signal XDEXdis are provided to the NAND gate G5. An output signal of the NAND gate G5 and a control signal BLKWLdis are provided to the NAND gate G6. In response to a control signal ERSen, the NMOS transistor MN5 transfers the output signal of the NAND gate G5 to a BLKWL node or shuts off the output signal of the NAND gate G5. The control signal BLKWLdis is held high during an erase/program/read operation, and the control signal XDEXdis is held low while the BLKWL node is precharged.
The precharge block 44xe2x80x2 is coupled to the BLKWL node and includes NMOS transistors MN6-MN9. Current paths of the MNOS transistors MN6-MN9 are serially formed between a VXPSn voltage and the BLKWL node. Control signals VPREi and VPREj are applied to gates of the NMOS transistors MN6 and MN7, respectively. Diode-coupled NMOS transistors MN8 and MN9 are serially connected between a VXPSn voltage and the BLKWL node. An NMOS transistor MN11 is connected between the BLKWL node and a ground voltage and is turned on/off by an output signal of the NAND gate G6. An NMOS transistor MN10 is connected between an SSLGND node and a string selection line SSL and is turned on/off by the output signal of the NAND gate G6.
The switch block 46xe2x80x2 shown in FIG. 3 has the same structure as shown in FIG. 2 and will not be explained in further detail. The decoding block 42xe2x80x2, the precharge block 44xe2x80x2, and the NMOS transistors MN5, MN10, and MN11 constitute a block decoder circuit. The block decoder circuit and the switch block 46xe2x80x2 will repeatedly be present in each memory block so that each memory block may have the same circuit pattern. The SSLGND node has a ground voltage in read and program operations and has a power supply voltage in an erase operation.
When the address signals DA1-DAi applied to the NAND gate G4 are high and the control signal is low, the output signal of the NAND gate G6 is made low. This allows the NMOS transistor MN10 and MN11 to be turned off. Such an operation is performed in a selected memory block. When one of the address signals DA1-DAi applied to the NAND gate G4 is low and the control signal BLKWLdis is high, the output signal of the NAND gate G6 is made high. This allows the NMOS transistors MN10 and MN11 to be turned on. Such an operation is performed in an unselected memory block.
In case of the selected memory block, the BLKWL node is charged to a high voltage VXPSnxe2x88x92Vtn (wherein the xe2x80x9cVtnxe2x80x9d represents a threshold voltage of an NMOS transistor). This is because the NMOS transistor MN10 is being turned off when the signals VPREi and VPREj are activated. In case of the unselected memory block, the BLKWL node has a ground voltage because the NMOS transistor MN10 is being turned on. Then, the signals VPREi and VPREj are activated from a high level of a high voltage to a low level of a ground voltage, and the BLKWL node is floated. If selection signals S0-S15 are made high by a high voltage of one of program, pass, and read voltages, a precharged voltage of the BLKWL node is boosted according to a coupling effect caused by a gate capacitor of pass transistors SW0-SW15. Due to the above procedure, the BLKWL node of the selected memory block is charged to the high voltage while the BLKWL node of the unselected memory block is held at a ground voltage. As a result, high voltages of the selection signals S0-S15 are more easily transferred to their corresponding wordline.
However, the block decoder shown in FIG. 3 suffers from disadvantages as follows. As described above, the precharge voltage of the BKWL node becomes xe2x80x9cVXPSnxe2x88x92Vtnxe2x80x9d in relation with the selected memory block. The threshold voltage xe2x80x9cVtnxe2x80x9d is very high, approximately 3V, because a source voltage is boosted. Particularly, the threshold voltage xe2x80x9cVtnxe2x80x9d is constant irrespective of a change in a power supply voltage, which imposes a heavy burden on performing a boosting operation under a low voltage. This means that the block decoder circuit show in FIG. 3 is not suitable for the low voltage NAND flash memory device.
Also the control signals VPREi and VPREj are coded according to an address. Memory blocks constituting a memory cell array are divided into a plurality of groups. The same control signals are to be provided to each of the groups. Control signals applied to a selected group are activated, while the control signals applied to unselected groups are inactivated. The activated control signals VPREi and VPREj have a high voltage in order to transfer a VXPSn voltage to the BLKWL node. This means that a circuit for applying a high voltage to the activated control signals VPREi and VPREj, i.e., a switch pump circuit is demanded. An example switch pump circuit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,772 entitled xe2x80x9cCHARGE PUMP CIRCUIT OF NONVOLATILE SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORYxe2x80x9d. As memory blocks constituting a memory cell array increase in number, memory block groups also increase in number. This means increase in number of the control signals that must be applied to memory block groups. Therefore, because more switch pump circuits for applying a high voltage to control signals are demanded, they restrict the layout to increase a chip size. If a high voltage control signal is commonly applied to all blocks without a coding procedure in order to overcome the size restriction, the switch pump circuits see the BLKWL nodes of all the blocks. Thus, a loading capacitor is so large that precharge time becomes longer.
In view of the foregoing, embodiments of the present invention provide a non-volatile memory device having a row selection circuit that is shared by adjacent memory blocks. Further, embodiments of the present invention provide a non-volatile memory device having a row selection circuit capable of being formed with a high integration density. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Known biological processes for producing an .alpha.-hydroxyamide include a process comprising reacting lactonitrile, hydroxyacetonitrile, .alpha.-hydroxymethylthiobutyronitrile etc. with a microorganism belonging to the genus Bacillus, Bacteridium, Micrococcus or Brevibacterium to obtain a corresponding amide as disclosed in JP-B-62-21519 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,081) (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined published Japanese patent application"). It is also reported in Grant, D. J. W., Antonie van Leeuwenhoek; J. Microbiol. Serol. Vol. 39, p. 273 (1973) that hydrolysis of lactonitrile by the action of a microorganism belonging to the genus Corynebacterium to produce lactic acid involves accumulation of lactamide as an intermediate.
Known biological processes for producing an .alpha.-hydroxy acid include a process for obtaining glycolic acid, lactic acid, .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid etc. from the corresponding .alpha.-hydroxynitrile by the action of a microorganism of the genus Corynebacterium (see JP-A-61-56086, the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), a process for obtaining lactic acid, glycolic acid etc. from the corresponding .alpha.-hydroxynitrile by using a microorganism of the genus Bacillus, Bacteridium, Micrococcus or Brevibacterium (see JP-B-58-15120, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,316), a process for obtaining lactic acid, .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid, mandelic acid, .alpha.-hydroxybutyric acid, .alpha.-hydroxyvaleric acid, .alpha.-hydroxy-.alpha.-phenylpropionic acid, .alpha.-hydroxy-.alpha.-(p-isobutylphenyl)propionic acid etc. from the corresponding .alpha.-hydroxynitrile by using a microorganism of the genus Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cochliobolus or Fusarium (see JP-A-63-222696) and a process for obtaining .alpha.-hydroxy-.beta.,.beta.-dimethyl-.gamma.-butyrolactone from the corresponding .alpha.-hydroxynitrile by using a microorganism of the genus Arthrobacter. Aspergillus, Bacillus, Bacteridium, Brevibacterium, Cochliobolus, Corynebacterium. Micrococcus, Nocardia. Penicillium, Pseudomonas or Fusarium (see JP-A-64-10996).
It is known, however, that an .alpha.-hydroxynitrile is, more or less, partially dissociated into the corresponding aldehyde and hydrogen cyanide in a polar solvent as taught in V. Okano et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 98, p. 4201 (1976). Since an aldehyde generally is bound to proteins to deactivate enzymes as described in G. E. Means et al. (ed.), Chemical Modification of Proteins, p. 125, Holden-Day (1971), enzymatic hydration or hydrolysis of an .alpha.-hydroxynitrile is accompanied with the problem that the enzyme is deactivated in a short time. It therefore has been difficult to obtain an .alpha.-hydroxyamide or an .alpha.-hydroxy acid in high concentration with high productivity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a portable memory drive used (in one embodiment) as a substitution of an automobile (or other engine driven conveyance) key, and an integrated onboard computer and ignition system. Specifically, the invention relates to the use of a portable memory drive containing data which is downloaded to an onboard processing system in communication with the automobile's ignition system, and other systems, such as the automobile's entertainment system and navigation system, and how this innovation can be integrated in a method for managing a transportation fleet, such as an automobile rental service.
2. Background of the Invention
Automobile ignition systems, as well as onboard computer systems, have changed dramatically in the last decade. For example, many modem automobiles no longer use keys with unique physical features in order to enable ignition systems. Rather, the automobile senses electronic data from, for example, a chip within the ignition key or a chip installed on a credit card sized data device kept in the driver's wallet. This electronic data enables the ignition system in the automobile like the traditional key.
Onboard computing systems are now used to control a number of different devices, such as various engine controls. Many innovative uses for an onboard computer system are reviewed and disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,474, issued to Tryz, et al. on Mar. 23, 2004, and titled “Automobile Personal Computer System.”
In an unrelated field, the size, dependability, and storage capacity of small portable memory devices has advanced at a quick pace. For example, a large variety of “thumb drives” or “jump drives” are now offered for sale to the consumer, typically as USB portable flash drives. Examples of these devices include the Mini 64 MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive manufactured by IOMEGA, the 512 MB Data Traveler I Full-Speed USB manufactured by Kingston Technology, and several flash drives manufactured by LEXAR Media, including the 1 GB JumpDrive Elite USB Flash Drive. These devices now can store so much data that they are considered mass storage devices, in addition to being portable memory devices. Even the least expensive of these portable memory devices, retailing for under ten U.S. Dollars, is capable of storing large amounts of data, usually 64 MB or more. Yet, portable memory drives are, in many instances, no larger than a standard automobile ignition key. In fact, many of these devices are designed to be carried on key rings. The devices can be inserted in ports, for example a USB port, on a personal computer for reading or storing data, as they are both read and write capable. A common use for these portable memory devices is to transfer data from one computer to another. Music and video files can also be downloaded to these devices for playback on other media devices.
A need exists, therefore, for an automobile ignition system that combines leading edge automobile computer functions with the latest development in portable memory drives. Further, a need exists for an automobile ignition system that uses such portable memory devices for unique applications that are presently not available in the automotive field, such as a method for managing a transportation fleet. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The use of renewable energy sources such as sun light, wind and water to produce electrical energy has become popular in recent years. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of stereoscopic motion picture display, and more specifically to coordinating two projectors for stereoscopic motion picture projection wherein illumination and temporal binocular symmetrical constraints are met.
2. Description of the Related Art
Stereoscopic displays in general—and stereoscopic motion picture systems in particular—must adhere to an important design constraint called binocular symmetries, first articulated by Lipton, in Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1982. Binocular symmetries are an optical symmetrical or congruence principle, in which the left and right image fields must be carefully matched to within specifiable tolerances in order to insure that the stereoscopic image provides a pleasing image.
If this symmetrical constraint is not met, the result for the observer is what people sometimes call “eyestrain,” which describes the unpleasant sensation arising when viewing stereoscopic images. Some people will report the unpleasant sensation, as mentioned, as eyestrain; others will call it fatigue or a headache. Whatever it is called, since such asymmetries do not occur in the visual world, there is no generally accepted nomenclature to describe the resultant sensations. Therefore, people refer to the discomfort encountered by whatever name they find to be convenient or possible to the part of the body to which the discomfort is referred. The binocular symmetries are classified into three major categories: illumination, temporal, and geometrical.
Stereoscopic moving images are transmitted using projection systems, including but not limited to the ZScreen® design available from StereoGraphics Corporation. When binocular symmetries (illumination, temporal, and/or geometrical) occur using the ZScreen or any type of digital projection system, the aforementioned discomfort to the viewer can result.
It is beneficial to provide a system addressing and overcoming the binocular symmetry problems present in previously known projection designs, and to provide a stereoscopic projection arrangement or design having improved functionality over devices exhibiting those negative aspects described herein. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power control system and a power control method.
(ii) Related Art
Techniques for reducing power consumption in image forming apparatuses have been available. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
GRAS materials are materials that are regarded by experts as safe for human consumption. GRAS materials are exempt from the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance requirements. GRAS coatings are coatings that are safe for human consumption. GRAS coatings can be applied to food or applied to food packaging. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In recent years, there have been significant advances in laser technology including solid state laser technology. This technology is being used in numerous applications including scientific research, manufacturing, medicine, security, communications, and many others. Many laser applications require reliable high power outputs and numerous mechanisms have been developed to achieve such. Indeed, high power laser amplifiers have been developed in a variety of forms to accommodate a wide variety of applications, but each amplifier generally functions to amplify the power of an input pulse or beam to provide an amplified output pulse or beam.
Design of laser amplifiers may be limited by factors related to optical component tolerances in the amplifier to pulses of high-energy laser light and average power loading. For example, in one large class of amplifier designs, known as regenerative amplifiers, multiple passes through a single gain medium or plural gain media are used for efficient extraction of gain. In these regenerative amplifiers, an optical path is defined around which an input pulse makes a number of passes before being coupled out as an amplified pulse.
Regenerative amplifiers are generally used to provide relatively strong amplification of laser pulses. Multiple passes through the gain medium are achieved by placing the gain medium in an optical resonator, together with an optical switch that may be formed by an electro-optic modulator and one or more polarizers. The number of round trips in the resonator is controlled with the optical switch and, when this number is large, a high overall amplification factor (i.e., gain) can be achieved.
While these regenerative amplifiers provide significant gain, they are often difficult to implement due to their complex cavities. Moreover, switching of the laser pulses within the cavity usually decreases the achievable pulse energies or beam due to nonlinear propagation effects within the switch. Additionally, regenerative amplifiers, under some operating conditions, suffer from chaotic or multi-stable operation. In these operating conditions, the residual gain in the gain medium after energy extraction significantly affects the gain that can be imparted on a subsequent signal pulse. Regenerative amplifiers also generally amplify one pulse at a time. Therefore, the repetition rate of the laser system is less than the reciprocal of the time between the injection and ejection of each amplified pulse.
Another concern in high power laser systems regards heat. High average power laser systems typically produce heat and most laser architectures are designed with this in mind because high temperatures within a gain medium can reduce gain and/or cause thermo-mechanical strains that result in stress-induced birefringence. Temperature distributions in a gain medium can also lead to phase distortions which result in poor laser beam quality. At more extreme temperatures, damage to the gain material or optical coatings can occur. High temperatures within a laser system can also lead to mechanical movements that result in optical misalignment.
In order to efficiently extract heat from a solid gain medium, the fraction of cooled surface area per heated volume is generally maximized. Two geometries that have been used for high power laser systems include fibers and thin disks. In the case of fibers, two dimensions are minimized and one dimension is maximized so that a large surface area to volume ratio can be obtained for efficient cooling. Additionally, fiber amplifier geometries support very large gain-length products. Fiber amplifiers, however, are not optimal for high-power short pulses because high intensities may result from transmission of laser pulse energy through a very small cross section of an optical fiber. For high pulse powers and small cross-sections, the peak intensity can be extremely high and lead to deleterious nonlinear propagation effects.
One solution for thermal management of pulsed laser operation includes using disk shaped gain media, in which only one dimension is minimized. This geometry also provides large surface areas for heat extraction per gain volume. The thin disk is typically cooled from one side and is accessed optically from the other. A reflective surface is provided between the cooling system and the gain medium. Alternatively, the disk may be cooled from both sides if a thermally conductive medium is used that can also transmit the laser pump and signal beams of energy. Generally, the signal beam is the desired beam of laser energy that is operated on and/or used in a particular application whereas the pump beam may include any type of energy operable to stimulate the gain medium and amplify the signal beam.
Though the thin disk geometry can be efficiently cooled, the pump absorption-length product and signal gain-length product for typical gain media is small. For this reason, thin disk based lasers generally use a multi-pass optical system for optical pumping, and a multi-pass system for the signal beam. After each pass of the pump beam, a portion of the pump beam is absorbed. However, after multiple passes of the pump beam, most of the pump laser light can be absorbed by the crystal. For example, small gains may be achieved each time the signal traverses through a thin disk. Higher amplitude gains thus require multiple traversals of the signal beam through the thin disk so that a larger effective gain-length product can be achieved. Because greater energy extraction can be achieved by using a larger gain volume, a thin disk may utilize a relatively large pump and signal beam spot size. This allows for higher power without exceeding intensity thresholds for deleterious nonlinear propagation effects.
Although heat can be removed from a thin disk, thermal gradients typically lead to phase distortions due to temperature dependent indices of refraction, thermal expansion, and/or strain effects. For thin disk geometries where a reflective surface is included, thermo-mechanical distortions can lead to especially strong phase distortions and each pass of the signal beam can lead to accumulated phase distortions. These phase distortions can also include birefringent effects, such as strain-induced birefringence.
Accumulated phase distortions in a laser system can also lead to “hot spots” or losses that limit the laser powers that can be achieved. For example, if a thin disk imparts focusing phase distortions to a signal beam, the beam may eventually be focused to such a small spot size that it could damage an optical component with extreme intensities or even ionize the air, losing energy in the process. Accordingly, the laser power would be intentionally “dialed down” to avoid these effects. A signal beam that accumulates a divergence with traversals of the disk can also become too large for an optic, aperture, or an amplified region for a subsequent traversal through the gain medium. Consequently, divergence also results in an energy loss that limits the laser power.
In high power diode pumped laser systems, laser energy from multiple laser diodes may be collected and transmitted to a gain region via fiber. However, such generally requires beam combining mechanisms where multiple diode sources can be independently transmitted to the gain region. This allows for higher pump powers to be used than could be obtained from a single diode source. Additionally, multimode fibers may be used to supply higher average power. In any case, fibers are limited in the amount of power that they can easily transmit. A laser system that provides for simplified beam combining from multiple sources, at the gain medium, would provide a significant benefit. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to high voltage semiconductor devices, and in particular, to lateral diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) devices with electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection capability.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional integrated circuits, LDMOS transistors are vulnerable to high-voltage (HV) electrostatic discharge damage. This is mainly because the gate oxide layer of the LDMOS transistor is close to drain region, and further away from the source/body diffusion regions. Thus, when the ESD current travels from the drain end of the transistor, the energy of the ESD current tends to distribute towards the gate oxide layer, rather than flow towards the source/body diffusion regions, resulting in break down of the gate oxide.
In the conventional integrated circuits with HV devices, other additional ESD protection components are often adopted to avoid LDMOS transistor components from breaking down. However, the additional ESD protection components increase occupied space of the integrated circuit, and increase the complexity of fabrication thereof, resulting in higher manufacturing costs. Accordingly, a modified lateral diffused metal-oxide semiconductor transistor (LDMOS) device structure with excellent electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection capability is desired. | {
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The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors that provide electrical damping by dissipating electrical energy from conductors of the connectors.
Some electrical connector systems utilize electrical connectors, such as board-mounted connectors, cable-mounted connectors, or the like, to interconnect two circuit boards, such as a motherboard and daughter card. The conductors of a first electrical connector are terminated to one circuit board and extend through a housing of the first electrical connector towards a mating end to engage mating conductors of a second connector that is terminated to the other circuit board.
Some known electrical connectors have electrical problems, particularly when transmitting at high data rates. For example, some electrical connectors utilize differential pair signal conductors to transfer high speed signals. Ground conductors improve signal integrity by providing electrical shielding between the signal conductors. However, electrical performance of known electrical connectors is inhibited by resonance spikes at certain frequencies when transmitting high speed electrical signals, even with the presence of ground conductors disposed between the signal conductors. For example, electrical energy (referred to herein as electrical resonance) may propagate along the current path defined by the ground conductors and/or the signal conductors, reflecting back and forth along the lengths of the conductors to cause a standing wave that degrades the signal transmission performance of the electrical connector.
A need remains for a high speed electrical connector having reliable performance. | {
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Gaming devices typically includes a plurality of possible outcomes, some of which are winning outcomes and some of which are losing outcomes. Each game usually displays a pay table that indicates whether each outcome is a winning outcome or a losing outcome. As a result, a player can determine whether the outcome of each game he or she plays is a winning or losing outcome by comparing it to the pay table. Of course the game itself responds to each game played by paying for each win, e.g., via the credit meter, hand pay, player account, etc., or by not paying thus indicating a loss.
Some gaming devices further emphasize a single winning outcome with a variety of sound, light, or audio-visual effects. This is in contrast to losses, which are not emphasized or typically even acknowledged other than by not indicating a win. | {
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This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from an application for Image Forming Apparatus For Half-Tone Recording And Shading Compensation And Half-Tone Image Forming Method earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Apr. 10, 1996 and there duly assigned Serial No. 1080/1996.
1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, relates to an image forming apparatus with an improved construction that simplifies shading compensation and half-tone recording. The present invention also relates to a half-tone image forming method.
2. Related Art
Image forming apparatuses such as digital photocopiers, facsimile machines and laser printers are systems in which graphic material in the form of an original copy is scanned and converted to an electrical signal to be reproduced on a recording medium. An image forming apparatus generally produces a half-tone image by scanning a document with a light source. An analog image signal, produced during the document scanning, is converted into a digital signal by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). A reference voltage used in the ADC is fixed without consideration of respective output characteristics of image sensors. As a result, printed image with different half-tone may be reproduced, and at worst the gradation of the image becomes unclear.
One example of a half-tone image reproduction technique that seeks to reproduce a half-tone image with a proper density is disclosed in Korea Patent Application No. 93-5325 for Image Signal Processing Apparatus For Half-Tone Recording And Method Of Controlling The Image Signal Processing Apparatus assigned to the same assignee of the instant application. In this disclosure, a maximum amplitude of an image signal, produced by an image sensor during half-tone recording, is determined, and 90% to 95% of this maximum image signal (voltage) serves as a reference voltage (+Vref) in order to determine a dynamic range of the analog-to-digital converter ADC. This technique, however, requires the ability to control the reference voltage and incorporates a digital-to-analog converter DAC to convert a digital signal back to the corresponding analog signal. By eliminating the DAC, the image forming apparatus for half-tone recording could be simplified. Other half-tone image reproduction techniques are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,672 for Image Signal Processing Apparatus issued to Shimazaki, U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,254 for Image Processing Apparatus Capable Of Processing Half-Tone Image Data issued to Kuwabara et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,509 for Image Processing Method Utilizing Error Diffusion Technique issued to Hikosaka et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,647 for Image Processing Apparatus For Converting A Multilevel Image Signal Into A Bi-Level Image Signal issued to Koike.
Conventional image forming apparatus also includes a shading correction system for compensating shading distortions due to differences in sensitivity between image sensing elements of an image sensor, light intensity distribution of the light source irradiating the document, and distortion of lens or the like in an optical system. Examples of shading correction system are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,772 for Shading Correction Method In Image Reading Device issued to Shimoyama, U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,341 for Image Reading Apparatus With Improved Shading Correction issued to Nosaki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,083 for Image Reading Apparatus Having Improved Shading Correction issued to Hirota, U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,421 for White Reference Data Generating Unit Applied To Shading Correction System issued to Ito, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,740 for Image Forming Apparatus Which Effects Output Gray Level Correction issued to Fujimoto et al. Generally, in order to compensate for shading distortions, a shading factor for every scanned pixel is assessed during a dummy scanning operation. Shading distortions are compensated by multiplying each pixel converted into a digital signal during a real scanning operation by respective shading factors. For shading compensation, the conventional technique requires the step of finding a maximum brightness value among the dummy-scanned pixels. If this step can be avoided, as I have observed however, the shading compensation will be less complicated and will require less time to complete.
Accordingly, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved image forming apparatus and process of half-tone recording and shading compensation of an image.
It is also an object to provide an image forming apparatus with a simplified construction for performing both the half-tone recording and shading compensation of an image.
It is another object to provide a method of simplifying the construction of an image forming apparatus and its operational processes required for half-tone recording and shading compensation of an image.
It is still another object to provide an image forming apparatus and process for performing the half-tone recording and shading compensation faster than possible with the present art.
These and other objects of the present invention can be achieved by an image forming apparatus with an image sensor for scanning a document to produce an electric signal representative of an image from the document which includes a converter for converting the electric signal to produce image data with a predetermined number of bits; a shading memory unit for storing said image data on a pixel by pixel basis from a least significant address to a most significant address scanned during a first mode operation, and for storing shading factors each corresponding to each pixel from the image data; a controller for sequentially reading said image data stored from the least significant address to the most significant address of the shading memory unit during the first mode of operation, calculating each shading factor for each pixel by dividing a preset maximum brightness value by the image data sequentially read from the shading memory unit, recording the shading factors in the shading memory unit, and for outputting the shading factors stored in the shading memory unit corresponding to each pixel of the image data produced by the converter during a second mode of operation; a shading compensation unit for multiplying each pixel of the image data produced from the converter by a corresponding one of the shading factors during said second mode of operation to produce shading-compensated image data; and a half-tone processing unit for producing a half-tone image from the shading-compensated image data produced from the shading compensating unit. | {
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The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices and methods for fabricating the semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a semiconductor device obtained by performing burn-in, in a batch, on semiconductor integrated circuit devices on a semiconductor wafer, and a method for fabricating the semiconductor device.
A conventional semiconductor device is fabricated by electrically connecting a semiconductor integrated circuit device to leads of a lead frame with bonding wires and then encapsulating the semiconductor integrated circuit device and the leads of the lead frame with a resin or a ceramic material. Such a semiconductor device is mounted on a printed board, and is incorporated in electronic equipment.
The electronic equipment is required of having its cost reduced. Accordingly, cost reduction of the semiconductor device is also required. This requirement leads to a demand for supplying quality-guaranteed semiconductor devices at low cost.
To guarantee the quality of semiconductor devices, burn-in is generally employed. Preferred examples of burn-in include burn-in performed, in a batch, on a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit devices on a semiconductor wafer (where such burn-in will be hereinafter also referred to as “wafer burn-in”). This burn-in can reduce the cost for burn-in, and also reduce the cost for apparatus for use in burn-in.
Such wafer burn-in is performed using a contactor with probe tips. Each of semiconductor integrated circuit devices formed on a semiconductor wafer is provided with testing electrode terminals, which are connected to the probe tips in the wafer burn-in.
In performing wafer burn-in, it is necessary to apply a power-supply voltage, a ground voltage, or a signal to the testing electrode terminals provided on each of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices. To individually apply a power-supply voltage, a ground voltage, or a signal to the testing electrode terminals provided in each of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices, a considerably large number of wires need to be drawn on contacts or the semiconductor wafer. For this reason, this technique is not practical. As another technique, it is proposed that a common power-supply voltage line, a common ground voltage line, or a common signal line (where these lines will be hereinafter collectively referred to as “common lines”) is provided on the contactor or the semiconductor wafer such that the common line is electrically connected to each of the testing electrodes. This technique can avoid the necessity of drawing a considerably large number of wires.
In such a case where the common line is provided on the contactor or the semiconductor wafer, however, a possible electrical short-circuit occurring in part of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices on the semiconductor wafer causes a short-circuit between the common power-supply voltage line and either the common ground voltage line or the common signal line through the short-circuited semiconductor integrated circuit device. To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Publication No. H07-169806 shows the following testing method. In this method, a test on electrical characteristics of each semiconductor integrated circuit device is performed prior to wafer burn-in. Then, an insulator resin is applied onto testing electrode terminals of a semiconductor integrated circuit device which has been determined to be defective in the test on electrical characteristics. Thereafter, wafer burn-in is performed. | {
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Eukaryotic cells are subdivided by membranes into multiple functionally distinct compartments that are referred to as organelles. Each organelle includes proteins essential for its proper function. These proteins can include sequence motifs often referred to assorting signals. The sorting signals can aid in targeting the proteins to their appropriate cellular organelle(s). In addition, sorting signals can direct some proteins to be exported, or secreted, from the cell.
One type of sorting sequence is a signal sequence (also referred to as a signal peptide or leader sequence). The signal sequence is present as an amino-terminal extension on a newly synthesized polypeptide chain A signal sequence targets proteins to an intracellular organelle called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).
The signal peptide takes part in an array of protein—protein and protein-lipid interactions that result in translocation of a polypeptide containing the signal sequence through a channel in the ER. After translocation, a membrane-bound enzyme (signal peptidase) liberates the mature protein from the signal sequence.
The ER functions to separate membrane-bound proteins and secreted proteins from proteins that remain in the cytoplasm. Once targeted to the ER, both secreted and membrane-bound proteins can be further distributed to another cellular organelle called the Golgi apparatus. The Golgi directs the proteins to vesicles, lysosomes, the plasma membrane, mitochondria and other cellular organelles.
Only a limited number of genes encoding human membrane-bound and secreted proteins have been identified. Examples of known secreted proteins include human insulin, interferon, interleukins, transforming growth factor-beta, human growth hormone, erythropoietin, lymphokines.
Transmembrane semaphoring SEMA6A is expressed in developing neural tissue. It is required for proper development of the thalamocortical projection. Critical to neuronal development and apoptosis is the transformation of extracellular signals to intracellular actions that result in cytoskeletal rearrangements. The protein family Ena/VASP plays an important role in actin and filament dynamics, while the semaphoring protein family act as guidance signals in embryogenesis and organogenesis.
Klostermann et al. identified novel transmembrane semaphoring, SEMA6A, in humans and mice (Klostermann et al., “The orthologous human and murine sepmaphorin 6A-1 proteins (SEMA6A-1/Sema6A-a) bind to the enabled/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein-like protein (EVL) via a novel carboxyl-terminal zyxin-like domain,” 275 J. Biol. Chem. 39647-53 (2000)). The human SEMA6A gene is localized to chromosome 5q21-q22 and encodes a protein of 1,030 amino acids that has a calculated, approximate molecular mass of 112.2 kDa. The SEMA6A gene comprises 20 exons including 2 untranslated exons, and covers approximately 60 kb of the genomic sequence on chromosome 5. Human chromosome 5q21-q22 is known to be deleted in some forms of lung cancer.
Northern blot analysis reveals two 5- and 7-kb SEMA6A transcripts of equal intensity in human embryonic and adult tissues. Highest expression was observed in embryonic brain and kidney, whereas only low to moderate expression was seen in developing lung and liver. Small amounts of SEMA6A transcripts were detected in human adult tissues, with the exception of strong expression levels in highly regenerative placental tissues. Upon in situ hybridization, mouse neural embryonic tissues displayed high levels of Sema6a mRNA expression in proliferating zones in the diencephalon, retina, dorsal root ganglia, and trigeminal ganglion. SEMA6A directly links the Ena/VASP and semaphorin protein families because SEMA6A protein is capable of selective binding to the protein EVL (Ena/VASP-like protein). SEMA6A is colocalized with EVL via its zyxin-like C-terminal domain that contains a modified binding motif. Klostermann et al. concluded that their findings suggested a role for transmembrane semaphorins such as SEMA6A in retrograde signaling (Id.).
Leighton et al. identified an in vivo guidance function for semaphorin 6A (Leighton et al., “Defining brain wiring patterns and mechanisms through gene trapping in mice,” 410 Nature 174-9 (2001). SEMA6A belongs to a subfamily characterized by an extracellular semaphorin domain, a transmembrane domain, and a long cytoplasmic tail. Members of this class can repel sympathetic and dorsal root ganglion axons in vitro, consistent with a traditional role as a guidance signal. However, the length of the cytoplasmic tail, which includes an EVL-binding site in SEMA6A and an Src-binding site in SEMA6B, suggests that these semaphorins may also function as receptors.
Leighton et al. isolated an insertion in the SEMA6A gene at amino acid 473 in the semaphorin domain that completely abolishes wildtype Sema6A transcripts in a murine model (Id.). Homozygous mutant mice, both viable and fertile, displayed no obvious behavioral or morphologic phenotypes. Thalamocortical axons projected normally in heterozygotes. Strikingly however, in homozygotes, thalamocortical axons failed to turn up through the internal capsule and instead projected down toward the amygdala region. This defect was fully penetrant but specific to caudal thalamocortical axons; rostral projections appeared normal in every animal. That Sema6A is expressed in thalamocortical neurons and required for their axons to project properly suggests that the guidance defect is cell-autonomous and that Sema6A is acting in these axons as a guidance receptor. Sema6A is expressed broadly both in the thalamus and amygdala when these axons are growing, which made it impossible to distinguish fully between autonomous and nonautonomous activities without further experimentation. Leighton et al. proposed that, alternatively, Sema6A may function by promoting defasciculation of thalamocortical axons in a paracrine fashion, thereby enabling them to respond to other cues (Id.). Misrouting would then be secondary to a defasciculation failure.
The present invention discloses a novel protein encoded by a cDNA and/or by genomic DNA and proteins similar to it, namely, new proteins bearing sequence similarity to Semaphorin 6A precursor Splice variant, nucleic acids that encode these proteins or fragments thereof, and antibodies that bind immunospecifically to a protein of the invention. The novel protein(s) are an example of the continued search, identification and characterization of human secreted proteins and genes that encode them. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle traveling state determining apparatus that can determine whether or not, for example, a driver's awoken state is impeded during driving, so that the driver is falling asleep at the wheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the development of a road network and an increase in leisure hours, there have been an increasing number of opportunities for driving a car. The driver is desired to be always physically and mentally stable during driving. However, the driver may drive a car while conscious of his or her bad physical condition. In this case, during long continuous driving, the driver's fatigue keeps piling up and his or her concentration lowers. Consequently, the driver's awoken state may be impeded and the driver may become sleepy.
To prevent this, a vehicle is provided with a camera that picks up a frontal image that allows white lines on roads to be recognized to determine whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line. This system thus determines whether or not the driver is falling asleep at the wheel. If the result of the determination is affirmative, the system gives a warning (for example, Japanese Patent No. 3039327).
In this document, the apparatus picks up images of traveling zone partitioning lines and on the basis of the images, determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line. However, there is another method of recognizing white lines on the opposite sides of a road to determine whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line. However, with this method, it is impossible to determine whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line if the entire road surface is covered with snow or if even without snow, there are no white lines on the opposite sides of the road. | {
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With the development of an electronic device (for example, a smart phone, or a tablet computer), applications (for example, a music application, a social network application, a news application or the like) can be configured to run on the electronic device. The applications which run on the electronic device result in the electronic device consuming power which can be provided by a battery of the electronic device. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus, a method, and a computer-readable medium for receiving and reproducing broadcast programs and contents on networks.
2. Related Art
In the past, electronic apparatuses such as a television apparatus receive broadcast signals of terrestrial broadcasting, cable television broadcasting, and satellite broadcasting, and allow users to view broadcast programs. The broadcast programs are previously scheduled to be broadcasted in predetermined time slots. So when users want to view broadcast programs, they must view the programs in broadcast time slots of the broadcast programs or set recording reservation of the broadcast programs.
Meanwhile, as a broadcast environment has developed recently, services that allow users to view contents corresponding to program contents of broadcast programs through a network such as the Internet have come into use. Most of the services employ a so-called video on demand (VOD) system. Users can view contents anytime they want without being bound by broadcast time slots.
However, there are various ways of obtaining contents that can be viewed with the VOD, so users must search the plurality of ways of obtaining desired contents. Furthermore, users can refer to electronic program guides (EPGs) obtained by electronic apparatuses through broadcast waves or through a network, select desired broadcast programs, and confirm their schedules. However, the users cannot obtain from the EPGs whether they can view contents corresponding to the program contents of the broadcast programs through the Internet with VOD. So, the users are forced to execute troublesome, additional search for contents of VOD by using, for example, search engines on the Internet.
Japanese Patent Application JP 2003-125305 describes a television receiver capable of obtaining a program title and uniform resource locator (URL) referring to program information in an electronic program guide to a hard disk recorder connected to the television apparatus while viewing a broadcast program, searching the Internet using a personal computer for program auxiliary information on the broadcast program based on the program title and the URL, and displaying the program auxiliary information.
However, in the television receiver described in JP 2003-125305, the information retrieved from the Internet and displayed on the personal computer is merely auxiliary information regarding the broadcast program such as, for example, comments on the broadcast program and information on a cast, but information regarding a content on the Internet corresponding to the program content of the broadcast program is never displayed. Thus, users are still bound by broadcast schedules to view broadcast programs, and are forced to execute troublesome search operations to confirm whether a content corresponding to the program content of the broadcast program exists on the Internet. | {
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The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for mixing fluent material in which vessels are agitated eccentrically to produce a vortex mixing action. In particular, the mixer of the present invention is intended for use in laboratories and the like to agitate vessels, such as test tubes.
Laboratory mixers are known in the art. A typical apparatus is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,580. In such mixers, the vessel, such as a test tube, beaker or flask, is manually held against a resilient top surface, which is driven eccentrically. In this manner, the vessel is agitated. The surface is large enough to accommodate several test tubes or a flask. The degree of agitation transmitted to a vessel depends upon the force with which the vessel is held against the resilient surface.
Such a mixer, however, is not suitable for situations requiring a mass uniform mixing of test tubes. It is not possible to uniformly mix test tubes where multiple test tubes are manually pressed against a resilient surface simultaneously, especially where the degree of agitation is dependent upon the force applied. The human hand simply can not provide a uniform force in such cases.
Another mixer is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,280. Here, a vessel, usually a test tube, is held in or against a cupshaped member which is eccentrically driven to agitate the vessel. The amount or degree of agitation can be manually adjusted by changing the throw or rotational speed of the eccentric drive.
With this type of mixer, it is not possible to agitate several test tubes at one time and manual adjustment or the agitation can be difficult when the vessel is being manually held against the eccentrically driven member. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a photographic sensitive material, more particularly, to a photographic sensitive material having an antistatic layer containing not only a carboxylic acid polymer but also a carboxylic acid activating condensing agent that acts on the polymer to add appreciably to the physical strength of the antistatic layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Static buildup on photographic sensitive materials has long annoyed the photographic industry. Static electricity is generated during the manufacture and use of photosensitive materials when they are wound on rolls, rewound therefrom, transported on rollers or when they contact other objects in transit. Generation and accumulation of static charges is a product of, for example, the electric conductivity and triboelectric series of the photographic material, moisture, the properties of the contacted object as well as the atmosphere in which the contact occurs. Accumulated static electricity sometimes discharges to cause irregular fogging of the photosensitive material. This is so deleterious to the material that it may even lose its commercial value. For instance, an X-ray film, even if it experiences the slightest fogging, not only fails to achieve the intended purpose but may result in an inaccurate diagnosis.
It is well known to provide an antistatic layer in a photographic material so as to avoid any adverse effect of static buildup and many types of photographic materials have been proposed that incorporate an antistatic layer that dissipates static charges. Illustrative examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,649,374, 3,033,679, 3,437,487, 3,525,621, 3,630,740, and 3,681,070. These references describe various antistats and antistatic layers that contain them. However, all these conventional antistatic agents or antistatic layers have serious defects that make them unsuitable for use as a component of a photographic sensitive material. For example, due to their poor function, they are unable to prevent fogging from occurring in a high-sensitivity photographic material, or the antistatic layer may dissolve in a developing bath to form scum, or the layer or the photographic material that contains it is so low in strength that it becomes less abrasion-resistant or durable until it is no longer of value as a commercial product or may cause troubles in the production line.
British Pat. No. 1,496,027 proposes an improved antistatic layer free from these defects which comprises (a) a water-soluble, film-forming anionic high molecular electrolyte in the form of a free acid (e.g., polystyrenesulfonic acid), (b) a film-forming, water-soluble, crosslinkable high molecular binder (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol) and (c) a cross-linking agent for said high molecular binder (e.g., glyoxal). However, the antistatic layer of this patent is such that it fixes the water-soluble, electrically conductive, anionic high molecular electrolyte within the network structure formed by the binder and the cross-linking agent therefor, and as a result, it cannot prevent dissolution of the electrolyte in a developing bath which unavoidably leads to a low pH and scum formation. In addition, the anionic electrolyte accounts for about a third to half the weight of the antistatic layer. In other words, a third to half of the antistatic film is not crosslinked and this insufficiency in the physical strength of the film poses a serious problem in the high-speed production of photographic light-sensitive materials. | {
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The present invention relates to an image display apparatus, and more particularly, to a light emission type image display apparatus suitable for displaying an image using current driven display elements, specifically, organic light emitting diodes (LED).
An organic EL-based flat image display apparatus has been known as one type of image display apparatus. This type of image display apparatus employs a driving method using low temperature polysilicon TFTs (thin film transistors) in order to implement a high luminance active matrix display, for example, as described in SID 99 technical digest, pages 372–375. For employing this driving method, the image display apparatus takes a pixel structure in which scanning wires, signal wires, EL power supply wires and capacitance reference voltage wires are intersected with one another, and has a signal voltage holding circuit formed of an n-type scanning TFT and a storage capacitor for driving each EL. A signal voltage held in the holding circuit is applied to a gate of a p-channel driving TFT arranged in a pixel to control the conductance of a main circuit of the driving TFT, i.e., the resistance value between its source and drain. In this structure, the main circuit of the driving TFT and an organic EL element are connected in series with each other from an EL power supply wire, and also connected to an LED common wire.
For driving a pixel configured as described above, a pixel selection pulse is applied from an associated scanning wire to write a signal voltage into the storage capacitor through a scanning TFT for holding the signal voltage. The held signal voltage is applied to the driving TFT as a gate voltage to control a drain current in accordance with the conductance of the driving TFT determined from a source voltage connected to a power supply wire, and a drain voltage. As a result, a driving current of the EL element is controlled to control a display luminance. In this event, in the pixel, a source electrode of the driving transistor is connected to the power supply wire, which causes a voltage drop. The driving transistor has a drain electrode connected to one end of the organic LED element, the other end of which is connected to a common electrode shared by all pixels. The driving transistor is applied with the signal voltage at its gate, such that the operating point of the transistor is controlled by a differential voltage between the signal voltage and source voltage to realize a gradation display.
However, when the foregoing configuration is applied to implement a large-sized panel, voltages for driving pixels in a central region of the panel are lower than voltages for driving pixels in a peripheral region of the panel. Specifically, the organic LED element is current driven, so that if a current is supplied to a pixel in a central region of the panel from a power supply through a LED common wire, a voltage drop is caused by the wire resistance, thereby reducing the voltage for driving the pixel in the central region of the panel. Since this voltage drop is affected by the length of the wire and a display state of pixels connected to the wire, the voltage drop also varies depending on displayed contents.
Further, the operating point of a driving transistor for a pixel largely varies in response to a varying source voltage of the driving transistor connected to the LED common wire, so that a current for driving LEDs largely varies. The variations in current cause variations in the luminance of display, i.e., uneven display and non-uniform luminance, as well as cause a defective display in the form of non-uniform color balance in the screen when a color display is concerned.
To solve these problems, JP-A-2001-100655, for example, has proposed an improvement on a voltage drop caused by a wire by reducing a wiring resistance. In a system described in JP-A-2001-100655, a conductive light shielding film having an opening for each pixel is disposed over the entire surface of a panel and connected to a common power supply wire to reduce the wire resistance and accordingly improve the uniformity of display.
However, in the system described in JP-A-2001-100655, since a source electrode, acting as a reference voltage for a transistor for driving an organic LED in a pixel is connected to an LED common electrode shared by the panel, some voltage drop is produced between the source electrode and common electrode. For this reason, even if the same signal voltage is applied, the gate-source voltage, which determines the operating point of the transistor, varies in response to variations in the source voltage, thereby encountering difficulties in removing the non-uniformity of display.
Also, the foregoing system has such a nature that variations in a threshold value, i.e., the on-resistance of a driving TFT for driving an EL cause a change in an EL driving current even if the same signal voltage is applied for controlling the current, so that TFTs which exhibit few variations and uniform characteristics are required for implementing the system. However, transistors for use in realizing such a driving circuit are obliged to be low temperature polysilicon TFTs which are manufactured using a laser anneal process and are high in mobility and applicable to a large-sized substrate. However, the low temperature polysilicon TFTs are known to suffer quite a few variations in element characteristics. Thus, due to the variations in the characteristics of TFTs used in an organic EL driving circuit, the luminance varies pixel by pixel, even if the same signal voltage is applied, so that the low temperature polysilicon TFT is not suitable for displaying a highly accurate gradation image.
As a driving method for solving the foregoing problems, JP-A-10-232649, for example, proposes a driving method for providing a gradation display which divides a one-frame time into eight sub-frames which are different in display time, and changes a light emitting time within the one-frame time to control an average luminance. This driving method drives a pixel to display digital binary values representing a lit and an unlit state to eliminate the need for using the operating point near a threshold value at which variations in the characteristics of TFTs are notably reflected to a display, thereby making it possible to reduce variations in luminance.
Any of the foregoing prior art techniques does not sufficiently consider the non-uniformity in luminance due to a voltage drop on a power supply wire of organic LEDs, and fails to solve a degraded image quality due to the voltage drop on the power supply wire, particularly in a large-sized panel.
In addition, the prior art techniques may reduce the conductance of the transistors to set a high LED power supply voltage for preventing a varying voltage on the LED common wire, thereby reducing variations in luminance. However, this leads to a lower power efficiency and increased power consumption of a resulting image display apparatus. Also, since a transistor presenting a low conductance has a longer gate length, the transistor has a larger size which is a disadvantage in regard to the trend of higher definition. | {
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Golf is enjoyed by a wide variety of players—players of different genders, and players of dramatically different ages and skill levels. Golf is somewhat unique in the sporting world in that such diverse collections of players can play together in golf events, even in direct competition with one another (e.g., using handicapped scoring, different tee boxes, etc.), and still enjoy the golf outing or competition. These factors, together with increased golf programming on television (e.g., golf tournaments, golf news, golf history, and/or other golf programming) and the rise of well known golf superstars, at least in part, have increased golf's popularity in recent years both in the United States and across the world.
Golfers of all skill levels seek to improve their performance, lower their golf scores, and reach that next performance “level.” Manufacturers of all types of golf equipment have responded to these demands, and recent years have seen dramatic changes and improvements in golf equipment. For example, a wide range of different golf ball models now are available, with some balls designed to fly farther and straighter, provide higher or flatter trajectory, provide more spin, control, and feel (particularly around the greens), etc.
Being the sole instruments that set a golf ball in motion during play, golf clubs also have been the subject of much technological research and advancement in recent years. For example, the market has seen improvements in golf club heads, shafts, and grips in recent years. Additionally, other technological advancements have been made in an effort to better match the various elements of the golf club and characteristics of a golf ball to a particular user's swing features or characteristics (e.g., club fitting technology, ball launch angle measurement technology, etc.).
Golfers tend to be sensitive to the “feel” of a golf club. The “feel” of a golf club comprises the combination of various component parts of the club and various features associated with the club that produce the sensory sensations experienced by the player when a ball is swung at and/or struck. Club weight, weight distribution, aerodynamics, swing speed, and the like all may affect the “feel” of the club as it swings and strikes a ball. “Feel” also has been found to be related to the sound produced when a club head strikes a ball to send the ball in motion. If a club head makes an unpleasant, undesirable, or surprising sound at impact, a user may flinch, give up on his/her swing, or decelerate the swing, thereby affecting distance, direction, and/or other performance aspects of the swing and the resulting ball motion. User anticipation of this unpleasant, undesirable, or surprising sound can affect a swing even before the ball is hit.
Every golfer's tastes and preferences with respect to “feel” aspects of a golf club differ. In other words, providing an acceptable golf club “feel” is not a “one size fits all” proposition. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide golf club heads and/or golf clubs, including wood-type golf club heads and/or clubs, that enable users to change, control, and customize various aspects of the club's “feel” to match their particular preference, liking, and/or swing characteristics. In some instances, it would be particularly advantageous to provide golf club heads and/or golf clubs, including wood-type golf club heads and/or clubs, that enable users to change, control, and customize the sound emanating from the club head when a ball is struck to suit their particular taste, liking, and/or swing characteristics. | {
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Computer and communication technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. Indeed, computer and communication technologies are involved in many aspects of a person's day. For example, many devices being used today by consumers have a small computer inside of the device. These small computers come in varying sizes and degrees of sophistication. These small computers include everything from one microcontroller to a fully-functional, complete computer system. For example, these small computers may be a one-chip computer, such as a microcontroller, a one-board type of computer, such as a controller, or a typical desktop computer, such as an IBM-PC compatible, etc.
Computers typically have one or more processors at the heart of the computer. The processor(s) are usually interconnected to different external inputs and outputs and function to manage the particular computer or device. For example, a processor in a thermostat may be connected to buttons used to select the temperature setting, to the furnace or air conditioner to change the temperature, and to temperature sensors to read and display the current temperature on a display.
Many appliances, devices, etc., include one or more small computers. For example, thermostats, furnaces, air conditioning systems, refrigerators, telephones, typewriters, automobiles, vending machines, and many different types of industrial equipment now typically have small computers, or processors, inside of them. Computer software runs the processors of these computers and instructs the processors how to carry out certain tasks. For example, the computer software running on a thermostat may cause an air conditioner to stop running when a particular temperature is reached or may cause a heater to turn on when needed.
These types of small computers that are a part of a device, appliance, tool, etc., are often referred to as embedded systems. The term “embedded system” usually refers to computer hardware and software that is part of a larger system. Embedded systems may not have typical input and output devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and/or monitor. Usually, at the heart of each embedded system is one or more processor(s).
Embedded systems may be utilized in a wide variety of different scenarios. For example, lighting systems may utilize embedded technology. In particular, an embedded system may be used to monitor and control a lighting system. For example, an embedded system could be used to dim or increase the brightness of an individual light or a set of lights within a lighting system. An embedded system may be used to create a specific lighting pattern by activating individual lights within the lighting system. Embedded systems may be coupled to individual switches within the lighting system. An embedded system may instruct the switches to power up or power down individual lights or the entire lighting system. The brightness or power state of each individual light may thus be controlled by the embedded system.
Security systems may likewise utilize embedded technology. An embedded system may be used to control and monitor the individual security sensors within a security system. An embedded system may provide controls to power up each of the security sensors automatically at a specific time of day or night. An embedded system may be coupled to a motion sensor. An embedded system may power up the individual motion sensor automatically and provide controls to activate a video camera and activate an alarm, if motion is detected. Embedded systems may also be coupled to sensors monitoring a door or a window and take specified action when activity is sensed.
Embedded technology may also be used to control wireless products, such as cell phones. An embedded system may provide instructions to power up the display of the cell phone. An embedded system may also activate the audio speakers within the cell phone to provide the user with an audio notification of an incoming call.
Home appliances, such as stoves, refrigerators, or microwave ovens, may also incorporate embedded technology. For example, a massage recliner may incorporate an embedded system to provide instructions to automatically recline the back portion of the chair according to the preferences of the user. An embedded system may also provide instructions to initiate the oscillating components within the chair according to the preferences of the user.
Additional products typically found in homes may also incorporate embedded systems. For example, an embedded system may be used within a toilet to control the level of water used to refill the water supply tank. Embedded systems may be used within a jetted bathtub to, for example, control the outflow of air.
Computer systems and embedded systems have additionally been utilized to monitor remote devices. Unfortunately, monitoring these devices using centralized systems can create significant problems if network communication is interrupted or terminated. For example, if a central server is tracking the state of a remote device and network access is interrupted, the remote device may change states during interruption. When the network connection is restored, the centralized system incorrectly believed that the remote device remained in the same state during interruption, potentially determining that a problem exists. For instance, if a centralized system is monitoring whether a door is open or closed for a long period of time, and the door is opened followed by interruption of network communications, the centralized system may incorrectly determine that the door remained open during the entire period of interrupted network conductivity. This incorrect determination could trigger false alarms and the like. The remote device may also incorrectly determine the current state of the device because of the interruption. Furthermore, significant network bandwidth may be required to monitor the states of a remote device using a network.
Accordingly, benefits may be realized by improved systems and methods for identifying persistent states of remote devices. Some exemplary systems and methods for tracking persistent states of remote devices are disclosed. | {
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This invention relates to foam blowing agent blends of 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane ("142b") and 2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane ("124b"), more particularly to nonflammable blends containing up to about 70 weight % of 142b and at least about 30 weight % of 124, and to nonflammable premixes and polyurethane foam compositions containing such blends.
Until now, 142b has often been listed in patents as a potential polyurethane foam blowing agent, but its use has usually been dismissed because of its known flammability. However, with the anticipated phase-out of the leading commercial foam blowing agent, 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane ("141b"), the marketplace has a need for other foam blowing agent alternatives. | {
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The present invention relates to probe assemblies of the type commonly used for testing integrated circuits (IC) and, in particular, the present invention relates to a membrane probing assembly having contacts which scrub, in a locally controlled manner, across the respective input/output conductors of each device so as to reliably wipe clear the surface oxides that are normally found on those conductors thereby ensuring good electrical connection between the probing assembly and each device.
The trend in electronic production has been toward increasingly smaller geometries particularly in integrated circuit technology wherein a very large number of discrete circuit elements are fabricated on a single substrate or xe2x80x9cwafer.xe2x80x9d After fabrication, this wafer is divided into a number of rectangular-shaped chips or xe2x80x9cdicexe2x80x9d where each die presents a rectangular or other regular arrangement of metallized contact pads through which input/output connections are made. Although each die is eventually packaged separately, for efficiency sake, testing of the circuit formed on each die is preferably performed while the dies are still joined together on the wafer. One typical procedure is to support the wafer on a flat stage or xe2x80x9cchuckxe2x80x9d and to move the wafer in X, Y and Z directions relative to the head of the probing assembly so that the contacts on the probing assembly move from die to die for consecutive engagement a with each die. Respective signal, power and ground lines are run to the probing assembly from the test instrumentation thus enabling each circuit to be sequentially connected to the test instrumentation.
One conventional type of probing assembly used for testing integrated circuits provides contacts that are configured as needle-like tips. These tips are mounted about a central opening formed in a probe card so as to radially converge inwardly and downwardly through the opening. When the wafer is raised beyond that point where the pads on the wafer first come into contact with these tips, the tips flex upwardly so as to skate forwardly across their respective pads thereby removing oxide buildup on the pads.
The problem with this type of probing assembly is that the needle-like tips, due to their narrow geometry, exhibit high inductance so that signal distortion is large in high frequency measurements made through these tips. Also, these tips can act in the manner of a planing tool as they wipe across their respective pads, thereby leading to excessive pad damage. This problem is magnified to the extent that the probe tips bend out of shape during use or otherwise fail to terminate in a common plane which causes the more forward ones of the tips to bear down too heavily on their respective pads. Also, it is impractical to mount these tips at less than 100 micron center-to-center spacing or in a multi-row grid-like pattern so as to accommodate the pad arrangement of more modern, higher density dies. Also, this type of probing assembly has a scrub length of the needle tips of 25 microns or more, which increases the difficulty of staying within the allowed probing area.
In order to reduce inductive losses, decrease pad wear and accommodate smaller device geometries, a second type of probing assembly has been developed that uses a flexible membrane structure for supporting the probing contacts. In this assembly, lead lines of well-defined geometry are formed on one or more plies of flexible insulative film, such as polyimide or MYLAR(trademark). If separate plies are used, these plies are bonded together to form, for example, a multilayered transmission line structure. In the central portion of this flexible structure or membrane, each conductive line is terminated by a respective probing contact which is formed on, and projects outwardly from, an outer face of the membrane. These probing contacts are arranged in a predetermined pattern that matches the pattern of the device pads and typically are formed as upraised bumps for probing the flat surfaces conventionally defined by the pads. The inner face of the membrane is supported on a supporting structure. This structure can take the form, for example, of a truncated pyramid, in which case the inner face of the center portion of the membrane is supported on the truncated end of the support while the marginal portions of the membrane are drawn away from the center portion at an angle thereto so as to clear any upright components that may surround the pads on the device.
With respect to the membrane probing assembly just described, excessive line inductance is eliminated by carefully selecting the geometry of the lead lines, and a photolithographic process is preferably used to enable some control over the size, spacing, and arrangement, of the probing contacts so as to accommodate higher density configurations. However, although several different forms of this probing assembly have been proposed, difficulties have been encountered in connection with this type of assembly in reducing pad wear and in achieving reliable clearing of the oxide layer from each of the device pads so as to ensure adequate electrical connection between the assembly and the device-under-test.
One conventional form of membrane probing assembly, for example, is exemplified by the device shown in Rath European Patent Pub. No. 259,163A2. This device has the central portion of the sheet-like membrane mounted directly against a rigid support. This rigid support, in turn, is connected by a resilient member comprising an elastomeric or rubber block to the main body of the assembly so that the membrane can tilt to match the tilt of the device. Huff U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,383 shows a closely related device wherein radially extending leaf springs permit vertical axis movement of the rigid support while preventing it from tilting so that there is no slippage or xe2x80x9cmisalignmentxe2x80x9d of the contact bumps on the pads and further so that the entire membrane will shift slightly in the horizontal plane to allow the contacts to xe2x80x9cscrubxe2x80x9d across their respective pads in order to clear surface oxides from these pads.
In respect to both of these devices, however, because of manufacturing tolerances, certain of the contact bumps are likely to be in a recessed position relative to their neighbors and these recessed bumps will not have a satisfactory opportunity to engage their pads since they will be drawn away from their pads by the action of their neighbors on the rigid support. Furthermore, even when xe2x80x9cscrubxe2x80x9d movement is provided in the manner of Huff, the contacts will tend to frictionally cling to the device as they perform the scrubbing movement, that is, there will be a tendency for the pads of the device to move in unison with the contacts so as to negate the effect of the contact movement. Whether any scrubbing action actually occurs depends on how far the pads can move, which depends, in turn, on the degree of lateral play that exists as a result of normal tolerance between the respective bearing surfaces of the probe head and chuck. Hence this form of membrane probing assembly does not ensure reliable electrical connection between each contact and pad.
A second conventional form of membrane probing assembly is exemplified by the device shown in Barsotti European Patent Pub. No. 304,868A2. This device provides a flexible backing for the central or contact-carrying portion of the flexible membrane. In Barsotti, the membrane is directly backed by an elastomeric member and this member, in turn, is backed by a rigid support so that minor height variations between the contacts or pads can be accommodated. It is also possible to use positive-pressure air, negative-pressure air, liquid or an unbacked elastomer to provide flexible backing for the membrane, as shown in Gangroth U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,339, Ardezzone U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,772, Reed, Jr. et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,228 and Okubo et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,365, respectively. These alternative devices, however, do not afford sufficient pressure between the probing contacts and the device pads to reliably penetrate the oxides that form on the pad surfaces.
In this second form of membrane probing assembly, as indicated in okubo, the contacts may be limited to movement along the Z-axis in order to prevent slippage and resulting misalignment between the contacts and pads during engagement. Thus, in Barsotti, the rigid support underlying the elastomeric member is fixed in position although it is also possible to mount the support for Z-axis movement in the manner shown in Huff U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,637. Pad damage is likely to occur with this type of design, however, because a certain amount of tilt is typically present between the contacts and the device, and those contacts angled closest to the device will ordinarily develop much higher contact pressures than those which are angled away. The same problem arises with the related assembly shown in European Patent Pub. No. 230,348A2 to Garretson, even though in the Garretson device the characteristic of the elastomeric member is such as to urge the contacts into lateral movement when those contacts are placed into pressing engagement with their pads. Yet another related assembly is shown in Evans U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,638 which uses a pivotably mounted support for backing the elastomeric member so as to accommodate tilt between the contacts and the device. However, the Evans device is subject to the friction clinging problem already described insofar as the pads of the device are likely to cling to the contacts as the support pivots and causes the contacts to shift laterally.
Yet other forms of conventional membrane probing assemblies are shown in Crumly U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,253, Barsotti et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,898 and Evans et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,638. In Crumly, the center portion of a stretchable membrane is resiliently biased to a fully stretched condition using a spring. When the contacts engage their respective pads, the stretched center portion retracts against the spring to a partially relaxed condition so as to draw the contacts in radial scrub directions toward the center of the membrane. In Barsotti, each row of contacts is supported by the end of a respective L-shaped arm so that when the contacts in a row engage their respective pads, the corresponding arm flexes upwardly and causes the row of contacts to laterally scrub simultaneously across their respective pads. In both Crumly and Barsotti, however, if any tilt is present between the contacts and the device at the time of engagement, this tilt will cause the contacts angled closest to the device to scrub further than those angled further away. Moreover, the shorter contacts will be forced to move in their scrub directions before they have had the opportunity to engage their respective pads due to the controlling scrub action of their neighboring contacts. A further disadvantage of the Crumly device, in particular, is that the contacts nearer to the center of the membrane will scrub less than those nearer to the periphery so that scrub effectiveness will vary with contact position.
In Evans et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,079 each contact constitutes a spring metal finger, and each finger is mounted so as to extend in a cantilevered manner away from the underlying membrane at a predetermined angle relative to the membrane. A similar configuration is shown in Higgins U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,518. It is difficult, however, to originally position these fingers so that they all terminate in a common plane, particularly if a high density pattern is required. Moreover, these fingers are easily bent out of position during use and cannot easily be rebent back to their original position. Hence, certain ones of the fingers are likely to touch down before other ones of the fingers, and scrub pressures and distances are likely to be different for different fingers. Nor, in Evans at least, is there an adequate mechanism for tolerating a minor degree of tilt between the fingers and pads. Although Evans suggests roughening the surface of each finger to improve the quality of electrical connection, this roughening can cause undue abrasion and damage to the pad surfaces. Yet a further disadvantage of the contact fingers shown in both Evans and Higgins is that such fingers are subject to fatigue and failure after a relatively low number of xe2x80x9ctouchdownsxe2x80x9d or duty cycles due to repeated bending and stressing.
Referring to FIG. 1, cascade Microtech, Inc. of Beaverton, Oreg. has developed a probe head 40 for mounting a membrane probing assembly 42. In order to measure the electrical performance of a particular die area 44 included on the silicon wafer 46, the high-speed digital lines 48 and/or shielded transmission lines 50 of the probe head are connected to the input/output ports of the test instrumentation by a suitable cable assembly, and the chuck 51 which supports the wafer is moved in mutually perpendicular X,Y,Z directions in order to bring the pads of the die area into pressing engagement with the contacts included on the lower contacting portion of the membrane probing assembly.
The probe head 40 includes a probe card 52 on which the data/signal lines 48 and 50 are arranged. Referring to FIGS. 2-3, the membrane probing assembly 42 includes a support element 54 formed of incompressible material such as a hard polymer. This element is detachably connected to the upper side of the probe card by four Allen screws 56 and corresponding nuts 58 (each screw passes through a respective attachment arm 60 of the support element, and a separate backing element 62 evenly distributes the clamping pressure of the screws over the entire back side of the supporting element). In accordance with this detachable connection, different probing assemblies having different contact arrangements can be quickly substituted for each other as needed for probing different devices.
Referring to FIGS. 3-4, the support element 54 includes a rearward base portion 64 to which the attachment arms 60 are integrally joined. Also included on the support element 54 is a forward support or plunger 66 that projects outwardly from the flat base portion This forward support has angled sides 68 that converge toward a flat support surface 70 so as to give the forward support the shape of a truncated pyramid. Referring also to FIG. 2, a flexible membrane assembly 72 is attached to the support after being aligned by means of alignment pins 74 included on the base portion. This flexible membrane assembly is formed by one or more plies of insulative sheeting such as KAPTON(trademark) sold by E.I. Du Pont de Nemours or other polyimide film, and flexible conductive layers or strips are provided between or on these plies to form the data/signal lines 76.
When the support element 54 is mounted on the upper side of the probe card 52 as shown in FIG. 3, the forward support 66 protrudes through a central opening 78 in the probe card so as to present the contacts which are arranged on a central region 80 of the flexible membrane assembly in suitable position for pressing engagement with the pads of the device under test. Referring to FIG. 2, the membrane assembly includes radially extending arm segments 82 that are separated by inwardly curving edges 84 that give the assembly the shape of a formee cross, and these segments extend in an inclined manner along the angled sides 68 thereby clearing any upright components surrounding the pads. A series of contact pads 86 terminate the data/signal lines 76 so that when the support element is mounted, these pads electrically engage corresponding termination pads provided on the upper side of the probe card so that the data/signal lines 48 on the probe card are electrically connected to the contacts on the central region.
A feature of the probing assembly 42 is its capability for probing a somewhat dense arrangement of contact pads over a large number of contact cycles in a manner that provides generally reliable electrical connection between the contacts and pads in each cycle despite oxide buildup on the pads. This capability is a function of the construction of the support element 54, the flexible membrane assembly 72 and their manner of interconnection. In particular, the membrane assembly is so constructed and connected to the support element that the contacts on the membrane assembly preferably wipe or scrub, in a locally controlled manner, laterally across the pads when brought into pressing engagement with these pads. The preferred mechanism for producing this scrubbing action is described in connection with the construction and interconnection of a preferred membrane assembly 72a as best depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7a-7b.
FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of the central region 80a of the membrane assembly 72a. In this embodiment, the contacts 88 are arranged in a square-like pattern suitable for engagement with a square-like arrangement of pads. Referring also to FIG. 7a, which represents a sectional view taken along lines 7axe2x80x947a in FIG. 6, each contact comprises a relatively thick rigid beam 90 at one end of which is formed a rigid contact bump 92. The contact bump includes thereon a contacting portion 93 which comprises a nub of rhodium fused to the contact bump. Using electroplating, each beam is formed in an overlapping connection with the end of a flexible conductive trace 76a to form a joint therewith. This conductive trace in conjunction with a back-plane conductive layer 94 effectively provides a controlled impedance data/signal line to the contact because its dimensions are established using a photolithographic process. The backplane layer preferably includes openings therein to assist, for example, with gas venting during fabrication.
The membrane assembly is interconnected to the flat support surface 70 by an interposed elastomeric layer 98, which layer is coextensive with the support surface and can be formed by a silicone rubber compound such as ELMER""S STICK-ALL(trademark) made by the Borden Company or Sylgard 182 by Dow Corning Corporation. This compound can be conveniently applied in a paste-like phase which hardens as it sets. The flat support surface, as previously mentioned, is made of incompressible material and is preferably a hard dielectric such as polysulfone or glass.
In accordance with the above-described construction, when one of the contacts 88 is brought into pressing engagement with a respective pad 100, as indicated in FIG. 7b, the resulting off-center force on the rigid beam 90 and bump 92 structure causes the beam to pivot or tilt against the elastic recovery force provided by the elastomeric pad 98. This tilting motion is localized in the sense that a forward portion 102 of the beam moves a greater distance toward the flat support surface 70 than a rearward portion 104 of the same beam. The effect is such as to drive the contact into lateral scrubbing movement across the pad as is indicated in FIG. 7b with a dashed-line and solid-line representation showing the beginning and ending positions, respectively, of the contact on the pad. In this fashion, the insulative oxide buildup on each pad is removed so as to ensure adequate contact-to-pad electrical connections.
FIG. 8 shows, in dashed line view, the relative positions of the contact 88 and pad 100 at the moment of initial engagement or touchdown and, in solid-line view, these same elements after xe2x80x9covertravelxe2x80x9d of the pad by a distance 106 in a vertical direction directly toward the flat support surface 70. As indicated, the distance 108 of lateral scrubbing movement is directly dependent on the vertical deflection of the contact 88 or, equivalently, on the overtravel distance 106 moved by the pad 100. Hence, since the overtravel distance for each contact on the central region 80a will be substantially the same (with differences arising from variations in contact height), the distance of lateral scrubbing movement by each contact on the central region will be substantially uniform and will not, in particular, be affected by the relative position of each contact on the central region.
Because the elastomeric layer 98 is backed by the incompressible support surface 70, the elastomeric layer exerts a recovery force on each tilting beam 90 and thus each contact 93 to maintain contact-to-pad pressure during scrubbing. At the same time, the elastomeric layer accommodates some height variations between the respective contacts. Thus, referring to FIG 9a, when a relatively shorter contact 88a is situated between an immediately adjacent pair of relatively taller contacts 88b and these taller contacts are brought into engagement with their respective pads, then, as indicated in FIG. 9b, deformation by the elastomeric layer allows the smaller contact to be brought into engagement with its pad after some further overtravel by the pads. It will be noted, in this example, that the tilting action of each contact is locally controlled, and the larger contacts are able, in particular, to tilt independently of the smaller contact so that the smaller contact is not urged into lateral movement until it has actually touched down on its pad.
Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the electroplating process to construct such a beam structure, as schematically shown in FIG. 8, includes the incompressible material 68 defining the support surface 70 and the substrate material attached thereon, such as the elastomeric layer 98. Using a flex circuit construction technique, the flexible conductive trace 76a is then patterned on a sacrificial substrate. Next, a polyimide layer 77 is patterned to cover the entire surface of the sacrificial substrate and of the traces 76a, except for the desired location of the beams 90 on a portion of the traces 76a. The beams 90 are then electroplated within the openings in the polyimide layer 77. Thereafter, a layer of photoresist 79 is patterned on both the surface of the polyimide 77 and beams 90 to leave openings for the desired location of the contact bumps 92. The contact bumps 92 are then electroplated within the openings in the photoresist layer 79. The photoresist layer 79 is removed and a thicker photoresist layer 81 is patterned to cover the exposed surfaces, except for the desired locations for the contacting portions 93. The contacting portions 93 are then electroplated within the openings in the photoresist layer 81. The photoresist layer 81 is then removed. The sacrificial substrate layer is removed and the remaining layers are attached to the elastomeric layer 98. The resulting beams 90, contact bumps 92, and contacting portions 93, as more accurately illustrated in FIG. 12, provides the independent tilting and scrubbing functions of the device.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned construction technique results in a structure with many undesirable characteristics.
First, several beams 90, contact bumps 92, and contacting portions 93 (each of which may be referred to as a device) proximate one another results in different localized current densities within the electroplating bath, which in turn results in differences in the heights of many of the beams 90, contact bumps 92, and contacting portions 93. Also, different densities of the ions within the electroplating bath and xe2x80x9crandomxe2x80x9d variations in the electroplating bath also results in differences in heights of many of the beams 90, contact bumps 92, and contacting portions 93. The different heights of many of the beams 90, contact bumps 92, and contacting portions 93 is compounded three fold in the overall height of many of the devices. Accordingly, many devices will have a significantly different height than other devices. Using membrane probes having variable device height requires more pressure to ensure that all the contacting portions 93 make adequate contact with the test device than would be required if all the devices had equal overall height. For high density membrane probes, such as 2000 or more devices in a small area, the cumulate effect of the additional pressure required for each device may exceed the total force permitted for the probe head and probe station. The excess pressure may also result in bending and breaking of the probe station, the probe head, and/or the membrane probing assembly. In addition, the devices with the greatest height may damage the pads on the test device because of the increased pressure required to make suitable contact for the devices with the lowest height.
Second, the ability to decrease the pitch (spacing) between the devices is limited by the xe2x80x9cmushroomingxe2x80x9d effect of the electroplating process over the edges of the polyimide 77 and photoresist layers 79 and 81. The xe2x80x9cmushroomingxe2x80x9d effect is difficult to control and results in a variable width of the beams 90, contact bumps 92, and contacting portions 93. If the height of the beams 90, the contact bumps 92, or the contacting portions 93 are increased then the xe2x80x9cmushroomingxe2x80x9d effect generally increases, thus increasing the width of the respective portion. The increased width of one part generally results in a wider overall device which in turn increases the minimum spacing between contacting portions 93. Alternatively, decreasing the height of the beams 90, the contact bumps 92, or the contacting portions 93 generally decreases the width of the xe2x80x9cmushroomingxe2x80x9d effect which in turn decreases the minimum spacing between contacting portions 93. However, if the height of the contacting portions 93 relative to the respective beam 90 is sufficiently reduced, then during use the rearward end of the beam 90 may sufficiently tilt and contact the test device in an acceptable location, i.e., off the contact pad.
Third, it is difficult to plate a second metal layer directly on top of a first metal layer, such as contacting portions 93 on the contact bumps 92, especially when using nickel. To provide a bond between the contact bumps 92 and the contacting portions 93, an interface seed layer such as copper or gold is used to make an improved interconnection. Unfortunately, the interface seed layer reduces the lateral strength of the device due to the lower sheer strength of the interface layer.
Fourth, applying a photoresist layer over a non-uniform surface tends to be semi-conformal in nature resulting in a non-uniform thicknesses of the photoresist material itself. Referring to FIG. 13, the photoresist layer 79 (and 81) over the raised portions of the beams 90 tends to be thicker than the photoresist layer 79 (and 81) over the lower portions of the polyimide 77. In addition, the thickness of the photoresist 79 (and 81) tends to vary depending on the density of the beams 90. Accordingly, regions of the membrane probe that have a denser spacing of devices, the photoresist layer 79 (and 81) will be thicker on average than regions of the membrane probe that have a less dense spacing of devices. During the exposing and etching processing of the photoresist layer 79 (and 81), the duration of the process depends on the thickness of the photoresist 79 (or 81). With variable photoresist thickness it is difficult to properly process the photoresist to provide uniform openings. Moreover, the thinner regions of photoresist layer 79 (or 81) will tend to be overexposed resulting in variably sized openings. Also, the greater the photoresist layer thickness 79 (or 81) the greater the variability in its thickness. Accordingly, the use of photoresist presents many processing problems.
Fifth, separate alignment processes are necessary to align the beams 90 on the traces 76a, the contact bumps 92 on the beams 90, and the contacting portions 93 on the contact bumps 92. Each alignment process has inherent variations that must be accounted for in sizing each part. The minimum size of the contacting portions 93 is defined primarily by the lateral strength requirements and the maximum allowable current density therein. The minimum size of the contacting portions 93, accounting for the tolerances in alignment, in turn defines the minimum size of the contact bumps 92 so that the contacting portions 93 are definitely constructed on the contact bumps 92. The minimum size of the contact bumps 92, in view of the contacting portions 93 and accounting for the tolerances in alignment, defines the minimum size of the beams 90 so that the contact bumps 92 are definitely constructed on the beams 90. Accordingly, the summation of the tolerances of the contact bumps 92 and the contacting portions 93, together with a minimum size of the contacting portions 93, defines the minimum device size, and thus defines the minimum pitch between contact pads.
What is desired, therefore, is a membrane probe construction technique and structure that results in a more uniform device height, decreased spacing between devices, maximized lateral strength, desired geometrics, and proper alignment.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by providing a substrate, preferably constructed of a ductile material. A tool having the desired shape of the resulting device for contacting contact pads on a test device is brought into contact with the substrate. The tool is preferably constructed of a material that is harder than the substrate so that a depression can be readily made therein. A dielectric (insulative) layer, that is preferably patterned, is supported by the substrate. A conductive material is located within the depressions and then preferably planarized to remove excess from the top surface of the dielectric layer and to provide a flat overall surface. A trace is patterned on the dielectric layer and the conductive material. A polyimide layer is then preferably patterned over the entire surface. The substrate is then removed by any suitable process.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. | {
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Highly efficient chemical gene synthesis with high fidelity and low cost has a central role in biotechnology and medicine, and in basic biomedical research.
De novo gene synthesis is a powerful tool for basic biological research and biotechnology applications. While various methods are known for the synthesis of relatively short fragments in a small scale, these techniques suffer from scalability, automation, speed, accuracy, and cost. There is a need for devices for simple, reproducible, scalable, less error-prone and cost-effective methods that guarantee successful synthesis of desired genes and are amenable to automation. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a modified method of preparing blown films comprising a major proportion of polyethylene, at least one additive, such as a colorant or an antiblocking agent, and a minor proportion of a second polymeric resin.
2. Description of the Related Art
Linear low and medium density polyethylene copolymers (LLDPE), and linear high density polyethylene (HDPE) are known materials which are widely commercially available. LLDPE is described by Anderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,698 which is incorporated herein by reference. HDPE is described, e.g., in KIRK-OTHMER ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY, Third Edition, Vol. 16, pages 421-433, John Wiley and Sons, New York (1981), incorporated herein by reference. A commercially important use of LLDPE and of HDPE is in making bags which are conventionally prepared from films by blown film extrusion. While such films have relatively good properties, they often exhibit low stiffness and have relatively weak MD tear strength characteristics. Accordingly, it has been proposed to improve MD tear strength characteristics of such films by incorporating a small proportion of a second polymeric resin, e.g., aromatic polymeric resins, such as polystyrene or poly(para-methylstyrene), into the polyethylene film, see Canterino et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,912, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The films of Canterino et al are made by blending separate batches of the polyethylene resin, the aromatic polymeric resin and usually at least one conventional additive, such as a colorant, an anti-blocking agent, or a processing aid, outside of the extruder, or introducing separate streams of the polyethylene resin, the aromatic polymeric resin and the additive(s) into the extruder, and subsequently blow-extruding the film. The resulting film, when viewed under an electron microscope, exhibits a continuing phase of polyethylene containing discrete, distinct microdomains of the aromatic polymeric resin.
To prevent the preferential incorporation or agglomeration of the additive or additives into the microdomains of the aromatic polymeric resin, it was thought necessary to admix the additive or additives with the polyethylene resin, and then combine the resulting mixture with the minor proportion of the aromatic polymeric resin. The polyethylene resin was also used as the carrier for additive(s) because it is customary in the industry to use the predominant resin as the carrier for additives in the preparation of films. Alternatively, as discussed above, separate streams of the polyethylene resin, the aromatic polymeric resin and the additive or additives were introduced into the extruder.
Both methods of feeding the components used for manufacturing the blended film of polyethylene and aromatic polymers were cumbersome and rendered the control of the amount of the additive or additives, and of the second polymeric resin introduced into the extruder, difficult and time consuming. Each of the additive and polymeric streams had to be monitored and controlled individually and the amount of each individual component in the film also had to be determined individually.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to simplify the method of preparing a blown polyethylene film from a major proportion of a polyethylene resin, a minor proportion of a second polymeric resin and at least one additive.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a convenient yet simple method of monitoring the amount of the second polymeric resin incorporated into the polyethylene film.
Additional objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the invention. | {
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This invention relates generally to non-destructive testing, relates more specifically to medical diagnostic apparatus and methodology; and yet more specifically, relates to X-ray scanning apparatus and methodology of the type associated with computed tomography.
Within recent years much interest has been evidenced on the part of medical diagnosticians in the field now widely known as "computed tomography" sometimes referred to hereinafter as "CT". In a typical procedure an X-ray source and detector apparatus are positioned on opposite sides of the portion of the patient which is intended for examination. In early prior art these paired elements are made to transit across the body portion to be examined while the detectors measure the X-ray absorption at the plurality of transmission paths defined during the transit process. Periodically as well, the paired source and detector means are rotated to a different angular orientation about the body and the transit process repeated. A very high number of absorption values may be yielded by procedures of this type, and the relatively massive amounts of data thus accumulated are processed by a digital computer which correlates the absorption values, to thereby derive absorption values for a very high number of points (typically in the thousands) within the section of the body being scanned.
This point-by-point data can then be combined to enable reconstruction of a matrix (visual or otherwise), which constitutes an accurate depiction of the density function of the bodily section examined. The skilled diagnostician by considering one or more of such sections can often diagnose various bodily ailments such as tumors, blood clots, etc., which features would be difficult if not impossible to effectively locate by prior art methodology.
Later developments in the computed tomography field are demonstrated in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,247, issued on Apr. 10, 1979 to John M. Pavkovich and Craig S. Nunan, and entitled "Tomographic Apparatus and Method for Reconstructing Planar Slices from Non-Absorbed Radiation" and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,248 issued to John M. Pavkovich entitled "Apparatus and Method for Reconstructing Data". Both of these patents are assigned to the same assignee as is the present application.
The apparatus disclosed in the above-cited patents utilizes a fan beam source of radiation coupled with application of a convolution method of image reconstruction with no intervening reordering of fan rays, to thereby eliminate the errors and delay in computation time which would otherwise be involved in such reordering. The radiation source and detector means are positioned on opposed sides of the portion of the patient being examined and these elements are made to rotate through a revolution or portion thereof while the detectors measure the radiation absorption at the plurality of transmission paths defined during the rotational process.
In a typical apparatus embodiment of the Pavkovich and Pavkovich et al. type of apparatus, an assembly is provided, which is rotatable about an axis extending along a central opening defined therein, together with means for positioning the bodily portion to be examined within the central opening so that the axis of assembly rotation is perpendicular to a thin generally planar section of the body portion being scanned. A source of penetrating radiation, i.e., of X-rays or gamma rays is mounted on the assembly toward one side thereof, and provides radiation in the form of a fan beam. Means are provided for rotating the assembly so that the fan beam impinges upon the bodily portion at a plurality of incident directions. Detection is enabled by means positioned on the assembly opposite the source, which thus detects non-absorbed radiation proceeding laterally along the section.
Reference may further be usefully had to U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,249 which issued on Apr. 10, 1979 to the aforementioned John M. Pavkovich, which patent is assigned to the assignee of the present application. The said patent, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Reconstructing Data" further illustrates the apparatus and methodology to which the present invention is directly applicable, and the disclosure of said patent is incorporated herein by reference.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,249 apparatus of the general type previously described is set forth, together with reconstruction means which are coupled to the detector means, and which may comprise a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, and control logic for interfacing between these computers and controlling the respective functions thereof for permitting a convolution and back projection based upon non-absorbed and non-scattered radiation detected by the detector means. Display means are coupled to the reconstruction means for providing a visual or other display or representation of the quantities of radiation absorbed at the points considered in the object.
In the course of obtaining the detector data from which the image reconstruction is effected, it has been usual practice to effect the aforementioned relative rotation of the source detector array with respect to the patient over a time period of approximately 1 to 15 seconds (with 3 seconds being typical) while taking readings of absorbed radiation received by the detector means. The latter may be of the types disclosed in the above references. The detector means thus typically comprises of the order of 301 individual detector cells or elements which are effectively in side-by-side relationship. The source may be operated continuously, but is more often operated in pulsed fashion, and typically a set of measurements is taken at each successive 1.degree. increment of rotation (preferably by pulsing the source on at each said 1.degree. position), so that 360.times.301 values of measured (transmitted) radiation are obtained during each 360.degree. cycle of rotation.
In order to increase the available resolution possible from processing of the collected detector data, it would in principle be highly desirable to increase the number of detector elements positioned to detect the fan beam. In practice, however, both size and cost limitations have rendered this relatively impractical.
For various reasons it would further be desirable in operation of a computerized tomography system to be able to effect data collection during less than a full revolution of the gantry or platform carrying the source and detector elements undergoing planetary motion about the scanned object. Such a procedure would be desirable, partially in order to shorten the period during which the patient is required to remain motionless; and additionally, to reduce the total incident radiation to which the patient is exposed. In the past, however, efforts to operate in the aforementioned manner have not been successful since measuring projections are missing, which in the past have either been arbitrarily estimated or have been taken to be zero. These assumptions have led to undesirable artifacts and loss of definition in the resultant reconstructed image.
It is in principle also of interest to the technician in the present field of application, to be able to study dynamic events, as for example, in performing cardiac studies, where one is often interested in examining a section through portions of the heart at selected phases of the cardiac cycle.
Similarly, it is of interest to study other medically significant dynamic events such as blood flow, which may have extreme value in diagnosing aortical aneurisms, infarctions, or the like. In the co-pending application of Edward J. Seppi et al., Ser. No. 789,910, filed Apr. 22, 1977 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,311 and entitled "Method and System for Cardiac Computed Tomography", which again is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a method and system is disclosed which is applicable to the aforementioned type of studies. In this system data is acquired during one or more full rotational cycles and suitably stored. The data corresponding to various angular projections can then be correlated with the desired portions of the object's cyclical motion by means of a reference signal associated with the motion, such as that derived through an electrocardiagram where a heart is the object of interest. In systems and approaches of the types as mentioned, however, projections are invariably missing, i.e, a full 360.degree. collection of projections are not usually present; and partially for this reason the image resolution and quality, again as aforementioned, can be quite unsatisfactory.
In accordance with the foregoing, it may be regarded as an object of the present invention to provide a method applicable to computerized tomography systems of the type heretofore discussed which enables an increase in available resolution and image quality possible from processing of the collected detector data, by effectively increasing the number of detectors positioned to detect the fan beam.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for application as above, which enables data to be collected during less than a full rotation of the gantry or platform carrying the radiation source and detector array, with the resultant reconstructed image having, however, excellent resolution and few undesirable artifacts or the like.
It is a further object of the present invention, to provide a method applicable as aforementioned, which facilitates highly effective study of dynamic physiological events, by enabling the reconstruction of temporal events with high resolution and good image quality. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shared memory device, which has a plurality of memory systems including a processor mounted together thereon and shares memories of the systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
When using an architecture focusing on parallel processing in a system having a plurality of memory systems mounted together, the configuration becomes, for example, as shown in FIG. 17.
In the configuration in FIG. 17, logic circuits (processors) 1-1 to 1-4 and memory macros 2-1 to 2-4 are connected one-to-one to give priority to parallel processing.
Here, although the logic circuits 1 and the memory macros 2 are connected one-to-one, each of the logic circuits 1 has to use a path across a higher-level device to refer to data of an adjacent logic circuit.
Therefore, the configuration of directly connecting the logic circuits 1 and adjacent memories by cross bars (X-bars) 3 as shown in FIG. 18 is generally applied. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to prodrugs of PI-Kinase inhibitors and methods of using these inhibitors.
2. Description of Related Art
PI-3 kinases are a large family of lipid kinases that phosphorylate phosphatidylinositol in the D3 position to generate an important second messenger, phosphatidylinositol 3′-phosphate. Members of the PI-3 kinase family are divided into 3 classes based on sequence homology and the product formed by enzyme catalysis. The class I PI-3 kinases are composed of 2 subunits: a 110 kd catalytic subunit and an 85 kd regulatory subunit. Class I PI-3 kinases are involved in important signal transduction events downstream of cytokines, integrins, growth factors and immunoreceptors, which suggests that control of this pathway may lead to important therapeutic effects.
Inhibition of class I PI-3 kinase induces apoptosis, blocks tumor induced angiogenesis in vivo, and increases the radiosensitivity of certain tumors. LY294002 (2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one) (Compound 1) is a well known specific inhibitor of class I PI-3 kinases and has been demonstrated to possess anti-cancer properties.
However, the anti-cancer applications of LY294002 are severely limited by its lack of aqueous solubility and its poor pharmacokinetics. Moreover, LY294002 has no tissue specific properties and has been demonstrated to be rapidly metabolized in animals. Because of these factors, LY294002 would need to be administered at frequent intervals and thus has the potential to also inhibit PI-3 kinases in normal cells thereby leading to undesirable side effects.
There continues to be a need for class I PI-3 kinase inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages. | {
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The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for image exposure used in a CTP (Computer to Plate) system, a film setter subjecting a lith film to image exposure, or an apparatus for manufacturing a printed circuit board (hereafter referred to as “PCB”), in which a wavelength conversion ultraviolet laser (hereafter referred to as “wavelength conversion UV laser”) of a pulse-driven type is employed.
Currently, regarding a wavelength conversion UV laser, it is generally considered that, in order to subject an infrared (hereinafter referred to as “IR”) laser beam to nonlinear wavelength conversion at high efficiency, the IR laser is desirably pulse-driven to increase the peak power. Under the present circumstances, an IR laser which has a pulse repetition frequency of 80 MHz (a pulse repetition period of 12.5 nanoseconds (ns)) and has a pulse width of 12 picoseconds (ps) is used for image exposure of a presensitized plate (PS plate) or the like.
When the above-mentioned IR laser is used for the image exposure of a PS plate or the like, if the pulse repetition period (pulse repetition frequency) interferes with the image exposure period (data frequency) of the scanning exposure, it becomes impossible to carry out a proper image exposure. Then, the image exposure period and the pulse repetition period need to be synchronized.
However, the IR laser which is currently used for the image exposure, as described above, has a high pulse repetition frequency of 80 MHz, and has a very narrow pulse width of 12 picoseconds.
For this reason, such a high performance as a sampling frequency of about 100 GHz is required for a photoelectric conversion device used for synchronization with the pulse repetition period of the IR laser, and an electronic circuit for generating a synchronous signal based on the output from the photoelectric conversion device. As a result, there is a problem in that the photoelectric conversion device and the electronic circuit become expensive to increase the total cost.
Then, there is proposed a technique for preventing a loss of synchronism between the image exposure period and the pulse repetition period of a pulsed laser by increasing the pulse repetition period (refer to JP 2002-523905 A for example).
The laser repetition rate multiplier (hereinafter referred to as “repetition multiplier”) disclosed in JP 2002-523905 A is a device in which, after one beam emitted from a pulsed infrared laser is split into a plurality of split beams to which are given different delay times, respectively, the split beams are combined into a single beam, thereby reducing the peak power of the resultant beam to increase the pulse repetition period. In the repetition multiplier disclosed in JP 2002-523905 A, a pulse repetition frequency of 80 MHz is, for example, quadrupled to 320 MHz, thereby suppressing the interference between the pulse repetition period and the image exposure period of the scanning exposure.
However, in the case of the repetition multiplier disclosed in JP 2002-523905 A, optical path differences are provided using a plurality of mirrors to give the different delay times to the split beams, respectively, thereby delaying the split beams. For this reason, there is a problem in that the device construction becomes complicated.
In addition, in order to combine the split beams, high assembly precision is required for the constituent elements such as a lens and a mirror. As described above, the repetition multiplier disclosed in JP 2002-523905 A involves a problem in that since the device construction becomes complicated and the high assembly precision is also required, the cost is increased.
Moreover, for equalization of the peak output of all the split beams, the reflectivity and the transmittance of the mirrors need to be set to their respective, predetermined values. Thus, a high quality is required also for the elements constituting the device. | {
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Generally, in a multi-layered device for modulating electromagnetic radiation employing an electrochromic material, a physical/chemical change is produced within the electrochromic layer in response to electron or ion transfer caused by an externally applied electrical potential. This change results in modulation of the reflectivity and transmissivity of the device with respect to electromagnetic radiation directed thereagainst. Such devices generally comprise consecutive layers of electrochromic material, an electrolyte-containing fast ion conductor, and a counterelectrode. The exchange of ions between the electrochromic and fast ion conductor layers, when an electrical potential is applied across the device, comprises the mechanism by which the electrochromic layer becomes either bleached (substantially transparent, either lightly colored or colorless) or opaque. By reversing the polarity of the electrical potential applied across the device, it may be "switched" between the bleached and opaque states. Depending upon the magnitude and duration of the applied electrical potential, an intermediate, generally colored, translucent state may be induced, wherein the electrochromic layer contains a concentration of ions sufficient only to reduce the transmissivity of the device but not make it completely opaque to electro-magnetic radiation. Thus, depending upon the manner in which the device is operated, i.e., the polarity, magnitude, and duration of the voltage applied, it may be adjusted to have an electromagnetic radiation transmissivity from 0% to greater than about 90%, with an inversely corresponding reflectivity.
In typical electromagnetic radiation modulating devices, the electrochromic layer comprises an inorganic metal oxide, most commonly a transition metal oxide such as, for example, tungsten oxide. The electrolyte-containing fast ion conductor layer adjacent the electrochromic layer is generally adapted to provide a positively charged light cation such as, for example, a lithium ion. As an example of the operation of a typical electrochromic device, when lithium ions are introduced into a tungsten oxide electrochromic layer, the layer changes from a colorless transparent state to a dark blue-black color; where the tungsten oxide electrochromic layer is sufficiently thick, the induced coloration causes the tungsten oxide electrochromic layer to become opaque to electromagnetic radiation, e.g., the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The electrolyte-containing fast ion conductor layer may be a liquid electrolyte solution such as, for example, lithium perchlorate in propylene carbonate; a gel such as, for example, a solution of methanol in polyvinyl butyral doped with lithium chloride; or a solid such as, for example, porous silicon dioxide doped with lithium salts.
Counterelectrodes are generally prepared from a transition metal oxide such as, for example, vanadium oxide or tungsten oxide, or an electroconductive polymer such as, for example, polypyrrole or polythiophene.
In those electrochromic devices generally known in the prior art and discussed hereinabove, the electrochromic layer is the medium which provides the variation in electromagnetic radiation transmissivity and reflectivity; the electrolyte fast ion conductor and counterelectrode layers generally being transparent.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/338,261 to Demiryont discloses an electrochromic device, comprising first and second spaced-apart transparent electrodes and an electrochromic matrix material layer therebetween. The matrix layer comprises a substantially uniform mixture of: a metal salt such as, for example, copper chloride; an ion conductive enhancer such as, for example, lithium nitrate; and an ion conductive material such as, for example, polyvinyl butyral gel. Although the electrodes are transparent, the electrochromic device appears light yellow in transmitted color due to the color of the metal salt which is in solution in the matrix layer. When an electrical potential is applied across the electrodes, the metal atoms of the metal salt plate onto the cathode while the metal salt anions migrate toward the anode. In this state, the electrochromic device may be opaque to electromagnetic radiation, depending upon the thickness of the metal layer formed at the cathode. The device, however, has what is known in the electrochromics art as a "short term memory." The matrix layer readily reverts to its initial state, i.e., the metal layer redisolves back into the matrix layer which takes on a light yellow color in transmitted light, when the electrical potential is removed from the electrochromic device. It is further disclosed that a counterelectrode may be interposed between the matrix layer and the anode. This counterelectrode minimizes the formation of a gas at the anode caused by the migration of anions toward the anode where they are oxidized, such as occurs when copper chloride is used as the metal salt resulting in the production of chlorine gas at the anode.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,379 to Green discloses an electrochromic device comprising consecutively: a first electrode such as, for example, tin oxide coated glass; a metal sensitive colorable electrochromic material such as, for example, tungsten oxide; a metal ion-containing fast ion conductor such as, for example, rubidium silver pentaiodide; and a second electrode such as, for example, silver. The metal ion of the fast ion conductor is effective to color the electrochromic material layer when injected therein. The second electrode must be formed from a material containing metal identical to the metal ions of the fast ion conductor. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, when an electrical potential is applied across the device, silver ions from a silver second electrode are injected into a rubidium silver pentaiodide fast ion conductor, while other silver ions from the fast ion conductor are injected into a tungsten oxide electrochromic material causing it to turn blue. It is disclosed that the second electrode can be very small, such as a Dag contact placed on the surface of the fast ion conductor layer (as opposed to a continuous film adhered to the fast ion conductor), and serves merely as a source of the fast metal ions. The second electrode does not participate in the modulation of the transmitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation.
It would be desirable to prepare an electromagnetic radiation modulating device, wherein modulation of the transmissivity and reflectivity of electromagnetic radiation could be precisely controlled over a wide range. Such a device would be particularly useful were it able to substantially reduce the transmission of infrared radiation as well as visible light rays. Thus, the device could be used to prevent the passage of heat energy therethrough, and would therefore be especially suited for use as an automotive or architectural glazing. Furthermore, the usefulness of such a device would be particularly enhanced were it able to maintain an established transmissivity or reflectivity after the removal of an electrical potential. | {
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As antibiotics were commonly used, multi-drug-resistant bacteria, particularly methicillin-resistant bacteria have widely occurred and these resistant bacteria have brought about a clinical problem. The methicillin-resistant bacteria can exhibit a resistance not only against methicillin but also against many antibiotics such as antibiotics of aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, β-lactams and macrolides.
In recent years, drug-resistant bacteria have appeared even against vancomycin which is an antibiotic known as a last remaining card for the therapy of infections of the methicillin-resistant bacteria. Thus, there is now a keen request for finding and providing a novel compound which can exhibit excellent antibacterial activities against the drug-resistant bacteria, particularly the methicillin-resistant bacteria and vancomycin-resistant bacteria.
An object of this invention is to provide a novel antibiotic which has excellent antibacterial activities and is capable of meeting the requisites as above-mentioned. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rubber compositions. More particularly, the present invention relates to improvements in the rate of cure and the properties of vulcanized products such as tensile strength when sulfur vulcanization of known elastomers containing unsaturated double bonds is carried out, and to rubber compositions having excellent co-vulcanization ability when blended with other rubbers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, sulfur vulcanization has been widely practised in the rubber industry. Commonly, vulcanization has been carried out by mixing an unsaturated elastomer together with sulfur, a metal oxide such as ZnO, CdO, MgO, PbO, CaO or NiO, etc., fatty acids, vulcanization accelerators and another additives for rubber compositions, and pressing with heating. Vulcanization of this type is believed to proceed as follows. ##STR1##
The above described reactions are one model of vulcanization. Practically, these reactions are accompanied by other very complicated reactions. Thus, it has been believed that such reactions form heterogeneous cross-linking points. Accordingly, the properties of the rubber can be further improved in a vulcanization of such a type, if a more homogeneous vulcanization is carried out. It is also known that low unsaturated rubbers such as EPDM and IIR have a good weather-proofing property and particularly good ozone cracking resistance, because such rubbers have a small number of double bonds in the structure. However, these rubbers have essential defects in that they have poor tackiness and thus the molding or processing involved in producing products which require complicated workings such as tires and belts, etc., are difficult to carry out and also sulfur vulcanization which has a rapid rate of cure is difficult to carry out because of the presence of a small amount of unsaturated bonds. At the present time, even though many studies have been made to improve these defects, satisfactory results have not been obtained.
On the other hand, high unsaturated rubbers such as NR and SBR have essential defects in that they have a poor heat resistance and a poor weather-proofing property because of a large number of double bonds (unsaturated groups) in the structure.
For the purpose of improving the weather-proofing property of these highly unsaturated rubbers, production of blends of these rubbers and the above described low unsaturated rubbers has been attempted. However, although blends having a certain mixing ratio wherein one of the two rubbers is present in a small amount can be practically used, a practical blend of both rubbers at a suitable ratio has not been achieved, because they form a heterogeneous phase resulting in a deterioration of properties, since both rubbers have essentially different properties. The reasons are that there is no interaction between the two rubbers because they are incompatible with each other and that it is difficult to carry out homogeneous vulcanization of the blend because each rubber has a different rate of cure on sulfur vulcanization. Accordingly, many studies have been made in order to obtain good co-vulcanized products by blending these rubbers.
Namely, the following approaches have been suggested:
(1) to increase the amount of sulfur added, PA0 (2) to vulcanize using peroxides, PA0 (3) to increase the amount of the third component (ethylidenenorbornene) so as to increase the rate of cure of EPDM itself, PA0 (4) to modify EPDM with halogens, and PA0 (5) to blend a slightly pre-vulcanized EPDM so that the cure rates of the rubbers more close by approach each other. PA0 (1) an unsaturated rubber with sulfur and a sulfur cleaving agent; PA0 (2) an unsaturated rubber with a mercaptan compound; PA0 (3) a previously halogenated unsaturated rubber and a metal salt of the sulfur cleaving agent; or PA0 (4) an unsaturated rubber, a sulfur cleaving agent and a compound having a functional group such as a nitrile oxide, a nitroso or a thionylamine.
However, these methods are not practical. A good result can be obtained only where EPDM is modified by bromine. However, this case is suitable only for a special use, because the brominating agent as the modifier is expensive, the bromine is dangerous to humans, and storage ability is inferior because the vulcanization of the brominated EPDM itself proceeds at room temperature by metal oxides or amines after mixing. Consequently, it is not actually used as an available rubber. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In a typical cellular radio system, mobile user equipment (UE) communicates via a radio access radio network (RAN) to one or more core networks. User equipment (UEs) comprises various types of equipment such as mobile telephones (also known as cellular or cell phones), lap tops with wireless communication capability, personal digital assistants (PDAs) etc. These may be portable, hand held, pocket sized, installed in a vehicle etc and communicate voice and/or data signals with the radio access network.
The radio access network covers a geographical area divided into a plurality of cell areas. Each cell area is served by at least one base station, which may be referred to as a Node B. Each cell is identified by a unique identifier which is broadcast in the cell. The base stations communicate at radio frequencies over an air interface with the UEs within range of the base station. Several base stations may be connected to a radio network controller (RNC) which controls various activities of the base stations. The radio network controllers are typically connected to a core network.
An example of a radio access network is the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). UMTS is a third generation mobile communication system and essentially relates to a wide band code division multiple access (W-CDMA) system.
W-CDMA technology allows simultaneous communication between user equipment and a plurality of base stations using a common frequency band. Signals occupying a common frequency band are discriminated in the receiving base station through spread spectrum CDMA waveform properties based on the use of a high speed, pseudo-noise (PN) code. These high speed PN codes are used to modulate signals transmitted from the base stations and the user equipment. A transmitting station uses a PN code to produce signals that can be separately demodulated at a receiving station. In CDMA therefore a user equipment unit need not switch frequency when handover of the connection is made from one cell to another. Thus, a destination cell can support a connection to the user equipment at the same time as the original cell continues to provide service. Since the UE is always communicating through at least one cell during hand over, there is no disruption to the call.
There are several interfaces defined in the UTRAN. In some instances a connection involves both a serving or source RNC (SRNC) and a target or drift RNC (DRNC), with the SRNC controlling the connection but with one or more diversity legs of the connection being handled by the DRNC. UMTS has both common transport channels and dedicated transport channels. Common transport channels include the random access channels (RACH), the forward access channel (FACH), the common packet channel (CPCH) and the downlink shared channel (DSCH). Dedicated transport channels include the dedicated channel (DCH). These transport channels are described for example in one or more of the following specifications: ETSI TS 125.211 Version 3.12.0 “Physical Channels and Mapping of Transport Channels on to Physical Channel (FDD)”; ETSI TS 125.221 Version 3.11.0 “Physical Channels and Mapping of Transport Channels on to Physical Channel (TDD)”; ETSI TS 125.331 Version 3.15.0 “Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification.
When switching from a dedicated to a common channel in UMTS, the UE is assigned a temporary identifier known as C-RNTI (Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier). This temporary identifier C-RNTI is specific to a cell and is valid in the cell where the UE uses resources. The C-RNTI is used to distinguish between different user equipment in that cell.
When switching from dedicated channels to common channels, the network can assign the radio resources to be used only if the UE is in a cell under control of the serving SNC (SRNC). In other words, if the UE is in a cell under the control of a drift RNC (DRNC) rather than SRNC, it is not possible for the network to assign the radio resources to be used when switching from dedicated channels to common channels. This results in longer signalling sequences between the UE and the network as well as additional delay when switching from dedicated channels to common channels. The UE itself must obtain the temporary identifier C-RNTI by additionally signalling between the UE and UTRAN before continuing to communicate with the network. Furthermore, the lack of information regarding which range of resources to use means that the UE needs to detect and read information about the range of resources and the broadcast channel in the cell before accessing the cell. This again incurs additionally delay when switching from dedicated channels to common channels. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A toner image which has been formed by electrophotography or the like is irreversibly fixed by a fixing procedure to obtain a hard copy. An irreversible fixing process utilizing heat is called "heat fixing process". An irreversible fixing process utilizing pressure alone is called "pressure fixing process". Examples of the heat fixing process include fixing process in which fixing is effected in a non-contact system such as oven fixing process and radiant heating process, fixing process in which fixing is effected in contact with toner images under some pressure such as heat roll fixing process, and fixing process in which light energy is absorbed by a toner to heat and fix the toner such as flash fixing process.
Such a heat fixing process is disadvantageous in that it consumes a considerably large amount of electric power. For example, even the heat roll fixing process, which provides a relatively good thermal efficiency, consumes at its fixing step about half the power consumption of the entire electrophotographic system. It goes without saying that if the toner is molten at a low temperature, the power consumption of the fixing system can be lowered. However, this approach deteriorates the preservability of the toner, causing toner blocking or the like. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electrochemistry and, more particularly, to electrochemical sensors.
2. Background Information
Electrochemical sensors are used in an expansive variety of applications to measure parameters of importance to chemical and physical processes of all kinds, from biochemical to industrial. A variety of electrochemical measurements are of frequent interest. For example, many chemical processes, including biochemical processes, optimally occur at a particular pH; monitoring the pH of a solution involved in the process thus frequently provides important information as to the process and can signal departures from normal. Another type of measurement that is frequently made is the conductivity of a solution. Conductivity measurements provide information as to the ionic strength of the solution, and are often important in their own right as well as in providing information as to the effect of conductivity on chemical reactions. In addition to these basic characteristics, measurements of characteristics such as the oxidation/reduction potential of a reaction occurring at specific electrodes provide information as to the nature of the constituents taking part in reactions.
Typically, electrochemical sensors are specialized for the particular parameter being measured. Thus, pH is usually determined by means of a potentiometric sensor that commonly includes a glass membrane that is selective for the H+ ion. Acidity or alkalinity is usually determined by a titration, i.e., by adding aliquots of a base in the case of an acid solution, and of an acid in the case of a basic solution, until the preexisting acid or base in the solution is entirely neutralized. A sensor, which may be a pH sensor, is used to determine the point at which balance is achieved. Conductance of a solution is typically determined by yet another instrument, which applies a voltage across a measured length of the solution and which measures the resultant current. Thus, to make several types of measurements on a particular solution typically requires the use of several different instruments.
Semiconductor chips have heretofore been used as sensor elements in electrochemical sensors. One such element is a Field Effect Transistor, specifically, an Ion-Selective Field Effect Transistor (ISFET). In such a device, the transistor is formed with the usual gate, source, and drain electrodes, with the potential applied to the gate controlling the conductivity between the source and the drain. In contrast to conventional FET devices, however, the gate electrode is left exposed and thus can be placed directly in contact with a liquid solution when the chip is immersed in such a solution. The gate is thus made responsive to the electrochemical potential of the solution in its neighborhood, and the current flow between the transistor source and drain provides an indication of this potential.
A device of the type described above has been known for use as an electrochemical sensor in an aqueous solution. See van der Schoot and Bergveld, Sensor and Actuators, vol. 8 (1985), pp. 11-22. In this application, a “generating electrode” in the form of a thin layer of a noble metal such as gold or platinum is deposited around the exposed gate of the ISFET. A counter electrode and a reference electrode are likewise deposited on the chip substrate, in the vicinity of the generating electrode. The electrodes are of substantial area. Current pulses applied between the generating electrode and the counter electrode generate titrant for the solution in which the sensor is immersed. If the current is made anodic at the generating electrode, H+ ions are generated at the location of the gate, and these ions titrate a basic solution. Conversely, if the current is made cathodic at the generating electrode, OH− ions are generated at the location of the gate, and these ions titrate an acidic solution. In either case, the end point is detected by the change in pH at the ISFET gate. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The communications industry is rapidly changing to adjust to emerging technologies and ever increasing customer demand. This customer demand for new applications and increased performance of existing applications is driving communications network and system providers to employ networks and systems having greater speed and capacity (e.g., greater bandwidth). In trying to achieve these goals, a common approach taken by many communications providers is to use packet switching technology.
A ring network is a network topology in which each network node connects to exactly two other nodes, forming a single continuous pathway for signals through each node. Data travels from node to node, with each node along the way handling every packet. | {
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Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Electric motor actuators for robotic and automation systems often require a transmission (speed reducer) in order to operate within the speed-torque requirements of a specific application and of the motor. Commonly used systems include multi-stage gearboxes, timing belts, cable drive, harmonic drives, and cycloid gearboxes. These systems are often too inefficient, susceptible to overload damage, heavy, and require expensive precision manufacturing. Such systems are also often too expensive for consumer products when high performance is required.
As an example, harmonic drive systems can be used in high performance applications where low backlash and gear-ratios greater than 50:1 are required. The harmonic drive is proprietary, heavy, inefficient, and expensive for consumer application. As another example, cable drive systems can be lightweight and efficient; however, achieving useful transmission ratios may lead to complex multi-stage designs that require high preload forces, large cable bend radii, and challenging cable management. Often it is desired to integrate a torque sensor such as a strain gauge load cell at or near the output of the transmission in order to achieve closed loop torque control. Practically, such as a case on a rotating output hub, integration of this sensor can prove challenging as the sensor wires typically rotate with the transmission output, and therefore, requires cable management, adding complexity and increasing the number of failure points. | {
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The invention is directed to a device for the output of safety-related road information in computerized locating and navigating systems of land vehicles.
Drivers of land vehicles, particularly passenger vehicles or trucks, obtain road information by means of traffic signs which are posted on the edge of the road, at bridge-like carriers over the roads, or as highway markings.
For drivers unacquainted with the location, the flood of information which they must evaluate for their orientation is so great that they easily overlook important information, particularly danger signs, or drive so slowly that they impede or endanger the flowing traffic. But even when particularly attentive, it may happen that drivers can not perceive traffic signs because they are soiled or hidden by stopped vehicles or vehicles driving alongside or are destroyed in a traffic accident.
Indications of nursery schools, schools, homes for the aged and the blind, grades, construction sites, underpasses, curves, and the like are mentioned as examples. In most cases, overlooking information does not lead to consequential damages, but through an unfortunate chain of events the lacking information can be a decisive contributing factor of an accident. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Multiple applications for digital video communication and storage currently exist, and multiple international standards have been and are continuing to be developed in response. Low bit rate communications, such as video telephony and videoconferencing, led the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to develop the H.261 standard with bit rates as multiples of 64 kbps and the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) to develop the MPEG-1 standard, which provides picture quality comparable to that of Video Home System (VHS) videotape.
ITU-T H.264/MPEG-4 is a recent video coding standard that makes use of several advanced video coding tools to provide better compression performance than existing video coding standards such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and ITU H.263. The core of all of these standards is a hybrid video coding technique of block motion compensation plus transform coding.
Generally, block motion compensation is used to remove temporal redundancy between successive images (frames), whereas transform (e.g., discrete cosine transformation, or DCT) coding is used to remove spatial redundancy within each frame. As will be illustrated below, H.264/AVC functions include quantization of the transforms of block prediction errors (either from block motion compensation or from intra-frame prediction and based upon macroblocks, or MBs, of 16 pixels by 16 pixels). The quantized transform coefficients are entropy encoded. A rate control unit is responsible for generating a quantization parameter (qp) by adapting to a target transmission bit rate and output buffer-fullness; a larger quantization step implies more vanishing and/or smaller quantized transform coefficients which means fewer and/or shorter codewords and consequent smaller bit rates and files. The entropy coding for the quantized transform coefficients may be either context-adaptive variable-length coding (CAVLC) or context-based adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC).
More generally, after quantizing, the computed signals are converted to several meaningful symbols, and each symbol is encoded with some entropy coding technology. Because the essence of entropy coding is to assign shorter codewords to more frequent symbols and longer codewords to less frequent symbols, entropy coding modules typically employ lookup tables of variable-length coding (VLC) codewords (often called “VLC tables”) to encode symbols efficiently.
As video coding standards expand, they have begun to encounter advanced applications that would particularly benefit from higher compression efficiency. To achieve higher compression efficiency, recent video coding standards have made several modifications to previous entropy coding techniques. The idea common among these modifications is adaptive switching of the coding parameters so that the size of the generated coefficients may be minimized. Typical categories of techniques used in recent video coding standards are: (1) Coding as side information: Coding parameters (VLC table indexes in most cases) are encoded as side information. A decoder decodes the side information to use the designated coding parameters. (2) Computing from surrounding information: Based on the recognition that spatially neighboring coefficients tend to have some similarity, coding parameters are computed from information regarding surrounding coefficients. (3) Using accumulated statistics: An initial set of coding parameters is generated and thereafter updated based on the coded symbols.
Category (3) includes the adaptive VLC scheme used in scalable video coding (SVC), which is currently being standardized as Annex G of H.264/AVC. In a wider sense, the arithmetic coding technology used in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) 2000 standard and the H.264/AVC standard are classified in category (3) as well, because the context of the arithmetic coder is updated depending on the coded binary symbols. In this way, the entropy coding technique using accumulated statistics (hereinafter denoted as “accumulated statistics-based entropy coding”) is used in various coding standards.
Though they are effective, the computational intensity of the CAVLC of H.264/AVC and the adaptive VLC of SVC (Annex G of H.264/AVC) and other such methods presents a problem, especially for mobile, battery-powered devices such as digital cameras. | {
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The present invention relates to a method of detecting a train in a block section using a track circuit, and particularly to a train detecting method which is capable of maintaining safety even in the event of a failure in a signal transmission path of the track circuit.
A conventional railway system employs a method which uses a track as part of a signal transmission path to detect the existence of a train in a block section. In such a method, the track is electrically divided into plural sections, each having a predetermined length. Such a section forms a part of an electric circuit, which is commonly referred to as a track circuit. At respective ends of each track circuit, there are arranged transmitter/receiver devices, one of which transmits a signal for detecting a train continuously or at a constant time interval and the other of which receives the transmitted signal.
If a train does not exist in the section formed by a track circuit, a signal transmitted by a unit on the transmitting side is able to reach the unit on the receiving side. If, however, a train exists in the section formed by the track circuit, a signal transmitted by a unit on the transmitting side does not reach the unit on the receiving side, because the pair of rails which form the track circuit are short-circuited by the wheels of the train. Thereby, the existence of a train in the section can be detected.
In detecting the existence of a train, a high reliability is required, because a control device on the ground (a wayside controller) utilizes a train detecting signal generated as described above to locate the train and to operate traffic signals for the train. Particularly, for the purpose of securing adequate safety in the train service, it is absolutely essential to avoid possibility that, although a train actually exists within a certain section forming a track circuit and therefore the pair of rails which form the track are short-circuited, a signal indicating no train in the section of the track circuit is erroneously transmitted, possibly due to a failure in a transmitter/receiver device, for example.
Conventionally, to solve such a problem, highly reliable equipment has been used for the transmitter/receiver devices installed in every track circuit, as well as for the wayside controller. When any trouble occurs in transmitting or receiving signals, the control which is carried out is as follows: i.e., no signal is transmitted on the transmitting side, and a determination is then made as to whether no signal is received on the receiving side.
In the conventional system as mentioned above, the large number of transmitter/receiver devices must be subject to very careful maintenance. Further, an individual signal cable is used for the connection between every transmitter/receiver device and the wayside controller, in order to avoid possible misrecognition of information among the devices.
Furthermore, JP-A 6-92232 proposes that a signal, which has a different frequency for every track circuit, be used in order to avoid erroneously receiving a train detecting signal from an adjacent track circuit.
To sum up, as described above, when any trouble occurs in transmitting or receiving, the conventional system carries out control in such a manner that, if trouble occurs on the transmitting side, no signal is transmitted, and if it occurs on the receiving side, it is judged that no signal is received. To this end, highly reliable devices must be utilized for a transmitter/receiver device. As a result, the transmitter/receiver device has become complicated in its structure and therefore cannot be made small in size.
Since such a device is needed for every track circuit, the total system becomes extremely high in cost. Further, in order for a transmitter/receiver device to achieve the above mentioned control, it must be sufficiently maintained and inspected. Such maintenance and inspection work is very troublesome, since the work must be done for every one of a large number of devices arranged along a wayside.
Further, while the technology disclosed in JP-A-6-92232 might have the effect to avoid erroneously receiving a train detecting signal from an adjacent track circuit, it cannot solve the problem of being high in cost, due to its complicated system construction, which is needed for maintaining the reliability of a transmitter/receiver device, nor the problem of being very troublesome in the amount of maintenance and inspection work required to assure proper operation thereof.
An object of the present invention is to provide a train detection system of simple construction for detecting the existence of a train and which is easily operable on a fail-safe basis when trouble occurs in transmitting or receiving a signal indicating the existence of a train in a track circuit section.
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a train detection system which can easily detect a failure in a signal transmission path with a simple structure.
The above mentioned objects can be attained by a train detection system comprising a transmitter for transmitting a train detecting signal to a track circuit, a receiver for receiving the train detecting signal from the track circuit, and a wayside controller connected to the transmitter and the receiver through a data transmission path for supplying the train detecting signal to the transmitter and receiving the train detecting signal from the receiver to detect the existence of a train, wherein the transmitter comprises a unique code memory for storing first unique code data and for adding the first unique code data to the train detecting signal received from the wayside controller, which signal is then transmitted to the track circuit, wherein the receiver comprises a unique code memory for storing second unique code data and for adding the second unique code data to the train detecting signal with the first unique code data received from the track circuit, which signal is then transmitted to the wayside controller, and wherein the wayside controller comprises unique code checking means for checking whether or not the first unique code data and the second unique code data received from the receiver agree with the contents of predetermined stored data.
With the above mentioned construction, even if any failure occurs in a transmitter or a receiver and the receiver erroneously produces a detecting signal indicating no existence of a train to a wayside controller, the controller judges the possibility of the train existence and can perform safe control, because the detecting signal does not include the required unique code data or, if included, the included unique code data is not correct.
If any failure occurs in another portion of the transmission path, the failure can be detected in a similar way. Further, if the receiver erroneously receives a signal from an adjacent track circuit, which is transmitted to the wayside controller, the controller can judge that it is an error signal.
According to the above mentioned construction, if only a wayside controller for checking the unique codes is constructed with a very high reliability, a transmitter/receiver device to be provided for every track circuit can be made with a simple structure, which can reduce the cost of the total system (only one wayside controller is required for a lot of track circuits).
Further, if the wayside controller is highly reliable, there occurs no serious problem, even if the transmitter/receiver device itself provided in every track circuit has a relatively low reliability. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the maintenance and inspection work of many transmitter/receiver devices arranged along a railway. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Dendrometers are metrology or scientific instruments used for measuring various dimensions of trees, such as their diameter, size, shape, age, overall volume and thickness of the bark. One of the most frequently measurements acquired in the field includes DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) of trees. DBH is adopted in estimating the amount of timber volume in a single tree or stand of trees utilizing the allometric correlation between stem diameter, tree height and timber volume. DBH is also employed in estimating the age of veteran trees, given that girth or diameter increment of a tree is the only, constant non-reversible feature of growth. Currently, the two most common dendrometers are a girthing (or diameter) tape and calipers. However, these known instruments often require site visit of personnel to the trees-of-interest, which is costly and tedious for surveying forest tree plots of wide or remote areas. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Aircraft pilots often maneuver an aircraft while on the ground. This may happen during ground operations such as when the aircraft is taxiing, being maneuvered to or from a hangar, or to or from a terminal.
Obstacles on the ground, such as structures, other vehicles and other obstacles, may lie in the path of the aircraft. These obstacles can be detected by the pilot via line of sight. However, in many instances, due to the dimensions of the aircraft (e.g., large wing sweep angles, distance from cockpit to wingtip) and the pilot's limited field of view, it can be difficult to monitor extremes of the aircraft during ground operations. As a result, the operator may fail to detect obstacles that are located in “blind spots” in proximity to the aircraft. In many cases, the pilot may not detect an obstacle until it is too late to take corrective action. To alleviate this, many aircraft include active sensors or cameras or to sense potential or imminent strikes.
Collisions with an obstacle can not only damage the aircraft, but can also put the aircraft out of service and result in flight cancellations. The costs associated with the repair and grounding of an aircraft are significant. As such, the timely detection and avoidance of obstacles that lie in the ground path of a vehicle is an important issue that needs to be addressed.
Currently, there is no economical system available to protect aircraft from wingtip strikes. As aircraft increase in size, the probability and cost of a strike incident increases. Therefore, there is a need for a system that can be retro-fitted onto aircraft with a minimum of effort, and that does not rely on active sensors or flight crew personnel. The present invention addresses at least this need. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Sensing devices are widely used in consumer, commercial, industrial, medical, environmental, and military applications. Sensors that detect molecules, that is biosensors and chemical sensors of various types, are gaining increasing importance in the sensor field. Sensors currently exist that detect volatile organic compounds in the air and can be used to differentiate odors. Other types of sensors, such as immunosensors, can detect certain small or large molecules with a high degree of specificity. Still others detect very large molecules, such as DNA or RNA. There exist yet other sensors that are useful in detection of biochemical surface markers on disease-causing bacteria or viruses. For some types of sensors, low sensitivity may not be a limiting problem, as it may have been in the past. Instead, the sensitivity of a particular sensor may be so great that a relatively small number of molecules may be detected if they enter the operating zone (detection area or “sweet spot”) of the sensor.
Technologies are being developed with the potential to detect single molecules or individual molecular events. Such technologies may also be useful in detecting a single organism that may be harmful, such as: a bacterium, virus, or other pathogen, such as a prion. Detection of extremely low concentrations of toxic gas molecules in the air also may be achieved. However, if the concentration of the species to be detected (analyte) is very low, the probability of a single molecule entering the operating zone of the sensor would also be very low, and the arrival of analyte in a relatively tiny operating zone of a sensor might be a rare event. The probable time for the analyte in so low a concentration to migrate to the sensor operating zone could consequently be long or excessively long. Thus, the analyte would often not be detected quickly, if at all, even if the sensitivity of the sensor were more than adequate. For simplicity, analytes are often referred to herein as molecules or particles.
One solution to this problem of infrequent encounters between analyte and sensor is to increase the surface area of the sensor in contact with the milieu in which the analyte is to be detected. This approach has several distinct disadvantages. Typically, the cost of material of which sensors are made is high. Increasing the effective area of the operating zone may therefore be expensive. In addition, making the sensor much larger may often defeat its purpose. For example, it might no longer be sized appropriately for the application, as in an implantable device for human use or an unobtrusive detector for possible bioterrorism. Another solution to the problem is to concentrate the analyte prior to analysis. This approach may be less costly and may entail minimal increase in size of the overall system, however, the signal to noise ratio might not be improved if molecules in the milieu that interfere nonspecifically with detection of the analyte are concentrated along with the analyte. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic watermarking method, a digital information distribution system using such a method, and a storage medium storing a program of such a method. More particularly, the invention relates to electronic watermarking techniques for protecting a copyright of digital information such as moving image data, still image data, voice data, computer data, and computer programs, and to a digital information distribution system using such techniques suitable for use with a multimedia network.
2. Related Background Art
With recent developments of computer networks and widespread use of inexpensive and high performance computers, electronic commerce of selling and buying commodities on networks is prevalent. Commodities sold and bought in electronic commerce may be digital data including images.
However, digital data has a general property that a number of perfect copies of the digital data can be made easily. There is therefore a possibility that a user who bought a commodity of digital data illegally makes copies of the same quality as the original digital data and redistributes them to other users. In this case, a copyright holder of the commodity or an agent (sales agent) entrusted by the copyright holder cannot receive a proper countervalue to be paid for the commodity, and the copyright is infringed.
If the copyright holder or sales agent (hereinafter both are collectively called a server which can legally distribute commodities of digital data) sends a commodity to a buyer once, it is impossible to entirely prevent illegal copies of the commodity. As techniques for effectively protecting copyright instead of directly preventing illegal copies, techniques using a so-called xe2x80x9celectronic watermarkxe2x80x9d have been proposed.
Electronic watermark techniques embed copyright information of digital data and user information of a buyer in original digital data itself by processing the original digital data, to thereby identify the person who illegally copied and redistributed the digital data.
A conventional system using electronic watermark techniques relies upon an assumption that a server is a perfectly trustful facility. If the server is not trustful and performs illegal operations, even a user not making illegal copies in a conventional system may be made chargeable with illegal copies, by the server.
This claim by the server of a conventional electronic watermark system cannot be refuted by users because of the following reason. The server embeds user information in original digital data (in the following, image data is used by way of example) in order to identify the user. Therefore, if the server illegally distributes copies by intentionally embedding information of a particular user, this particular user is judged as illegal.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problem and provide reliable prevention of illegal use of digital data as well as reduction of an amount of communication and calculation necessary for such reliable prevention.
According to one aspect of the invention, an electronic watermarking method comprises: a first step of generating a plurality of pieces of information having different electronic watermark information; a second step of generating a plurality of pieces of encrypted information through encryption of each of the plurality of pieces of information with each of a plurality of independent encryption keys; a third step of generating a plurality of encrypted encryption keys through encryption of each independent encryption key with each of the other independent encryption keys; a fourth step of transmitting the plurality of pieces of encrypted information and the plurality of encrypted encryption keys to a user, the first to fourth steps being executed by a server; and a fifth step of selecting, for each piece of information, a pair comprising a piece of the plurality of pieces of encrypted information and a corresponding encrypted encryption key, the fifth step being executed by the user, wherein only some of the encryption keys are multiplied by random numbers.
Another feature of the electronic watermarking method of the invention, is that the server generates an encrypted random number through encryption of a random number, reserves the encrypted random number, and transmits the encrypted random number to the user.
Another feature of the electronic watermarking method of the invention, is that a validity of an electronic watermark is verified.
Another feature of the electronic watermarking method of the invention, is that a validity of an electronic watermark is verified repetitively.
According to another aspect of the invention, an electronic watermarking method is provided in which a validity of electronic watermark information of a user embedded through an electronic watermarking process is guaranteed through an encryption process, wherein the electronic watermark information of the user is inspected.
Another feature of the electronic watermarking method of the invention, is that a signature of the user is verified by using an anonymous public key with a certificate issued by a certification facility.
Another feature of the electronic watermarking method of the invention, is that an image format is used which has a header field storing information to be used for inspecting the encryption process and/or electronic watermark embedding process.
According to another aspect of the invention, a digital information distribution system comprises: first means for generating a plurality of pieces of information having different electronic watermark information; second means for generating a plurality of pieces of encrypted information through encryption of each of the plurality of pieces of information with each of a plurality of independent encryption keys; third means for generating a plurality of encrypted encryption keys through encryption of each independent encryption key with each of the other independent encryption keys; fourth means for transmitting the plurality of pieces of encrypted information and the plurality of encrypted encryption keys to a user, a server being provided with the first to fourth means; fifth means for selecting, for each piece of information, a pair comprising a piece of the plurality of pieces of encrypted information and a corresponding encrypted encryption key, the user being provided with the fifth means; and sixth means for multiplying only some of the encryption keys; by random numbers.
Another feature of the digital information distribution system is that the system further comprises seventh means for generating an encrypted random number through encryption of a random number, reserving the encrypted random number, and transmitting the encrypted random number to the user, the server being provided with the seventh means.
Another feature of the digital information distribution system is that the system further comprises eighth means for verifying a validity of an electronic watermark.
Another feature of the digital information distribution system is that a validity of an electronic watermark is verified repetitively.
According to another aspect of the invention, a digital information distribution system is provided in which a validity of electronic watermark information of a user embedded through an electronic watermarking process is guaranteed through an encryption process, wherein the system comprises inspection means for inspecting the electronic watermark information of the user.
Another feature of the digital information distribution system is that the system further comprises inspection means for inspecting a signature of the user by using an anonymous public key with a certificate issued by a certification facility.
Another feature of the digital information distribution system is that an image format is used which has a header field storing information to be used for inspecting the encryption process and/or electronic watermark embedding process.
According to another aspect of the invention, a storage medium is provided which stores a program for making a computer execute a function of each process of the electronic watermarking method.
According to another aspect of the invention, a storage medium is provided which stores a program for making a computer execute a function of each means of the digital information distribution system.
The embodiments are constituted of the above-described technical means, and only part of encryption keys are multiplied by random numbers. It is therefore possible to prevent processes for encryption keys and random numbers from being reversed. It is therefore possible to prevent a server from making a user use an encryption key intended by the serve.
According another feature of the embodiments, the amount of calculation and communication necessary for embedding an electronic watermark can be reduced as compared to a conventional system and the efficiency of an electronic watermarking method can be improved considerably.
Still other objects of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, will become fully apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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