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The present invention relates to circuits and systems incorporating solid-state devices referred to herein as xe2x80x9ctranspinnorsxe2x80x9d and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,929,636 and 6,031,273, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. More specifically, the present application describes a transpinnor-based sample-and-hold circuit and various applications thereof.
The vast majority of electronic circuits and systems manufactured and sold today are based on semiconductor technology developed over the last half century. Semiconductor processing techniques and techniques for manufacturing integrated circuits have become increasingly sophisticated resulting in ever smaller device size while increasing yield and reliability. However, the precision of such techniques appears to be approaching its limit, making it unlikely that systems manufactured according to such technique will be able to continue their historical adherence to Moore""s Law which postulates a monotonic increase in available data processing power over time.
In addition, as the techniques for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuits have increased in sophistication, so have they correspondingly increased in cost. For example, current state-of-the-art integrated circuits require a large number of processing steps to integrate semiconductor circuitry, metal layers, and embedded circuits, an issue which is exacerbated by the varied nature of the materials being integrated. And the demand for higher levels of complexity and integration continue to grow. The technical difficulties facing the semiconductor industry are well summarized by P. Packan in the Sept. 24th, 1999, issue of Science magazine beginning at page 33, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
Finally, there are some applications for which conventional semiconductor integrated circuit technology is simply not well suited. An example of such an application is spacecraft systems in which resistance to external radiation is extremely important. Electronic systems aboard spacecraft typically require elaborate shielding and safeguards to prevent loss of information and/or system failure due to exposure to any of the wide variety of forms of radiation commonly found outside earth""s atmosphere. Not only are these measures costly in terms of dollars and weight, they are not always completely effective, an obvious drawback given the dangers of space travel.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide electronic systems which facilitate higher levels of integration, reduce manufacturing complexity, and provide a greater level of reliability in a wider variety of operating environments.
According to the present invention, electronic circuits and systems based on an all-metal solid-state device referred to herein as a xe2x80x9ctranspinnorxe2x80x9d address the issues discussed above. More specifically, an embodiment of the present invention provides a sample-and-hold circuit based on the transpinnor which may be used in any larger circuit in which a conventional sample-and-hold circuit might be employed, e.g., an analog-to-digital converter.
Thus, the invention provides a sample-and-hold circuit which includes a network of thin-film elements in a bridge configuration. Each of the thin-film elements exhibits giant magnetoresistance and has a first magnetic film associated therewith which is operable to magnetically bias the associated thin-film element. The circuit also includes a plurality of conductors inductively coupled to each of the thin-film elements for applying magnetic fields thereto. The circuit is operable using the plurality of conductors to sample and store a value corresponding to an input signal.
According to another embodiment, the present invention provides a sample-and-hold circuit comprising a network of thin-film elements in a bridge configuration. Each of the thin-film elements exhibits giant magnetoresistance. A plurality of conductors are inductively coupled to each of the thin-film elements for applying magnetic fields thereto. The circuit is operable using the plurality of conductors to generate a substantially constant output current representative of an input signal using a remanent magnetization associated with at least one of the thin-film elements.
According to yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a sample-and-hold circuit comprising a network of thin-film elements in a bridge configuration. Each of the thin-film elements exhibit giant magnetoresistance. The circuit also includes a signal conductor operable to transmit an input signal, and a sample conductor operable to transmit a strobe signal. The signal and sample conductors are inductively coupled to selected ones of the thin-film elements. The circuit is operable to sample and store a value corresponding to the input signal in response to the strobe signal.
Various types of analog-to-digital converters employing the sample-and-hold circuits of the present invention are also provided. Electronic systems incorporating the sample-and-hold circuits and analog-to-digital converters are also within the scope of the invention.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings. | {
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1. Cell Signaling
Cells use a large number of clearly defined signaling pathways to regulate their activity. These signaling pathways fall into two main groups depending on how they are activated. Most of them are activated by external stimuli and function to transfer information from the cell surface to internal effector systems. However, some of the signaling systems respond to information generated from within the cell, usually in the form of metabolic messengers. For all of these signaling pathways, information is conveyed either by protein-protein interactions or it is transmitted by diffusible elements usually referred to as second messengers or transmitters. The ability of cells to perceive and correctly respond to other cells is the basis of development, tissue repair, and immunity as well as normal tissue homeostasis. Errors in cellular information processing are responsible for diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, and diabetes.
2. Wnt Proteins and Frizzled Receptors
Secreted Wnt (Wg Int) proteins have numerous signaling functions during development, mediated by certain receptors on the cell surface. These proteins are defined by their sequence rather than by functional properties. They contain a signal sequence of 350-380 amino acids followed by a highly conserved distribution of cysteines. Although Wnt proteins are secreted they show an insoluble nature that has been explained by the discovery that these proteins are palmitoylated and are more hydrophobic than initially predicted from the primary amino acid sequence. The palmitoylation is found on a conserved cysteine, suggesting that all Wnts essentially carry this modification (Willert K. et al., 2003). Until now this insoluble nature of all members of the Wnt family has hindered attempts to purify the Wnts and precluded an isolation of Wnts in high quantities.
Wnts proteins play diverse and essential roles in generation of cell polarity, embryonic induction, specification of cell fate, and diseases such as cancer or degeneration. At the molecular level, Wnt proteins operate largely via receptor-mediated signaling pathways, and these receptors appear to be members of the frizzled family (Huang H. and Klein P., 2004).
Frizzled receptors (Fz) are integral membrane proteins with transmembrane domains, an exposed binding site outside the cell and an effector site extending into the cytosol. They function in multiple signal transduction pathways and have been identified in numerous animals, from sponges to humans. The family is defined by conserved structural features, including seven hydrophobic transmembrane domains and a cysteine rich ligand-binding domain (Huang H. and Klein P., 2004).
Fz function in three distinct signaling pathways, known as the planar cell polarity pathway, the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and the Wnt/calcium pathway. The cytoplasmic Fz domains that link to heterotrimeric G proteins and other downstream signaling components transduce a signal to several intracellular proteins that include dishevelled, glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), axin, adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), and the transcriptional regulator β-catenin. Cytoplasmic β-catenin levels are normally kept low by continuous proteasome-mediated degradation, which is controlled by a complex containing GSK-3/APC/Axin. When cells receive Wnt signals, the degradation pathway is inhibited, and consequently β-catenin accumulates in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Nuclear β-catenin interacts with transcription factors such as lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1/T cell-specific transcription factor to affect transcription. A large number of Wnt targets have been identified that include members of the Wnt signal transduction pathway itself, which provide feedback control during Wnt signaling (Logan C. and Nusse R., 2004).
Secreted proteins of the Wnt family play widespread roles in the regulation of embryonic development, and aberrant activation of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway is one of the most frequent signaling abnormalities known in human cancer. In human breast cancer, evidence of β-catenin accumulation implies that the canonical Wnt signaling pathway is active in over 50% of carcinomas (Brennan K. and Brown M., 2004).
Much of last years' research focused on the development of cell based assays and screening techniques for drug discovery and design. Screening of cell signaling pathways in primary cells of a physiologically relevant phenotype provides a means to identify modulators of important disease pathways that lack known drug targets.
Borchert K. et al. (2006) screened for small molecule activators of Fz in primary human preosteoblasts that should contain intact and physiologically relevant Wnt/FZ signaling components. For this purpose they measured endogenous translocation of the downstream transcription factor β-catenin to the nucleus by combining standard immunofluorescent techniques with automated fluorescence microscopy.
DasGupta R. et al. (2005) used the availability of the Drosophila genome sequence, to find new components in the Wnt signaling pathway. By RNA interference (RNAi) based screening technology they identified functional genes regulating the Wnt-Wg pathway. The assay for the RNAi screen was based on the Wnt reporter TOP-Flash (TCF optimal promoter), which consists of multimerized TCF-binding sites driving the expression of a cDNA encoding the firefly luciferase gene. The screen was performed in Drosophila imaginal disc-derived clone 8 cells, which are epithelial in origin. The activity of the Wg signaling pathway was quantified by measurement of normalized luciferase expression or relative luciferase activity units, which equated to the ratio of the absolute activity of firefly luciferase to that of renilla luciferase.
Signal transduction has been studied extensively with cell based systems, but interest and commercial investment in Fz in areas such as drug targets, orphan receptors, high throughput screening, and biosensors, among others will focus greater attention on cell free assay development to allow for miniaturization, ultra-high throughput and, eventually, microarray/biochip assay formats. Although cell based assays are adequate for many Fz, these formats would limit the development of higher density Fz assay platforms mandatory for other applications. Stable, robust and cell free signaling assemblies comprising receptor and appropriate molecular switching components form the basis of future Fz assay platforms adaptable for such applications as microarrays. In addition cell free assays ensure a uniform response resulting in well-defined mechanisms of action and no ambiguity of experimental data due to other interfering and interactive pathways within the cell. Another advantage of cell free assays is the free accessibility of the compound to the target.
Thus there is a need for a fast and convenient cell free assay to measure the activity of Fz that is suitable for high throughput screening.
The solution to this problem is achieved by providing the embodiments characterized by the claims, and described further below. | {
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With the rapid development of the Internet, network-based applications increase gradually, which raises higher requirements on the reliability of networks. A Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) can meet the reliability requirements of network devices well, in the protocol, redundancy backup is performed on a Default Gateway of a terminal IP device on a shared multi-access medium (such as the Ethernet), thus, when one router or switching equipment therein is down, a backup router or a backup switching equipment can take over a forwarding work in time and provide transparent switching for users, which improves the network service quality.
When a product of Ethernet switch is in a VRRP redundancy backup mode, a standby device needs to keep in a running status for a long time, which inevitably leads to serious energy consumption and inefficiency. | {
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4-Phenylpiperidines, which have an antidepressive, anti-aggressive, diuretic, anti-Parkinson, bronchodilatory and anti-arthritic activity, are described in German Offenlegungsschrift DE-OS No. 2,735,051. Significant to the pharmacological activity of these compounds is the presence of a hydroxyl group, or an ester derivative thereof, in the 3-position of the piperidine ring; esterified hydroxyl groups in the 3-position and 4-position of the piperidine ring are stated to be of particular importance. In contrast, certain 4-phenoxypiperidines which are unsubstituted in the 3-position now display pharmacologically-interesting and specific properties. | {
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α-Olefins are important items of commerce, hundreds of millions of kilograms being manufactured yearly. They are useful as monomers for (co)polymerizations and as chemical intermediates for the manufacture of many other materials, for example detergents and surfactants. Presently most α-olefins are made by the catalyzed oligomerization of ethylene by various catalysts, especially certain nickel complexes or aluminum alkyls, see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,121 and I. Kroschwitz, et al., Ed., Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4th Ed., Vol. 17, John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 839–858. Depending on the catalyst used and the product distribution desired various processes are used, but they tend to operate at high pressures, and/or high temperatures, and/or have large recycle streams, and/or be complex (for example recycle of catalyst streams), all of which increases the capital cost of the manufacturing plant and/or increases plant operating costs, both of course undesirable. Therefore, better processes for making α-olefins are of commercial interest. Some of the processes which use these catalysts, especially alkylaluminum compound (alone) catalysts, are reported to utilize plug flow reactors.
Recently, as reported in U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,946, which is hereby incorporated by reference, it has been found that iron complexes of certain tridentate ligands of 2,6-pyridinecarboxaldehye(bisimines) or 2,6-diacylpyridine(bisimines) are excellent catalysts for the production of α-olefins from ethylene. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0016521 describes a manufacturing process for α-olefins using these catalysts in which a liquid full continuous stirred tank reactor is used, optionally followed by a final reactor which may be plug flow reactor. The process described herein concerns a modified plug flow reactor. | {
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The present invention relates generally to booklet manufacturing methods and apparatuses and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for manufacturing booklets from a multiplicity of continuous strips of paper having printed matter thereon.
Booklets of the type relevant here comprise a plurality of inner pages and front and back cover parts. In a conventional booklet manufacturing process, the inner pages of the booklet are formed by adhering together a plurality of continuous paper strips along a longitudinal center line of each and then folding them over, employing conventional adhering and folding operations to provide a continuous paper strip having a folded longitudinal edge or spine and a multiplicity of plies each of which corresponds to a page in the booklets. The multi-ply continuous strip constituting the inner pages of the booklets (hereinafter called the inner strip) is then inserted within and adhered to another continuous paper strip from which are formed the covers for the booklets. This last-described operation is usually accomplished by applying a longitudinal strip of adhesive along the cover strip, with the latter in an unfolded condition, laying the folded, multi-ply inner strip atop the cover strip, with the spine of the inner strip located along or adjacent the strip of adhesive on the cover strip, pressing the two strips together to adhere them, and folding one part of the unfolded strip over the inner strip to form a cover for the booklets.
When the cover strip is folded over, in the manner described in the preceding paragraph, there is formed on the cover strip a longitudinal fold edge adjacent the spine on the inner strip pages. It is desirable that the longitudinal fold edge on the cover be a sharp, neat fold, for aesthetic or appearance purposes. A sharp, neat fold is usually effected by tensioning the strips while they undergo folding. If the fold is not sharp enough or neat enough, this can usually be corrected in conventional methods by increasing the tension on the strips while they undergo folding.
After the cover strip has been folded around the inner strip, booklets are formed from the resulting composite strip by making transverse cuts at regularly spaced locations along the composite strip.
It is sometimes desirable to provide the front cover part of the booklet with a transverse slit. An example of such a booklet is one in which the cover is a ticket holder for holding air line tickets, for example. The front cover part of the ticket holder has a pocket on the inside thereof, and there is a transverse slit on the outside of the front cover part which communicates with the pocket.
In the booklet manufacturing operation, the front and back cover parts of the ticket holders are formed from a continuous cover strip having first and second parts extending in adjacent relationship along a longitudinal folding line, with transverse slits cut at longitudinally spaced intervals on the first part of the strip. Each transverse slit corresponds to one ticket holder.
In lapped, folded relation with the first part of the continuous cover strip is an additional longitudinally extending part having a terminal edge adhered to the first part adjacent the longitudinal folding line. The first part eventually becomes the front cover part, and the additional part eventually becomes the inside wall of a pocket having an outside wall formed by the front cover part.
As previously noted, the booklet pages are formed from a continuous inner strip of paper having multiple plies, and this inner strip has a transverse dimension corresponding substantially to the transverse dimension of the first part on the cover strip. The inner strip is laid atop the first part of the cover strip, and the first part of the cover strip becomes a bottom cover part under the inner strip during the manufacturing operation. At the time the cover strip is folded over the inner strip, both strips are in tension. The second part of the cover strip is folded along the longitudinal folding line, out of the plane of the cover strip, and then over and atop the multi-ply inner strip to provide a top cover part over the inner strip and a longitudinal edge at the folding line.
When the second part of the cover strip is folded out of the plane of the cover strip, there is a substantial decrease in the amount of tension which is being absorbed by the second part. As a result, there is a significant increase in the amount of tension required to be absorbed by the first part of the cover strip. Because the first part of the cover strip has transverse slits therein, it does not have the strength to withstand the tension it would otherwise withstand without the transverse slits, and there is a danger of tearing transversely from the transverse slit to the longitudinal folding line on the cover strip, during the folding operation when the first part is absorbing increased tension.
To avoid such transverse tearing requires a reduction in the tension in the cover strip, and when the tension in the cover strip is reduced to avoid transverse tearing, the fold obtained along the longitudinal folding line will generally not be a sharp, neat fold. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to automation systems, and, more particularly, to software, systems and methods for implementing a contextual user interface for home automation systems.
2. Relevant Background
Home automation systems enable control of lighting, heating and air conditioning, window shades or curtains, pool heaters and filtration systems, lawn sprinklers, ornamental fountains, audio/visual equipment, and other appliances. Home automation systems include relatively simple systems that control one or a few functions in a home to more elaborate systems that control multiple, disparate features. Home automation systems may be integrated with a home security system so that when a fire alarm is raised, for example, internal and external lights will be turned on. Entertainment equipment such as audio, video, and home theatre equipment are available with control interfaces that enable a remote device to activate the equipment according to programmed schedules or remotely input commands.
In general, a home automation or control system comprises one or more controlled devices, one or more controllers, and a command communication link coupling a controller to a controlled device. The controllers may be directly programmable in which case they include some form of human interface for setting switches, event timing, and the like. Alternatively, controllers may be indirectly or remotely programmable in which case a separate human interface may be implemented by a personal computer or the like. Systems may be programmed using either a simple command language or using a graphical user interface that requires a computer with a monitor. These systems are expensive and require substantial investment by the user in time and energy to install and modify programming. To enter and/or change a program, a user must consult a user's manual or call a programming specialist. Hence, these systems are difficult to install and adapt to changing needs. Moreover, they are difficult to expand by adding new controlled devices or new software to add functionality.
The home automation market has been fractured because most of the automation control manufacturers address narrow, vertical market segments, and use proprietary interfaces to protect their market. For example, some leading control manufacturers offer systems that focus on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems control. These manufacturers have little interest in controlling lighting, security systems, entertainment systems, and the like as these markets are entirely foreign to them. Other manufacturers make, for example, home entertainment controllers that integrate various video and audio components, but the primary focus has been to offer integrated control over only their own components. As a result, consumers face an array of control systems that do not interoperate, and that have proprietary interfaces that are difficult to understand and program.
Some efforts have been made to provide integrated interfaces—single devices that “talk” to various control systems in a residence. One available system offers a rigid architecture that is easy to install because it offers few customization options, however, the rigid architecture limits its functionality. Other systems offer more flexible interfaces, but in each case the implementations include limitations that make the products expensive and/or difficult to install.
Server-based control systems involve a central control mechanism or server that issues commands to each of the controlled devices either directly, or through subordinate controllers. Server-based systems may be easier to program as the operator may need to be come familiar with a single program, but are more complex to install as each of the controlled devices must be coupled to and in communication with the central server. Moreover, because the server must be programmed to interact with the various controlled devices and/or subordinate controls, the operator must still become intimately familiar with the protocols and vagaries of each controlled device, defeating the advantages of a single software interface.
Another common limitation of control systems arises from the control interface of the controlled devices themselves. A typical controlled device will implement a single control interface for receiving commands from a controller. This single interface is usually restricted to a single signaling protocol that makes a subset of the controlled devices functions accessible to the controller. Hence, the controlled device is designed to interact with a single controller and is unable to interact with a plurality of controllers. Further, the functionality that can be implemented is restricted by the controller hardware and/or software and cannot be readily extended.
Hence, a need exists for a home automation and control architecture that is easy to install, easy to use, and at the same time flexible and extensible to accommodate new devices and new functionality. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink tank having taken account of the correlation between an aqueous ink and an ink tank (inclusive of an ink tank with a recording head) which stores the aqueous ink therein in order to feed the same, and relates to a process for regenerating the ink tank. More particularly, it relates to an ink tank used in an ink jet recording method, and a process for regenerating such an ink tank.
2. Related Background Art
The ink jet recording method is a recording method involving applying a small ink droplet to any one of recording media such as plain paper and glossy media to form images, and has become rapidly widespread owing to a reduction in its cost and an improvement in its recording speed. Also, recorded materials thereby obtainable have made progress toward high image quality and in addition thereto digital cameras have rapidly come into wide use, users of ink jet printers now demand to output recorded materials which are comparable to silver halide photographs.
What is given as one requirement for how the recorded materials obtained by the ink jet recording method is comparable to silver halide photographs is that the recorded materials have a high fastness. Conventional ink jet recorded materials have a lower fastness than the silver halide photographs. Hence, there is a problem that, where recorded materials are exposed to light, humidity, heat, environmental gases present in air, and so forth for a long time, coloring materials on the recorded materials tend to deteriorate to cause changes in color tones or discoloration of images, i.e., the recorded materials have a low fastness. Many studies have been made in order to solve such a problem.
For example, a proposal is made in which the fastness is improved by the use of a coloring material having an anthrapyridone structure (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-332419 and No. 2003-192930).
In recent years, it is also seen that a container called a refill kit whose ink tank in which an ink stored therein has been used and the ink stands used up is again filled with an ink is used by general users. As a countermeasure against environmental problems in recent years, the state of ink consumption is recorded in an information storage means such as a memory, or recorded in an ink tank itself. Such methods are known in the art (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Publication No. H05-019467 and No. 2004-009716). It is also put into practice that ink tanks in which inks have been used up are recycled. | {
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The invention relates to asynchronous motors employing a squirrel-cage rotor.
The starting torque of asynchronous machines is normally determined by the loss arising in the rotor at rest. With machines having a simple short circuit rotor the resistance of the rotor is limited by the permissible operational loss. Taking into consideration that the values of resistance of the rotor are identical both in the course of operation and when starting, the loss arising in the rest condition (and accordingly, the starting torque) are resulting values. This resulting value is called the natural starting torque. The proportion of the natural starting torque to the nominal torque will generally be reduced, to increase the output, so that above an output of 50-200 kW it is not enough to run a working machine, which can be started otherwise easily.
Special measures are to be taken in order to increase the resistance required at starting and thus the loss arising in course of starting, while maintaining the operational resistance at a constant level. For this purpose, in order to provide asynchronous motors with a high output, rotors with double cages or with deep bars are used. In both cases the phenomenon of current displacement is exploited. In the former case the current is unevenly distributed between two cages, while in the latter case uneven distribution may be observed within the bar. Both can be characterized by the fact that the increase of losses at start takes place within the iron core of the rotor. Both solutions require a larger conductive cross-section, so that the space requirement is also larger than would normally be required by the cage of the simple short circuited rotor. Since the increased space is required precisely in the magnetically active part of the machine, this involves not only the increase in dimension of the active parts, but also an increase in the general dimensions of the machine.
It has been attempted to increase the losses at start by means of the stray flux of the bars of the rotor or of the short circuit ring. Such a solution has been described e.g. in the German Patent DE-PS No. 870 449. With this solution an iron ring has been arranged beneath the short circuit ring in such a manner that there is contact between the two rings. The aim of the arrangement has been to increase considerably the uneven current distribution arising in the short circuit ring during start and to increase the losses in such a manner. The increase of the uneven current distribution has certain limits, and in addition, it involves a considerable danger, since the associated uneven heating results in a damaging thermal dilatation and may lead to the melting of the solder holding the bar and the ring.
Due to the complicated structural formation or the insufficient resulting loss, these solutions have not seen wide use. The qualitative pattern of the stray flux lines--and even to a lesser extent the quantitative relationships have not been duly found. In addition, the influence of the coil-head or end turn of the stator winding has been absolutely disregarded.
The aim of the invention is to develop a solution, with which the added losses required for increasing the starting torque do not arise within the iron core, but in the field of the end turns, which has a simple construction and can be produced at lower cost. | {
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1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for terminating, joining, and splicing light transmitting fiber cables having at least one optical fiber therein, and in particular, to an accurately formed connector and its method of manufacture.
2. The Prior Art
The best prior art available is represented by my U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,837. The present invention represents an improvement over the connector described therein in that it provides improved accuracy in the alignment of the fibers within the connector and ease of assembly of the connector to the individual terminated cables. | {
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Hydrocarbon conversion processes, particularly alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons, are the foundation for the production of an assorted variety of useful petrochemicals. For instance, ethylbenzene and ethyltoluene, as well as other alkyl-substituted aromatics, are beneficial as feedstocks for the production of a variety of styrenic polymer materials, cumene, and detergent alkylates. Alkyl-substituted aromatics are also useful as high octane transportation fuels. The use of alkyl-substituted aromatics as blending agents for gasoline expands product volume and increases octane values. Aromatic alkylation processes also provide an economic method of reducing benzene content in gasoline.
In the past, alkylation processes have employed acidic catalysts such as AlCl.sub.3, FeCl.sub.3, SbCl.sub.5 BF.sub.3, ZnCl.sub.2, TiCl.sub.4, HF, H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, H.sub.3 PO.sub.4, P.sub.2 O.sub.5 and the like. Reactions using these catalysts are generally carried out at low temperatures and, in particular, when a Friedel-Craft catalyst is employed, in the presence of a hydrogen halide, such as HCl.
There are numerous problems associated with the use of these acidic catalysts in an alkylation process. First, these catalysts are very corrosive, thereby requiring the use of exotic materials for process equipment. Second, the catalyst consumption and the regeneration costs are high. Third, the yields of alkylate boiling in the gasoline range are low. Fourth, complicated separations and recycle of feed can be required. Fifth, these catalysts tend to polymerize the olefinic reagents, thus minimizing available starting materials.
Many of these problems have been avoided by using synthetic or natural zeolite materials as alkylation catalysts. Certain zeolitic materials are porous crystalline aluminosilicates having a definite crystalline structure within which there are a large number of smaller cavities which can be interconnected by a number of even smaller channels. Since the dimensions of these pores are such that molecules of a certain dimension are accepted for adsorption while larger molecules are rejected, these materials have come to be known as "molecular sieves".
A particular type of molecular sieve useful in aromatic alkylation reactions is a crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite. Crystalline aluminosilicate zeolites are composed of a rigid three-dimensional framework of SiO.sub.4 and AlO.sub.4 in which the tetrahedra are cross-linked by the sharing of oxygen atoms. The electrovalence of the tetrahedra containing aluminum is balanced by the inclusion in the crystal of a cation, such as an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. Since these cations are exchangeable, it is possible to vary the properties of a particular aluminosilicate by selection of a suitable cation.
The use of crystalline aluminosilicates in aromatic alkylation processes is well-known in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,607 there is disclosed a process for alkylating aromatics with olefins in the presence of a crystalline metallic aluminosilicate having a uniform pore opening of about 6-15 Angstroms. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,897 there is disclosed a process for alkylating aromatics with a crystalline aluminosilicate which contains rare earth metal cations and a uniform pore volume of at least 6 Angstroms.
While the use of crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite catalysts in aromatic alkylation processes represent a distinct improvement over Friedel-Craft catalysts, zeolite catalysts have the disadvantage of producing unwanted quantities of impurities. They also deactivate at a rapid rate, particularly in vapor phase reaction zones. Consequently, the industry began treating zeolites to specifically address these deactivation and selectivity problems. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,897,246, there is disclosed heating a crystalline aluminosilicate in the presence of water vapor at a temperature of 400-900 deg C. prior to using it in an alkylation process. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,120, there is disclosed ammonium-exchanging a crystalline aluminosilicate to achieve a silica-to-alumina molar ratio of 4.0-4.9 prior to using it in an aromatic alkylation process. Other methods of treating a crystalline aluminosilicate for use in an aromatic alkylation process include steaming and ammonium-exchanging the zeolite (U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,177), rare earth-exchanging the zeolite in the presence of sulfur dioxide (U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,372), partially collapsing the zeolite to reduce crystallinity (U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,027), (U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,573), increasing the total amount of lattice metal in the zeolite (U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,255), reacting the zeolite with an acidic inorganic oxide in the presence of water (U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,253), and depositing carbonaceous material on the zeolite (U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,816).
New crystalline aluminosicates were also developed to address these selectivity and deactivation problems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,393,263, 4,291,185, 4,387,259, 4,393,262, and 4,469,908 disclose the use of ZSM-12 in an aromatic alkylation process. U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,605 discloses the use of ZSM-23 in an aromatic alkylation process. U.S. Pat. No.4,717,780 discloses the use of ZSM-58 in an aromatic alkylation process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,040 discloses that the selectivity and deactivation problems associated with the use of crystalline aluminosilicates can be addressed by shaping the extrudates to give a high ratio of external surface area to crystal pore volume. Crystal pore diameter is defined as 5-15 Angstroms.
The process conditions used during aromatic alkylation can affect the performance of a crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite catalyst. For example, vapor phase aromatic alkylation processes, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,751,504 and 3,751,506, generally have high conversions due to greater ease in the diffusion of the vapor reactants into the micropores of the crystalline aluminosilicate, but high catalyst deactivation rates due to olefins attaching to the active sites of the zeolite catalyst and coking up deactivating the catalyst. On the other hand, liquid phase aromatic alkylation processes, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,251,897 and 3,631,120, generally have lower conversion rates due to diffusional limitations, but low catalytic deactivation rates due the aromatics preferentially occupying the active sites of the zeolite catalyst, thereby preventing the olefins from deactivating the catalyst.
There is a need for an improved alkylation catalyst for use in a liquid phase aromatic alkylation process where the diffusion of liquid reactants into the catalyst has been a problem. | {
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The present invention generally relates to charged particle beam exposure methods and apparatuses, and more particularly to a charged particle beam exposure method which is suited for realizing a high resolution electron beam exposure at a high throughput, and to a charged particle beam exposure apparatus which employs such a charged particle beam exposure method.
Recently, there is much attention on exposure techniques using a charged particle beam such as an electron beam because of the need to accurately expose extremely fine patterns to meet the increasing integration density of semiconductor integrated circuit devices. In order to realize a high throughput, the charged particle beam is shaped into a beam having an arbitrary cross sectional shape and the shaped beam is irradiated on a wafer. It is desirable that the numerical aperture is large in order to realize a high resolution, and it is desirable that the charged particle beam travels a short distance to the wafer so as to reduce the Coulomb interactions of the charged particle beam. For these reasons, an optical system of the charged particle beam has a short focal distance.
An electron beam exposure apparatus normally uses an electron beam which is shaped to have a rectangular cross section or a cross section having an arbitrary shape, and the shaped electron beam draws the pattern on the wafer. FIG. 1 shows the column structure of an example of a conventional electron beam exposure apparatus.
FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view of the column structure in a vicinity of the wafer. An electron beam EB travels from the top to bottom along an optical axis O, and is irradiated on a wafer W. An electromagnetic lens is provided to converge the electron beam EB on the wafer surface. The electromagnetic lens includes an electromagnetic lens coil LC which is coupled to an iron yoke IY, and pole pieces PP are coupled to the tip end of the iron yoke IY.
In addition, electromagnetic deflection coils EC and electrostatic deflection electrodes EE are provided to deflect the electron beam EB. In order to shorten the focal distance, the electromagnetic deflection coils EC and the electrostatic deflection electrodes EE are arranged on the inner side of the electromagnetic lens.
In the example shown in FIG. 1, a support part S is arranged on the inner side of the electromagnetic lens, and the electromagnetic deflection coils EC are mounted on this support part S. Further, the electrostatic deflection electrodes EE are arranged on the inner side of the support part S.
The electron beam EB is deflected by the electromagnetic deflection coils EC when deflecting the electron beam EB for a relatively large amount on the order of several mm, for example. On the other hand, the electron beam EB is deflected by the electrostatic deflection electrodes EE when deflecting the electron beam EB at a high speed for a relatively small amount on the order of 100 .mu.m, for example.
In the case of the electron beam exposure which exposes a relatively large area in one exposure, the Coulomb interactions of the charged particles cause problems. The focal distance of the optical system is shortened in order to eliminate the limit of the resolution caused by the Coulomb interactions. However, the deflection efficiency of the deflector deteriorates if the focal distance is shortened. Accordingly, in the electron beam exposure system having the shortened focal distance, a large current must be applied to the electromagnetic deflection coils EC in order to obtain a desired amount of deflection.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the electromagnetic deflection coils EC. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC have a saddle shape, and are fixed at mutually confronting positions on the outer periphery of the support part S. The support part S has a cylindrical shape and is made of ceramics or the like.
According to the conventional electron beam exposure apparatus, the electron beam EB is deflected using the electromagnetic deflection coils EC provided in a plurality of stages, and the pattern is drawn on the wafer W by scanning the wafer surface by the deflected electron beam EB. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC are divided into two systems, that is, X and Y systems, depending on the operating direction. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC are coupled in series within each system. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC of the two systems receive driving currents from independent driving circuits.
For example, a current on the order of .+-.2 A is required to deflect the electron beam EB with a deflection efficiency of approximately 2.5 mm/1A in a main deflection region which is 2 mm.times.2 mm. Hence, if each electromagnetic deflection coil EC is formed from a copper wire having a diameter of 0.5 mm, the resistance thereof becomes approximately 1.5 .OMEGA..
In order to avoid the Coulomb interactions of the charged particle beam, it is necessary to shorten the focal distance of the optical system of the charged particle beam. But if the focal distance is shortened. the deflection efficiency deteriorates, and a larger current is required if the same amount of deflection is to be obtained with the shortened focal distance.
In addition, in order to operate the electromagnetic deflection coils EC at a high speed, it is necessary to reduce the inductance, and thus, it is desirable to reduce the area of the electromagnetic deflection coils EC.
On the other hand, heat is locally generated within the column structure if the charged particle beam is processed using the electromagnetic deflection coils EC having the above described arrangement, and such a generation of heat is unavoidable. The generated heat ranges from several W to several tens of W, for example.
When the charged particle beam exposure apparatus of the type described above is used, the deflection position of the charged particle beam and the focal position (or point) of the charged particle beam drift with the operating time of the charged particle beam exposure apparatus. It may be regarded that the following causes the drift of the deflection position and the focal position of the charged particle beam.
(a) Changes in the outputs of an amplifier and a lens power source;
(b) An eddy current flowing to peripheral metal parts due to a change in the magnetic flux generated by the deflection coils;
(c) Charge-up of parts through which the charged article beam passes;
(d) Changes in the position and dimension of the deflection coils with time; and
(e) Changes in the positions and dimensions of the deflection coils themselves, bobbins and other parts due to a temperature change caused by the heat generated from the deflection coils.
The present inventors initially doubted the possibility that the response characteristic of the deflection coil greatly deteriorates with the operating time of the charged particle beam exposure apparatus. However, the output of the amplifier had not changed, and the set time constant remained the same. In addition, the inductance of the deflection coil also remained approximately the same. In other words, even though the deflection magnetic field was set, some factor changed the beam position. But it seemed impossible for the eddy current to change before and after the exposure when the same deflection was made.
Furthermore, the beam position on the optical axis is reproducible for a long time if the charged particle beam is not deflected. For this reason, it seemed impossible for the charge-up to cause the deterioration of the response characteristic of the deflection coil.
The remaining possibility was the changes in the positions and dimensions of the deflection coils themselves, the bobbins and other parts such as the pole pieces due to temperature changes caused by the heat generated from the deflection coils. As described above, the heat of several W to several tens of W may be generated from the electromagnetic deflection coil, and the radiation effect is poor if the electromagnetic deflection coils are arranged in a vacuum surrounding.
In the converging deflection system having the shortened focal distance, the lens magnetic pole becomes small because of the need to make the lens magnetic field strength large and the deflection magnetic field strength large. Consequently, the deflection coils which are provided on the inside must be arranged without a gap within a space which is narrow in both the direction of the optical axis and the radial direction. As a result, the part which holds the deflection coils is made extremely thin, and the heat capacity thereof is reduced to several fractions of that of the conventional case.
In addition, the difference between the radii of the deflection coils in the X and Y systems is small. But although the size of the deflection coil is reduced, the thickness of the wire member is approximately the same as that of the conventional case. For this reason, the thickness of the deflection coil in the direction in which the wire is overlapped is large, and the inner turns of the wire of the deflection coil are covered by the outer turns of the wire.
For this reason, even if the outer side of the deflection coil were air-cooled, the air-cooling effect would greatly differ between the outer turns of the wire and the inner turns of the wire. The inner turns of the wire of the deflection coil virtually cannot be air-cooled directly, and the cooling is in effect made via the thermal conduction of the bobbin. Hence, the cooling effect of the inner turns of the wire of the coil and the cooling effect of the outer turns of the wire of the coil greatly differ.
If the deflection coil were made using a thin wire member in order to improve the air-cooling effect, the amount of heat generated from the deflection coil would increase. As a result, the deflection accuracy of the charged particle beam would further deteriorate due to the thermal expansion of the wire member itself and the thermal expansion of the bobbin on which the deflection coil is attached.
In a case where a copper wire member is used for the deflection coil and the bobbin is made of ceramics, positional errors of 0.34 .mu.m and 0.16 .mu.m may respectively be generated in a main deflection region of 2 mm.times.2 mm when the temperature rises by 10.degree. C., because the coefficient of thermal expansion of the deflection coil is 1.7.times.10 cm.sup.-5 and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the bobbin is 8.times.10 cm.sup.-6 in this case.
The deflection coil and the bobbin are actually attached to each other, and it may be anticipated that the amount of positional error will take a value between 0.34 .mu.m and 0.16 .mu.m. Even if this anticipated value of the positional error were 0.2 .mu.m, the positional error in the main deflection region would be 0.4 .mu.m at the maximum. Such a positional error is too large when forming patterns on the submicron order.
There is yet a bigger problem to be solved. That is, the heat generated from the deflection coil causes the thermal expansion of the wire member itself and the thermal expansion of the bobbin on which the deflection coil is attached. Furthermore, the heat generated from the deflection coil causes thermal expansion of ferrite pole pieces which form a projection lens. These thermal expansions change the deflecting direction and the deflection efficiency of the deflection coil and the lens magnetic field strength, and deteriorate the accuracy of the deflection position. The thermal expansion of the magnetic pole in particular introduces an error in the origin of the deflection coordinate and focal error.
Particularly in the case of an exposure which is made while a stage carrying the wafer continuously moves, an alignment mark on the wafer is detected prior to the exposure and the exposure is started after determining correction coefficients for the exposure. For this reason, the deterioration of the accuracy of the exposure position, the error in the origin of the deflection coordinate and the focal error which occur during the exposure are fatal to the quality of the exposure.
FIG. 3 shows measured results of deviation components of the beam position when the main deflector is caused to generate heat continuously. In FIG. 3, (A) is a graph showing the change of the amount of error of the offset position with time, (B) is a graph showing the change of the positional error in the rotation direction with time, and (C) is a graph showing the change of the positional error in the gain direction with time.
When the main deflector is caused to generated heat continuously, these amounts of errors will change up to large values as indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 3. As may be seen from FIG. 3, these amounts of errors are fatal to the exposure apparatus which exposes patterns on the submicron order.
Accordingly, it is conceivable to cool the electromagnetic deflection coils which form the main deflector, so as to prevent the drift by suppressing the heating. The present inventors actually made electromagnetic deflection coils having a large cooling capacity and studied the results.
The tested electromagnetic deflection coil employed a double-structure bobbin which is made up of an inner bobbin and an outer bobbin to support the electromagnetic deflection coil. The wire member of the electromagnetic deflection coil was wound in the radial direction in one layer and overlapped in the rotating direction in an arcuate manner to form a desired number of coil turns. The electromagnetic deflection coil was then bent along a cylindrical surface in the form of a saddle shape.
In addition, saddle shape coils having different radii of curvatures were made. The coil having the smaller radius of curvature was fixed on the outer circumference of the inner bobbin, and the coil having the larger radius of curvature was fixed on the inner circumference of the outer bobbin. A space was formed between the inner and outer coils so as to form a passage for flowing a coolant in the direction of the optical axis.
The bobbin was formed to a structure which is independent or integral to the plurality of stages of the coils, and was made of a material including quartz as the main component and having a small coefficient of linear expansion. Pure water or He gas was used as the coolant, and the coolant was forcibly circulated.
The electromagnetic deflection coils of the main deflector were cooled efficiently by the above arrangement, so as to reduce the thermal conduction to the parts such as the pole pieces. It was thought that the temperature rise of the structure will be extremely small by the efficient radiation.
The positional changes in the electron beam for the case where the above described electromagnetic deflection coils are used are indicated by solid lines in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, a curve f1 in (A) shows the amount of error of the offset position as a function of time when cooling was made, a curve f2 in (B) shows the positional error in the rotating direction as a function of time when the cooling was made, and a curve f3 in (C) shows the positional error in the gain direction as a function of time when the cooling was made.
However, as may be seen from FIG. 3, even though the electromagnetic coils were cooled, the changes in the beam position were only reduced to one half of the case where no cooling was made.
For example, the amount of error of the offset position was approximately 0.5 .mu.m after approximately 3 minutes from the start of the exposure when no cooling was made. But even when the cooling was made, the amount of error in the offset position was only reduced to approximately 0.3 .mu.m. The amount of error of the offset position gradually saturated with time, and the amount of error was approximately 0.4 .mu.m after the saturation which was not within a tolerable range.
In addition, compared to the case where no cooling was made, the positional error in the rotating direction was only reduced to approximately one-half even when the cooling was made. The reduction of the positional error in the gain direction by making the cooling was even smaller compared to the case where no cooling was made.
In other words, even though the cooling efficiency improved with respect to the heat generation, it was evident that the cooling was incomplete and that the temperature change in the structure occurred due to the heat generation. It is conceivable to increase the cooling capacity of the coolant so that the amount of heat generated can be neglected, but there is a possibility of introducing mechanical vibration or the like due to the increased flow rate if the flow rate of the coolant is increased. On the other hand, there is a limit to increasing the flow rate of the coolant. It is also conceivable to further reduce the thermal conduction from the electromagnetic deflection coils to the pole pieces and the like, but there is of course a limit to doing this.
The temperature rise of the pole pieces with respect to the generation of heat by the electromagnetic deflection coils was also measured. It was found that the temperature rise is approximately 1.5.degree. C. in 10 minutes when no cooling was made and approximately 0.3.degree. C. in 10 minutes when the cooling was made. The temperature rise saturated in approximately 10 minutes, and the saturation values greatly differ between the case where no cooling is made and the case where the cooling is made. That is, the cooling effect can be seen.
However, the cooling effect is far from sufficient for the purpose of satisfactorily improving the accuracy of the exposure system. The temperature change in the initial stage in particular is not very large, and the cooling effect within the time of approximately 3 minutes from the start of the exposure is not very notable with respect to the drift of the beam position.
In order to obtain the high accuracy required by the semiconductor integrated circuits, the tolerable range of the temperature change of the structure due to the heat generated by the main deflector should be less than 0.1.degree. C. However, the cooling described above cannot realize such a small tolerable range. | {
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The invention relates to an apparatus for handling sheet-like conveyable articles, it also being possible for such conveyable articles to comprise folded sheets or stapled articles or the like, which are to be transported, for example, from a magazine to a conveying chain and are set down on the conveying chain.
Known gripper arms can be pivoted about a pivot axis, which is located at a sufficient distance above the plane of the transporting chain and/or of the plane of the sheet-like articles which are to be conveyed, from a receiving position into a discharging position. Located at the bottom end of the gripper arms in each case are gripper tongs with mutually opposite gripper claws which are prestressed into the closed position by spring means and of which generally one is connected pivotably to the gripper arm and is opened and closed by an actuating linkage both in the receiving position and in the discharging position, in order, in the receiving position, to grip a leading border of a conveyable article and, in the discharging position, to release the conveyable article again.
An actuating linkage between a framework-mounted cam plate, a cam follower, which is in contact with the latter, and the pivotable gripper claw serves for opening the gripper tongs in time with the pivoting movements of the gripper arm at least in the receiving position of the same. In the case of the known gripper-arm designs, said actuating mechanism involves comparatively high outlay and requires, for the cam-plate drive, a framework-mounted drive shaft guided parallel to the pivot axis of the gripper arm.
FR-A-705 283 discloses an apparatus for handling sheet-like conveyable articles which contains a pivotably mounted gripper arm which can be pivoted back and forth by means of a crank drive. Gripper tongs with a pair of gripper claws are located at the free, bottom end of the gripper arm. One of the gripper claws can be opened and closed by means of an actuating linkage likewise arranged on the gripper arm. Moreover, the gripper tongs can be pivoted in their entirety, by means of a further actuating linkage, relative to the gripper arm in order to produce a certain movement path of the gripper claws during pivoting of the gripper arm. This pivoting of the gripper tongs in their entirety is achieved in that a cam plate, which is seated on the crankshaft for the drive of the gripper arm, subjects the further actuating linkage, which is assigned to the gripper tongs and contains a cam follower, to an adjustment movement. The actuating linkage serving for pivoting the gripper tongs in their entirety acts on the gripper tongs not directly, but, on the one hand, via a directing guide, which is framework-mounted in a pivotable manner, and, on the other hand, via a follower-roller lever connected to the gripper tongs.
FR-A-2 254 435 discloses a further apparatus for handling sheet-like conveyable articles by way of a pivotably mounted gripper arm which is made to pivot by means of a connecting rod. Gripper tongs, located at the free end of the gripper arm, contain a pair of gripper claws, of which one, for opening and closing the gripper tongs, is mounted pivotably at the free gripper-arm end and is provided with a follower-roller lever which interacts with a directing guide, which is framework-mounted in a pivotable manner. Certain movements of the directing guide are produced, via a cam-plate follower of the directing guide, by means of a cam plate which circulates synchronously with a rotary drive for actuating the connecting rod acting on the gripper arm.
The invention is intended to achieve the object of configuring an apparatus for handling sheet-like conveyable articles having the features of the preamble of conveyable articles having the features of the preamble of Patent claim 1 such that the actuating mechanism for opening and closing the gripper tongs is rendered considerably simpler and less expensive, in particular a smaller number of components, in relation to known designs, being used without high precision of the gripper operation having to be dispensed with.
This object is achieved by the characterizing features of Patent claim 1. Advantageous configurations and developments form the subject matter of the patent claims subordinate to claim 1.
The idea on which the invention is based consists in the drive mechanism for producing the pivoting movements or the gripper arm itself, or of the gripper arms themselves, also being used for actuating the respective gripper claw, for which purpose the cam for the cam follower of the actuating linkage of the pivotable gripper claw is joined directly to the drive crank for the gripper-arm-pivoting connecting rod or to said connecting rod. This is because it has been found that, precisely at the point when the gripper arm reaches, as it were, the respective dead-centre positions, both the drive crank and the connecting rod of the pivot-arm drive execute comparatively rapid rotary movements or pivoting movements which are suitable for deriving the opening movement of the gripper tongs in the receiving position and the discharging position.
According to one embodiment, the actuating linkage for opening and closing the pivotable gripper claw contains a lever which is mounted on the gripper arm and to which one end of a coupling rod is connected, of which the other end is connected to the pivotable gripper claw, and on which , furthermore, the cam follower is located, the latter expediently being designed as a roller which is in contact with the cam.
It should be mentioned in this context that the cam follower or the follower roller do not, of course, have to be in contact with the directing curve of the cam throughout the entire movement sequence of said cam. Rather, the pivotable gripper claw is kept in the closed position by spring prestressing and is only moved into the open position by virtue of the cam follower running onto regions of the cam in the receiving position and/or the discharging position of the pivot arm. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a nursing equipment, which is a combined type nursing bed.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, nursing beds and wheelchairs are separated from each other. It is difficult to transfer patients or the elderly that cannot move freely. Not only the nursing personnel has to pay hard work, but also the patients and the elderly suffer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to collets, and more particularly to collets which can be adjusted to accommodate workpieces of different diameters within a specific range of diameters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional machine tool collets are adjustable in internal diameter in order to grip and release a workpiece, but the adjustment is such that each collet is only suitable for use with a specific diameter of workpiece which the collet grips along the entire length of its gripping segments. This gripping action can only be achieved with one specific workpiece diameter, and therefore a different collet is required for workpieces of different diameter.
There has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,346,706 issued to Stoner, a collet which can be adjusted to accommodate workpieces of diameters within a specific range. In certain embodiments this collet consists of separate segments with rubber plate-like elements interposed between adjacent segments. The faces of the rubber elements are adhered to the opposed radial faces of the adjacent segments or have projections which engage in recesses in the opposed faces of adjacent segments. The segments of the collet can be moved inwardly to clamp different diameters of workpiece, but due to the connection between the rubber elements and the faces of the segments, the rubber elements provide substantial resistance to inwards movement of the segments which, in effect, absorbs much of the closure force applied to the collet by an associated closure mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,557,301 issued to Lundy discloses a collet with rubber-like inserts between adjacent segments. The inserts have a ribbed construction in one embodiment, with the ribs in contact with the adjacent radial faces of the segments. These inserts act simply as seals. The segments are not separate segments, so that this collet is not adjustable for different workpiece diameters. Similar sealing inserts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,539,193 and 3,669,462, both issued to Parsons.
British Pat. No. 1,245,418 issued to Fahrion teaches a collet with rubber plate-like inserts located between adjacent segments. Although this collet is disclosed as being adjustable to suit different clamping diameters, the segments are connected at their inner ends and are therefore not capable of displacement parallel to the axis of the collet. Instead, they would tend to pivot inwardly about their inner connected ends and would not be exactly parallel with the workpiece at different clamping diameters. Further, the radial dimensions of the inserts is substantially less than that of the segments, and gaps are left between the radially inner edges of the inserts and the segments. Particles of swarf are liable to enter these gaps, and this may impede correct functioning of the collet. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The presently claimed and disclosed inventive concept(s) relates, in general, to heparosan analogs, as well as the synthases responsible for production of said heparosan analogs. The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is also related to methods of production and use of the heparosan analogs and the heparosan analog synthases.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Certain pathogenic microbes employ extracellular capsules of host-like glycans to evade host defenses and to increase virulence. Previous work by the inventors and others has identified very distinct types of microbial glycosaminoglycan [GAG] synthases, the bifunctional enzymes that assemble GAG polysaccharides. These synthases include peripheral membrane-associated two domain enzymes such as the Pasteurella multocida GAG synthases PmHAS (hyaluronan) (DeAngelis et al., 1996 and 1998), PmCS (chondroitin) (DeAngelis et al., 2000), PmHS1 and PmHS2 (heparosan) (DeAngelis et al., 2002 and 2004) (FIG. 1) and KfoC (chondroitin) from Escherichia coli K4 (Ninomiya et al., 2002), as well as integral membrane proteins with unknown domain structures such as the Streptococcus pyogenes hyaluronan synthase SpHAS (DeAngelis et al., 1993) and the Chlorella virus PBCV-1 hyaluronan synthase CvHAS (DeAngelis et al., 1997). All of the known GAG synthases employ UDP-sugar precursors to form the repeating disaccharide units (DeAngelis, 2002). The Streptococcus hyaluronan synthase has some similarity to vertebrate hyaluronan synthases at the amino acid sequence level (Weigel et al., 2007), but the bacterial chondroitin and heparosan synthases are quite different to their vertebrate counterparts (DeAngelis et al., 2000 and 2002).
Comomonas testosteroni (Ct) is a Gram-negative aerobic bacteria that is found in diverse environments (Ma et al., 2009). Bacteria of the genus Comamonas are predominant in activated sewage sludge (Dias et al., 1964) and are defined by a poor ability to use carbohydrates; instead carbon is derived from molecules such as testosterone and other cyclic hydrocarbons (Horinouchi et al., 2010; Linares et al., 2008). C. testosteroni has recently been identified as an opportunistic human pathogen that has been found in various hospital infections including meningitis (Arda et al., 2003; Jin et al., 2008), bacteremia (Gul et al., 2007), and endophthalmitis (Reddy et al., 2009). The ability for C. testosteroni to survive and thrive in such diverse environments, as well as its potential use for cleaning up environmental contamination with xenobiotic compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls and linear alkylbenzenesulfonate make it a particularly interesting organism (Schleheck et al., 2004 and 2010). There is only one published study indicating the presence of a mucoid exopolysaccharide capsule of C. testosteroni A20 (Bossier et al., 1996); however, there is no genomic information available for this strain, and the nature of the polysaccharide was not determined.
Heparin is a useful drug widely used in hospitals as an anticoagulant. Heparin also has other potential uses in combating diseases such as cancer and inflammation, but the polysaccharide's anticoagulant effects make it difficult to use for these other promising indications (i.e., patients may have excessive bleeding). Also, heparin is currently derived from animal products (e.g., porcine intestinal mucosa, bovine lung); thus, its method of preparation must remove adventitious agents, antigens, etc., and its potency is variable. In addition, due to collection of almost all pigs slaughtered around the world for food, the supply chain is not secure, as evidenced by the contaminated heparin from China in 2008 that resulted in many deaths. Therefore, microbial-derived heparin substitutes are desirable; however, the manufacture using heparosan (unsulfated, unepimerized backbone of heparin) as the precursor for heparin requires many steps to convert into heparin or heparin-like material.
Thus, there is a need in the art for new non-animal-derived heparosan analogs that may be simpler to convert into anticoagulants or other therapeutics. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to an apparatus and method for compiler analysis and runtime coherency checking.
2. Background of the Invention
In heterogeneous multi-core systems, reducing hardware complexity and minimizing power consumption are important design considerations. Providing each of the accelerator cores in such systems with its own fast local memory is one means of accomplishing this goal. Typically, such systems will not provide hardware supported coherence between these local memories and the global system memory. When an application (both code and data) fit within the local memory, good performance can be guaranteed. Such a feature is critical for real time applications. The Cell Broadband Engine Architecture (CBEA) is one example of such a heterogeneous multi-core system. The CBEA includes on a chip a PPE core, and 8 SPE cores each with 256 KB fast local memory, as well as a globally coherent direct memory access (DMA) engine for transferring data between local memories and the shared system memory. Scratchpad memory in embedded computing systems is another example of this type of memory hierarchy. This memory design requires careful programming to use the fast local memory efficiently and reduce long latency accesses to the global memory so as to obtain top performance. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display panel which uses thin film transistors (TFTs), and in particular, to a manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an active matrix substrate which uses TFTs used for a liquid crystal display panel etc., and in particular, inverted stagger type TFTs as active elements, pairs of the above-described TFT and a corresponding liquid crystal to each TFT are arrayed in a matrix as pixels all over the substrate except a peripheral area of a glass substrate. Gate terminals each connecting with a drive IC, and data terminals (drain terminals) are provided on the peripheral area of the glass substrate. Furthermore, protection transistors against static electricity are connected to these terminal portion so as to perform the protection against overcurrent or overvoltage from the outside of the active matrix substrate as a measure against ESD (Blectro-Static-Discharge).
Hereinafter, the prior art will be described with reference to FIG. 2 that is a circuit diagram of an active matrix substrate. As shown in FIG. 2, plenty of gate terminals G and drain terminals D are formed in the periphery of the active matrix substrate. Gate wirings 401 including gate bus wirings and drain wirings 402 including data wirings and drain bus wirings are arrayed in a matrix toward the internal area of the active matrix substrate from the gate terminals G and drain terminals D respectively. ESD protection circuits 403 and 503 are formed adjacent to each gate terminal G and each drain terminal D.
Each of the ESD protection circuits 403 consists of two thin film transistors. In one TFT a gate electrode and a drain electrode are connected to a gate wiring 401. The source electrode is connected to a common wiring of a common terminal COM. The common wiring is simultaneously formed in the same layer as that of the drain wirings 402. On the other hand, the gate electrode and source electrode of another TFT are connected to the common wiring while its drain electrode is connected to the gate wiring 401.
Similarly, in one TFT constituting the ESD protection circuit 503, the gate electrode and drain electrode are connected to the drain wiring 402. The source electrode thereof is connected to a wiring of a dummy terminal. This wiring is simultaneously formed in the same layer as that of the gate wirings 401. The gate electrode and source electrode of another TFT constituting the ESD protection circuit 503 are connected to a wiring of the dummy terminal. The drain electrode thereof is connected to the drain wiring 402. The gate wiring 401 of the gate terminal G is connected to the gate electrode of a switching transistor 404 constituting a pixel. The drain wiring 402 of the drain terminal D is connected to the drain electrode of the switching transistor 404. In addition, the source electrode of this switching transistor 404 is connected to a transparent pixel electrode of a liquid crystal shown in FIG. 2. In this case, a vertical electric field is applied to the liquid crystal, and hence, the liquid crystal is called a TN (Twist Nematic) liquid crystal.
In an ESD protection circuit formed in a peripheral area of an active matrix substrate as described above, a TFT constituting the ESD protection circuit must have electric connection between two different conductive layers, one of which comprises a gate electrode, a gate bus wiring and a wiring of a dummy terminal, and the other of which comprises a drain electrode, a drain bus wiring and a wiring of a common terminal COM.
Next, a manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate having the electric connection will be described with reference to FIGS. 1(a) to 1(e).
FIGS. 1(a) to 1(e) are typical cross sectional views in the order of manufacturing process steps in the case where the connection of the gate electrode and drain electrode of a TFT is performed, the connection becoming indispensable as a measure against ESD.
As shown in FIG. 1(a), the gate electrode 406 is formed on the glass substrate 405, which is a transparent insulating substrate, by patterning a layer of metal such as chromium. Then, a gate insulation layer 407, an amorphous silicon film 408, and an n+amorphous silicon film 409 are deposited in order so that the gate electrode 406 may be covered by the gate insulation layer 407.
As shown in FIG. 1(b), a resist mask 410 is formed by photolithography technology, and the n+amorphous silicon film 409 and amorphous silicon film 408 are patterned by dry etching technology. Then, a semiconductor layer 411, which is an amorphous silicon layer, and an n+amorphous silicon layer 412 are formed.
The resist mask 410 is removed and a conductive film consisting of chromium or the like is deposited on the entire surface by sputtering.
As shown in FIG. 1(c), a resist mask 413 is formed and the metal conductive film is patterned into a predetermined shape by dry etching technology.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 1(c), the source electrode 414 and drain electrode 415 are formed. Then, the resist mask 413 is removed, and the n+amorphous silicon layer 412 is patterned by utilizing the source electrode 414 and drain electrode 415 as etching masks. Thus, a source ohmic layer 416 and a drain ohmic layer 417 are formed on an end portion of the semiconductor layer 411.
As shown in FIG. 1 (d), a passivation film 418 is deposited on the entire surface and a resist mask 419 is formed thereon, and contact holes 420 and 421 are formed in the passivation film 418 on the gate electrode 406 and drain electrode 415 by using etching technology respectively.
The resist mask 419 is removed, and as shown in Fig. 1(e), the gate electrode 406 and drain electrode 415 are electrically connected to each other by a transparent metal electrode 422 through the contact holes 420 and 421. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1(e), an inverted stagger type TFT with the gate electrode 406 and drain electrode 415 being electrically connected to each other is formed on the glass substrate 405.
When an active matrix substrate having ESD protection circuits is produced by using a conventional electric connection method as described above, at least five photolithography process steps are needed. Concerning photolithography process steps used in the active matrix substrate having ESD protection circuits the technology four photolithography process steps is shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-015472 as an example. In this publication, a semiconductor layer and a source/drain electrode of an inverted stagger type TFT, and a transparent metal electrode connected to the source/drain electrode is formed under a passivation film by using only three photolithography steps. But a method of forming contact holes in the passivation film is not described.
Currently, it is indispensable that an active matrix substrate for an LCD has to have an ESD protection circuit as a measure against the ESD. For this purpose, it is necessary to electrically connect a gate electrode or a gate bus wiring with a drain electrode (or source electrode) or a drain bus wiring through a contact hole in the active matrix substrate with TFT.
However, as described above, when using the conventional technology, manufacture the active matrix substrate having an ESD protection circuit needs at least five photolithography process steps. Therefore, the manufacturing process of the active matrix substrate having an ESD protection circuit needs one more photolithography step than that of the active matrix substrate having no ESD protection circuit.
Such increase in photolithography process steps brings about the reduction of a manufacturing yield of LCDs inevitably, and reduces productivity thereof. Then, the manufacturing cost of LCDs increases and reliability thereof is also lowered.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new method for manufacturing an active matrix substrate having ESD protection circuits by using four photolithography process steps.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming reliable gate terminals and drain terminals. In addition, still another object of the present invention is to prevent damage at source/drain conductive film etching process from being given to a gate electrode or a gate bus wiring in a contact hole. In order to achieve the objects of the present invention, a manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate according to the present invention is a method of forming thin film transistors (TFT) on an insulating substrate as follows:
Films constituting a TFT are deposited in a laminated structure on an insulating substrate and a resist pattern having different film thicknesses is formed thereon. After that, as a first etching process, the laminated films are etched to form a predetermined pattern of the laminated films by using the resist pattern as an etching mask, and as a resist etching process, a thinner portion of the resist pattern is removed by etching the resist pattern to make a thicker portion of the resist mask remain as xe2x80x9ca resist pattern left.xe2x80x9d
Subsequently, as a second etching process, the predetermined pattern of the laminated films is etched by using the resist pattern left as an etching mask.
The following shows an example of a fundamental structure of the present invention described above. A first form of the manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate according to the present invention includes following processes:
A first conductive film consisting of one conductive material is patterned to form a first conductive film pattern on an insulating substrate, and depositing in order an insulation layer, a semiconductor thin film, a semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact, and a second conductive film consisting of other conductive material to form laminated films on the insulating substrate and the first conductive film pattern. After that, a resist pattern having a second portion with a opening therein and a first portion thicker than the first portion is formed on the second conductive film and etching the laminated films by using the resist pattern as an etching mask to form a contact hole reaching a surface of the first conductive film pattern. Subsequently, the second portion of the resist pattern is removed by etching the resist pattern to make the first portion of the resist pattern remain as xe2x80x9ca first portion left,xe2x80x9d and the second conductive film, the semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact and the semiconductor thin film are etched by using the first portion left as an etching mask to form a predetermined laminated pattern. Then, after the first portion left is removed, a second conductive film pattern of the predetermined laminated pattern and the first conductive film pattern are electrically connected to each other by forming a third conductive film pattern through the contact hole.
A second form of the manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate according to the present invention includes following processes:
A first conductive film consisting of one conductive material is patterned to form a first conductive film pattern on an insulating substrate, and depositing in order an insulation layer, a semiconductor thin film, a semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact, and a second conductive film consisting of other conductive material to form laminated films on the insulating substrate and the first conductive film pattern. After that, a resist pattern having a second portion with a opening therein and a first portion thicker than the first portion is formed on the second conductive film and etching the second conductive film to the semiconductor thin film of the laminated films by using the resist pattern as an etching mask to form a contact hole reaching a surface of the insulation layer. Subsequently, the second portion of the resist pattern is removed by etching the resist pattern to make the first portion of the resist pattern remain as xe2x80x9ca first portion left,xe2x80x9d and the second conductive film is etched by using the first portion left as an etching mask to form a second conductive film pattern. Then, the semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact and the second conductive film are etched to form a laminated pattern of the second conductive film, the semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact and the second conductive film by using the first portion left and the second conductive film pattern as an etching mask, simultaneously etching the insulation layer to form a contact hole in the insulation layer reaching a surface of the first conductive film pattern. After the first portion left is removed, the second conductive film pattern of the laminated pattern and the first conductive film pattern are electrically connected to each other by forming a third conductive film pattern through the contact hole. A third form of the manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate according to the present invention includes following processes:
A first conductive film consisting of one conductive material is patterned to form a first conductive film pattern on an insulating substrate, and depositing in order an insulation layer, a semiconductor thin film, a semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact, a protective conduction film made of other conductive material and a second conductive film consisting of the conductive material to form laminated films on the insulating substrate and the first conductive film pattern. After that, a resist pattern having a second portion with a opening therein and a first portion thicker than the first portion is formed on the second conductive film and etching out at least top two films of the top three of the laminated films by using the resist pattern as an etching mask to form a contact hole reaching at least a surface of the semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact. Subsequently, the second portion of the resist pattern is removed by etching the resist pattern to make the first portion of the resist pattern remain as xe2x80x9ca first portion left,xe2x80x9d and the second conductive film is etched by using the first portion left as an etching mask to reveal a surface of the protective conduction film. After the second conductive film is etched, the residual films remained in the contact hole after etching out at least top two films of the top three of the laminated films is etched and removed by using the first portion left and the protective conduction film as an etching mask to form a final contact hole in the insulation layer reaching a surface of the first conductive film pattern. Subsequently, the protective conduction film, the semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact and the semiconductor thin film are etched and removed by using the first portion left as an etching mask to form a second conductive film pattern of the second conductive film and the protective conduction film. Then, after the first portion left is removed, the second conductive film pattern and the first conductive film pattern are electrically connected to each other by forming a third conductive film pattern through the contact hole.
A fourth form of the manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate according to the present invention is a manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate that comprises a plurality of gate bus wirings and drain bus wirings arrayed in a matrix on an insulating substrate, a pixel having a TFT in each intersection area, gate terminals and drain terminals which are formed as end portions of gate bus wirings and as end portions of drain bus wirings with functions of receiving external signals respectively, and a protection circuit having TFTs to protect the pixel from the overvoltage or overcurrent of an external signal. The manufacturing method of the active matrix substrate includes following processes:
A first conductive film consisting of one conductive material is patterned to form a gate wiring and a gate electrode of a TFT on an insulating substrate, and depositing in order a gate insulation layer, a semiconductor thin film, a semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact, and a conductive film consisting of other conductive material for a source/drain conductive film to form laminated films on the insulating substrate, the gate wiring and the gate electrode. After that, a resist pattern having a second portion with a opening therein and a first portion thicker than the first portion is formed on the source/drain conductive film and etching the laminated films by using the resist pattern as an etching mask to form a contact hole reaching a surface of the first conductive film including the gate bus wirings and gate electrodes of TFTs constituting the protection circuit simultaneously formed with the gate bus wirings. Subsequently, the second portion of the resist pattern is removed by etching the resist pattern to make the first portion of the resist pattern remain as xe2x80x9ca first portion left,xe2x80x9d and the source/drain conductive film, the semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact and the semiconductor thin film are etched and removed by using the first portion left as an etching mask to form a source/drain conductive film pattern. Then, after the first portion left is removed, a second conductive film is deposited on surfaces of the source/drain conductive film pattern and the first conductive film including the gate bus wirings and the gate electrodes of TFTs constituting the protection circuit through the contact holes. After that, the second conductive film is patterned to form a second conductive film pattern including a pixel electrode and using the second conductive film pattern as an etching mask, the source/drain conductive film pattern and the semiconductor thin film for ohmic contact are etched and removed to form drain bus wirings including a source/drain electrode simultaneously formed with the drain bus wirings. Finally, the source/drain conductive film pattern including the drain bus wirings and the source/drain electrode of TFT constituting the protection circuit are electrically connected to the first conductive film pattern including the gate bus wirings and the gate electrode of TFT constituting the protection circuit by the second conductive film pattern through contact holes. | {
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Technical Field
The present invention relates to integrated circuit processing, and more particularly to filling high aspect ratio through holes with solder.
Description of the Related Art
Injection Molded Solder (IMS) technology utilizes a local vacuum function under a scanning head to effectively fill molten solder into an enclosed mold space, e.g., single-end via holes. Maintaining uniform and high vacuum conditions is difficult due to the scanning feature of the head. The head moves and needs to reseal to draw a vacuum over each hole to be filled. This method makes solder filling into high aspect via holes difficult and may result in slower throughput. | {
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Battery devices, such as rechargeable batteries, battery packs or terminal equipment having permanently installed chargeable battery cells are typically charged with the aid of external charging stations. This includes inter alia utilizing charging methods which use a contactless energy transmission between the charging station and the battery device. In an inductive charging system, for example, energy may be transmitted with the aid of a magnetic field. For this purpose, a transmitter coil housed in a charging station generates an alternating magnetic field which induces an electrical alternating current in a corresponding receiver coil of the battery device. However, an inductive coupling between both devices is required in order for the energy to be effectively delivered from the charging station to the accommodation unit. Thus, the transmitter and the receiver coil, depending on the quality of the inductive coupling, must typically be situated at a relatively small distance of a few millimeters to several centimeters from one another, the inductive coupling capable of being enhanced by a ferromagnetic core in the transmitter and the receiver coil.
In a wireless charging system which operates on the basis of an inductive energy transmission, different problems may arise depending on the configuration. Thus, for example, sufficient detection of a battery pack inserted into the charging station must be ensured, which requires a cyclical “pinging” of the battery device when the charging station is in standby mode. Furthermore, an adequate communication path between the battery pack and the charging station is also necessary in order to be able to determine the point in time when charging or recharging is ended and to communicate the required energy needs. In addition, foreign objects must be clearly and easily detected. Furthermore, a sufficiently robust feedback system for closing the control circuit must also be provided.
Various approaches are already known which provide optical transmission systems for charging systems. The publication DE 29724016 U1, for example, discusses a charging device for a rechargeable battery in which a detection of rechargeable batteries having varying capacitances is implemented with the aid of light barriers. In addition, the charging device includes an IR interface for transmitting information from the rechargeable battery to the charging device.
A charging device for inductively charging a hand-held power tool is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,979 A, in which the hand-held power tool communicates the fully charged state of its internal battery cells to the charging device with the aid of a photodiode.
A charging device for charging rechargeable batteries is also discussed in DE 19955985 A1 U1, the charging device including a light barrier for detecting an inserted rechargeable battery.
A rechargeable battery pack having a coding pin for interrupting a light barrier situated in the charging device is also discussed in DE 202009002787 U1. | {
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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent, affecting one in five adults in the United States. One in fifteen adults has moderate to severe OSA requiring treatment. Untreated OSA results in reduced quality of life measures and increased risk of disease including hypertension, stroke, heart disease, etc.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a standard treatment for OSA. While CPAP is non-invasive and highly effective, it is not well tolerated by patients. Patient compliance for CPAP is often reported to be between 40% and 60%.
Surgical treatment options for OSA are available too. However, they tend to be highly invasive (result in structural changes), irreversible, and have poor and/or inconsistent efficacy. Even the more effective surgical procedures are undesirable because they usually require multiple invasive and irreversible operations, they may alter a patient's appearance (e.g., maxillo-mandibulary advancement), and/or they may be socially stigmatic (e.g., tracheostomy).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,008 to Meer proposes hypoglossal nerve stimulation as an alternative treatment for OSA. An example of an implanted hypoglossal nerve stimulator for OSA treatment is the Inspire™ technology developed by Medtronic, Inc. (Fridely, Minn.). The Inspire device is not FDA approved and is not for commercial sale. The Inspire device includes an implanted neurostimulator, an implanted nerve cuff electrode connected to the neurostimulator by a lead, and an implanted intra-thoracic pressure sensor for respiratory feedback and stimulus trigger. The Inspire device was shown to be efficacious (approximately 75% response rate as defined by a 50% or more reduction in RDI and a post RDI of ≦20) in an eight patient human clinical study, the results of which were published by Schwartz et al. and Eisele et al. However, both authors reported that only three of eight patients remained free from device malfunction, thus demonstrating the need for improvements. | {
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A metal-halide lamp generates light by passing an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and metal halides. The metal halide lamps have high luminous efficiency and produce an intense white light. The metal halide lamps are used in wide area overhead lighting of commercial, industrial, and public spaces, such as parking lots, sports arenas, factories, and retail stores, as well as residential security lighting and automotive headlamps. Approximately 13% of US commercial space uses metal halide lamp for illumination purpose.
The metal halide lamp though used widely suffers from several disadvantages. A cold metal-halide lamp cannot immediately begin producing its full light capacity and requires approximately 5 minutes coming to full brightness. Furthermore if the power is interrupted, even briefly, the lamp's arc will extinguish, and the high pressure that exists in the hot arc tube will prevent re-striking the arc and therefore metal halide lamps must be allowed to cool for up to 20 minutes before they can be restarted.
Apart from having moderate life span of approximately 10000 hours and poor lumen maintenance, the metal halide lamps are hazardous and risky to use. The metal halide lamps contain a significant amount of Mercury and are prone to risk of explosion. Over a period of use, arc tube gets weak and since the gases are present at a significantly high pressure, chances for explosion of the Metal halide lamps are always there.
The most recent evolution in lighting is solid state lighting based on light emitting diode (LED) technology. The light generation principle is similar to what happens in gas discharge lamps, but now the discharge happens in a solid state material: orbit changing electrons cause atoms to get ‘excited’ that subsequently fall back to their natural state thereby releasing its surplus energy in the form of radiation. The advancement in microelectronics technology has led light-emitting-diode (LED) technology to generate lighting and special purpose lighting applications. The LEDs have a large lifespan of 50,000 hrs and are RoHS compliant, i.e. they do not contain mercury or other toxic substances.
In view of the aforementioned disadvantages associated with the use of metal halide lamps and the technological advancement in LED technology, there is concern rising for replacing metal halide lamps with LED lamps. However the main concern for replacing metal halide lamp with LED lamp is the considerable labor costs involved in the installation, because it will require the opening of the light fixture to disassemble the existing ballast, either it be an electronic one, or a magnetic one. Another concern involved in the replacement of metal halide lamp with LED is the lack of recycle scheme of ballast. Therefore in view of above constraints, it would be advantageous to have LED retrofit lamp that can directly replace the existing metal halide lamps. | {
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An insulation displacement connector device is disclosed in the brochure “Product information IDC—Insulation Displacement Connection” from the company Weidmüller.
Insulation displacement connector devices have a relatively large volume requirement in comparison with conventional screw-type terminals. Therefore, it is generally endeavored to reduce the necessary volume requirement as far as possible.
In the case of the insulation displacement connector device in accordance with prior art devices, a closing element projects beyond an apparatus contour in the open state. The travel path of the closing element is thus outside the apparatus contour.
GB A 2 114 824 discloses an insulation displacement connector device with a basic body with an insulation displacement connector held by the basic body and with a closing element which can be moved with respect to the basic body. In the case of this insulation displacement connector device, the basic body has an operational volume into which an operating tool may be introduced. The operating tool is pivotable in a pivoting direction within the operational volume, so that the closing element can be moved from the opening to the closing position by the pivoting of the operating tool. The closing element bounds the operational volume on one side viewed in the pivoting direction. The operational volume has a bearing groove which forms a pivot bearing for the operating tool introduced into the operational volume. The closing element has a main body onto which an introduction contour is integrally formed on its side facing the operational volume. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moving picture coding method, and more particularly to a technique for deriving motion vectors of a B (bi-predictive) picture.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional B picture has five types of predictive modes such as forward mode, backward mode, bi-directional mode, direct mode and intra mode. In the forward mode, backward mode and bi directional mode, the directions of motion vectors can be recognized from mode names because direction information are involved in the mode names. In the direct mode, two motion vectors of both directions are derived from a motion vector of a co-located block in a neighboring picture on the basis of a temporal redundancy characteristic that motion continuity is constantly maintained between two adjacent pictures. This direct mode has an advantage in terms of coding efficiency because motion information is not sent to a decoder.
On the other hand, a B picture proposed in a next-generation moving picture compression technique such as H.264 or MPEG4 part 10 is characterized in that the B picture is allowed to be used as a reference picture because it can be stored in a reference picture buffer. This B picture is further characterized in that it has five types of predictive modes such as list 0 mode, list 1 mode, bi-predictive mode, direct mode and intra mode.
The list 0 mode is similar to the conventional forward mode, and motion information such as a reference picture index and motion vector difference are indicated respectively by ref_idx_10 and mvd_10. The list 1 mode is also similar to the conventional backward mode, and motion information such as a reference picture index and motion vector difference are indicated respectively by ref_idx_11 and mvd_11. The bi-predictive mode has two reference pictures, both of which may be located temporally before or after the B picture, or which may be located temporally before and after the B picture, respectively. In this case, two reference picture indexes and two motion vector differences are indicated respectively by ref_idx_10, ref_idx_11, mvd_10, and mvd_11, and each reference pictures has picture order count (POC) data which is temporal location information.
In the direct mode, motion vectors are obtained by selecting any one of a spatial technique and temporal technique. The spatial direct mode technique is to derive list 0 and list 1 reference picture indexes and motion vectors from neighboring blocks of a macroblock to be coded. The temporal direct mode technique is to derive a list 0 motion vector MVF and list 1 motion vector MVB by scaling the only motion vector, a list 0 motion vector, of a co-located block in a list 1 reference picture for direct mode, which is similar to the conventional B picture. Here, the list 1 reference picture for direct mode is a P picture (hence the single motion vector) where an index for list 1 prediction is 0, and a list 0 reference picture for direct mode is a list 0 reference picture pointed by a motion vector of a co-located block in the list 1 reference picture for direct mode.
FIGS. 1(A) to 1(C) show default indexes for list 0 prediction, default indexes for list 1 prediction and list 1 reference pictures for direct mode of respective B pictures in an IBBBP pattern when the number of available list 0 and list 1 reference pictures (or the size of a short-term buffer) is 6, respectively. Here, the default indexes for list 0 prediction and the default indexes for list 1 prediction are dependant on an output order, or POC value, of a previously decoded reference picture regardless of a decoding order. In FIG. 1, all the B pictures use a temporally following P picture as the list 1 reference picture for direct mode.
FIGS. 2A to 2(C) show default indexes for list 0 prediction, default indexes for list 1 prediction and list 1 reference pictures for direct mode of respective B pictures in an IBBB pattern using only the B pictures, respectively. In FIG. 2A, when a B picture to be coded is B8, a temporally preceding B5 with a list 1 index 0 is a list 1 reference picture for direct mode. As shown FIG. 2(B), a list 1 reference picture for direct mode of B7 to be subsequently decoded is the temporally following B8. Last, as shown in FIG. 2(C), a list 1 reference picture for direct mode of B9 to be subsequently decoded is the temporally preceding B7.
In conclusion, as seen from FIGS. 1(A) to 2(C), a list 1 reference picture for direct mode may be a P or B picture temporally following a B picture to be coded, or a B picture temporally preceding it.
FIGS. 3(A) to 3(H) show modes that a co-located block in a list 1 reference picture for direct mode can have when the list 1 reference picture temporally follows a B picture. In this case, because the list 1 reference picture can be a P picture or B picture, the co-located block thereof has one or two motion vectors, or the intra mode. The next-generation moving picture compression technique, such as H.264 or MPEG-4 part 10, permits the reordering of reference picture indexes at a slice level, so an index 0 for list 1 prediction can be assigned to a picture just after a B picture. That is, since the list 1 reference picture can exist just after a B picture, a motion vector of the co-located block can be directed forward or backward.
FIGS. 4(A) to 4(H) show modes that a co-located block in a list 1 reference picture for direct mode can have when the list 1 reference picture temporally precedes a B picture. In this case, the co-located block has one or two motion vectors, or the intra mode, as described above. Other reference pictures can be present between the list 1 reference picture and the B picture, so a motion vector of the co-located block can point to temporally forward or backward direction.
As seen from FIGS. 3A to 4(H), the list 1 reference picture for direct mode can have various predictive modes, resulting in a need to explore a method for calculating direct mode motion vectors in consideration of such various cases. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a work flow system for controlling a flow of work by using computers and more particularly to a work flow system which automatically modifies a task flow once created and a task execution person allocated, when necessary.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is a common practice of companies and government offices to divide each created work into a plurality of tasks common to each task and to allocate each task to a specific task execution person who specializes in that task to improve the efficiency of the work as a whole.
The same applies to various works using computers. As shown in FIG. 13, one work effort is divided into five tasks 33 (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) for example. A different task execution person 34 (A, B, C, D and E) is assigned to the tasks (T1 through T5) and an execution sequence among the tasks (T1 through T5) is defined by a flow as shown by arrows in the figure for example.
Then, a task flow of the pertinent work in FIG. 13 is defined by the plurality of tasks (T1 through T5) composing one work effort, the task execution person (A through E) and the flow representing the execution sequence among the tasks (T1 through T5).
A computer system for controlling such a flow of tasks is called a work flow system. In the work flow system, a client unit of task execution person such as a workstation is provided to each task execution person 34 belonging to one unit group such as one department or section and is connected with other client units of task execution person through a network such as a LAN. A workflow manager server unit operated by a manager of the group is also connected to the network.
The work flow manager server unit creates each task flow described above for each created work effort and allocates each task 33 composing the task flow to each client unit of task execution person who takes charge of the pertinent task.
In the task flow shown in FIG. 13 for example, the work flow manager server unit sends the first task 33 (T1) to the client unit of task execution person A 34 who takes charge of that task 33 and urges the task execution person A of the client unit of task execution person to execute the allocated task 33. When the processing of the task (T1) is completed with that client unit of execution person, a storage container called a folder for storing results such as a document and drawings created in the task (T1) is transferred to the client unit of a task execution person B 34 to which the next task 33 (T2) is allocated.
Then, the work flow manager server unit 18 instructs the task execution person B 34 of the client unit of task execution person to which the folder has been transferred to execute the allocated the task (T2). When the processing of the task (T2) is completed, the folder is transferred to the client unit of task execution person of the next task 33 (T3) to execute the next task 33 (T3).
The folder, having the results, is moved sequentially by advancing the task 33 sequentially in accordance to the flow set in advance. It should be noted that the movement of the folder is performed by copying it to a specified directory of the client unit of the task execution person 34 assigned to the task 33 to which the folder is moved.
In such a workflow system for controlling an execution of a task flow, however, the manager of the group who controls the work flow system used to design the task flow composed of a plurality of tasks, a plurality of task execution persons and a flow pertinent to that work effort based on his long experience and perception when a necessary work effort is created.
For example, when one work effort is created, the manager divides the work effort into a plurality of tasks and assigns a task execution person who is most versed in each task to the pertinent task. However, even if the task execution person excels in the ability in performing the task, there is a case when the task execution person can complete the task within a predetermined time when a plurality of tasks are created in the same period of time and are incorporated to each task flow and when a large amount of tasks are assigned to that task execution person for example.
Further, when one task could not be executed in the process of executing a task in accordance to a flow by some reason, it becomes necessary to recreate the task flow including reassignment of a task execution person to the pertinent task.
Further, because the group manager who creates the task flow does not necessarily know well about the ability of all task execution persons belonging to his own group in performing each task, the best task flow may not be always created for the inputted task.
Still more, even in each client unit of task execution person to which each task is transferred directly from the work flow manager server unit or indirectly from the preceding client unit of execution person in accordance to the flow, the task execution person of the client unit may not be able to execute the task within an allowable time even if he/she is instructed to do so when a large number of tasks are transferred to that client unit of task execution person in a short time.
In this case, there may be a task which can be executed by another task execution person in lieu of the pertinent task execution person among the large number of tasks allocated to the pertinent task execution person.
Further, when a large number of tasks are transferred in a short time and when the tasks are executed in a received order for example, there is a fear that an execution of an urgent work or an important task is put behind that of tasks of less important tasks. | {
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Melanin, a pigment found in human skin, is produced by cells known as melanocytes. Melanocytes produce melanin in granules called melanosomes. Melanosomes are transferred from the melanocytes to keratinocytes, a layer of keratin-producing cells that is closer to the outer surface of the skin. The more melanosomes that are transferred to the keratinocytes, the darker the skin appears. This process can be altered in persons of any skin type or race. Alteration that results in excessive darkening is known as hyperpigmentation.
Hyperpigmentation can take a variety of forms. Melasma is a form of hyperpigmentation in pregnant women that is characterized by dark patches on the cheeks and forehead, and is sometimes called "pregnancy mask". With age, many persons develop dark spots sometimes known as "liver spots." Hyperpigmentation is sometimes a side effect of birth control pills, and can be a persistent result of acne, bums, bites and other skin injuries.
The only treatment for hyperpigmentation that is approved in the United States for use by consumers without a prescription is the topical application of 1,4-benzenediol, also known as hydroquinone. It acts by suppressing melanocyte activity. Hydroquinone, by itself or in combination with glycolic acid, is sold without prescription at strengths of up to 2% and at strengths of up to 4% by prescription. Hydroquinone preparations are effective, but not without drawbacks. They can cause burning, redness, sensitization and irritation in some persons. Close supervision of the patient by a physician is recommended when prescription strength preparations are used. It is desirable to provide a treatment for hyperpigmentation that is at least as effective as hydroquinone, but lacks hydroquinone's side effects. | {
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This invention relates generally to rib-type metal roofs and relates more particularly to means for securing rib-type metal roofing panels to underlying structural members.
In a metal roof structure commonly referred to as a "rib" type, the edges of adjacent panels are placed in overlapping relationship, and the overlapped panels are secured to the structural members underlying the panels by appropriate securing means, such as self-tapping sheet metal screws. Commonly, each panel of a rib-type metal roof is elongate in form and has a plurality of parallel ribs formed therein which run lengthwise of the panel. These panels, being metal, are known to experience dimensional changes, i.e., expansion and contraction, due to temperature variations to which the panels are exposed. In order to alleviate stresses and strains spawned by the expansion and contraction of the panels, devices or clips may be interposed between the panels of the roof and the underlying structural members for accommodating longitudinal dimensional changes in the panels. One such device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,508.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved device of the aforedescribed class which accommodates longitudinal expansion and contraction of a rib-type roofing panel supported atop an underlying structural member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a device which is uncomplicated in construction and effective in operation.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a device which is well-suited for supporting a rib-type roofing panel above an existing rib-type roof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a roofing system which incorporates such a device. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to POS (point-of-sales) system, and more particularly to a POS system which can process information regarding discounting.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a system for sales information management, a POS system has been spread widely in retail stores and so forth in recent years. In the POS system, a bar code applied to each commodity is read to decide a sales price. In recent years, services provided by retail stores and so forth have been and are diversified, and above all, a discount service is one of services which are provided frequently.
The following forms are available for provision of a discount service while a POS system is used.
In a first form, an ordinary price is indicated, and a discount seal is adhered to the commodity and its commodity tag. In this instance, an operator who operates a POS apparatus will visually observe the discount seal to confirm a discount amount of money and input the discount amount of money using a keyboard section connected to a POS control section. The POS control section thus searches for pre-discount price information, which is price information before the discount of the commodity, from bar code data, subtracts the inputted discount amount of money from the pre-discount price to decide the discounted price and displays the discounted price.
As a second form, such a discount system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 212459/1996 is available. In the system, a discount amount of money is indicated in a bar code and discounting processing is performed based on the bar code.
As a third form, such a discount system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 232133/1988 is available. In the system, when discounting is to be performed, a portable bar code label processing apparatus of the handy type is used to read a label, subtract an amount of money designated by a discounting method from the pre-discount amount of money thus read from the label and re-issue a bar code label based on resulting data.
As a fourth form, such a discount system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 77256/1996 is available. In the system, information regarding sales conditions which vary depending upon the time, hour or the like such as a discount period, a discount price and a discount rate is marked on a multi-dimensional bar code, and the multi-dimensional bar code is read to provide a discount service or the like.
The conventional POS systems described above have the following problems.
According to the first form, determination of a discount amount of money and so forth upon settlement depends upon inputting of an operator, and an error cannot be eliminated completely and it is cumbersome to perform an inputting operation successively.
In the second form, where the bar code inputting apparatus is of the type which is usually used in a supermarket or the like and wherein a commodity is moved in front of a laser irradiating window of a scanner to read a bar code applied to the commodity, a bar code on which discount information is marked cannot sometimes be read. If a discount bar code cannot be read correctly, then the commodity cannot be discounted, which may result in loss of credit of the customer.
In the third form, since a bar code label produced with new data obtained by discounting calculation based on pre-discount data read by means of a scanner is applied to the commodity, the pre-discount data is not known to the POS system. Consequently, there is a problem that the customer cannot know by what amount of money the commodity is discounted.
According to the fourth form, various information can be written using a multi-dimensional bar code. However, it is not popular to use a multi-dimensional bar code with a POS system, and it is necessary to construct unique hardware. Thus, the system of the fourth form is low in universal use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a POS system which does not make an error in discounting with a simple construction and is high in credit of a customer.
In order to attain the object described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a POS system, comprising a bar code production apparatus for producing a bar code which includes discount information of a commodity, and a POS apparatus for reading information of the bar code produced by the bar code production apparatus and performing settlement processing based on the read information, the bar code production apparatus including bar code reading means for reading a bar code of a commodity before the commodity is discounted, discount money amount inputting means for inputting a discount amount of money for the commodity whose bar code has been read by the bar code reading means, bar code production means for producing a bar code which includes the pre-discount commodity information and the discount money amount information based on the bar code read by the bar code reading means and the discount money amount inputted by the discount money amount inputting means, and bar code outputting means for outputting the bar code produced by the bar code production means, the POS apparatus including POS bar code reading means for reading a bar code, bar code discrimination means for discriminating whether or not the bar code read by the POS bar code reading means has been produced by the bar code production means of the bar code production apparatus and includes discount information, price calculation means for calculating, if it is discriminated by the bar code discrimination means that the bar code read by the bar code reading means includes discount money amount information, a post-discount price of the commodity based on information of the read bar code, and price outputting means for outputting the post-discount price calculated by the price calculation means together with the pre-discount price.
Thus, the POS system comprises the bar code production apparatus for producing a bar code which includes discount information of a commodity, and the POS apparatus for reading information of the bar code produced by the bar code production apparatus and performing settlement processing based on the read information. In the POS system, settlement for a commodity to be purchased by a customer including discounting of the commodity is performed by the POS apparatus. To this end, the bar code reading means of the bar code production apparatus reads a bar code of a commodity before the commodity is discounted, and the discount money amount inputting means inputs a discount amount of money for the commodity whose bar code has been read by the bar code reading means.
After the bar code of the commodity before it is discounted is read by the bar code reading means and the discount amount of money is inputted by the discount money amount inputting means, the bar code production means produces a bar code which includes the pre-discount commodity information and the discount money amount information based on the bar code read by the bar code reading means and the discount money amount inputted by the discount money amount inputting means. After the bar code production means produces the bar code which includes the pre-discount commodity information and the discount money amount information, the bar code outputting means outputs the bar code produced by the bar code production means. Accordingly, if a label of the bar code thus produced is applied to the commodity, then the POS apparatus can process the discount information.
The POS bar code reading means of the POS apparatus reads the bar code, and the bar code discrimination means discriminates whether or not the bar code read by the POS bar code reading means has been produced by the bar code production means of the bar code production apparatus and includes discount information. If it is discriminated by the bar code discrimination means that the bar code read by the bar code reading means includes discount money amount information, then the price calculation means calculates a post-discount price of the commodity based on information of the read bar code.
Further, the price outputting means outputs the post-discount price calculated by the price calculation means together with the pre-discount price. Consequently, the POS system can perform a discount service upon settlement and definitely indicates to the customer that a discount service is provided.
Consequently, with the POS system, since the bar code production apparatus and the POS apparatus handle a bar code to which discount information is added, an error in discounting caused by a failure in reading of a discount bar code can be prevented. Further, since a pre-discount price and a post-discount price are definitely indicated to a customer, the trust of the customer can be maintained.
Here, the bar code production means of the bar code production apparatus is required only to produce a bar code which includes discount money amount information, and can be constructed in various manners. Thus, the POS system may be constructed particularly such that the bar code production means of the bar code production apparatus produces a bar code of a standard different from an ordinary standard for a bar code for a commodity, and the POS bar code reading means of the POS apparatus is capable of reading the bar code of the standard different from the ordinary standard for a bar code for a commodity.
The bar code to be used for processing in the POS system is a standardized bar code, and the bar code production means of the bar code production apparatus produces a bar code of a standard different from an ordinary standard for a bar code for a commodity. Then, the POS bar code reading means of the POS apparatus is constructed so as to read the bar code of the standard different from the ordinary standard for a bar code for a commodity. Consequently, the POS apparatus can handle discount information by reading the bar code of the different standard.
Thus, the POS system is advantageous in that it can handle ordinary commodity information and discount information simply.
The bar code of the standard different from the ordinary standard for a bar code for a commodity can be produced in various manners. Thus, the POS system may be constructed such that the bar code production means of the bar code production apparatus adds discount money amount information to information of an ordinary bar code for a commodity to produce a bar code of a standard different from an ordinary standard for a bar code of a commodity.
Information included in an ordinary bar code for a commodity includes the price of a commodity prior to discount, the name of the commodity and so forth, and the information mentioned is used also in the POS system to which the present invention is applied. Thus, the bar code production means adds the discount money amount information to the information of the ordinary bar code for a commodity to produce a bar code of the standard different from the ordinary standard for a bar code of a commodity. As a result, while the POS system can perform processing which can be performed by a conventional POS system, it can additionally perform discount processing.
Thus, the POS system is advantageous in that it can add discount information to ordinary commodity information simply.
Specific bar codes may be used for the bar codes of the ordinary standard for a commodity and the standard different from the ordinary standard for a commodity. In particular, the POS system may be constructed such that the bar code reading means of the bar code production apparatus reads a bar code of the JAN (Japanese Article Number) standard which is a standard bar code for a commodity prescribed by the Japanese Article Number, and the bar code production means produces a bar code of the CODE 128 standard and the bar code reading means of the POS apparatus is capable of reading the bar code of the CODE 128 standard.
Since the JAN standard is normally used as an ordinary bar code standard for a commodity in Japan, the bar code reading means of the bar code production apparatus reads a bar code of the JAN standard which is a standard bar code for a commodity in Japan. Since the JAN standard allows handling of data only of 13 figures, in order to use discount information, a bar code standard is preferably used which can handle a greater number of figures than the JAN standard.
Therefore, the bar code production means of the bar code production apparatus produces a bar code of the CODE 128 standard, and the bar code reading means of the POS apparatus is constructed so as to read the bar code of the CODE 128 standard. Accordingly, the POS apparatus can handle discount information while using the predetermined standard of the CODE 128.
Thus, the POS system is advantageous in that it is high in universal use since it basically uses an ordinary bar code standard for a commodity.
Since the POS system to which the present invention is applied can handle discount information in this manner, it is desirable to definitely indicate to the customer upon settlement that a discount service is provided. Thus, preferably the price outputting means of the POS apparatus displays the pre-discount price and the post-discount price so as to be visually observed by a customer upon settlement for the commodity.
In particular, generally a POS system is constructed such that, when settlement processing is performed, the price of an individual commodity can be visually observed by a customer. Thus, in the POS system to which the present invention is applied, in order to indicate to the customer that a discount service is provided actually, the price outputting means of the POS apparatus displays the pre-discount price and the post-discount price so as to be visually observed by a customer upon settlement for the commodity. As a result, the customer can visually discriminate whether or not each individual commodity is discounted actually, and also to the store side, it is advantageous that the customer does not have an unnecessary distrust to the store.
In order to indicate contents of a discount service more definitely to a customer, preferably the price outputting means of the POS apparatus outputs a receipt on which the pre-discount price and the post-discount price are printed after settlement for the commodity.
In particular, usually a POS system issues a receipt to a customer in almost all cases after settlement processing is performed. Therefore, in order to definitely indicate to a customer that a discount service is provided actually, the price outputting means of the POS apparatus outputs a receipt on which the pre-discount price and the post-discount price are printed after settlement for the commodity. As a result, a customer can confirm on the receipt whether or not each individual commodity is discounted actually, and can confirm contents of any service readily even after time passes after the settlement. Consequently, the POS system can maintain the trust of the customer.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts or elements are denoted by like reference symbols. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to recombinant DNA technology. It is especially useful for allowing the production of Epstein-Barr virus vectors capable of carrying foreign genes into B-lymphocytes.
B. Description Of The Art
Although some progress has been made in using recombinant-DNA techniques to carry foreign genes into certain eukaryotic hosts (e.g. using retrovirus vectors), it is of particular interest to develop vector systems that are specially suited for use with B-lymphocytes. Apart from pure research applications, this would enhance the ability to produce foreign proteinaceous materials in B-lymphocytes (e.g. where lymphocytes are a host of choice), and/or permit the development of drugs that interact with B-lymphocytes.
EBV is a human herpes virus of the gamma herpesviridae subfamily that infects and immortalizes B-lymphocytes in vitro. It is one of the lymphotrophic herpes viruses. Its viral DNA is usually maintained as complete multiple copies of plasmids in these immortalized cells. An origin of plasmid replication, oriP, is the only element required in cis for EBV plasmid replication. This was the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,186 (the disclosure of this patent and of all articles referred to herein are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth). These immortalized cells are said to be "latently" infected by EBV because only a few viral genes are usually expressed in them, and virion structural (packaging) genes are not among these normally expressed genes.
Under unusual circumstances (e.g. induction) viral gene expression can change dramatically to yield the "lytic" phase of the EBV life cycle. Most or all of the 90-100 viral genes are expressed during the lytic phase, and the viral DNA is amplified by a replication mechanism distinct from that used to maintain the viral DNA during its latent phase of infection.
Because of these factors, EBV is of interest as a potential vector system. However, there exists in nature no identified host cell which normally supports a lytic infection by this natural herpes virus. Moreover, the viral DNA (which is 172 kbp in length) is too large to permit engineering in vitro with the goal of introducing the mutant genomes into recipient cells. Also, primary human B-lymphocytes which are the natural host for infection with EBV are both intractable in culture and recalcitrant to DNA transfection. Thus, it can be seen that a need has existed for developing means of using EBV recombinants to carrying foreign genes into eukaryotic cells (such as B-lymphocytes). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device with a mechanism for securing a connector thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Connectors are commonly used in electronic devices. Usually, the connector is welded on a circuit board or a housing of the electronic device. In use, a coupling connector is repeatedly plugged into and unplugged from the connector, which may cause the connector to be tilted or otherwise deviated from its original position, which can cause the connection pins in the connector to be fractured.
Therefore, what is needed is an electronic device with a mechanism for securing a connector thereof to alleviate the limitations described above. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This application is a 371 of PCT/JP99/03381, filed Jun. 24, 1999.
The present invention relates to an RNA polymerase gene derived from hepatitis C virus (referred to as xe2x80x9cHCVxe2x80x9d herein), a method of screening using this gene or this RNA polymerase protein, and a substance able to be isolated by this screening method.
Generally known viral hepatitis includes hepatitis A which is mainly orally transmitted, and hepatitis B transmitted by means of the blood. Moreover, apart from these hepatitis, there is hepatitis called non-A, non-B hepatitis which is transmitted by means of blood transfusion. Since most of these infected with non-A, non-B hepatitis become chronic, and the incidence of development into cirrhosis and hepatoma is high, this is one disease for which the establishment of a certain means of treatment is urgently sought.
Through the causative agent of non-A, non-B hepatitis had been unclear for a long time, recently the causative virus was isolated by M. Houghton et al. (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kohyo) No. 2-500880), and was termed xe2x80x9cHCVxe2x80x9d. HCV is a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Flavivirdae, the length of its whole genomic RNA is about 9.4 kb. The genomic RNA is divided into 7 regions; core, E1, E2/NS1, NS2, NS3, NS4, and NS5; and the genes related to virus growth, etc. are primarily included in downstream regions from NS3.
HCV RNA polymerase is related to the transcription and replication of genomic RNA, and plays an important role in the reproduction of HCV. The gene encoding this polymerase is thought to be included in the above-mentioned NS5 region (Z. H. Yuan et al., Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 232, 231-235(1997), S. B. Hwang et al., Virology 227, 439-446(1997), S. E. Behrens et al., The EMBO Journal 15 12-22(1996)).
The Problem to Be Solved by the Invention
If the gene encoding HCV RNA polymerase can be isolated, it will become possible using this gene to easily screen for substances inhibiting RNA polymerase, and contribute greatly to the development of drugs for treating HCV. However, at present, although the nucleotide sequence of a portion of the NS5 region has been clarified (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 6-225770), the entire nucleotide sequence of the RNA polymerase gene has yet to be clarified.
The object of the present invention is to isolate the gene encoding the full length of HCV-derived RNA polymerase, to determine its nucleotide sequence, as well as to establish its expression system.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a screening method for a substance which inhibits the activity of this gene or this protein employing this gene or this RNA polymerase protein.
Means for Solving the Problem
In order to solve the above problem, the present inventors, as result of deliberate and focused research have succeeded in isolating the gene encoding the full-length of HCV-derived RNA polymerase, thereby completing the present invention.
That is to say, the present invention relates to the following (1) to (3).
(1) A gene encoding the following protein (a) or (b):
(a) a protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO:2;
(b) a protein consisting of an amino acid sequence derived from the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO:2 by deletion, substitution or addition of one or several amino acid(s), and which has RNA polymerase activity.
(2) A method of screening a substance which inhibits the activity of the gene of (1) above, or of the protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein this method comprises the following steps:
(a) a step of contacting the gene of (1) above or the protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO: 2, or a fragment of this protein, with a test sample; and,
(b) a step of selecting a substance which inhibits the activity of the gene of (1) above, or of the protein or the partial peptide fraction consisting of the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO: 2.
(3) A substance able to be isolated by the method of (2) above, wherein this substance inhibits the activity of the gene of (1) above or of the protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO: 2.
The descriptions contained in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 10-177817, which forms the basis of the right of priority of the present application, are incorporated herein in their entirety.
Below, the present invention will be explained in detail.
The gene of the present invention encodes (a) a protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO: 2; or, (b) a protein consisting of an amino acid sequence derived from the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO:2 by deletion, substitution, or addition of one or several amino acid(s) and having RNA polymerase activity.
The deletion, etc. of one or several amino acid can be performed by techniques in common use at the time of filing this application, such as, for example, site-specific mutagenesis (Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 6487-6500, 1982).
The gene of the present invention is able to be obtained from the blood of non-A, non-B hepatitis patients as described in the examples, or from the strain of E. coli into which a vector (pCALN/HCV RBZ) comprising the gene of the present invention was introduced, has been deposited at the National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (1-1-3, Higashi, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan) (Accession No. FERM BP-6763) on Oct. 31, 1997).
Further, the present invention relates to a screening method for a substance which inhibits the activity of this gene or this protein, employing the gene of the present invention or an RNA polymerase protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented in SEQ ID NO: 2; and, to a substance able to be isolated by this screening method employing this gene or this RNA polymerase protein.
The RNA polymerase encoded by the gene of the present invention is an enzyme involved in the transcription and replication of HCV genomic RNA. Therefore, a substance which inhibits this enzyme is thought to be able to prevent the reproduction of HCV, and is promising as a drug for treating non-A, non-B hepatitis. By using the gene of the present invention it will be possible to produce HCV-derived RNA polymerase easily and in great quantities, and as a result of this, the screening of inhibitory substances for the RNA polymerase will become simpler.
The protein of the present invention that can be used for screening can be either a recombinant type, a wild type, or a partial peptide. Further it can be a purified peptide or a partial peptide thereof.
One embodiment of this method of screening comprises the steps of (a) contacting the gene of the present invention or the protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2, or a fragment of this protein, with a test sample; and, (b) selected a substance which inhibits the activity of the gene of the present invention or the protein consisting of the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2. There is no particular limitation on what can be used as a test material in this screening method but for example, a cell extract, a cell culture supernatant, a protein, a peptide, or synthetic low molecular weight compound can be used. | {
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From the viewpoint of global warming, there are some moves to restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-based refrigerants (for example, R410A, R404A, R407C, R134a, and the like) with high global warming potential as refrigerants adopted for air-conditioning apparatuses. Accordingly, air-conditioning apparatuses that adopt refrigerants with small global warming potential (for example, HFO1234yf (hydrofluoroolefin), carbon dioxide, and the like) instead of HFC-based refrigerants have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
When an air-conditioning apparatus is installed in a large structure such as an office building, for example, the distance between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit becomes long in some cases. As a result, the refrigerant pipe becomes long, which increases the refrigerant circuit scale (system capacity). In air-conditioning apparatuses with large refrigerant circuit scale, in comparison to those with small refrigerant circuit scale, the flow rate of refrigerant increases accordingly, which increases the pressure loss of refrigerant. Accordingly, the problem is addressed by, for example, increasing the inside diameter of a refrigerant pipe through which a low pressure refrigerant that undergoes noticeable pressure loss flows.
In addition, as a technique for reducing pressure loss, there has been proposed a technique in which a bypass is provided from a refrigerant pipe through which a high pressure liquid phase refrigerant flows (high pressure side refrigerant pipe), to a refrigerant pipe through which a low pressure refrigerant flows (low pressure side refrigerant pipe) (see, for example, Patent Literature 2). The technique disclosed in Patent Literature 2 has a refrigerant circuit configuration in which a bypass is provided from the high pressure side refrigerant pipe to the low pressure side refrigerant pipe so that a part of the high pressure liquid phase refrigerant is passed to the low pressure side refrigerant pipe. Through this configuration, of the refrigerant flowing through the low pressure side refrigerant pipe, a low pressure refrigerant that undergoes large pressure loss is reduced in flow rate, thereby reducing pressure loss. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to video data processing, and more particularly, to a video transmitting system with on-the-fly encoding and on-the-fly delivering and an associated video receiving system.
According to one conventional video processing design, a frame-based pipeline structure may be employed. Regarding a video transmitting system, the pipeline stages may include a video encoder and a transmitting circuit. However, the video encoder does not start encoding a video frame until pixel data of the video frame is fully received, and the transmitting circuit does not start outputting a video bitstream of an encoded video frame until encoded pixel data of a video frame is fully generated. Regarding a video receiving system, the pipeline stages may include a video decoder and a display circuit. However, the video decoder does not start decoding a video bitstream of an encoded video frame until encoded pixel data of a video frame is fully received, and the display circuit does not start driving a display device to show a video frame until decoded pixel data of the video frame is fully generated. The conventional frame-based pipeline structure may fail to meet the requirements of some ultra-low latency applications due to long latency between pipeline stages. Thus, there is a need for an innovative ultra-low latency video transmitting system design and an ultra-low latency video receiving system design. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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It is well known that the quality of food is improved when it has been properly stirred or mixed during preparation. Stirring and mixing promotes even heating and cooking so that the finished product is consistently and thoroughly prepared. This is true whether the food is rice, oatmeal, meat, or popcorn. However, it is also known that the need to mix or stir food while it is being cooked is a time consuming, tiresome, and often tedious aspect of food preparation. Various attempts have been made to obviate or minimize the need for manual stirring of food while it is being cooked. These attempts include use a vibrating device to impart motion to the cooking system which causes relative movement between the system and the food being cooked as well as within the food itself. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Heisei 11-253309 describes a rice cooker that includes a vibrating part. The vibrating part imparts vibration to an inner pot that is removable from the rice cooker, and which holds the water and rice intended to be cooked. The cooker includes a heating part that may heat the inner pot by induction. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,997,018 discloses an electric griddle with a vibrating device attached to it to cause the cooking surface of the griddle to vibrate.
Previous attempts to use a vibrating device to assist in food preparation have had limited success for a variety of reasons. Because of their poor implementation, such attempts—including those disclosed in Heisei 11-253309 and the '018 patent—have been of limited usefulness in modern kitchens.
What is needed is an improved cooking system that will fully utilize the effectiveness of a vibrating device for assisting in the preparation of food.
The preparation of popcorn requires particular attention. In order to prepare a sufficient quantity of popped kernels that are uniformly cooked, the even application of heat to all of the kernels is imperative. Otherwise, some kernels pop earlier than others and become burned while the later-popping kernels continue to be heated. On the other hand, uneven heating can leave numerous kernels unpopped or only partially popped.
Many previous attempts have been made to engineer an efficient way to prepare high quality popcorn. For example, the well known Jiffy Pop® brand combines popcorn kernels and oil in a disposable aluminum pan with an expandable aluminum foil top. The Jiffy Pop® unit is heated on an electric range while the consumer continuously oscillates the unit, causing the kernels to move and mix in the pan. One obvious disadvantage of this method is the nearly constant attention that the consumer must pay to the task of shaking the disposable pan across the heat source.
Another example is the use of a microwave oven to heat a paper package containing kernels and oil. This method has well-known problems, including wildly uneven heating of the kernels resulting in burned popcorn and many kernels remaining unpopped. The overall flavor of popcorn prepared in the microwave is also well-known to be below average.
Thus, there is also a need for a reliable system to make high quality popcorn without requiring all of the attention of the consumer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Conventionally, in wireless LAN communication such as WiFi™ (Wireless Fidelity), once being connected to an access point, client terminal devices retain an SSID (Service Set Identifier) or the like of the access point. Such a client terminal device is configured, when detecting a known SSID in establishing a subsequent connection, to automatically connect to the access point associated with the known SSID.
The client terminal device also attempts to connect to an access point used for the last connection in a service area including a plurality of access points with which the client terminal has a connection history of the past. FIG. 7 illustrates an operation of a conventional client terminal device when attempting to connect to an access point. A client terminal device 32 automatically attempts to wirelessly connect to an access point 31B used for the last connection even despite the presence of an access point 31A with a higher signal level and a lighter network load.
Patent Literature 1 describes a technology by which base stations each inform a communication terminal about the count of communication terminals that are registered on and managed by the base stations and by which, upon the notification, the communication terminal selects, as a connection destination (for a handover), one of the base stations on which a relatively small count of communication terminals are registered. Patent Literature 2 also describes a wireless LAN system in which an access point, instead of a server, conducts authentication of client terminals. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed broadly relates to the field of medical devices, and more particularly relates to the field of devices for the control of fluid flow within the urethra.
2. Description of the Related Art
Incontinence is a condition wherein persons lose control over their voluntary, urinary function. The condition can arise from various causes. These causes include a variety of related and unrelated diseases, aging, and deterioration of the voluntary urethra sphincter muscle. The costs and inconvenience to persons suffering from this condition are great. Several remedies exist for this that are known in the prior art. Among these, the most common are surgical corrections (minor and major), drugs, and devices which serve to capture discharges (i.e., "capture" or diaper systems). Another solution is to place a patch over the urinary orifice to prevent unwanted discharge. Possibly the most effective solution to date is the use of artificial sphincters. These devices are surgically installed and are hydraulically or pneumatically driven, operating by inflation of ballasts to suppress fluid flow. However, control of these devices is not always easy and is often inconvenient. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus to control the urinary function. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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System virtualization is the abstraction and pooling of resources on a platform. The abstraction decouples software and hardware and enables multiple operating systems to execute concurrently on a single physical platform without interfering with each other. To permit operating systems to execute on the same physical platform, a platform layer implemented in software decouples the operating system from the underlying hardware. This platform layer is referred to as a hypervisor and the operating system is referred to as a guest operating system.
To provide protection and isolation between guest operating systems and the hypervisor, the hypervisor controls address translation on the hardware (e.g., a processor) when guest operating systems are active. This level of address translation maps the guest operating system's view of the physical memory of the processor to the hypervisor's view of the physical memory. Software-based techniques maintain a shadow version of a page table (e.g., a data structure used by a virtual memory system in an operating system to store a mapping between virtual addresses and physical addresses) derived from a guest page table. The shadow version of the page table is referred to as a shadow page table. The shadow page table is managed by the hypervisor. When a guest operating system is active, the shadow page table is used to perform address translation. The shadow page table is not visible to the guest operating system, and the guest operating system is forced to use the guest page table to perform address translation.
To maintain a valid shadow page table, the hypervisor keeps track of the state of the guest page table. This includes modifications by the guest operating system to add or remove translations in the guest page table, guest operating system and/or hypervisor induced page faults (e.g., referencing memory that cannot be referenced), accessed and dirty bits in the shadow page table, etc. The hypervisor ensures that the guest page table is mapped correctly to the shadow page table, especially when a guest operating system is switching from one stack to another stack (e.g., a last in, first out (LIFO) abstract data type and linear data structure). Otherwise, the guest operating system will experience a page fault when attempting to switch to the other stack.
One method to ensure that the guest operating system does not experience a page fault may include retrieving a new stack before every stack pointer changing instruction. However, such a method may incur high overhead due to the high frequency of stack push and pop instructions. Another method may include retrieving a new stack before every stack load instruction (e.g., a move instruction, a leave instruction, an exchange instruction, etc.). This method may address the problems associated with the stack push and pop instructions, but experiences difficulties when the stacks are multiple pages. A problem with multiple page stacks is that all of the current stack pages may need to be mapped. This is difficult for the hypervisor to accomplish because at the time of execution by the guest operating system, the hypervisor is unaware, given a new stack pointer, which pages are part of the stack. For example, the hypervisor may know that the new stack pointer is part of the stack but may not know whether a previous page or a next page is part of the stack. However, all pages of a given stack may need to be mapped by the hypervisor for stack push and pop instructions to execute unchecked. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fishing equipment and more particularly to an alarm device for alerting a fisher that a particular fishing line has a bite.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known in the art, many alarm devices for alerting fishers of fish strikes have been developed. However, the prior art is filled with devices that are bulky, complicated to set up, too time consuming in set up or a combination of the three. Additionally, the alarm portion of many prior art devices is activated by the slightest movement of the line, which leads to inadvertent alerts that may annoy neighboring fishers and creates the hassle of having to reset the alarm.
The present invention is directed to an improved alarm device and includes a sleek, light weight body that is easily fastened to the frame of a fishing rod or a stake. The fishing line is placed within a clamp and the alarm is set. If a fish strikes that particular line with sufficient force to pull the fishing line from the clamp, the alarm system, which includes a visual and audible signal, will be triggered and will alert the fisher that a strike is in progress. The alarm system is easily deactivated through the flip of a switch.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,627 issued in the name of Gibbs et al., describes a folding stowable trolling rig for a plurality of fishing rods.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,804 issued in the name of Shearer et al., describes a holder for multiple fishing rods pivotally attached to the support column of a swivel mounted boat chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,015 issued in the name of Jenkins, describes a multiple featured fishing system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,028 issued in the name of Hull et al., describes a combination fishing rod holder and bite indicator for use by bank fisherman.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,512 issued in the name of Amos, describes an apparatus for audibly alerting a fisherman of a bite on a fishing line associated with one or more unattended rod and reel assemblies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,453 issued in the name of Roberts Sr. Project Director, describes a fishing rod holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,073 issued in the name of Zdankoski, describes a combination fishing box, creel, pole holder, bait box, and seat.
U.S. Pat. No. D443,020 issued in the name of Ratza et al., is an ornamental design for a fishing rod holder.
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing a fishing alarm apparatus that is light weight and inexpensive, and yet easily serviceable by the user when in the field.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved fishing alarm device.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide an improved alarm device for fishing that is easily attached to a fishing rod.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide an improved alarm device for fishing that is capable of freely standing apart from a fishing rod but capable of alerting a fisher of a fish strike.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide an improved alarm device for fishing that has multiple alarm means.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide an improved alarm device for fishing that is sturdy, yet, light weight so as to withstand typical use of the device while allowing for easy transportation and storage.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide an improved alarm device for fishing that is affordable.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide an improved alarm device for fishing that is easily serviced by the user at low cost.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide an improved alarm device for fishing that is water tight.
Briefly described according to one embodiment of the present invention, a free standing fishing alarm is provided in which the head or tail member(s) may be threadably attached to the body member, creating a water tight environment for the circuitry and associated components, or removed from the body member to allow service and maintenance of the device. The body member internally houses the circuitry, including batteries, and the lighting and audible signaling means. The body member externally houses a clamp means, a toggle switch, a fastening means, and two opposable ends with threads for receiving the head and tail members so as to provide a unified device. A user can simply attach the device to a fishing rod or a stake, cast the fishing line, place the line within the clamp means, flip the toggle switch xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and wait for the xe2x80x9cbig onexe2x80x9d to strike.
Another preferred embodiment of the present invention provides for a second clamp means located along the external circumference of the body member approximately 180xc2x0 apart from the first clamp means. The addition of a second clamp means allows multiple lines to be monitored by the free standing fishing alarm. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In handling digital data, various security measures such as data encryption are utilized for preventing unauthorized accesses. Security measures for image data include techniques to embed a visible watermark in image data for displaying an image irrelevant to original contents over a reproduced image so as to prevent a user without valid authority from reproducing and utilizing the contents.
Visible watermarking is implemented by applying techniques for embedding a digital watermark in an image. Specifically, using a technique for embedding invisible watermark information (such as fingerprinting) in an image for the purpose of copyright protection, tracking of unauthorized use, and detection of tampered data, a visible watermark pattern is embedded instead of invisible watermark information or in addition to invisible watermark information (see Patent Document 1, for example). This operation causes the visible watermark pattern to appear over the original motion picture when the video contents into which the visible watermark has been embedded is replayed, thus obstructing one's view. Therefore, by giving information for eliminating the visible watermark to authorized users, such a system can be constructed that allows only users having valid authority can replay and see the original motion picture.
In the case image data is encrypted, an image cannot be reproduced at all if the cipher cannot be decrypted, whereas masking of an image with a visible watermark can implement various aspects depending on purposes such as covering an entire screen to prevent one to recognize a reproduced image at all and covering a portion of the screen to allow one to guess what is shown on the screen, providing greater utility.
FIG. 15 shows examples of a screen that shows a content image and one that shows the same image together with an image showing a visible watermark covering some portions of the image.
There has been a completely lossless method for embedding and removing a visible watermark in/from image data for still picture data in JPEG format and the like (see Patent Document 1, for example). However, for motion picture data that is produced by digitalizing video contents, no effective technique for embedding visible watermarks had been proposed.
Motion picture data such as video is typically handled (preserved, processed, or transferred) with the information compressed because such data involves a vast amount of data. In MPEG format, which is used for DVD video and the like, compression for motion picture data is performed through encoding using DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) and motion-compensated inter-frame predictive coding (see Non-Patent Document 1, for example).
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No. 3269015
[Non-Patent Document 1]
“Illustrated Tutorial of the latest MPEG” editorial supervision by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Multimedia Communication Workshop ed. ASCII, Jul. 26, 1994 | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a tape cassette which is most suitable for use in a recording/reproducing apparatus such as a video tape recorder or other information processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a tape cassette which has a front cover rotatably attached in the front of a cassette casing to protect the surface of a magnetic tape and a rear cover pivotally supported by the front cover so as to be moved in cooperation therewith and serving to cover the back of the magnetic tape with the opening and closing operations of the front cover. In this tape cassette, vertically movable plugs are inserted in through holes formed in the cassette casing so that, when the positions of these plugs are changed arbitrarily, an information detecting sensor provided in the video tape recorder is made to detect the positions of the plugs thus changed, thereby making it possible to confirm various cassette information such as the prevention of miserasing.
In this kind of tape cassette, in order to protect a magnetic tape stretched on the front side of the cassette main body, the magnetic tape is held between the front cover and the rear cover provided rotatably and openably in the front of the cassette main body. (See Japanese Utility Model Unexamined publication No. 60-194787, for example.)
A conventional tape cassette of the above-described type will be described below with reference to the drawings. Heretofore, this type of tape cassette has been constructed as shown in FIGS. 1 to 8.
In FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, a tape cassette comprises a front cover 7, an upper half 1 and a lower half 2, in which tape cassette a pair of tape reels 3 (S side) and 4 (T side) on which a magnetic tape 5 is wound are encased. The front cover 7 has a substantially U-shaped form in cross section, and a pair of first fulcrum pins 7b are formed integrally on the insides of right and left lugs 7a extending from opposite ends of the front cover 7 and facing in parallel with each other, the fulcrum pins 7b extending inwardly while being coaxial with each other.
As shown in FIG. 2, the front cover 7 has a pair of brackets 7h formed on the inside of the top and located at positions close to the center thereof. A pair of pin holes 7s are formed in the lower portions of the brackets so as to be substantially coaxial with each other. A pair of support pins 8a provided at right and left opposite ends of a rear cover 8 are to be inserted into the pair of pin holes 7s, respectively, so as to make the rear cover 8 rotatable about the support pins 8a.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the opposite fulcrum pins 7b of the front cover 7 formed as described above are respectively brought into engagement with a pair of pin engaging holes 2i, if which are formed in right and left opposite side walls 2f, 1e of a cassette casing 6. A pair of second pins 8b are formed at right and left opposite ends of the rear cover 8 so as to be integral therewith and substantially coaxial with each other and are brought into engagement with guide grooves 11 for free sliding movement in the vertical direction. It is therefore possible to close/open the front and rear covers substantially simultaneously with respect to the magnetic tape 5 stretched on the front side of the cassette casing 6 with the rotary motion of the front cover.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the front cover 7 is rotatably attached to the cassette casing by bringing the opposite first fulcrum pins 7b thereof into engagement with the pair of pin engaging holes 2i, 1f formed in the right and left side walls 2f, 1e of the casing so that it can rotate in directions a and a' through about 90.degree. between two positions where the cover is opened and closed as shown in FIG. 3, thereby serving to open and close a front opening of the cassette casing. As shown in FIG. 4, there is provided a gap 16 between the inside of one of the end lugs 7a of the front cover 7 and the side wall 2f of the cassette casing which faces on the lug concerned, and the front cover 7 is urged to rotate in the direction of closing the cover by means of a torsion coiled spring 10 fitted on the first fulcrum pin 7b. The torsion coiled spring 10 is engaged at one end 10b thereof with a spring stopper 7e projecting from the inside of one end 7a of the front cover 7 at a position in front of the first fulcrum pin 7b and at the other end 10a thereof with another spring stopper 1d formed integrally with another side wall 1a of the cassette casing located rearwards of the first fulcrum pin 7b.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, following the opening and closing operations of the front cover 7 (bracket portions 7h), the rear cover 8 moves rotatively about the support shafts 8a while other support shafts 8b of the rear cover 8 are fitted and inserted into the guide grooves 11 formed in the lower half 2, and therefore, it is possible to forcibly open and close the cover at the rear of the magnetic tape. Namely, the support shafts 8b serve as the control shafts when the rear cover 8 is opened and closed.
Further, since the rear cover 8 is required to move smoothly when opened and closed, it becomes necessary to provide a proper play (clearance; not shown) between the guide groove 11 of the lower half 2 and the opening and closing control shaft 8b. However, too much play will result in the deterioration of the sealing performance between the rear cover 8 and the front cover 7, thereby to exert bad influence on the information recorded and stored on the magnetic tape due to dust and the like from the outside. Particularly when the cassette is turned upside down, there is a tendency to cause a space between the front cover 7 and the rear cover 8 attributable to the individual weight of the rear cover 8 itself, the size of the space being equivalent to the play.
A biasing coiled spring 12 is supported on the rotation support shaft 8a of the rear cover 8 with one end thereof pressed against the bracket 7h of the front cover 7 and the other end thereof pressed against the vicinity of the rotation control shaft 8b, and a play suitable for smooth rotation is provided between the movement control shaft 8b and the guide groove 11 as described above, and, at the same time, the rear cover 8 is applied with the biasing force to close the cover at all times. With the above construction, even if the tape cassette is used harshly, the sealing performance between the front cover 7 and the rear cover 8 is improved so that the information recorded and stored on the magnetic tape can be protected.
In FIG. 5, in the space of a gap 47 defined by projection 2h at the rear of the first fulcrum pin 7b at one end (lug) 7a of the front cover 7, a locking member 9 is rotatably attached. The locking member 9 is formed integrally with a pivot shaft 9a (second fulcrum) at its top end, a locking pawl 9k at its lower front and a lock releasing protrusion 9h at its rear bottom end. The pivot shaft 9a is brought into engagement with pin engaging holes 2g formed in the cassette casing so that the locking member 9 is made rotatable back and forth. Further, the locking member 9 is urged to rotate forwardly at all times by means of a spring 13. A shown in FIG. 6, in a state where the front cover 7 is closed, the locking pawl 9k of the locking member 9 is brought into engagement with a protrusion 7d, which is formed integrally with the lug 7a of the front cover 7 so as to project inwardly at a lower end position P.sub.2 located in rear of the first fulcrum shaft 7b, from behind and below, thereby locking the front cover in the nearly closed condition.
In FIG. 5, each of the engaging holes with which the first fulcrum pins 7b of the front cover 7 are brought into engagement consists of the substantially semicircular holes 1f and 2i formed in the vertical combining portions of the right and left opposite side walls 1e and 2f of the upper and lower halves 1 and 2. The engaging holes 2g with which the pivot shaft 9a of the locking member 9 is brought into engagement are formed in the substantially U-shaped locking member receiving wall portion provided in rear of the front cover 7 and formed at the upper end of one or both of the side walls of the lower half 2 so as to have a top-opened U-shaped form. By fastening together the upper and lower halves 1 and 2 with screws or the like with both first fulcrum pins 7b of the front cover 8 kept in engagement with the holes consisting of the upper and lower semicircular holes and with the right and left opposite ends of the pivot shaft (second fulcrum) 9a of the locking member 9 kept in engagement with the pin engaging holes, the front cover 7 and the locking member 9 can be rotatably attached separately without any possibility of their coming off.
As the tape cassette having the above construction is loaded into the VTR (not shown), a lock releasing member 14 which can project from the VTR side is made to come in contact with the lock releasing protrusion 9h (9j) of the locking member 9 as shown in FIG. 6, so that the locking member 9 is moved back rotatively about the pivot shaft 9a and the locking pawl 9k is disengaged from the protrusion 7d of the front cover to release the locked condition. Then, a cover opening member (not shown) formed on the VTR side is inserted into a space 16 defined between the front cover 7 and the cassette casing side wall stepped surfaces 1e, 2f so as to push up an end face 7p of the front cover 7 against the biasing torsion coiled spring 10 and, at substantially the same time, the bracket 7h formed integrally with the front cover 7 is rotated about the first fulcrum pin 7b and, further, the pushing force is transmitted to the support pin 8a of the rear cover 8 which is supported by the bracket 7h at all times. In this case, contrary to the cover closing operation, the rotation control pin 8b of the rear cover 8 is moved toward the upper part of the cassette within the guide groove 11 of the lower half 2 against the biasing force of the torsion coiled spring 12, so that the rear cover 8 which has been served to protect the back of the magnetic tape is separated therefrom and the front cover 7 is separated from the surface of the magnetic tape. In this way, the covers are removed to open an opening L, thereby competing the loading of the magnetic tape in the VTR.
Next, description will be given of the construction for the judgement of various types of cassette information such as the prevention of miserasing in this kind of conventional tape cassette, that is, the construction in which the cassette is formed with through holes at plural points thereof and in which vertically movable plugs are disposed in these through holes so that positions of the plugs can be changed as desired, by referring to the drawings.
Referring to FIGS. 9 and 13, the cassette casing 6 consists of the upper and lower halves 1 and 2, and the reels 3 and 4 on which the magnetic tape 5 is wound are rotatably encased in the cassette casing 6. The front cover 7 is rotatably attached to the front end portion of the cassette casing 6, and the rear cover 8 capable of being opened and closed following the rotation of the front cover is further attached thereto. In addition, the cassette casing 6 is formed with three vertical through holes 20' (21', 20") at points located on right and left of the front part thereof and at a point located at the center of the rear part thereof. The through holes 20', 21', 20" formed on the back side of the cassette at the points located on right and left of the front part thereof serve as reference holes for positioning when the cassette casing is to be loaded in the recording/reproducing apparatus such as the video tape recorder. Within these through holes 20' (21'), plugs 28' are inserted respectively, and within through hole 20", plug 28" is inserted.
Referring next to FIGS. 10a and 10b, each plug 28' is formed at tis upper end with a tool insert groove 28b' and at its lower end with a protrusion 28d' which projects in the horizontal direction, and two upper and lower stepped portions 24' and 25' are formed in the through hole at different angular positions. The plug is to be inserted in the through hole while being urged by a spring so as to bring the horizontal protrusion at the lower end of the plug into engagement with either of the two upper and lower stepped portions 24' and 25'. By so doing, the vertical position of the plug in the through hole can be changed.
Referring to FIGS. 13, 10A and 10B, cylindrical projecting portions 18', 18" and 19', 19" are formed in the upper and lower halves 1' and 2', respectively, so as to meet at surface 29' form the through holes 20', 20", the surfaces 24' and 25' for restricting the vertical movement of the plug 28' (slit-like upper and lower positioning portions, the vertical and angular positions of which differ from each other in the through hole), and, further, the positioning and sensor insertion holes 21' when the cassette is to be loaded in the VTR.
The plug 28' is formed in the top end part thereof which a crown portion 28a' and the tool insert groove 28b' which can be handled from the outside by means of a screw-driver 42' or the like, and a coiled spring 40' serving to apply an elastic biasing force is disposed around the cylinder part located between the crown portion 28a' and the lower end protrusion 28d'.
The through hole 20' serves both as the insertion hole through which the crown portion 28a' of the plug is to be moved elastically and as the rotative operation range of the top end of the screw-driver.
Referring to FIGS. 10A to 12B, when it is intended to move within the cassette casing 6 the plug 28' which has the elastic coiled spring 40' disposed between the crown portion 28a' and the lower end protrusion 28d', the tip end of the screw-driver 42' is brought into engagement with the groove 28b' formed in the crown portion 28a' of the plug 28' from the outside so as to press down the plug 28' until the lower end protrusion 28d' of the plug 28' is engaged with and inserted into the insertion groove formed in the upper half 1 and goes downwards in the vertical direction beyond the lower surface of the cassette casing 6 against the elastic soiled spring 40' as shown in FIG. 11. In this state, the plug 28' is rotated about the axis thereof in the direction of R' through 180.degree. so as to fix the position of the lower end protrusion 28d' at the point where either of the slit-like positioning portions 24' and 25' is formed in the cassette casing 6 due to the elastic restoring force of the coiled spring 40'. In this way, the vertical position of the plug 28' can be changed within the through hole 21'.
On the other hand, a position detective sensor pin 41' is formed upright on the VTR apparatus for free vertical movement for transferring a signal to the VTR apparatus according to the vertical position at which the position detective sensor 41' comes in contact with the lower end portrusion 28d' of the plug 28' and, further, with a lower end surface 28e', so as to prevent the re-recording of information or the miserasing of the information recorded already on the magnetic tape.
FIG. 11 shows the operation for moving the plug 28' from the upper position 25' to the lower position 24'. Namely, in the state where the tip end of the screw-driver 42' is brought into engagement with the groove 28b' formed in the crown potion 28a' so as to press down the plug 28' until the lower end protrusion 28d' of the plug 28' is engaged with and inserted into the insertion groove formed in the upper half 1 and goes downwards vertically beyond the lower surface of the cassette casing 6 against the elastic coiled spring 40', the plug 28' is rotated in the direction of R' through 180.degree..
Then, as the plug 28' is moved to the position where the plug lower end portrusion 28d' engages with another vertical groove, the elastic restoring force generated by the coiled spring 40' is transmitted to the plug 28' so that the lower end protrusion 28d' is received in the lower positioning portion 24' as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. On the other hand, the operation for moving the lower end protrusion 28d' from the lower positioning portion 24' to the upper positioning portion 25' is reverse to the operation described in connection with FIG. 11, that is, in the state where the lower end protrusion 28d' is pressed down until it goes beyond the lower surface of the cassette casing 6 due to the operation performed from above, the plug 28' is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of R' through 180.degree. so as to make the lower end protrusion 28d' engage with the other vertical groove likewise. As a result, the lower end protrusion is received in the upper positioning portion 25' due to the elastic restoring force generated by the coiled spring 40.
However, the conventional tape cassette of this kind has the following problem. Namely, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, in the conventional tape cassette, it becomes necessary to provide the space 16 and the front cover face 7p for enabling, when the tape cassette is loaded in the VTR, the cover opening member (not shown) formed on the VTR side to open the front cover to the tape cassette after releasing the locked condition by the contact of the locking releasing member 14 with the releasing protrusion 9h (9j) of the locking member as shown in FIG. 6, and hence, it is necessary to provide a gap S between the cassette casing 6 and the front cover 7.
In FIG. 14, the tape cassette (casing 6) which comprises the above-described front cover 7 and the rear cover 8 is provided with the lugs 7a, first stepped surfaces 1e, 2f which are formed in one or both of the side walls of the cassette casing 6 and which have the thickness equal to that of the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft is formed, and tapered second stepped surfaces 1g, 2j which are formed forwardly of the first stepped surfaces 1e, 2f in the cassette casing, so that there can be assured and provided between the front cover lug 7a and the second stepped surfaces 1g, 2j the space 16 through which the front cover opening member formed on the VTR side is made to pass as well as the gap S. On the other hand, the front cover 7 is formed at the lower end thereof with the stepped surface 7p with which the cover opening member is made to come in contact.
As the cassette casing 6 is loaded in the VTR apparatus, the lock releasing member 14 of the VTR is made to come in contact with the lock releasing projection 9h (9j) of the locking member 9 of the tape cassette as shown in FIG. 6, so as to release the lock for preventing the front cover 7 from being opened. Then, as soon as the cassette casing 6 is positioned in the standard position in the VTR in a short time, the front cover opening member (not shown) formed on the VTR side is inserted through the gap S so as to perform the cover opening operation against the biasing torsion provided by biasing torsion coiled spring 10.
In FIG. 14, the front cover opening member formed on the VTR is required to have a proper width from the viewpoint of the strength. Further, in consideration of the scatter in the positional accuracy of attaching, the proper width S of the space 16 becomes necessary. Increase of the width S contributes to the improvement of the chucking reliability of the VTR at the time of opening the cover, but too large a width S interferes with the loading area for tape travelling in the cassette. Accordingly, it is necessary that the width S take a proper value which can satisfy these two conditions.
If an impact load is applied to the corner of the front cover 7 of the above-described tape cassette in the direction of W (when the tape cassette is dropped, for example) as shown in FIG. 14, not only is the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft of the front cover is formed deformed (moved) elastically within the gap S, but also, the corner of the front cover lug 7a is cracked, or the lug 7a is broken at the corner, so that it becomes impossible to open and close the front cover, resulting in the fatal defect of the cassette that the recorded information is lost due to exposure of the surface of the magnetic tape 5 to dust from the outside, fingerprint, moisture, smoke or the like.
Further, if a load is applied to the corner of the front cover 7 in the direction of W so that the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft is formed is deformed elastically within the gap S, if the strength of the corner is high enough to prevent the cracking, the reaction force causes the pivot shaft 7b of the front cover to come off from the cassette casing 6 or to be broken to make it impossible to open and close the front cover itself while the magnetic tape surface is being exposed, resulting in the fatal defect noted above.
Further, if a load is applied to the corner of the front cover in the direction of W so that the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft of the front cover is formed is deformed elastically within the gap S and the front cover corner, the pivot shaft 7b and the engaging holes 1f, 2i of the cassette casing having the impact strength, since the rear cover 8 itself and the movement thereof are held and controlled by a pair of guide shafts 8b between a pair of guide grooves 11 provided in the cassette casing 6 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 14, the impact force is transmitted to the brackets 7h formed on the inside of the front cover 7 for pivotally supporting the rotary shafts 8a of the rear cover, with the result that the brackets 7h are broken so as to cause the rear cover 8 to be disengaged from the tape cassette. If the rear cover 8 is disengaged from the tape cassette, since the tape 5 is damaged and the back of the magnetic tape is exposed, the information recorded and stored is lost as mentioned before, resulting in the fatal defect as well.
The above-described conventional tape cassette further has the following problem. Namely, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, from viewpoint of the design of the convention tape cassette, in order to detect the terminal end of the tape reel, holes 7c and 2c through which the photodetective optical path is made to pass and which are formed in the front cover 7 and the cassette casing 6, must be aligned with each other when the front cover is fully opened. The locking protrusion 7d' formed beforehand integrally on the inside of one or both of the lugs 7a at the opposite side ends of the front cover 7 can be released from the cover closing condition after the front cover 7 is permitted to rotate upwards of the cassette casing at the time when the locking member 9 is temporarily rotated backwards of the cassette casing by an external means such as the releasing member 14 of the VTR, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, that is, at the time of releasing the locked condition. In this case, since the locking member 9 is always urged rotatively toward the front of the cassette (or in the direction of locking the cover) about the pivot shaft 9a by means of the spring 10 (13) or the like, if there is exerted no external constraining force to the biasing force Pb, the locking member 9 is allowed to move easily within the movable range as shown in FIG. 15. In consideration of the cumulative moving backlash of the cassette in the VTR and, further, the cumulative attaching backlash of the lock releasing member 14 and the like, it is easily possible to cause the lock releasing member 14 to strike at the air. As shown in FIG. 15, since the optical path 2c along which a ray of light is made to pass when the cover is opened is covered with the locking pawl 9k of the locking member and the vicinity thereof, it is impossible to detect the terminal end of the tape so as to bring about the malfunction. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, in case that the front cover tends to rotate in the cover closing direction due to the biasing force Pf' with the locking member being rotated forwardly of the cassette due to the biasing force Pb' of the spring 10 or the like, the locking protrusion 7d' formed on the inside of the front cover 7a comes into contact with a surface 9e of the locking member so that the front cover and the locking member are restrained unreasonably so as to be brought to a standstill relative to each other. If they are kept in this state, not only can the tape cassette not be ejected out of the VTR, but also, the VTR or the cassette casing may by damaged if ejection by force is tried. In addition, if the locking member 9 is returned to its regular position unexpectedly, the front cover is rotated in the cover closing direction irrespective of the position of the magnetic tape drawn out, with the result that the magnetic tape is damaged to cause the information recorded and stored thereon to be lost. This is a serious defect that can take place whether the cassette casing exists inside or outside of the VTRs.
In the state shown in FIG. 16, if it is tried to push the front cover by force in the cover closing direction, the abutting force between the front cover and the locking member is increased to damage either member, thereby making it impossible to fulfill the prescribed function.
Moreover, the conventional tape cassette of this kind has the following problem. Namely, as shown in FIG. 17, it is necessary in the first place to insert (or temporarily fit) the plug 28' in the cassette upper half 1. In this case, since the vertical insertion groove with which an upper surface 28c' of the plug lower end protrusion 28d' is brought into engagement is not formed in the through hole 20' of the cylindrical projecting portion 18', the plug 28' itself is inclined in the direction X within the range of the plug receiving portion 20' and, further, pressed down against the biasing force 2' produced by the coiled spring 40' until the lower end protrusion 28d' goes beyond the plug lower positioning portion 24' of the upper half 1, that is, the position of greater displacement. For this reason, the operation is very complicated and requires sufficient experience in practice.
Then, the upper and lower halves are to be coupled together and fastened with screw or the like. By so doing, after the plug 28' is moved vertically and rotated about the axis thereof through about 180.degree., the vertical position of the plug 28' can be changed. However, since the positioning portions 24' and 25' with and by which the plug lower end protrusion 28' is brought into contact and positioned are provided in the upper and lower halves, respectively, with their heights and angular positions being different from each other, the structure of molds becomes complicated and, at the same time, it is difficult to mold these halves, with the result in that the cost is increased and, further, it becomes liable to cause the scattering because the upper and lower positions are constructed by the combination of the upper and lower halves.
In addition, in case of changing the plug itself between the upper and lower positions, since the stroke is so long that the plug lower end protrusion 28d' must be moved down to the lower surface of the cassette casing 6', the elastic reaction force of the spring becomes large naturally with the increase of the stroke, resulting in the operational difficulty as well.
Moreover, since the upper and lower halves are simply joined face to face with each other, if an unexpected high load is applied to the cassette casing 6 due to drop impact or the like, an offset U is caused due to disagreement between the cylindrical projecting portions of the upper and lower halves as shown in FIG. 18, so that the plug 28' assumes an aspect reverse to that assumed when it is temporarily fixed in the upper half. As a result, a spring biasing reaction force is exerted on the plug 28' so that the plug 28' is disengaged upwards from the cassette casing, thereby giving rise to a fatal defect that the prescribed function cannot be fulfilled. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
It is thus known for example to provide a transverse support in automotive vehicles in the region of the front wall which separates the engine compartment and the automotive vehicle interior from each other. This transverse support serves, on the one hand, for supporting the instrument panel, in addition heavy elements, such as for example the air-conditioning unit, passenger airbag etc. can be supported here. It is now problematic that, on the one hand, the stability of this transverse support is desired, on the other hand, the assembly of this support, in particular if it supports parts such as air-conditioning units etc. is very complex.
Because of the strong competition in the automobile industry, it is necessary in addition to optimise the constructions such that rapid assembly in the automobile factory is possible. However, the quality of the automotive vehicles should hereby be ensured and the installation conditions for the operators should also be good. However this can be problematic in particular when automotive vehicles are becoming more and more complex.
This is problematic in particular in the case of automotive vehicles with so-called head-up displays (HUD). These head-up displays project important travel information, such as e.g. vehicle speed or engine rpm, directly onto the windscreen so that this information can be read by the driver at close range without having to divert his gaze away from the windscreen.
However, this interaction with the windscreen presents the vehicle constructors with new demands. The complex projection device must preferably be able to be tested, even before its assembly, in interaction with other electronic components in the automotive vehicle in order to prevent complex re-assembly operations. On the other hand, a rapid and secure connection of the projection device to the windscreen should be made possible in order that a picture is produced without shakiness, even with vehicle vibration. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to personal toilet devices, particularly to foldable personal commodes, as well as to portable, stowable personal commodes, and most particularly to portable, compact, sturdy, mechanically flexible, non-chemical personal portable commodes which offer the user a variety of operating options to meet his or her personal physical requirements.
While personal, portable commodes utilizing water and chemicals in a flush system have been in use for years, as well as various devices for the dry collection of human waste in a bag or solid container, the state of the art, prior to the present invention, has not included an invention which offers such portability, stability, compactness, sanitary features, novel systematic collection of waste and flexibility of operation.
While the present invention can be effectively used by ambulatory, nor non-impaired, persons, it is particularly suited to, and primarily designed for, individuals who have physical disabilities which prevent them from easy access to and operation of standard private or public toilet facilities; i.e. those found in homes, restaurants, hotels, motels, cabins, boats, recreational vehicles, campgrounds, vans, certain airplanes and other typical commode locations.
Further, such a device is useful in home health care, post operative and/or rehabilitative situations where the individual may have difficulty due to his impairment in accessing conventional toilet facilities. Prior personal portable commodes did not satisfy such needs for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to design inadequacies, cost, weight, lack of stability, small platform size, small seat size, maintenance requirements, service requirements, and other operational drawbacks. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charge-coupled device (CCD), and more particularly, to such a device which has improved transfer efficiency.
2. State of the Prior Art
It is known in two-phase CCD devices to employ either a true two-phase structure with two distinct potential levels under a single gate electrode or a pseudo two-phase structure in which there is a uniform, but distinct, potential level under each of two electrically-connected gate electrodes which form one clock phase. In applications involving long device cells and in high-speed applications, the transfer efficiency of these conventional structures is not entirely satisfactory. Thus, ways have been sought to improve the transfer efficiency in CCD's while at the same time not unduly complicating the process of making the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,983, is directed to improving the transfer efficiency in a charge transfer device of the bucket brigade type. The device disclosed in this patent includes two different threshold voltages in the transfer region between each pair of successive storage sites. There is a substantially abrupt transition between the two different threshold voltages in the transfer region. The abrupt transition is provided to improve the transfer efficiency of the device by solving the problem of feedback voltage which occurs between the transferor zone (source) and the transferee zone (drain). Such a problem does npt exist in CCD'however, and thus, this patent does not provide a solution to the problem of increasing the transfer efficiency in a CCD. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Model based programming and procedural programming are two different programming language models. To illustrate the differences between model based and procedural programming, consider the following statements:10X=220Y=X+530X=140 PRINT YIn a procedural programming language, printing Y on line 40 would result in a 7, since the value of Y was set at line 20. In a model based programming language, line 20 tells the system that Y is dependent on X, and should float with the value of X. Thus, after line 30, the value of Y will be 6, and 6 would be output at line 40.
Many conventional spreadsheet applications allow users to develop interdependent formulas in which variables (e.g., X and Y) are references to cells in a spreadsheet table. The formulas may be used to execute calculations according to the model based approach. This is very powerful, and one reason why spreadsheets are such indispensable tools. An entire model of interdependent formulas can be built up, and then changing one value can cause a ripple effect across all the expressions, without the programmer needing to explicitly re-execute all those expressions.
In the exemplary statements above, lines 10, 20, 30, 40 are executed in order, thereby injecting the procedural approach into the statements. Many conventional spreadsheet applications have no sense of an ordered procedural approach. To inject a procedural aspect into spreadsheet operations and/or to perform advanced tasks within a spreadsheet application, it is typically required to use a separate procedural programming language such as, for example, Visual Basic, in connection with the spreadsheet application. However, there are a number of drawbacks associated with this model. In particular, these programming languages are often too complex and/or unfamiliar to many spreadsheet users. Additionally, functions typically don't translate well between spreadsheets and procedural programming languages, and there is a basic mismatch between the procedural approach and spreadsheet's model driven approach. Another drawback of this model is that conventional procedural programming languages may consume too many resources in a server environment. Conventional procedural programming languages typically also have security issues that make them undesirable for execution in a server environment. Thus, many conventional spreadsheet services do not even offer a procedural programming language to users. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to field of information processing. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a system and method for reducing channel quality indicator (CQI) feedback in communication systems.
Description of the Related Art
Wireless communication systems transmit and receive signals within a designated electromagnetic frequency spectrum, but the capacity of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum is limited. As the demand for wireless communication systems continues to expand, there are increasing challenges to improve spectrum usage efficiency. To improve the communication capacity of the systems while reducing the sensitivity of the systems to noise and interference and limiting the power of the transmissions, a number of wireless communication techniques have been proposed.
FIG. 1 depicts a wireless communication system 100 in which a transmitter 102 having a single antenna or an array of antennas 106 communicates with receiver 104 having a single antenna or an array of antennas 108. The communication system 100 may be any type of wireless communication system, including but not limited to a MIMO system, SDMA system, CDMA system, OFDMA system, OFDM system, etc. In the communication system 100, the transmitter 102 may act as a base station, while the receiver 104 acts as a subscriber station, which can be virtually any type of wireless one-way or two-way communication device such as a cellular telephone, wireless equipped computer system, and wireless personal digital assistant. Of course, the receiver/subscriber station 104 can also transmits signals which are received by the transmitter/base station 102. The signals communicated between transmitter 102 and receiver 104 can include voice, data, electronic mail, video, and other data, voice, and video signals. In operation, the transmitter 102 transmits a signal data stream (e.g., signal s1) through one or more antennas 106 and over a channel H1 to a receiver 104, which combines the received signal from one or more receive antennas 108 to reconstruct the transmitted data. To transmit the signal vector s1, the transmitter 102 prepares a transmission signal, represented by the vector x1, for the signal s1. (Note: lower case bold variables indicate vectors and upper case BOLD variables indicate matrices). The transmission signal vector x1 is transmitted via a channel represented by a channel matrix H1, and is received at the receiver 104 as a receive signal vector y1=H1x1+n1 (where n represents co-channel interference or noise). The channel matrix H1 represents a channel gain between the transmitter antenna array 106 and the subscriber station antenna array 108. Thus, the channel matrix H1 can be represented by an k×N matrix of complex coefficients, where N is the number of antennas in the transmitter/base station antenna array 106 and k is the number of antennas in the receiver/subscriber station antenna array 108. The value of k can be unique for each receiver/subscriber station. As will be appreciated, the channel matrix H1 can instead be represented by a N×k matrix of complex coefficients, in which case the matrix manipulation algorithms are adjusted accordingly so that, for example, the right singular vector calculation on a k×N channel matrix becomes a left singular vector calculation on a N×k channel matrix. The coefficients of the channel matrix H1 depend, at least in part, on the transmission characteristics of the medium, such as air, through which a signal is transmitted. A variety of methods may be used at the receiver to determine the channel matrix H1 coefficients, such as transmitting a known pilot signal to a receiver so that the receiver, knowing the pilot signal, can estimate the coefficients of the channel matrix H1 using well-known pilot estimation techniques. Alternatively, when the channel between the transmitter and receiver are reciprocal in both directions, the actual channel matrix H1 is known to the receiver and may also be known to the transmitter.
In broadband communication systems which use multi-carrier modulation systems such as ODFM/OFDMA, channel quality indicators (CQI) such as “carrier to interference plus noise” ratio (CINR) are fed back from the receiver to the transmitter, in order to select the appropriate transmission profile. For instance, adapting the modulation and coding rates, and scheduling multiple users based on CQI improves data rates and link reliability. This technology has been, or will be, adopted in many current and future standards such as IEEE 802.16, 3GPP LTE, etc.
Feeding back the CQI for multi-carrier systems such as OFDMA can potentially use up the usually small bandwidth allocated to the feedback control channel due to the multiplicity of the CQI coefficients. Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for reducing the CQI feedback overhead is these systems. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional processes and technologies will become apparent to one of skill in the art after reviewing the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings and detailed description which follow.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements for purposes of promoting and improving clarity and understanding. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the drawings to represent corresponding or analogous elements. | {
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This invention relates to an embroidering machine capable of storing stitch data for realizing an embroidering operation corresponding to an embroidery design for each embroidery design, storing respective control data for changing the stitch data or for controlling the embroidery operation associated with the stitch data and reading out stitch data and control data for a desired embroidery design to perform execution and control of the embroidering operation in accordance with the read out data.
The invention relates also to an embroidering machine having stitch data memory means capable of reading and writing for storing stich data corresponding to an embroidery design and reading stitch data for a desired embroidery design from this stitch data memory means for controlling the embroidering operation and, more particularly, to an embroidering machine capable of combining plural sets of stitch data separately recorded in an external recording device such as a paper tape into stitch data of a single continuous design and storing and reading this stitch data in and from the stitch data memory means.
The invention relates also to an embroidering machine capable of performing data editing such as change, deletion and insertion with respect to stitch data of an embroidery design stored in a memory at a desired stitch thereof and, more particularly, to an embroidering machine capable of temporarily stopping rotation of the embroidering machine main shaft at a stitch of the embroidery design in the course of the embroidering operation and executing data editing with respect to a desired stitch associated with the stitch at which the rotation has stopped thereby enabling data editing in a simple manner while confirming the actual embroidery design.
The invention relates also to an embroidering machine capable of performing data editing such as change or modification with respect to stitch data at a desired stitch in an embroidery design and, more particularly, to an embroidering machine capable of displaying a desired embroidery design on a screen of a display and changing or setting with respect to a desired stitch of the stitch data while confirming the embroidery design on the screen of the display.
The invention relates also to an embroidering machine having a communication interface and, more particularly, to an embroidering machine capable of transmitting and receiving stitch data for realizing the embroidering operation and respective control data for controlling the embroidering operation associated with this stitch data between the embroidering machine and an external device such as a computer having a communication function.
In an automatic embroidering machine, stitch data for various embroidery designs are stored in an external device such as a paper tape, the external device such as a paper tape storing stitch data for a desired embroidery design is set and this stitch data is transferred to a memory in the embroidering machine and stored therein. Data stored in the external device as data associated with the embroidery design has heretofore been only stitch data for realizing an embroidering operation corresponding to the embroidery design (this stitch data is data concerning an embroidering operation for one stitch including X, Y data designating the moving amount of an embroidery frame for each stitch and function data designating operations of the embroidering machine such as changing of color of thread, stopping of the embroidering machine main shaft and jump at required stitches) and this stitch data is transferred to the internal memory and stored therein. In the automatic embroidering design, stitch data stored in the internal memory is read out and the embroidering operation is executed in accordance with the read out data.
The automatic embroidering machine can also store such stitch data with respect to plural embroidery designs in its internal memory and read out stitch data for a desired embroidery design selectively from the stored stitch data.
It is a recent tendency in automatic embroidering machines to have various functions concerning changing of an embroidery design or control of an embroidering operation. Such changing and controlling functions include:
(1) designation of order of changing color of thread PA0 (2) conversion of X, Y data designating X, Y moving amount of the embroidery frame in stitch data in accordance with parameters designating reducing, enlarging or rotation for reducing, enlarging or rotating the embroidery design PA0 (3) selection of running/rest of each embroidering machine head in a multi-head type embroidering machine PA0 (4) designation of order of stitching of an embroidery design when plural embroidery designs are combined and embroidered into a continuous design PA0 (5) repeating of stitching operation of the same embroidery design PA0 (6) setting of the offset amount of the embroidery frame in accordance with the mounting position of a boring knife when a needle position at which the boring knife is mounted has been selected.
In the prior art embroidering machines, setting of such data concerning changing and controlling functions is made only by setting means provided in the embroidering machine and the operation of the embroidering machine is directly controlled in accordance with contents set by this setting means. In other words, data concerning the changing and controlling functions are set as data belonging exclusively to the embroidering machine and are treated as irrelevant to stitch data for each embroidery design. If, accordingly, it is desired to set data concerning changing and controlling functions in relation to an embroidery design, data concerning desired changing and controlling functions must be set by setting means before the embroidering operation for each embroidery design is made each time.
For this reason, each time a design to be embroidered is changed, data concerning desired changing and controlling functions must be set again. This involves a troublesome operation and therefore is burdensome to the operator of the embroidering machine.
It is also a recent tendency in automatic embroidering machines that the size of design to be embroidered and the number of colors used increase with a result that the amount of stitch data for an embroidery design also increases. Since memory capacity of a normal paper tape is about seventy thousand stitches at the maximum, in a case where this stitch data is recorded on a paper tape used as an external memory device, stitch data exceeding this memory capacity must be divided into plural data and recorded separately on plural paper tapes. In the prior art embroidering machines, a series of stitch data is picked up by a paper tape input device from the plural paper tapes each as a set of stitch data and stored in the memory of the embroidering machine and the embroidering operation is performed for each set of stitch data. There is also a prior art embroidering machine which has a data memory capable of reading and writing and storing stitch data of plural designs and has a memory editing function for editing stitch data of the plural designs stored in the data memory. In this embroidering machine, stitch data of plural designs stored in the data memory are connected together into stitch data of a series of designs by utilizing the memory editing function and the embroidering operation is performed in accordance with this stitch data.
In the above described prior art embroidering machine in which a series of stitch data are divided and recorded on plural paper tapes and these data are input respectively as a set of stitch data from the paper tape input device and stored in the memory of the embroidering machine for enabling the embroidering operation to be performed with respect to each set of stitch data, changing of the embroidery design is required as many times as the number of stitch data recorded on the paper tapes for embroidering the series of designs. This changing operation is troublesome because control data must be set for each corresponding stitch data for which stitching is to be executed and hence poses a problem in realizing an efficient embroidering work. In the automatic embroidering machine having the memory editing function, it is a troublesome work to edit plural stitch data stored in the data memory and, besides, an extra construction is required for realizing the memory editing function with resulting increase in the manufacturing cost.
In a case where contents of stitch data stored in the data memory are to be changed in the prior art automatic embroidering machine, such changing operation is executed in an editing work mode provided exclusively for this purpose which is entirely different from a running operation mode for executing actual embroidering operation. If, therefore, it is desired to perform the data editing after confirming the actual embroidering design, the embroidering machine must be operated once in the running operation mode to execute the embroidering operation from the start position of the embroidery design and thereafter the operation mode must be switched to the exclusively provided editing work mode to execute a desired data editing processing.
Thus, in the prior art embroidering machine, for changing contents of stitch data stored in the data memory, the operation mode of the embroidering machine must be set to a special editing work mode so that changing of contents of stitch data cannot be made while the running operation mode is continued in the course of the embroidering operation. For changing contents of the stitch data, by way of example, actual embroidering operation is executed over the entire design in accordance with the stitch data and parts of the embroidery where changing or modification is necessary are established by confirming the completed embroidery design and then the operation mode of the embroidering machine is changed to a special editing work mode for executing an editing work for changing or modifying the stitch data of required parts. Further, for confirming the edited stitch data, the operation mode of the embroidering machine is changed to the running operation mode to start the embroidering operation from the start position of the embroidery design. Accordingly, the editing work is separated from the embroidering operation and design confirming operation with a result that the embroidery work as a whole becomes complicated requiring skill and time.
Further, in the prior art embroidering machine, an operation for changing and controlling stitch data is made only by setting means provided in the embroidering machine and the operation of the embroidering machine is controlled directly by contents set by this setting means. In other words, data concerning changing and controlling functions is set as data exclusively belonging to the embroidering machine so that data concerning desired changing and controlling functions must be set by the setting means each time before the embroidering operation of each embroidery design is made.
There is also proposed an automatic embroidering machine capable of transmitting and receiving stitch data concerning an embroidery design between the embroidering machine and an external device through a communication line. The data transmitted and received, however, is limited to stitch data and, as to control data, data concerning desired changing and controlling functions must be set each time the stitch data is changed.
In the embroidering operation, therefore, control data concerning desired changing and controlling functions must be manually set each time the stitch data is changed. This is troublesome and imposes burden on the operator.
Further, in the prior art automatic embroidering machine, it is entirely impossible to conserve or edit once established control data in an external device. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Our present invention relates to a metering system for a coating apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for coating webs of a material such as paper, or cardboard. The invention, more particularly, relates to a metering system of the type in which a doctor bar is received in an elastic bed which is pressed toward a surface to be coated, i.e. the surface of the web as it is passed along a drum or roller surface, or the surface of a transfer roller from which the coating is applied to the web, and wherein the doctor bar is pressed toward that surface by a bladder, hose or tubular element extending along the width of the web and subdivided along the web into individually pressurizable compartments.
For the coating of paper or cardboard webs, the coating apparatus usually is provided with a coating drum or roller along which the web is guided and a doctor system for removing the material coated onto the web to the desired basis weight or thickness of that coating, or removing excess material from a transfer roller or drum which then applies the coating onto the web. The coating material in either case is applied in excess and the metering system can comprise a doctor element which wipes off the excess to the desired basis weight (coating weight per unit area of the coated surface).
The application of the flowable material and the metering, as noted, can be carried out directly on the web, preferably in a region in which the web is deflected, e.g. around a roller or drum, or on a transfer roller from which the belt is then applied to the web.
German patent document DE-A 30 22 955 describes a metering system in which the doctor element is a doctor bar held in a bed of an elastomeric material. The bed itself is held in a holder mounted on the machine frame and is pressed toward the surface to be coated by compressed air pressurization of a bladder or hose.
German patent document DE 43 41 341 C describes a metering system in which the bladder or pressurizable hose is subdivided into a plurality of individually pressurizable compartments which can be separately supplied with compressed air. In this metering system, the pressing forces generated by the compartmented bladder arrangement varies over the width of the web and the surface to be coated and creates nonuniform coatings in terms of the basis weight at various locations across the web. As a consequence, the basis width tolerance must be increased and control efforts made so that the nonuniformity does not detrimentally affect the product. In many cases it is not possible to vary the basis weight at different locations along the width to compensate for the irregularities which may arise in the earlier system. Furthermore, it is desirable to permit the basis weight to be adjusted differently at different locations, for example, to compensate for thickness variations in the paper web or to allow reduced basis weight coating at the edges of the web.
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a dosing or metering system for a coating apparatus of the type described that permits a uniform basis weight to be applied to a web in a precise and delicate or sensitive manner.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved coating system which is free from drawbacks of earlier systems.
These objects are attained, in accordance with the invention by providing at the back side of the doctor-bar bed, between the pressurizable bladder with its multiplicity of individually pressurizable compartments, and the bed, an elastic element which functions as a force-balancing cushion in the boundary regions between each two pressure compartments, thereby enabling the distribution of the force applied by the bladder along the bed in a more uniform manner.
More particularly, the metering system for an apparatus of the type described can comprise:
a doctor bar adapted to doctor a coating of a flowable material onto a surface and extending transversely to a path of a web to be coated and across a width thereof;
an elastic bed receiving the doctor bar and urging the doctor bar toward the surface;
a holder receiving the bed;
a pressurizable bladder braced against the bed upon pressurization with a fluid and subdivided across the width of the web and along the length of the bar into a plurality of individually pressurizable compartments, each separately supplied with compressed air; and
an elastic element extending along the bar and between the bladder and a side of the bed opposite that at which the bar is provided and forming a cushion balancing force applied by the bladder along the bed.
According to a feature of the invention, the modulus of elasticity of the elastic element is variable. The elastic element can include a continuous pressurizable hose or tube extending the full web width and along the full length of the doctor bar. The continuous tube can form one piece with the bed and the bed, the pressurizable tube and the bladder subdivided into individually pressurizable compartments can be received in a common transversely shiftable holder.
The pressurizable compartments can be provided between the back wall of the holder and the rear of the tubular elastic element and, if desired, a central rib which extends parallel to the doctor bar can connect the elastic element with the bed. The continuous pressurizable tube can have a variable pressing area or surface bearing on the back side of the bed. Each of the pressurizable compartments of the bladder can have a compressed air type which is guided out of the holder. The wall thickness of the continuous tube should be greater than the wall thickness of the bladder. | {
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Opto-electronic devices that make use of organic materials are becoming increasingly desirable for a number of reasons. Many of the materials used to make such devices are relatively inexpensive, so organic opto-electronic devices have the potential for cost advantages over inorganic devices. In addition, the inherent properties of organic materials, such as their flexibility, may make them well suited for particular applications such as fabrication on a flexible substrate. Examples of organic opto-electronic devices include organic light emitting devices (OLEDs), organic phototransistors, organic photovoltaic cells, and organic photodetectors. For OLEDs, the organic materials may have performance advantages over conventional materials. For example, the wavelength at which an organic emissive layer emits light may generally be readily tuned with appropriate dopants.
As used herein, the term “organic” includes polymeric materials as well as small molecule organic materials that may be used to fabricate organic opto-electronic devices. “Small molecule” refers to any organic material that is not a polymer, and “small molecules” may actually be quite large. Small molecules may include repeat units in some circumstances. For example, using a long chain alkyl group as a substituent does not remove a molecule from the “small molecule” class. Small molecules may also be incorporated into polymers, for example as a pendent group on a polymer backbone or as a part of the backbone. Small molecules may also serve as the core moiety of a dendrimer, which consists of a series of chemical shells built on the core moiety. The core moiety of a dendrimer may be a fluorescent or phosphorescent small molecule emitter. A dendrimer may be a “small molecule,” and it is believed that all dendrimers currently used in the field of OLEDs are small molecules. In general, a small molecule has a well-defined chemical formula with a single molecular weight, whereas a polymer has a chemical formula and a molecular weight that may vary from molecule to molecule. As used herein, “organic” includes metal complexes of hydrocarbyl and heteroatom-substituted hydrocarbyl ligands.
OLEDs make use of thin organic films that emit light when voltage is applied across the device. OLEDs are becoming an increasingly interesting technology for use in applications such as flat panel displays, illumination, and backlighting. Several OLED materials and configurations are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,844,363, 6,303,238, and 5,707,745, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
OLED devices are generally (but not always) intended to emit light through at least one of the electrodes, and one or more transparent electrodes may be useful in organic opto-electronic devices. For example, a transparent electrode material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), may be used as the bottom electrode. A transparent top electrode, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,703,436 and 5,707,745, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties, may also be used. For a device intended to emit light only through the bottom electrode, the top electrode does not need to be transparent, and may be comprised of a thick and reflective metal layer having a high electrical conductivity. Similarly, for a device intended to emit light only through the top electrode, the bottom electrode may be opaque and/or reflective. Where an electrode does not need to be transparent, using a thicker layer may provide better conductivity, and using a reflective electrode may increase the amount of light emitted through the other electrode, by reflecting light back towards the transparent electrode. Fully transparent devices may also be fabricated, where both electrodes are transparent. Side emitting OLEDs may also be fabricated, and one or both electrodes may be opaque or reflective in such devices.
As used herein, “top” means furthest away from the substrate, while “bottom” means closest to the substrate. For example, for a device having two electrodes, the bottom electrode is the electrode closest to the substrate, and is generally the first electrode fabricated. The bottom electrode has two surfaces, a bottom surface closest to the substrate, and a top surface further away from the substrate. Where a first layer is described as “disposed over” a second layer, the first layer is disposed further away from substrate. There may be other layers between the first and second layer, unless it is specified that the first layer is “in physical contact with” the second layer. For example, a cathode may be described as “disposed over” an anode, even though there are various organic layers in between.
As used herein, “solution processible” means capable of being dissolved, dispersed, or transported in and/or deposited from a liquid medium, either in solution or suspension form.
As used herein, and as would be generally understood by one skilled in the art, a first “Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital” (HOMO) or “Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital” (LUMO) energy level is “greater than” or “higher than” a second HOMO or LUMO energy level if the first energy level is closer to the vacuum energy level. Since ionization potentials (IP) are measured as a negative energy relative to a vacuum level, a higher HOMO energy level corresponds to an IP having a smaller absolute value (an IP that is less negative). Similarly, a higher LUMO energy level corresponds to an electron affinity (EA) having a smaller absolute value (an EA that is less negative). On a conventional energy level diagram, with the vacuum level at the top, the LUMO energy level of a material is higher than the HOMO energy level of the same material. A “higher” HOMO or LUMO energy level appears closer to the top of such a diagram than a “lower” HOMO or LUMO energy level.
The carbene ligand has been well known in organometallic chemistry, and is used to generate a wide range of thermally stable catalytic materials. The carbene ligands have been employed both as active groups, directly engaged in the catalytic reactions, and serving a role of stabilizing the metal in a particular oxidation state or coordination geometry. However, applications of carbene ligands are not well known in photochemistry.
One issue with many existing organic electroluminescent compounds is that they are not sufficiently stable for use in commercial devices. An object of the invention is to provide a class of organic emissive compounds having improved stability.
In addition, existing compounds do not include compounds that are stable emitters for high energy spectra, such as a blue spectra. An object of the invention is to provide a class of organic emissive compounds that can emit light with various spectra, including high energy spectra such as blue, in a stable manner. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention deals with machine translation. More specifically, the present invention deals with means for systematically improving the performance of a user's automatic machine translation system within the normal workflow of acquiring corrected translations from a reliable source.
As a result of the growing international community created by technologies such as the Internet, machine translation, more specifically the utilization of a computer system to translate natural language texts, has achieved more widespread use in recent years. In some instances, machine translation can be automatically accomplished. However, human interaction is sometimes integrated into the process of creating a quality translation. Generally speaking, translations that rely on human resources are more accurate but less time and cost efficient than fully automated systems. For some translation systems, human interaction is relied upon only when translation accuracy is of critical importance. The time and cost associated with human interaction generally must be invested every time a particularly accurate translation is desired.
The quality of translations produced by fully automated machine translation has generally not increased with the rising demand for such systems. It is generally recognized that, in order to obtain a higher quality automatic translation for a particular domain (or subject matter), significant customization must be done to the machine translation system. Customization typically includes the addition of specialized vocabulary and rules to translate texts in the desired domain. Such customization is typically achieved by trained computational linguists, who use semi-automated tools to add vocabulary items to online dictionaries, and who write linguistically oriented rules, typically in specialized rule writing languages. This type of customization is relatively expensive.
Overall, translation services, which are available to consumers from a variety of sources, fail to provide cost-efficient, high quality, customized translations. For example, shrink-wrapped and web-based translation systems are currently available to the general public. However, these translation systems are difficult or impossible to customize for a particular domain or subject matter. Commercial-grade translation systems are also available. These systems can be customized for specific domains, however, the customization process is tedious and typically quite expensive. Direct human-based translation services are also available (i.e., web-based and mail order based human translation services). However, human translations typically require payment of a fee for every document to be translated, an expense that never ends. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Agricultural harvesters such as combines, travel through fields of agricultural crop harvesting the crop.
The threshing, cleaning and separating mechanism inside the agricultural combine typically includes a rotor disposed inside a concave grating. Cut crop material is fed between the rotating rotor and the stationary grating to thresh and separate the crop.
The grain falls through holes in the grating and onto a sieve and/or chaffer in a cleaning shoe. Sieves and chaffers are generally planar sheets with holes in them through which air is blown. The air lifts the residue and carries it away to the end of the combine. The grain, being heavier, falls through the holes in the sieves and chaffers and is gathered in the bottom of the cleaning shoe to be conveyed to the top of the combine and deposited in a grain tank or grain reservoir.
Sieves and chaffers work best if the grain is evenly distributed across their width. When a combine travels on the side of a hill and the combine body tilts, the grain tends to accumulate on one side of the sieve/chaffer and the cleaning efficiency is reduced. For that reason, combines are provided with leveling mechanisms to level the sieve within the combine itself, or to level the whole combine by adjusting the relative height of the combine's wheels. To level the entire combine, leveling mechanisms are provided that lift or lower the front drive wheels, thereby tilting the combine body in a side-to-side direction until the sieves are horizontal. These combines are commonly called “side hill combines”.
This whole-combine system of tilting the combine body with respect to the ground causes problems for the crop residue spreading mechanisms. Most combines have crop residue spreading mechanisms with adjustable fans, vanes and other steering devices. These mechanisms are fixed on the rear of the combine and spread the crop residue side to side behind the combine itself. The purpose of the residue spreading mechanisms is to redistribute the crop residue evenly over the ground where it can be broken down and returned to the soil as nutrients.
As long as the combine body is parallel to the surface of the ground (such as when traveling on flat ground) the residue can be evenly distributed. When the combine is not parallel to the surface of the ground (such as when traveling on the side of the hill with the combine body tilted) the residue distribution is irregular. Instead of throwing the residue evenly to both sides of the combine, crop residue spreading mechanisms throw the crop residue into ground on the uphill side of the combine, and throw the crop residue way downhill on the downhill side of the combine. Again, this is due to the fact that the combine body has been leveled while it is traveling on the side of a hill.
What is needed is a method for permitting the combine to travel off-level on the side of the hill in order to provide better crop residue distribution while not compromising cleaning shoe operation too much.
It is an object of this invention to provide such a method. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a tubular motor-speed reducer for the simultaneous driving of two structures which is more particularly adapted to the control of the displacements of either one of the two parts of an automobile seat structure. Each of these movements is usually controlled by two devices placed laterally under the seat structure which must be displaced simultaneously and exactly in the same way so that the transmission between the motor and these devices is often complex and even bulky. Now, it is increasingly necessary to have available under the seat structure of the vehicle a free space for increasing the comfort of the passengers. | {
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Since approximately 1980, certain passenger vehicles have been provided with wheel bearings having an outer ring and an inner ring, and having an integrated flange being formed on the outer ring and on the inner ring. The outer ring and the inner ring of the wheel bearing are mounted rotatably with respect to one another by means of two ball rows which are arranged parallel to one another. | {
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The resistance of tumour cells to chemotherapeutics is a major factor in the failure of chemotherapy. One form of resistance to chemotherapeutics is “multi-drug resistance” where the tumour cells become cross-resistant to a variety of chemotherapeutics; for example alkaloids, anthracyclines, actinomycin D, adriamycin and colchicine. Multi-drug resistance syndrome has been correlated in many reports with the overexpression of transmembrane glycoproteins called P-glycoproteins (Pgp). Cyclosporins have been found to reverse multi-drug resistance syndrome and [3′-desoxy-3′-oxo-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin in particular has been found to be effective. [3′-desoxy-3′-oxo-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin and its utility is described in European patent publication No. 296 122.
The cyclosporins comprise a class of structurally distinctive, cyclic, poly-N-methylated undecapeptides, generally possessing pharmacological, in particular immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory and/or anti-parasitic activity, each to a greater or lesser degree. Cyclosporins are generally not readily soluble in aqueous media. Consequently, it is difficult to develop pharmaceutically acceptable carriers which allow delivery of the drug in sufficiently high concentrations to permit convenient use and which allow efficient and consistent absorption of the drug by the body. Often individual cyclosporins present very specific problems in relation to their administration and, in particular, in providing galenic formulations. Species specific problems also arise with regard to drug bioavailability. This is particularly the case with the compound [3′-desoxy-3′-oxo-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin which presents very special problems in relation to its incorporation in galenic formulations.
To deal with the general problems of formulating cyclosporins, British patent application 2222770 A discloses galenic formulations, containing cyclosporins, that are in the form of microemulsions or microemulsion preconcentrates. These formulations comprise a hydrophilic phase, a lipophilic phase and a surfactant. The following components are described as suitable for the hydrophilic phase: Transcutol, Glycofurol and 1,2-propylene glycol. Medium chain fatty acid triglycerides are disclosed as being suitable for the lipophilic phase. Reaction products of natural or hydrogenated vegetable oils and ethylene glycol are given as surfactants. However this British patent application does not deal with the problems of formulating [3′-desoxy-3′-oxo-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin which is much more lipophilic than most other cyclosporins. PCT appliction publication no. WO 93/20833 discloses surfactant-containing compositions of [3′-desoxy-3′-oxo-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin in which Cremophor is a preferred surfactant.
Rapamycin is an immunosuppressive lactam macrolide produceable, for example by Streptomyces hygroscopicus. The structure of rapamycin is given in Kesseler, H., et al.; 1993; Helv. Chim. Acta; 76: 117. Rapamycin is an extremely potent immunosuppressant and has also been shown to have antitumor and antifungal activity. Its utility as a pharmaceutical, however, is restricted by its very low and variable bioavailability. Moreover, rapamycin is highly insoluble in aqueous media, e.g. water, making it difficult to formulate stable galenic compositions. Numerous derivatives of rapamycin are known. Certain 16-O-substituted rapamycins are disclosed in WO 94/02136, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 40-O-substituted rapamycins are described in, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,389 and WO 94/09010 (O-aryl and O-alkyl rapamycins); WO 92/05179 (carboxylic acid esters), U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,677 (amide esters), U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,678 (carbamates), U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,883 (fluorinated esters), U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,413 (acetals), U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,842 (silyl ethers), WO 93/11130 (methylene rapamycin and derivatives), WO 94/02136 (methoxy derivatives), WO 94/02385 and WO 95/14023 (alkenyl derivatives) all of which are incorporated herein by reference. 32-O-dihydro or substituted rapamycin are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,790, incorporated herein by reference.
Further rapamycin derivatives are described in PCT application number EP96/02441, for example 32-deoxorapamycin as described in Example 1, and 16-pent-2-ynyloxy-32(S)-dihydrorapamycin as described in Examples 2 and 3. The contents of PCT application number EP96/02441 are incorporated herein by reference.
The rapamycin used in the compositions of this invention may be any rapamycin or derivative thereof, for example as disclosed above or in the above-mentioned patent applications.
Thus the rapamycin used in the compositions of this invention may be rapamycin or an O-substituted derivative in which the hydroxyl group on the cyclohexyl ring of rapamycin is replaced by —OR1 in which R1 is hydroxyalkyl, hydroxyalkoxyalkyl, acylaminoalkyl and aminoalkyl; e.g. as described in WO94/09010, for example 40-O-(2-hydroxy)ethyl-rapamycin, 40-O-(3-hydroxy)propyl-rapamycin, 40-O-[2-(2-hydroxy)ethoxy]ethyl-rapamycin and 40-O-(2-acetaminoethyl)-rapamycin. The rapamycin derivative may be a 26- or 28-substituted derivative.
Preferred rapamycins for use in the compositions of this invention include rapamycin, 40-O-(2-hydroxy)ethyl rapamycin, 32-deoxorapamycin and 16-pent-2-ynyloxy-32 (S)-dihydrorapamycin. A more preferred rapamycin is 40-O-(2-hydroxy)ethyl rapamycin. Numbering of rapamycin derivatives as used herein refers to the structure disclosed as Formula A at page 4 of published PCT application WO 96/13273, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Ascomycins, of which FK-506 and ascomycin are the best known, comprise another class of lactam macrolides, many of which have potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory activity. FK506 is a lactam macrolide immunosuppressant that is produced by Streptomyces tsukubaensis No 9993. The structure of FK506 is given in the appendix to the Merck Index, 11th ed. (1989) as item A5. Ascomycin is described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,592. Many derivatives of ascomycin and FK-506 have been synthesized, including halogenated derivatives such as 33-epi-chloro-33-desoxy-ascomycin described in EP 427 680. Ascomycin, FK-506 and their structurally similar analogues and derivatives are termed collectively “ascomycins”.
Examples of compounds of the ascomycin or FK 506 class are those mentioned above. They include for example FK 506, ascomycin and other naturally occurring compounds. They include also synthetic analogues.
A preferred compound of the FK 506 class for use as active ingredient in the present invention is disclosed in EP 427 680, e.g. Example 66a also known as 33-epi-chloro-33-desoxy-ascomycin. Other preferred compounds are disclosed in EP 465 426, and in EP 569 337, e.g. the compound disclosed under Example 6d and Example 71 in EP 569 337. Other preferred compounds include tetrahydropyran derivatives as disclosed in EP 626 385, e.g. the compound disclosed under Example 8 in EP 626 385. | {
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The present invention relates generally to agricultural vehicles and, more particularly, to hitching systems that connect agricultural tractors and trailing implements that are towed behind tractors.
Agricultural tractors are used to tow trailing implements such as ground working or harvesting implements through agricultural fields and bulk carriers such as wagons through fields and on the road. Hitching a trailing implement to a tractor can be tedious, tiring, and time-consuming. Current hitching procedures require an operator to get out of and back into a cab of a tractor, at times repeatedly, to visually inspect and manipulate and connect components of the trailing implement tractor. While hitching, a height of a tongue of the trailing implement needs to be adjusted to match a height of a drawbar of the tractor, the tractor needs to be maneuvered so that the tongue of the trailing implement and the drawbar of the tractor are aligned, a hitch pin needs to be inserted through the tongue of the trailing implement and the drawbar of the tractor, and electrical and hydraulic systems of the trailing implement and tractor need to be connected to each other. A typical way of reducing the amount of times that operators have to get out of and back into the cab of the tractor to perform these procedures is to have a second person stand behind the tractor to assist with or perform many of these procedures. | {
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The following disclosure relates, in general, to atmospheric water reclamation systems, and, more particularly, to systems for reclaiming water from the air utilizing graphene oxide (GO).
Water reclamation systems utilize some type of mass that has a temperature lowered below the ambient atmospheric temperature. The water vapor in the air is passed over the surface of this mass to allow the water vapor to condense. This condensation is then collected as water. This area of technology is generally referred to as Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG). This type of condensation of water vapor on cold surfaces is fairly inefficient.
It is important to recognize two fundamental energy costs in current AWG. The first is the latent heat of condensation when water vapor turns into liquid. The released heat is significant, about 2500 Joules per gram of water, and must be removed by the cooling system. However, in addition to condensing water, currently available AWG systems cool all the air that passes through. This cost and energy is like running an air conditioner outside. | {
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Dehydrocyclization as a unit process has held a prominent place in the petroleum refining industry for some time. Quite broadly the process encompasses the conversion of C.sub.2 -C.sub.12 olefins and paraffins to aromatics and naphthenes, but the process can be divided into two segments on both chemical mechanistic grounds and refinery operational considerations. In one branch light paraffins and/or olefins in the C.sub.2 -C.sub.5 range are converted to naphthenes and aromatics, necessarily of higher carbon number, by a sequence of reactions including dehydrogenation, dimerization and oligomerization of olefins, and cyclization. Typically the process is referred to as dehydrocyclodimerization, which clearly indicates the various component processes occurring. See S. M. Csicsery, Ind. Eng. Chem. Proc. Des. Dev., 18, 191 (1979). In another branch olefins and/or paraffins of 6 or more carbon numbers are converted to naphthenes and aromatics of the same carbon number or less. It is this last branch which is of greatest interest to us here.
The dehydrocyclization of paraffins to naphthenes and aromatics is a difficult reaction, limited by an equilibrium which shifts somewhat toward cyclization as the molecular weight (i.e., chain length) of the paraffin increases. Dehydrocyclization is favored by low pressures and high temperatures and may be catalyzed by, e.g., dual functional catalysts having both metal and acid functions. See J. A. Weiszmann, "Handbook of Petroleum Refining Processes", R. A. Meyers, ed., McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1986, page 3-8. Two types of catalysts have been identified for dehydrocyclization of paraffins; dual functional catalysts as described above and monofunctional catalysts possessing no significant acidity. The latter class of catalysts generally contains platinum on a neutral or a basing support, and includes such materials as platinum on a zeolite where all of the zeolitic activity has been removed by exchange with alkali or alkaline earth metal cations such as potassium sodium, barium, and so forth. More recently, N. Y. Chen and T. Y. Yan, Ind. Eng. Chem. Proc. Des. Dev., 25, 151 (1986) have distinguished between two mechanistic routes for the aromatization of light hydrocarbons based on studies performed with n-hexane. One reaction path is a more or less direct road from the paraffin to aromatics, largely benzene, as effected over such catalysts as Pt/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, CoMo/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Te/NaY. The other mechanistic route involves a pathway toward cracked intermediates which subsequently react to afford aromatics. The latter is said to be characteristic of HZSM-5 as catalyst and can be recognized by a spectrum of C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aromatics in the product stream from n-hexane.
While exploring dehydrocyclization under a range of conditions we pondered the possibility of using amines as a feedstock instead of the paraffins normally used. Various reactions can be contemplated, and without a hint from the prior art as to appropriate catalysts or probable reaction products we performed a general survey. In this application we report on our results on the dehydrocyclization of propylamines. In particular, we have found that under appropriate reaction conditions one can prepare azacycloheptanes from secondary and tertiary propylamines. Since the seven-membered nitrogen heterocycle is otherwise difficult to prepare, especially in large commercial quantities, our new synthesis provides a valuable entry into the family of azacycloheptanes. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of spinal orthopedics, and more particularly to methods and systems for securing interbody cages within the intervertebral space.
2. Background
The spine is a flexible column formed of a plurality of bones called vertebra. The vertebrae are hollow and piled one upon the other, forming a strong hollow column for support of the cranium and trunk. The hollow core of the spine houses and protects the nerves of the spinal cord. The different vertebrae are connected to one another by means of articular processes and intervertebral, fibrocartilaginous bodies.
The intervertebral fibro-cartilages are also known as intervertebral disks and are made of a fibrous ring filled with pulpy material. The disks function as spinal shock absorbers and also cooperate with synovial joints to facilitate movement and maintain flexibility of the spine. When one or more disks degenerate through accident or disease, nerves passing near the affected area may be compressed and are consequently irritated. The result may be chronic and/or debilitating back pain. Various methods and apparatus have been designed to relieve such back pain, including spinal fusion using a interbody spacer or suitable graft using techniques such as Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF), Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF), or Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) surgical techniques. The implants used in-these techniques, also commonly referred to as vertebral body replacements (VBR) devices, are placed in the interdiscal space between adjacent vertebrae of the spine. Many times an exterior plate is used in conjunction with the VBR to hold the adjacent vertebrae while the fusion occurs.
Ideally, the interbody spacer should stabilize the intervertebral space and allow fusion of the adjacent vertebrae. Moreover, during the time it takes for fusion to occur, the interbody spacer should have sufficient structural integrity to withstand the stress of maintaining the space without substantially degrading or deforming and have sufficient stability to remain securely in place prior to actual bone ingrowth fusion.
One significant challenge to providing fusion stability (prior to actual bone ingrowth fusion) is preventing spinal extension during patient movement. Distraction of the vertebral space containing the fusion graft may cause the interbody spacer to shift or move disrupting bone ingrowth fusion and causing pain. An exterior plate is often used with the interbody spacer to hold the adjacent vertebrae while the fusion occurs.
There remains a need for an interbody spacer capable of holding the adjacent vertebrae steady during fusion without the use of external plates. | {
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The existing electronic cigarette atomizers generally adopt heating wires to heat tobacco tar in tobacco tar storage cotton, the temperatures of the heating wires are relatively high in a heating process, so the heating wires are scorched easily to produce burnt flavor, moreover the high temperatures produced by the heating wires are transferred to outer walls of the atomizers easily, so that the electronic cigarette becomes hot, the energy efficiency is low, the smoking taste is poor, and meanwhile the atomizers are prone to tobacco tar leakage. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the measuring of structures in a fingerprint or the like, comprising the measuring of chosen characteristics of the surface of the fingerprint, e.g. capacitance or resistivity, using a sensor array comprising a plurality of sensors, positioned in contact with, or close to, the surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Identification by the use of fingerprints has lately come to the fore as a result of the increasing needs for security relating to, for example, credit cards or computer systems as well as the greatly increased availability of pattern recognition algorithms. Some systems for recognition of fingerprints have already been made available on the market. The techniques used to register the fingerprint vary.
Some of the previously known solutions are based upon optical technology using light with one or more wavelengths. These are sensitive to dirt and contamination, both in the fingerprint and on the sensor surface, and thus cleaning is necessary for both.
Another alternative is pressure measurement, such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5.559.504, U.S. Pat. No. 5.503.029 and U.S. Pat. No. 4.394.773. This, however, has the disadvantage that the sensor surface becomes sensitive to mechanical wear and damage, as the sensor has to have an at least partially compliant surface.
Temperature sensors have also been suggested, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,413 and international patent application PCT/NO96/00082.
Fingerprint sensors may be exposed to long term use under varying and sometimes demanding conditions. The sensor therefore needs to have a robust surface and to be as insensitive to pollution in the fingerprint and on the sensor as possible. It must be capable of reading most fingerprints without being disturbed by latent prints from earlier use, and also be capable of imaging so-called xe2x80x9cdry fingersxe2x80x9d that represent a problem for optical sensors. In some cases, e.g. in credit cards or computer keyboards, it would also be advantageous if the sensor could be made compact.
In the view of costs there is also a demand for simplicity and minimizing of the number of parts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sensor being easy to produce, making them cheap in production, and also relatively small.
In addition to the solutions mentioned above the measuring of capacitance has been tried as a method to measure finger prints. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4.353.056 and U.S. Pat. No. 5.325.442. While the ridges of the fingerprint touch the sensor surface the valleys have a small distance to the sensor surface, resulting in a difference in capacitance and/or conduction measured at the different sensors. Humidity may affect the measurements, but if it is evenly distributed throughout the fingerprint an analysis of the contrast between the measurements can provide a picture of it.
All the solutions mentioned above are based upon two-dimensional sensor arrays with dimensions comparable to the size of the fingerprint. These are expensive and difficult to produce, since they comprise a large number of sensors simultaneously measuring the surface.
Also, the known sensors disclose only flat sensor surfaces. As finger prints are curved surfaces the sensors are only capable of measuring a small part of the finger print, and are thus sensitive to the angle with which the fingerprint is held against the surface.
The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for the measuring of structures in a fingerprint or the like, for example using one of the techniques described above, and characterized as stated in the disclosed claims.
As the surface of the sensor array is small, and contains few sensors compared to the known solutions, it is inexpensive and relatively simple to make. As the fingerprint to be measured is moved past the sensor array it is selfcleaning and there is no latent fingerprint remaining from the previous user, giving another advantage in relation to the known finger print sensors.
The curved or essentially U-shaped line of sensors may be made in one piece or by combining two or three linear sensor arrays. Examples of such linear arrays are described in EP 735.502.
Since the details in the fingerprints are small, it is also difficult to make the sensors of the detector small enough. In a preferred embodiment the apparatus and method according to the invention comprises two or more parallel lines of measuring points, each line of measuring points being shifted in the longitudinal direction with a distance less than the distance between the measuring points, the sensor array comprising two or more parallel lines of equally spaced sensors, preferably shifted in the longitudinal direction of the sensor array. This provides a possibility to measure structures in the fingerprint smaller than the spacing of the sensors. This is not possible with any of the previously known detector systems.
Thus, it is to be understood that the term xe2x80x9cessentially one-dimensional arrayxe2x80x9d here refers to an array having a length being much larger than its width, and may comprise more than one line of sensors. | {
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Conventional packs for cigarettes may be fabricated from a blank of board, for example cardboard, that comprises front and rear panels connected by opposite side panels, a bottom panel and a lid. The surfaces of such packs are generally smooth. Heat is applied to packs during the manufacturing and packaging process, for example, during the packaging process involving wrapping the pack in a clear plastic wrapping of polypropylene or the like. This wrapping is sealed in place by heating elements pressed against the wrap on the pack surface, or by the whole pack being passed through a heating station containing heating elements, which heat the wrapping to shrink-wrap the wrapping onto the pack. | {
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The invention relates generally to a method and system for adding alloying elements to molten metals. More particularly, however, it relates to the addition of elements which normally dissolve slowly and with difficulty in molten metals, particularly aluminum.
Many different methods have been employed to add alloying elements to molten metals. Conventional methods typically add the elements directly to the melt in the form of a lump, a bar or the like. In some cases, they are added directly to molten metal being tapped into a ladle, and in other cases, they may be placed in the ladle prior to tapping.
Another method for adding alloying elements to molten metals, particularly molten steel, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,999 to Ohkubo et al. In Ohkubo, alloying is accomplished by feeding a wire rod into the molten metal. The rod is coated with additives for the molten metal and an organic binder which decomposes into gaseous products in the molten metal. The generated gas stirs the molten metal and thus uniformly incorporates the added components throughout the molten metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,309 to Kawawa also discloses a method for adding alloying elements in the form of a wire rod to molten metals. The rod has a controlled size and is added to a molten metal bath by inserting it at a controlled speed, so as to produce a refined and purified metal alloy.
The above methods of adding alloying elements to molten metal work fairly well with alloying elements which dissolve and disperse easily in the molten metal. However, such methods do not work so well with elements having limited liquid solubility such as Pb, Bi and Sn and high oxidizing potential such as Mg and Zn.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,265 to Guzowski et al proposes a solution to the problem of adding such "hard-to-alloy" materials to molten metal. The process employs a high current arc which is formed between the molten base metal and the alloying addition. The alloying addition is passed through the arc where it is melted and converted into a spray of finely divided superheated molten particles. In such a condition, the particles are able to rapidly dissolve in the molten metal upon contact therewith. While the Guzowski concept of alloying is certainly an interesting one, a need still exists for a process capable of providing improved results.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved process for adding "hard-to-alloy" alloying materials to molten metals.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an alloying process having high dissolution rates.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an alloying process which is amenable to continuous casting processes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lead alloyed, aluminum based metal article having high machinability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for adding alloying material to a molten media that additionally adds heat to the molten media.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following specification and drawings. | {
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Menstrual cramps and dysfunctional uterine bleeding are common disorders among women during their menstrual period. Menstrual cramps affect as many as 40 percent of female adults and temporarily disables one-tenth of them. As a newly developed treatment, the present invention—Cinnamomi and Poria composition, which originated from an old Chinese herb formula, is effective in relieving symptoms of such diseases or disorders.
Menstrual cramps, or dysmenorrhea, as it is called in medical terms, is the reoccurrence of painful uterine cramps during menstruation. Dysmenorrhea can include crampy pain; discomfort in the lower abdomen, lower back and the inner thighs; nausea; vomiting; headache; diarrhea; or fatigue. It normally has an onset of from 2–12 hours before the start of menses and tapers over the next one to two days.
Primary dysmenorrhea accounts for a majority of the cases in which no pathologic lesions can be found in pelvic or laparoscopic examination. Although the exact etiology is unspecified, recent advances in biochemistry of prostaglandins to study chemicals and their role in pathophysiology have now established a rational basis for some cases of dysmenorrhea. The release of prostaglandins is significantly increased during menstruation in these women, and the release can be suppressed to normal levels when non-steroidal anti-flammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are given, since NSAIDs are capable of inhibiting cyclo-oxygenase and synthesis of prostaglandins.
In addition to NSAIDs, oral contraceptives, antispasmodics, and analgesics are commonly used by physicians. Androgen therapy is sometimes used, and a minor surgery called dilation and curettage (D&C) is also adopted in certain cases.
Traditional treatments are associated with a variety of side effects, including ineffectiveness and drug tolerance, and have limited effects. That explains why primary dysmenorrhea is still a problem. The present invention was developed using the most common herbal formulations in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This invenmtion uses a different approaching characterized by steady effectiveness and relatively low toxicity.
The Cinnamomi and Poria composition is synthesized to protect women from the pain caused by most common pelvic diseases or disorders. In addition to treating primary and secondary dysmenorrhea and dysfunctional uterine bleeding caused by irregular shedding of uterine endometrium, the composition is also effective in treating chronic pelvic inflammations, inflammatory lower abdominal masses and small intramural hysteromyoma.
Like most TCM products, the Cinnamomi and Poria composition is prepared from multiple medicinal herbal materials—five cultivated natural plants called Ramulus Cinnamomi, Poria, Cortex Moutan, Radix Paeoniae Alba and Semen Persicae. Different in weights and portions of the medicinal herbs for the start-up materials and in the producing courses, Cinnamomi and Poria composition shares the same formula of five herbs with a previous medicinal preparation—Bolus of Cinnamomi and Poria (BCP).
BCP, which has long been approved as an effective cure, was a sample of success in medicinal practice in ancient China. The formula of five was sourced from Jinkui Summary, a guide compiled by famous TCM practitioner Zhongjing Zhang, some 1,000 years ago. It was also collected in many medicine directory resources, such as the “Traditional Chinese Medicine Dictionary.”
With different courses of preparation, the five-plant formula was always administered in combination with other medicinal herbs. It claims to treat a variety of diseases and disorders, including many indications in the present invention.
As a comparison, while BCP was prepared by the extraction of herbs' water solution—a more traditional way in TCM practice, the present invention is produced by updated technologies which could better preserve its effective ingredients. Cinnamomi and Poria composition was developed in 1989, and have obtained the Certificate of New Medicine Product Permit by authorities in China.
In regards to the medicinal herb materials and their ingredients involving in present invention, a variety of United States Patents and literatures that taught methods in composing curative compositions from herbs like Cinnamomi, Poria etc. A variety of reports from China, country of the inventor, are also cited which were mostly in connection with animal or clinical researches for BCP and certain embodiment of Cinnamomi and Poria composition.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,403, the formula consist an extract of Poria composition up 5 to 20% in weight are been used as a cure or prevention of disorders in sugar balance, diabetes, and such blood circulation diseases such as Angina Pectoris.
Poria cocos wolf is being use for treating diseases occurred in area of cardio, cerebro-vascular, and for that of Alzheimer's and depression. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,182 contain Poria cocos wolf up to 20% of its weight make up.
During the menopause stage for many women, many of them might experience a period, which is called “Hot Flashes”. In U.S. Pat. No. 58,740,874, which is a herbal formula for treating women, who are in the stage of Hot Flashes. This herbal formula contains both Peony Root and Poria Cocos, making up to 13.3% of the weight of the formula.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,233, discloses a composition that consists of semen Persicae (Peach Kernel) up 30% of its weight. This formula is known for usages on blood stimulation and the flow of vital energy.
A pharmaceutical liquid composition which contains Cinnamomi Cortex is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,203 which amount 66 parts and 56 parts in Paeoniae Radix of its weight. This pharmaceutical liquid was used in hospital everywhere for treating patients that are suffering from stroke, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, tachycardia, dyspnea, anxiety, cardiostenosis, acute and chronic convulsion, automatic nervous system disease, and coma.
Another pharmaceutical liquid composition containing Paeoniae Radix and Cinnamomi Cortex are allegedly being used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,964, which presents an invention that relates to the preparation of oral and parental natural substance liquids of improve on physical stability. In this formula, it contains about 66 mg of Cinnamomi Cortex and 56 mg of Paeoniae Radix. The formula is also being used for the same treatments as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,203.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,591 describes an adminiculum for antitumor agents. The composition consists both of Cinnamomi Cortex and Paeoniae Radix from 2.0 to 4.0 parts of the formula. The composition is used as a control substance for side effects and adminiculum for mitomycin C and doxorubicin.
Xie, J Z et al. published an article in 1986 on BCP's influences on blood flow of rabbits. Xie says that BCP had long been claimed for its effect against hypostasis. In their test on rabbits both with oral and intravenous administration, Xie observed that the whole blood reduced specific viscosity and plasma specific viscosity were lowered, RBC electrophoresis time shortened and fibrinogen reduced.
Tu, Z K S et al. in 1988 reported their research results or oral administration of BCP in 10 health human bodies on their blood flow, blood platelet functions etc. The results showed that the whole blood viscosity was significantly lowered after two weeks of administration, the blood platelet coagulation induced by collagen and ADP and synthesis of thromboxane B2 in blood platelets was also inhibited. But, the diagrams of thrombus elasticity showed no changes.
Xie, J Z et al. reported BCP's effect on central nerve system in 1987. Xie reported that oral and injection of BCP in mice both lead to a significant analgesia and sedation effect to the animals. Xie further pointed out that the half lethal dose was 80.0±10.9 g/kg if given through subcutaneous injection, and over 250 g/kg if given orally.
He, H Q et al. published an article in 1994 on clinical study of Cinnamomi and Poria composition in 100 cases of gynecopathies: dysfunctional uterine bleeding caused by irregular shedding of uterine endometrim, chronic pelvic inflammations, dysmenorrhea and small intramural hysteromyoma. In comparison with 50 cases of patients that were treated with BCP, observations over multiple complaining symptoms and physical signs had showed no significant difference between the two groups.
Shi, D M et al. reported in 2000 after observing of therapeutic effects of Cinnamomi and Poria composition in 60 patients with hysteromyoma. Patients accepted physical examination on gynecology, ultrasonic examination and hematochrome test. The effectiveness of treatment was defined as significant improvement: tumor reduced 3–5 cm and enlarged menstrual flow reduced 50% or over; improvement: tumor reduced 2–3 cm and menstrual flow reduced 25% or over and ineffective: under improvement. The results showed in Shi's report that an effective rate of 91.7% was acquired, and among which, 10% of the cases was of significant improvement.
In one embodiment of the invention, Capsule of Cinnamomi and Poria (CCP) was made. And pre-clinical studies on CCP's pharmacological effects have showed that it has the effects of uterine smooth muscle relaxation, antispasmodic, pain-releasing and anti-inflammation, best explanation for its indication of dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic inflammations.
Cinnamomi and Poria composition with different concentrations may cause an inhibitory effect against the contraction of extra-corporeal uterine of rats. It counteracts the acceleration and enhancement of contractions of the extra-corporeal uterine that was induced by oxytocin. Cinnamomi and Poria composition solution of different concentrations might result in the decrease of blood platelet agglutination rate in rats. The effectiveness had a positive relation with different concentrations. Cinnamomi and Poria composition could also induce a downfall of blood viscosity in rats administered with it for a few days.
Reaction to pains caused by chemical or heat, mice will twist their bodies or swing their tails. By recording the times of body twisting or tail swinging, an objective index of their feeling of pains could be evaluated. CCP, if given to the animals a few days before the tests, will, within certain scope, relieve them from the body movement.
For the effect of anti-inflammation, it could be observed that with administration of CCP, the weights of mice's swelling ears were reduced obviously. The weight of mice's swelling ear reflects the severity of inflammation in the ear that was smeared with croton oil at its surface a period of time before.
A general study of pharmacology on rats' cardiovascular, respiration and nerve system showed that CCP had no noticeable reverse effect physiologically on the above systems. The acute toxicity test was conducted on 20 mice with 246 g/kg in dosage (a thousand times of human's clinical dosage), administered by gastric injection. No death or any other abnormal activities were found. The 90 days long-term toxicity study was also negative in general health indexes, general blood perimeters, functions and pathological studies of different organs.
The controlled clinical studies of multi diseases and comprehensive evaluations were conducted among women of China. 150 people were involved in the first stage trial (Phase II). No deaths or serious adverse events had been reported. The clinical studies showed positive results in a comprehensive evaluated analysis: the evaluation to a multiple indications: dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic inflammations and many others. | {
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A modern wind turbine comprises a rotor having a hub and a plurality of wind turbine blades, which extend substantially radially from the hub. The rotor is mounted to a machine housing or a nacelle, which in turn is arranged on top of a tower. The machine housing can yaw so that it can pivot around a vertical shaft in relation to the tower, hereby being able to adjust the rotor to the direction of the wind. The rotor can be put into rotation by the wind, thereby driving one or more generators.
Wind turbine blades are often provided with a bulkhead arranged at a root end of the blade, typically located within the inboard 20% of the blade. The bulkhead has two functions. First of all, it functions as a work platform for workers when having to carry out maintenance or repair inside the blade. Second of all, it prevents internal debris from falling into the machine housing of the blade. Additionally, when mounted expediently, the bulkhead is watertight.
The bulkhead is typically glued directly on to an inner wall of the wind turbine blade. However, a wind turbine blade is subjected to large loads during operation, which causes the inboard part of the blade to ovalise. This in turn entails loads to the glue bonding, and in worst case the bulkhead may be torn loose from the inner blade wall. It is also well-known to mount the bulkhead on a bathtub-shaped flange made of steel or a fibre-reinforced composite material, which allows for small movements of the blade wall relative to the bulkhead. Such a solution is for instance known from WO09/085,041. However, this solution is also encumbered by large loads to the flange and to the glue bonding between the flange and the inner blade wall. Further, the relatively stiff flange makes it difficult and tedious to mount the bulkhead and flange inside the wind turbine blade. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein generally relate to a load torque estimation apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a load torque estimation method and a computer readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a process.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, a technology is known to estimate load torque of an electric motor during driving in a real-time manner. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H4-355688 discloses a technology of estimating the load torque by changing a torque constant in a real-time manner based on a phase state of a conduction phase of a three-phase brushless motor and on a rotational speed of the motor. | {
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A cache memory is provided between a central processing unit and a main memory of a computer system in order to speed up the operation speed, the cache memory functioning as a high speed buffer memory and storing a portion of programs and data to be stored in the main memory.
Virtual addresses are used with recent central processing units so that address translation is required between virtual addresses and real addresses of the cache memory and main memory. Since the size of a translation table becomes large as the address space becomes large, the table is generally structured hierarchically. It takes some time to refer to the hierarchical table and find a real address. In order to obtain a real address at high speed, tables having an associative function called a Table Look aside Buffer (TLB) are provided in parallel as hierarchical tables.
TLB is therefore required to execute address translation at high speed and also at high hit probability while using a small circuit scale.
Two types of associative schemes, full associative and set associative, are used for TLB. With the former scheme, an input address is compared with all data stored in TLB to check coincidence/non-coincidence therebetween. If there is coincident data stored in TLB, a signal indicating a data presence and the stored data are output.
With the latter set associative scheme, candidates of coincident data are selected, and an input data is compared with these candidate addresses to check coincidence/non-coincidence therebetween. If there is coincident data, a signal indicating a data presence and a real address corresponding to the coincident data are output.
As above, since the full associative scheme compares all data, the number of comparators increases and the circuit area becomes large. In order to suppress an increase in the circuit area, a simple circuit having a small area is used as the comparator. Therefore, a time required for data comparison becomes long, and because of a number of comparators, power consumption becomes great. Although there are such disadvantages, a data coincidence probability becomes high because the comparison is executed for all stored data.
In the case of TLB of the set associative scheme, the number of comparators is as small as two to four sets because candidates for compared data are selected and the coincidence/non-coincidence check is performed only for these candidates. Accordingly, a high speed comparator circuit can be used and coincidence detection can be performed at high speed, although the comparator circuit becomes complicated. However, a restriction of candidate selection lowers a data coincidence probability. Therefore, a coincidence probability generally equal to the full associative TLB cannot be obtained unless the scale of the TLB storage circuit is increased by about a fourfold. This expansion of the circuit scale increases the number of operating circuits, leaving some issues of an increased power consumption and an increased circuit area.
An example of a coincidence-detecting circuit for the full associative scheme is described in JP-A-59-231789 in which a coincidence-detecting circuit is provided independently for each memory cell for the comparison between search data and stored data. An example of a coincidence-detecting circuit of this type for higher speed operations is described in IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits Vol. 28, No. 11, pp. 1078-1083. According to this report, a reference signal line is provided in parallel with a coincidence-detecting signal line and also with a current supply line, and a differential type NOR gate is formed by coincidence-detecting MOSFETs, for the purpose of high speed detection. This approach has a restriction of the circuit area because of a need of three wiring lines, although high speed operation is realized.
An example of TLB of the set associative scheme is described in JP-A-60-117495 in which a circuit for the comparison with search data utilizes a sense amplifier for reading memory cell data. | {
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The present invention relates to a self-drilling fastener, comprising a fastener element with a slot, formed at its free end and constructed parallel to the axis of the fastener, and a platelet-shaped drilling insert, the end of which is inserted into the slot at the fastening element, the drilling insert being connected positively and non-positively due to the deformation of the jaws forming the boundary of the slot at the fastening element.
A self-drilling screw is already known (DE-C-28 01 962), the drilling part of which is formed by a cutting insert inserted into a longitudinal slot of the screw shaft. The side edges of the cutting insert are provided with recesses, into which the edge region or partial region in question of the jaws of the screw shaft, forming the boundary of the slot, is or are pressed in order to form a solid positive and non-positive connection between the cutting insert and the screw shaft. The corresponding regions of the jaws are thus pressed into indentations at the surface of the platelet-shaped cutting insert until they lie against the base of this recess. There is thus only a slight deformation of the edge regions of the jaws and no particularly strong plastic deformation of the jaws due to the solid counter-surface at the cutting insert. Many years of practical use have shown that this type of fastening of the cutting insert has been entirely optimum in the past and that the required safety against loss is provided by this positive and non-positive holding of the cutting insert. Furthermore, the necessary torque during the drilling can be transferred properly.
As a result of the optimum use of such self-drilling screws with a platelet-shaped cutting insert, the range of uses is constantly being enlarged. The drilling is not restricted only to thin sheet metal. This means that the depths of drilling, which can be managed by such self-drilling fasteners, are also constantly being extended. In order to be able to use such self-drilling fasteners also in thick material that is, for example, in steel girders with a wall thickness of 8 mm, 12 mm or more, it is necessary to make the steel inserts correspondingly longer. | {
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The present invention relates to configuring or otherwise processing an authentication medium into a label or transfer foil form suited for use on articles or objects, wherein said authentication medium can tell from what is obtained from it by illegal copying, doctoring, etc. For instance, credit cards, bank cards, prepaid cards, commutating passes, bankbooks, passports, and ID cards, all likely to incur hassles when illegally copied, doctored and used, should desirously have an authentication function by themselves. In addition, music, image, game or computer software recorded in media, and throw-away supplies for printers, which used to be illegally copied, too, should desirously have an authentication function. So far, much use has been made of holograms for the purpose of authenticating various objects including the above goods or articles.
Patent Publication 1 (JP(A)2004-230571) shows a hologram label characterized by comprising a multilayer assembly wherein an adhesive layer, a light reflective layer, a printed primer layer and a printed layer are successively stacked on one surface of a thermally shrinkable substrate film, and an adhesive layer and a release sheet are successively stacked on another surface.
Patent Publication 2 (JP(A)11-151877) discloses an authentication medium adapted to be provided on an object in an optically visible way to authenticate said object, characterized by comprising a hologram having a high-molecular cholesteric liquid crystal on a reflective layer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Dye-sensitized solar cells said to be a next-generation solar cell is a semi-permanent solar cell developed by using a dye which is a polymer material to produce and absorb electrons, and recently, they are gaining attention as a new environmental renewable energy source. Dye-sensitized solar cells use a transparent glass substrate and can freely display colors according to the type of dye and thus have an aesthetic value, and can be made in different sizes, so they are expected to be easily used over a wide range of applications, and are of high use. However, because efficiency is still low at the current level of development, they are not fully used in all possible applications, and large-area dye-sensitized solar cells are produced on a trial basis and some are being used for interior applications on windows or walls. Accordingly, the potential for development of dye-sensitized solar cells is high, and in this instance, large-area fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells is an important factor of development.
In addition to a dye, dye-sensitized solar cells use an electrolyte as an electron transport channel, and liquid electrolytes differ in components according to the type of dye. For electrolyte impregnation, a partition wall is needed to prevent an electrolyte from leaking, and DuPont™ Surlyn film which is a polymer material was used as a conventional sealing material for a dye-sensitized solar cell. However, Surlyn film has limitations in the respect that it has low mechanical durability, is difficult to achieve precise bonding because it is of film type, and is prone to react with oxygen or water due to the properties of organics. Particularly, for large-area fabrication, precise bonding and high mechanical durability for maintaining adhesion of a large-area substrate is required, but Surlyn film is difficult to satisfy these requirements.
To solve the problem, glass is used as a sealing material to ensure the mechanical durability and allow uniform bonding by a screen printing method using a glass paste. Furthermore, formulation free of alkali and transition metal is needed to minimize reactivity of glass with an electrolyte in order to ensure the chemical durability.
On the other hand, TiO2 is used as an electron transport material of a dye-sensitized solar cell, but TiO2 changes in crystal structure depending on the phase, and in this instance, in the case of phase having the greatest electron transport ability, a phase transition occurs at 550° C., and accordingly, there is a need for glass formulation that can be used at 550° C. or less.
There are results of studies using, as a sealing material, commercial glasses conventionally used, such as boro-silicate or soda-lime, but high process temperature is required, and thus, glass production was difficult and uniform bonding was not easy. Furthermore, there were instances of using a laser to replace high process temperature, but precise laser control is difficult, so difficulty in uniform bonding still exists.
Moreover, commercial glass formulations include some alkali elements and transition metals, and this causes a problem as well. | {
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The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. 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.
Reliability physics modeling is used to estimate integrated circuit (IC) projected lifetime under specified operating conditions. Currently, IC chip lifetimes are typically estimated at the time of manufacture and assigned based on operating conditions that may not be exceeded for the estimate to remain valid. This does not take into account actual operating conditions during use of the IC chip and does not allow an end user to understand the effect changed operating conditions may have on projected IC chip lifetime. With no method to assess reliability in real time with respect to actual product use and environmental conditions, extra reliability that may be in the form of additional product lifetime and/or performance may be unused, translating to additional product cost over time. | {
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Optical nonlinear crystals are extensively used for frequency conversion of a fundamental laser wavelength to a new wavelength. Examples include conversion of 1064 nm light from neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers to a wavelength of 532 nm using nonlinear crystals such as Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP), Barium Borate (BBO), Lithium Triborate (LBO), Bismuth Borate (BiBO), and Potassium Titanyl Phosphate (KTP). This light at 532 nm can be further converted to 355 nm by summing the resultant 532 nm radiation with the remaining laser fundamental at 1064 nm in another crystal to generate 355 nm. The 532 nm can also be converted to 266 nm by doubling in crystals such as BBO, Cesium Dihydrogenarsenate (CDA), Potassium Fluoroboratoberyllate (KBBF) and Cesium Lithium Borate (CLBO). The 266 nm can be converted by summing with the fundamental at 1064 nm to get to wavelengths as short as 213 nm.
It is theoretically possible to attain conversion efficiencies of the fundamental laser wavelength to the desired wavelength range by as high as 100% for flat top spatial/temporal laser pulses. In practice, conversion efficiencies as high as 80-90% for second harmonic generation (SHG) and 30-40% for third harmonic generation (THG) to ultraviolet (UV) are attained using spatial-temporal shaped pulses and/or effective multi-pass operation of the nonlinear crystals. In practice, solid state lasers have been scaled to increasingly higher powers to attain significant brightness. For example, it is possible to produce continuous lasers with diffraction limited output at 1 KW, which corresponds to a focusable average power of more than 1011 W/cm2. Despite the high power scaling capabilities of the fundamental laser source, it has not been possible to scale the nonlinear frequency conversion to take full advantage of the higher power inputs.
The surface damage is especially relevant if the laser and nonlinear crystal are arranged to generate ultraviolet (UV) laser radiation. Most available nonlinear crystals have a significantly lower damage threshold when exposed to UV laser radiation compared to lower frequency laser radiation. As a result, high intensity of UV radiation on the exit face of a nonlinear crystal causes rapid degradation of that component, limiting the reliability of the laser system. Thus, there is a need in the art for methods and systems for reducing surface damage in nonlinear crystals used for efficient, high power frequency conversion of laser light.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of reducing surface damage in a nonlinear crystal. | {
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In recent years, attention has been paid to using hydrogen as fuel because there is no generation of global warming gas such as carbon dioxide from the aspect of the global environmental protection and the energy efficiency is high. Particularly, inasmuch as fuel cells can directly convert hydrogen into electric power and enable high energy conversion efficiency in cogeneration systems utilizing generated heat, attention has been paid thereto. Heretofore, the fuel cells have been employed under a special condition such as in the space development or the ocean development. Recently, however, the development has been advanced toward using them as automobile or household distributed power supplies. Further, fuel cells for portable devices have also been developed.
The fuel cell is a power generator wherein hydrogen rich gas obtained by reforming hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas, gasoline, butane gas, or methanol, and oxygen in the air are reacted electrochemically, thereby to directly produce electricity. In general, the fuel cell comprises a reformer for producing hydrogen rich gas by steam-reforming hydrocarbon fuel, a fuel cell body for producing electricity, a converter for converting the produced dc electricity into alternating current, and so forth.
Depending on an electrolyte used in the fuel cell body, a reaction manner, and so forth, there are five kinds in those fuel cells, i.e. a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), an alkaline fuel cell (AFC), and a solid polymer fuel cell (PEFC). Among them, the solid polymer fuel cell (PEFC) has a favorable condition in that an electrolyte is solid, as compared with other fuel cells such as the phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) and the alkaline fuel cell (AFC).
However, since the solid polymer fuel cell (PEFC) uses platinum as a catalyst and an operating temperature thereof is low, there is a drawback that the electrode catalyst is poisoned with a small quantity of CO, and degradation in performance is remarkable particularly in a high current density region. Therefore, it is necessary to produce high purity hydrogen by reducing a concentration of CO contained in reformed gas (hydrogen rich gas) produced in a reformer, to about 10 ppm.
As one of methods for removing CO from the reformed gas, there has been used a membrane separation method employing a Pd alloy film as a filter. Unless there are pinholes, cracks, or the like in the film, the Pd alloy film can theoretically transmit only hydrogen and, by setting the reformed gas side under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions (e.g. 300° C., 3 to 100 kg/cm2), it transmits hydrogen to the low hydrogen partial pressure side.
In the foregoing membrane separation method, inasmuch as the transmission speed of hydrogen is inversely proportional to a film thickness, reduction in film thickness is required. However, in terms of the mechanical strength, reduction in film thickness up to about 30 μm is a limit for a Pd alloy film alone, and therefore, when a Pd alloy film having a thickness of about ten-odd micrometers is used, a support member having a porous structure is disposed on the low hydrogen partial pressure side of the Pd alloy film. However, since the Pd alloy film and the support member are mounted in a reformer as separate members, there has been a problem that the operability for achieving excellent sealing is bad, and durability of the Pd alloy film is not sufficient due to occurrence of friction between the Pd alloy film and the support member.
For solving the foregoing problem, there has been developed a filter in which a Pd alloy film and a support member of a porous structure are unified together using an adhesive. However, there has been a problem that it is necessary to remove the adhesive from the Pd alloy film located at hole portions of the support member, and therefore, the production processes are complicated. Further, since it is used under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions in the reformer, degradation of the adhesive is unavoidable, resulting in insufficient durability of the filter.
Moreover, there is a limit to the magnitude of opening diameters of hole portions in the support member for ensuring a required strength of the support member, and therefore, there is also a limit about increasing an area of the Pd alloy film that is effective for transmission of hydrogen, so that improvement in hydrogen transmission efficiency has been impeded. | {
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A traditional sailboat includes a hull, a sail-foil, and a keel-foil. The sail-foil travels through a first fluid (air) at a first vector velocity. The keel-foil travels through a second fluid (water) at a second vector velocity. The difference in vector energies is translated into work used for moving the boat. Both the sail-foil and the keel-foil have drag, and each individually is unable to compensate for its own drag. However, because the sail-foil and keel-foil are coupled through the hull of the boat, each compensates for the other's drag.
Conventional sailboats experience a torque effect called heeling. Heeling is caused by a downwind force operating on the sail compounded by an upwind force operating on the keel. On monohulls, catamarans, and trimarans, the keel-foil is located either directly under or nearly under the sail, resulting in a heeling torque. This heeling torque causes the boat to tilt to leeward, increasing hull drag, reducing sail efficiency, and, when large, causing the boat to capsize.
With reference to Prior Art FIGS. 1A-1C, heeling torque in monohulls (FIG. 1A), catamarans (FIG. 1B) and trimarans (FIG. 1C) is illustrated. In the monohull of FIG. 1A, a sail foil 23 and keel foil 22 are rigidly coupled to a hull 21 as shown. When a wind 20 is incident on the sail foil, a sail force F.sub.sail operates at or near the point of the center of effort of the sail foil 23 in the direction shown, and a keel force F.sub.keel operates at the center of effort of the keel foil 22 in the direction shown. F.sub.sail represents the total force of air on the boat, and F.sub.keel represents the total force of water on the boat, excluding buoyancy forces. These operating forces are offset by a distance d, generating a moment on the hull 22, referred to as a heeling torque .tau..sub.heel. Similarly, in the catamaran of FIG. 1B including dual hulls of pontoons 25A, 25B joined by connecting structure 24, and the trimaran of FIG. 1C including dual hulls of pontoons 25A, 25B and dual connecting structures 24A, 24B, the operative forces F.sub.sail, F.sub.keel generate heeling torques .tau..sub.heel in the respective crafts.
Ballast is employed to compensate for heeling torque in conventional sailboats. In smaller boats such as Sunfish.TM. and Lasers.TM., human ballasts are used. Sailors "hike out" on the windward side of the boat to level off the boat. Dual-hull catamarans employ the advantage of a longer moment arm between hulls or pontoons, increasing the metacentric height, thereby allowing for larger sails and increased speeds, but if the catamarans are small in size, they still require human ballast. In larger sailboats, the ballast weight of the sailors becomes insufficient. For this reason, weight is added to the keel of the boat, increasing the displacement and hull drag. In some monohulls, up to 70 percent of the weight of the boat is lead ballast in the keel. | {
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There is already known a socket wrench comprising an operating handle, a drive having a supporting hole and attached to the operating handle, and a wrench body, a steel ball pressed by a spring being engaged in the supporting hole such that the steel ball can come in and out with respect to the supporting hole, a recess part for allowing the steel ball partly engaged therein being formed in an inner wall of an assembling hole for allowing the drive to engage therein, an engaging square hole being formed in the wrench body in such a manner as to be coaxial with the drive so that the engaging square hole can be engaged with, for example, a polygonal head of a bolt to be operated (for example, Patent Document 1).
A socket wrench shown in Patent Document 1 is of the type in which a separate adapter is assembled to the operating handle and the drive is disposed at the adapter. The present invention is, of course, applicable to the foregoing arrangement. In addition, the present invention is applicable to a socket wrench of the type in which as shown in one preferred embodiment as described later, the adapter is omitted and the drive is directly attached to (the head part of the operating handle. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to entertainments systems to be mounted in the passenger compartment of an automobile.
2. Background Art
Over time, motor vehicles have evolved in complexity with consumer expectations demanding the inclusion of modern electronic devices that are not necessarily related to automobile driveablity. Examples of electronic devices that are being incorporated in automobiles are global positioning devices, entertainment systems such as DVD player, TVs, CD players, video game systems, and the like.
It is desirable that the incorporation of these electronic components integrate into a motor vehicle compartment in an aesthetically pleasing manner with a minimal amount of vehicle passenger compartment space being sacrificed. Several prior art systems and methods are known for mounting monitors in airplanes and buses for personal viewing by the occupant of a given seat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,447 (“the '447 patent”) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,263 (“the '263 patent) disclose such systems. Although these systems may be satisfactory for their intended applications, the systems of the '447 patent and the '263 patent are less useful for normal passenger automobile applications. In such passenger vehicles, personal viewing is generally not as desirable as viewing by several people typically seated in the back seat of a car or in the rear seats of SUVs or vans. Inclusion of one monitor for each passenger seat in a passenger vehicle is too expensive and impractical. Another consideration is that typically not every seat in an passenger vehicle has an armrest. Moreover, many of the stowable prior art entertainment systems tend to be complex thereby potentially increasing the costs of their incorporation into automobile passenger compartments.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the prior art for improved entertainment systems particularly suited for integration into the passenger compartments of passenger cars, SUVs, and vans. | {
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Substituted pyridinonecarboxylic acid amides are described in WO 2008/005457 as inhibitors of PDK1.
The aim of the present invention is to discover new active substances which can be used for the prevention and/or treatment of diseases characterised by excessive or abnormal cell proliferation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Catalytic reforming, or hydroforming, is a well established industrial process employed by the petroleum industry for improving the octane quality of naphthas or straight run gasolines. In reforming, a multi-functional catalyst is employed which contains a metal hydrogenation-dehydrogenation (hydrogen transfer) component, or components, substantially atomically dispersed upon the surface of a porous, inorganic oxide support, notably alumina. Noble metal catalysts, notably of the platinum type, are currently employed, reforming being defined as the total effect of the molecular changes, or hydrocarbon reactions, produced by dehydrogenation of cyclohexanes and dehydroisomerization of alkylcyclopentanes to yield aromatics; dehydrogenation of paraffins to yield olefins; dehydrocyclization of paraffins and olefins to yield aromatics; isomerization of n-paraffins; isomerization of alkylcycloparaffins to yield cyclohexanes; isomerization of substituted aromatics; and hydrocracking of paraffins which produces gas, and inevitably coke, the latter being deposited on the catalyst.
In a reforming operation, one or a series of reactors, providing a series of reaction zones, are employed. Typically, a series of reactors are employed, e.g., three or four reactors, these constituting the heart of the reforming unit. Each reforming reactor is generally provided with a fixed bed, or beds, of the catalyst, typically a platinum catalyst or a metal promoted platinum catalyst, which receive down-flow feed, and each is provided with a preheater or interstage heater, because the reactions which take place are endothermic. A naphtha feed, with hydrogen, or recycle hydrogen gas, is cocurrently passed through a preheat furnace and reactor, and then in sequence through subsequent interstage heaters and reactors of the series. The product from the last reactor is separated into a liquid fraction, and a vaporous effluent. The former is recovered as a C.sub.5.sup.+ liquid product. The latter is a gas rich in hydrogen, and usually contains small amounts of normally gaseous hydrocarbons, from which hydrogen is separated and recycled to the process to minimize coke production.
The sum-total of the reforming reactions occurs as a continuum between the first and last reactor of the series, i.e., as the feed enters and passes over the first fixed catalyst bed of the first reactor and exits from the last fixed catalyst bed of the last reactor of the series. During an on-oil run, the activity of the catalyst gradually declines due to the build-up of coke on the catalyst, and hence during operation, the temperature of the process is gradually raised to compensate for the activity loss caused by the coke deposition. Eventually, however, economics dictate the necessity of reactivating the catalyst. Consequently, in all processing of this type the catalyst must necessarily be periodically regenerated by burning off the coke at controlled conditions.
Two major types of reforming are generally practiced in the multi reactor units, both of which necessitate periodic reactiviation of the catalyst, the initial sequence of which requires regeneration, i.e., burning the coke from the catalyst. Reactivation of the catalyst is then completed in a sequence of steps wherein the agglomerated metal hydrogenation-dehydrogenation components are atomically redispersed. In the semi-regenerative process, a process of the first type, the entire unit is operated by gradually and progressively increasing the temperature to maintain the activity of the catalyst, decreased by the coke deposition, until finally the entire unit is shut down for regeneration, and reactivation, of the catalyst. In the second, or cyclic type of process, the reactors are individually isolated, or in effect swung out of line by various manifolding arrangements, motor operated valving and the like. The catalyst is regenerated to remove the coke deposits, and then reactivated while the other reactors of the series remain on stream. A "swing reactor" temporarily replaces a reactor which is removed from the series for regeneration and reactivation of the catalyst, until it is put back in series. The cyclic method of regeneration offers advantages in that the catalyst, because it can be continuously regenerated, and reactivated, without shutting down the unit, suffers no loss in production. Moreover, because of this advantage the unit can be operated at higher severities to produce higher C.sub.5.sup.+ liquid volume yields of high octane gasoline than semi-regenerative reforming units.
Catalysts constituted of platinum and iridium, with or without the presence of an additional metal, or metals, are known to be the most active of commercial reforming catalysts. The ability of iridium to promote platinum activity provides catalytic activities two to four times that of platinum and platinum-rhenium catalysts depending upon the platinum and iridium loadings selected. A major liability of platinum-iridium catalysts is the ease in which iridium is agglomerated upon exposure to oxygen at high temperatures. This fact has restricted the wide application of platinum-iridium catalysts, especially to exclude their use in cyclic reforming units, since time-consuming regeneration procedures are required to avoid damaging the iridium. These regeneration methods utilize lengthy, low temperature coke burns in the presence of chloride to maintain the iridium in highly dispersed state. Low oxygen concentrations in the combustion gas are also employed during the combustion period to hold the flame front temperature below about 800.degree. F. (426.7.degree. C.). The use of chloride during this prolonged burning period also creates a number of troublesome problems. For example, the use of scrubbing equipment is required to remove the corrosive chloride containing gases from the gas recycle stream. Moreover, volatile iron chlorides are formed by reaction of the chlorine with reactor walls, and the deposition of these iron salts on the reforming catalyst contributes to poor on-oil performance.
Platinum-iridium catalysts offer other benefits in addition to their high activity. The catalysts generate low levels of coke relative to other catalysts, e.g., platinum-rhenium catalysts which have enjoyed high commercial success, which has the effect of extending cycle length and directionally minimizing burn time where high temperatures can be employed. In contrast to platinum-rhenium catalysts, platinum-iridium systems are more sulfur tolerant, and the use of feed sulfur at the lower levels which become possible lowers the level of hydrogenolysis of the feed to methane. This results in higher C.sub.5.sup.+ liquid volume yields of the product.
There thus exists a need, among others, for a novel reforming process employing a catalyst offering high activity, high sulfur tolerance, low coke formation, high C.sub.5.sup.+ liquid volume yield, and rapid catalyst regeneration. Platinum-iridium catalysts admirably satisfy the first three of these five enumerated requirements, but do not provide as high C.sub.5.sup.+ liquid volume yields as some other catalysts, e.g., platinum-rhenium catalysts, and require lengthy periods for regeneration of the catalyst, e.g., as contrasted with platinum and platinum-rhenium catalysts. | {
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Numerous so-called twin-wire formers of the above described type are known. For example, see German Offenlegungsschriften Nos. 2 534 290; 2 248 454 and 2 442 925. Machines of this construction have recently become increasingly adapted for the use at high speeds. The basic principle is to maintain the outer belt under a given tension during its travel, thereby to produce in the portion of the periphery of the forming cylinder which is wrapped, a pressure in the normal direction which removes water from the injected fiber suspension or the web of fibers being formed.
Paper webs produced on such twin-wire formers frequently exhibit many defects. Often, the edges of the webs have smaller thickness than their central regions, the fibers may be undesirably aligned in their longitudinal direction, and/or the web appears flaky, fluffy or cloudy when one looks through it. Ideally, the web should have approximately the same strength in both its longitudinal and its transverse directions, should not appear cloudy when looked through and should have a constant thickness profile measured over its width. | {
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As discussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2007/0004428 A1, rudimentary weighted averages formulas have been used to calculate wireless access point locations. In systems employing such formulas, individuals voluntarily supply the data required by systems, which presents a number of problem. Some of data may be new while other data could be years old. Since access point locations can change, this is problematic. The data may be inconsistent since each querying device uses different hardware and software configurations, each radio antenna has different signal reception characteristics affecting the representation of the strength of the signal, and scanning software implementations may scan for wireless signals in different ways at different times. Data may aggregate around heavily traffic areas resulting in arterial bias. Each database may calculate access point locations differently and with different weighted average formulas. As a result, many access points may not be correctly located.
As discussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2009/0280827 A1, neural networks have also been used to match scaled signal strengths of wireless access points measured by a device to records of signal strengths of wireless access points. | {
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Circuit interrupting and reclosing devices function to isolate a fault condition in a power distribution system and upon clearing of the fault condition to reclose the circuit. Faults in a power distribution system can occur for any number of reasons and are typically transient. Detection and isolation of the fault mitigates damage to the system as a result of the fault. Automatic reclosing of the circuit following a fault returns the power distribution system to normal operation quickly and without operator intervention.
Recloser devices may be designed to operate after a fault interruption to reclose the faulted line or lines. Following reclosing, if the fault is not cleared the recloser device will detect the fault and again operate to open and isolate the fault. This process of closing, fault sensing and reopening may occur several times before it is determined that the fault is persistent, i.e., is a fault requiring some reparative intervention, and the recloser locks out to isolate the fault.
The process of reclosing into a fault, however, may have the detrimental effect of repeatedly subjecting the power distribution circuit and any connected loads to the fault current and other potentially damaging current anomalies. Given the close, sense, reopen operating nature of the recloser device, this may occur several times before the fault is cleared or the recloser is locked out. | {
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Three-dimensional computer animation continues to intensely impact the visual arts world. In the entertainment industry, for example, three-dimensional computer animation has provided the sole basis for several motion pictures, and computer-generated visual effects are increasingly used to enhance or replace filmed scenery, special effects, and stunts in filmed motion pictures. Additionally, three-dimensional computer animation has furthered the sciences and practical arts by allowing, for example, visual analysis of product designs prior to physical assembly (e.g., aircraft designs), and lifelike visualizations of planned events (e.g., spacecraft landings).
As described in Kerlow, The Art of 3-D Computer Animation and Imaging, Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2000), the production stage in the process of three-dimensional computer animation includes the steps of modeling, animation, and rendering. These tasks usually take place in a computer animation studio in a collaborative effort among many creative, technical, production, and/or administrative personnel (hereinafter “users”), although there may be only a single user for the simplest endeavors. The computer animation studio may comprise one physical site or may be distributed across several sites, in which case the sites are usually connected by a wide area network.
Modeling refers to the creation of the virtual characters, objects, and environments that will be used in the movie or feature being produced. Computer modeling can occur using a wide range of computer based three-dimensional techniques, ranging from virtual modeling techniques for the direct creation of virtual objects, to the use of three-dimensional digitizers to capture the shape of real-world objects and form virtual objects therefrom. For each object, the modeling process yields a body of numerical and symbolic information (hereinafter “model”) that describes its geometry and other characteristics, usually in isolation from other objects. Models of different but related objects (e.g., hat, arm, spurs) can be grouped together in defining a model of a larger object (e.g., cowboy) as needed. From a computing perspective, an object model comprises a file or array comprising numerical and symbolic information sufficient to define the object according to a high-level modeling language. Examples of high-level modeling languages include VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language), Lightwave, Softimage, Maya, and 3D Max formats. The size of the file or array containing the model will increase, of course, as the complexity of the model increases. Once the virtual actors and objects are modeled, they can be arranged on a virtual stage and animated.
Animation refers to the incremental changing of the positions and orientations of models in three-dimensional space, such that samples of the models and their arrangement on the virtual stage can yield an illusion of continuous action when viewed in succession. Computer animation techniques range from keyframing animation in which starting and ending positions are specified for all objects in a sequence, to motion capture in which all positions are fed to the objects directly from live actors whose motions are being digitized.
The animation process results in a sequence of logically related samples that together form a “shot,” with a collection of logically related shots forming a “scene” of an overall production. As known in the art, the term “scene” additionally refers to the selection and configuration of the virtual objects, characters, and environments that are the subject of the sequence being animated. Thus, for example, a computer-animated feature film may contain a scene of a wild West gunfight, the scene comprising virtual models of two cowboys, their horses, and a crowd positioned against a virtual town environment, the scene further comprising a first shot of a close-up of one cowboy as he warns the other cowboy, a second shot of the cowboys pointing their guns at each other, a third shot of the crowd gasping, and so on.
From a computing perspective, the result of the animation process is a sequence of three-dimensional representations of object models in progressively different positions and orientations, each member usually being expressed according the same high-level modeling language supra. At this point, the virtual objects are still expressed in three-dimensional form and are not suitable for viewing, except perhaps in “wireframe” renditions as the animation is perfected. Once the virtual objects are modeled and animated, they can then be rendered.
Rendering refers to the process of visually representing the animated models with the aid of a simulated camera, thereby producing the output images that are actually viewed by the audience. In many ways, the rendering process is analogous to the cinematography process for standard filmed movies. A Hollywood cinematographer must optimally capture physical actors and objects on a movie stage with a properly positioned camera, carefully selected lighting, and other carefully selected parameters for transferring the scene onto a tangible two-dimensional viewable medium (film). Likewise, the computer rendering process must optimally capture virtual actors and virtual objects on a virtual three-dimensional stage, capturing them with a properly positioned simulated camera, carefully selected virtual lighting, and other carefully selected parameters for transferring the virtual scene onto a tangible two-dimensional viewable medium (a digital image file). The output of the computer rendering process is a sequence of two-dimensional images that form the final product viewable by an audience. The lighting of the scene and the shading characteristics are often specified before the animation is laid out, but the rendering itself, the calculation of the finished images, necessarily happens after the modeling and animation parameters have been defined.
The production-stage tasks of modeling, animation, and rendering can be performed using any of a variety of application software packages ranging from proprietary software solutions to commercial off-the-shelf software packages. Because there is tremendous latitude in the way production-stage tasks might be achieved, different commercial software packages have arisen and/or evolved that perform different combinations and sub-combinations of the above production-stage tasks. Thus, some software packages may be for modeling only or animation only, other packages may perform both modeling and animation, still other packages may perform rendering only, and still other packages may perform all three functions.
Additionally, many adaptors and interfaces exist for allowing, for example the rendering engine of a first package to render the modeled and animated data generated by a second package, commonly through a “plug-in” that allows the user to remain in the environment of the second package while manipulating the rendering data and rendering controls. By way of example and not by way of limitation, RenderMan™ is a popular collection of rendering tools available from Pixar Animation Studios, Inc. of Emeryville, Calif., that includes a rendering program, a scene description interface, and a shading language. A user may choose to use Maya®, a popular modeling and animation package (also capable of rendering) available from Alias/Wavefront of Toronto, Canada, to model and animate a scene, and then use MTOR, a RenderMan plug-in developed for Maya, to connect Maya to the RenderMan engine. Maya primitives are converted into a RIB (RenderMan Interface Bytestream) file. The RIB file is then interpreted by the RenderMan engine to produce rendered frames.
It is to be appreciated that while some terminology infra may have some elements in common with the RenderMan package, the Maya package, or other commercial software packages, the descriptions of the preferred embodiments are not intended to be limited to these restricted environments. Rather, the preferred embodiments described infra may applied in many different contexts using any of a variety of modeling, animation, and/or rendering programs. The preferred embodiments described herein are generally applicable to any environment in which rendering data and rendering controls are produced by a modeling application, an animation application, or other graphics application, and are then provided to a rendering engine that produces rendered frames.
Most commonly, to carry out the rendering process, the user manipulates their modeling application (e.g., Maya, Lightwave, etc.) to generate rendering data and rendering controls. The user then instantiates a rendering process in which the rendering data and rendering controls are submitted to a rendering engine. In a process that is highly computationally intensive, the rendering engine then produces rendered frames in the form of digital image files in any of a variety of formats (e.g., jpg, gif tif, etc.). The process is highly iterative, with the rendering data and/or rendering controls being modified and tweaked until the desired output is achieved. Generally speaking, each time any portion of the rendering data or rendering controls is adjusted, the entire computing process performed by the rendering engine must be repeated.
More specifically, the user manipulates their modeling application in a first step of getting the models to be rendered from some kind of peripheral storage device like a hard disk. These models usually include virtual characters, props, sets, and other objects. In another step, a simulated camera is maneuvered in virtual x-y-z space so that the user can look at the portion of the environment they are interested in. They might reposition the camera, tilt it, change the focal point and depth of field, and adjust proportions and resolution parameters. In another step, the lighting scheme is designed, the user placing at least one light source, and often several light sources, in the three dimensional space of the computer software. In another step, the user specifies many characteristics of the surfaces of the objects including color, texture, shininess, reflectivity, and transparency. Selection of these rendering parameters will have a great impact on the quality, refinement, and energy of the rendered frames produced by the rendering engine. Finally, the user selects a shading method (e.g. faceted, smooth, specular, RenderMan, etc.). Further descriptions of shading methods and other specific rendering controls can be found in Kerlow, supra. For purposes of the present disclosure, it is of significance primarily to note that each of the many sets of user modifications/tweaks of the rendering data or the rendering controls results in the need for an additional rendering job to be submitted to the rendering engine.
After rendering controls and rendering data are specified, the user submits a rendering request to instantiate the transfer of the rendering data and the rendering controls to the rendering engine. This is usually performed by pressing a “render” control button provided by the rendering engine plug-in to the modeling application. The modeling application then provides the rendering data and rendering controls to the rendering engine.
As known in the art, when the geometry or shading in any given scene are too complex, it is common to render different components of a scene in separate layers. The rendered layers are then later composited in a post-production process. For clarity of disclosure, the term “rendered frame” is used to identify a rendered output corresponding to one time sample of a shot, scene, or a layer thereof, it being understood that layered outputs would be later composited to form the actual output image viewed by the audience. The rendered frames are usually displayed to the audience at a rate of 24 frames per second (fps) for film and 30 fps for video. A rendering session maps on to a subset of a movie production flow—be it a scene or a shot, or on to a smaller rendering task. The larger extent of the workflow, for which sessions are conducted is termed a project.
FIG. 1 shows a conceptual hierarchy of rendering data and rendering controls as provided from a modeling application/rendering engine plug-in upon instantiation of a rendering request. Rendering data 102 generally comprises appearance parameters and geometry parameters. Appearance parameters comprise shaders, provided in the form of shader files, and textures, provided in the form of texture files. As known in the art, shaders control the appearance of the site of the scene, specifying, for example, lighting and surface behaviors (e.g., matte, plastic, specular, etc.). Also as known in the art, textures are used to further specify the appearances of surfaces, and are provided in the form of 2-D image files, or alternatively as 3-D image volumes that comprising a plurality of related 2-D image files. Textures are usually very large data files, exceeding a total volume, for example, of 250 Gbytes for an entire project. There is a dependency between shaders and textures in that the shaders reference textures in mapping the textures onto objects during the rendering process.
Geometry parameters comprise procedural geometry information (“procedurals”), provided in the form of procedural geometry files (“procedural files”), as well as geometries provided by the scene description files. As known in the art, procedurals are used to describe geometric elements in terms of algorithms, rather than in terms of simple coordinates, providing a way to model more complicated objects. Scene description files describe the overall scene in terms of both scene descriptions and object geometries. They are first specified by a modeling program, supra, responsive to manipulations by a user. Thus, scene description files are considered to contain both geometry information on the rendering data side of FIG. 1, as well as scene description information on the rendering controls 104 side of FIG. 1. The scene description file is where all the geometry (polygons, surfaces), as well as shaders and procedurals, are referenced. As indicated in FIG. 1, and as used herein, rendering resources shall refer to the collection of scene description files, shader files, texture files, and procedural files used by the rendering engine in generating rendered images.
FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram of the “generation” process associated with rendering resources in most conventional 3-D computer animation systems today. Generally speaking, as a result of user manipulations, the modeling application will provide raw shader files 202, raw procedural files 204, and raw scene description files 208 for downstream rendering. Although they are automatically created by the modeler, these raw or “uncompiled” files are usually in ASCII format or other human-readable format and are not directly usable by the rendering engine. Rather, they must first be compiled or “generated” in a preprocessing step prior to use by the rendering engine.
As indicated in FIG. 2, generation of raw shader files 202 (provided in the form of .sl, .c, .cpp. or .h files as known in the art) is an intrinsic process that depends largely on a set of independent shader make parameters 210, also provided by the modeling application. Upon generation, generated shader files 218 (e.g., so files) can be provided to the rendering engine. Likewise, generation of raw procedural files 204 (provided in the form of .c, .cpp. or .h files as known in the art) is an intrinsic process that depends on independent procedural make parameters 214, and generation of raw scene description files 208 (e.g., provided in the form of .rib files as known in the art) is an intrinsic process that depends on independent scene description make parameters 216. Upon generation, generated procedural files 220 (e.g., so files) and generated scene description files 224 (e.g., rib files) can be provided to the rendering engine.
Unlike the other rendering resource files, texture files 206 (e.g., tif, jpg, gif, etc) may be created separately from the modeling application, e.g., a user may have get them from digital camera outputs, artist drawings, and the like. However, texture files 206 may also be modified or provided by some modeling applications. Texture files usually also require generation, in the form of image processing algorithms such as blurring, edge enhancement, etc. Unlike the other rendering resource files, the generation of texture files 206 is not implicit, but requires information from the scene description file 208 as well as texture make parameters 214. Accordingly, texture generation is a highly scene-dependent, and even frame-dependent, task. Upon generation, generated texture files 222 (e.g. tif, jpg, gif, etc.) may then be provided to the rendering engine. The above generation tasks may be performed by the rendering engine itself in a preprocessing task, or may be performed by auxiliary systems prior to job submission.
A problem arises in conventional 3-D computer animation studios today as a result of the massive computational power needed by the rendering engines. There is a trade-off between capital investment in computing resources (in the form of large “rendering farms”) versus the speed at which rendering can happen. For studios large enough to have their own rendering farm, the rendering farm is usually connected to a team of users over a local area network (LAN). Conventionally, rendering jobs are submitted separately by individual users, whose rendering jobs sit in a queue until the rendering engine is available for that job. An administrator (usually a human) often makes real-time decisions about task prioritization among jobs in the queue. According to an exemplary prior art system, generation of rendering resources is not coordinated in a systematic manner, and often the rendering engine and other network resources end up performing redundant generation and/or rendering tasks. The conventional scenario may be particularly frustrating for a user who has only made a minor tweak or addition to their model or another rendering resource. For example, while the user may have simply moved the position of a light, they must again wait in the queue, have their rendering resources generating, and have the rendering process repeated.
Bottlenecks and inefficiencies caused by limited studio computing resources may be remedied somewhat by online rendering services that rent computing time to remote users on a per-session basis. For a price, a remote user may submit their rendering resources (raw or generated) to the online service and, for a greater price, may have their rendering jobs given high priority in the online queue. One shortcoming of conventional online rendering services, however, lies in the massive amount of data that needs to be transferred across the internet. While shader files and procedurals may generally be “slim” resources not requiring excessive bandwidth, scene description files and textures can be massive in size. By way of example, a typical session for rendering frames corresponding to ten seconds of an animated feature would require the transfer of about 2 Gbytes of data for the scene descriptions (raw or generated) and 2 Gbytes of textures. There can be up to 250 Gbytes of textures corresponding to an overall project. Accordingly, it could be quite frustrating for a remote user who has made a minor tweak in their rendering resources to require resubmission of these massive amounts of rendering resource data to the online rendering engine. | {
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In silicon nitride-ceramics, phase transformation of .alpha. to .beta. in a sintering process occurs by using powder including .alpha. type silicon nitride powder as a main component so that .beta. type silicon nitride is formed and becomes columnar crystals entangled with each other. As is well known, such an entangled structure has improved mechanical properties in comparison with a structure formed by particles having an isotropic shape. In the normal pressure sintering, the .beta. type columnar crystals entangled in three dimensions is formed. In the hot press process, the .beta. type columnar crystal is mainly oriented on a plane perpendicular to the hot pressing direction so that the mechanical properties with respect to this plane are slightly improved. However, the mechanical strength of such sintered materials is especially deteriorated at high temperature, and a sufficient fracture toughness cannot be obtained in the materials.
The silicon nitride-ceramics have problems in, especially, the deterioration in strength at high temperature and low fracture toughness. | {
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Detectors, especially synchronous detectors, have traditionally been implemented with analog multipliers or switching circuits to demodulate the signal to be detected. Using analog multipliers to detect high frequency signals, e.g., signals several hundreds kiloHertz in frequency, is restricted by limited accuracy or linearity and excessive expense. In addition, these devices have typically been unforgiving with respect to the purity of the demodulating, or detection, signal used. For example, if a square wave is used as the detection signal with a typical analog multiplier, the transient response of the analog multiplier to the detection signal limits the accuracy of the detector. And if an analog filter is used to eliminate the higher frequency components of a square wave to convert it into more nearly a sinusoidal signal, phase errors due to temperature and temporal drift in the filter itself are introduced.
To obviate such disadvantages of prior art detection schemes using analog multipliers, a multiplying digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is used instead of an analog multiplier for detection. The multiplying DAC accepts an analog input for demodulation or detection and a signal in the form of a repeating string of digital values as the demodulating input. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to network communication and, in particular, to an improved switching network architecture for computer networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known in the art, network communication is commonly premised on the well known seven layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, which defines the functions of various protocol layers while not specifying the layer protocols themselves. The seven layers, sometimes referred to herein as Layer 7 through Layer 1, are the application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical layers, respectively.
At a source station, data communication begins when data is received from a source process at the top (application) layer of the stack of functions. The data is sequentially formatted at each successively lower layer of the stack until a data frame of bits is obtained at the data link layer. Finally, at the physical layer, the data is transmitted in the form of electromagnetic signals toward a destination station via a network link. When received at the destination station, the transmitted data is passed up a corresponding stack of functions in the reverse order in which the data was processed at the source station, thus supplying the information to a receiving process at the destination station.
The principle of layered protocols, such as those supported by the OSI model, is that, while data traverses the model layers vertically, the layers at the source and destination stations interact in a peer-to-peer (i.e., Layer N to Layer N) manner, and the functions of each individual layer are performed without affecting the interface between the function of the individual layer and the protocol layers immediately above and below it. To achieve this effect, each layer of the protocol stack in the source station typically adds information (in the form of an encapsulated header) to the data generated by the sending process as the data descends the stack. At the destination station, these encapsulated headers are stripped off one-by-one as the data propagates up the layers of the stack until the decapsulated data is delivered to the receiving process.
The physical network coupling the source and destination stations may include any number of network nodes interconnected by one or more wired or wireless network links. The network nodes commonly include hosts (e.g., server computers, client computers, mobile devices, etc.) that produce and consume network traffic, switches, and routers. Conventional network switches interconnect different network segments and process and forward data at the data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model. Switches typically provide at least basic bridge functions, including filtering data traffic by Layer 2 Media Access Control (MAC) address, learning the source MAC addresses of frames, and forwarding frames based upon destination MAC addresses. Routers, which interconnect different networks at the network (Layer 3) of the OSI model, typically implement network services such as route processing, path determination and path switching.
A large network typically includes a large number of switches, which operate independently at the management, control and data planes. Consequently, each switch must be individually configured, implements independent control on data traffic (e.g., access control lists (ACLs)), and forwards data traffic independently of data traffic handled by any other of the switches. | {
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This invention relates to a fuel injection nozzle for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine, the nozzle comprising a nozzle body defining at one end a mounting face, a blind bore extending inwardly from the mounting face towards the other end of the body, a seating defined in the bore, a valve member slidable in the bore and engagable in its closed position with the seating to prevent flow of fuel from a nozzle inlet through an outlet, the valve member being movable by fuel under pressure supplied to the inlet away from said seating to allow fuel flow through the outlet, a nozzle holder, a distance piece interposed between an end face of the holder and said mounting face, means securing the nozzle holder, the distance piece and the nozzle body in assembled relationship, a first spring housed within a chamber defined in the holder, the first spring acting through a rod to urge the valve member into contact with the seating, a second spring housed within the chamber, a spring abutment engaged with one end of said second spring and a push-piece located between the valve member and said spring abutment, said valve member being initially moved by the fuel pressure against the action of the first spring to allow a restricted flow of fuel through the outlet and after a predetermined movement, against the action of both springs to allow an increased rate of flow of fuel through the outlet.
Such nozzles are well known in the art and provide what is known as two-stage lift of the valve member. The initial stage of lift may be as low as 0.06 mm and in order to achieve the desired purpose ie a reduction in the rate of rise of pressure in the engine cylinder by restricting the rate of fuel delivery, it is necessary that the initial stage of lift should be carefully controlled.
One example of such a nozzle is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,719 in which the push-piece is in the form of a flanged bush which is housed in a stepped bore in the distance piece. The spring abutment engages the bush and urges it into contact with the mounting face of the nozzle body and the bush is engaged by the valve member at the end of said predetermined movement. In the closed position of the valve member the end of the valve member therefore has to lie a distance below the level of said mounting face corresponding to said predetermined movement and it is not particularly easy to machine the valve member to the high degree of accuracy required.
Another example of such a nozzle is seen in GB No. 2188367 in which the end face of the valve member again lies below the mounting face of the nozzle body in the closed position of the valve member. In this example however the spring abutment does engage the end face of the distance piece which is presented to the aforesaid end face of the holder thereby making it easier to adjust the pre-load of the second spring. | {
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Modulation of excitable tissue in the body by electrical stimulation has become an important type of therapy for patients with chronic disabling conditions, including chronic pain, problems of movement initiation and control, involuntary movements, vascular insufficiency, heart arrhythmias and more. A variety of therapeutic intra-body electrical stimulation techniques can treat these conditions. For instance, devices may be used to deliver stimulatory signals to excitable tissue, record vital signs, perform pacing or defibrillation operations, record action potential activity from targeted tissue, control drug release from time-release capsules or drug pump units, or interface with the auditory system to assist with hearing. Typically, such devices utilize a subcutaneous battery operated implantable pulse generator (IPG) to provide power or other charge storage mechanisms. | {
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This invention relates to a method for processing an input signal to generate an output signal, and to applications of that method in hearing aids and listening devices.
So-called transient limiters are signal processing units which are capable, without any delay or overshoot, of limiting rapidly ramping, short-duration i.e. transient signal components to a predefined level, hereinafter referred to as the threshold value. The threshold value concerned, at which the transient limiter performs its function, is not signal-dependent but can instead be set as a parameter. Transient limiters are employed for instance in hearing aids which serve to compensate for a patient's hearing impairment, but also in auditory amplification systems which are used for enhancing audibility in special situations such as listening and monitoring operations. In the following description the term “hearing aid” is to be understood as comprehensively referring to the medical hearing aids and to the listening devices mentioned above. Where any of the following elucidations relate uniquely to applications in listening devices, they will be explicitly identified as such.
In hearing aids, transient limiters serve the purpose of preventing the maximum output level in the hearing aid from exceeding a predefined threshold value. This protects the user of the hearing aid from excessive noise exposure.
It is a known fact that human speech occupies a dynamic range of about −15 to +18 dB (decibels) around the respective mean level; in quiet surroundings with little ambient noise, that mean level is about 60 to 65 dB. In loud surroundings the mean level can rise to about 80 dB or higher. Given these facts, the conventional methods for limiting the audio signal components for persons with normal hearing have employed fixed maximum values of 100 to 120 dB. In cases of diminished hearing capacity the threshold value is suitably set at a comfortable maximum level below the threshold of pain for the patient or user.
It is a characteristic aspect of human auditory perception that not only sounds above the maximum threshold value or comfort level are bothersome. Indeed, it is also transient sounds (such as intermittent noise), even when at a level distinctly below the maximum threshold value, that are perceived as unpleasant in an otherwise prevalently quiet environment. For example, in quiet surroundings, the transient noise of dishes and cutlery, even if well below the maximum threshold value of 100 to 120 dB, creates an unpleasant auditory sensation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Sleeve-type carriers are commonly used to package beverage cans and other types of articles, and are typically formed from paperboard blanks which have been folded into collapsed sleeve form. Each collapsed sleeve is opened by a packaging machine, after which cans or other articles are introduced through one or both of the open ends of the sleeve and the end panel flaps are folded and secured together. The cans are normally introduced in upright position while the carrier sleeve is supported on one of its side panels, with the open ends of the sleeve facing out to receive the cans. The resulting carrier therefore contains a layer of cans the ends of which are located adjacent the side panels of the carrier. Additionally, a handle is normally incorporated into the top panel of the carrier to facilitate lifting and carrying.
Although such carriers have been designed to contain varying numbers of articles, conventional packages for carrying beverage cans normally hold six or twelve cans. This is partly because a conventional sleeve-type carrier would be quite long when made large enough to handle large numbers of cans, such as twenty-four, and would be unwieldy to carry. Further, the heavy load caused by the cans would tend to promote tearing in the handle area.
Since it would be highly advantageous to have a sleeve-type carrier capable of holding a large number of articles, and capable of resisting tearing when lifted and carried, it is an object of the invention to provide such a carrier. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to high temperature corrosion resistant hard surfacing alloys which are of extremely high hardness. More particularly, the present invention relates to hard surfacing alloys which contain tungsten carbide, chromium carbide and bi-metallic tungsten chromium carbide precipitates which are precipitated in the alloy and are thus bound in the hard surfacing alloy. Alloys of the present invention produce superior surfaces for improved wear in high temperature high corrosive environments such as glass mould plungers and the like.
Plungers used in glass moulding are exposed to some of the most extreme and corrosive environments which are found in modern industry. These plungers are subjected to hundreds of thousands of high impact high temperature plunging operations in the glass moulding industry. In the past, these plungers have been a source of down time in that they are subject to rapid wear. Also, plungers used in the glass mould industry must have surfaces be of very low porosity to provide the proper surface in the final finished glass piece. Thus, improper wearing of plunger surfaces mandates repair or replacement. Prior alloys used for surfacing of glass mould plungers have demonstrated "hot wiping" of the alloys from the glass plunger surface. This condition reduced longevity in that the surface alloy was worn away creating out of specification conditions requiring replacement and/or repair.
It has been known that if hard surfacing alloys could be achieved which have high Rockwell C hardnesses of greater than 50, such an alloy would greatly increase longevity of these plungers. However, such alloys have not been readily available in the prior art.
Because of such high Rockwell C hardness requirements it has been generally recognized that materials containing carbides such as tungsten carbides and the like would be advantageous in such alloys.
In other applications, high hardness alloys have been successfully utilized using sintered cobalt structures employing tungsten carbide particles which are encapsulated therein. These cobalt sintered structures rely on the encapsulation of tungsten carbide particles in the alloy to produce high hardness type alloys in the ranges necessary for glass mould plungers. Such alloys are known and have been used in other applications, however, when these alloys are used in glass plunger applications it was found that the final plunger produced by such an alloy was not suitable for a glass plunger application due to the porosity of the alloy produced. Such porosity is undesirable as stated above. Additionally, because of the extreme working conditions in glass plunger applications extraordinary quantities of tungsten carbides would need to be utilized. The sintered type structures have not been found to readily accommodate such high quantities of tungsten carbides.
Sintered structures also are prone to loss of the critical tungsten carbide particles under use, apparently due to the relatively "loose" encapsulation of tungsten carbides in the structure. Thus, as these structures wear the tungsten carbide particles tend to dislodge from the structure reducing the hardness of the structure.
Thus, it has been a goal in the art to provide a high hardness surfacing alloy which contains high quantities of tungsten carbide particles and the like and which has low porosity characteristics. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to phosphine oxide Vitamin D precursors. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a process for preparing phosphine oxide Vitamin D precursors using an aqueous base and phase transfer catalyst for deprotonation, instead of using a metal hydride base.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Vitamin D analogs, such as 1α-fluoro-25-hydroxy-16-23E-diene-26,27-bishomo-20-epi-cholecalciferol, 25-dihydroxy-16-ene-23-yne-26,27-bishomo-19-nor-20-epicholecalciferol, 1α,25-dihydroxy-18-norvitamin D3, 1α,25-dihydroxy-18,19-dinorvitamin D3, 1α-fluoro-25-hydroxycholecalciferol, and 1α-fluoro-25-hydroxyergocalcifero1, are known to have pharmaceutical activity and are useful for treating various conditions, such as psoriasis and neoplastic disease.
A key phosphine oxide compound of formula 1 below is used in the efficient synthesis of such vitamin D analogs and provides the A-ring of the vitamin. Certain species of the compound of formula 1 are known to be valuable intermediates in the synthesis of the mentioned pharmacologically active vitamin D analogs (see, for example, EP Publication No. 0 808 833). The remaining species of the compound of formula 1 can be modified to be useful in the above processes or can be used for producing other vitamin D analogs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Antibodies are specific immunoglobulin molecules produced by vertebrate immune systems in response to challenge by foreign proteins, glycoproteins, cells, or other typically foreign substances. The sequence of events which permits an organism to overcome invasion by foreign cells or to rid the system of foreign substances is at least partially understood. An important part of this process is the manufacture of antibodies which bind specifically to a particular foreign antigenic substance. The binding specificity of such polypeptides to a particular antigen is highly refined, and the multitude of specificities capable of being generated by an individual vertebrate is remarkable in its complexity and variability. Thousands of antigens are capable of eliciting antibody responses, each almost exclusively directed to the particular antigen which elicited it.
Immunoglobulins include both antibodies, as above described, and analogous protein substances which lack antigen specificity. The latter are produced at low levels by the lymph system and in increased levels by myelomas.
Antibodies are produced by B lymphocytes and represent the humoral arm of the immune defense system. Because of their antigen specificity, antibodies comprise numerous diagnostic and therapeutic applications. For example, they can be used as specific immunoprecipitating agents to detect the presence of an antigen which they specifically bind by coupling the antigen-antibody reaction with suitable detection techniques such as labeling with radioisotopes or with detectable enzymes (RIA, EMIT, and ELISA). Antibodies are thus the foundation of immunodiagnostic tests for many antigenic substances.
Another important application of antibodies involves their use as therapeutics. The therapeutic administration of antibodies has recently been described for the treatment of numerous disease conditions including cancer, and numerous infectious diseases.
The therapeutic usage of antibodies has been the focus of greater interest since the development of monoclonal antibody/hybridoma technology by Kohler and Milstein (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 77:2197 (1980)). Monoclonal antibodies, which are produced by hybridomas, are preferable to polyclonal antibodies because of their greater antigenic specificity. Monoclonal antibodies have a lesser tendency than polyclonal antibodies to non-specifically bind to non-targeted moieties, e.g., cells which do not express the corresponding antigen. However, monoclonal antibodies still suffer from some disadvantages, e.g., they tend to be contaminated with other proteins and cellular materials of hybridoma (mammalian) origin. Also, hybridoma cell lines tend to be unstable and may alter the production of the antibody produced or stop secreting the antibody altogether.
In an effort to obviate some of the problems associated with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, and further to obtain a reproducible supply of antibodies having a defined binding specificity, researchers have used recombinant techniques to produce immunoglobulins which are analogous or modified in comparison to antibodies normally found in vertebrate systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,397 issued on Mar. 28, 1989 to Boss et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567 issued on Mar. 28, 1989 to Cabilly et al. disclose recombinant immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin fragments, and methods for their production.
To enhance or modify the properties of recombinant antibodies, it is further known to produce mutant or chimeric antibodies, e.g., which comprise sequences from several different mammalian species or bispecific antibodies which comprise antigenic binding sequences from two different antibodies. For example, humanized antibodies which comprise antigen-binding sites from a non-human species (typically murine) but wherein the remainder of the immunoglobulin is of human origin are known in the art, and have been reported to have significant potential as therapeutics because of their reduced antigenicity. It is further known to produce recombinant antibodies of single chain form, which completely lack constant domain sequences but which bind antigen. (See, Bird et al., Science, 242, 423-426 (1988)).
In order to increase the efficacy of antibody molecules as diagnostic or therapeutic agents, it is conventional to covalently bind or complex desired molecules thereto, in particular effector or reporter molecules. Effector molecules essentially comprise molecules having a desired activity, e.g., cytotoxic activity. By contrast, a reporter molecule is defined as any moiety which may be detected using an assay. Examples of effector molecules which have been attached to antibodies include by way of example, toxins, anti-tumor agents, therapeutic enzymes, radionuclides, antiviral agents, chelating agents, cytokines, growth factors, and polynucleotides. Examples of reporter molecules which have been conjugated to antibodies include, by way of example, enzymes, radiolabels, fluorescent labels, phosphorescent molecules, chemiluminescent molecules, chromophores, luminescent molecules, and colored particles.
While it is desirable to attach molecules to antibodies in order to impart a desired activity to the antibody or provide for the detection thereof, the attachment of desired molecules to antibodies is not always possible to carry out conveniently, or effectively, because such attachment may result in loss of antibody activity. In particular, current methods for generating radiolabeled antibodies for diagnostic and therapeutic use suffer from such limitations. For example, the ratio of target-specific versus non-specific uptake of radiolabeled antibodies used in tumor imaging is often low, resulting in unclear images or missing tumor sites. Moreover, the low therapeutic index of radiolabeled antibodies limits the use of high radiation doses in radiation therapy.
The underlying reason for such problems is largely because the labeling chemistry for introduction of the radiolabel results in the partial denaturation of the antibody structure, which in turn causes the antibodies to aggregate in vivo or in vitro. Aggregated and damaged immunoglobulins are recognized by scavenger cells in the body, such as macrophages and Kupffer cells in the liver and lung.
Another problem is that most coupling strategies result in non site-specific attachment of the molecule to the antibody molecule, in particular, attachment may occur at antibody residues which are essential for antigen binding or other antibody functions. For instance, a known site of attachment of desired molecules to antibody molecules comprise thiol groups, since thiol groups occur naturally in proteins as cysteine residues. However, such residues are relatively uncommon, are often inside the molecule and are frequently involved in forming disulfide bridges within or between protein molecules. Thus, there is a danger that if a naturally occurring cysteine residue is used as a site of attachment, it will interfere with the normal folding and stabilization of the antibody protein.
In an effort to obviate such problems, alternative strategies have been developed which provide for site-selective attachment of a desired molecules to antibodies, without loss of antigen-binding activity. For example, it is known to produce recombinant antibodies comprising cysteine residues introduced into their surface structure to provide a thiol group which is available for covalent binding to an effector or reporter molecule. This method has been reported to facilitate the site-specific attachment of desired molecules without loss of antigen binding properties. (See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,996 issued on Jun. 15, 1993 to Bodmer et al.) However, this is not always possible or convenient since it obviously requires the possession of a recombinant DNA encoding the particular antibody.
It has further been proposed to derivatize immunoglobulins by selectively introducing sulfhydryl groups in the Fc region of an immunoglobulin, using reaction conditions which purportedly do not result in alteration of the antibody combining site. Antibody conjugates produced according to this methodology are disclosed to exhibit improved longevity, specificity and sensitivity (U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,066 issued on Mar. 2, 1993 to Bieniarz et al.).
Site-specific attachment of effector or reporter molecules, wherein the reporter or effector molecule is conjugated to a carbohydrate residue in the Fc region has also been disclosed in the literature. (See, e.g., O'Shannessy et al., J. Immun. Meth., 99, 153-161 (1987)). This approach has been reported to produce diagnostically and therapeutically promising antibodies which are currently in clinical evaluation.
Another known method of site-specific attachment of molecules to antibodies comprises the reaction of antibodies with hapten-based affinity labels. Essentially, hapten-based affinity labels react with amino acids in the antigen binding site, thereby destroying this site and blocking specific antigen reaction. However, this is disadvantageous since it results in loss of antigen binding by the antibody conjugate.
Thus, based on the foregoing, it is clear that there still exists a significant need in the art for improved methods of attaching molecules to antibodies, in particular effector or reporter molecules, which are site-specific and which moreover result in antibody conjugates having substantially unaltered structure and biological activity, most especially antigen binding activity.
Molecules containing azido groups have been shown to form covalent bonds to proteins through reactive nitrene intermediates, generated by low intensity ultraviolet light. Potter & Haley, Meth. in Enzymol., 91, 613-633 (1983). In particular, 2- and 8- azido analogues of purine nucleotides have been used as site directed photoprobes to identify nucleotide binding proteins in crude cell extracts. Owens & Haley, J. Biol. Chem., 259:14843-14848 (1987); Atherton et al., Biol. of Reproduction, 32, 155-171 (1985). The 2- and 8-azido nucleotides have also been used to map nucleotide binding domains of purified proteins. Khatoon et al., Ann. of Neurology, 26, 210-219 (1989); King et al., J. Biol. Chem., 269, 10210-10218 (1989); and Dholakia et al., J. Biol. Chem., 264, 20638-20642 (1989).
Photoaffinity probes have been used to determine specific nucleotide binding sites on a biologically active recombinant peptide molecule. Campbell et al., PNAS, 87, 1243-1246 (1990). The probes have also been used to study enzyme kinetics of purified proteins. Kim et al., J. Biol. Chem., 265, 3636-3641 (1990).
Recently, ATP or GTP analog photoaffinity labeled probes have been used to detect a glutamine synthetase nucleotide binding protein having an apparent molecular weight of about 42,000 proteins to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in a mammal. U.S. Ser. No. 08/138,109 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,937 filed on Oct. 20, 1993 by Haley et al. Additionally, ATP or GTP analog photoaffinity-labeling reagents have been disclosed for use in the detection of particular nucleotide binding proteins to aid in the diagnosis of cancer in a mammal and in the diagnosis of leukemia in a mammal. (Id.)
However, while it had been previously known to use nucleotide photoaffinity probes, and specifically purine containing photoaffinity analogs (GTP- and ATP-analogs), to map nucleotide binding domains of purified proteins and to identify specific nucleotide binding sites on recombinant peptide molecules, the use of nucleotide photoaffinity probes to label antibodies has not been previously reported in the literature. This is essentially because it had not been previously known that antibody molecules comprise nucleotide photoaffinity sites, and in particular, sites having high affinity for purine, azidopurine and other similar heterocyclic bases, which may be efficiently photolabeled using appropriate photoaffinity probes. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A variety of factors including faulty components and inadequate design tolerances may result in errors in the data being processed by a computer. These errors also commonly occur during data transmission due to "noise" in the communication channel. As a result of these errors, one or more bits, which may be represented as X, which are to be transmitted within the system, are corrupted so as to be received as /X (i.e. the logical complement of the value of X). In order to protect a computer system against such errors, the data bits may be coded via error correcting code ("ECC") in such a way that the errors may be detected and possibly corrected by special ECC logic circuits. A typical ECC implementation appends a number of check bits to each data word. The appended check bits are used by the ECC logic circuits to detect errors within the data word.
The simplest and most common form of error control is implemented through the use of the parity bit. The single parity bit is appended to the data word and assigned to be either a 0 or a 1, so as to make the number of 1's in the data word even in the case of even parity codes, or odd in the case of odd parity codes.
Prior to the transmission of the data word in a computer system, often upon the initial storage of the data word, the value of the parity bit is computed at the source point and appended to the data word. Upon receipt of the transmitted data word, logic at the destination point recalculates the parity bit and compares it to the received, previously appended parity bit. If the recalculated and received parity bits are not equal a single bit error has been detected. Specifically, this means that a single data bit in the data word has transitioned from its original value, for example 1 to 0 or 0 to 1. If the received and recalculated parity bits are equal, then it can be concluded that such a single bit error did not occur, however multiple bit errors may not be ruled out. For example, if a data bit changes from a 0 to a 1 and another data bit changes from a 1 to a 0 (i.e. a double bit error) the parity of the data word will not change and the error will be undetected. Thus, use of the parity bit provides single error detection, however, it fails to detect every multiple even bit error, and it fails to provide information on the location of the erroneous bit(s).
By appending additional parity bits to the data word, each corresponding to a subset of data bits within the data word, the parity bit concept may be easily expanded to provide the detection of multiple bit errors or to determine the location of single or multiple bit errors. Once a data bit error is located it is a simple matter to cause a logic circuit to correct the located erroneous bit, thereby providing single error correction ("SEC"). Many single error correction codes have the ability to detect double errors and are thus termed single error correcting double error detecting codes ("SEC-DED").
Multiple error detection schemes rely on appending additional check bits to the data word. The most well-known SEC-DED ECC is the so-called Hamming code, which appends a series of check bits to the data word as it is stored in memory. Upon a read operation, the retrieved check bits are compared against recalculated check bits to detect, locate and correct a single bit error. By adding more check bits and appropriately overlapping the subsets of data bits represented thereby, other error correcting codes have been devised for providing three bit error detection and two bit error correction, and, via the further addition of check bits, codes can be formulated to detect and correct any number of data bit errors.
Robust error detection and correction systems have long been mandatory features on most large scale systems. Recently, the widespread adoption of the networked model of computing systems has heralded the emergence of a new role for the small to mid-sized PC heretofore intended for desktop applications; that of a network server. Concomitant with the adoption of this new computing model arose the need to provide greater assurances that the data being accessed by clients of these small to mid-sized servers was as accurate as the data on their larger system server counterparts. As a consequence, the industry began to provide error correction solutions for inclusion or retrofit into this new class of servers.
Manufacturers of these new ECC systems have encountered difficulty in demonstrating the benefits of this enhanced protection to prospective customers. Specifically, it has been determined that it is desirable to present some type of visual or other human perceptible signal to the observer indicative of the error detection and correction functions being undertaken by the ECC product.
Typically, the occurrence of an error detection or correction operation in an ECC system occurs at the same time that the erroneous data is needed. Consequently, utilizing current technology a typical error event is completed in approximately 50 nanoseconds, and as semiconductor technology advances, the time required for such an operation is continually growing shorter. The notification of these ECC events within event recording systems operate at commensurate speeds with similarly fast hardware logic recording the error event so as to permit that record to examined later at human speeds i.e. on the order of seconds rather than nanoseconds. Clearly, if a visible error indicator element such as a light emitting diode ("LED") or display circuit were activated only for the occurrence of the memory cycle in which it occurred, the human eye could never detect it. Consequently, the aforementioned event recording systems accomplish the objective of allowing an observer to visually perceive a single error event.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,851 to Brucker et al. discloses a fault recording system wherein the occurrence of a fault is stored by non-volatile memory and presented to the observer by means of a visible indicator.
The simple latching or recording of a single error event, however, does not afford the observer the ability to appreciate via a visual indication, the occurrence of plural temporally sequenced error events unless the system were continually manually reset or a large number of error indicators were employed, each latching a single error event as it occurred, both of these are impractical and possibly cost prohibitive alternatives. Without the practical ability to visually or otherwise demonstrate the operation of an ECC system over time as it detects and corrects a plurality of errors and signifies uncorrectable errors in data from a memory subsystem it is difficult to accurately convey to an observer the function being performed by the system.
Accordingly, a need exists for the provision of a human sensorially significant ("HSS") indication of error detection and/or correction and the detection of uncorrectable errors by an ECC system automatically on a recurring basis without requiring an excessive number of error indicators. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention generally relates to bodily fluid sampling devices and more specifically, but not exclusively, concerns a dispenser system for dispensing test elements that test biological fluid.
The acquisition and testing of bodily fluids is useful for many purposes and continues to grow in importance for use in medical diagnosis and treatment, such as for diabetes, and in other diverse applications. In the medical field, it is desirable for lay operators to perform tests routinely, quickly, and reproducibly outside of a laboratory setting, with rapid results and a readout of the resulting test information. Testing can be performed on various bodily fluids and, for certain applications, is particularly related to the testing of blood and/or interstitial fluid. Performing home-based testing can be difficult for many patients, especially for patients with limited hand dexterity, such as the elderly or diabetics. For example, diabetics can sometimes experience numbness or tingling in their extremities, such as their hands, which can make self-testing difficult because they are unable to accurately position a test strip to collect the blood sample. In addition, wounds for diabetics tend to heal more slowly, and as a result, there is a desire to make incisions less invasive.
Recently, lancet integrated test strips or elements have been developed in which a test strip is integrated with a lancet or other piercing means so as to form a single disposable unit. While these integrated units have somewhat simplified the collection and testing of fluid samples, there are still a number of issues that need to be resolved before a commercial unit can be implemented. One issue concerns maintaining the sterility of the lancet prior to use so as to minimize the risk of infection. Another issue concerns the disposal of used units after use. Once used, the integrated units become a biohazard that need to be disposed of in a safe manner. A number of different types of systems have been proposed for dispensing test strips, lancets, or some combination thereof, but most of these systems have significant drawbacks.
Multiple use test systems like drums, discs, and reel-to-reel tapes have been developed to house multiple test strips, but these systems fail to address a number of issues. For example, reel-to-reel cassette systems typically bend a tape of lancet integrated test elements during dispensing, which can result in damage to the lancet and/or the test strip. Other cassette or cartridges are bulky in nature, which makes them commercially impractical for household or other routine use. Still yet other systems require the use of a complicated indexing mechanism, which tends to make the systems have an unsuitable reliability due to jamming and/or other complications. Typically, such systems also require specially designed test elements that are not configured for current single use test strips. Drum transport systems have been proposed for transporting test strips from a magazine, but such drum transport systems have failed to satisfactorily address the disposal issue regarding the used test strips.
With portable meters, such as portable blood glucose meters, small meter sizes and ease of handling are desirable features. Most users would prefer smaller meters that are able to discretely fit inside a pocket or a purse so that the user is able to perform testing in any situation, such as in a restaurant bathroom or when traveling. One factor affecting size of meters that handle multiple test strips is storage compartment sizes. In previous designs, the storage compartments tended to be rather large and bulky because test elements were stored in a disorderly fashion.
Thus, needs remain for further contributions in this area of technology. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns structural urethane adhesives comprising amide polyols, including 2-component aliphatic urethane adhesive systems. The adhesives adhere to a wide variety of substrates. For example, the adhesives can be used as grout material in tile applications, particularly ceramic tile applications.
2. The Related Art
Effective structural adhesives require the ability to adhere to a variety of different types of substrate materials and provide structural integrity to a construction. Adhesives that adhere equally well to metals, such as aluminum, wood or other fibrous materials and ceramic or glass materials would provide an exemplary structural adhesive.
Floor tiles are generally installed by mortaring tile directly onto a wood or cement floor and then grouting the tile with a water-based cementitious grout. Water-based cementitious mortars and grouts may perform poorly in very wet applications as well as with tiles that are not moisture sensitive. For example, flooring made of water swellable materials such as particle board cannot be easily used with water-based cements, and certain types of colored marble tiles swell when exposed to water. Thus great care must be taken when installed with a water-based mortar or grout. Also, the flooring and tiles may be adversely affected by moisture due to location of the flooring installation, i.e. sub-grade flooring installations or installations in kitchens or baths to name a few.
Polymeric grouts are useful for flooring installations and tiles that may be adversely affected by moisture. Further, tile installation, with polymeric grout having excellent moisture resistance can be walked on within 2 to 24 hours depending upon the polymeric grout used. This is faster than using conventional techniques with water-based cementitious grout which can take days before the tile can be put into service. For example, epoxy-based adhesives which are commercially available and cure within a day are generally preferred in wet conditions. Water-based polyurethane adhesives also exhibit good grout properties though they are not structural adhesives and can take up to 24 hours before light foot traffic can resume. Solvent-less 2-component aromatic urethane grouts are a good alternative to the epoxy grouts as they are faster curing and have high strength and flexibility but tend to yellow on exposure to sun. On the other hand, 2-component aliphatic polyurethane structural adhesives cure rapidly and exhibit non-yellowing properties and thus would be preferred for flooring and tile installations. However, typical aliphatic polyurethane structural adhesives do not adhere as well to ceramic substrates and have poor strength properties.
All parts and percentages set forth in this specification and the appended claims are on a weight-by-weight basis unless otherwise specified. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The reaction of an alkane in the presence of a catalyst to form unsaturated hydrocarbons is well known. If a chlorine source is present, chlorinated saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons are also produced. Perhaps the most familiar of such processes is the preparation of vinyl chloride.
Vinyl chloride (CH.sub.2 .dbd.CHCl) itself can be prepared using a number of different processes. Two familiar processes are (1) the hydrochlorination of acetylene and (2) the oxychlorination of ethylene to form dichloroethane which in turn is dehydrohalogenated to form vinyl chloride (see C. A. Schildknecht, Vinyl and Related Polymers, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., N.Y., N.Y. (1952), pages 388-390, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,847,483). As acetylene is more expensive than ethylene, the latter process is economically favored, and much activity is noted in this art area (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,634,330; 3,454,663; 3,448,057; and 3,624,170). Ethylene, in turn, can be prepared by the oxydehydrogenation of ethane (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,362). The processes have been combined so that vinyl chloride can be directly produced using ethane as a feed stock (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,838,577; 3,658,933; 3,658,934, and 3,551,506). It is the nature of the processes which use ethane as a feed stock to produce vinyl chloride and ethylene, along with other valuable products such as ethylene dichloride and ethyl chloride. As ethylene, ethylene dichloride, and ethyl chloride can be readily reacted to form more vinyl chloride, the processes are often rated and compared on their ability to yield all four products. However, high conversion of ethane to products and high yield of vinyl chloride is particularly desired.
The present invention is directed to an improved process for the oxychlorination of an alkane and particularly for the preparation of ethylene and vinyl chloride from ethane which process employs specific solid solution catalysts containing iron. The catalysts of the invention exhibit improved activity and longer lifetimes compared to conventional iron containing catalysts. Catalysts containing iron are known to the art; see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,849,339; 3,769,362; 3,723,351; 3,703,593; 3,658,934; 3,658,933; 3,207,809; 2,847,483; and 2,674,633, U.S. Publication No. B 380,979, and British Pat. No. 1,039,369. An article in the Journal of The American Ceramic Society, Vol. 43, No. 7 (1960), page 367, discloses compounds of lanthanum and iron and recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,553 discloses certain solid solutions as having activity as catalysts. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
None.
Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a land vehicle and more particularly a bicycle. Specifically, the invention provides a training aid which can be converted from training wheels to a support bar which allows a person to learn the skills necessary to operate the bicycle. The invention allows a rider to be stabilized by the ground in a first position and a non-rider trainer to stabilize the bicycle in a second position.
2. Related Art
Many children learn to ride a bicycle with the assistance of an older family member or a trainer. The learning process comprises two stages. In the first stage the rider learns to balance on a stationary bicycle, steer the bicycle, and operate the pedals. In the second stage the rider learns to maintain balance while moving.
Numerous devices teach a rider in the first stage. A set of training wheels provides the most common example of a first stage learning device. U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,569 discloses a training wheel assembly that allows the training wheels to be moved closer to the rear wheel of the bicycle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,803 discloses a set of training wheels which can be set at various levels above the ground requiring progressive tilting of the bicycle to engage the training wheels. U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,849 discloses a set of deployable training wheels. The rider begins moving after placing the training wheels in contact with the ground. Then the wheels move up and away from the ground.
Numerous devices assist in the second stage of learning to ride a bicycle, such as the handle devices. Once the training wheels have been removed, the rider must learn to balance the bicycle while in motion, including turning and coming to a stop. A trainer provides support by holding the bicycle seat allowing the rider to learn balance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,398 discloses a handle pivoted about the rear axle of the bicycle. This handle adjusts to a desired height. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,259,638; 5,577,750; 5,683,093; 5,915,711; 5,988,663 and 6,120,050 demonstrate variations of this same device. U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,096 shows a similar device but also provides a brake on the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,612 discloses a handle which can be selectively positioned about the bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,204 discloses one of the only devices providing an aid useful for learning both stages of riding a bicycle. Deployed training move off the ground as desired, and a trainer provides support using a handle. In FIG. 3 the training wheels have been removed and the handle remains. The device attaches to the bicycle at the rear axle and does not have the ability to deploy only one training wheel if desired (i.e., when the rider consistently loses balance to a specific side). In addition, this device uses separate elements for the handle and the training wheel supports.
There exists a need for a device which can be utilized for both stages of learning to ride a bicycle. There also exists a need for a device which can be adjusted in multiple configurations as the rider progressively learns to ride the bicycle.
The present invention meets these needs. The dual mode training aid deploys both as a stage one training wheel and a stage two handle. The device attaches to the seat post of a bicycle, and can be easily removed after the learning process is over. A first position places a set of training wheels in contact with the ground. A second position raises one or both of the legs supporting the training wheels to a comfortable level above the ground for a non-rider trainer to provide support. A fixing device selectively places one or both of the legs into the second position. The device allows the rider to progress through the learning process without the necessity of utilizing different devices.
Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for introducing vibrational energy into plastic concrete structures in successive stages or increments. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for affecting the firmness profile of a concrete structure by introducing vibrational energy at the resonant frequency of the wet concrete into said structure while it is in a plastic state during its placement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In constructing concrete structures, such as concrete slabs and the like, certain conventional procedures involve simply placing the concrete mass in a form and finishing the top surface in various well known manners and permitting the concrete to harden with no vibration whatsoever. Other procedures involve the use of vibrators placed temporarily into or upon the concrete mass at various locations, with the surface being finished by using various combinations of striking off the surface and/or trowelling operations, including the use of hand trowels, powered rotary trowels and the like.
A problem with prior methods of placing concrete using vibrators is associated with the lack of control of the vibrators. When any one section of a poured concrete slab is vibrated too much, it causes "hard spots" in the concrete slab approximately at the location of the contact with the vibrator. In addition, over-vibration of the concrete can also cause aggregate separation in the vicinity of the vibrator. Aggregate separation and "hard spots" both result in a non-uniform and weakened final slab. For these reasons, prior concrete placing operations typically cautiously "under-vibrate" the concrete mass or may not vibrate the concrete mass at all.
The principal purpose of vibrating plastic concrete in this context is to expeditiously consolidate the concrete mass at as nearly a uniform density as possible by encouraging and assisting the upward migration of water and air which would otherwise migrate slowly or not at all. Entrapment of air and water weakens the concrete, and the slow migration of these materials extends the time required to place and finish the concrete mass.
Prior procedures for the application of vibrations to the concrete mass provide virtually no means to control or to modify the vibrational characteristics (such as frequency, amplitude, etc.) of the vibrators (other than by manually turning the vibrator off and on), and only crude means to control or modify the length of time the vibrators act upon the concrete mass. Therefore, the prior procedures produce a concrete mass in which the degree of consolidation varies from one location to the other (resulting in a structure of inconsistent structural integrity), and in which the time required for water to evaporate from the surface varies from one location to the other (making it very difficult to finish the structure by using automatic or robotic finishing equipment).
Another phenomenon associated with natural (i.e. non-vibrated) consolidation and curing of concrete is the entrapment of moisture inside of the curing mass. As poured, concrete mixtures commonly comprise an amount of water far exceeding the quantity which is actually necessary to effect proper curing and maximum strength of the concrete mass. The excess water is intentionally added to the concrete mixture in order to facilitate transporting, pouring, forming, and finishing operations. If left stagnant (i.e. un-vibrated), pressure from the weight of the concrete mass initially slowly presses some of the excess water upward through the concrete mass, thus initially inducing migration of some of the excess water towards the surface of the slab and, at the same time, effecting the consolidation of the concrete mass near the bottom of the slab. The concrete begins to cure, even while the concrete mass may not yet be optimally consolidated. This curing of the concrete mass retards the migration of the remainder of the excess water towards the surface of the slab. At the same time, in many instances (particularly when the slab is poured in sunlight, on a windy day of low humidity), water may evaporate so quickly from the top surface of the slab that the concrete at the top prematurely dries out and begins to cure. This results in the setting of the concrete at or near the upper surface of the slab, which further retards migration of excessive water from the concrete mass below to the surface. Ultimately, this phenomenon results in the entrapment of the moisture inside of the concrete slab. Over time the moisture bubbles dry out, leaving small air pockets throughout the solid concrete slab. Such air pockets reduce the final strength of the concrete slab.
In prior concrete slab placing operations, de-watering techniques are sometimes used wherein the concrete mass is poured and formed into a structure having an upper surface, and the mass is then de-watered by applying a vacuum water extracting system over the wet concrete surface. Alternatively, the surface of the concrete mass is de-watered by placing absorbent material (such as burlap or the like) over the wet concrete surface, and then spreading a desiccant (such as dry cement) on the burlap. After the de-watering process has been completed the burlap or the vacuum water extraction system is removed. The surface is then conventionally finished. Prior concrete finishing procedures are labor intensive and require extensive use of skilled labor and considerable time expenditure in properly carrying them out.
The following U.S. Patents relate to developments in the introduction of vibration into a concrete mass by the use of vibrating devices that are immersed in or otherwise associated with the concrete mass: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,015,217; 2,223,734; 2,269,109; 2,293,962; and 2,332,687.
While the above patents relate to the vibration of a concrete mass, none of them suggests a staged or step-by-step vibration of a concrete slab, deck or the like in which each stage of the vibration introduced onto or into the concrete mass affects the mass of concrete to specific desired depths in the concrete mass; nor do any of them describe a means of determining the depth to which the concrete mass has been consolidated or should be vibrated.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/055,004 discloses a method and apparatus for applying staged vibration to plastic concrete structures. It is desirable, when employing such staged vibration methods and apparatus, to minimize the amount of vibrational energy which must be imparted into the concrete structure in order to cause the expeditious consolidation of the concrete mass. It is also desirable, when employing such staged vibration methods and apparatus, to minimize the vibrational energy which is imparted into the already sufficiently-consolidated portion of the concrete mass. It is also desirable, when employing such staged vibration methods and apparatus, to simplify the construction, manufacture, and use of the vibrating and sensing equipment. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to document retrieval, and more particularly to securely and remotely selecting and initiating transmission of electronic documents from one device to another.
2. Description of the Background Art
E-mail transmission of documents from one computer to another is well known. Established network transmission protocols, such as Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), used in conjunction with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), provide mechanisms for attaching files to e-mails for transmission across the Internet.
Existing e-mail client software, such as Microsoft Outlook, provides user interface functionality for selecting files from a user's hard drive, attaching the files to an e-mail message, and initiating transmission of the e-mail message. Referring now to FIGS. 1A through 1C, there is shown an example of a user interface for attaching a file to an e-mail message according to the prior art.
In FIG. 1A, a window 100 is shown for composing an e-mail message. The e-mail message body 102 includes text that the user has typed in. The user clicks on attachment icon 101, designated by a representation of a paper clip, to initiate the process of attaching a file to the e-mail message.
FIG. 1B shows an example of a dialog box 110 that is presented in response to the user clicking on icon 101. Dialog box 110 contains a standard user interface for navigating through a hierarchical file system. The user can select a directory using pulldown menu 113, button 114, and other on-screen controls. In this manner, the user can select among directories, folders, and files that are stored on a local hard drive, or on a network-connected resource such as a file server or another computer on which file sharing has been made available. Pane 111 displays a list of files contained within a current directory. The user selects a file 112 (or several files), for example by clicking with the on-screen cursor. The user clicks on Insert button 112 to cause the selected file or files to be attached to the e-mail message.
Referring now to FIG. 1C, there is shown window 100 after the user has attached a file to the e-mail message. Message body 102 now includes icon 120 representing the attached file. The user can now click on Send button 121 to initiate transmission of the e-mail message to the specified recipient. The attached file will be transmitted along with the text of the message.
The above-described scheme, as well as similar conventional schemes for sending files and documents via e-mail, is subject to significant limitations. In particular, the only files that can be selected for attachment are those that are locally stored or available over a network from a file server or shared file system. Such a limitation engenders significant inconvenience for users when sending e-mails from remote locations, via personal digital assistants (PDAs), or other out-of-office situations.
For example, a user may have a PC at his or her office. While the user is at another location (such as at home, or at a client, or traveling), he or she may wish to transmit a document from the PC to a recipient, for example as an e-mail attachment. Even if the user has access to a network-connected computer or other device, and even if the PC that contains the document file is powered up and network-connected at the time the user wishes to transmit it to the recipient, there is generally no easy way for the user to remotely select and retrieve a document from the PC without having anticipated such a need beforehand and performing relatively burdensome setup operations. For example, a user may set up his or her PC to act as a network server, thus making the contents (or a subset of the contents) of the PC's hard drive available over a network; however, such a solution is cumbersome and difficult for most users, and may also introduce significant security risks. Alternatively, the user may set up file-sharing to make his or her files available over a network; however, such a solution carries additional security risks and may expose the user's hard drive to access or tampering by unauthorized users.
In addition, many companies have installed network firewalls to guard against unauthorized access to network-connected resources; such firewalls generally block remote access to the devices within the network (including users' PCs). In cases where such a firewall is in place, users generally cannot remotely access files on their PCs without deactivating or reconfiguring the firewall.
One solution to the above-described problem is for the user to have all their files available locally at all times. Such a solution is theoretically possible, as the user may copy all of his or her data to a portable machine such as a laptop computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA) and carry the portable machine containing all the files, wherever the user goes. However, such a technique imposes significant overhead, is burdensome in that it requires the user to continually keep the portable documents updated, and can result in errors if the portable versions of documents fall out of sync with the versions stored on the non-portable PC (for example, if the stored documents are modified after they have been copied onto the portable device). Many portable devices have insufficient storage capacity to store a large number of documents as a user may have on his or her PC. Furthermore, the portable machine may be lost, stolen, or damaged during travel, potentially resulting in data loss and/or unauthorized access to the user's data by anyone who steals or finds the device. Finally, such a technique requires that the user anticipate his or her document needs, which is not always feasible or possible.
What is needed is a technique for allowing a user to remotely and securely select and initiate transmission of files on his or her PC, from virtually any network-connected location. What is further needed is a technique that allows such remote operations even when a firewall is in place. What is further needed is a technique of, from a remote computer, initiating e-mail transmission of files from one location to another. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to packaging fresh cut parts of plants, such as leaves or flower-bearing stems, or artificial embodiments thereof, and like-sized articles which are displayed for their ornamental appeal; and to supplementing such ornamental appeal.
To improve longevity, such articles require care and protection from damage that may result from accidental striking or dropping, as during transport. To improve appearance, it is useful to prevent accumulation of dust and other air-borne particles on such articles.
It is an object of this invention to provide a packaging designed to improve the longevity and appearance of such articles, and to add ornamental features.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a new method and machine for packaging and displaying decorative articles such as cut flowers. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Thin Film Transistor (TFT) and a flat panel display including the TFT, and more particularly, to a TFT that reduces leakage current and prevents crosstalk between adjacent TFTs, and a flat panel display including the TFT.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) used in liquid crystal displays, organic electroluminescent displays, or inorganic electroluminescent displays are used as switching devices to control the operation of each pixel or driving device for driving the pixel.
A TFT includes a source electrode and a drain electrode separated from each other, a semiconductor layer having a channel region formed between the source and drain electrodes, and a gate electrode insulated from the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the semiconductor layer.
When TFTs having the above structure are formed in an array, each of the TFTs operates as an independent switching device. The semiconductor layer can be patterned to prevent crosstalk between adjacent TFTs. For example, in the case of a conventional TFT, the semiconductor layer formed of silicon is patterned using a photolithgraphy method.
On the other hand, many attempts have been made to use a plastic substrate instead of a conventional glass substrate in a flexible display. The conventional silicon TFT can not be used since the plastic substrate can not be processed at a high temperature.
Therefore, methods of forming a TFT on a plastic substrate at a low temperature have been proposed. Particularly, many studies regarding a TFT that can be processed at a low temperature, that is, a TFT in which the semiconductor layer is formed of an organic material, have been undertaken. However, in the case of the organic TFT, the organic semiconductor layer cannot be patterned using the conventional photolithography method. That is, when the organic semiconductor layer is patterned using a conventional wet, dry, or mixed etching process, the organic semiconductor layer can be damaged, and thus, it cannot be used. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a torque converter comprising a pump rotor, a turbine rotor that can be driven by the pump rotor and a stator, the turbine rotor being firmly connected to a transmission input shaft so as to rotate with it, the transmission input shaft forming an axial duct with an initial region and a final region for a hydraulic fluid.
2. Description of the Related Art
A torque converter of this type is disclosed, for example, by DE 41 21 586 A1 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,273, or DE 195 40 294 A1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,483.
In torque converters, the axial duct is generally formed as a central bore. In order to connect the central bore to a feed opening, radial bores are introduced into the transmission input shaft in the initial region, via which bores the central bore is connected to a feed opening for the hydraulic fluid. In practice, it has transpired that, in individual cases, stress cracks can occur in the transmission input shaft in the region of the radial bores. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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