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Currently, many software applications are distributed over the World Wide Web (also simply referred to as “the web” or “the Internet”) such that these software applications are accessible via network accessing software, such as a web browser. One example of these software applications is a dynamic web application, such as a shopping cart. There are multiple frameworks that allow such a software application to render data over the web. Conventionally, these frameworks include a data transformation mechanism to transform data from one format into another format usable by the software application.
Data transformation problems and solutions have been around for a long time as there always seems to be data that is in one format that needs to be transformed to another format. As a result of this common problem, there have been many frameworks developed to address the various data transformation obstacles that engineers need to solve. One conventional way to transform data is to use Extended Markup Language (XML) and Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT). The data is essentially presented as a tree of data that can be manipulated into another tree format. The rules that decide how data gets transformed are stored in a set of Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) files. These rules are also referred to as XSL rules. A parser traverses a XML tree, applies the XSL rules, and then transforms the data. While this can be a very powerful approach to data transformation, it can also be more complex than needed for smaller projects or data trees that need a minimal of transformation applied. | {
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The present invention relates generally to electronic circuits and, more particularly, to an integrated circuit, low current reference generator.
Modern integrated circuits are often required to operate with very small values of supply current. When this value is in the microampere range, developing a practical integrated solution is a particular challenge due to the inherently large size and/or inaccuracy of any device that must withstand a large amount of supply voltage without passing significant amounts of current. For example, for a resistor to be required to limit a 10 volt supply to a 2 microampere (.mu.A) bias current, would necessitate a 5 Mfi resistance, a value which is impractical in the realm of most of today's integrated circuits.
In addition, it is often desired to be able to switch the circuit off and have the entire integrated circuit (IC) appear to the system as if it were an open circuit. For the convenience of the external implementation in a particular application envisioned for the present invention, it is desired to have this enabling function operate in the transistor-transistor logic (TTL) threshold specification, and enable the circuit to its powered-on condition when the voltage level of an interface signal is below the lower TTL threshold, i.e., 0.8 volts, referred to as active-low logic. This requires a switchable input that will use no current when it is off.
One solution to the low current reference is to use a bootstrapped current mirror, where the generated current is reflected back to the input to serve as a load. This can accurately provide very low levels of current. However, such schemes are plagued by start-up problems; they require some technique to get current flow started. A typical approach may be to use a capacitor attached to ground. Thus, when the supply turns on, the capacitor injects the stored charge into the current mirror and current flow is initiated, with the bootstrap arrangement forcing it into regulation. However, if such a circuit is disrupted during its normal operation, and the supply voltage remains stable, the mirror may be forced into a permanent "off" condition.
In view of the above, it is clear that there exists a need to develop an improved reference generator for providing the extremely low current required by modern integrated circuit devices over what is presently known in the art. Such a reference generator would ideally supply a bias current with very little temperature dependence and would provide high rejection of transients on the input voltage. It would use very little overhead current, and it would provide means for ensuring that it could not be forced permanently out of regulation by system transients. It would preferably avoid the use of the traditional capacitive trigger as the start-up circuit, so that the power supply would not have to be ramped each time the bias is lost during operation. Finally, such a reference generator would preferably have an active-low logic implementation with switching near the TTL range and with a zero-current off state. | {
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The prior art discloses a variety of tents which are used as outdoor shelters particularly in areas where hiking and camping are common sports. The designs of these tents run the gamut and may include designs where the membrane and poles are made of heavy duty materials which are quite heavy and cumbersome to transport and store and which are usually carried from one place to the next in a vehicle. Many prior art tents also include lightweight materials which are not at all suitable for inclement conditions and which may simply be used purely for casual recreational purposes and not at all by the serious camper and/or hiker.
A substantial number of the current tent structures makes use of a strong membrane which is suspended from a number of flexible support poles or rods which form the frame or support structure for the tent. This is true of the tents which are designed to be carried by a single individual as a backpack. Regardless of the design of the prior art tents, particularly back-packing tents, known to applicant or disclosed in the prior art which will be subsequently discussed, all previous tent structures which make use of a membrane and any supporting structure (poles, rods, etc.) requires for storage that the membrane and the poles and other support structure be completely disassembled and separately stored. This can obviously become cumbersome and awkward and result in an increased load where the entire tent structure must be carried as a back-pack and by one individual. Also, having the tent structure completely disassembled during storage would require significantly more time to re-assemble the tent and would usually require more than one person to assemble the structure for use.
A representation of the state of the relevant art in tent manufacturing is disclosed in a number of U.S. and foreign patents, non of which teaches or even suggests a tent structure either similar to applicant's structure or one which would make applicant's structure obvious to one skilled in the art. In fact, nearly all of the prior art structures all require a complete disassembly of the membrane from the pole support structure for storage.
For example, U.S. Pa. No. 4,706,696 to Gillis teaches an orbit-type tent structure in which the tent membrane is kept under tension by at least two sets of stress poles. When the tent is disassembled for storage, the poles and other support elements for the structure are held together in their proper relationship by means of an elastic cord. Even if the pole assembly of the '696 patent does in some way remain attached to the tent membrane during disassembly and storage, the '696 patent does not disclose a structure which may be as conveniently and as quickly assembled as does applicant's invention as will be described herein. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,414,993 and 4,265,260, both to Gills, related to a flexible vault structure which has a plurality of stressed poles form which a membrane is suspended with various means of attaching the membrane to the poles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,996 to Keable, et al. discloses a portable camper-type structure which may be elevated when assembled for use. The structure makes use of a plurality of O-rings which are slidably mounted by various tubular members which form a part of the structure's foundation. Both U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,099,533 and 3,986,519 issued to Gillis and each discloses a flexible tent structure with at least tow series of rows of poles (all poles in a row being substantially parallel to each other) with the rows of poles intersecting the other rows of poles and with the poles being stabilized at the points of intersection by fittings, such as rings which permit the poles to slide relative to each other within a limited degree. U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,397 to Oberhaus discloses a dome-like tent structure with a foldable support frame which includes stays and a clamping device and which supports a cloth covering when erected and assembled for use. U.S. Pat. No. 2,543,684 to Blanchard discloses a relatively lightweight tent, particularly useful to explorers, which tent may be easily and quickly assembled and disassembled and requires no guy ropes or tent pins. German Patent No. 3,213,781 which appears o be one counterpart of Canadian Patent No. 1,166,926 and directed to the same invention issued to Kramer, and discloses a tent structure which comprises a plurality of elongated flexible and intersecting rods from which a membrane is suspended by means of a plurality of hooks affixed to the membrane at preselected locations. The hooks are affixed to the membrane and are designed to be removably affixed to flexible rods at various points of intersection of the rods. | {
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The present invention relates generally to the field of olefin polymerization catalysis, catalyst compositions, methods for the polymerization and copolymerization of olefins, and polyolefins. More specifically, this invention relates to nano-linked dinuclear metallocene compounds and catalyst compositions employing such compounds.
A dinuclear metallocene compound can be produced via an olefin metathesis reaction, for example, as shown in Chem. Eur. J., 2003, 9, pp. 3618-3622. Olefin metathesis is a catalytic reaction between compounds that contain olefinic (e.g., alkene) moieties. Catalysts that are often employed in an olefin metathesis reaction include metals such as ruthenium, tungsten, molybdenum, or nickel. | {
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Consistent color reproduction using a digital printer requires measurement and control of the densities for each ink used on a printed page. Typically the densities of the inks are measured using reflection densitometers. Commercial densitometers may range in price from $500 up to $2,000. One reason these commercial densitometers are so costly is that they typically meet the International Standards Organization (ISO) standards for measuring optical density. Unfortunately, including a commercial densitometer with each printer may not be economically viable. | {
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In order to provide for durable, low cost, highly accurate absolute pressure sensors, it is desirable to utilize modern semiconductor processing techniques for machining the critical parts of the sensor, rather than to manufacture the parts separately as taught in the prior art.
Guckel et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,863 discloses the use of a sealed cavity semiconductor pressure transducer employing a flexible, polysilicon deformable diaphragm that is formed over a sacrificial oxide post on a semiconductor substrate. The sacrificial post includes a plurality of weblike appendages extending along the substrate beyond the periphery of the post. After the diaphragm material is conformally deposited on the post, the periphery of the diaphragm material is etched away to reveal the sacrificial oxide. The sacrificial oxide is then etched away beneath the flexible diaphragm in order to define a diaphragm cavity. The holes formed in the circumference of the diaphragm from the web appendages that have been etched away are then sealed in order to form the diaphragm cavity.
The preferred embodiment uses piezoresistive current conducting components that are deposited on the flexible diaphragm. The resistance of these deposited materials will change in proportion to the deformation of the flexible diaphragm as the ambient pressure changes with respect to the pressure sealed within the diaphragm cavity. At column 6, at lines 47-63, mention is also made of using the structure for carrying two plates of a capacitive sensor such that the capacitance will change in response to the deflection of the diaphragm, but no capacitive sensor embodiments or teachings are provided.
In contrast to the prior art, the present invention utilizes a polysilicon diaphragm that is formed on top of a sacrificial oxide that was previously deposited on a silicon substrate, where the thickness of the sacrificial oxide layer is generally equal to the thickness of the diaphragm cavity to be formed. The use of a highly controllable silicon dioxide sacrificial layer on the silicon wafer yields a capacitor having a very small capacitance and minimum parasitic capacitance. The fabrication process does not require the bonding of patterned structures for the diaphragm. The manufacturing process can be controlled such that very low cost sensors can be manufactured without calibration steps. | {
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As a thin, lightweight, display device capable of high-quality image display with low power consumption, a liquid crystal display device including TFTs (Thin Film Transistors) has been used in a wide range of applications, including a personal computer, a mobile telephone, and a television set. Such a liquid crystal display device is constituted by an array substrate on which TFT elements are disposed, a counter substrate on which counter electrodes are disposed, and liquid crystal which is contained in between the array substrate and the counter substrate. In recent years, various kinds of liquid crystal display devices that realize improvement in image quality and reduction in power consumption have been proposed.
For example, the liquid crystal display device disclosed in Patent document 1 has a short circuit and serially performs writing to pixels while making adjacent signal lines short-circuited by the short circuit. With this arrangement, an electric potential of each signal line immediately before writing operation becomes an intermediate potential to which electric potentials of a positive-polarity signal and a negative-polarity signal are leveled, so that power consumption of a signal line drive circuit is reduced by half.
The liquid crystal device disclosed in Patent document 2 supplies data signals whose polarities are opposite to each other respectively to adjacent data signal lines, and makes the adjacent data signal lines short-circuited. This causes the data signal lines to converge on an intermediate potential (pre-charge potential). A load at the pre-charging is only a load of a short circuit between the data signal lines. This decreases a parasitic resistance and a parasitic capacitance and thus enables pre-charging at a high speed.
The display device disclosed in Patent document 3 has electrical charge collecting means that is controlled to make at least two output terminals short-circuited for a predetermined period every n (n is an integer not less than 2) horizontal scanning periods. The display device collects electrical charges at the time of polarity change of the output terminals so that electrical charges are reallocated via the electrical charge collecting means. This realizes improvement in display quality and reduction in power consumption.
The display device disclosed in Patent document 4 has a grayscale voltage generating circuit which supplies a plurality of voltages (first voltages) that is higher than a predetermined potential and another plurality of voltages (second voltages) that is higher than the predetermined potential, and makes odd-numbered lines of source lines and even-numbered lines of the source lines short-circuited by switching between the first voltage and the second voltage at predetermined intervals. This effectively reduces power consumption.
The liquid crystal display device disclosed in Patent document 5 separates digital/analogue converting means and output terminals by means of a separation switch in a blanking period, and makes the output terminals short-circuited by shorting means. This reduces power consumption at the reversal of a drive signal.
The drive circuit disclosed in Patent document 6 separates outputs of a source line driving section from source lines at the initial stage of writing to liquid crystal capacity, and makes the source lines short-circuited at a predetermined potential. This reduces current consumption and shortens the length of time the source lines are charged/discharged to a predetermined level.
In impulse-type display devices such as CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes), a turn-on period in which an image is displayed and a turn-off period in which no image is displayed are alternated in each pixel. In the case of moving images, for example, human eyes do not perceive afterimage of an object because a turn-off period is provided each time an image for one screen is updated. Because of this, a background and an object are clearly distinguished and a moving image is perceived without discomfort.
On the other hand, Patent documents 1 through 6 give rise to the following problem. That is, in hold-type display devices such as liquid crystal display devices including TFTs (Thin Film Transistors), the luminance of each pixel is determined by a voltage held by each pixel capacity, and the voltage held by the pixel capacity is maintained for one frame period after update. As such, in a hold-type display device, a voltage held as pixel data by a pixel capacity is maintained until the next update. Therefore an image of each frame is temporally close to the image of the directly preceding frame. This allows human eyes to perceive an afterimage of a moving object, when a moving image is displayed. As illustrated in FIG. 59, for example, in a case an image OI indicative of an object moves in A direction (pattern movement direction), an afterimage (trailing afterimage) AI appears as if the object leaves trails.
Hold-type display devices such as active matrix type liquid crystal display device involve such a trailing afterimage AI when displaying a moving image. For this reason displays such as television receivers, which predominantly display moving images, have typically been impulse-type display devices. However, because of recent strong demands for reduction in weight and thickness of displays such as television receivers, hold-type liquid crystal display devices such as liquid crystal display devices, which allow for reduction in weight and thickness, have rapidly been used as the aforesaid displays.
As such, there has been demand for non-hold-type liquid crystal display devices that is free from the trailing image AI. As such a liquid crystal display device, Patent document 7 discloses a method for realizing impulse display in a liquid crystal display device by inserting (black insertion) a black display period in each frame period, or other means.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 243998/1997 (Tokukaihei 9-243998; published on Sep. 19, 1997)
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 85115/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-85115; published on Mar. 30, 1999)
[Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 279626/2004 (Tokukai 2004-279626; published on Oct. 7, 2004)
[Patent Document 4] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 121911/2005 (Tokukai 2005-121911; published on May 12, 2005)
[Patent Document 5] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 212137/1997 (Tokukaihei 9-212137; published on Aug. 15, 1997)
[Patent Document 6] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 30975/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-30975; published on Feb. 2, 1999)
[Patent Document 7] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 66918/2003 (Tokukai 2003-66918; published on Mar. 5, 2003)
[Patent Document 8] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 310113/2004 (Tokukai 2004-310113; published on Nov. 4, 2004)
[Patent Document 9] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 175057/2002 (Tokukai 2002-175057; published on Jun. 21, 2002) | {
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In an effort to make vehicles more fuel efficient the automotive industry is making an all out effort to determine, and employ, acceptable ways in which to make their future models lighter.
At the present time vehicular shafts are normally made of tubular steel having a high flexural modulus--generally on the order of 30.times.10.sup.6 psi (2.1.times.10.sup.11 N/m.sup.2). The tubular steel drive shafts also have a high specific gravity--generally on the order of 7.7. As a result, the drive shaft itself is a relatively heavy item in an automobile.
It is well known that at certain rotational speeds a drive shaft becomes dynamically unstable and excessive vibrations are likely to develop. This phenomenon is a result of resonance, and the critical speed--i.e., the number of revolutions per second--at which this instability occurs is equal to the frequency of the natural vibration for the particular shaft. The critical speed for a drive shaft is generally proportional to the flexural modulus of the shaft and its moment of inertia, and, generally inversely proportional to its weight and length.
In order to maintain an acceptably high critical speed with tubular steel shafts, multiple, short sections are generally employed, each section being operatively connected to the successive section by a universal joint. The use of multiple universal joints operatively to interconnect the successive sections of the drive shaft further compounds the overall weight of the drive shaft assembly.
Fiber reinforced plastic shafts offer a distinctly suitable alternative to the steel, tubular shaft. Reinforcing materials such as glass, graphite and other fibers, or combinations of fibers, encapsulated in a thermosetting plastic matrix at a ratio of 50% to 70% fiber, by volume, produce fiber reinforced plastic materials having flexural moduli in the range of 5 to 25.times.10.sup.6 psi (3.5.times.10.sup.10 to 1.7.times.10.sup.11 N/m.sup.2) with a specific gravity in the range of 1.6 to 2.0, depending upon the particular materials and ratio employed.
An exemplary, fiber reinforced, hollow shaft, the method by which and the apparatus on which such a shaft can be made, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,727, which patent is owned by our common assignee, Shakespeare Company.
The considerably lighter weight and larger moment of inertia of a fiber reinforced plastic drive shaft as compared to the weight of a tubular steel drive shaft taken in conjunction with only a moderately reduced flexural modulus allows a longer drive shaft to replace the multisection steel shafts at a comparable critical speed. Thus, not only is the weight of the shaft itself reduced but also, because the fiber reinforced shaft can be longer in comparison to a tubular steel drive shaft having the same critical speed, the weight of the complementary components can be reduced. For example, a number of the universal joints can be eliminated.
However, fiber reinforced members have heretofore not been considered satisfactory for automotive drive shafts for several reasons. First, no one fully appreciated the advantageous critical speed achievable with such a construction. Second, the satisfactory means of effecting an acceptable connection between the fiber reinforced drive shaft and the metallic yoke of a universal joint was unknown. Previous attempts demonstrated how difficult it is to effect a connection which can resist the forces imposed on the completed drive shaft assembly while maintaining the accurate alignment between the shaft and the structure by which the universal joint is secured thereto.
Utilization of fiber reinforced members for automotive drive shafts is therefore predicated upon the capability to form a bond between the fiber reinforced shaft and the yoke for accepting a universal joint which is able to endure the high torque and flexural forces, fatigue and temperature extremes from about -60.degree. F. to about 400.degree. F. (-50.degree. C. to 205.degree. C.) to which automotive drive shafts are subjected.
The bond between the fiber reinforced shaft and the yoke, or rather between the shaft and a sleeve to which a yoke is attached, has previously been effected by several methods. According to one method, a prepared and cured fiber reinforced shaft is either adhesively attached or mechanically lashed to the sleeve as by bolting or riveting. According to another method, the fiber reinforced shaft is fabricated by winding onto a mandrel containing the sleeve and thereafter the sleeve-shaft assembly is cured.
Fiber reinforced plastic drive shafts are generally comprised of several layers of fiber reinforced resin laminate. The innermost layer is comprised of fibers of glass, graphite or other materials, or combinations thereof, having a Young's modulus of at least about 10.times.10.sup.6 psi (6.9.times.10.sup.10 N/m.sup.2). In order to provide the hoop strength and stiffness necessary to prevent buckling and circular deformation of the shaft when under the torsional and flexural loads of operating conditions, the fibers of the innermost layers must be spirally wrapped that is, oriented relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft at helix angles of less than 90.degree. but greater than about 80.degree..
Subsequent layers of such fibers are oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft at helix angles which may vary from 0.degree. to about 65.degree., in order to provide the necessary properties for obtaining critical speed, torsional and flexural rigidity and strength to resist both torsional and flexural loads. Usually, the outermost layer of fibers is also wrapped spirally, that is, oriented at a helix angle of less than 90.degree. but greater than about 80.degree..
Each of the layers of fibers in the shaft have, conventionally, extended over the sleeve to form a bond between the shaft and sleeve. Included in this overlapping portion, is the spiral wrap having a helix angle within the range of about 80.degree. to just less than 90.degree..
Composite drive shafts having the above described construction have been found to be unsatisfactory when tested over the range of conditions incurred during automotive operation. One area in which drive shaft failure has occurred during these tests is in the sleeve-shaft bonding area.
We have discovered that drive shaft failure in the sleeve-shaft bonding area is promoted by the extension of the innermost spiral fiber wrap over the sleeve. Although the exact cause of this phenomenon is unknown, it is thought to result at least in part, from the varying thermal coefficients of expansion for the various materials comprising the completed drive shaft assembly.
The fibers utilized in composite drive shafts generally have lower longitudinal thermal coefficients of expansion than the metal sleeves contained therein, while the resins used generally have a higher coefficient. After the drive shaft assembly is heated, either during a curing step in the manufacture of the assembly or during operation in a vehicle, upon cooling the metal sleeve will contract away from the shaft portion. Although the resin would ordinarily tend to contract to a greater degree and thus adhere more firmly to the sleeve, it is prevented from doing so by the spirally wrapped fibers.
The fibers, having a lower thermal coefficient of expansion than the metal sleeve, will not contract upon cooling to as great a degree as will the metal sleeve. The hoop strength of the spiral wrap, needed to resist circular deformation of the shaft itself, in this instance prevents not only the fibers from conforming in any way to the contracted sleeve, but also prevents the resin structure which is bonded to the fibers from doing so. The adhesion between the shaft portions and sleeve is broken and drive shaft failure results. | {
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The present invention relates to a method for producing a preform for light waveguides. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for producing a preform for light waveguides wherein at least one glass forming layer is precipitated from a glass-forming gas and/or vapor mixture.
The present invention relates in particular to a method wherein a substrate (basic body) is coated on its exterior to initially produce a preform tube which is subsequently collapsed into a glass rod. From this glass rod, the light waveguide is then drawn. The periodical "IEEE of Quantum Electronics", Vol. QE-18 (1982), page 1418, discloses a process for exterior coating (Outside Vapor Deposition, OVD) wherein a burner is moved axially along a rod. Glass-forming gases and/or vapors are fed to this burner so that it becomes possible to externally deposit glass-forming layers. Such a process has the drawback that no high precipitation rates can be realized with just a single burner. To increase the rate of deposition along the outer surface of the rod in such a process, it is necessary to have a burner which emits a linear flame. However, such a flame contains instabilities which lead to annoying irregularities in the coating. | {
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This invention relates to novel compositions of matter which are organotin borates having a tin-halogen bond. The novel tin-halogen bond containing organotin borates of this invention have been found to exhibit fungicidal activity.
Various organotin borates have been known in the art for some time and their diverse use as fungicides, anti-microbial agents, anti-oxidants and polymer stabilizers have been reported. Organotin borates of the general formula (R.sub.2 Sn).sub.3.sub.-n R.sup.1 (BO.sub.3).sub.2 (I) where R and R.sup.1 are alkyl, aryl or aralkyl radicals and n is 0, 1 or 2 are disclosed by H. E. Ramsden in U.S. Pat. No. 2,867,641 as stabilizers for chlorine containing resins. G. Weissenberger, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,312,725 disclosed organotin borates having the formula [R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 Sn 0].sub.a B(OH).sub.3.sub.-a (II) where R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are aliphatic, araliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic radicals and a is 1 to 3 and their use as biological toxicants. Organotin borates having the general formula [R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 SnO].sub.3.sub.-x B--(OH).sub.x (III) where R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are alkyl radicals and x is 0 or 1 are disclosed in West German Auslegeschrift No. 1,246,732. S. K. Mehrotra et al in the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Vol. 65 at pages 361 to 366 and pages 367 to 376 (1974) disclosed organotin borates having the formulae ##STR1## where R is methyl or butyl and G is CMe.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CHMe--,--CMe.sub.2 --CMe.sub.2 -- or --CHMe--CH.sub.2 --, ##STR2## where G is defined as in formula V, EQU (R.sub.3 SnO).sub.3 B (VII)
where R is Me, Et, Pr, Bu, Bu-i,Ph, EQU (R.sub.3 SnOBO).sub.3 (VIII)
where R is Et,Pr,Bu and Bu-i, and EQU Bu.sub.2 Sn(O--Q).sub.2 (IX)
where Q is ##STR3## Organotin borate compounds having the formulae ##STR4## where A,B,C,D = H
A,b,c, = h; d = me PA1 A,b,c,d = me and ##STR5## where A,B,C,D = H PA1 A,b,c = me; D = H PA1 R.sup.5 and R.sup.7 are hydrogen or C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl group; PA1 R.sup.6 and R.sup.8 are C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl group; PA1 X is chlorine or bromine; and PA1 n is 0, 1 or 2. PA1 R.sup.5 and R.sup.7 are hydrogen or C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl group; PA1 R.sup.6 and R.sup.8 are C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl group; PA1 X is chlorine or bromine and PA1 n is 0, 1 or 2
are disclosed by S. K. Mehrotra et al. in the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, Vol. 47 pages 39 to 44 (1973). | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to processes of manufacture of integrated circuit chips and more particularly to production control of a manufacturing process therefor.
2. Description of Related Art
As currently practiced, shift performance indicators, which are monitored by shop personnel of integrated circuit (IC) fabrication lines, are time-lag performance indicators. There are three disadvantages of time-lag performance indicators. First, no timely production line information can be provided. Second, time-lag performance indicators are unfair to each shift because of interaction between shifts brought by time-lag performance indicators. Last, utilization of machine capacity is likely to drop during the period of shift transition, where the shift transition is defined as the transition of one shift going to be off duty and another shift going to be on duty.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,765 of Yoshida et al "Method for Manufacturing a Semiconductor Device Including Wafer Aging, Probe Inspection, and Feeding Back the Results of the Inspection to the Device Fabrication Process" describes a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices including test from which information is fed back for fabrication process improvement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,866 of Friedman et al "Method for Characterizing Failed Circuits on Semiconductor Wafers" shows a method for characterizing failed circuits on semiconductor wafers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,041 of Kobayashi et al "Process for Manufacturing Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Device" shows computer control of testing/feedback to chip manufacturing process. | {
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The popularity and convenience of digital cameras as well as the widespread of use of Internet communications have caused digital images to become ubiquitous. For example, user-produced digital photographs are posted to various Internet sites, such as web pages, social networking services, etc. for users and others to view. However, many images such as photographs include various characteristics that are undesirable to the user capturing or creating the image. For example, the user may not like particular facial expressions as captured in a photo, such as a solemn or frowning expression rather than a smiling one. Or, the depiction of a person may have his or her eyes closed in the photo, and the user would like the eyes to be open. In other examples, the user may desire a more clear depiction for a face or other portion of an image. | {
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A cylinder body used in an automobile engine is generally composed of a cylinder liner and an outside aluminum sheath of the cylinder liner, and it produces power by a piston sliding up and down, which is driven by the exploding of the fuel in the combustor in the cylinder liner. Therefore, the inside surface of the cylinder liner need wear resistance of some, and the outside surface of the cylinder liner need powerful bite force, so as to fit together with the outside aluminum sheath firmly, to avoid the aluminum sheath break away.
Enough contact bite force must be provided between the material of the cylinder body and the surface of the cylinder liner, in order to have a good thermal conductivity, so as to have a good engine cooling performance, and reduce the deformation of holes in the cylinder liner at same time. Therefore, it is expected to have a cylinder liner with improved bite force and joint strength. However, there are following defects in the existing cylinder liner:
(1) Bosses and pits are random distributed on the outside surface of the cylinder liner, wherein the bosses is irregular-shaped, such as taper, convex or round and so on. In the manufacture of this cylinder liner, due to the irregular-shape of the bosses, the molten material used for manufacturing the cylinder liner is difficult to fill to each boss desirably, so it is difficult to form ideal protrusions that decrease the bite force between the cylinder liner material and the outside aluminum sheath.
(2) There is another cylinder liner with an aluminum silicon powder layer thermal sprayed on the outside surface of the cylinder body. The thermal spraying layer can effectively reduce the defect of pore between the cylinder liner and the cylinder body, to improve the joint strength between the cylinder liner and the cylinder body, but the process is difficult to control and the cost is high. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a selective call receiver having a display section, and, more particularly, to a method of displaying reception information on the display section.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, radio selective call receivers called pagers are desirably small and light in consideration of portability. In this respect, a liquid crystal display (LCD) cannot have a large display area. Some schemes are therefore needed to effectively transmit information to users with a limited display screen size.
For example, Japanese Utility-model Unexamined Publication (Kokai) No. 7-43280 discloses a receiver which has an icon display section capable of displaying a plurality of command icons on a display so that information is displayed in the form of icons.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (Kokai) No. 8-294152 describes a multi-function pager. When detecting an incoming call in a mode other than the call standby mode, e.g., in a schedule function mode, this pager informs an incoming call by flickering or blinking an icon corresponding to the type of reception data on a part of the schedule display screen.
While the use of icons can permit effective transmission of information as mentioned above, the prior art displays an icon at a predetermined position on the display screen and thus suffers limited display information. To display an icon and character information in separate areas, a receiver needs an LCD with a larger display screen, which stands in the way of making receivers more compact and lighter.
Further, a selective call receiver with display function is described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 8-317438. On the color LCD of the radio selective call receiver, the picture information is displayed on the full screen in a color different from the display color of the letter characters on the background.
Furthermore, a selective call receiver and its message display method are described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-023492. According to the conventional message display method, a plurality of routine message icons each indicating objective information are arranged at predetermined positions on screen and one of them is selected and displayed at the corresponding position depending on the icon designation data included in a received signal.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of effectively displaying information in a limited display screen.
It is another object of this invention to provide a selective call receiver capable of effectively displaying plural pieces of received information in a single display screen.
It is a still another object of the present invention to provide a method and a selective call receiver which are capable of displaying received information in a user-friendly display mode.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying received information in a selective call receiver, which includes a display section, an input section, and a memory having a plurality of predetermined icons stored therein. A notification mode is designated through the input section. When receiving information including icon specifying information and display information, an icon corresponding to the icon specifying information is selected from the plurality of predetermined icons stored in the memory. The selected icon and the display information are displayed on the display section, wherein the selected icon is displayed in a designated notification mode.
The designated notification mode preferably determines a position of the selected icon and further determines a color of the selected icon which is different from that of the display information. The designated notification mode may further determine whether the selected icon blinks.
In the case where the selected icon and the display information overlap each other, the display information may be displayed in a foreground of the selected icon.
Since a selected icon is displayed on the display screen in the designated notification mode, the selected icon and the display information can easily be distinguished from each other. By designating the notification mode, the selected icon can be displayed in a user-designated mode. What is more, two kinds of information can be displayed on a single screen. This can permit information to be effectively displayed in a limited display screen.
Further, it is desirable to give the display information priority over the icon to ensure information transmission. Further, an icon may be displayed in a blinking manner. This further enhances the visual effect to help catch user""s attention. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetic disk cartridge. More particularly, this invention relates to a magnetic disk cartridge comprising a very thin, small-diameter disk-like recording medium used for recording and reproducing an image through high-speed rotation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recording media formed by coating a magnetic material on both surfaces of a disk-like flexible polyester sheet, i.e. floppy disks, were developed for recording therein digital information by use of a magnetic head. Since floppy disks are easy to handle and their cost is low, they are widely used as recording media for computers.
On the other hand, in still cameras, it has been proposed to take advantage of the usefulness of the floppy disks as described above and the merit thereof over silver halide emulsion films that the recording media can be reused for magnetic recording. Namely, it has been proposed to use a magnetic disk cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as "cartridge") formed by decreasing the size of the floppy disk, i.e. decreasing the diameter and the thickness of the disk-like recording medium, and also reducing the size of the case for containing the recording medium so as to constitute a recording medium for recording and reproducing an image through high-speed rotation, Thus, there was developed a magnetic recording type still camera having approximately the same size as the conventional 35 mm camera.
The aforesaid cartridge is of the single-faced recording type wherein the video signals for one image are recorded in one track of the recording medium, and video signals for a larger number of images than can be recorded on a conventional standardized silver halide emulsion film, for example video signals for about 50 images, are recorded on one surface of the recording medium.
As described in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 57(1982)-110788, in the single-faced recording cartridge, it is necessary that a pair of magnetic head receiving holes formed in face-to-face relation in the bottom and top walls of the case be positioned near a diagonal line of the case so that the position of the magnetic head receiving holes may not be the same when the case is placed upside down, thereby to prevent the magnetic head for image recording and reproducing from contacting and damaging the recording medium when the cartridge is erroneously inserted upside down into an apparatus.
Further, since the cartridge is carried and used outdoors, it sometimes happens that the recording medium is affected by dust or contacted with and damaged by other materials. Therefore, when the magnetic head receiving holes are provided near a diagonal line of the case, it is necessary to close the magnetic head receiving holes in order to prevent dust from entering the case and protect the recording medium so that the magnetic layer of the recording medium will not be damaged due to contact with other materials. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to knee braces, and more particularly to knee braces worn externally about a knee joint for supporting and manipulating the knee joint.
2. Related Art
As is known, and shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a knee joint 10 is the largest joint in the body and has a unique anatomy due to its unusual movement. Though it may appear to the casual observer as a simple joint, in actuality, it is extremely complex. The complexity results from the fact that the knee joint 10 has femoral condyles 12 that rotate downward and slightly medial with each flexion of a lower leg portion, then rotate slightly backward and upward with the extension of a lower leg portion 14 relative to an upper leg portion 15. Accordingly, the rotation of the knee joint results in a three-dimensional movement, rather than a two-dimensional movement seen in more simple joints, such as an elbow, for example.
The knee joint 10 is made up of three bones which interact with one another to provide the three dimensional movement of the joint. One of the bones is the largest bone in the body, the femur 16, which supports the upper leg portion 15 and is commonly referred to as the thighbone. Two others are the tibia 18, which is commonly referred to as the shinbone, and the patella 20, which is commonly referred to as the kneecap. In addition to the femur 16, the and tibia 18 has ends referred to as condyles, each of which are bifurcated into lateral and medial condyles 22. The femoral condyles 12 and the tibial condyles 22 are separated from direct frictional engagement with one another by separate layers of cartilage, commonly referred to as the lateral and medial meniscus 24, 25. Each meniscus 24, 25 is generally C-shaped, and fits into the joint between the femoral condyles 12 and the tibial condyles 22 to facilitate rotating and sliding movement therebetween. To further facilitate proper movement and reduce friction within the knee joint 10, a synovium tissue, which produces synovial fluid, lubricates the joint. Of course, the knee joint 10 includes many tendons and ligaments to produce the movement of the knee, and to stabilize its alignment, some of which are discussed hereafter.
The femoral condyles 12 are generally quite rounded and are bifurcated to form an inverted V-shape groove 26 traversing anterior and posterior sides of the knee. The respective tibial condyles 22 are generally somewhat less rounded, and produce what is commonly referred to as the tibial plateau. The tibial plateau also has a small V-shaped groove 28 traversing the anterior and posterior sides of the knee in generally mirrored relation to the groove 26 in the femur 16. The middle portion of the tibial plateau has a slight up cropping on which anterior (ACL) and posterior (PCL) cruciate ligaments attach. The cruciate ligaments stabilize the knee front to back.
The medial meniscus 25 (on the inside portion of the knee) and the lateral meniscus 24 (on the outside portion of the knee) are in the shape of cartilage rings which circumvent the edges of the tibial condyles 22 to create a cushion for the tibial plateau. The rings define generally convex receptacles for receipt of the rounded femoral condyles 12 throughout their range of motion. Preferably, the femoral condyles 12 are maintained in a generally snug fit within the receptacles to prevent slop or wobbling of the femoral condyles 12 relative to the tibial receptacles. Accordingly, in a properly functioning knee joint, the femur 16 articulates relative to the tibia 18 in a smooth and stable motion.
The patella 20 functions to tension the knee joint 10 throughout its range of motion, as well as to protect the joint from impact forces. The patella 20 is maintained in position to follow a slight deviation medially and laterally while remaining within in the V-shaped grooves 26, 28 between the femoral and tibial condyles 12, 22. Proper alignment of the patella 20 during articulation of the knee joint 10 prevents damage to the tibial condyles 22 and the separate meniscus 24, 25 as it tracks across them. The patella 20 also tracks with a slight rotation in its upward and downward movements. The patella 20 fits into the inverted V-shaped groove 26 of the femur 16 and tracks over the smaller frontal V-shaped groove 28 of the tibia 18 (FIG. 5). The shape of the patella 20 is roughly that of an inverted pear, which is rounded and smooth on an outer surface 29, and providing a generally V-shaped projection 30 on an underside to define laterally spaced, generally concave portions 32 which track over the femoral condyles 12. The precise shape of the patella 20 and the underside projection 30 and curvatures 32 varies from person to person. In some people, the projection 30 is generally pronounced and in others it is more subtle. It is believed that people having a more pronounced and sharp projection 30 on the underside of the patella 20 encounter more problems with tracking of the patella 20 during articulation of the knee joint 10.
The knee joint 10 is designed to withstand generally large forces vertically, typically up to 400 pounds or more, however, it is not designed to withstand significant side forces, whether originating laterally or medially. With normal usage, the knee joint 10 will generally last a lifetime, yet one-quarter million Americans require knee replacement surgery every year. Accordingly, something out of the ordinary generally must happen to the knee joint 10 for it to require medical attention, such as surgical repair or replacement.
Unfortunately, the high degree of mobility of the knee joint 10 means it is more susceptible to being shifted off its midline plane 34 either laterally or more commonly, medially. This condition is commonly known as patello-femoral syndrome (FIGS. 3, 4 and 6). Once the knee joint 10 is shifted off the mid-plane 34, an individual's body weight, in addition to increased vertical compression loads generated in use, generates a side or shear load due to the misalignment. The shear load results in laterally opposite loads that are not desirable for normal operation of the knee joint 10. This new, skewed force vector will continue to create additional shear forces throughout the knee joint 10 with each and every flexion, thus, further skewing the shear force vector angle from its normal vertical direction. Eventually, the shear forces cause accelerated wear to the aforementioned components of the knee joint 10, and create a degree of slack in the affected medial and lateral tendons such that they are no longer able to maintain the femur 16 and tibia 18 in their proper stable alignment relative to the midplane 34. As a result, the patella 20 is no longer able to track in the V-shaped grooves 26, 28 between the femoral and tibial condyles 12, 22 during flexion of the knee joint 10, thereby leading to collateral damage.
When the femur 16 and tibia 18 are not correctly aligned, or if the meniscus 24, 25 is damaged, the femoral condyles 12 do not fit properly into the cavities of the meniscus 24, 25. In turn, this can cause the patella 20 to continually track improperly directly over the meniscus 24, 25 instead of through the V-shaped groove 28 of the tibial plateau. A relatively minor lateral shift of the patella 20 can decrease the surface contact area by 60%, and consequently increase the shear forces by 2½ times, depending on the sharpness or degree of the protrusion 30 on the underside of the patella 20 and the angle at which the protrusion 30 comes down on the meniscus 24, 25.
If the misalignment of the patella 20 is bad enough, the meniscus 24, 25 can be cut by the protrusion 30 to create a flap, wherein the flap can interfere with the flexion of the knee joint 10, and in some cases, get pinched during flexion, thereby causing extreme pain. Eventually, continued wear can result in shredding of the meniscus 24, 25, which can result in the meniscus 24, 25 being unable to contain the femoral condyles 12. Accordingly, once off track, the patella 20 can further irritate or injure the cartilage covering the condyles 12, 22, in addition to tearing or shredding the meniscus 24, 25. Any irritation or injury will initiate a typical body response of inflammation, pain and swelling. If this condition persists, the body may then mount an anti-inflammatory response to destroy or cordon off the inflamed tissue, thereby forming chondromalacia under the knee cap 20, more swelling and more fluid. This begins a vicious cycle in which the knee cartilage can be destroyed, and if left unchecked, the bones can be damaged.
Surgical intervention may be necessary to remove the flap of meniscus 24, 25 or to smooth out the shredded meniscus surface and to scrape off chondromalacia from the underside of the patella 20. Accordingly, the procedure generally reduces the size of the meniscus wall, thereby reducing the ability of the menisci 24, 25 to contain the femoral condyles 12 throughout a full range of motion of the knee joint 10. In addition, scraping the underside of the patella 20 can result in further irritation, and thus, can eventually result in more chondromalacia being formed. As a result, eventually, the knee joint 10 may need to be replaced.
The above-described condition of patello-femoral syndrome is commonly diagnosed by elimination. This is because the condition requires only a very small degree of misalignment of the femoral and tibial condyles 12, 22, the menisci 24, 25 and the tendons of the adjacent muscles. These changes are not normally detectable by MRI, CT scan, X-Ray or other non-invasive means. Yet, even a small correction of the misalignment back toward the proper alignment of the Q-angle, defined as the angle between the patellar tendon and the quadriceps, has an unexpectedly great decrease on the effects of the patello-femoral condition, and thus, a great decrease in the pain caused by misalignment.
Patello-femoral syndrome can be identified by knee arthroscopy, which is an invasive procedure. Arthroscopy can show chondromalacia of the patella 20, fluid in the knee capsule, cyst in the knee joint 10, and if great enough, both fluid and cysts may also be shown by MRI. Further, shredding and/or tearing of the menisci 24, 25 covering the tibial condyles 22 cannot be seen.
In an attempt to correct the small degree of misalignment in a knee joint 10, traditional knee braces are often used under a misconception that they are effective in correcting a patello-femoral condition. However, traditional knee braces are generally not effective in correcting the misalignment condition, or in lessening the pain associated therewith, since they typically apply equal and circumferentially uniform pressure on and around the knee joint 10 and the adjacent portions of both the lower and upper leg portions 14, 15. Some traditional braces have hinges to limit flexion of the knee joint 10 in bending and raising the lower leg portion 14, and also help to prevent side-to-side motion of the knee joint 10. Other knee braces have rigid side bars to further limit the range of motion of the knee joint 10 from side-to-side. Although these knee braces can be effective in restricting movement of the knee joint 10, they are largely ineffective in correcting a patello-femoral condition due to their application of equal and circumferentially uniform forces about the knee joint 10, and to their inability to realign misaligned femoral and tibial condyles.
Most of the less expensive knee braces are sleeve-type, which are generally both difficult to put on and uncomfortable after continued use. In addition, sleeve-type braces made of neoprene inhibit heat dissipation and restrict the flow of blood to and from the knee joint 10, and thus, often result in swelling and pain. Some of the sleeve-type braces include hinges to support the knee joint 10 along the medial and lateral sides, but they limit the natural side-to-side rotation of the femur 16 during flexion. This limited side-to-side movement can prevent the knee joint 10 from making a complete recovery from damage, thereby preventing it from returning to its normal range of motion. This can result in further complications by allowing the muscles to be trained to move the knee joint 10 in an unnatural motion. In addition, rigid side bar braces also prevent normal rotation of the femur 16 present in its normal 3-D path of movement, and thus, do not allow natural tracking of the knee joint 10. Accordingly, they can also be ineffective in correcting a patello-femoral syndrome condition.
To overcome the difficulties of putting on sleeve-type braces, wrap-around knee braces are commonly used. The wrap around knee braces presently available also apply equal and circumferentially uniform pressures on and around the knee joint 10, and thus, are equally ineffective in treating a patello-femoral syndrome condition. In known wrap-type knee braces, straps above and below the knee joint 10 extend from the same side of the knee brace and are wrapped around the leg in the same circumferential direction. This contributes to the effect of placing equally directed pull forces above and below the knee joint 10. Wrap-around knee braces that have a main body portion of the brace behind or posterior to the knee joint 10 primarily support the upper and lower portion of the tendons attached to the patella 20. As such, these function to stabilize the pulley action of the patella 20, and may allow some rotation of the femur 16, but also result in an unnatural motion of the patella 20 by restricting its range of movement. In addition, they do not affect the realignment of the femoral or the tibial condyles 12, 22. As mentioned, if the femoral and the tibial condyles 12, 22 are misaligned, even slightly, the patella 20 cannot track correctly, and it will eventually damage the cartilage, menisci and synovial tissue that covers the adjacent surfaces of the bones which move over each other during flexion of the knee joint 10.
Another known wrap around knee brace construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,848, in which three separate straps are used to impart a side force directly on the patella to realign the knee joint. One strap is first fastened above the knee joint, then another is fastened below the knee joint, while a third strap is fastened to the first and second straps, with the third strap engaging the patella to cause its realignment. Not only is this a complicated mechanism to apply, but it also attempts to correct a patello-femoral syndrome condition by applying a side force directly on the patella. Though this may provide temporary relief to symptoms associated with the patello-femoral syndrome condition, it is not believed to be the best way to correct the source of the problem associated with the condition, which is misalignment of the femoral condyles relative to the meniscus and tibial condyles, and not misalignment of the patella.
A knee brace constructed in accordance with the present invention overcomes or greatly minimizes any limitations of the knee braces described above, thereby allowing a knee-joint experiencing a patello-femoral syndrome condition to be properly realigned via a knee brace that is easily applied, wherein the knee brace does not directly act on the patella. As such, a knee brace in accordance with the invention prevents or reduces collateral damage to the knee joint, and possibly negates the necessity for invasive surgical procedures to correct the damaged knee joint, while also providing a most effective recovery of the damaged knee joint. | {
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The present invention relates to mobile telecommunications. More particularly, and not by way of limitation, the present invention is directed to a system and method for selecting power-efficient Enhanced Uplink Transport Format Combinations (E-TFCs) for power control of uplink transmissions.
Conventional mobile communication systems set up communication among multiple mobile terminals (for example, User Equipment (UE) devices) and base stations on a multitude of channels, where uplink transmissions are transmissions from the UE to the base station and downlink transmissions are transmissions from the base station to the UE. Some signaling protocols specify uplink transmissions on more than one channel, such as a control channel and a data channel. Thus, transmitter circuitry of the UE may transmit on one or more adjacent channels, possibly leading to adjacent channel interference. Accordingly, it is necessary to control the transmitter circuitry to avoid such issues.
In wide-band CDMA (WCDMA), the transmitter circuitry can be controlled to reduce adjacent channel interference problems by performing rate selection, which includes selecting the data rate and coding scheme (also known as Transport Format Combination (TFC) selection) for a signal transmission or burst to control the transmitter's power amplifier. In newer specifications for WCDMA, there are at least five channels that need to be supported for uplink transmission: the Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH), the Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH), the High Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channel (HS-DPCCH), the Enhanced Dedicated Physical Control Channel (E-DPCCH), and the Enhanced Dedicated Physical Data Channel (E-DPDCH). The rate selection for the enhanced uplink channels (E-DPCCH and E-DPDCH) is referred to as enhanced transport format combination (E-TFC). Each channel has a corresponding gain factor (βc, βd, βhs, βec, βed) determining the power offsets between the channels, and each channel has a corresponding spreading factor, I or Q branch assignment, and channelization code. In addition, there can be 1, 2, or 4 E-DPDCHs. Many thousands of different transmitter configurations are possible given the range of values possible for the gain parameters, number of codes, and spreading factors.
In the 3GPP release 99, the Radio Network Controller (RNC) controls resources and user mobility. Resource control in this context relates to admission control, congestion control, and channel switching (roughly changing the data rate of a connection). Furthermore, a dedicated connection is carried over a Dedicated Channel (DCH), which is realized as the DPCCH and the DPDCH.
In the evolved 3G standards, the trend is to decentralize decision making, and in particular the control over the short term data rate of the user connection. The uplink data is allocated to an Enhanced Dedicated Channel (E-DCH), which operates similarly to the DCH. The E-DCH is realized as the DPCCH, which is continuous; the E-DPCCH for data control; and the E-DPDCH for data. The two latter channels are only transmitted when there is uplink data in the send buffer to send. Hence the Node B uplink scheduler determines which transport formats each user may use over the E-DPDCH. The RNC, however, is still responsible for admission control.
FIG. 1 is a simplified functional block diagram of a conventional uplink power control mechanism 10. Uplink power control is divided between an inner loop power control mechanism 11 and an outer loop power control mechanism 12. A receiver 13 receives a baseband signal 14 and generates a DPCCH signal-to-interference ratio (DPCCH_SIR) 15. The DPCCH_SIR is input to the inner loop power control mechanism 11. The inner loop power control mechanism is a conventional DCH power control mechanism. The outer loop power control mechanism 12 adjusts a DPCCH_SIR target 16 to ensure that the E-DPDCH is operating at the correct power level by monitoring the number of retransmissions in a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) receiver (not shown). The DPCCH_SIR target is input to the inner loop power control mechanism 11, which compares the target with the DPCCH_SIR received from the receiver to produce power control (PC) commands 17. Thus, the E-DPDCH is maintained by outer loop power control, while the DPCCH quality is related to the offset βed/βc between DPCCH and DPDCH.
For the DCH, the outer loop power control mechanism 12 adjusts the DPCCH_SIR target 16 to ensure that the DPDCH operates at the correct power level by monitoring whether or not the transport blocks are correctly received.
The data transmission configuration over E-DPDCH is predefined as a number of E-TFCs. Each E-TFC is associated with a number of data blocks, each with 320 data bits; a spreading factor; a number of scrambling codes; a power offset, which determines the E-DPDCH power relative the DPCCH power; a code rate for each transmission and subsequent retransmissions, if needed; and the like. Many aspects must be considered when determining how these parameters should be configured. The power offsets per E-TFC may be signaled to the UE, or may be computed by the UE. If the UE computes the E-TFC power offsets, the computation is based on the signaled power offsets of a set of reference E-TFCs.
The Node B scheduler allocates resources to UEs by signaling a maximum allowed power offset over the Absolute Grant Channel (AGCH). By comparing this maximum allowed power offset to the power offset per E-TFC, this restricts which E-TFCs the UE is allowed to use. The available power in the UE and the amount of data in the UE send buffer may further restrict which E-TFC that the UE will use when transmitting data.
The required E-DPDCH power to fulfill the outer loop depends primarily on the data rate and the code rate. The power increases with the data rate if the code rate is constant, and the power increases with the code rate. When transport formats are configured in a way that uses high code rates (>0.5), these transport formats provide relatively little data protection in terms of coding, and require relatively high signal quality at the receiver.
If the (signaled or calculated) power offset between the DPCCH and the E-DPDCH for a particular transport format is insufficient, it leads to many retransmissions. In response, the DPCCH_SIR target is increased in the outer loop power control, and therefore it has an impact on the transmitted power of all channels, including both the E-DPDCH and DPCCH, during the time period after the high code rate was used until the outer loop power control has converged to a lower level again. The increased DPCCH_SIR target also causes too many retransmissions of the current transport block since the outer loop is at a level too low for the E-TFC. The block error rate (BLER) also increases, as does retransmission at the RLC layer, which further increases the delay and the used power per transport block. This has a negative impact on the required power per bit for successful communication.
FIG. 2 is a graph of relative energy per kilobit for the E-DPDCH and DPCCH as a function of the EUL bit rate when utilizing a conventional power control mechanism. The energy per kilobit is shown for different transport formats relative to the first transport format. If the code rate is held roughly equal in the different transport formats, the expected behavior would be a monotonically decreasing curve, since the cost of the DPCCH would diminish as the data rate and the power increases. Instead, transport formats with high code rates are identified as relatively power inefficient.
FIG. 3 is a conventional graph of code rate as a function of the EUL bit rate. FIG. 3 illustrates that as the code rate increases, the EUL bit rate increases. At a code rate of approximately 0.75, another code is added, reducing the code rate to approximately 0.4. Thereafter, with increasing code rate, the EUL bit rate increases, but at a lower rate due to the additional code. A disadvantage of adding additional codes is that the complexity and cost of the base station is correspondingly increased.
It would be advantageous to have a system and method that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by avoiding the power inefficient transport formats for data transmission. The present invention provides such a system and method. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field
The present invention is directed to an engine having a combustion piston linked with a fluid power assembly to pressurize a fluid, a portion of the pressurized fluid being returned to urge the combustion piston in the direction of its return stroke.
2. State of the Art
Internal combustion engines typically have one or more pistons linked with a crankshaft. After ignition of the fuel, energy released from the ignited fuel is delivered to the crankshaft, which rotates in response to the reciprocating motion of the piston. This energy is typically ultimately delivered to a machine that the engine is adapted to power. A common use of internal combustion engines is, of course, their use in automobiles.
Crankshaft-style internal combustion engines in automobiles inherently allow for energy loss at various junctures. For example, energy is lost through friction in the transfer of the reciprocating motion of the piston to rotational motion of the crankshaft. Further energy is lost in transferring the rotational motion of the crankshaft to rotation, for example, of parts within a transmission, differential, and ultimately the wheels of the automobile. The engine is subject to vibration and wear at various locations due to internal forces exerted on various mechanical parts.
One engine design that eliminates a crankshaft is known as the "free piston" engine. Free piston engines typically have two opposed pistons connected by an axial shaft. They are typically two-stroke engines, and are typically used as air compressors.
A problem with free piston engines is that as the work load that the engine is operating against increases, the engine may power down more easily than a crankshaft-style engine. The free piston engine does not have the rotational momentum of a crankshaft to aid in returning the pistons in the direction of their return strokes.
Fluid power systems are recognized as being highly efficient. Once fluid pressure is generated within a system, that pressure is transmitted essentially instantaneously throughout the fluid in the system and is immediately available for work at selected points in the system. Hydraulic systems are particularly useful because of the essential noncompressibility of liquids. When crankshaft-style engines are used to develop fluid power, the reciprocating motion of the combustion piston is transferred to rotational motion of the crankshaft, which is then transferred in some form to a pump to pressurize the selected fluid.
Free pistons have been recognized for their utility in air compressors because the linearly reciprocating motion of the combustion piston may be transferred directly to a linearly reciprocating pumping piston of a compressor piston. However, once a substantial load is placed on the engine in a fluid power system (pneumatic or hydraulic), the power-down problems previously discussed may occur.
There remains a need for an engine adapted to be useful in a fluid power setting that avoids the power-down problems of currently known free piston engines while avoiding the energy losses inherent in a crankshaft-style engine. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Lancing devices are known in the medical health-care products industry for piercing the skin to produce blood for analysis. Typically, a drop of blood for this type of analysis is obtained by making a small incision in the fingertip, creating a small wound, which generates a small blood droplet on the surface of the skin.
Early methods of lancing included piercing or slicing the skin with a needle or razor. Current methods utilize lancing devices that contain a multitude of spring, cam and mass actuators to drive the lancet. These include cantilever springs, diaphragms, coil springs, as well as gravity plumbs used to drive the lancet. The device may be held against the skin and mechanically triggered to ballistically launch the lancet. Unfortunately, the pain associated with each lancing event using known technology discourages patients from testing. In addition to vibratory stimulation of the skin as the driver impacts the end of a launcher stop, known spring based devices have the possibility of harmonically oscillating against the patient tissue, causing multiple strikes due to recoil. This recoil and multiple strikes of the lancet against the patient is one major impediment to patient compliance with a structured glucose monitoring regime.
Another impediment to patient compliance is the lack of spontaneous blood flow generated by known lancing technology. In addition to the pain as discussed above, a patient may need more than one lancing event to obtain a blood sample since spontaneous blood generation is unreliable using known lancing technology. Thus the pain is multiplied by the number of tries it takes to successfully generate spontaneous blood flow. Different skin thickness may yield different results in terms of pain perception, blood yield and success rate of obtaining blood between different users of the lancing device. Known devices poorly account for these skin thickness variations.
A still further impediment to improved compliance with glucose monitoring are the many steps and hassle associated with each lancing event. Many diabetic patients that are insulin dependent may need to self-test for blood glucose levels five to six times daily. The large number of steps required in traditional methods of glucose testing, ranging from lancing, to milking of blood, applying blood to the test strip, and getting the measurements from the test strip, discourages many diabetic patients from testing their blood glucose levels as often as recommended. Older patients and those with deteriorating motor skills encounter difficulty loading lancets into launcher devices, transferring blood onto a test strip, or inserting thin test strips into slots on glucose measurement meters. Additionally, the wound channel left on the patient by known systems may also be of a size that discourages those who are active with their hands or who are worried about healing of those wound channels from testing their glucose levels. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure, for example, relates to calibrating sensors of a distributed sensor system, and more particularly to calibrating one sensor using information from one or more other sensors.
Description of Related Art
Distributed sensor systems may be deployed to collect data over an area or areas of interest. For example, environmental data (e.g., data including measurements of environmental conditions) may be collected using a plurality of sensor assemblies in different physical locations of such area(s) of interest. Such systems may employ relatively low cost sensors, which generally may provide lower quality data than scientific-grade instruments, for instance. Further, the sensors of such systems may be subject to outdoor conditions, and may suffer from decay and/or drifting, for example.
Calibration of environmental sensors may be important to ensure that data collected is useful for a particular purpose (e.g., accurate, reliable, etc.). This is particularly true when aggregating data from a plurality of sensors as in a distributed sensor system. However, calibration may be difficult and complex, particularly when the system includes sensors of different types and/or from different manufacturers. Employing on-site calibration, known automated calibration systems, or a reference standard for each sensor of the system may be cost prohibitive. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The success of gene therapy techniques depends largely on the ability to achieve a combination of stable chromosomal integration and high-level, regulated expression of transferred genes in a manner safe to humans. Many current techniques allow efficient transient transfection of cells in vitro and in vivo with large DNA fragments. However, subsequent chromosomal integration is very inefficient. To overcome low levels of integration, retroviral vectors, which integrate very efficiently in permissive cells, can be used.
While recombinant retroviral vectors allow for integration of a transgene into a host cell genome, most retroviruses can only transduce dividing cells, which limits their use for in vivo gene transfer to nonproliferating cells such as hepatocytes, myofibers, hematopoietic stem cells, and neurons. Non-dividing cells are the predominant, long-lived cell type in the body, and account for most desirable targets of gene transfer, including liver, muscle, and brain. Even protocols attempting the transduction of hematopoietic stem cells require demanding ex vivo procedures for triggering cell division in these cells prior to infection.
One way of overcoming this obstacle is to employ lentiviral vectors, in place of conventional retroviral vectors. Lentiviruses are complex retroviruses which, based on their higher level of complexity, can integrate into the genome of nonproliferating cells and modulate their life cycles, as in the course of latent infection. These viruses include HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIV. Like other retroviruses, lentiviruses possess gag, pol and env genes which are flanked by two long terminal repeat (LTR) sequences. Each of these genes encodes multiple proteins, initially expressed as one precursor polyprotein. The gag gene encodes the internal structural (matrix capsid and nucleocapsid) proteins. The pol gene encodes the RNA-directed DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease). The env gene encodes viral envelope glycoproteins and additionally contains a cis-acting element (RRE) responsible for nuclear export of viral RNA. The 5′ and 3′ LTRs serve to promote transcription and polyadenylation of the virion RNAs. The LTR contains all other cis-acting sequences necessary for viral replication. Adjacent to the 5′ LTR are sequences necessary for reverse transcription of the genome (the tRNA primer binding site) and for efficient encapsidation of viral RNA into particles (the Psi site). If the sequences necessary for encapsidation (or packaging of retroviral RNA into infectious virions) are missing from the viral genome, the result is a cis defect which prevents encapsidation of genomic RNA. However, the resulting mutant is still capable of directing the synthesis of all virion proteins. A comprehensive review of lentiviruses, such as HIV, is provided, for example, in Field's Virology (Raven Publishers), eds. B. N. Fields et al., © 1996.
In addition to gag, pol, and env, lentiviruses, unlike other retroviruses, have several “accessory” genes with regulatory or structural function. Specifically, HIV-1 possesses at least six such genes, including Vif, Vpr, Tat, Rev, Vpu and Nef. The closely related HIV-2 does not code for Vpu, but codes for another unrelated protein, Vpx, not found in HIV-1.
The Vpr gene encodes a 14 kD protein (96 amino acids) (Myers et al. (1993) Human Retroviruses and AIDS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M.). The Vpr open reading frame is also present in most HIV-2 and SIV isolates. Amino acid comparison between HIV-2 Vpr and Vpx shows regions of high homology suggesting that Vpx may have arisen by duplication of the Vpr gene (Myers et al. (1993), supra.). Vpr and Vpx are present in mature viral particles in multiple copies, and have been shown to bind to the p6 protein which is part of the gag-encoded precursor polyprotein involved in viral assembly (WO 96/07741; WO 96/32494). Thus, incorporation of Vpr and Vpx into viral particles occurs by way of interaction with p6 (Lavallee et al. (1994) J. Virol. 68: 1926-1934; and Wu et al. (1994) J. Virol. 68:6161). It has been further shown that Vpr associates, in particular, with the carboxy-terminal region of p6. The precise role of Vpr and Vpx is yet to be clearly determined, however the data to date suggests that these proteins have a role in the stage of early infection. It has also been shown that Vpr and Vpx, expressed in trans with respect to the HIV genome, can be used to target heterologous proteins to HIV virus (WO 96/07741; WO 96/32494). A description of the structure and function of Vpr and Vpx, including the full-length nucleotide and amino acid sequences of these proteins and their binding domains are also provided in WO 96/07741, as well as in Zhao et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269(22):1577 (Vpr); Mahalingham et al. 91995) Virology 207:297 (Vpr); and Hu et al. (1989) Virology 173:624) (Vpx). Other relevant references relating to Vpr include, for example, Kondo et al. (1995) J. Virol. 69:2759; Lavallee et al. (1994) J. Virol. 68:1926; and Levy et al. (1993) Cell 72:541. Other relevant references relating to Vpx include, for example, Wu et al. (1994) J. Virol. 68:6161. All of the aforementioned publication are incorporated by reference herein.
In view of the advantages associated with retroviral vectors in gene therapy, particularly lentiviruses which are capable of infecting non-dividing cells, improved methods for generating pure stocks of recombinant virus, free of replication-competent helper virus, would be of great value in the art. Recombinant retroviruses are generally produced by introducing a suitable proviral DNA vector into mammalian cells (“packaging cells”) that produce the necessary viral proteins for encapsidation of the desired recombinant RNA, but which lack the signal for packaging viral RNA (ψ sequence). Thus, while the required gag, pol, and env genes of the retrovirus are intact, there is no release of wild-type helper virus by these packaging lines. However, when the cells are transfected with a separate vector containing the ψ sequence required for packaging, wild-type retrovirus can arise by recombination (Mann et al. (1983) Cell 33:153). This is a major danger, particularly in the case of lentiviruses, such as HIV.
Current approaches to avoid the safety dangers associated with recombination leading to production of replication-competent helper virus include making additional mutations (e.g., LTR deletions) in the viral constructs used to create packaging lines, and separating the viral genes necessary for producing virions onto separate plasmids. For example, it has recently been shown that recombinant Moloney murine leukemia virus (MuLV), free of detectable helper-virus, can be produced by separating the gag and pol genes from the env gene in packaging cells (Markowitz et al. (1998) J. Virol. 62(4):1120). These packaging cells contained two separate plasmids collectively encoding the viral proteins necessary for virion production, reducing the likelihood that the recombination events necessary to produce intact retrovirus (i.e., between three plasmid vectors) would occur when cotransfected with a third vector containing the ψ packaging signal.
Additional methods for producing safer retroviral packaging cell lines, particularly lentiviral packaging cell lines, which generate recombinant retrovirus, yet do not themselves either yield detectable helper virus or transfer viral genes, would be of great value in human gene therapy. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Yoroanokexe2x80x99.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new potted Chrysanthemum cultivars that are suitable for year-round production with uniform plant growth habit, good vigor, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, fast response time, and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross made by the Inventors in October, 1994, in Salinas, Calif., of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Monterey, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,753, as the female, or seed, parent with the Chrysanthemum cultivar Rage, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,770, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross grown in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. The selection of this plant was based on its uniform plant growth habit, vigor, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, fast response time, and excellent postproduction longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Fort Myers, Fla. in February, 1997. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Yoroanoke has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, and/or light level, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Yoroanokexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Yoroanokexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Chrysanthemum:
1. Upright and uniformly mounded plant habit.
2. Strong and moderately vigorous growth habit.
3. Dark green and glossy foliage.
4. Uniform flowering response.
5. Typically grown as a center-budded or natural spray-type.
6. Early flowering, eight-week response time.
7. Freely flowering.
8. Daisy-type inflorescences that are about 5.4 cm in diameter.
9. Lavender pink ray florets and bright yellow disc florets.
10. Excellent postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good substance and color for at least three weeks in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the female parent, the cultivar Monterey. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventors in Salinas, Calif., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar Monterey in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more outwardly spreading than plants of the cultivar Monterey.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about one week earlier than plants of the cultivar Monterey.
3. Ray floret color of the new Chrysanthemum is darker pink than ray floret color of the cultivar Monterey.
4. Inflorescences of the new Chrysanthemum produce pollen whereas inflorescences of the cultivar Monterey produce little to no pollen.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the male parent, the cultivar Rage. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventors in Salinas, Calif., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar Rage in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more outwardly spreading than plants of the cultivar Rage.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower more uniformly than plants of the cultivar Rage.
3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about two to three days earlier than plants of the cultivar Rage.
4. Ray floret color of the new Chrysanthemum is lavender pink whereas ray floret color of the cultivar Rage is red.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Yonashville, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,795. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventors in Salinas, Calif., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar Yonashville in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more outwardly spreading than plants of the cultivar Yonashville.
2. The crown of the new Chrysanthemum is mounded whereas the crown of the cultivar Yonashville is flat.
3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have smaller inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Yonashville.
4. Ray floret color of the new Chrysanthemum is lighter than ray floret color of the cultivar Yonashville.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can also be compared to plants of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Davis, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,325. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventors in Salinas, Calif., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar Davis in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are stronger than plants of the cultivar Davis.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about one week earlier than plants of the cultivar Davis.
3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower more uniformly than plants of the cultivar Davis.
4. Ray floret color of the new Chrysanthemum is lighter than ray floret color of the cultivar Davis.
5. Inflorescences of the new Chrysanthemum produce less pollen than inflorescences of the cultivar Davis. | {
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This is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP00/00958, filed Feb. 7, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This invention relates to combinations of formoterol and a tiotropium salt and their use for the treatment of inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases.
Formoterol,N-[2-hydroxy-5-(1-hydroxy-2-((2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methylethyl)amino)-ethyl)phenyl]formamide, particularly in the form of its fumarate salt, is a bronchodilator used in the treatment of inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases. Use of tiotropium bromide, (1xcex1,2xcex2,5xcex1,7xcex2)-7-((hydroxydi-2-thienylacetyl)oxy)-9,9-dimethyl-3-oxa-9-azonia-tricyclo(3.3.1.02,4)-nonane bromide, in the treatment of chronic obstructive bronchitis is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,163. It has now surprisingly been found that a significant unexpected therapeutic benefit, particularly a synergistic therapeutic benefit, in the treatment of inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases can be obtained by combination therapy using formoterol, or a salt or solvate thereof, and a tiotropium salt. For instance, it is possible using this combination therapy to reduce the dosages required for a given therapeutic effect considerably compared with those required using treatment with formoterol or a tiotropium salt alone, thereby minimising possibly undesirable side effects.
In a further aspect, this combination therapy exhibits both a fast onset of action and a long duration of action, so that patients feel a rapid improvement in their condition and, in view of the long duration of action, a reduced need for short-acting rescue medicaments, such as salbutamol or terbutaline. Surprisingly this effect is exhibited even when the two drugs are administered at the same time, i.e. in a composition containing both drugs or sequentially, so that medicaments of the invention facilitate the treatment of inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases with a medicament which need be administered only once a day. Where necessary, medicaments of the invention can be used on demand in rescue treatment of obstructive or inflammatory airways diseases, so that they facilitate treatment of such diseases with a single medicament.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a medicament containing, separately or together, (A) formoterol or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof or a solvate of formoterol or said salt and (B) a tiotropium salt of a pharmaceutically acceptable acid, for simultaneous, sequential or separate administration in the treatment of an inflammatory or obstructive airways disease.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of treating an inflammatory or obstructive airways disease which comprises administering to a subject in need of such treatment effective amounts of (A) as hereinbefore defined and (B) as hereinbefore defined.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a mixture of effective amounts of (A) as hereinbefore defined and (B) as hereinbefore defined, optionally together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
The present invention also provides (A) and (B) as hereinbefore defined for use in combination therapy by simultaneous, sequential or separate administration in the treatment of an inflammatory or obstructive airways disease.
The invention further provides the use of (A) as hereinbefore defined or (B) as hereinbefore defined in the preparation of a medicament for combination therapy by simultaneous, sequential or separate administration of (A) and (B) in the treatment of an inflammatory or obstructive airways disease.
The present invention still further provides the use of (A) and (B) as hereinbefore defined for the preparation of a medicament for combination therapy by simultaneous, sequential or separate administration in the treatment of an inflammatory or obstructive airways disease.
Pharmaceutically acceptable salts of formoterol include, for example, salts of inorganic acids such as hydrochloric, hydrobromic, sulfuric and phosphoric acids, and organic acids such as fumaric, maleic, acetic, lactic, citric, tartaric, ascorbic, succinic, glutaric, gluconic, tricarballylic, oleic, benzoic, p-methoxybenzoic, salicylic, o- and p-hydroxybenzoic, p-chlorobenzoic, methanesulfonic, p-toluenesulfonic and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthalene carboxylic acids.
Component (A) may be in any isomeric form or mixture of isomeric forms, for example a pure enantiomer, a mixture of enantiomers, a racemate or a mixture thereof. It may be in the form of a solvate, for example a hydrate, thereof, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,974 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,199, and may be present in a particular crystalline form, for example as described in WO95/05805. Preferably, component (A) is formoterol fumarate, especially in the form of the dihydrate.
The tiotropium salt (B) is preferably tiotropium methanesulfonate or , especially, tiotropium bromide,(1xcex1,2xcex2,4xcex2,5xcex1,7xcex2)-7-((hydroxydi-2-thienylacetyl)oxy)-9,9-dimethyl-3-oxa-9-azoniatricyclo(3.3.1.02,4)-nonane bromide, the preparation of which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,163.
Administration of the medicament or pharmaceutical composition as hereinbefore described, i.e. with (A) and (B) in admixture or separate, is preferably by inhalation, i.e. (A) and (B) or the mixture thereof are in inhalable form. The inhalable form of the medicament i.e. of (A) and/or (B) may be, for example, an atomizable composition such as an aerosol comprising the active ingredient, i.e. (A) and (B) separately or in admixture, in solution or dispersion in a propellant, or a nebulizable composition comprising a dispersion of the active ingredient in an aqueous, organic or aqueous/organic medium. For example, the inhalable form of the medicament may be an aerosol comprising a mixture of (A) and (B) in solution or dispersion in a propellant, or a combination of an aerosol containing (A) in solution or dispersion in a propellant with an aerosol containing (B) in solution or dispersion in a propellant. In another example, the inhalable form is a nebulizable composition comprising a dispersion of (A) and (B) in an aqueous, organic or aqueous/organic medium, or a combination of a dispersion of (A) in such a medium with a dispersion of (B) in such a medium.
An aerosol composition suitable for use as the inhalable form of the medicament may comprise the active ingredient in solution or dispersion in a propellant, which may be chosen from any of the propellants known in the art. Suitable such propellants include hydrocarbons such as n-propane, n-butane or isobutane or mixtures of two or more such hydrocarbons, and halogen-substituted hydrocarbons, for example fluorine-substituted methanes, ethanes, propanes, butanes, cyclopropanes or cyclobutanes, particularly 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFA134a) and 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane (HFA227), or mixtures of two or more such halogen-substituted hydrocarbons. Where the active ingredient is present in suspension in the propellant, i.e. where it is present in particulate form dispersed in the propellant, the aerosol composition may also contain a lubricant and a surfactant, which may be chosen from those lubricants and surfactants known in the art. Other suitable aerosol compositions include surfactant-free or substantially surfactant-free aerosol compositions. The aerosol composition may contain up to about 5% by weight, for example 0.002 to 5%, 0.01 to 3%, 0.015 to 2%, 0.1 to 2%, 0.5 to 2% or 0.5 to 1%, by weight of the active ingredient, based on the weight of the propellant. Where present, the lubricant and surfactant may be in an amount up to 5% and 0.5% respectively by weight of the aerosol composition. The aerosol composition may also contain a co-solvent such as ethanol in an amount up to 30% by weight of the composition, particularly for administration from a pressurised metered dose inhalation device.
In another embodiment of the invention, the inhalable form is a dry powder, i.e. (A) and/or (B) are present in a dry powder comprising finely divided (A) and/or (B) optionally together with a finely divided pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, which is preferably present and may be chosen from materials known as carriers in dry powder inhalation compositions, for example saccharides, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides and sugar alcohols such as arabinose, glucose, fructose, ribose, mannose, sucrose, trehalose, lactose, maltose, starches, dextran or mannitol. An especially preferred carrier is lactose. The dry powder may be in capsules of gelatin or plastic, or in blisters, for use in a dry powder inhalation device, preferably in dosage units of 1 xcexcg to 140 xcexcg of the active ingredient. Alternatively, the dry powder may be contained as a reservoir in a multi-dose dry powder inhalation device.
In the finely divided particulate form of the medicament, and in the aerosol composition where the active ingredient is present in particulate form, the active ingredient may have an average particle diameter of up to about 10 xcexcm, for example 0.1 to 5 xcexcm, preferably 1 to 5 xcexcm. The finely divided carrier, where present, generally has a maximum particle diameter up to 300 xcexcm, preferably up to 212 xcexcm and conveniently has a mean particle diameter of 40 to 100 xcexcm, preferably 50 to 75 xcexcm. The particle size of the active ingredient, and that of the carrier where present in dry powder compositions, can be reduced to the desired level by conventional methods, for example by grinding in an air-jet mill, ball mill or vibrator mill, microprecipitation, spray-drying, lyophilisation or recrystallisation from supercritical media.
The inhalable medicament may be administered using an inhalation device suitable for the inhalable form, such devices being well known in the art. Accordingly, the invention also provides a pharmaceutical product comprising a medicament or pharmaceutical composition as hereinbefore described in inhalable form as hereinbefore described in association with one or more inhalation devices. In a further aspect, the invention provides an inhalation device, or a pack of two or more inhalation devices, containing a medicament or pharmaceutical composition as hereinbefore described in inhalable form as hereinbefore described.
Where the inhalable form of the active ingredient is an aerosol composition, the inhalation device may be an aerosol vial provided with a valve adapted to deliver a metered dose, such as 10 to 100 xcexcl, e.g. 25 to 50 xcexcl, of the composition, i.e. a device known as a metered dose inhaler. Suitable such aerosol vials and procedures for containing within them aerosol compositions under pressure are well known to those skilled in the art of inhalation therapy. For example, an aerosol composition may be administered from a coated can, for example as described in EP-A-0642992. Where the inhalable form of the active ingredient is a nebulizable aqueous, organic or aqueous/organic dispersion, the inhalation device may be a known nebulizer, for example a conventional pneumatic nebulizer such as an airjet nebulizer, or an ultrasonic nebulizer, which may contain, for example, from 1 to 50 ml, commonly 1 to 10 ml, of the dispersion; or a hand-held nebulizer, for example an electronically controlled device such as an AERx (ex Aradigm, US) or a mechanical device such as a RESPIMAT (Boehringer Ingelheim) nebulizer which allows much smaller nebulized volumes, e.g. 10 to 100 xcexcl, than conventional nebulizers. Where the inhalable form of the active ingredient is the finely divided particulate form, the inhalation device may be, for example, a dry powder inhalation device adapted to deliver dry powder from a capsule or blister containing dry powder comprising a dosage unit of (A) and/or (B), or a multidose dry powder inhalation (MDPI) device adapted to deliver, for example, 5-25 mg of dry powder comprising a dosage unit of (A) and/or (B) per actuation. Suitable such dry powder inhalation devices are well known. For example, a suitable device for delivery of dry powder in encapsulated form is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,761, while a suitable MDPI device is that described in WO097/20589.
The medicament of the invention is preferably a pharmaceutical composition comprising a mixture of (A) as hereinbefore defined and (B) as hereinbefore defined, preferably together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier as hereinbefore described.
The weight ratio of formoterol, or salt or solvate thereof, to tiotropium salt may be, in general, from 72:1 to 1:160, for example from 72:1 to 1:120, from 72:1 to 1:80, from 60:1 to 1:80, from 60:1 to 1:70, from 50:1 to 1:60, from 60:1 to 1:50, from 50:1 to 1:50, from 60:1 to 1:40, from 50:1 to 1:40, from 50:1 to 1:30, from 50:1 to 1:20, from 50:1 to 1:30, from 50:1 to 1:20, from 50:1 to 1:10, from 40:1 to 1:20, from 40:1 to 1:10, from 30:1 to 1:20, from 30:1 to 1:10, from 20:1 to 1:20, from 20:1 to 1:10, from 20:1 to 1:5, from 16:1 to 1:4, from 10:1 to 1:5, from 6:1 to 1:4, or from 4:1 to 1:3. More usually, this ratio is from 3:1 to 1:3, for example from 2.5:1 to 1:2, from 2:1 to 1:2, from 1.5:1 to 1:1.5, or from 1.5:1 to 1:1.2. The two drugs may be administered separately in the same ratio. Specific examples of this ratio include 3:1, 2.9:1, 2.8:1, 2.7:1. 2.6:1. 2.5:1. 2.4:1, 2.3:1, 2.2:1, 2.1:1, 2:1, 1.9:1, 1.8:1, 1.7:1, 1.6:1, 1.5:1, 1.4:1, 1.3:1, 1.2:1, 1.1:1, 1:1, 1:1.1, 1:1.2, 1:1.3, 1:1.4, 1:1.5, 1:1.6, 1:1.7, 1:1.8, 1:1.9 and 1:2. The above weight ratios apply particularly where (A) is formoterol fumarate dihydrate and (B) is tiotropium bromide. Thus, since the molecular weights of formoterol fumarate dihydrate and tiotropium bromide are 840.9 and 472.4 respectively, the corresponding molar ratios, which apply to any forms of (A) and (B), can be readily calculated. For instance, the above weight ratios of 60:1 and 1:80 correspond to molar ratios of 33.7:1 and 1:142.3 respectively.
A suitable daily dose of formoterol, or salt or solvate thereof, particularly as formoterol fumarate dihydrate, for inhalation may be from 1 to 72 xcexcg, for example from 1 to 60 xcexcg, generally from 3 to 50 xcexcg, preferably from 6 to 48 xcexcg, for instance from 6 to 24 xcexcg. A suitable daily dose of tiotropium salt, particularly as tiotropium bromide, for inhalation may be from 1 to 160 xcexcg, for example from 1 to 120 xcexcg, from 1 to 80 xcexcg, from 1 to 70 xcexcg, from 1 to 60 xcexcg, from 1 to 50 xcexcg, from 1 to 40 xcexcg, from 1 to 25 xcexcg, preferably from 3 to 36 xcexcg, for instance from 9 to 36 xcexcg. The precise dose used will of course depend on the condition to be treated, the patient and the efficiency of the inhalation device. The unit doses of (A) and (B) and their frequency of administration may be chosen accordingly. A suitable unit dose of formoterol component (A), particularly as formoterol fumarate dihydrate, may be from 1 to 72 xcexcg, for example from 1 to 60 xcexcg, generally from 3 to 48 xcexcg, preferably from 6 to 36 xcexcg, especially from 12 to 24 xcexcg. A suitable unit dose of tiotropium salt (B), particularly as tiotropium bromide, may be from 1 xcexcg to 80 xcexcg, for example from 1 xcexcg to 50 xcexcg, preferably from 3 xcexcg to 36 xcexcg, especially from 9 to 36 xcexcg. These unit doses may suitably be administered once or twice daily in accordance with the suitable daily dose mentioned hereinbefore. For on demand usage, unit doses of 6 xcexcg to 12 xcexcg of (A) and 3 xcexcg to 36 xcexcg of (B) are preferred.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, when the medicament of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition which is a dry powder in capsules containing a unit dose of (A) and (B), for example for inhalation from a single capsule inhaler, the capsules may suitably contain, where (A) is formoterol fumarate dihydrate, and (B) is tiotropium bromide, from 3 xcexcg to 36 xcexcg of (A), preferably from 6 xcexcg to 24 xcexcg of (A), especially from 12 xcexcg to 24 xcexcg of (A), and from 3 xcexcg to 80 xcexcg of (B), preferably from 5 xcexcg to 50 xcexcg of (B), especially from 9 to 36 xcexcg of (B), together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier as hereinbefore described in an amount to bring the total weight of dry powder per capsule to between 5 mg and 50 mg, for example 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, 25 mg, 30 mg, 35 mg, 40 mg, 45 mg or 50 mg, preferably 20 to 25 mg, especially 25 mg.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the medicament of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition which is a dry powder for administration from a reservoir of a multi-dose dry powder inhaler adapted to deliver 3 mg to 25 mg of powder containing a unit dose of (A) and (B) per actuation, for example, where (A) is formoterol fumarate dihydrate, and (B) is tiotropium bromide, a powder comprising, by weight, 3 to 36 parts, preferably 6 to 24 parts, especially 12 to 24 parts of (A); 3 to 80 parts, preferably 5 to 50 parts, especially 9 to 36 parts of (B); and 2884 to 24994 parts, preferably 4884 to 14994 parts, especially 4884 to 9994 parts of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier as hereinbefore described.
In accordance with the above, the invention also provides a pharmaceutical kit comprising (A) and (B) as hereinbefore defined in separate unit dosage forms, said forms being suitable for administration of (A) and (B) in effective amounts. Such a kit suitably further comprises one or more inhalation devices for administration of (A) and (B). For example, the kit may comprise one or more dry powder inhalation devices adapted to deliver dry powder from a capsule, together with capsules containing a dry powder comprising a dosage unit of (A) and capsules containing a dry powder comprising a dosage unit of (B). In another example, the kit may comprise a multidose dry powder inhalation device containing in the reservoir thereof a dry powder comprising (A) and a multidose dry powder inhalaiton device containing in the reservoir thereof a dry powder comprising (B). In a further example, the kit may comprise a metered dose inhaler containing an aerosol comprising comprising (A) in a propellant and a metered dose inhaler containing an aerosol comprising (B) in a propellant.
Treatment of inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases in accordance with the invention may be symptomatic or prophylactic treatment. Inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases to which the present invention is applicable include asthma of whatever type or genesis including both intrinsic (non-allergic) asthma and extrinsic (allergic) asthma. Treatment of asthma is also to be understood as embracing treatment of subjects, e.g. of less than 4 or 5 years of age, exhibiting wheezing symptoms and diagnosed or diagnosable as xe2x80x9cwheezy infantsxe2x80x9d, an established patient category of major medical concern and now often identified as incipient or early-phase asthmatics. (For convenience this particular asthmatic condition is referred to as xe2x80x9cwheezy-infant syndromexe2x80x9d.)
Prophylactic efficacy in the treatment of asthma will be evidenced by reduced frequency or severity of symptomatic attack, e.g. of acute asthmatic or bronchoconstrictor attack, improvement in lung function or improved airways hyperreactivity. It may further be evidenced by reduced requirement for other, symptomatic therapy, i.e. therapy for or intended to restrict or abort symptomatic attack when it occurs, for example anti-inflammatory (e.g. corticosteroid) or bronchodilatory. Prophylactic benefit in asthma may in particular be apparent in subjects prone to xe2x80x9cmorning dippingxe2x80x9d. xe2x80x9cMorning dippingxe2x80x9d is a recognised asthmatic syndrome, common to a substantial percentage of asthmatics and characterised by asthma attack, e.g. between the hours of about 4 to 6 am, i.e. at a time normally substantially distant form any previously administered symptomatic asthma therapy.
Other inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases and conditions to which the present invention is applicable include acute lung injury (ALI), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), chronic obstructive pulmonary, airways or lung disease (COPD, COAD or COLD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, bronchiectasis and exacerbation of airways hyperreactivity consequent to other drug therapy, in particular other inhaled drug therapy. Further inflammatory or obstructive airways diseases to which the present invention is applicable include pneumoconiosis (an inflammatory, commonly occupational, disease of the lungs, frequently accompanied by airways obstruction, whether chronic or acute, and occasioned by repeated inhalation of dusts) of whatever type or genesis, including, for example, aluminosis, anthracosis, asbestosis, chalicosis, ptilosis, siderosis, silicosis, tabacosis and byssinosis. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates interactive presentation and educational systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a distributed computer based system, and associated methods of operation, to enable the teaching and or presentation of a subject matter topic to an audience that may be located in one or more locations.
2. Background And Objects Of The Invention
Personal computers have been employed in educational settings for a number of years to support somewhat interactive learning. Early programs would typically operate on `stand-alone` computers, wherein subject matter was presented to one or more users. Questions would then be delivered to the users, and (very often) a response would involve the selection of one of a plurality of listed/suggested choices. Thus, the equivalent of an electronic or computer based multiple choice arrangement would be employed to present information. These programs suffered from several significant limitations. First, if the user or student required additional information, or alternately a clarification of the information provided, such an interactive capability was lacking. Second, when employing standalone computer arrangements, a statistical summary of student performance was not immediate and easy to ascertain. Skilled persons will recognize other difficulties with such limited arrangements.
As the cost of personal computing and advanced networking continued to decline, educational and presentation systems that were once unaffordable or impractical to deploy, could be realized, constructed, and supported, with relatively small budgets. Initially networked arrangements of computers were organized in what were termed "computer labs". The associated programs were delivered from centralized servers, reducing the effort required to load and upgrade software on the individual computers in the lab. As time passed, the level of interactively improved, especially with programs associated with mathematical or `memorization` based subjects, such as biology and history. There is still however, a certain lack of interaction that is possible with such arrangements, especially when employed in class room settings.
There is presently available technology that will enable traditional lecture material to be integrated into a computer based classroom (or presentation environment), wherein the instructor or presenter can present information to an entire class or audience. Further, such systems need to enable oral or computer delivered responses (possibly private and somewhat discreet in nature) and related information to exchange between an instructor and an audience.
Therefore, when considering prior art educational and presentation system architectures, there is a need to provide new and improved arrangements with associated methods of operation, which support the presentation of subject matter in an interactive and somewhat personalized, private fashion. Objects of the present invention are, therefore, to provide new and improved presentation system architectures, and methods of operation therefore, to support the interactive presentation of subject matter to an audience of individuals having one or more of the following capabilities, features, characteristics, and or advantages:
an architecture employing a networked, distributed plurality of computers; PA1 includes a presenter computer and preferably a plurality of audience computers; PA1 may include one or more large display units that are observable by audience members; PA1 significantly improves the interaction between one or more audience members and the presenter; PA1 enables information to be delivered to the entire audience or specific audience members employing respective audience computers; PA1 supports individual interaction between the presenter and audience members or an interaction where the presenter may provide information and or responses to an entire audience; PA1 a scalable architecture; PA1 enables easy management and presentation of selected subject or discussion matter information; and PA1 simple relatively low cost architecture employing embodiments based on many off-the shelf hardware components.
The above listed objects, advantages, and associated novel features of the present invention, as well as others, will become more apparent with a careful review of the description and figures provided herein. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings and the associated description are illustrative and exemplary only, and variations are certainly possible. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to support stands, particularly, to a support stand typically for a flat display monitor. The present invention further provides an elevator for adjusting an altitude of the support stand.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
With the widespread use of computers, display devices of the computers come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and weights. Especially, flat-panel display monitors such as liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, are widely used due to their thin bodies.
Typically, a function of adjusting an altitude of the flat display monitor can be realized via a support stand having an elevator. Referring to FIG. 8, a conventional elevator 100 for a support stand includes a support member 10, an elevating member 20, and a coil spring 30.
The support member 10 includes an elongated main portion (not labeled), and two side portions (not labeled) extending from opposite sides of the elongated main portion. The main portion and the side portions cooperatively define a receiving groove 11 for mounting the elevating member 20. Two guide rails 12 are formed on opposite inner surfaces of the side portions correspondingly. The support member 10 further defines two fixing holes 13 adjacent to top ends of the side portions.
The elevating member 20 includes a middle portion (not labeled), two sliding portions (not labeled) extending from opposite sides of the middle portion, and a connecting portion 21 connected to an end of the middle portion. The middle portion defines two threaded holes 22 in another end of the middle portion opposite to the connecting portion 21. The two sliding portion are configured to engage in the guide rails 12 of the support member 10 correspondingly, thus the elevating member 20 is slidable in the receiving groove 11 relative to the support member 10.
The coil spring 30 includes a first end coiled to a shaft 31 and a second end opposite to the first end defining two through holes 32. The shaft 31 defines two fixing holes 311 in opposite ends of the shaft 31 correspondingly. The shaft 31 is fixed to the support member 10 by using screws 33 to pass through the fixing holes 311 and screwed in the two fixing holes 13 of the support member 10 correspondingly. The second end of the coil spring 30 is fixed to the elevating member 20 by using screws 36 to pass through the through holes 32 and screwed in the threaded holes 22 of the elevating member 20.
In use, the connecting portion 21 of the elevating member 20 supports a flat display monitor. To lower an altitude of the flat display monitor, an external force is applied on the flat display monitor for pressing the elevating member 20 to slide downwards relative to the support member 10. When the elevating member 20 slides a predetermined position, the external force is released. The elevating member 20 with the flat display monitor remains in the predetermined position by an elastic force of the coil spring 30 and a friction force created between the elevating member 20 and the support member 10. To raise the altitude of the flat display monitor, another external force is applied on the flat display monitor for lifting the elevating member 20 to slide upwards relative to the support member 10 to another predetermined position.
However, it is inconvenient to adjust an altitude of the flat display monitor when a user needs to operate the elevator 100 by two hands. In addition, during use, a user may need to exert great effort on the flat display monitor in order to be able to pushing the elevating member 20 to slide relative to the support member 10. Furthermore, the altitude of the flat display monitor cannot be quickly adjusted by the elevator 100.
Therefore, a new support stand for a flat display monitor is desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcomings. An elevator used for adjusting an altitude of the support stand is also desired. | {
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Airbags are commonly used in large vehicles, as to support a vehicle cab on a chassis and to support a trailer on a frame, the airbags absorbing road shocks. A vehicle manufacturer commonly sets a predetermined optimum height for the airbag. An airbag valve, commonly referred to as a leveling valve, maintains a height close to the predetermined height. It does this by flowing air from a pressured air source to the airbag when the height falls below a predetermined height such as 5 inches for a cab airbag and 15 inches for a tractor airbag, and flowing air from the airbag into the atmosphere when the height has increased. A height zone, such as from 14.9 inches to 15.1 inches may be established within which there is no air flow into or out of the airbag. The pressured air source is commonly set at a pressure of perhaps 130 psi, and is used to operate brakes, a horn, a pneumatic seat, and other miscellaneous equipment on the vehicle. The optimum pressure of the airbag may be about 40 psi to 70 psi, the pressure varying with the load.
One type of leveling valve in widespread use is mounted on a vehicle frame and includes a disc that can pivot back and fourth as a handle inner end attached to the disc moves up and down, the handle outer end moving up and down with a vehicle axle. The disc carries inserts that are pressed tightly against a sealing surface of a main valve member that has a slot. As the disc pivots clockwise and counterclockwise, passages in the inserts move over ends of the slots to complete air paths that flow air into or out of the airbag. This type of airbag valve is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,934,320 and 6,202,992.
When the disc is in its neutral position, the airbag height should be at the predetermined height (e.g. 15.0 inches). It is usually desirable that the disc pivot only a small angle such as 1.5° before the airbag is connected to one insert passage that leads to the pressured air or is connected to the other insert passage that leads to a dump (the environment). In one example, the valve handle is 8 inches long, the insert passages lie one-half inch from the disc axis, and the air is supposed to flow when the airbag height changes by about one-eighth inch. The valve parts must be maintained within close tolerances to assure that the air valve slot will not be connected to either insert passage until the disc is pivoted 1.5° in either direction from the initial, or neutral position. Accumulated tolerances in each of several different parts contribute to variations in the required disc pivot angles to connect the airbag to the pressured air source or the dump. If the accumulated tolerances are great enough, there can be a worst case scenario wherein the slot is simultaneously connected to both the pressured air source and the dump, causing continual leakage of air from the pressure source into the environment. To prevent this, the valve parts are made with high precision, resulting in increased cost; also, a greater angle than the optimum of perhaps 1.5° is often resorted to. It is noted that the pivoting of the valve in either direction before it begins a connection to the high pressure source or to the environment, is called the “dead zone” wherein no air flows into or out of the airbag. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a composite harness, a method of manufacturing the composite harness and a composite cable and, in particular, to a composite harness for connecting a wheel side and a vehicle body side in a vehicle, a method of manufacturing the composite harness, and a composite cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, electrically operated brake units are used in vehicles such as automobiles.
Electro-mechanical brakes (EMB) and electric parking brakes (EPB), etc., are known as such electrically operated brake units.
The electro-mechanical brakes, also simply called electric friction brake or electric brake, are configured such that a rotational drive force of a dedicated electric motor mounted on each wheel of a vehicle is controlled according to the operation amount (tread force or displacement amount) of a brake pedal by a driver, so that a piston driven by the electric motor presses brake pads against a disc rotor of the wheel to generate a braking force intended by the driver.
The electric parking brakes are configured such that a dedicated electric motor provided on each wheel of a vehicle is driven based on an operation performed on a parking brake activation switch by a driver after stopping a vehicle, so that a piston driven by the electric motor presses brake pads against a disc rotor of the wheel to generate a braking force.
Meanwhile, in recent years, sensors, e.g., ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System) sensor for detecting the speed of a wheel rotation during motion, air pressure sensor for detecting air pressure of a tire and temperature sensor, etc., are often mounted on wheels of vehicles.
Accordingly, the wheel side and the vehicle body side are connected through composite cables in which a signal line for a sensor mounted on a wheel or a signal line for controlling an electro-mechanical brake and a power line for supplying power to an electric motor of electro-mechanical brake or electric parking brake are housed in one sheath. The composite cables with connectors or sensor portions, etc., integrally provided at end portions are called composite harness.
JP-A-2013-237428 proposes a composite cable provided with plural power lines, a multicore wire (covered signal lines) formed by covering plural signal lines with one inner sheath, and an outer sheath covering the outer periphery of the plural power lines and the multicore wire.
In the composite cable described in JP-A-2013-237428, the plural power lines are in contact with the multicore wire. In addition, in the composite cable described in JP-A-2013-237428, the inner and outer sheath are formed of a urethane-based resin (thermoplastic urethane) which has resistance to chipping due to fly rock, etc., and is easily bent. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus which carries out a control to reduce the consumed power of a laser oscillator.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, there has been known a laser processing apparatus, which is set to a base discharge state with a low discharge voltage in a standard standby state before carrying out laser processing and which makes the base discharge stop and shifts to an energy saving mode when this base discharge state continues for a predetermined time so as to thereby keep down the consumption of energy in the standby period of a laser processing machine. This apparatus is, for example, described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2012-64636 (JP2012-064636A). In general, in this kind of laser processing apparatus, the operation to cancel the energy saving mode is started in a state where operations to select the pressure of the assist gas to be supplied to the laser processing head and select the processing conditions, etc. have been completed. Therefore, there are the problems that a relatively long time is taken until the operation for canceling the energy saving mode is started, the energy saving mode becomes long in duration, and the amount of energy consumption increases.
On the other hand, in a composite processing machine which successively carries out punching and laser processing, there is known an apparatus, which presets the time required for returning from the energy saving mode to the standard standby state (restore time), shifts to the energy saving mode at the time of punching, and starts the operation to cancel the energy saving mode at a time earlier than the starting time of the laser processing by exactly the restore time. This apparatus is, for example, described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2012-171084A (JP2012-171084A).
However, the time of start of laser processing is not necessarily a constant one. For example, if maintenance work or other non-routine work is carried out and the starting time of the laser processing is shifted, it is difficult to start the operation for ending the energy saving mode at a good timing. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for extracting an optical clock signal, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for extracting an optical clock signal using a bi-directional amplifier and a Fabry-Perot filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the increase of transmission speed in optical communication and the development of transmitters converting data into optical signals, the improvement is also needed in a signal processing rate of a receiver, which receives an optical signal and converts it back to the original data. To satisfy the request, methods and apparatuses for extracting an optical clock signal have been devised.
To extract an optical clock signal a method using a self-pulsating laser diode, a method using an optical loop mirror, a method using an optical tank circuit, etc. have been devised. However, it is still difficult to manufacture an optical element for extracting a desired clock signal and an optical system is still unstable.
To overcome these problems, a method of recovering a clock signal using a frequency component existing in an optical spectrum has been suggested. In other words, two adjacent frequency components corresponding to the data transmission rate of a received optical signal are extracted and a beat frequency component, corresponding to the difference between the two spectral lines, is generated, whereby a clock signal is recovered.
In the above-described conventional method, two frequency components are selected from an optical spectrum and adjusted to have the same intensity. Thereafter, a beat frequency component is obtained from the two frequency components, thereby obtaining a clock signal for an optical signal. To select two frequency components and adjust them to have the same intensity, a conventional method illustrated in FIG. 1 is used.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional circuit for extracting an optical clock signal using a tunable band-pass filter 120. Referring to FIG. 1, in order to make first and second frequency components or second and third frequency components have the same intensity in an input frequency spectrum 110, the intensity of the second frequency component should be decreased.
For example an input optical signal with the input frequency spectrum 110 is passed through the tunable band-pass filter 120. The tunable band-pass filter 120 adjusts amplitudes of frequency components, thereby making the first and second frequency components or the second and third frequency components have the same intensity. In detail, the tunable band-pass filter 120 puts the first or third frequency component at a point P1 giving the least attenuation and puts the second frequency component at a point P2 giving the most attenuation to make the first and second frequency components or the second and third frequency components have the same intensity. Reference numeral 130 denotes the characteristic of the tunable band-pass filter 120.
Here, a difference between the intensity of the first frequency component and the intensity of the second frequency component or between the intensity of the second frequency component and the intensity of the third frequency component must be similar to a difference between the attenuation at the point P1 and the attenuation at the point P2 in the tunable band-pass filter 120 to make the first and second frequency components or the second and third frequency components have the same intensity to an acceptable accuracy. When a difference between the intensity difference and the attenuation difference is great, the method illustrated in FIG. 1 is not efficient. In other words, the tunable band-pass filter 120 suitable to the characteristics of the optical spectrum of the input optical signal needs to be used or the tunable band-pass filter 120 needs to be specially manufactured to be suitable to the characteristics of the optical spectrum of the input optical signal. Reference numeral 140 denotes an optical spectrum of the optical signal that has passed through the tunable band-pass filter 120.
Moreover, in the method illustrated in FIG. 1, an extracted clock signal is greatly influenced by the pattern of an input optical signal. In other words, when data of the input optical signal is continuously “0” or “1”, a clock signal component may disappear. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present technique relates to picture processing devices for processing pictures.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a picture processing device for enhancing contrasts in pictures with lower contrasts, there is a picture processing device described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-366121.
The picture processing device described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-366121 is configured to detect signal levels (maximum values, minimum values, APLs (Average Picture Levels) and the like) which are indicative of characteristics of picture signals in each unit field period or in each unit frame period, from brightness signal components of input picture signals and, further, is configured to create tone correction data according to the results of detections of the characteristics of the picture signals. Based on the created tone correction data, the picture processing device performs signal processing for enhancing the contrasts of the input picture signals.
Through the aforementioned operations, tone enhancement is performed for only signals with levels equal to or higher than a tone correction start point, while the tone correction is not performed for signal levels lower than the tone correction start point, in each unit field period or each unit frame period. This enables tone corrections for input picture signals, without inducing black floating, and without enhancing noise feelings in dark portions. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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One way of dealing with a well leaking oil is to drill a side track or lateral through which the oil can be diverted to block the top of the leaking well, thereby stopping the leakage. Thus, drilling a side track or lateral from the surface for colliding with the side of the leaking casing at a certain depth requires guidance of the drilling tool during the drilling process.
In addition, drilling a side track from an existing well in an oil field of several wells all having several side tracks also requires that the drill head can be controlled to prevent collision with other side tracks of the same or other wells.
Thus, there is a need for a navigation system for navigating the drill head into collision with a leaking casing or preventing collision with another side track or well. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid catalyst component having high activity, a catalyst system for olefin polymerization using said solid catalyst component, and a process for producing an olefin polymer using said catalyst system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for producing an olefin polymer using a catalyst system containing a solid catalyst component whose activity is very high not only per transition metal but also per soid catalyst component in various polymerization processes such as slurry polymerization, bulk polymerization, gas phase polymerization, high temperature solution polymerization, high pressure ionic polymerization and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Solid catalysts of high activity used for production of olefin polymer have a very high industrial value because use of such catalysts requires no removal of catalyst residue from the olefin polymer produced and can simplify the process of olefin polymer production. Importantly, their activities must be high not only per transition metal but also per solid catalyst.
When a metal halide compound such as a titanium halide compound, a magnesium halide compound or the like is used in a solid catalyst, the compound is desired to have a sufficiently high activity per solid catalyst for the prevention of corrosion of equipment and apparatus due to active halogen.
In recent years, solid catalysts comprising (a) a transition metal compound such as titanium tetrachloride or the like and (b) a carrier such as magnesium compound have been extensively developed. Many of these catalysts, however, are not satisfactory in activity per solid catalyst (see Belgium Patent No. 759601, Japanese Patent Publication No. 46269/1972, Japanese Patent Publication No. 26383/1972, etc.).
As the solid catalyst component obtained by reducing a titanium compound with an organomagnesium, there are proposed those comprising (a) a Grignard reagent and (b) titanium tetrachloride or an alkoxy-containing titanium halide [see Japanese Patent Application Kokai (Laid-Open) No. 4391/1971, Japanese Patent Publication No. 40959/1972, Japanese Patent Publication No. 39470/1975 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 30102/1975], as well as those obtained by reacting a Grignard reagent and an alkoxy-containing titanium halide compound and then treating the resulting reaction product with titanium tetrachloride see Japanese Patent Publication No. 24361/1982 and Japanese Patent Application Kokai (Laid-Open) No. 115302/1981]. These solid catalyst components, however, are insufficient in activities per transition metal and per solid catalyst component. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A technique called checkpoint/restart has been disclosed as a technique for improving the reliability of computer systems (see, for example, “A Survey of Checkpoint/Restart Implementations”, retrieved online Aug. 24, 2010, <URL:https://ftg.lbl.gov/CheckpointRestart/Pubs/checkpointSurvey-020724b.pdf>). This technique is a method of periodically backing up state information of individual applications or of the entire system so that if failure occurs, the system is restored to the state at the point in time of the backup, from which execution is resumed. As used herein, state information includes the contents of memory and processor register information.
The technique disclosed in “A Survey of Checkpoint/Restart Implementations” is a technique devised to eliminate the need to re-execute a process from the start if failure occurs during a high-level simulation process taking several days for calculation in the field of large-scale computers. Accordingly, a single application program works at one time and checkpoint/restart is used to achieve high reliability for each application. In recent years, an embedded system also performs a process requiring high reliability such as automobile control and, to prevent long-term uncontrollability upon the occurrence of failure, such a system is configured to return to the process promptly after the occurrence of failure, by using the technique of “A Survey of Checkpoint/Restart Implementations”.
In a case of applying the technique of “A Survey of Checkpoint/Restart Implementations” to an embedded system, since multiple applications work cooperatively in the embedded system, a checkpoint/restart has to be set to be performed for all the applications, resulting in decreased development efficiency. Since an embedded system has fewer CPUs and less memory as compared with a large-scale computer, in the case of applying the technique of “A Survey of Checkpoint/Restart Implementations” to an embedded system, the checkpoint/restart is executed for the entire embedded system by the OS, etc.
As a technique to cope with the occurrence of failure in a multi-core processor system having multiple CPUs, a technique has been disclosed, for example, in which thread execution information is saved to memory so that if failure occurs at a CPU, the CPU is substituted with another CPU to execute the process (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-139621). Another technique has been disclosed in which the states of processes under execution are collectively monitored by a monitoring device (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-310632).
Applying the techniques disclosed in “A Survey of Checkpoint/Restart Implementations” and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-310632 to a restoration process executed upon the occurrence of failure in a multi-core processor system yields a technique in which a specific CPU performs a process of saving the state information of the entire multi-core processor system (hereinafter, “Prior Art 1”). An application of Prior Art 1 enables a multi-core processor system to restore the state using the saved state information when failure occurs. | {
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For manufacturing containers made of divided molds, various methods are known. For this purpose, for example injection molding, blow molding or swaging are applied. In many cases, the divided mold serves a better removal or taking out of the formed object so that integral containers result. For swaging of sheets by means of pressure difference, mainly divided molds for the so-called twinsheet method are known such as described in EP-0 579 937 A1. Another kind of forming out of two die molds is described in DE-35 13 388 C2. The thus formed object is compressed along a fitting face of the die molds during the forming method and is welded around its contour. Openings in the molded object have to be introduced into the wall after removal from the mold, particularly for shapes of containers for filling and emptying. Among others, a corresponding method is known from DE-40 23 274 A1.
In order to avoid this additional working step it has already been tried to weld the joining member circumferentially between the flat sheet webs such that the thermally plastified sheets enclose the outwardly projecting part of the joining member and cooling down thereon dimensionally stable (DE-39 29 665 A1 and 29 29 665 A1). Alternatively, it is also known to undercut the flange-like enlargement of an outwardly projecting tube lug. In these cases it is assumed that the forming material encloses, in a flowable state, a joining member such that a welding results, because the sheet material can cool down dimensionally stable in the vicinity of the joining member. However, practice has shown that surface areas of connecting members not heated to be flowable do not form an intimate sealing welding connection, simply by enclosing, any intimate sealing welding connection with the sheet material heated to be flowable.
For smaller containers, the content of which is maximally 20 liters, which in the documents mentioned above is derived from, the described method for connecting the container to the joining members may be sufficient in many cases. However, as far as sealing connections of molded sheets with seal members are requested, which have to withstand high test regulations to transportation safety, the known methods for containers with a content of 30 to 1000 liters and more are not suitable. The method known from DE-39 40 497 A1 is also not sufficient, because there it is assumed that flowable material is flowing into a neck when the joining member is pressed thereon with its face side. This outside connection does not enclose in a sufficiently sealing way a flange member whatsoever type it may be. It is particularly referred to the fact that an enclosure of the pipe socket in the transition range of external pipe surface up to the seam further continuing in the container edge, form a slightly open lip. This is realized because the pressure relations are not sufficient for a closed seam formation in order to form the last portion of a nearly perpendicularly running semicircle. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to binding together a stack of media sheets and a cover. More specifically, the invention relates to binding the sheets and cover using the same imaging material, toner, ink and the like, used to print the text or images on the sheets.
Conventional methods to bind multiple pages together include stapling, clamping, gluing and sewing. Each of these methods add additional xe2x80x9cmixed materialsxe2x80x9d to the final document. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/320,620 filed on May 26, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cBinding Sheet Media Using Imaging Material,xe2x80x9d hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a new method for binding media sheets using imaging material such as toner or ink. In addition to applying imaging material to each sheet in the form of text or other desired print image, imaging material is applied to a binding region of each sheet using a printer or other image forming device. The imaging material is activated. Where laser toner is used as the imaging material, the activation process is called fixing or fusing the toner. Then, the sheets are assembled for binding aligning the binging region on each media sheet with and facing a binding region on an adjacent sheet. The imaging material in the binding regions is then re-activated (re-fused if laser toner is used as the imaging material) to bind the sheets.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the binding region 10 of each sheet 12 of booklet 14 is generally located along a binding edge 16 in the shape of a strip to maximize the area available on each sheet for text and graphics. However, as the size of the binding region decreases, so does the force required to destroy the bond. For example, with a five millimeter wide and two hundred seventy millimeter long binding region 10, the force required to destroy the bond is greater than the force required to destroy the sheets themselves when pulling sheet 12 perpendicularly away from the booklet 14. Referring to FIG. 3, the bond strength, however, is, in many instances, not sufficiently strong to withstand peeling. Moreover, attempting to open the booklet flat, as shown in FIG. 4 may destroy the bond in one or more locations.
What is needed is a reinforced book bound using imaging material that is capable of being opened flat and is not susceptible to peeling.
The present invention is directed to a reinforced book assembled from a stack of media sheets and a cover. Each media sheet includes at least one binding region located adjacent to a binding edge of that media sheet. The binding region of each sheet is aligned with and faces a binding region of an adjacent media sheet. The cover extends at least partially over a first face of the stack, wraps around the binding edges of the media sheets, and extends at least partially over a second face of the stack. The book also includes activated imaging material on the binding region of each media sheet binding the media sheets together as well as activated imaging material on the cover binding the cover to the binding regions on the first and second faces of the stack. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to isotopic separation processes for uranium, and more particular to a method for producing a beam of neutral uranium atoms by vaporizing uranium from a uranium containing compound.
The separation of the isotope U.sup.235 (which is fissionable by neutrons) from natural uranium, a binary mixture containing mainly non-fissionable U.sup.238, or simply the enrichment of the mixture in U.sup.235 are extremely important processes for nuclear applications. The process now used on an industrial scale is the separation by diffusion through a porous barrier, although a number of other processes have been used or suggested including electromagnetic separation (the so-called "calutron" separation), separation by centrifugation, and by thermal diffusion.
More recently isotopic separation by laser has been proposed wherein uranium vapor is irradiated by laser light to preferentially excite the U.sup.235 isotope, as exemplified by U.S. Pats. No. 3,443,087, issued May 6, 1969 and No. 3,558,877, issued Jan. 26, 1971, and by French Patent No. 2,094,967 published Apr. 2, 1972.
Isotopic separation by laser light requires a source of neutral uranium atoms "intense" enough to provide a uranium vapor pressure of about 10.sup.-.sup.2 torr for periods of several hours. Conventional beam sources, in which uranium metal is resistively heated in a tungsten boat, are not practical for this purpose since molten uranium is highly corrosive to tungsten. At 2000.degree.K, where the uranium vapor pressure is barely adequate, a tungsten boat will last only a few minutes. Arc-melting and electron-beam melting are not desirable because these methods create uranium atoms in an excited state rather than the required neutral atoms. Also, a prior known process for producing a beam of neutral uranium atoms, described in J. Chem. Phys., Sept. 1, 1972, page 1975, involved an atom beam source in which uranium metal is vaporized from a tungsten filament. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Model-driven software development is a process of generating software applications from models. Models are an abstraction of the desired application, often represented graphically and in a manner that is comprehensible by an end-user of the software system.
Normally, models are developed and/or reviewed by persons other than software developers, and developers either create code from scratch, or a code generation process is used to produce source code from the models. The resulting source code may be compiled into an executable program and deployed.
This approach has drawbacks in that with each change to the application, the models must be updated and the source code regenerated, rebuilt, and redeployed before modelers can see the results of their changes and perform appropriate tests. Even if this process is fully automated using code generation, it may result in a high level of developer involvement, as well as system downtime when each change is applied to the test system.
An alternative is to dispense with the code generation and compile steps and instead support direct, interpreted execution of the models. Unfortunately, this flexibility comes at the cost of the high level of performance only achievable with compiled code. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Providing the general public with the ability to communicate information to specific persons at particular times is the general goal of a communication system. RF (radio frequency) communication systems provide the aforementioned capabilities in perhaps the most convenient fashion, with communication units that can be installed in a vehicle (mobile communication units) and communication units that can be easily carried in the hand or attached to the person via holster or belt-clip (portable communication units). A communication system accomplishes its purpose, in a variety of ways, by making communication resources available for use by these communication units. Communication resources may be RF frequencies or channels, or pairs of RF frequencies in the case of full-duplex communication. These communication resources may also be time slots in the case of TDM (time division multiplex) systems. Whatever form the communication resources may take, the communication system must allow communication units used by system subscribers to use these resources efficiently.
FIG. 1 illustrates, in block diagram form, a conventional analog communication system of the prior art, generally depicted by the numeral 100. A control console (101), including one or more operator positions, is shown coupled to a base station (102) over a point-to-point communication interface (103). The point-to-point interface (103) may be telephone lines, dedicated hard-wired lines, a microwave link, etc. The console (101) may also be connected to other base stations, repeaters, and satellite receivers as well-known in the art. The communication system (100) as shown supports communication among a number of mobile communication units (104) and portable communication units (105).
From time to time, it becomes necessary for the console (101) to transmit control information to the base station (102) in addition to voice, selective signalling, and other types of normal traffic information intended to be transmitted over the air. Examples of this control information include: transmitter on, transmitter off, etc. In communication systems of the prior art, it was not uncommon to use tone remote control to convey this control information. In a tone remote system, predetermined audio tones would be switched onto the interface (103), corresponding to particular control commands from the console (101). Filters in the base station (102) were responsive to these audio tones, and would cause the desired function to be activated. In other systems, d.c. (direct current) remote control would be implemented. In a d.c. remote control system, current sources of predetermined values would be switched onto the interconnecting interface (103). Devices sensitive to different current levels, such as relays with different pull-in current specifications, would then activate the desired functions. Of course, in a d.c. remote control application, the interface (103) would have to be hard-wired.
As communication systems have increased in complexity, more and more special functions have to be accommodated by any system control protocol. Simulcast, majority voting of input signals, encryption, and site selection are just a few of the functions that require support in modern systems. In the latest digital communication systems, system components are capable of being switched from analog to digital modulation.
Control protocols of the prior art do not provide a large enough command set to encompass the variety of functions available on modern systems. Prior art control protocols are relatively slow to respond, and require additional electronic components in the form of filters or relays in order to operate. In addition, prior art activation signals, such as tones or current levels, do not integrate well with voice and data information being sent to base stations and repeaters for transmission. These activation signals must be sent before voice and data, thus causing additional system delay.
Accordingly, a need arises for a data communication protocol with an extensive command set that eliminates the need for additional electronic components in order to operate. In addition, the data communication protocol should have a fast response time, and should be easy to integrate with voice and data traffic signals. | {
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Systems for processing documents are known. Such systems can receive electronic documents, e.g., as print data, or as physical documents. In operation, the system performs one or more processing steps on the received documents, e.g., in order to print the documents, assemble the documents into mail pieces, to provide the documents with a franking value or otherwise.
During the processing, the received documents are searched to find a barcode marking provided to the document. The barcode can, for example, be used for tracking and tracing purposes. Depending on the system, the settings of the search process are either set manually or automatically.
For example, European patent publication 1 347 372, the contents of the entirety of which are hereby incorporated by this reference, discloses a method and device for printing and preparing mail from a data stream in which the settings are set manually. From amongst the data stream an identification criterion for various pages is selected and the data stream is analyzed to identify the pages concerned. The identification criterion is selected by displaying one or more pages on a display, and selecting by the user a geometric position of the data in the data stream, which serves as an identification criterion. However, a disadvantage of the method and device known from European patent publication 1 347 372 is the manual selection by the user. This disadvantage is especially troublesome in case different types of documents are processed with the system, e.g., with different sizes or different locations of the marking. This requires a manual adjustment of the settings every time a new type of document is processed in order to ensure that the area provided with the document is scanned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,341, the contents of the entirety of which are hereby incorporated by this reference, discloses an automatic postal-code number reading system. The system has a pre-scanning section and a main scanning unit. In operation, the pre-scanning section performs a coarse pre-scan on a relatively broad area of a mail item. The pre-scanning section then determines the location of a postal code within the relatively broad area and delivers x and y coordinates of this location to the main scanning unit. The main scanning unit scans the smaller area defined by the x and y coordinates with a fine scan. The data resulting from the fine scan are transmitted to a character recognition circuit in which the postal code is recognized.
However, a disadvantage of the system known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,341 is that the geometrical position of the broad area has to be pre-defined, i.e., the geometrical position has to be defined before the pre-scanning section performs the pre-scan. Furthermore, scanning the relatively broad area requires a relatively large amount of time.
United States Patent application 2005/0067496, the contents of the entirety of which are hereby incorporated by this reference, discloses a method and system for extracting graphical barcodes from template-based documents. A scanner reads a hard copy of a template based document to produce a digital scanned image of the hard copy. The image is processed by a graphical barcode extractor to determine the type of document template the hard copy is based on. The graphical barcode extractor determines a location of a barcode candidate from the determined type of document template. The image is then cropped based on the location of the barcode candidate, and the cropped image is decoded to extract information.
However, a disadvantage of this method and system is that the template has to be pre-defined before the processing of the image to determine the template. Furthermore, processing of the image to determine the template and a barcode candidate requires a relatively large amount of type and processing power. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to supporting structures for cushioning objects against mechanical shock during shipment and handling. A supporting arrangement is provided that is particularly advantageous for supporting irregular sheet-like shapes such as motor vehicle windshields in a standing or laid-flat orientation. A set of V-shaped supporting structures fit into the peripheral areas of a carton and preferably engage the top, bottom and lateral edges of a windshield or other irregular form. The windshield form may be trapezoidal, in which event the lateral V-shapes are tapered to engage the form snugly, and can be fixed to a carton wall to maintain a predetermined position relative to the form.
2. Prior Art
A variety of packaging products are known for cushioning articles during shipment, handling, storage and other situations in which there is a possibility of damage. The articles typically are protected in the first instance by an external box or carton. Damage to the shipped articles might occur in various ways. Short of damaging the contents, failure of the packaging can occur, presaging potential later damage to the articles because of loss of the protective function for which the container was designed.
Some typical types of damage to articles and/or their containers might result from fallover, inadvertent dropping over a vertical distance, lateral crushing, vertical crushing due to excessive weight loading in a stack, breach of a container by mechanical contact, rupture of seams or closures, loss of container integrity by wetting (especially for paperboard and corrugated craft), etc. Depending on the nature of the article, simple shock can damage the article even while the container envelope remains wholly intact.
It is naturally desirable to protect articles. However it is also appropriate to avoid unnecessarily heavy containers because of the associated expense. The expense of an unduly protective container structure is not limited to the cost of the container, but also may contribute to the shipping expense due to the weight or tare associated with the container and the additional volume of the container beyond the minimum size dictated by the article. Thus there are conflicting design choices to be made, with the optimal container being only just heavy and large enough to do the protective job needed in situations that are likely to be encountered by the container, with due regard to the probability of avoiding potential loss and the value of the article, if the container contents are indeed damaged.
A demanding sort of article for protection during shipping and handling is a glass sheet. Glass needs to be protected from impact. Glass is potentially sharp-edged and breakable. It is advantageously handled in an enclosure rather than directly. As a specific type of formed glass sheet, a windshield is likely to be stronger than a float glass pane of the same size, but on the other hand, is likely to be much heavier may be irregularly shaped, leading to added packaging demands.
U.S. Pat. No. D418,057xe2x80x94Morell discloses a die cut corrugated craft sheet that can enclose around a single windshield for protecting it in shipping. This sort of cover protects the windshield against damage from contact with smaller items, scratches and the like, but not against shock, for example from dropping the entire package from a truck or the like. Such a cover is useful, but does not contribute much in the way of independent support, as does an enclosing carton or box to carry the windshield. The cover functions are substantially limited to surface protection, i.e., wrapping.
One conventional way to protect an article is to provide a durable outer box or carton, and to insert a cushioning material between the article and the internal walls of the box or carton. The idea is to permit the cushioning material to yield resiliently and thus to damp the shock applied to the protected item when a shock is applied externally to the carton. The protected article becomes displaced within the carton. Such cushioning material can be rated for the compressive forces expected and for the weight and fragility of the product being protected. The resilience, damping character and thickness are chosen to provide optimal cushioning.
Cushioning material comes in many forms, and there are tradeoffs associated with the choice of material and how it is arranged. For example, highly resilient material may be a poor choice to protect frangible articles that are brittle or that are subject to resonance. Cushioning materials that are good for damping shocks may have a poor shape memory and become permanently deformed when compressed. Such materials are not effective if repeated shocks occur. If a cushioning material must be very thick, the size of the package becomes large.
An alternative approach that is possibly inconsistent with cushioning is to provide a heavy duty box or container and to support the article very durably therein. Packaging of this type is sometimes used for shipping a number of windshields in a stack, e.g., to an auto assembly plant. A heavy base and enclosing box holds a fixture that has receptacles for a number of windshields that are stacked and individually supported by the fixture. A heavy shipping fixture as described may be effective to protect a stack of windshields because it can only be moved with difficulty and is built of very heavy and durable structures. Such a fixture is heavy and is not justified for shipping single windshields or the like.
A possibly-ideal shipping container would have a carton that is somewhat larger than the article being protected, and has resilient damping structures that are just sufficient to protect the product against shocks applied in any direction, e.g., embedding or suspending the product at equal distance from all the container walls. However, the product may be irregularly shaped and need more protection in one direction compared to another. Also, packing material is less dense than the article and free to move (e.g., polystyrene peanuts), there is a danger that the product will settle into the packing material and not stay centered.
Polystyrene foam cushioning material can be molded in cushioning blocks that are substantially complementary with the product and fit between the product and the container walls. Shipping different objects, however, thus requires different custom sized and shaped blocks, which can be unwieldy or expensive.
Efforts have been made to provide lightweight paperboard supports as fixed spacers between edges of a protected article and internal walls of a carton. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,303xe2x80x94Morell, a die cut paperboard element is erectable into a deformable corner bumper pad that can be packaged, for example to engage between the outside corners of a rectilinear product and the inside corners of a protective carton.
It would be advantageous to provide an optimal container for products such as windshields, wherein the container or carton provides some protection for the product against shocks to the carton. The particular target shipping need is for cartons containing single windshields, shipped by normal commercial carriers such as United Parcel Service, Federal Express, the US Postal Service, etc. In this context, the windshields will be subject to only moderate danger or shock, perhaps typified a fall from a delivery truck. It would be advantageous to provide protection using elements that do not add undue volume or weight to the package.
Windshields are relatively heavy and are sheet-like, which factors lead to substantial load applied to an edge, if the windshield carton is placed upright on any of the edges or ends. Windshields are varied in shape, and it would be advantageous to provide a packing technique that is applicable to a wide range of sizes and shapes. Windshields are typically generally trapezoidal, i.e., wider at the bottom than the top, which presents additional challenges, if the packing technique is to employ a rectilinear outer carton.
It is an object of the invention to make the best use of the minimum amount of packing material needed to support and protect a substantially flat article such as vehicle windshield, for shipping, storage and handling in a protective carton.
It is an object to support the article (e.g., windshield) in opposed cradling structures formed in spacers that hold the edged of the article, somewhat resiliently, at a space from the carton inside walls.
Another object is optimally to form these cradling spacers to account for the packing challenges associated with windshields, including highly variable windshield dimensions for different vehicle makes and models, the particular trapezoidal and curving glass shape of many windshields, the substantial weight applied edgewise when the windshield is standing one end, etc.
The present invention provides an optimal solution for a shipping enclosure for windshields and other products with similar attributes. A packing structure supports the article in a carton, especially a generally trapezoidal laminated safety glass vehicle windshield, to be shipped in a corrugated craft carton. The article (windshield) is suspended by spacers, preferably made of integral die cut and folded blanks, that form resilient cradles along the elongated edge of the article. The carton can be rectilinear, having at each end two spaced side walls coupled by an end wall, generally forming an internal channel portion of the carton, with corners at junctions of the end wall and the side walls. A spacer is arranged to fit into this channel, so as to bear against the sidewalls and the end wall.
The spacer defines an elongated substantially V-shaped fold between two V-wall panels. The edge of the article rests in a bottom of the V-shaped fold. The spacer also has two bearing legs that can be coextensive with the V-wall panels. These legs stand in the corners of the internal channel of the carton. Spacers can be provided on two or four ends in opposed pairs. The pairs on the ends can be tapered for a trapezoidal windshield shape. A compression resistant pad can reinforce the bottom spacer. The top spacer can be placed under fillers so as to engage the article from all sides without undue clearance.
The spacer can have at least two distinct forms, for the top and bottom versus the opposed sides. Each of the preferred forms has at least one base panel, and possibly two base panels, coupled to a fold with at least one of the bearing legs, the base panel being folded to a position parallel to the end wall of the internal channel adjacent to an associated one of the corners of the internal channel.
A compression resistant material can be disposed between at least two of the end wall, the base panel and the bottom of the V-shaped fold. The lateral or carton-end spacers preferably accommodate a trapezoidal windshield shape. For this purpose, the V-wall panels increase in width along the spacer, whereby the bottom of the V-shaped fold is inclined relative to the end wall. Longitudinal shifting of any of the spacers would alter the depth of the V-shaped fold at a given point along the end wall of the carton. According to another aspect, the longitudinal position of the spacers with inclined folds is fixed, e.g., with a staple affixing a base part of the spacer to the carton or a spacing structure abutting the longitudinal end of the inclined-fold spacer. The spacing structure that fixes the inclined fold spacer can be a V-wall spacer on an adjoining end of the carton. | {
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The present disclosure relates generally to automatically and dynamically adjusting policies for controlling robot actions based on inputs from users identifying a requested correction of a performed robot action.
Robots have the capacity to perform a broad range of useful tasks, such as factory automation, cleaning, delivery, assistive care, environmental monitoring and entertainment. Enabling a robot to perform a new task in a new environment typically requires a large amount of new software to be written, often by a team of experts. It would be valuable if future technology could empower people, who may have limited or no understanding of software coding, to train robots to perform custom tasks. This would allow individual robots to be more flexible. It would also enable a suite of custom behaviors to be available at a low price point, which were previously prohibitive due to the limited availability and high costs of robotics experts. | {
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1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to the art of methods and apparatuses for injection molding, and more specifically to methods and apparatuses for a modular injection molding machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Injection molding machines are commonly used in the manufacturing industry. They use a clamping apparatus to hold a mold closed during injection and an extruder/injector to fill a cavity in the mold with an elastomeric material such as rubber or plastic. Typically the elastomeric material is then cured before it is removed from the mold so sometimes these machines are known as presses. There are two main types of clamping apparatuses currently on the market. The first type uses a C frame structure to carry the load which is generated in the closing or opening of the clamp. The second type uses posts or a frame in which the load is located on the same plane with the axis of the frame. A commonly known example of this is a four post press which has the clamp load located in the center of the four posts.
A common problem often encountered in the art deals with the need to expand an existing injection molding machine by adding another clamping apparatus. Typically, an entire new machine must be purchased. Modular machines are available but they only provide room in precise and predetermined locations for the addition of another clamping apparatus. These options are expensive and inflexible.
A problem in the art with the post clamping apparatus is that the posts increase the width of the machine and also requires additional floor space. This limits the minimum center to center distance of an adjacent clamping apparatus. If a part is required with molding at two or more distinct sections, the presses might not be able to be located sufficiently close to each other. This requirement is known in the automotive door seal industry where one part is molded to a second part which is then molded to a third part. One known solution to this problem is to purchase and use a larger press so that both molding can be accomplished at once. Another known solution is to make the molding one at a time. The first solution is quite expensive and the second solution increases inventory, material handling costs and production time due to the transporting requirements.
Another problem with the post clamping apparatus is limited mold accessibility. A post clamping apparatus has, at the most, two completely accessible sides (a two post press).
A problem in the art with the C frame clamping apparatus is the relatively large bending load felt by the C frame. This bending load is a function of the distance between the tips of the "C."
Another problem encountered in the art with both types of clamping apparatuses deals with the common use of a shuttle which moves molds in and out of the press. Typically, a shuttle requires a complex and relatively expensive system of interlocks and motion devices.
Another problem with shuttles is as follows. Typically, on a shuttle press one part is being made (injected and/or cured) in one mold while another part is being loaded or unloaded into a second mold. The problem occurs when the load/unload time of the second mold is less than the injection/curing time of the first mold. When this occurs the operator is not being used at full potential because the operator must wait for the completion of the injection/curing stage of the first mold. The only known solution to improve the productivity of the operator is to purchase a second machine for the operator to operate concurrently. This solution is expensive and typically means that the operator will have a relatively long distance to travel between the two machines.
Still another problem known in the art is that the extruder/injector is often under utilized. After one part has been injected into the mold cavity, if the extruder/injector cannot immediately begin injecting another part it remains idle, wasting the relatively large investment put into it (typically the extruder/injector cost will be about 30% of the total machine cost).
The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for eliminating or reducing these problems. The difficulties inherent in the art are therefore overcome in a way which is simple and efficient, while providing better and more advantageous results. | {
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1. Field
The following description relates to an optical pickup capable of implementing a tracking servo compatibly with optical information storage media having various types, and an optical information storage system including the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to implement a tracking servo, an optical pickup device may split light into zeroth-order light and first-order light by transmitting the light through a grating, and may perform an operation on signals which are obtained by detecting the zeroth-order light and the first-order light.
In the case of using a grating that has diffraction gratings on a single surface for a digital versatile disc-recordable (DVD-R) and a digital versatile disc-random access memory (DVD-RAM), a 2.5 track method is widely used. During the 2.5 track method, a zeroth-order light and a first-order light irradiated on an optical information storage medium are spaced apart from each other by about 2.5 tracks, and a tracking servo error is implemented using a detection signal that is obtained therefrom.
In the 2.5 track method, for example, when a two-wavelength light source is used, a pitch difference for a compact disc (CD) is relatively large. Thus, upon 2.5 track rotation on the DVD-R basis, a phase difference of about 45 degrees occurs in the case of CD-ROM 650 MB.
Therefore, when the 2.5 track method is implemented using a general grating with diffraction gratings on a single surface, it is difficult to precisely implement a tracking servo for a CD. | {
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The present invention relates to a process for determining quality parameters of a transmission link for digital data streams having a cellular structure, in which each cell has a useful field. This useful field can be freely occupied with data such as, a test signal to be transmitted on the transmission link and to be evaluated upon receipt.
Besides physical transmission lines, transmission links for digital data streams include other components, such as switching equipment, standardized terminals, terminal adapters, as well as terminal equipment (for example, telephones or fax units). In digital communication systems, digital data streams are transmitted at a high speed in an organized form over the transmission links. To evaluate a digital communication system, knowing quality parameters of this type of transmission link is important. Quality criteria, may include, for example, whether portions of the data stream have been lost on the transmission link, what transit time the data has required on the transmission link, whether the sequence of the data was retained, and whether single binary-coded data (bits) were transmitted incorrectly. From communications technology, testing transmission links by injecting a test signal on the input side and by evaluating the test signal after it has been transmitted through the transmission link is known.
To accomplish this, U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,192 discloses a process in which a test signal having a pronounced, peak autocorrelation function is applied to a transmission link on the input side. A compensation circuit is arranged on the output side, downstream from the transmission link to be analyzed. After being appropriately adjusted, this compensation circuit is used to compensate distortions of or disturbances in data signals to be transmitted. Those distortions or disturbances result from transmission characteristics peculiar to the transmission links. In the known process, to adjust the compensation circuit; the impulse response of the transmission link to be analyzed is determined from the cross-correlation of the test signal and the output signal. In this manner, the downstream compensation circuit can be optimally adjusted, even given transmission links having unknown or time-variant transmission characteristics, so that a substantially undistorted data signal is received on the output side.
In principle, the test signal can preferably be let-in in empty areas of a digital data stream to be transmitted under field conditions. However, one must be able to reliably recognize the measuring signal that has been let into the digital data stream.
The test signal can preferably be placed in empty areas of a digital data stream to be transmitted under field conditions. However, the ability to reliably recognize the test signal that has been placed into the digital data stream necessary.
The present invention seeks to provide a process for generating and evaluating a test signal for determining the aforementioned quality criteria and which is reliably recognizable as a test signal. | {
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This invention relates, in general, to a method of bonding leads to a semiconductor chip, including, but not limited to a method of controlling the deformation of the bond.
Tape Automated Bonding (TAB) is usually done by gang bonding of a plurality of leads attached to a tape to bonding surfaces or bumps on a semiconductor chip. This is done utilizing a means for applying heat and a constant force to the plurality of leads of the tape and the bumps on the chip. The means for applying heat and force is a bonding tool, commonly referred to as a thermode, positioned on a TAB bonder. During bonding, the TAB leads and the bumps are deformed by the constant force applied by the bonding tool. The plurality of TAB leads are typically tin plated and the bump is typically gold. A gold-tin eutectic bond is formed between the lead and the bump.
In the past, some TAB bonded devices have experienced some problems in reliability due to factors that vary in the bonding process. Factors that can vary within the bonding process include, among others, bond area and hardness of the materials comprising the lead and the bump.
The bond area varies because the incoming TAB lead size can vary as much as +/-10% and the bump size can vary as much as +/-5%. This means that the bond area can vary as much as +/-15%. The variation in the bond area generates a +/-15% variation in stress on the TAB leads bumps and semiconductor chip, because the force applied to the leads by the bonding tool during bonding is constant. This variation in stress causes a large variation in the amount of deformation of the TAB leads and bumps due to the relatively flat slope of the gold modules curve at the bonding temperature, which is typically greater than 300.degree. C. The typical variation in the hardness of the gold bumps is +/-10%. This variation in the hardness of the gold bumps also generates a variation in the stress on the TAB leads and the bumps.
Because of both of these variations, it is necessary for the bonder operators to adjust the bonder force or bonding temperature depending on the variation of the bond area and the hardness of the materials. If the proper adjustments are not made, the TAB leads can be under- or over-bonded, thereby causing rejects. An under-bonded lead is one in which the lead is not deformed enough so that the lead and the bump do not adhere properly. An over bonded lead is one in which the lead is deformed too much, which can result in reduced bond strength and shorting of the lead to other parts of the semiconductor chip. | {
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Network-enabled devices allow people to perform a variety of functions that were previously only performed by a multitude of separate devices. For example, using a network-enabled device, a user may stream media such as music and movies, shop for items or services online, or play video games, activities that previously required the use of a radio, television, in person shopping, or a video game console, respectively. Users today can leverage the more technologically advanced devices to accomplish a number of goals such as having a larger social online presence by being more active with social media sites. For example, a user may post or provide information about where they are, what they are doing, or images of themselves. As users share more information, they may grow more self-conscious of how they look or what they are wearing. However, in today's busy world, it is difficult for users to accurately gauge how certain outfits looked, when a particular outfit was worn, and what composed a particular outfit if they wish to recreate a particular look or style. Current technologies are limited in capabilities to allow a user to recreate a particular look or style and this can be detrimental to their sharing of information and their social activity. | {
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When a light beam is reflected from a sample, its polarization is modified in a way which depends on the structure of the sample, and in particular on its reflection coefficient (rp) parallel to the plane of incidence, and on its reflection coefficient (rs) perpendicular thereto.
Two independent data items are thus obtained, namely the phase difference delta and the amplitude ratio tan psi of the parallel and perpendicular polarizations of the beam reflected from the sample. These ellipsometric parameters are defined by the equation: EQU tan psi e.sup.i.multidot.delta =(rp)/(rs)
where e is the exponential function and i is the unit imaginary vector of complex numbers.
The optical properties of a material are defined by its real index (refractive index n) and its imaginary index (absorption coefficient k). For a thin layer of material, there is a third parameter which characterizes its optical properties: namely its thickness T. In order to characterize a multi-layer sample, three parameters are required per layer, plus the two indices of the substrate. It is then necessary to operate at a plurality of different wavelengths if information is to be obtained on all of the parameters of a multi-layer surface. Further, as the person skilled in the art is well aware, since these measurements are based on a periodic phenomenon, they suffer from ambiguity: the optical period in the layer.
Ellipsometric measurements must therefore be repeated at several different wavelengths. Initially this was done using a laser beam together with a filter for each wavelength.
More recently, spectroscopic ellipsometry has appeared in which the light emitted is taken from a wideband source and a frequency-controlled monochromator is used for separating the various different wavelengths over the entire available spectrum. Such an apparatus is described in an article entitled "Ellipsometrie Spectroscopique" by M..H. Debroux, Ged. A. Vareille, l'Echo des Recherches No. 113, 3rd quarter 1983, pages 61 to 68, and also in a notice from the (French) Centre National d'Etude des Telecommunications (CNET) entitled "Spectroscopic Ellipsometry", edition 20.2.A/CMS, dated 1st March 1984, and published by CNET's Centre Norbert Segard at Grenoble. Reference can be made to these documents for a fuller understanding of spectroscopic ellipsometry.
It also appears that spectroscopic ellipsometry is particularly advantageous for monitoring the manufacture of integrated circuits, in particular during the gas diffusion or ion implanting stages. Spectroscopic ellipsometry can also be used to accurately measure the surface state of a solid, or to investigate a phenomenon relating to such a surface, such as chemical adsorption or absorption.
Thus, a prior art spectroscopic ellipsometry apparatus comprises:
a light source;
a first optical system including a polarizer for illuminating a sample at a sloping incidence with a beam of polarized light which is collimated by a diaphragm;
a second optical system including an analyzer for picking up the light reflected by the sample; and
a photodetector mounted at the outlet from said second optical system.
One of the two polarizing members constituted by the polarizer and the analyzer is subjected to continuous rotation, and in practice to rotation at a constant speed. As a result, the light received by the photodetector is amplitude modulated at a frequency equal to twice the speed of rotation of said member.
Operation is rendered monochromatic either at the light source or else at the photodetector. In spectroscopic ellipsometry, this means that a variable monochromator is located either downstream from the light source or upstream from the photodetector.
Finally, the prior apparatus also includes electronic means for control and processing purposes in order to measure the amplitude of the radiation received by the photodetector as a function of the angle of polarization so as to deduce information concerning the surface state of the sample therefrom in the manner defined above.
In theory, such apparatuses are quite simple. However, they are very difficult to produce in practice, particularly now that laser sources are no longer used and wide band light sources are used instead. Similar remarks can be made about the changeover from discrete optical filters to a monochromator capable of operating continuously over the entire spectrum used.
The main problems encountered are as follows:
Firstly, if the necessary rotation takes place at the polarizer between the light source and the object, any polarization defect in the light source will disturb the measurements. This also applies under opposite circumstances when it is the analyzer which is rotated. In this case, any sensitivity to polarization by the photodetector and in particular any dichroism in its inlet window will degrade measurements.
Secondly, the rotating member, be it the polarizer or the analyzer, produces not only a variable angle of polarization, but also a slight deflection of the beam, thereby causing the beam to follow a circular trajectory. This phenomenon can be compensated at one wavelength only and is therefore incapable of being corrected when a monochromator is used which can be adjusted over a wide optical bandwidth.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved spectroscopic ellipsometer capable of solving the above problems and also of providing other advantages. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a novel class of compounds which exhibit analgesic activity.
Recently, endogenous substances having morphine-like properties have been extracted from mammalian brain or csf. These substances, named enkephalin, have been identified by Huges et al., Nature, 258, 577 (1975) as pentapeptides having the following sequences: EQU H-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Met-OH EQU H-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu-OH.
These compounds are referred to as methionine-enkephalin and leucine-enkephalin, respectively.
Although methionine and leucine enkephalin have been shown to exhibit analgesic activity in mice upon administration intracerebroventricularly [Buscher et al., Nature, 261, 423 (1976)], they are practically devoid of any useful analgesic activity when administered parenterally.
Therefore, since the discovery of the enkephalins, much effort has been devoted to preparing analogs of the enkephalins in the hope of finding compounds having enhanced activity and practical utility due to their bioavailability by parenteral or oral administration.
Dutta et al., Life Sciences 21, pp. 559-562 (1977) report certain structure modifications which, they suggest, tend to enhance potency. They suggest activity can be enhanced by any or all of the following:
(a) substitution of Gly in position 2 by certain D- or .alpha.-aza-amino acids;
(b) conversion of the terminal carboxyl to the methyl ester or the amide;
(c) modification of the Phe in the 4-position by .alpha.-aza substitution, N-methylation, or hydrogenation of the aromatic ring.
In addition, Roemer et al., Nature 268, pp. 547-549 (1977), suggest modification of the Met.sup.5 to its corresponding carbinol and oxidation of the Met sulfur to the sulfoxide as useful modifications.
Another structural modification of significance is that reported in Belgian Patent No. 859,026. This publication suggests enhancement of activity and bioavailability of enkephalin analogs by insertion of a D-amino acid residue in position 2, conversion of the terminal carboxyl to an amide, and N-alkylation of the amino acid residue in position 5.
A class of analogs of enkephalin having a high level of analgesic activity has now been discovered. These analogs are pentapeptides having the residue of a phenylglycyl or a ring-substituted phenylglycyl in their 5-position.
The literature recognizes other pentapeptide enkephalin analogs having an aromatic amino acid residue in the 5-position. For example, Ling et al., "Structure-Activity Relationships of Enkephalin and Endorphin Analogs", Peptides: Proceedings of the Fifth American Peptide Symposium, John Wiley and Sons, New York (1977), pp. 96-99, discloses Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-D-Phe-OH. This compound, however, exhibits limited analgesic potential whereas those of this invention, in which the group in the 5-position is a phenylglycyl moiety, have a startlingly high degree of analgesic activity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to a modular hand guard assembly for firearms. More specifically, the present invention relates to a modular assembly that is affixed to a firearm that facilitates integration and mounting of additional equipment onto a firearm.
In the general field of combat and commercial weaponry, numerous add-on enhancements have become available for attachment to standard firearms thereby significantly upgrading the capability of the firearm. One area within the broad scope of available firearms that is of particular interest is the M16/M4 weapon system typically utilized in military or law enforcement settings. Referring to FIG. 1, the M16/M4 weapon, generally indicated at 2, includes a lower receiver 3, an upper receiver 4, a butt stock 5 extending rearwardly from the upper and lower receivers 3,4, and a barrel 6 that is attached to the front of the upper receiver 4 and extends in a forward direction. The barrel 6 is held in position on the front of the upper receiver 4 by a barrel nut 7 (See FIG. 8) that is threaded onto a threaded barrel receiving receptacle (not shown) located on the front of the upper receiver 4. Most new models of the M16/M4 weapons also include a dovetail interface rail 8 integrally formed along the top of the upper receiver 4. This interface rail 8 provides a convenient mounting point for many of the available accessories for use with the M16/M4 firearm 2 such as scopes, sighting devices, lasers and directed fire devices. Since this interface rail 8 extends only along the upper receiver 4 the interface is limited in length to the length of the receiver 4. The difficulty is that many end users of this weapon system have multiple sighting devices in addition to a variety of lighting devices, accessory handgrips, etc. that are selectively attached to the weapon 2 for enhanced use of the weapon. Generally, there is not enough space on the interface rail 8 of the upper receiver 4 to accommodate all of the accessories that the user may desire to use.
In an attempt to overcome the space limitations, various methods and means have been developed for interchangeably attaching add-on enhancements to firearms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,871 discloses a quickly detachable mounting interface for modular enhancements. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,806 discloses a universal receiver sleeve that increases the available rail space. More specifically, the sleeve has an extended upper interface rail with standard, universal dimensions regardless of the firearm and has a lower interface portion specific to a particular firearm. Another interface system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,650 where an extended rigid interface frame is joined to a firearm receiver and extends forward about the firearm's barrel to a head assembly replacing the firearm's normal front sight. The distal end of the extended rigid frame receiver sleeve terminates in a front sight housing, which provides a housing for advanced laser and sensor components, and the standard front sight bead.
One of the continuing drawbacks of the prior art mounting systems is that they still do not provide enough room along the interface rails to allow multiple accessories to be used in conjunction with one another. Often, since one of the primary accessories used on the upper rail is an optical sight, most other accessories can't be mounted on the upper rail forward of the sight, because they end up blocking the sight. Further, as many of these devices are selectively moved onto and off of the upper rail, it is important that they can be replaced with a high degree of predictability with respect to their alignment (ability to repeat zero).
Accordingly, there is a clear need for an integration system that includes additional mounting interfaces for accessories that reduces interference with other accessories already residing on the upper rail mount. There is a further need of a modular hand guard assembly that provides an easily removed section that allows mounting of an accessory on the forward portion of the hand guard that positions the accessory out of the way of the various sighting devices already positioned on the upper rail. There is still a further need for a modular and integrated switching and control system for activating various electronic weapon accessories from a common location. | {
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The invention relates to solid acceptors suitable for removal of sulfur oxides from gases containing the same and to a process for their preparation. More particularly the invention relates to copper-containing solid acceptors for sulfur oxides which combine the desirable properties of superior stability and activity with a very high capacity for removal of sulfur oxides out of waste gas streams containing the same, their preparation and use in sulfur oxide removal processes.
By the term "acceptor" as herein employed is meant a solid substance which is capable of binding a gas or a gaseous compound either physically or chemically. Such acceptors may comprise a carrier on which one or more metals and/or metal compounds have been deposited. For example, copper and/or copper oxide supported on alumina is very suitable for the removal of sulfur oxides from gases under oxidative conditions. The sulfur oxides-- including both sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide-- are bound by the acceptor as sulfate, thus freeing the gases from sulfur oxides thereby permitting its discharge into the atmosphere without giving rise to air pollution. The loaded acceptor can subsequently be regenerated with a reducing gas which produces a regeneration waste gas rich in sulfur dioxide. This sulfur dioxide-rich gas can be used for the preparation of sulfuric acid or elemental sulfur. The regenerated acceptor is capable of binding fresh quantities of sulfur oxides under oxidative conditions.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,647 (common assignee) acceptors of the above-mentioned type can be prepared from carriers obtained by mixing aluminum hydroxide or alumina with a suitable binder such as clay, and forming the desired carrier bodies by drying and calcining the resultant mixture at temperatures above 780.degree.C. The finished acceptor is then obtained by depositing on the carrier a metal capable of accepting sulfur oxides by impregnation with a solution of the metal compound. Acceptors prepared in this manner offer the advantage of having a very high physical and chemical stability. Such properties are highly desirable, particularly for acceptors which are subjected to the action of both reducing and oxidizing gases at high temperatures. However, a disadvantage of the finished catalysts prepared in this manner is that they generally show a lower activity than catalysts or acceptors based on alumina-containing carriers which have not been calcined at temperatures above 780.degree.C.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,854 (common assignee) describes an improvement on the above-mentioned process for preparation of copper-containing acceptors wherein acceptors having a high initial activity in addition to a good chemical and physical stability are prepared by impregnating alumina-containing carriers, which have been calcined at a temperature above 780.degree.C with a solution of a compound of magnesium, aluminum, titanium and/or zirconium prior to or simultaneously with their impregnation with a solution of a copper compound. However, despite the combination of desirable properties exhibited by acceptors prepared according to this process, they still are not considered optimum since their capacity for removal of sulfur oxides- i.e., quantity of sulfur oxides adsorbed per a given quantity of acceptor- falls somewhat short of the theoretical capacity for an equivalent quantity of active acceptor material. | {
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Spacially manipulative amusement devices have long been known in the art which provide a plurality of individual components which define various preselected geometrical shapes, surface configurations, or the like. A familiar example of this may be seen in the device sold under the registered trademark RUBIK'S CUBE, a representative example of which is disclosed in Erno Rubic U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,116 and entitled "Spatialogical Toy". Yet another such example may be further seen depicted in Wayne Butler United Kingdom patent application Ser. No. GB2116049A entitled "Manipulative Puzzle". Still another example is the amusement device disclosed in David Butler U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,345, issued Nov. 24, 1987 entitled "Manipulative Amusement Device."
In the puzzle disclosed in the latter patent, upper and lower parallel plates are rotatable in parallel planes about a vertical axis. A plurality of cylinder assemblies is carried by the plates and disposed on the outer periphery such that their longitudinal axes intersect to define a regular polygon parallel to the plates. Means are provided for maintaining spatial position of the upper one-half of each cylinder assembly relative to the upper plate, and the lower one-half of each cylinder assembly relative to the lower plate as the plates are rotated in opposing directions. When the plates are rotated such that the upper and lower cylinder halves combine to define the cylinder assemblies, each such cylinder assembly is further rotatable about its longitudinal axis.
Each cylinder assembly is comprised of discrete sections, each preferably having an identifiable marking on its outer surface such as a different color or the like. Repeated rotation of the plates and cylinder assemblies permits selective formation of the cylinder assemblies from any combination of discrete cylinder sections. When the combinations of cylinder sections are randomized, such repeated rotations may result in forming a preselected pattern of such identifiable markings to solve a puzzle as, for example, in forming a plurality of cylinder assemblies each with a different uniform outer surface color.
In the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,345, each of the discrete cylinder sections carried a hemispherical nub at each end which registered with a mating hemispherical detent in the plate collars carrying the cylinder assemblies. The rotary registration of the upper and lower plates also used a "nub and detent" arrangement which required the plates to spread apart a sufficient amount to allow the nubs to ride up and out of the detents as the plates rotated with respect to each other. The "spread" plates returned to a planar surface face contact condition as the nubs on one plate rotated into the corresponding detents or recesses of the other plate. The "spreading" operation depended solely on the inherent elasticity of the material out of which the plates were constructed. Further, the "nub and detent" arrangement is expensive to manufacture. The molding of the projecting nubs and detent holes requires a complex mold that has a sliding mechanism to release from the "blind" holes for the radially spaced detents and the projecting nubs in order to separate the molded part from the mold. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to downlink data transfer in a UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN). A UTRAN wireless communication network 10 is depicted in FIG. 1. The UTRAN network comprises a Core Network (CN) 12, a plurality of Radio Network Controllers (RNC) 14, and plurality of NodeBs 20, also known in the art as Base Stations, each providing communication services to one or more User Equipment (UE) 24, also known as mobile stations, across an air interface within a cell or sector 26.
The CN 12 may be communicatively coupled to other networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the Internet, a GSM network, or the like. Each RNC includes, among other functional modules, a Radio Link Protocol (RLC) 16 and a dedicated Medium Access Control (MAC-d) 18. The RLC 16 transfers data to the MAC-d 18 on a plurality of logical channels 17. With the advent of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), the NodeB 20 communicates with each UE 24 on dedicated channels and additionally broadcasts data packets throughout the cell 26 on a High Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH).
HSDPA utilizes channel-dependent scheduling, whereby data directed to each UE 24 is scheduled for transmission on the shared channel when the instantaneous channel quality to that UE 24 is high. Similarly, fast rate control and higher order modulation are used for link adaptation, wherein the data rate of each transport block and the modulation scheme are varied in response to channel conditions to the target UE 24 (and the capability of the UE 24). In addition, HSDPA employs a hybrid-ARQ (HARQ) acknowledgement scheme, wherein soft values of unsuccessfully decoded transport blocks are retained and combined with the soft decoding results of each retransmission. This allows for incremental redundancy, reducing the need for further retransmissions. Because the scheduling, rate adaptation, and HARQ functions must be close to the radio interface on the network side, a high speed Medium Access Control (MAC-hs) function 22 is added to the NodeB 20. A MAC-ehs function (not shown) is additionally provided in UE 24 capable of receiving HSDPA traffic.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard defines MAC-d multiplexing, whereby data from a plurality of logical channels may be multiplexed into one MAC-d flow and encapsulated into MAC-d Protocol Data Units (PDUs). This functionality was developed for Release-99 channels, when priority-based scheduling on transport channels was performed entirely in the RNC 14. To distinguish the logical channel, a 4-bit C/T field is added to a multiplexed MAC-d PDU header (non-multiplexed PDUs need not include the C/T field). The logical channels that are MAC-d multiplexed in the RNC 14 are handled as one MAC-d flow through the Transport Network (i.e., between the RNC 14 and the NodeB 20 over the Iub) and, typically, as one priority flow (or queue) over the air interface. This enables data from a number of Radio Bearers (RB) to be transmitted over a single MAC-d flow, reducing the number of Priority Queues (PQs) in the NodeB. Additionally, with fewer MAC-d flows, the number of transport network links is reduced, which may alleviate address space constraints in UE 24 having limited MAC-d flow capacity.
The multiplexing MAC-d functionality is depicted in FIG. 2. A C/T multiplexer 28 multiplexes data from a plurality of logical channels into one MAC-d flow. The C/T MUX Priority Controller 30 only performs priority setting for the downlink if the C/T mux 28 is removed. FIG. 3 depicts the mapping of MAC-d flows into PQs 32 in the MAC-hs 22 in the NodeB 20. The reordering of PDUs in MAC-hs functionality in the UE 24 is depicted in FIG. 4. The reordering is performed on a per-PQ 32 basis; thus the UE 24 must configure as many reordering queues 34 as there are PQs 32.
The above-described system is deficient in several respects. First, the MAC-d PDU is ideally octet-aligned. The MAC-d receives RLC PDUs, which are octet-aligned in both acknowledged mode (AM) and unacknowledged mode (UM). However, by adding a 4-bit C/T field to the header, the MAC-d PDUs are no longer octet-aligned. This is problematic for the design of new headers, such as for encapsulating the data in lower network protocol layers, as many headers include a length indicator (LI) indicating the size of the MAC-d PDU. Non-octet alignment means more bits are required for the LI. Non-octet-aligned protocol structures also require more processing.
Second, the multiplexing with the C/T field generates unnecessary overhead, reducing the effective bandwidth of the air interface. A multiplexed MAC-d PDU header includes a 4-bit C/T field indicating a logical channel associated with the data. The MAC-hs later adds an additional 3-bit field indicating the PQ from which a MAC-d PDU is taken for transmission over the air interface. Accordingly, a total of seven bits are used to indicate the logical channel origin of the MAC-d PDU, when only four or five bits are actually needed.
Removal of the C/T field from the header of a multiplexed MAC-d PDU would alleviate both deficiencies. A straightforward solution for then identifying the logical channel origin of the data would be to assign a one-to-one mapping between logical channels and PQs 32, and perform reordering in the UE 24 on a per-logical channel basis. However, this would result in a proliferation of separated MAC-d flows and PQs 32, increasing processing demands in both the NodeB 20 and UE 24. It would also radically alter the multiplexing structure of the MAC by removing the concepts of MAC-d flows and PQs 32. Accordingly, a need exists in the art to maintain the multiplexing structure defined in the MAC but remove or mitigate the deleterious effects of the C/T field, while maintaining the ability to implement a low number of MAC-d flows and PQs 32. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In the use of reflectors for placement on roads or highways in the event of emergencies, it is desirable to have available a reflector which is compact in construction so that it may be readily stored within small spaces of a motor vehicle for possible future use. When a motor vehicle becomes accidentally disabled on a highway, for example, it is advantageous to have several such reflectors available which a vehicle operator can distribute along some length of the highway so as to warn other passing vehicles, as well as to summon help. As a result, it is advantageous that such road reflectors be considerably compact so that a number of them can be stored within a small amount of space within the vehicle, and that they can be quickly set up to operative without requiring special tools or skill.
Road reflectors, heretofore, usable for this purpose, have been complex in construction, costly in manufacture, and required special skill to set up to be in operative position.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a foldable road reflector which is substantially simple in construction and may be economically fabricated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a road reflector of the foregoing character, which is compact and may be stored within a substantially small amount of space.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a road reflector, as described, which is readily maintained in service and has a substantially long useful life. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to display units and more particularly to display units having a frame that is capable of supporting a plurality of trays or shelves when in an assembled position and that is collapsible to a flattened position for bulk shipment.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that collapsible display units constructed of cardboard or other similar materials are well known. However, many of the display units known in the art are cumbersome, difficult to assemble, unstable and not aesthetically pleasing.
What is needed, then, is a display unit that is easy to assemble, is lightweight, durable and stable, and which creates an aesthetically pleasing assembly for displaying products. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor memory device and, more particularly, to a circuit technology for solving a problem which occurs when a ground voltage is applied to a memory cell during a program operation.
In recent years, with growing demand for electronic equipment, particularly mobile phones, mobile music players, digital cameras, and the like, demand for semiconductor devices, particularly flash memories has grown. As a result, vigorous technological development has been undertaken to achieve a larger capacity, a smaller size, a higher-speed program, and a higher-speed read operation.
As a technology for implementing a larger-capacity flash memory, there has been a multi-level technique for a memory cell. According to the multi-level technique, data of 2 bits or more is stored in a memory cell. To implement the multi-level technique, a flash memory using a MONOS memory cell (NROM) has been vigorously developed in recent years. The MONOS flash memory implements multi-level data storage by storing data at physically different two locations in a memory cell, and is used as a flash memory for, e.g., storing the code program of electronic equipment.
A program operation in the MONOS flash memory is performed by applying a positive high voltage of about 9 V to the gate of a memory cell, applying a positive high voltage of about 3 to 6 V to the drain thereof, and applying a ground voltage of 0 V to the source thereof. The program operation in the MONOS flash memory is performed through a CHE (Channel Hot Electron) operation, and a cell current during the program operation has a value as large as about 100 to 200 μA.
FIG. 8 is a view showing a current path during a program operation in a conventional MONOS flash memory. In FIG. 8, a memory cell MC has a gate connected to a word line WL0, a drain connected to a sub-bit line SBL1, and a source connected to a sub-bit line SBL0. The sub-bit lines SBL0 and SBL1 are connected respectively to main bit lines MBL0 and MBL1 via selection transistors S0 and S1. To the respective gates of the selection transistors S0 and S1, selection transistor control signals SL0 and SL1 are given. During the program operation to a memory cell MC, the selection transistor control signals SL0 and SL1 are each in a selected state, while the sub-bit lines SBL0 and SBL1 and the main bit lines MBL0 and MBL1 are each in a connected state.
The main bit lines MBL0 and MBL1 are connected respectively to first column transistors C0 and C1. To the respective gates of the first column transistors C0 and C1, first column transistor control signals CS0 and CS1 are given. During the program operation to the memory cell MC, the first column transistor selection signals CS0 and CS1 are each in the selected state. The first column transistors C0 and C1 are connected respectively to second column transistors B0 and B1. To each of the respective gates of the second column transistors B0 and B1, a second column transistor control signal BS0 is given. During the program operation to the memory cell MC, the second column transistor control signal BS0 is in a selected state.
The second column transistor B1 is connected to a drain voltage application transistor T1, while the second column transistor B0 is connected to a ground voltage application transistor T0. During the program operation, the drain voltage application transistor T1 applies a positive high voltage VPPD to the drain of the memory cell MC, while the ground voltage application transistor T0 applies a ground voltage of 0 V to the source of the memory cell MC.
That is, during the program operation, the positive high voltage VPPD is applied to the drain of the memory cell MC via the drain voltage application transistor T1, the second column transistor B1, the first column transistor C1, the main bit line MBL1, the selection transistor S1, and the sub-bit line SBL1. On the other hand, the ground voltage of 0 V is applied to the source of the memory cell MC via the ground voltage application transistor T0, the second column transistor B0, the first column transistor C0, the main bit line MBL0, the selection transistor S0, and the sub-bit line SBL0. | {
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I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for the slicing of food products such as ham, sausage, cheese and the like comprising a cutting knife which is driven in a rotating manner and/or which circulates in a planetary manner and whose cutting plane extends perpendicular to a product support surface of a product supply device, with the end of the product support surface at the cutting knife side being formed by a cutting edge part which forms a cutting gap together with the cutting knife.
II. Description of Related Art
Clean and flawless cuts are demanded from such apparatuses, which are usually called slicers and which work at very high cutting speeds. Even at these very high operating speeds and in particular also with products which are more difficult to cut up, such clean cuts are difficult to achieve.
In particular the quality and/or the accuracy of the cutting gap formed between the support surface for the respectively supplied product and the cutting knife, which both rotate about their own axis and circulate in a planetary manner, have an influence on the cutting quality.
In practice, the quality and/or accuracy of the cutting gap is impaired above all by depth differences of the cutting knife which are caused by production and which can easily result in deviations arising with respect to the desired cutting gap size, with the desired cutting gap size being zero in the ideal case.
It is the object of the present invention to design an apparatus of the kind initially named in a manner such that differences from the desired cutting gap impairing the cutting quality can be eliminated and thus an optimum and constant cutting gap can be ensured independently of the respectively used knife and also independently of the respective operating conditions.
In accordance with the invention, this object is satisfied in that the cutting edge part is displaceably supported perpendicular to the cutting plane and is resiliently biased toward an abutment and in that the abutment is positioned and the cutting edge part is designed such that the cutting edge part is at least touched by the knife in each knife passage opposite to the bias applied and is in particular deflected slightly against (or opposite to) the bias.
The cutting edge part, which forms the cutting gap together with the cutting knife, is displaced by a minimal amount from its base position due to this design, with the size of this displacement lying in the range of a few tenths of a millimeter.
To ensure a cooperation free of problems between the cutting knife and the cutting edge part in this connection, the cutting edge part is designed in the entry region of the cutting knife with at least one guide surface which ensures that the cutting knife comes into contact with a slightly inclined surface section of the cutting edge part, whereby interfering friction and unwanted wear are practically eliminated. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Large seafaring vessels are commonly powered by large internal combustion engines that require continuous cooling under various operating conditions, such as during high speed cruising, low speed operation when approaching ports, and full speed operation for avoiding bad weather, for example. Existing systems for achieving such cooling typically include one or more pumps that draw seawater into heat exchangers onboard a vessel. The heat exchangers are used to cool a closed, fresh water cooling loop that flows through and cools the engine(s) of the vessel and/or other various loads onboard the vessel (e.g., air conditioning systems).
A shortcoming associated with existing seawater cooling systems such as that described above is that they are generally inefficient. Particularly, the pumps that are employed to draw seawater into such systems are typically operated at a constant speed regardless of the amount of seawater necessary to achieve sufficient cooling of the associated engine. Thus, if an engine does not require a great deal of cooling, such as when the engine is idling or is operating at low speeds, or if the seawater being drawn into a cooling system is very cold, the pumps of the cooling system may provide more water than is necessary to achieve sufficient cooling. In such cases, the cooling system will be configured to divert an amount of the fresh water in the fresh water loop directly to the discharge side of the heat exchangers, where it mixes with the rest of the fresh water that flowed through, and was cooled by, the heat exchangers. A desired temperature in the fresh water loop is thereby achieved. However, the system does not often require the full cooling power provided by seawater pumps driven at constant speed (hence the need to divert water in the fresh water loop). A portion of the energy expended to drive the pumps is therefore wasted. Thus, there is a need for a more efficient seawater pumping system for use in heat exchange systems servicing the marine industry. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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With increasingly high demand for mobile broadband services, network operators are rushing to deploy large-scale networks. Such networks include Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks as well as other types of networks. The services that can be supported on the networks include both data (including video) and voice.
In some wireless data networks (e.g., CDMA2000 EV-D (Code Division Multiple Access 2000 Evolution-Data), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) networks), the maximum bit rates available are governed by both settings in the network (both core and radio) and by a category and/or a capability of the mobile device. In some cases, the mobile device can support higher maximum bit rates than the network can support and, in this case, the network sets the upper limit for the maximum bit rate. When the mobile device transitions from a first network (e.g., a current network or source network) to a second network (e.g., target network), the second network might be able to support a higher maximum bit rate than the first network was able to support. However, since the maximum bit rate has already been set, changes cannot be made when the device transitions to the second network. This is the case even if the device can support a higher maximum bit rate that is also supported by the second network. Thus, even though available, the device cannot take advantage of the higher maximum bit rates, which has a direct impact on the user experience.
The above-described deficiencies of today's systems are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with conventional systems and corresponding benefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following description. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Conventional floorboards are usually joined by means of glued tongue-and-groove joints along their long sides and short sides. In laying, the boards are moved together horizontally, a projecting tongue along the joint edge of a first board being inserted into the groove along the joint edge of a second board. The same method is used for long sides as well as short sides. The tongue and groove are designed merely for such horizontal joining and with special regard to the design of glue pockets and glue surfaces to enable efficient adhesion of the tongue in the groove. The tongue-and-groove joint has cooperating upper and lower abutment surfaces which position the boards vertically to obtain a planar upper surface of the completed floor.
In addition to such conventional floorings that are joined by means of glued tongue-and-groove joints, floorboards have recently been developed which instead are mechanically joined and which do not require the use of glue.
WO 94/26999 discloses a locking system for mechanical joining of building boards, especially floorboards. The boards can be locked by means of this locking system both perpendicular to and in parallel with the principal plane of the boards on long sides as well as short sides. Methods for making such floorboards are disclosed in SE 9604484-7 and SE 9604483-9. The basic principles of designing and laying the floorboards as well as the methods for making the same that are described in the above three documents are applicable also to the present invention, and therefore the contents of these documents are incorporated by reference in the present description.
With a view to facilitating the understanding and the description of the present invention, and the understanding of the problems behind the invention, a brief description of floorboards according to WO 94/26999 follows, reference being made to FIGS. 1-3. This description of the prior-art technique will in applicable parts also be considered to apply to the following description of embodiments of the present invention.
A floorboard 1 of known design is illustrated from below and from above in FIGS. 3a and 3b, respectively. The board is rectangular with a top side 2, an underside 3, two opposite long sides 4a, 4b which form joint edges, and two opposite short sides 5a, 5b which form joint edges.
Both the long sides 4a, 4b and the short sides 5a, 5b can be joined mechanically without any glue in the direction D2 in FIG. 1c. To this end, the board 1 has a planar strip 6 which is mounted at the factory and which extends along one long side 4a, said strip extending along the entire long side 4a and being made of a flexible, resilient aluminium sheet. The strip 6 can be mechanically fixed according to the embodiment illustrated, or fixed by means of glue or in some other fashion. Other strip materials can be used, such as sheet of some other metal, and aluminium or plastic sections. Alternatively, the strip 6 can be integrally formed with the board 1, for example by some suitable working of the body of the board 1. However the strip 6 is always integrated with the board 1, i.e. it is not mounted on the board 1 in connection with laying. The width of the strip 6 can be about 30 mm and its thickness about 0.5 mm. A similar, although shorter strip 6′ is arranged also along one short side 5a of the board 1. The edge side of the strip 4 facing away from the joint edge 4a is formed with a locking element 8 extending along the entire strip 6. The locking element 8 has an active locking surface 10 facing the joint edge 4a and having a height of, for instance, 0.5 mm. In connection with laying, the locking element 8 cooperates with a locking groove 14, which is formed in the underside 3 of the opposite long side 4b of an adjacent board 1′. The short side strip 6′ is provided with a corresponding locking element 8′ and the opposite short side 5b has a corresponding locking groove 14′.
For mechanical joining of long sides as well as short sides also in the vertical direction (direction D1 in FIG. 1c), the board 1 is also formed, along one long side 4a and one short side 5a, with a laterally open recess 16. The recess 16 is defined downwards by the associated strips 6, 6′. At the opposite edges 4b and 5b there is an upper recess 18 defining a locking tongue 20 cooperating with the recess 16 (see FIG. 2a).
FIGS. 1a-1c show how two such boards 1, 1′ can be joined by downwards angling. FIGS. 2a-2c show how the boards 1, 1′ can instead be joined by snap action. The long sides 4a, 4b can be joined by both methods, whereas the short sides 5a, 5b′—after laying of the first row—are normally joined after joining of the long sides, and merely by snap action. When a new board 1′ and a previously laid board 1 are to be joined along their long sides according to FIGS. 1a-1c, the long side 4b of the new board 1′ is pressed against the long side 4a of the previously laid board 1 according to FIG. 1a, so that the locking tongue 20 is inserted into the recess 16. The board 1′ is then angled downwards to the subfloor 12 according to FIG. 1b. Now the locking tongue 20 completely enters the recess 16 while at the same time the locking element 8 of the strip 6 enters the locking groove 14. During this downwards angling, the upper part of the locking element 8 can be active and accomplish a guiding of the new board 1′ towards the previously laid board 1. In the joined state according to FIG. 1c, the boards 1, 1′ are locked in both D1 direction and D2 direction, but can be displaced relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the joint.
FIGS. 2a-2c illustrate how also the short sides 5a and 5b of the boards 1, 1′ can be mechanically joined in both D1 and D2 direction by the new board 1′ being moved essentially horizontally towards the previously laid board 1. This can be carried out after the long side 4b of the new board 1′ has been joined as described above. In the first step in FIG. 2a, bevelled surfaces adjacent to the recess 16 and the locking tongue 20 cooperate so that the strip 6′ is forced downwards as a direct consequence of the joining of the short sides 5a, 5b. During the final joining, the strip 6′ snaps upwards as the locking element 8′ enters the locking groove 14′. By repeating the operations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the laying of the entire floor can be made without glue and along all joint edges. Thus, prior-art floorboards of the above-mentioned type are mechanically joined by, as a rule, first being angled downwards on the long side, and when the long side is locked, the short sides are snapped together by horizontal displacement along the long side. The boards 1, 1′ can be taken up again in reverse order, without damaging the joint, and be laid once more.
In order to function optimally, the boards, after being joined, should along their long sides be able to take a position where there is a possibility of a small play between the locking surface 10 and the locking groove 14. For a more detailed description of this play, reference is made to WO 94/26999.
In addition to the disclosure of the above-mentioned patent specifications, Norske Skog Flooring AS (licensee of Valinge Aluminium AB) introduced a laminate flooring with a mechanical joining system according to WO 94/26999 in January 1996 in connection with the Domotex fair in Hannover, Germany. This laminate flooring marketed under the trademark Alloc® is 7.6 mm thick, has a 0.6 mm aluminium strip 6 which is mechanically fixed on the tongue side and the active locking surface 10 of the locking element 8 has an inclination of about 80° to the plane of the board. The vertical joint is formed as a modified tongue-and-groove joint, where the term “modified” relates to the possibility of joining groove and tongue by inwards angling.
WO 97/47834 (Unilin) discloses a mechanical joining system which is essentially based on the above prior-art principles. In the corresponding product which this applicant has begun to market in the latter part of 1997, biasing between the boards is strived for. This leads to high friction and difficulties in angling together and displacing the boards. The document shows a plurality of embodiments of the locking system.
Other prior-art locking systems for mechanical joining of board material are disclosed in GB 2,256,023, which shows one-sided mechanical joining for the provision of an expansion joint, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,820, which shows a mechanical locking system which, however, does not allow displacement and locking of short sides by snap action. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air conditioning systems for motor vehicles and, more specifically, to a condenser with an integral receiver/dryer for an air conditioning system in a motor vehicle and a method of assembling the condenser.
2. Related Technology
Condenser assemblies for automotive vehicle air conditioning systems typically include a pair of headers and a core having a plurality of tubes, through which refrigerant flows, disposed horizontally between the two headers. An inlet is disposed near an upper portion of one of the headers and an outlet is disposed at the lower portion of either the same or the other header. Within the headers, partitions may be provided to divide the interior space of the headers into more than one fluidly separate spaces. As a result, the refrigerant is caused to flow in a serpentine fashion making more than one path through the tubes between the headers.
Typically attached to one of the headers and in fluid communication therewith is a receiver. Refrigerant condensed in the core flows into the receiver where it is separated into gas and liquid portions. Because the presence of water in the refrigerant will degrade the performance and structural integrity of the air conditioning system, a dryer is often associated with or located within the receiver. The dryer is located within the receiver so that the dryer is in contact with the liquid portion of the refrigerant facilitating the removal of water from the refrigerant. The dryer may itself be comprised of a bag or cartridge containing dryer granulates such as desiccant.
More recent designs of condenser assemblies have integrated the receiver/dryer with one of the headers mentioned above. One process of doing this has been to locate a plate within the header so as to divide the header into a manifold portion and a receiver/dryer portion. One drawback of this construction is that the design requires, for structural integrity of the system, a center line alignment of the core and the header containing the integrated receiver/dryer. Another drawback of this construction is that the joint between the manifold portion and the receiver/dryer portion cannot be inspected after brazing from the outside of the header.
Therefore, it may be desirable to provide a receiver/dryer structure, to provide a manifold structure, and then connect the respective structures. The manifold and the receiver/dryer are typically connected via a brazing method. More specifically, the manifold is positioned in desired location with respect to the receiver/dryer such that a portion of the manifold engages a portion of the receiver/dryer. The respective engaging portions are fixedly connected via a brazing method, such as a brazing oven. However, the manifold and the receiver/dryer may become partially or completely disengaged from each other before or during the brazing process, leading to an insufficient or an incomplete connection between the respective components.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an assembly and a method of assembly in order to sufficiently engage the manifold and the receiver/dryer. | {
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Color filters are used for liquid crystal displays (LCDs), optical filters for cameras, and the like. Color filters may be fabricated by coating a fine region with three or more colors on a charge-coupled device or a transparent substrate. A colored thin film can be fabricated using methods such as dyeing, printing, electrophoretic deposition (EPD), pigment dispersion, and the like.
The color filter is prepared through many chemical treatments during the manufacturing process. Accordingly, in order to maintain a pattern formed under the aforementioned conditions, a color photosensitive resin is required to have a development margin but chemical resistance and thus to improve yield of a color filter.
Particularly, since a color filter of a liquid crystal display device is formed on a TFT array panel using color filter-on-array (COA) method, a process of forming a transparent electrode on a color filter is needed. The transparent electrode may be fabricated by sequentially forming a transparent conductive layer and a photosensitive resin layer on a color filter, exposing and developing and patterning the photosensitive resin layer, and etching the transparent conductive layer with the use of the patterned photosensitive resin layer. The color filter is required to have chemical resistance because the color filter may be exposed to diverse liquid chemicals, such as a stripping solution for developing the photosensitive resin layer. Also, the color filter is required to have heat resistance because a plurality of heat treatments are required to form the color filter.
Accordingly, there is a need for a color filter that has excellent chemical resistance and heat resistance, and can provide a pixel layer having a high contrast ratio. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tube fitting and more particularly to a tube fitting suitable for use in both pressure and vacuum applications.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Tube fittings of the swage variety, such as those manufactured by the Crawford Fitting Company under the tradename Swagelok and the Parker Hannifin Company under the tradename Parker CPI, have been used for many years to connect various types of tubing, including glass tubing, to other structures. These fittings are widely used in scientific and commercial applications where either high pressure or vacuum are involved. With moderate pressure applied by a nut to a ferrule carried by the tube, a reasonable leak-tight fitting between the tube and the structure can be obtained. However, the friction between the nut and the ferrule tends to rotate the ferrule as the nut is tightened, and the friction between the ferrule and the tube tends to rotate the tube as well. Under some circumstances, this does not present much of a problem, but in rigid systems, particularly fragile systems such as those composed of glass, any rotation of the tube as the nut is tightened introduces stress into the system. In extreme cases, this can cause fracture of the glass.
It has now been found that a simple modification to the nut utilized with the swage fitting will reduce the possibility of such fracture by immobilizing the ferrule as the nut is turned. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer graphical user interfaces. More specifically, the invention relates to a system that automatically alters window viewing priority and window size and that automatically alters cache priority for information presented by web browsers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Graphical User Interfaces
Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) provide ways for users of computers and other devices to effectively communicate with the computer. GUIs include graphical images on computer monitors and often consist of both icons and windows. GUIs may also reside on the screens of televisions, kiosks, and automatic teller machines (ATMs). A computer window is a portion of the graphical image that appears on the monitor and is dedicated to some specific purpose. Windows allow the user to treat the graphical images on the computer monitor like a desktop where various files can remain open simultaneously. The user can control the size, shape, and position of the windows.
Although the use of GUIs with windows usually simplifies a user's interactions with a computer, GUIs are often tedious and frustrating to use. Windows must be maintained in a logical manner. Often times, windows obscure one another and are difficult to locate. One convenient way to think of windows is as tiles that overlay one another. Windows that have a higher viewing priority are towards the “front” of the viewing area while windows having a lower viewing priority are more obscured (by the “front” windows) and displayed towards the back of the viewing area.
It is difficult to organize windows and icons when many are similarly displayed at the same time on a single device. A need arises for a system and method of automatically controlling window tiling priority and window size so that users may more effectively interact with and manage GUIs, and, also, so that users can easily find windows relevant to their needs.
Examples of computers that change the display (i.e., viewing) priorities of windows are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,648 issued to Nobuyuki et al. on Nov. 8, 1988. This reference is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Web Page Caches
Computerized information gathering using such entities as the World Wide Web (“Web”) is based around the concept of “pages” of information. A page of information consists of any number of textual, graphical, audio/visual, or other elements (i.e., multimedia information) that are sent upon receipt of a request for that particular page by a computer or other device connected to the network from a server computer that may serve as a host repository for many such pages.
The Web is an extremely widespread information service that can deliver both text and non-text multimedia information (e.g., audio, video and graphics). The Web is a global hypertext system. Hypertext is a computer-based protocol for linking documents to other related documents. Links are embedded within the text of a document in the form of highlighted words or images and, when activated, cause the linked document to be retrieved and displayed. The linked document can itself contain links to other documents, and so on, ad infinitum. Links are most commonly activated by pointing and clicking with a mouse.
A computer system may be attached to an information network, such as the Web, by means of a modem or other network connecting device. Often the user is connected not directly to the information network itself but to an interim computer (network provider) with a direct connection.
The user of the requesting computer may request a specific page by sending a specific page name (such as the Universal Resource Locator, or URL, on the Web) to the network. This name is interpreted and routed to the correct server, which places the requested page data on the network for retrieval by the requesting computer. As mentioned, a page of information may contain “links” (textual or graphical pointers to other pages of information) that are available to the user of the requesting computer. If the user selects one of these links, the name of the associated information page is then requested and the process continues as described above. In this way, the user of the requesting computer can navigate the information network, requesting pages as desired.
While browsing the Web, pages are often stored in cache as a temporary local copy, for example, in a region of local disk storage, so that subsequent browsing to the same information is quicker. For example, a user may use a web browser to visit a web page showing images of cars, and then browse to a web page showing images of tires. By selecting a “back” button on the browser's GUI, the user again browses the page of information containing cars. However, this page, along with the car images, was stored locally on the user's computer when it was first viewed. Thus, this second visit to the car web site need only access the locally stored images. Therefore, the time required to browse the page a second time is shorter than the initial browsing to the page. Because the local storage (cache) available for storing web page information is limited, the portions of the web page cache are often cleared (i.e., deleted) to make room for new information.
A need arises to have a web browser or operating system with a cache prioritizing system so that higher priority information (corresponding to information that is likely to be relevant to a user's needs) is automatically stored in cache for longer periods of time before being discarded than lower-priority information that is not important or relevant. There is also a need to have relevant cached information quickly accessible by hitting a “back-like” button that shows more relevant information before less relevant information.
Examples of computers communicating over a network using web browsers are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,223 issued to Becker et al. on Mar. 2, 1999. This reference is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a control device for a hybrid vehicle provided with a motor for drive, a capacitor, a motor for electric power generation, and an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
A hybrid vehicle provided with a motor for drive configured to generate power for traveling, a capacitor configured to supply stored electric power to the motor for drive, a motor for electric power generation configured to supply generated electric power to the motor for drive, and an internal combustion engine configured to output power causing the motor for electric power generation to generate electric power is well known. For example, an example of such a hybrid vehicle is a hybrid vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-218202 (JP 2014-218202 A). JP 2014-218202 A discloses a hybrid vehicle which is provided with a battery as a main power storage unit and a capacitor as an auxiliary power storage unit capable of supplying electric power to a motor for traveling and allows electric power to be supplied from the capacitor to the motor for traveling in consideration of fuel efficiency. | {
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The present invention relates to an apparatus for use by an athlete or other person for simulating movements required by sporting activities. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus for use in simulating or practicing skating or gliding motion.
Professional and amateur athletes, such as hockey players and figure skaters, require frequent and constant practice in order to perfect their athletic ability and to develop the muscles necessary for maintaining top performance. In the case of skaters, skiers and the like, the facilities required for practicing such activities are not always readily available due to climate limitations and/or space restrictions.
Several devices have been developed which are said to allow the practice of a skating or gliding motion without the need for an ice or snow packed surface as is normally required. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 497,211-Nagin discloses a gliding surface formed of a selected thermosetting or thermoplastic resin with either a glossy smooth surface or with irregularities. The invention disclosed by the Nagin reference requires a skate, ski or other gliding element comprised of a resin having a very low coefficient of friction, but also having associated therewith a friction surface that may be selectively utilized to provide forward thrust, breaking or guiding qualities when required. The device also requires a large area and complex and burdensome installation procedures. For example, a shallow excavation must be made in an available outside area then a concrete curb is formed around the excavated area. The excavation must normally be at or below the level of the normal frost line. The gliding surface requires several panels, each four to eight feet wide. Moreover, the surface contains no means for assuring that the skaters motion is anatomically correct. Other patents which disclose the use of low friction plastic materials in conjunction with artificial skating surfaces include U.S. Pat. Nos. 508,945-Haemer and 4,438,003-Nathaniel et al. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a wireless-to-wireline and wireless-to-wireless communication system that is composed of wireless access networks interconnected via a wireline IP (Internet Protocol) network, and, more particularly, to methodologies and concomitant circuitry for effecting soft handoff in the wireless portion of the system.
2. Description of the Background Art
Today, many different wireless systems exist, ranging from indoor wireless LANs (Local Area Networks) to outdoor cellular systems. Generally, the numerous wireless systems are not compatible with each other, making it difficult to roam from one system to another. Although there have been attempts to unify third-generation wireless systems, incompatible systems are expected to co-exist in the future. Furthermore, wireless LANs and cellular wireless systems are being developed independently, and such systems are also evolving independently. So far, no wireless technology has emerged as a common and long-term universal solution.
IP (Internet Protocol), which is already a universal network-layer protocol for packet networks, is rapidly becoming a promising universal network-layer protocol for wireless systems. An IP terminal, with multiple radio interfaces, can roam between different wireless systems if they all support IP as a common network layer. Unlike today's wireless systems in which Radio Access Networks (RANs) are mostly proprietary, IP provides an open interface and promotes an open market. IP will also enable widely adopted and rapidly growing IP-based applications to run over wireless networks. Moreover, distributed, autonomous IP-based wireless base stations have the potential of making the wireless systems more robust, scalable, and cost effective.
There are, however, many challenges to realizing distributed all-IP wireless networks. For the sake of specificity in discussing these challenges as well as pointing out problem areas, reference is made to FIG. 1. The depiction of network 100 in FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a network that uses IP-based wireless base stations (designated iBSs). The coverage area of the wireless network is defined by a multiplicity of cells (e.g., cells 101, 102, 103). The geographical area covered by each wireless base station is referred to as a cell (e.g., iBS 111 serves cell 101, and so forth). When mobile station 104 moves from one cell (e.g., cell 101 originally) into the overlapping regions (e.g., overlap of cells 101 and 102) of the coverage areas of multiple base stations, base station 111 may perform a “handoff” of mobile station 104 to base station 112. Handoff is a process whereby a mobile station communicating with one wireless base station is switched to another base station during a session. Overlap regions 117 and 118 are coverage areas where handoff is effected. For example, as mobile station 104 moves into region 117 while roaming in cell 101, the radio signal strength from iBS 2 (depicted by reference numeral 115) may be greater than the radio signal strength (114) from iBS 1, so handoff is warranted to maintain the quality of the established session.
Among the key challenges in a distributed all-IP wireless network is how to support “soft handoff”. As suggested above, handoff is the process that allows a mobile station's session-in-progress to continue without interruption when a mobile station (MS) moves from one wireless cell to another. Soft handoff is a form of handoff whereby a mobile station can start communication with the target base stations without interrupting the communication with the serving base station. Thus, soft handoff allows a MS to communicate with multiple base stations (BSs) simultaneously. In particular, soft handoff has been shown to be an effective way for increasing the capacity, reliability, and coverage range of CDMA-based wireless networks. Soft handoff also provides more time for carrying out the handoff procedure.
Soft handoff in a CDMA-based wireless system is the focus of the subject matter of the present invention. In Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) radio systems, a narrowband user message signal is multiplied by a very large bandwidth signal called the spreading signal. The spreading signal is a pseudo-noise code sequence that has a communication signal rate which is orders of magnitudes greater than the data rate of the user message signal. All users in a CDMA system may transmit simultaneously. Each user has its own pseudorandom code for coding its own message signal—each code is approximately orthogonal to all other codes. A receiver is assigned a code to detect a desired user message signal, and performs a time correlation operation to detect only the specific assigned code. All other codes appear as noise due to de-correlation. CDMA is effective in wireless systems because a receiver can be assigned a multiplicity of codes to detect message signals from a corresponding multiplicity of transmitters, thereby engendering the soft handoff process.
An IP router is an IP network device that runs IP layer routing protocol (e.g., OSPF and BGP) and forwards IP packets. The running of a routing protocol decides the “routing policy”, and the forwarding of IP packets realizes the “routing mechanism”. IP packets arriving from the wireline IP network (121) at a given base station (e.g., iBS 111 over wireline path 122 or iBS 112 over path 123) can be routed by the routing mechanism of the base station to mobile station 104 (or other appropriate wireline devices that connect directly to the base station).
Today, the only known approach to designing an IP-based base station is to add (or connect) radio transmission and receiving equipment directly onto an IP router (131). Such a design, however, has a potentially serious shortcoming. In particular, the mobile stations served by different base stations must belong to different IP subnets, that is, the design forces the mobile stations in different cells to be on different IP subnets. (Here, a subnet is used in the sense defined by an IP address, which has the form, for example, “w.x.y.z” (e.g., 129.3.2.14), wherein “w.x” is the network address (129.3), “y” (2) is the subnet address for a device associated with the given network, and “z” (14) is the host address for a device associated with the given network/subnet, such as a mobile terminal or a base station. In terms of FIG. 1, iBS 1 may be assigned the subnet address 2, whereas mobile station 104 may have the host address 14.) Suppose, for the sake of argument, that a mobile station is served by two base stations belonging to the same IP subnet S. Then, both iBSs (IP routers) will advertise to other routers in the overall network that they can reach all the hosts on subnet S. However, each iBS can only reach a subset of the hosts on subnet S (i.e., the set of hosts being currently served by the base station). This means that other routers will not be able to determine which base station should receive a packet destined for a host on subnet S. In other words, packets may be delivered to the wrong base station and consequently cannot reach the destined host.
The fact that mobile stations (MSs) in different cells belong to different IP subnets suggests that an MS may have to change its IP address every time it moves into a new cell. Changing IP address usually takes a long time using today's methods for dynamic IP address assignment (e.g., the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol or DHCP). When certain IP-layer mobility management mechanisms are used (e.g., SIP-based mobility management), a change of IP address can also mean that the old session may need to be modified, or new SIP sessions may have to be established.
Having to change IP addresses when moving from one cell to another also makes soft handoff more difficult to implement. For example, if an MS has to use different IP addresses to receive IP packets from different iBSs, IP packets coming to the MS from different iBSs will not be identical because they carry different IP destination addresses. Consequently, copies of the same packets from different base stations may not be correctly combined by the MS's radio system.
Recently, methods (e.g., HAWAII, Cellular IP) have been proposed to enable MSs to move within a domain of multiple IP subnets without having to change their IP addresses. These methods, however, typically require complex IP-layer signaling and significant changes to the IP routers in the domain. Furthermore, these methods have not considered how to solve the data content synchronization problem.
From another viewpoint, in today's circuit-switched CDMA networks such as IS-95, a centralized Selection and Distribution Unit (SDU) is responsible for data distribution in the forward direction (from BS to MS). The SDU creates and distributes multiple streams of the same data over layer-2 circuits to multiple BSs that in turn relay the data to the MS. The MS's radio system (typically working below the IP layer) collaborates with the BSs to synchronize the radio channel frames and combine the radio signals received from different BSs to generate a single final copy of received data. The SDU helps ensure data content synchronization by ensuring that the matching layer-2 frames sent to different base stations contain copies of the same data. In the reverse direction (from MS to BS), the MS ensures that the matching layer-2 frames sent to different BSs contain copies of the same data. The SDU then selects one of the frames received from different base stations as the final copy of the data.
Accordingly, as evidenced by the foregoing discussion, achieving soft handoff among distributed iBSs introduces several new technical problems that cannot be solved readily by the mechanisms developed for today's centralized circuit-switched wireless networks.
One problem already alluded to is loss of data content synchronization. With distributed iBSs, centralized control entities, such as the SDU in circuit switched wireless networks, will no longer exist. Consequently, even though the CDMA radio system is capable of synchronizing the link and physical layer frames on the radio channel, it cannot, on its own, guarantee that the matching frames from different base stations will carry copies of the same data. For example, IP packets can be lost on their way to the MS, creating random gaps in the packet streams received by the MS from different iBSs. Furthermore, copies of the same data may arrive at the MS at different times due to the random delays suffered by the packets. Random gaps and delays can lead to a loss of data content synchronization. Suppose that packet X is lost at iBS 1 (due to, for example, buffer overflow) but is not lost at iBS 2. Then, another totally unrelated packet Y from iBS 1 and packet X from iBS 2 may arrive at the MS at the same time and the MS's radio system will not be able to tell that they are not copies of the same data and will hence erroneously combine X with Y.
Another problem is how to support soft handoff, which requires a mobile station to receive identical copies of the same data from multiple base stations simultaneously. When the mobile stations served by different base stations belong to different IP subnets, complex IP-layer signaling capabilities (e.g., IP multicast) have conventionally be required to direct copies of the same IP packets via multiple base stations to the mobile station. Furthermore, copies of the same IP packet arriving from different base stations to the mobile station will not be identical because these packets will carry different destination IP addresses. This makes it impossible for the mobile station's radio system to combine the signals from different base stations into a single copy of data.
The art is devoid of a methodology and concomitant systems that effect soft handoff in an all-IP wireless network that uses autonomous iBSs in a configuration having the following characteristics that differentiate the configuration from existing wireless networks: (a) the iBSs use IP protocols for both signaling and transport of user traffic. For example, they may route/forward IP packets based on information carried in the IP headers, perform IP-layer signaling, mobility management and Quality of Service (QoS) management functions; (b) the iBSs function autonomously. There is no centralized signaling and control over the behaviors of the iBSs; (c) the iBSs are interconnected via an IP network which could have arbitrary network topology such as bus, ring, star, tree, etc.; and (d) the cells (a cell is a geographical radio coverage area of a BS) can be arranged in any arbitrary configuration. | {
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At the interface of roots of plants and soil there exists a region which can be abundant with beneficial microbes comprising basically of bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa (amoebae, flagellates, ciliates) and yeasts which live in a symbiotic food relationship with each other. Without going into great detail concerning the roles of all parties, that symbiotic food relationship or microbial nutrient cycle has great benefit to the soil and plants. Certain bacteria and archaea receive nutrition from substances released from the roots of plants, those bacteria and archaea are in turn consumed by protozoa which release substances, in the form of waste, which provide nutrients to the roots of plants, thus creating a nutrient cycle. There is also evidence that applications of compost tea may help suppress plant pathogens. The inventor has done considerable microscopic research on soil and compost microbes. The device and method invented implements the creation of a functional microbial nutrient cycling consortia to be applied to soil and plants, thus initiating or boosting the beneficial microbes at the root/soil interface.
The word compost shall be used henceforth herein to mean compost, vermicompost or both. The operating principle and design of the invented device may be applied to virtually any size of water vessel with adjustment of pipe and diffuser size and of air pump capacity. There are various compost tea making devices being sold, which operate by blowing bubbles into the body of water or use a water pump to circulate the body of water. This device differs entirely by actively circulating the body of water through pipes with use of air alone while concurrently infusing the water with oxygen by way of diffusers secured within the pipes and diffusers submerged in the water. There are several configurations of the device which the user may employ. One configuration has compost placed in free suspension in the body of water with circulating water being returned so as to break the surface tension of the body of water. Another configuration uses a mesh extractor container into which compost is placed and into which the circulating water empties so as to provide the option of compost containment. A third configuration allows the continued use of the mesh extractor container with one or more diffusers placed into it with the compost with the circulating water bypassing the mesh extractor container.
The invented device and method has several benefits when compared to other compost tea devices presently on the market. Other devices for sale and known to the inventor which are air operated simply blow air into the body of water or blow air into an extractor container or both without actuating circulation. Although some of these have claims of actively circulating the water, the inventor has observed no way to measure such circulation. The invented device and method invented easily demonstrates and measures circulation.
Other devices for sale and known to the inventor which do circulate the water do so with water pumps which potentially damage the microbes being extracted with each pass through the pump impellers and the effects on raising the dissolved oxygen are limited compared to those of an air pump.
Judging from the stated recommendations for using many other compost tea devices on the market, the average recommended operational times are limited to twenty-four to thirty-six hours. One might conclude that this time limitation is based on the device's inability to maintain the minimum dissolved oxygen content of 6 PPM (parts per million) necessary to sustain aerobic microbial life. The device and method invented has demonstrated the ability to maintain a dissolved oxygen level of 8.8 PPM to 9.8 PPM in the 50 gallon device configuration operated in excess of 48 hours when using 4% compost, 0.75% molasses, 0.063% fish hydrolysate and 0.25% kelp meal in water with a temperature of approximately 19 degrees Centigrade and having a beginning TDS (total dissolved solids) of 21 PPM. The inventor feels this demonstrates the superior efficiency of the device to raise and maintain the level of dissolved oxygen.
The inventor has sought from the onset of research and development to create a compost tea making device and method which is affordable by homeowners and small farm owners and because of the design simplicity he will accomplish this. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to towed-array marine seismic surveys, and, more particularly, to towed-array marine seismic surveys employing generally advancing curved sail lines, also known as a “coil shoot”.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section of this document is intended to introduce various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention described and/or claimed below. This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. As the section's title implies, this is a discussion of related art. That such art is related in no way implies that it is also prior art. The related art may or may not be prior art. It should therefore be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
The exercise of examining subterranean geological formations for hydrocarbon deposits is known as “seismic surveying”. Sometimes the geological formations lie beneath a body of water. This type of seismic survey is known as a “marine” seismic survey. Marine seismic surveys may be performed in salt, fresh, or brackish waters and are not limited to saltwater environments.
One type of marine seismic survey is called a “towed-array” seismic survey. In such a survey, a survey vessel tows an array of equipment along a straight sail line. The array usually includes a number of seismic streamers, typically up to eight, that can be several kilometers long. The streamers are populated with a number of instruments, most notably seismic receivers such as hydrophones. Sometimes the array will also include a plurality of seismic sources. As the array is towed along the straight sail line, the streamers ideally straighten and roughly parallel each other.
Sometimes environmental or survey conditions adversely impact the shape of the array. Arrays therefore typically include a number of steering devices. Steering devices are typically included on various parts of the array and, in particular, the streamers. Streamer steering devices such as the WesternGeco Q-FIN™ operate with a global system controller that has an overall view of the streamer shape to determine the steering device instructions. Without such a global controller to coordinate the efforts of each individual steering device, the system would be unable to achieve any meaningful steering objectives.
Steering objectives that have been achieved by the WesternGeco global controller include a fan mode, a constant separation mode, and a demanded feather mode. In the fan mode, the streamers are spread relative to each other to avoid collision and tangling. In the constant separation mode, streamer separation is equal from front to tail of the streamer spread, overcoming the so-called trouser effect that results from vessel wake and causes uneven streamer separations towards the spread center. In the demanded feather mode, the streamers have a specified “feather”. This mode is especially useful for so-called 4D surveys, but it is also useful for coverage with respect to the feather along the adjacent line.
The global controller for the spread steering elements in general, and the streamer steering devices in particular, that implement these modes use knowledge of the relative position of those steering elements they must coordinate with to obtain the geophysical or operational safety objective the mode is targeting. The controller possesses communication and processing capabilities to make the necessary steering decisions in a timely manner.
The controller's role places some constraints on its location. For example, a local controller located in the steering device must have a global or at least a subset of the global coordinates of the steering devices it is coordinating with available to it in a time period that allows a steering action that is a reaction to recent positions. A more general solution is to locate a global controller on the towing vessel and design the system to deliver steering instructions based on the global two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinates of the relevant points in the spread.
Today, a new type of towed-array marine seismic survey is being developed known as a “coil shoot”. In a coil shoot, the array is towed on a generally advancing, curved path rather than a straight line. When shooting a coil survey, the streamers are changing their orientation with respect to any local ocean or sea current as they traverse through the coil or curved path. This causes the streamers to drift away from the desired positions if one of the conventional steering modes is in use as these modes are not designed to maintain a curve shape. Instead the streamers may attempt to keep constant separation or feather angle no matter what the streamer shape.
The present invention is directed to resolving, or at least reducing, one or all of the problems mentioned above. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printed circuit board and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of the electronics industry, electronic components are increasingly required to have high performance, be multifunctional and have a smaller size. According to the trend, requirements for substrates used for surface-mounted components such as a system in package (SIP), a 3D package, and the like, to become highly integrated and thinner and have a fine circuit pattern have emerged.
In a surface mount technology for mounting external elements such as a semiconductor chip, and the like, a wire boning scheme and a flip chip bonding scheme are used to electrically connect the semiconductor chip and a printed circuit board (PCB). However, in the case of the wire bonding scheme, since the semiconductor chip is connected to the PCB by using a wire, the size of a module is increased, an additional process is required, and there is a limitation in implementing a fine pitch, so the flip chip bonding scheme is commonly used, instead.
According to the flip chip bonding scheme, bumps made of gold, solder, or any other metals and having a size ranging from tens to hundreds of um are formed on a semiconductor chip or a PCB on which a semiconductor chip is to be mounted, and a semiconductor chip is mounted on the PCB (See Korean Patent Laid Open Publication No. 2001-0107767).
However, as PCBs are becoming fine, an opening of a pad on which bumps are formed is reduced, causing problems such as a degradation of bonding strength between PCBs and bumps, a reduction in mounting stability, defective underfill, and the like. | {
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To print a continuous tone image, customarily a halftoning process is applied to the image. Error diffusion, also indicated as “ED” in this document, is a well-established halftoning technique, especially suitable for printers that are able to produce dispersed dots, such as ink-jet printers.
Several error diffusion algorithms exist, that may be used for grey scale and for color. One way to extend an algorithm from grey scale to color is to apply the grey-scale algorithm separately on each color component.
In general, three methods exist to achieve a grey level in an image: area modulated printing, density modulated printing, and the combination of both. In area modulated printing, gray levels are achieved by applying a marking particle (such as ink or toner) to a smaller or larger area of a receiving substrate (such as paper). For ink-jet, this may be achieved by applying a larger quantity of ink, i.e. applying a larger drop size. In density modulated printing, grey levels are achieved by applying different types of marking particles to the receiving substrate, each type having a different density. For ink-jet, different ink densities (such as e.g. light cyan ink and dark cyan ink) may be used.
More background information on ED can be found in the following three patents, herein each incorporated by reference in their entirety for background information only.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,645 discloses multilevel error diffusion for a grayscale printing device using multiple drop sizes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,671 discloses an error diffusion method for a printing device having multiple ink densities and dot sizes (or drop sizes); the ED levels are translated by a LUT (look-up table) to density/drop size combinations. More information on multilevel error diffusion in general can be found in this patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,714 discloses a multicolor and mixed-mode halftoning method, wherein a printer driver operates a printer capable of multiple dot-placement geometries or resolutions and multiple inks per color channel. The halftoning includes error diffusion.
In ordinary bilevel ED a gray value is quantized by means of thresholding. If the gray value is larger than the chosen threshold, the value is quantized to 1, otherwise it is quantized to 0. The quantisation error is distributed over neighboring unprocessed pixels. Therefore not the original pixel value is thresholded, but a modified pixel value which is equal to the original pixel value plus the quantization error the pixel has received from other, already processed, pixels. This feedback mechanism guarantees that the right mean tone value is produced.
In multilevel ED, the thresholding procedure is replaced by a more general quantization scheme.
The simplest quantization scheme is to quantize the modified pixel value to the nearest quantization level. The quantization error is once again fed to neighboring unprocessed pixels. The more quantization levels, the smaller the quantization error, and the better the quality of the ED image.
The multilevels are realized in practice in ink-jet printers by using inks of different densities, multiple drop sizes (in this document, the drop size is the amount of ink applied to a given pixel), or a combination of both. Error diffusion may also be applied to other printing techniques than ink-jet. Thus, in general, a level may be realized by a combination of a dot area (cf. the area modulated printing discussed above) and a dot density (cf. density modulated printing as discussed above). Some multilevel printing devices may provide such combinations wherein the dot area is kept constant; others may provide combinations wherein the dot density is kept constant; still others may provide combinations wherein both the dot area and the dot density may vary.
In case of a binary ink-jet printer using a light ink and a dark ink we can use a multilevel error diffusion with 3 levels: level 0=no drop of ink, level 1=a drop of light ink, level 2=a drop of dark ink.
Another example of an ink-jet printer with 6 levels: level 0=no drop of ink, level 1=a small drop of light ink, level 2=a medium drop of light ink, level 3=a large drop of light ink, level 4=a medium drop of dark ink, level 5=a large drop of dark ink.
While printing with multiple drop sizes is most often implemented in this way, printing with multiple ink densities is more often implemented by applying a set of inksplit curves, a set of lookup tables transforming each gray value into a set of gray values, one for each ink (e.g. light and dark ink). The thus obtained channels are processed independently by error diffusion algorithms to produce the output image channels. This method provides more control over how much light and dark ink is used to produce a certain tone value than the multilevel ED method. The inksplit method is chosen because the extra control on the ink quantities can be used to eliminate drying problems and image artifacts such as banding. | {
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The present disclosure relates to resource management in job scheduling systems, more particular aspects relate to management of computing resources in a resource pool. In job scheduling environments, various jobs may require computational resources in order to be executed and to avoid violations of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with users. In various instances, pools of computing resources in the job scheduling environment may be modified to increase efficiency of a job scheduling system and may reduce violations of SLAs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a receiver circuit, an electronic instrument, and a signal processing method.
In an electronic instrument including a receiver circuit, an alternating current signal may be generated due to a change in electromagnetic field accompanying the circuit operation of an electronic circuit disposed near the receiver circuit. The alternating current signal may be transmitted to the receiver circuit and mixed into the received signal as an interference wave. Such a phenomenon causes a significant signal deterioration. Therefore, various technologies have been proposed to remove an interference wave superimposed on a received signal.
For example, JP-A-2006-145315 discloses technology which reverses the phase of a signal generated by an electronic circuit using a delay line to generate a signal (hereinafter referred to as “cancellation signal”) which cancels the generated signal, thereby removing an interference wave.
A signal received by a reception section such as an antenna is a weak signal. Therefore, it is a common practice to increase the signal level of the received signal by amplification and process the amplified signal. According to the technology disclosed in JP-A-2006-145315, a contact point of the delay line is provided at a position in the middle of a signal line which connects the antenna and the signal processing system in the preceding stage of the amplification stage, and the cancellation signal is added to a weak signal immediately after reception.
Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately cancel the interference wave component mixed into the weak received signal by accurately controlling the signal level of the cancellation signal added to the received signal. If the signal level of the cancellation signal is inappropriate, the interference wave component may increase due to the cancellation signal having a signal level exceeding a signal level sufficient to cancel the interference wave component, whereby the reception sensitivity may deteriorate. | {
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The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a support for a conduit in a body of a person or an animal, and in particular to a support for a grafted vessel inside a body.
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is considered one of the leading causes of death in both men and women. The disease pathophysiology involves a buildup of cholesterol plaque in a blood vessel to a point where the vessel may be partially, or wholly, occluded.
Two known techniques for treating occluded coronary vessels are Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) for opening the stenotic area with a balloon catheter, usually accompanied by placement of a stent to secure the opening; and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery for bypassing an occluded vessel with a graft implant. Several types of (autologous) coronary artery bypass grafts are known, such as internal thoracic grafts, radial and right gastroepiploic artery grafts, and saphenous vein grafts. These grafts generally originate from the aorta or its bifurcations or are constructed grafts. Synthetic grafts are generally considered alternative to autologous grafts, although their overall performance and patency is still investigated.
Blood flow through a grafted vessel may depend on multiple factors such as vessel length, diameter, shape, angles, flow patterns, etc. The graft position in relation to a target vessel (the vessel to which the graft connects at a distal end) has also an important impact on the flow. For normal blood flow through the bypass to the target vessel, the graft is generally required to be substantially patent, without stenosis or flow disturbances, such as turbulent flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,251 “VEIN PROTHESIS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME”, relates to a prothesis “intended to be implanted in a human patient for forming an aorto-coronary by-pass or another by-pass on other arteries. The prosthesis comprises a normal, unaltered living vein which is taken from the patient himself/herself and which is surrounded by a multiperforated flexible sheath. The inside diameter of the sheath is so chosen that, after implantation, the outside diameter of the vein is maintained by the sheath at a value less than the maximum possible diameter of the vein and that the inside diameter of the vein is suitable for the diameter of the receiver artery.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,659 “METHOD OF MAKING A VASCULAR PROSTHESIS”, relates to “a vascular prosthesis for the replacement of blood vessels in the human or animal body, consisting of a section of a replacement blood vessel (3) which has been taken from a human or animal body and a fibro-elastic tube (2) which is drawn over this vascular section, whose intersecting threads (1) which form the tube wind in spiral form around the longitudinal axis of the tube, wherein the fibro-elastic tube (2) is extended pointwise in the longitudinal direction with alteration of the diameter or is compressed and thereby is caused to contact the replacement vessel evenly over its total area.”
US Patent Publication No. 2004/0215309 “COVERING ELEMENT FOR VEINS, METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE THEREOF IN SURGERY”, relates to “sheathing for reinforcing natural veins for use as surgical implants in the form of textile netting that is configured by forming a seamless, tubular, essentially pile-less, knit fabric and has loops having large, open apertures having essentially polygonal shapes is made available.”
US patent Publication 2007/0293932 “COMPLIANT BLOOD VESSEL GRAFT”, relates to “stents and methods of using stents are provided. Stents of the invention provide external support structure for a blood vessel segment disposed within, wherein the stents are capable of resilient radial expansion in a manner mimicking the compliance properties of an artery. The stent may be formed of a knitted or braided mesh formed so as to provide the needed compliance properties. A venous graft with the stent and a vein segment disposed within is provided, wherein graft is capable of mimicking the compliance properties of an artery. Methods of selecting stents for downsizing and methods of using the stents of the invention in downsizing and smoothening are provided. Methods of replacing a section of an artery with a venous graft including a stent of the invention are provided. Methods of reducing intimal hyperplasia in implanted vein segment in a venous graft using stents of the invention are provided.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,306, “EXTERNALLY STENTED VEIN SEGMENT AND ITS USE IN AN ARTERIOVENOUS BYPASS GRAFTING PROCEDURE”, relates to “an arteriovenous bypass grafting procedure in which a vein segment is implanted into the arterial circulation of a mammalian subject, wherein a non-restrictive porous stent is provided around the grafted vein.” | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to rich text capability for Web based applications and Web browsers, and more specifically, to a system and method for representing and controlling rich text in memory and various text representations.
2. Background Description
Web browser based applications are becoming increasingly popular. These browser based applications necessarily handle documents of various types. However, document handling and management of documents as they change over time to include new or varying content can be very expensive and cumbersome. Flexibility in representing and handling documents, including those stored in relational databases, is limited. One specific example of a major drawback is the lack of a robust rich text capability.
Standard Web browsers do not provide full feature rich text edit functions. This includes, for example, the general lack of ability to change font face, size and color, underline, bold, italic, to create tables and lists (both ordered and unordered), to check spelling, and to add in-line images or file attachments. Further, images and file attachments typically cannot be added as links to other Uniform Resource Locators (URL), or uploaded from a local file system into Binary Large Object (BLOB) data stored on a server.
Some known web browsers have features that allow direct editing of hypertext mark-up language (html) features of a page (i.e., the “content editable” feature) which effectively creates a text area that allows limited rich text editing. These browsers, however, do not provide any method to save changes to rich text that have been made through its editing facilities. Most browsers, however, do not provide any rudimentary text or other type of editing features.
The present invention overcomes the problems set forth. | {
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In a typical semiconductor fabrication process, completed integrated circuit dice fabricated on wafers (for example, wafer 101 of FIG. 1) are subjected to an electrical testing (e.g., wafer probe or wafer sort) step prior to die singulation (i.e., dicing) and device packaging. The wafer probe will electrically test either a small sample of dice on a wafer or test each die separately by an electrical probe.
During the electrical probe, the wafer 101 is carefully mounted onto a movable plate (not shown) with at least three degrees of freedom (usually x-, y-, and z-axis movements). An electrical connection is made via a “probe card” (also not shown) which is a custom built circuit board designed to match a geometry of bonding pads on each die and connect the die to one or more pieces of test equipment. After making electrical contact between the probe card and the die, test programs are run to determine a pass/fail status of each tested die. If a die fails wafer probe, it is typically marked with an ink dot in the center of the die and the wafer 101 is moved into position for testing the next die. At assembly, an inked bad die 105 is discarded and a non-inked good die 103 is prepared for final packaging.
The non-inked die 103 which passed wafer probe could, however, due to its proximity to the inked bad die 105, fail prematurely in the field. Therefore, it is desirable to have a method to anticipate which dice may have a high probability for failure. | {
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This invention relates to communication circuitry, and more particularly to circuitry for handling communication of digital information to which bits are added periodically for synchronization or the like.
A communication protocol that is increasingly of interest is known as “64b/66b encoding.” This is a protocol in which 64 bits of data are scrambled (e.g., to achieve balance between the number of binary ones and the numbers of binary zeros that need to be transmitted so that there is no net DC in the transmission) and two additional bits having a particular sequence are transmitted with each 64 bits as synchronization information. Thus for every 64 bits of information that need to be sent, 64 information bits and two SYNC bits are transmitted. The SYNC bits may be the sequence “10”. Extra bits of this kind may sometimes be referred to herein as “padding.”
Serial communication of padded information can be a challenge because of possibly complicated clocking issues. For example, 66 bits of information may need to be transmitted in the time in which the data source produces 64 bits of real data. Similarly, the receiver circuitry needs to receive 66 bits in the time in which it will subsequently pass on the 64 bits of real data in that 66-bit transmission. | {
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Epigenetic regulation of gene expression is an important biological determinant of protein production and cellular differentiation and plays a significant pathogenic role in a number of human diseases.
Epigenetic regulation involves heritable modification of genetic material without changing its nucleotide sequence. Typically, epigenetic regulation is mediated by selective and reversible modification (e.g., methylation) of DNA and proteins (e.g., histones) that control the conformational transition between transcriptionally active and inactive states of chromatin. These covalent modifications can be controlled by enzymes such as methyltransferases (e.g., PRMT5), many of which are associated with specific genetic alterations that can cause human disease.
Disease-associated chromatin-modifying enzymes (e.g., PRMT5) play a role in diseases such as proliferative disorders, metabolic disorders, and blood disorders. Thus, there is a need for the development of small molecules that are capable of inhibiting the activity of PRMT5. | {
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This invention relates to devices for roping skills training, and particularly, to training devices for steer head roping skills.
Steer head roping is perhaps one of the oldest roping skills practiced by those engaged in cattle ranching operations. It remains a vital skill for those involved in handling cattle on the open range and in other settings, even in the most modem of ranching operations.
Interest in developing roping skills and in roping competition has also steadily increased, particularly with the advent of rodeo and jackpot team roping, which has become one of the more popular forms of equestrian competition. Currently, over a hundred thousand team ropers compete each year for millions of dollars in prize money. These competitions are held throughout the west, mid-west and southern states.
Team roping involves one team member, the header, roping the head and the other team member, the heeler, roping the hind legs of the steer. Because of the highly competitive nature of this event, a high level of proficiency involving split second timing is required for the team member which ropes the head. The high level of proficiency required can only be developed through a considerable amount of repetitive practice.
Because there is only a limited number of practice animals and limited facilities for practicing, the repetitive practice of roping skills on live animals is not practical. It is also not humane because of the cumulative stress and distress imposed on the animals. Furthermore, obtaining and maintaining a collection of livestock and a large arena with the required facilities is very costly. Also, it is very difficult to make efficient use of one""s time in practicing with live animals. Accordingly, there has long been a need for alternative means for practice and training.
Training devices of various kinds have been developed through the years to assist in the training of headers. Since most headers prefer to rope just the horns of the steer, the simplest training device is a set of horns which can be affixed to a bail of hay or any other anchoring object. The simple devices also include a dummy steer head, with dimensions approximating a typical steer head and with horns of a fixed length. These simple devices can also be mounted on a mobile object such as an ATV or a simulated steer pulled behind a motor vehicle to provide for some in-motion training from horseback. These devices require the roper to manually remove the rope from the horns or head of the dummy before proceeding with another practice throw.
Several prior art devices have been developed to deal with these problems and limitations of typical steer head roping dummies. U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,939 to Sprout discloses an apparatus with hinged horns which immediately releases the rope with little resistance. The roper will often have difficulty determining if he has correctly roped both horns. U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,570 to Hallam discloses an apparatus incorporating retractable horns which are remotely actuated and retracted into a hollow steer head, thereby releasing the rope. The horns are then extended back to the roping position for further practice.
Known devices each provide an alternative means for practicing steer head roping without the use of live animals. However, each of these devices fails to meet one or more of the obvious objectives for such a training apparatus.
One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a steer head roping training apparatus which provides for an automatic, quick but confirmable release of the rope so that the roping practice can be immediately repeated without re-setup or other delay.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a steer head roping training apparatus which simulates a typical steer head.
A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a steer head roping training apparatus which allows the ready exchange of horns of various lengths.
A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a steer head roping intraining apparatus which can be readily affixed to an ATV frame or simulated steer for in-motion training.
A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a steer head roping training apparatus which can be readily affixed to popular heeling training apparatuses so that team roping skills of heading and heeling can be practiced simultaneously and in concert by team members.
A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a steer head roping training apparatus which is economical, light and durable. A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a steer head roping training apparatus with inexpensive and easily replaceable parts.
The present invention comprises a simulated steer head with horns of a selected length which are pivotally attached to the simulated steer head in transverse pivot grooves. Downward pivoting of each of the horns is limited to an anatomically correct position and the upward pivoting of the horns is in a plane which is roughly perpendicular to the normal direction of forward movement of the simulated animal or may be angled rearward from the vertical so that the tips of the horn rotate somewhat rearward as they are pivoted upward. This pivot angle is determined by the angle of inclination of the pivot groove and the corresponding pivot bolt axis. A tension spring extends between spring anchors on the bottom or the inside end of each of the horns, thereby maintaining the horns in the downward anatomically correct position until they are urged upward during roping practice.
As the user lassos the horns and pulls on the rope, thereby tightening the rope around the horns, the horns pivot with the tips rotating upward, thereby releasing the rope for the next roping practice attempt. Some embodiments also provide for somewhat rearward rotation of the tips of the horns as they rotate upward, thereby facilitating the release of the rope. A tension spring provides desired resistance to the release, thereby providing the user an opportunity to determine that both horns have been appropriately roped. Upon the release of the rope, the horns snap back to the anatomically correct position, ready for another roping attempt.
The apparatus of the present invention may also be equipped with a pivot mount, such as a hay bracket, at the rear end of the simulated steer head by which the head can be pivotally mounted to a support. This pivot mount limits the downward rotation of the head to an anatomically correct forward down position, but allows upward rotation as the rope is tightened and pulled on the horns by the user, thereby facilitating the release of the rope by the apparatus. | {
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The glass substrate used for various end uses, such as LCD substrates, must be as nearly free of defects as possible. One of the most pernicious defects is gas-filled bubbles, commonly referred to as seeds or blisters. When in the body of the glass, bubbles can refract light, thus distorting the image. For LCD substrates, when at the surface, the bubbles deform the transistor itself, and thus compromise the performance of the entire device.
The process of removing gaseous inclusions from a melt is referred to as fining or refining, and chemical constituents added to produce a fining effect are called fining agents. LCD substrates have been manufactured in the art using oxides or acids of arsenic as a fining agent. Represented as As2O5, this commonly constitutes 0.9-1.1 wt % of the glass. It is believed to achieve bubble-free glass by reducing from +5 to +3 at high temperature, after most melting is complete. This reduction releases oxygen, which fills remaining bubbles and causes them to rise out of the glass. Arsenic is an outstanding fining agent, producing virtually bubble-free glass with very little process intervention. Unfortunately, it is also a toxic element, one of the eight listed heavy metals in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The processing of the glass surface results in arsenic-bearing waste that is expensive to process. Furthermore, “cradle-to-grave” responsibility for generating arsenic-containing glass is a potential burden.
Antimony oxide (Sb2O3) is also used as a fining agent. However, it is much less effective than arsenic oxide, because it loses its oxygen at lower temperature, before melting is complete. Furthermore, antimony is closely related to arsenic in terms of its chemical behavior, and so, poses many of the same challenges for waste streams.
Tin oxide (SnO2) is not toxic and has been used as a fining agent. But its very low solubility at the forming temperature of LCD glasses (˜0.15 wt %) limit how much can be added, and therefore, compromises its efficacy.
There is a need to address the aforementioned problems and other shortcomings associated with the traditional fining agents and the traditional approaches for fining glass. These needs and other needs are satisfied by the fining agent technology of the present invention. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Data is often input to computers or processors using optical input systems. One rapid method of inputting data into a processor employs bar code symbologies, where data is encoded in varying widths, bars, and spaces. An optical input system such as an LED pen or laser scanner provides information to the processor of a bar code reader, where the information represents the widths of the bars and spaces.
The processor in turn decodes these widths into appropriate data characters. To improve information density, linear bar code symbologies are being replaced by two-dimensional bar code symbologies. Two-dimensional symbologies, as opposed to traditional bar code symbologies, encode data in two directions. While two-dimensional symbologies, such as PDF417, can be read and decoded using a laser scanner, most two-dimensional symbologies require a two-dimensional image to be captured, digitized and analyzed. For example, a two-dimensional charge-coupled device (CCD) produces a series of electrical signals that represent an image, much like a digital photograph. A processor then stores and analyzes the digital image to locate and decode a two-dimensional symbol located within the image.
Laser scanners in point-of-sale terminals are specifically designed to rapidly decode linear bar code symbols (particularly UPC symbols) on products. Such laser scanner point-of-sale terminals can read only bar code symbols, and typically only bar code symbols selected from a preprogrammed symbology. Readers for two-dimensional symbologies are more complex, because they must identify at least one type of two-dimensional symbology within a field of background noise (e.g. text). While two-dimensional readers can decode a larger number of machine-readable symbologies, such two-dimensional readers are restricted to inputting and decoding machine-readable symbologies.
An operator of a reader or a cashier at a point-of-sale terminal must manually input any additional information into a reader or cash register by either receiving verbal information from a customer or reading data from a document (e.g., coupon), and then manually inputting the data. Other input devices are necessary to input additional data, such as card readers for reading magnetic stripes on credit cards. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a storage compartment of a motorcycle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a storage compartment provided on a leg shield of a motorcycle, wherein the leg shield covers the front of driver's legs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motorcycles, and scooter-type motorcycles in particular, often include a storage area or compartment provided on a leg shield, which covers the front of driver's legs. For example, Japanese Application No. 58-6777 proposes, as a storage compartment of this kind, a construction in which an inner housing separate of a leg shield is arranged on a side of the leg shield toward a driver. The inner housing is fixed to the leg shield by a plurality of screws which are inserted from a driver's side, through the inner housing and into the leg shield. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical module such as an optical branching filter or a light switch in WDM communication and an optical module unit forming the optical module.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A schematic structure of an optical branching filter for use in WDM communication disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-142102 and the like is shown in FIG. 8. An outgoing light from an outgoing side optical fiber 100 is collimated by a lens 101 to have parallel light. This parallel light is then sent to a branching filter 102. Only light with a wavelength of λi is transmitted through the branching filter 102. The transmitted light with the wavelength λi is then condensed by a lens 103 and enters an incoming side optical fiber 104. The light with remaining wavelength (λ1, λ2 . . . λn−λi) reflected at the branching filter 102 returns again to the outgoing side optical fiber 100 through the lens 101.
FIG. 8 shows a principle of structure. Practically, as shown in FIG. 9, it is necessary to cause the light (λ1, λ2 . . . λn−λi) with remaining wavelength reflected at the branching filter 102 to enter the other optical fiber 105 and take it out. In this case, it is not possible to hold optical fibers 100, 104 and 105 at right angles to optical fiber blocks 106, 107. Thus, the optical fibers 100, 104, and 105 must be inserted obliquely into the optical fiber blocks 106, 107.
Obliquely inserting the optical fibers into the optical fiber blocks makes the assembly difficult and no adjustment can be made.
Now, as shown in FIG. 10, it has also been considered to hold the optical fibers 100, 104 and 105 perpendicular to the optical fiber blocks 106, 107 by employing refractive index distribution type rod lenses 108, 109.
By employing the refractive index distribution type rod lens, it is possible to make all the optical axes of optical fibers parallel, but in the case where there are many input and output, there is a problem that it is difficult to arrange each rod lens precisely. | {
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Hyaluronic acid (also called Hyaluronan or sodium hyaluronate), abbreviated as HA, is a non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan distributed widely throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues. It is one of the chief components of the extracellular matrix and contributes significantly to cell proliferation and migration. HA may also be involved in the progression of some malignant tumors. The average 70 kg man has roughly 15 grams of HA in his body, one third of which is degraded and synthesised every day.
Lubricants for Joints
HA is a major component of the synovial fluid and is found to increase the viscosity of the synovial fluid. Along with lubricin, it is one of the main lubricating components of synovial fluid. HA is an important component of articular cartilage, in which it coats each cell (chondrocyte). When aggrecan monomers bind to HA in the presence of link protein, large highly negatively charged aggregates are formed. These aggregates imbibe water and are responsible for the resilience of cartilage (its resistance to compression). The molecular weight (size) of HA in cartilage decreases with age, however the amount of HA in cartilage increases with age.
Biomatrix Components for Skin Tissue Repair
HA is a major component of skin, where it is involved in tissue repair. When skin is excessively exposed to UVB rays, the HA present in skin acts as a free radical scavenger, absorbing free radicals. The skin becomes inflamed (sunburn) and the cells in the dermis stop producing as much HA. The rate of its degradation is also increased. HA degradation products also accumulate in the skin after UV exposure.
While it is abundant in extracellular matrices, HA also contributes to tissue hydrodynamics, movement and proliferation of cells, and participates in a number of cell surface receptor interactions, notably those including its primary receptor, CD44. Upregulation of CD44 itself is widely accepted as a marker of cell activation in lymphocytes. HA's contribution to tumor growth may be due to its interaction with CD44. CD44 participates in cell adhesion interactions required by tumor cells. Although HA binds to CD44, there is evidence showing that HA degradation products transduce their inflammatory signal through Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), TLR4 or both TLR2 and TLR4 in macrophages and dendritic cells. TLR and HA play a role in innate immunity.
Structure and Synthesis of HA
The structure of HA is well characterized. It is composed of repeated units of disaccharide of D-glucuronic acid and D-N-acetylglucosamine, linked together via alternating β-1,4 and β-1,3 glycosidic bonds. HA is typically up to 25,000 disaccharide units in length. The molecular weight of HA can range from 5,000 to 20,000,000 in vivo. The average molecular weight in human synovial fluid is 3 to 4 million and HA purified from human umbilical cord is typically 3,140,000 Da.
HA is synthesized by a class of integral membrane proteins called HA synthases, of which vertebrates have three types: HAS1, HAS2, and HAS3. These enzymes lengthen HA by repeatedly adding glucuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine to the nascent polysaccharide as it is extruded through the cell membrane into the extracellular space. Commercially, HA can be produced from animal sources, for example, from rooster combs, umbilical cords, and from the cartilage of joints. Alternatively HA may be obtained through fermentation. The average molecular weight of HA varies according to the source from which it is obtained. Generally the molecular weight of HA is 60,000 to 14,000,000.
Commercially available HA is generally produced from animal sources or from bacterial sources. Generally HA is obtained from bacterial sources through fermentation processes. The fermentation processes involve many steps including HA synthesis, separation and purification. The purity of HA is dependent on the source it is obtained from, in particular it is dependent on the bacteria used and the process techniques. The purity of HA has a significant influence on its stability.
Biocompatibility and Medical Applications of HA
HA is nontoxic, non-immunogenic and biodegradable. HA is degraded by a family of enzymes called hyaluronidases. In humans, there are at least seven types of hyaluronidase-like enzymes, several of which are tumor suppressors. The degradation products of HA, the oligosaccharides and very low molecular weight HA, exhibit pro-angiogenic properties. In addition, recent studies have shown that HA fragments, rather than high molecular HA components, can induce inflammatory responses in macrophages and dendritic cells in tissue injury and in skin transplant rejection.
The first HA biomedical product, Healon, was developed in the 1970s and 1980s and is approved for use in eye surgery (i.e., corneal transplantation, cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery and surgery to repair retinal detachment). Other biomedical companies also produce brands of HA for ophthalmic surgery.
HA is also used to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. Such treatments, called viscosupplementation, are administered as a course of injections into the knee joint and are believed to supplement the viscosity of the joint fluid thereby lubricating the joint, cushioning the joint and producing an analgesic effect. It has also been suggested that HA has positive biochemical effects on cartilage cells. The molecule weight is varied from 750,000 to 2 million and some of the preparation in which HA is lightly crosslinked. However, some placebo controlled studies have cast doubt on the efficacy of HA injections, and HA is recommended primarily as a last alternative to surgery. Oral use of HA has been lately suggested although effectiveness still needs to be demonstrated. Some preliminary clinical studies suggest that oral administration of HA has a positive effect on osteoarthritis.
Due to its high biocompatibility and its common presence in the extracellular matrix of tissues, HA is gaining popularity as a biomaterial scaffold in tissue engineering research.
In some cancers, HA levels correlate well with malignancy and poor prognosis. HA is thus often used as a tumor marker for prostate and breast cancer. It may also be used to monitor the progression of the disease.
HA may also be used postoperatively to induce tissue healing, notably after cataract surgery. Current models of wound healing propose that larger polymers of HA appear in the early stages of healing to physically make room for white blood cells, which mediate the immune response.
Personal Lubricant
A natural acidic lubricating fluid is normally present in the vagina and during sexual arousal an increased amount of the fluid is produced. The function of production of sufficient vaginal lubrication may be impaired, causing vaginal tissue to become dry and irritated due to a number of causes including decreased estrogen levels during the menopause or after surgical removal of ovaries and after radiation therapy. This may result in pain during sexual intercourse and/or bleeding during sexual intercourse. Oral contraceptives and certain medications such as antihistaminics, antidepressants, blood pressure, and cardiac medicines can also contribute to vaginal dryness. Additionally, psychological conditions including stress, fatigue and anxiety may impede production of the natural lubricant. A combination of hormonal and psychological factors may induce dryness temporarily after childbirth particularly if the mother is breastfeeding. Stress for those couples under IVF treatment for conceiving is another particular example.
Common personal lubricants such as silicone and those sold under the Trade Marks K-Y Jelly® and Vaseline® are mainly based on synthetic substances such as silicone, petroleum. Commercially available lubricants containing glycerin are spermicidal and impede sperm motility. Even at low concentrations ingredients such as glycerin are associated with such spermicidal effects. Accordingly, such commercially available vaginal lubricants are not recommended for women seeking to conceive.
Personal lubricants comprising HA as the lubricating component are known for the treatment and relief of vaginal dryness.
HA has been found to be useful in IVF treatment. It is a normal component of mammalian follicular, oviductal, and uterine fluids (Lee and Ax 1984, Suchanek et al 1994, Rodriguez-Martinez et al 1998). Physiological concentrations of hyaluronan in these fluids, for instance, range from 0.04 to 1.83 mg/mL, 16 to 39% of all glycosaminoglycans (Kano et al 1998), which in turn provides a high viscosity environment in the oviduct and uterus. In vivo, it is known that hyaluronan supports ovulation and assists in sperm selection during the fertilization process.
Commercially available HA is a natural biodegradable polymer. It is especially unstable under extreme conditions-such as high temperature, high pH or low pH (alkaline and acidic condition), or in the presence of free radicals or free radical precursors. Under such conditions HA having a relatively high molecular weight, for instance 1 to 3 million tends to degrade into small HA fragments. In addition, the presence of impurities such as trace heavy metals like Fe2+, Fe3+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Al3+ etc will accelerate the degradation process. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hunting stands and more particularly pertains to a new collapsible hunting stand for supporting a user above a ground surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of hunting stands is known in the prior art. More specifically, hunting stands heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,081 by Reeves; U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,611 by Untz; U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,238 by Prejean; U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,520 by Walker; U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,398 by Harmon; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 270,474 by Haines et al.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new collapsible hunting stand. The inventive device includes a top plate with upper ends of a plurality poles pivotally coupled thereto. A platform is positioned between the poles beneath the top plate. A pulley system connecting the platform to the top plate to permit raising and lowering of the platform.
In these respects, the collapsible hunting stand according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of supporting a user above a ground surface. | {
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Intense ultrasonic fields are used for treating materials in various ways including cleaning surfaces, promoting certain types of chemical reactions, and degassing liquids. Such fields are generally generated by electrically driven piezoelectric or magnetostrictive transducers.
McCord, U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,263 discloses an acoustic cleaner which incorporates a cavitation generator for agitating liquid in an enclosure. The enclosure is provided with a wave reflecting surface for reflecting acoustic waves from the margin of the liquid back into the body of the liquid to reinforce cavitation in the chamber.
Kanazawa, U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,734 discloses an ultrasonic clothes washer. The washer has a metal tub for receiving clothes. Bubbles are introduced into the tub to promote cavitation and to reflect the ultrasound so that all articles in the tub are irradiated with ultrasound.
Prior art cavitation chambers suffer from the disadvantage that it is difficult to efficiently transmit energy from the vibrating face of the transducer into a liquid in a cavitation chamber as acoustic vibrations. Some prior art cavitation chambers attempt to solve this coupling problem by providing the cavitation chamber with walls designed to resonate at the frequency of the transducer. A further disadvantage of prior art cavitation chambers is that the electromechanical equipment for generating high powered acoustic signals with a piezoelectric or magnetostrictive transducer is inherently expensive and inefficient. | {
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Atherosclerosis, a process in which the walls of the arteries thicken due to the accumulation of plaque in the blood vessels, is the cause of most coronary artery disease (CAD) that can result in heart attacks, strokes, or inadequate circulation to the extremities. Arterial occlusions caused by plaque accumulation may necessitate major invasive surgery, such as a coronary by-pass procedure. However, less invasive, percutaneous methods may be an alternative in treating atherosclerosis. For example, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) involves advancing a balloon catheter through a body lumen to a target treatment site. In one example, a small incision is made near the femoral artery to insert the catheter, which is then advanced to a plaque area in the coronary artery. The catheter has a deflated balloon near a distal end, and the balloon is positioned across the plaque. Once in position, the balloon is inflated to crack or flatten the plaque, thereby restoring the normal patency of the blood vessel. The balloon is then deflated so that the catheter can be removed, allowing blood flow to resume through the dilated blood vessel.
Percutaneous delivery of therapeutic agents may also be performed alone or in combination with PCTA treatments. Needle catheters are one type of percutaneous medical devices that may be used to deliver a therapeutic agent or drug to treat diseases associated with CAD. However, the tortuous nature of vessels in the body make it difficult for advancing a needle catheter to a target treatment site. Furthermore, to optimize a therapeutic drug treatment, the active drug or biologic agent may need to be injected directly into a vessel wall. This type of drug delivery requires a high level of accuracy because the proper point in the vessel wall should be penetrated. In another type of drug delivery treatment with a needle catheter, biologically active agents may be delivered to a cardiac structure (such as into an intraventricular wall), which also requires that the needle catheter be flexible enough to navigate and advance through body vessels and to the heart. U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,177 describes one type of flexible catheter that may be used within a heart chamber.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a prior art needle catheter. The needle tip is connected to a needle shaft that may be steered and moved from a retracted position within a sleeve and an extended position past a distal end of the sleeve to penetrate a body tissue. The needle shaft may have a tubular lumen so that a drug or biologic agent may be injected through the needle tip to the body tissue. The needle tip (along with the needle shaft) is usually a continuous piece of metallic material to provide sufficient strength and support to prevent kinking during advancement through a tortuous vessel and tissue penetration.
One problem with a metallic needle and/or needle shaft is that it may not provide the necessary flexibility to navigate through tortuous body vessels, which are characteristic of arterial regions. Because of the lack of flexibility of these needle catheters, it may be difficult to deliver biologic agents deep within the arterial regions of the body. Moreover, it may be even more difficult to bend the penetrating tip of the needle to pierce a vessel wall to optimize drug delivery treatment. | {
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Typically, a vehicle may include a steering system to help an operator steer the vehicle on a ground surface. Conventionally known steering systems may include a pump for operatively supplying pressurized fluid to one or more steering actuators of the vehicle so that the steering actuators can perform the steering functionality with the help of one or more wheels associated with the vehicle.
Sometimes, it may be possible that the pump may fail to operate as intended or the pump may not work at all. During such time, it is required for a back-up emergency steering system to take control of the steering functionality of the vehicle. An example of one such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,904 (hereinafter referred to as “the '904 patent”). The '904 patent discloses an auxiliary hydraulic steering system for use in mobile vehicles. This auxiliary hydraulic steering system has an engine-driven pump that supplies hydraulic fluid under pressure to a steering control unit and an accumulator. The accumulator is charged with fluid under pressure from the pump through a charger/discharge valve and connects with a supply line to the steering control unit only when the charge/discharge valve shifts in response to a predetermined pressure in said supply line.
Although the configuration of the auxiliary hydraulic steering system from the '904 patent provides for an accumulator that is charged with fluid under pressure at a first instant in time for use during a subsequent period of time, the auxiliary hydraulic steering system of the '904 patent does not provide a means for continuously charging the accumulator with the pressurized fluid from the pump during operation of the steering control unit so that at the same or a later instant of time, for instance, if the load on the steering actuators increases, the accumulator can simultaneously co-operate with the pump in actuating movement of the steering control unit and help reduce an amount of load on the pump.
Hence, there is a need for an improved hydraulic steering system that is simple in construction yet effective in overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks. | {
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Electric heating units for heating liquids by immersion therein are old, well known and in common use for heating water in many different situations from water in a drinking glass to water in a boiler. In general however efficiency has not been great enough to induce replacement of other conventional heat sources such as oil or coal. | {
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The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device. More particularly, the present invention relates to the LCD device including a tiling panel in which a plurality of discrete LCD panels are bonded together to form a large size display screen.
The LCD device using as the tiling panel has been developed, in which a plurality of discrete LCD panels are bonded together. FIG. 1 shows the LCD device using the tiling panel to which the technology of the present invention is applicable. In the FIG. 1, the tiling panel includes four discrete LCD panels A, B, C and D, for example, which are bonded together along a bonding region 19. A cross point of the vertical bonding region 19 and the horizontal bonding region 19 is a center point (CT) of the tiling panel. Each of the LCD panels A, B, C and D includes a lower glass substrate 1 and an upper glass substrate 2. Next, the positional relationship of the pixels of the LCD panels A, B, C and D, which are located adjacent to the bonding region 19, is described. FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of pixel regions of the LCD panels A, B, C and D. It is assumed that a width of a black matrix disposed between the adjacent two pixel region in the horizontal direction is LH, and a width of the black matrix disposed between the adjacent two pixel regions in the vertical direction is LV. To display the natural and continuous image across the bonding regions 19, the distance between the pixel region PMN at the most lower right position of the panel A and the pixel region PM1 at the most lower left position of the panel B, and the distance between the pixel region P1N at the most upper, right position of the panel D and the pixel region P11 at the most upper left position of the panel C should be the distance represented by 2L1+LB, wherein the L1 less than LH/2, and LB is the width of the bonding region 19. Further, the distance between the pixel region PMN of the panel A and the pixel region P1N of the panel D, and the distance between the pixel region PM1 of the panel B and the pixel region P11 of the panel C should be the distance represented by 2L2+LB, wherein the L2 less than LV/2. A sealing regions 8, later described, are shown by the dashed line in the FIG. 2.
Describing a structure of one LCD panel, such as the LCD panel A, used for the tiling panel, with reference to FIG. 3. The FIG. 3 shows the structure on the lower glass substrate 1 and the upper glass substrate 2 of the panel A. On the surface of the lower glass substrate 1, a plurality of data lines DL1 through DLN are formed along the vertical direction, a plurality of gate lines GL1 through GLM are formed along the horizontal direction, one pixel region including a thin film transistor (TFT) 3 and the pixel electrode 4 defining one pixel (P) is formed at each of the cross points of the data lines and the gate lines, an outer short ring 5 and an inner short ring 6 made of an electrically conductive material are formed, and an alignment layer made of polyimide, not shown in the FIGS. 1 and 2 are formed. The arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules is decided by a rubbing direction on the surface of the alignment layer, in the rubbing process. On the surface of the upper glass substrate 2, a common electrode and the alignment layer, not shown in the FIGS. 1 and 2, are formed. In the case of a color LCD device, color filters, i.e. Red color filters, Green color filters and Blue color filters, are formed on the upper glass substrate 2.
At the completion of the lower glass substrate 1, both the outer and inner short rings 5 and 6 are formed. The lower glass substrate 1 is cut along cutting lines 9A through 9D, so that the outer short ring 5 and the right side portion and the lower portion of the inner short ring 6 are removed. Before the cutting process, the outer short ring 5 is connected to a potential level corresponding to the potential level of the common electrode. The outer short ring 5 is connected to the inner short ring 6 through resistive element 7. Each of the data lines DL1 through DLN is connected to the outer short ring 5 and the inner short ring 6 through the resistive element 7, respectively, and each of the gate lines GL1 through GLM is connected to the outer short ring 5 and the inner short ring 6 through the resistive element 7, respectively. The purpose of the outer and inner short rings 5 and 6 is to prevent the TFT 3 of the pixel region from being damaged by electrostatic discharge (ESD) during the fabrication of the LCD panel, in the following manner. A resistive value of the resistive element 7, such as a TFT operating as a diode, is designed to be lower than a resistive value of the TFT 3 of the pixel region. When the electrostatic charges are applied to the gate lines, for example, during the handling of the lower glass substrate 1, the resistive element 7 connected between the gate lines and the short ring 6, and the resistive element 7 connected between the short ring 8 and the data lines conduct, whereby the electric potential level at the gate lines becomes equal to the electric potential at the data lines, and no voltage is applied between the drain and gate electrodes of the TFT 3 of the pixel region. After the cutting of the lower glass substrate 1 and the assemble of the upper glass substrate 2 on the lower glass substrate 1, the inner short ring 6 is connected to the common electrode on the upper glass substrate 2, so that when the electrostatic charges are applied to the gate line(s) or the data line(s), the resistive elements 7 conduct to pass the electrostatic charges to the common electrode through the inner ring 6, resulting that the electric potential level at the lower glass substrate 1 becomes equal to the electric potential of the common electrode on at the upper glass substrate 2, and no voltage is applied to the TFT 3 of the pixel region.
The lower glass substrate 1 and the upper glass substrate 2 are sealed along the sealing region 8 to complete the panel A, as well known in the art. Describing the formation of the sealing region 8 of the panel A with reference to the FIG. 2, the right side portion of the sealing region 8 is formed adjacent to the pixel regions of the right most data line DLN, and the lower side portion of the sealing region 8 is formed adjacent to the pixel regions of the lower most gate line GLM, to provide the distance L1 and the distance L2 (FIG. 2), respectively after the cutting process. It is required to provide the positional relationship of the pixel regions on the LCD panels A, B, C and D, as shown in the FIG. 2. For this reason, the right side and lower side portions of the sealing region 8 are formed inside of the inner short ring 6. A typical width W1 of the sealing region 8 is about 500 through 1000 xcexcm, and the width W2 of the sealing area 8 remaining along the cutting lines 9B and 9D is about 50 through 100 xcexcm. Therefore, the LCD panel A includes the short ring 6 along the upper side and the left side, and does not include the short ring 6 along the right side and the lower side. A flexible circuit board or TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) tape, on which circuit modules, such as data line drivers are mounted, is connected to the data lines, which are exposed in an upper side area 10 (FIG. 3), and a flexible circuit board or the TAB tape, on which circuit modules, such as gate line drivers are mounted, is connected to the gate lines, which are exposed on a left side area 11 (FIG. 3). In a similar manner as the LCD panel A, the LCD panels B, C and D are formed by changing the position of the cutting lines.
The four LCD panels A, B, C and D constitutes one LCD display screen, and the data line drivers of the four LCD panels and the gate line drivers of the four LCD panels are controlled to display the image on the four LCD panels.
To bond the LCD panels, a light shielding and insulating adhesive, as shown in Japanese Published Examined Patent Application 2-59999, has been used. A first problem is that, during the handling of the completed tiling panel using the light shielding and insulating adhesive, a large quantity of electrostatic charges are accumulated on the completed tiling panel, and the TFTs 3 of the pixel regions adjacent to the bonding region 19 are damaged, for the reason that after that a plurality of LCD panels have been assembled on a supporting glass substrate 26, as shown in FIG. 4, a total surface area of the completed tiling panel becomes large, and hence a large quantity of electrostatic charges accumulated due to a friction induced during the handling of the completed tiling panel, and the accumulated electrostatic charges tend to discharge to the data line(s) or the gate line(s) proximity to the bonding region 19.
It is required that all the four LCD panels A, B, C and D have the same display characteristic, i.e. as a wide viewing angle providing a good contrast ratio. The user usually sees the LCD device along a lower side direction L, which located at the lower side of a vertical line to the surface of the FIG. 1, and hence, the rubbing direction of the alignment layer of the four LCD panels A, B, C and D, as shown in the FIG. 1 have been used to realize the wide viewing angle providing the good contrast ratio in the lower side direction L. In the
FIG. 1, an arrow with double dotted line indicates the rubbing direction of the alignment layer on the lower glass substrate 1, and an arrow with a single solid line indicates the rubbing direction of the alignment layer of the upper glass substrate 2.
For the above reason, the same rubbing direction, i.e. the direction from the upper left region to the lower right region, is used in the alignment layers of the lower glass substrate 1 of all the four LCD panels A, B, C and D. A second problem is that the TFTs 3 of the pixel regions on the LCD panel C is damaged by the ESD (electrostatic discharge) during the rubbing process since the inner short ring 6 is removed from the upper edge and the left edge of the LCD panel C. More particularly, when a well known rubbing roller, not shown, initially touches the surface of the alignment layer of the LCD panel C at the upper left corner, the electrostatic charges are applied to the data lines or the gate lines, so that the TFTs 3 of the pixel regions are damaged. In contradistinction, the LCD panel A has the short ring 6 formed along the upper edge and the left edge, so that the electrostatic charges applied from the rubbing roller can be guided to the short ring 6, which is connected to the common electrode potential, whereby the TFTs of the pixel regions on the LCD panel A are protected from the ESD. The LCD panel B has the short ring 6 formed along the upper edge and the right edge, and the LCD panel D has the short ring 6 formed along the left edge and the bottom edge, so that the electrostatic charges applied from the rubbing roller can be guided to the short ring 6, whereby the TFTs of the pixel regions on the LCD panels B and D can be protected from the ESD.
As described before, the data lines, the gate lines and the pixel regions of each LCD panel are proximity and adjacent to the bonding region 19, so that the electrostatic charges, which are accumulated on the glass substrate 1 during the handling of each discrete LCD panel, and the rubbing process of the LCD panels, tend to discharge to the data lines or the gate lines, and in the worst case, the TFTs 3 of the pixel regions are damaged, resulting a defect called as a dot defect or a line defect. It is a third problem.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the LCD device with a structure which can prevent the light of a back light device from passing through the bonding region, and can prevent the TFTs of the pixel regions from being damaged by the accumulated electrostatic charges, during the handling of each discrete LCD panel, the rubbing process of the alignment layer on the lower glass substrate 1, the assembling process of the LCD panels, and the handling of the completed tiling panel.
A LCD device according to the present invention comprises:
a first LCD panel in which a pixel array substrate, on which a pixel array is formed, and an opposing substrate, on which a common electrode is formed, are sealed along a sealing region surrounding the pixel array; and
a second LCD panel in which a pixel array substrate, on which a pixel array is formed, and an opposing substrate, on which a common electrode is formed, are sealed along a sealing region surrounding the pixel array;
wherein one edge of the first LCD panel is positioned in proximity and adjacent to one edge of the second LCD panel; and
wherein a light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive bonds the one edge of the first LCD panel and the one edge of the second LCD panel.
The light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive is electrically connected to the common electrodes on the opposing substrates on the first and second LCD panels.
A short ring is formed along remaining edges of each of the pixel array substrates of the first and second LCD panels, respectively; and wherein the light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive is electrically connected to the short rings.
The sealing region along the one edge of each of the pixel array substrates of the first and second LCD panels is separated from the one edge to expose a surface region of each of the pixel array substrates, respectively;
a contact electrode is formed on each of the surface regions of the pixel array substrates of the first and second LCD panels, the contact electrode on the pixel array substrate of the first LCD panel is connected to the short ring on the pixel array substrate of the first LCD panel, and the contact electrode on the pixel array substrate of the second LCD panel is connected to the short ring on the pixel array substrate of the second LCD panel; and
the light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive is electrically and mechanically bonded to the contact electrode on the pixel array substrate of the first LCD panel and to the contact electrode on the pixel array substrate of the second LCD panel.
The short ring on the pixel array substrate is connected to the common electrode on the opposing substrate.
The first and second LCD panels are fixed to a transparent supporting substrate.
An upper surface of each of the first and second LCD panels is fixed to a first transparent supporting substrate, and a lower surface of each of the first and second LCD panels is fixed to a second transparent supporting substrate.
A short ring is formed along remaining edges of each of the pixel array substrates of the first and second LCD panels, respectively, a contact electrode connected to the short ring is formed on a surface, along the one edge, of the pixel array substrate of each of the first and second LCD panels, and an edge of the contact electrode is aligned to an edge of the sealing region along the one edge.
A LCD device according to the present invention comprises:
an upper left LCD panel in which a pixel array substrate, on which a pixel array is formed, and an opposing substrate, on which a common electrode is formed, are sealed along a sealing region surrounding the pixel array;
an upper right LCD panel in which a pixel array substrate, on which a pixel array is formed, and an opposing substrate, on which a common electrode is formed, are sealed along a sealing region surrounding the pixel array;
a lower right LCD panel in which a pixel array substrate, on which a pixel array is formed, and an opposing substrate, on which a common electrode is formed, are sealed along a sealing region surrounding the pixel array; and
a lower left LCD panel in which a pixel array substrate, on which a pixel array is formed, and an opposing substrate, on which a common electrode is formed, are sealed along a sealing region surrounding the pixel array;
wherein a right edge of the upper left LCD panel is positioned in proximity and adjacent to a left edge of the upper right LCD panel;
wherein a bottom edge of the upper right LCD panel is positioned in proximity and adjacent to a top edge of the lower right LCD panel;
wherein a left edge of the lower right LCD panel is positioned in proximity and adjacent to a right edge of the lower left LCD panel;
wherein a top edge of the lower left LCD panel is positioned in proximity and adjacent to a bottom edge of the upper left LCD panel; and
wherein a light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive bonds the right edge of the upper left LCD panel and the left edge of the upper right LCD panel, bonds the bottom edge of the upper right LCD panel and the top edge of the lower right LCD panel, bonds the left edge of the lower right LCD panel and the right edge of the lower left LCD panel, and bonds the top edge of the lower left LCD panel and the bottom edge of the upper left LCD panel.
The light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive is electrically connected to the common electrodes on each of the opposing substrates on the upper left LCD panel, the upper right LCD panel, the lower right LCD panel and the lower left LCD panel.
A short ring is formed along remaining edges of each of the pixel array substrates of the upper left LCD panel, the upper right LCD panel, the lower right LCD panel and the lower left LCD panel, respectively; and the light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive is electrically connected to the short rings.
The sealing region along the right edge and the bottom edge of the pixel array substrate of the upper left LCD panel is separated from right edge and the bottom edge to expose a surface region of the pixel array substrate, respectively, and a contact electrode is formed on the surface region along at least one of the right edge and the bottom edge;
the sealing region along the left edge and the bottom edge of the pixel array substrate of the upper right LCD panel is separated from left edge and the bottom edge to expose a surface region of the pixel array substrate, respectively, and a contact electrode is formed on the surface region along at least one of the left edge and the bottom edge;
the sealing region along the top edge and the left edge of the pixel array substrate of the lower right LCD panel is separated from top edge and the left edge to expose a surface region of the pixel array substrate, respectively, and a contact electrode is formed on the surface region along at least one of the top edge and the left edge;
the sealing region along the right edge and the top edge of the pixel array substrate of the lower left LCD panel is separated from right edge and the top edge to expose a surface region of the pixel array substrate, respectively, and a contact electrode is formed on the surface region along at least one of the right edge and the top edge;
the contact electrodes are connected to the short rings; and
the light shielding and electrically conductive adhesive is electrically and mechanically bonded to the contact electrodes.
The short ring on the pixel array substrate is connected to the common electrode on the opposing substrate.
The upper left LCD panel, the upper right LCD panel, the lower right LCD panel and the lower left LCD panel are fixed to a transparent supporting substrate.
An upper surface of each of the upper left LCD panel, the upper right LCD panel, the lower right LCD panel and the lower left LCD panel is fixed to a first transparent supporting substrate, and a lower surface of each of the upper left LCD panel, the upper right LCD panel, the lower right LCD panel and the lower left LCD panel is fixed to a second transparent supporting substrate.
A portion of the contact electrode is covered by the sealing region.
The contact electrode is separated from the edge of the pixel array substrate.
The contact electrode comprises a first portion formed on the surface region and a second portion formed between the sealing region and the pixel array, and the first portion and the second portion are connected.
The contact electrode comprises a first portion formed on the surface region and a second portion covered by the sealing region, and the first portion and the second portion are connected.
A short-ring is formed along a top edge and a left edge of the pixel array substrate of the upper left LCD panel, a contact electrode connected to the short ring is formed on a surface, along the right edge and the bottom edge, of the pixel array substrate, and an edge of the contact electrode is aligned to edges of the sealing region along the right edge and the bottom edge,
a short ring is formed along a top edge and a right edge of the pixel array substrate of the upper right LCD panel, a contact electrode connected to the short ring is formed on a surface, along the left edge and the bottom edge, of the pixel array substrate, and an edge of the contact electrode is aligned to edges of the sealing region along the left edge and the bottom edge,
a short ring is formed along a right edge and a bottom edge of the pixel array substrate of the lower right LCD panel, a contact electrode connected to the short ring is formed on a surface, along the top edge and the left edge, of the pixel array substrate, and an edge of the contact electrode is aligned to edges of the sealing region along the top edge and the left edge, and
a short ring is formed along a left edge and a bottom edge of the pixel array substrate of the lower left LCD panel, a contact electrode connected to the short ring is formed on a surface, along the right edge and the top edge, of the pixel array substrate, and an edge of the contact electrode is aligned to edges of the sealing region along the right edge and the top edge.
A contact electrodes is formed on an outside surface region, which exists outside of the sealing region, of the pixel array substrate of the upper left LCD panel, at each of an upper right corner region and the lower left corner region, respectively;
a contact electrodes is formed on an outside surface region, which exists outside of the sealing region, of the pixel array substrate of the upper right LCD panel, at each of a lower right corner region and an upper left corner region, respectively;
a contact electrodes is formed on an outside surface region, which exists outside of the sealing region, of the pixel array substrate of the lower right LCD panel, at each of an upper right corner region and the lower left corner region, respectively; and
a contact electrodes is formed on an outside surface region, which exists outside of the sealing region, of the pixel array substrate of the lower left LCD panel, at each of a lower right corner region and an upper left corner region, respectively. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a method of synchronization status message processing in a transmission apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of synchronization status message processing in a transmission apparatus in which a clock extracted from a main signal in which a synchronization status message indicating the best quality level has been inserted is adopted as a master clock and signal processing is executed in synchronization with the master clock.
The world-wide trend toward the adoption of SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) for networks in optical transmission is continuing. FIG. 15 is a diagram for describing the structure of a frame in accordance with the SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) standard, which is the synchronous network communications standard used in North America. This is for a case where the transmission rate is 155.52 Mbps. One frame is composed of 9.times.270 bytes. The first 9.times.9 bytes constitute section overhead (SOH), and the remaining bytes constitute path overhead (POH) and payload (PL), the latter being a section which transmits information at 150 Mbps.
The section overhead SOH is composed of repeater section overhead of 3.times.9 bytes, a pointer of 1.times.9 bytes and multiplex section overhead of 5.times.9 bytes. As shown in FIG. 16, the multiplex section is the section between terminal repeater units 1, 2. In a case where a number of transmission lines 3a.about.3c and repeaters 4a, 4c are provided between the terminal repeater units 1, 2, the repeater section is the section between both ends of one transmission line, and the multiplex section is composed of a plurality of repeater sections.
As shown in FIG. 17, the repeater section overhead has bytes A1.about.A2, C1, B1, E1, F1, D1.about.D3, and the multiplex section overhead has bytes B2, K1.about.K2, D4.about.D12, S1, Z1.about.Z2. The meaning of each byte is illustrated in FIG. 18. The repeater section overhead transmits frame synchronizing signals (bytes A1, A2), an error monitoring signal (byte B1) for monitoring error in the repeater section, a fault specifying signal (byte F1) for specifying a fault in the repeater section, etc. The multiplex section overhead transmits an error monitoring signal (byte B2) for monitoring error in the section, a changeover signal (byte K1) for switching between a standby system and a working system, a transfer signal (byte K2) for transferring the status in the multiplex section and a synchronization status message Sync Msg (S1 byte).
The synchronization status message Sync Msg is a message indicating the quality level (accuracy) of the clock. In order to construct a synchronous network in an SDH network, this message is sent and received using the overhead (S1 byte) of the SONET signal or the data link of an ESF DS1 signal. The transmission apparatus selects, as a master clock (reference clock), the clock having the best quality from among a plurality of input clocks and transmits data in sync with the master clock.
FIG. 19 is a table for describing the synchronization status message Sync Msg and quality level. The correspondence among eight synchronization status messages (PRS, STU, ST2, ST3, SIC, ST4, DUS, RES), their quality levels and clock accuracies is stipulated. The synchronization status messages ST2, ST3 indicate the quality levels of holdover (HO) clocks. When external supply of a clock ceases, an HO clock is created within the apparatus based upon the master clock that was in use immediately before the cessation of the external clock. The created clock is used within the apparatus. The synchronization status message ST4 is an internal (INT) clock. This is created independently within the apparatus and is used when the HO clock cannot be used. The DUS (Don't Use for Sync) synchronization status message indicates that the clock is not usable as the master clock.
FIG. 20 is a diagram useful in describing the clock selecting operation of a transmission apparatus NE. The left side of the transmission apparatus NE serves as a LINE1 side and the right side as a LINE2 side.
The transmission apparatus NE includes a quality acquisition/setting unit QRS. The quality acquisition/setting unit QRS (1) identifies/acquires the quality of each input clock based upon a synchronization status message set in the overhead S1 byte of a main signal in the UP direction input from the LINE1 side and of a main signal in the DOWN direction input from the LINE2 side, and (2) sets a synchronization status message, which indicates the quality of the master clock, in the overhead S1 byte of a main signal in the UP direction output from the LINE2 side and of a main signal in the DOWN direction output from the LINE1 side, and transmits the message.
The transmission apparatus NE further includes a CPU, which is a processor for comparing the quality levels of the clocks acquired by the quality acquisition/setting unit QRS and adopting the clock having the best quality as the master clock, and a master clock selector MCS which, in response to an indication from the CPU, selects the clock having the highest quality level as the master clock.
The transmission apparatus NE sets the synchronization status message indicating the quality of the master clock in the overhead S1 byte of the main signal sent in the UP direction and, in sync with this master clock, sends the main signal in the UP direction from the LINE2 side. Further, the transmission apparatus NE sets the synchronization status message indicating the quality of the master clock in the overhead S1 byte of the main signal sent in the DOWN direction and, in sync with this master clock, sends the main signal in the DOWN direction from the LINE1 side.
The foregoing is for the case of normal operation. If a fault develops in the master clock selector MCS, it is no longer possible to assure that the quality level of the master signal will be the best. Accordingly, in order to arrange it so that this master clock will not be usable in another transmission apparatus connected to the network, the quality acquisition/setting unit QRS adopts DUS (Don't Use for Sync) as the synchronization status message set in the overhead S1 byte of the main signals in the UP and DOWN directions.
In this connection, certain problems arise in the prior art.
(1) Conventionally, one transmission apparatus is constituted by one shelf and control of the clock is carried out by one CPU. Though the sending and receiving of synchronization status messages in a one-shelf/one transmission apparatus arrangement is stipulated by the SONET standard, there is no stipulation concerning the processing of synchronization status messages in an arrangement in which one transmission apparatus is composed of a plurality of shelves. Such processing needs to be stipulated. PA1 (2) In a transmission apparatus having a plurality of shelves, the master shelf incorporates a unit (a system timing processing unit) which decides the master clock and sends it to each of the shelves. If this unit fails, there will no longer be any assurance that the quality of the master clock is the best. If this clock is used as the master clock in another transmission apparatus, network synchronization will be lost. PA1 (3) Each slave shelf has a unit for selecting and processing the master clock sent from the master shelf. If this unit fails, there will no longer be any assurance that the master clock selected by this unit is that having the best quality. If this clock is used as the master clock in another transmission apparatus, network synchronization will be lost. PA1 (4) If the cable for sending the master clock from the master shelf to a slave shelf is severed, the slave shelf executes processing in sync with the HO (holdover) clock or INT (internal) clock. This makes it necessary to insert a synchronization status message indicating the quality of the HO (holdover) clock or the quality of the INT (Internal) clock in the overhead S1 byte of the main signal sent from the shelf. However, the insertion of such a synchronization status message cannot be carried out in a simple manner. PA1 (5) When processing for deciding the master clock is being carried out by the master shelf, what master clock should be used by the shelves is unclear. Accordingly, for the short period of time during which the master clock decision processing is being executed, a self-timing clock such as the HO (holdover) clock or INT (Internal) clock is used as a reference clock. After the master clock is selected, a state is attained in which this master clock is used. More specifically, the shelves use three types of clocks by switching among them in a short period of time. Whenever the clock used is switched over in such case, a synchronization status message which indicates the quality of this clock is inserted into the main signal. Since quality is changed over in a short period of time, however, changeover of the master clock occurs frequently in the other stations of the network as well. This leads to instability of the overall network and loss of network synchronization.
More specifically, it is recent practice to construct one system (transmission apparatus) from a plurality of shelves and partition the shelves into a master shelf (MASTER) which performs overall management of the apparatus, and slave shelves (SLAVE) which operate under the control of the master shelf. Each shelf is equipped with a CPU for executing clock control. Overall clock control is performed by the CPU of the master shelf. In a transmission apparatus having a plurality of shelves, a main signal is input to each shelf, meaning that a large number of main signals enter the apparatus. The master shelf acquires the synchronization status messages and clocks of these main signals, identifies the qualities of the clocks from the synchronization status messages, selects the clock having the best quality as the master clock and sends the master clock to each shelve, thereby synchronizing the shelves. To this end, the overhead S1 bytes are transmitted, along with the clocks, from the slave shelves to the master shelf via a clock delivery cable, and the master shelf is made to implement the synchronization status message function. With this method, however, the master shelf must sense the synchronization status messages and identify the clock qualities. The result is an increase in the load upon the master shelf. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The publications and other materials used herein to illuminate the background of the invention, and in particular, cases to provide additional details respecting the practice, are expressly incorporated by reference.
Mammalian 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (17β-HSDs) are NAD(H) or NADP(H) dependent enzymes which catalyze the final steps in male and female sex hormone biosynthesis. These enzymes convert inactive 17-keto-steroids into their active 17β-hydroxy-forms or catalyze the oxidation of the 17β-hydroxy-forms into the 17-keto-steroids. Because estrogens and androgens have the highest affinity for their receptors in the respective 17β-hydroxy form, 17β-HSD enzymes play an essential role in the tissue-selective regulation of the activity of sex steroid hormones.
At present, 10 human members of the 17β-HSD enzyme family have been described (types 1-5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12). The human 17β-HSD family members share less than 30% similarity in their primary structure. The 17β-HSDs are expressed in distinct, though in some cases, overlapping patterns. The different types of 17β-HSDs also differ in their substrate and cofactor specificities. In intact cells in culture, the 17β-HSDs catalyze the reaction in a unidirectional way: types 1, 3, 5 and 7 use NADP(H) as a cofactor and catalyze the reductive reaction (activation), while types 2, 4, 8 and 10 catalyze the oxidative reaction (inactivation) using NAD(H) as a cofactor [see e.g. Labrie et al. (2000) “Role of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases in sex steroid formation in peripheral intracrine tissues” Trends Endocrinol Metab., 11:421-7].
Due to their essential role in the tissue-selective regulation of the activity of sex steroid hormones 17β-HSDs can be involved in the occurrence and development of estrogen-sensitive pathologies (f. ex. breast, ovarian, uterine and endometrium cancers etc.) and androgen-sensitive pathologies (f. ex. prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, acne, hirsutism, etc). Furthermore, many types of 17β-HSD have been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of particular human disorders. For example, 17β-HSD3 is known to be involved in the development of pseudohermaphroditism, the 17β-HSD8 plays a role in polycystic kidney disease and the 17β-HSD4 is related to the occurrence of bifunctional enzyme deficiency. Therefore treatment of sex steroid-sensitive diseases by administration of specific inhibitors of the 17β-HSDs enzymes have been suggested, optionally in combination with potent and specific antiestrogens and antiandrogens [Labrie F et al. (1997) “The key role of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases in sex steroid biology.” Steroids, 62:148-58].
Due to the fact that each type of 17β-HSD has a selective substrate affinity, directional (reductive or oxidative) activity in intact cells, and a particular tissue distribution, the selectivity of drug action could be achieved by targeting a particular 17β-HSD isozyme. By individual modulation of the particular 17β-HSDs, it is possible to influence or even control the local and paracrine concentration of estrogens and androgens in different target tissues.
The best characterized member of the 17β-HSD family is the type 1 17β-HSD [EC 1.1.1.62]. This enzyme could be crystallized in different states of functionality (e.g. with and without ligand and/or co-factor). The 17β-HSD1 catalyzes in vitro the reduction as well as the oxidation between estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2). However, under physiological in vivo conditions the enzyme only catalyzes the reductive reaction from the estrone (E1) to the estradiol (E2). The 17β-HSD1 was found to be expressed in a variety of hormone-dependent tissues, e.g. placenta, mammary gland tissue or uterus and endometrium tissue, respectively.
Estradiol itself is, especially in comparison to the significantly less active estrone, a very potent hormone, which regulates the expression of a variety of genes by binding to the nuclear estrogen receptor and plays an essential role in the proliferation and differentiation of the target cell. Physiological as well as pathological cell proliferations can be estradiol dependent. Especially many breast cancer cells are stimulated by a locally raised estradiol concentration. Furthermore, the occurrence or course of benign pathologies such as endometriosis, uterine leiomyomas (fibroids or myomas), adenomyosis, menorrhagia, metrorrhagia and dysmenorrhea is dependent from the existence of significantly high estradiol levels.
Endometriosis is a well-known gynaecological disorder that affects 10 to 15% of women in the reproductive age. It is a benign disease defined as the presence of viable endometrial gland and stroma cells outside the uterine cavity. It is most frequently found in the pelvic area. In women developing endometriosis, the endometrial cells entering the peritoneal cavity by retrograde menstruation (the most likely mechanism) have the capacity to adhere to and invade the peritoneal lining, and are then able to implant and grow. The implants respond to steroid hormones of the menstrual cycle in a similar way as the endometrium in the uterus. The infiltrating lesions and the blood from these lesions which are unable to leave the body cause inflammation of the surrounding tissue. The most common symptoms of endometriosis are primary or acquired dysmenorrhoea, dyspareunia and (chronic) pelvic pain, especially before and in the menstruation period. Further symptoms could include dysuria, various genitourinary symptoms secondary to urethral obstruction and/or bladder invasion, painful defecation, rectal pressure, defecation urgency and bowel obstruction, bleeding abnormalities, including menorrhagia or metrorrhagia, infertility, primary or secondary, recurrent spontaneous abortions. The occurrence of these symptoms is not related to the extent of the lesions. Some women with severe endometriosis are asymptomatic, while women with mild endometriosis may have severe pain. Up to now, no reliable non-invasive test is available to diagnose endometriosis. Laparoscopy has to be performed to diagnose the disease. Endometriosis is classified according to the 4 stages set up by the American Fertility Society (AFS). Stage I corresponds to minimal disease while stage 1V is severe, depending on the location and the extent of the endometriosis. Endometriosis is found in up to 50% of the women with infertility. However, currently no causal relation has been proven between mild endometriosis and infertility. Moderate to severe endometriosis can cause tubal damage and adhesions leading to infertility. The aims of treatment of endometriosis are pain relief, resolution of the endometriotic tissue and restoration of fertility (if desired). The two common treatments are surgery or anti-inflammatory and/or hormonal therapy or a combination thereof.
Uterine leiomyomas (fibroids or myomas), benign clonal tumours, arise from smooth muscle cells of the human uterus. They are clinically apparent in up to 25% of women and are the single, most common indication for hysterectomy. They cause significant morbidity, including prolonged and heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pressure and pain, urinary problems, and, in rare cases, reproductive dysfunction. The pathophysiology of myomas is not well understood. Myomas are found submucosally (beneath the endometrium), intramurally (within the myometrium) and subserosally (projecting out of the serosal compartment of the uterus), but mostly are mixed forms of these 3 different types. The presence of estrogen receptors in leiomyoma cells has been studied by Tamaya et al. (1985) “Comparison of cellular levels of steroid receptors in uterine leiomyoma and myometrium.” Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand., 64:307-9. They have shown that the ratios of estrogen receptor compared to progesterone and androgen receptor levels were higher in leiomyomas than in the corresponding normal myometrium. Surgery has long been the main treatment for myomas. Furthermore, medical therapies that have been proposed to treat myomas include administration of a variety of steroids such as the androgenic steroids danazol or gestrinone, GnRH agonists and progestogens, whereby the administration is often associated a variety of serious side-effects.
Dysfunctional uterine bleeding disorders (dysfunctional or abnormal uterine bleeding, metrorrhagia and menorrhagia, hypermenorrhea) are forms of pathological bleeding that are not attributable to organic changes in the uterus (such as, e.g., endometrial carcinoma, myomas, polyps, etc.), systemic coagulation disorders, or a pathological pregnancy (e.g., ectopic pregnancy, impending abortion) [American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1982]. The average blood loss during normal menstruation is about 30 ml, whereby the period lasts for an average of 5 days. If the blood loss exceeds 80 ml, it is classified as pathological. Metrorrhagias are defined as bleeding that may or may not be accompanied by pain and that cannot be linked to menstruation or cycle. If it lasts over 7 days, the blood loss often exceeds 80 ml. Menorrhagia is menstruation that may or may not be accompanied by pain, normally every 27-28 days, which, when it lasts over 7 days, is associated in most cases with an increased blood loss of over 80 ml. Menorrhagia is a syndrome of unknown origin and one of the most common problems in gynecology. 60% of women refereed with menorrhagia have a hysterectomy within five years. Hypermenorrhea is defined as menstruation that may or may not be accompanied by pain, normally every 27-28 days for 4-5 days with an elevated blood loss of over 80 ml, sometimes even defined as associated with an increased blood loss of over 150 ml. Forms of dysfunctional uterine bleeding (mainly metrorrhagias and menorrhagias) are typical of adolescence and of the time of menopause, in which follicle-stimulating disorders, anovulation, and yellow-body and follicle persistence occur in clusters. The incidence of dysfunctional uterine bleeding is high and represents one of the most frequent reasons for gynecological consultation for women of reproductive age.
Everything that has been said above in relation to the treatment of uterine leiomyomas, endometriosis and dysfunctional uterine bleeding, equally applies to other benign gynaecological disorders, notably adenomyosis and dysmenorrhea. These benign gynaecological disorders are all estrogen sensitive and are treated in a comparable way as described herein before in relation to uterine leiomyomas, endometriosis and dysfunctional uterine bleeding. The available pharmaceutical treatments, however, suffer from the same major drawbacks, i.e. they have to be discontinued once the side-effects become more serious than the symptoms to be treated and symptoms reappear after discontinuation of the therapy.
Since the aforementioned malign and benign pathologies are all 17β-estradiol dependent, a reduction of the endogenous 17β-estradiol concentration in the respective tissue will result in an impaired or reduced proliferation of 17β-estradiol cells in said tissues. Therefore, it may be concluded that selective inhibitors of the 17β-HSD1 enzyme are well suited for their use to impair endogenous productions of estrogens, in particular of 17β-estradiol, in myomas, endometriotic, adenomyotic and endometrial tissue. The application of a compound acting as selective inhibitor on the 17β-HSD1 which preferentially catalyzes the reductive reaction will result in a lowered intracellular estradiol-concentration since the reductive conversion of the estrone into the active estradiol is reduced or suppressed. Therefore, reversible or even irreversible inhibitors of the 17β-HSD1 may play a significant role in the prophylaxis and/or treatment of steroid-hormone, in particular 17β-estradiol, dependent disorders or diseases. Furthermore, the reversible or even irreversible inhibitors of the 17β-HSD1 should have no or only pure antagonistic binding activities to the estradiol receptor, in particular to the estrogen receptor α subtype, since agonistic binding of the estrogen receptor would lead to activation and therefore—by regulation of a variety of genes—to the proliferation and differentiation of the target cell. In contrast, antagonists of the estrogen receptor, so called anti-estrogens, bind competitively to the specific receptor protein thus preventing access of endogenous estrogens to their specific binding site.
At present it is described in the literature that several malignant disease as breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, endometrial cancer and endometrial hyperplasia may be treated by the administration of a selective 17β-HSD1 inhibitor. Furthermore, a selective 17β-HSD1 inhibitor may be useful for the prevention of the aforementioned hormone-dependent cancers, especially breast cancer (see e.g. WO 2004/080271 (and related 2006/0057628). Furthermore, international patent application WO 2003/017973 describes the use of a selective estrogen enzyme modulator (SEEM) in the manufacture of a drug delivery vehicle for intravaginal administration to treat or prevent a benign gynaecological disorder such as endometriosis in a mammalian female.
Several reversible or irreversible inhibitors of the 17β-HSD1 enzyme of steroidal and even non-steroidal origin are already known from the literature. The characteristics of these inhibitory molecules, which mainly have a substrate or cofactor-like core structure, have been reported in the literature [reviewed in: Poirier D. (2003) “Inhibitors of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases” Curr Med. Chem. 10:453-77].
The following compounds or compound classes have already been described as 17β-HSD1 inhibitors: For example, Tremblay and Poirier describe an estradiol derivative, 16-[carbamoyl-(bromo-methyl)-alkyl]-estradiol, and tested the same in respect of its inhibition of the estradiol formation catalysed by the enzyme 17β-HSD1 [Tremblay & Poirier (1998) “Overview of a Rational Approach to Design Type I 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Inhibitors Without Estrogenic Activity: Chemical Synthesis and Biological Evaluation”, J. Steroid Biochem. Molec. Biol., 66:179-191]. Poirier and colleagues describe a 6β-thiaheptan-butyl-methyl-amide derivative of estradiol as a potent and selective inhibitor of the 17β-HSD1 enzyme [Poirier et al. (1998) “A 6β-(Thiaheptanamide) Derivative of Estradiol as inhibitor of 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1”, J. Steroid Biochem. Molec. Biol., 64:83-90]. Furthermore, Poirier and colleagues describe new derivatives of 17β-estradiol with long N-butyl, N-methyl alkylamide side chains of three different lengths (n=8, 10 or 12) at position 15, which might be potential inhibitors of the 17β-HSD1 enzyme [Poirier et al. (1991) “Synthesis of 17β-estradiol derivatives with N-Butyl, N-methyl alkylamide side chain at position 15.” Tetrahedron, 47(37):7751-7766]. Similar compounds were also disclosed within European patent application EP 0 367 576. However, the biological activity of these compounds was only tested with regard to estrogen receptor binding affinity, estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activity [Poirier et al. (1996) “D-Ring alkylamine derivatives of estradiol: effect on ER-binding affinity and antiestrogenic activity” Bioorg Med Chem Lett 6(21):2537-2542], but not with regard to their ability to inhibit the 17β-HSD1 enzyme. In addition, Pelletier and Poirier describe novel 17β-estradiol derivatives with different bromo-alkyl side chains, which might be potential inhibitors of the 17β-HSD1 enzyme [Pelletier & Poirier (1996) “Synthesis and evaluation of estradiol derivatives with 16α-(bromoalkylamide), 16α-(bromoalkyl) or 16α-(bromoalkynyl) side chain as inhibitors of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 without estrogenic activity” Bioorg Med Chem, 4(10):1617-1628]. Sam and colleagues describe several estradiol derivatives with a halogenated alkyl side chain in 16α or 17α position of the steroidal D-ring which possess 17β-HSD1 inhibiting properties [Sam et al. (1998) “C16 and C17 Derivatives of Estradiol as Inhibitors of 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1: Chemical Synthesis and Structure-Activity Relationships”, Drug Design and Discovery, 15:157-180]. Furthermore, the finding that some anti-estrogens, such as tamoxifen, possess weak 17β-HSD1 inhibiting properties suggested that it may be possible to develop a potent 17β-HSD1 inhibitor that is also anti-estrogenic [reviewed in: Poirier D. (2003)]. Several of the aforementioned already known compounds also display anti-estrogenic properties (e.g. the 6β-thiaheptan-butyl-methyl-amide derivative of estradiol described by Poirier and colleagues [Poirier et al. (1998)]). None of the aforementioned compounds has been clinically used so far.
Furthermore, the international patent application WO 2004/085457 (and related US2006/074060) discloses a variety of estron derivatives with different substituents in C2, C3, C6, C16 and/or C17 position as potent 17β-HSD1 inhibitors. For some of the compounds it was shown that the substitution of steroid based 17β-HSD1 inhibitors at the C2 position with small hydrophobic groups renders the compounds less estrogenic and are favourable for 17β-HSD1 over 17β-HSD2 discrimination [Lawrence et al (2005) “Novel and potent 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 inhibitors.” J Med Chem. 48(8):2759-62].
The international application WO 2005/047303 discloses new 3, 15 substituted 17β-estradiol derivatives with different kind of side chains at position 15, which are potent and selective 17β-HSD1 inhibitors.
Additional compounds representing potential 17β-HSD1 inhibitors were disclosed within international applications WO 2006/003012 (and related US 2006/052461) and WO 2006/003013 (and related) in the form of novel 2-substituted D-homo-estra-1,3,5(110)-trienes and novel 2-substituted estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-ones.
The synthesis of different B-, C- and D-ring substituted estradiol carboxylic esters was described by Labaree et al. (2003] “Synthesis and Evaluation of B-, C- and D-ring substituted estradiol carboxylic acid esters as locally active estrogens” J. Med. Chem. 46:1886-1904. However, these esters were only analysed with regard to their estrogenic potential. The related international patent application WO 2004/085345 (and related US 2003/0456374) discloses 15α substituted estradiol compounds bearing a —(CH2)m—CO—O—R side chain, wherein R is H, a C1-C5 alkyl group, optionally substituted with at least one halogen group, such as CH2CH2F, or other group (e.g. CH2CHF2, CH2CF3 or CF3 group); and m is from 0-5. These 15α estradiol esters are described as locally active estrogens without significant systemic action.
Furthermore, international application WO2006/027347 (and related US 2004/0608501) discloses 15β-substituted estradiol derivatives having selective estrogen receptor activity towards the estrogen receptor α-subtype.
A further well characterized member of the 17β-HSD family is the 17β-HSD type 3 enzyme (17β-HSD3). The 17β-HSD3 has a distinct feature compared to other 17-HSDs: it is found to be expressed almost exclusively the testis, whereas the other isoenzymes are expressed more widely in several tissues. 17β-HSD3 has a crucial role in androgen biosynthesis. It converts 4-androstene-3,17-one (A) to testosterone (T). The biological significance of the 17β-HSD3 is of undeniable physiological importance. Mutations in the gene for 17β-HSD3 have found to lead to decreased T formation in the fetal testis and consequently to a human intersex disorder termed male pseudohermaphroditism [Geissler W M et al. (1994) “Male pseudohermaphroditism caused by mutations of testicular 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3.” Nat. Genet., 7:34-9].
With regard to the indication prostate cancer, the primary cancer cells mostly retain their responsiveness to androgens in their regulation of proliferation, differentiation, and programmed cell death for some period. At present, androgen deprivation is the only effective systemic hormonal therapy available for prostate cancer. The development of selective inhibitors against 17β-HSD3 is a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of androgen dependent disease [Labrie et al. (2000)]. Furthermore, Oefelein et al. reported that the depot GnRH analogue fails, in nearly 20% of cases, to achieve castrate levels of T in men [Oefelein M G & Cornum R (2000) “Failure to achieve castrate levels of testosterone during luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist therapy: the case for monitoring serum testosterone and a treatment decision algorithm.” J Urol.; 164:726-9]. In order to improve the response rate to endocrine therapy for men with prostate cancer it may be important to selectively inhibit testicular 17β-HSD3 activity. Besides prostate cancer, many other androgen-sensitive diseases, i.e. diseases whose onset or progress is aided by androgenic activity, may be treated by selectively inhibiting 17β-HSD3 activity. These diseases include but are not limited to prostadynia, benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, acne, seborrhea, hirsutism, androgenic alopecia, precocious puberty, adrenal hyperplasia, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Furthermore, considering the fact that 17β-HSD3 is found mainly in the testis, the development of potent inhibitors could be of interest for blocking spermatogenesis and as an anti-fertility agent for males.
Several reversible or irreversible inhibitors of the 17β-HSD3 enzymes of steroidal and even non-steroidal origin are already known from the literature. The characteristics of these inhibitory molecules have been reported in the literature [reviewed in: Poirier D. (2003)]. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,541,463 discloses androsterone derived inhibitors for 17β-HSD3. These derivatives have been synthesised by parallel solid- and liquid-phase chemistry and some of these compounds showed 2 to 18-fold higher inhibition activity than that of the natural substrate of the enzyme, A-dione, used itself as a inhibitor. Furthermore, the international patent application WO 01/42181 discloses benzyl-tetralins, the chemical structure of which is related to that of the phytoestrogen biochanin, as 17β-HSD3 inhibitors. Moreover, international patent applications, WO 99/46279 (and related U.S. Pat. No. 6,541,463), WO 2003/022835 (and related US 2006/069103), WO 2003/033487 (and related US 2003/0232837), WO 2004/046111 (and related U.S. Pat. No. 7,074,795 and US 2006/0148816), WO 2004/060488 (and related U.S. Pat. No. 7,053,091 and US 2006/0142338), WO 2004/110459 (and related US 2005/0032778), WO 2005/032527 (and related US 2005/0038053) and WO 2005/084295 (and related US 2005/0192310) disclose compounds which have a 17β-HSD3 inhibitory activity, for the treatment of hormone sensitive diseases.
Microsomal 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase of human endometrium and placenta (designated 17β-HSD type 2 or 17β-HSD2) was cloned by expression cloning, and found to be equally active using androgens and estrogens as substrates for oxidation [Andersson S. (1995) “Molecular genetics of androgenic 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases.” J. Steroid Biochem. Molec. Biol., 55:533-534]]. The recombinant 17β-HSD2 converts the highly active 17β-hydroxysteroids such as estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), and dehydrotestosterone (DHT) to their inactive keto forms. In addition, the 17β-HSD2 can, to a lesser extent, also convert 20β-hydroxyprogesterone (20βP) to progesterone (P). The broad tissue distribution together with the predominant oxidative activity of 17β-HSD2 suggest that the enzyme may play an essential role in the inactivation of highly active 17β-hydroxysteroids, resulting in diminished sex hormone action in target tissues. Dong and colleagues showed significant 17β-HSD2 activity in cultured human osteoblasts and osteoblast-like osteosarcoma cells MG63 and TE85, but not in SaOS-2 [Dong Y et al. (1998) “17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases in human bone cells” J. Bone Min. Res., 13:1539-1546]. The potential for interconversion of E1 to E2, T to A, and DHT to A by bone cells could therefore represent important mechanism for the local regulation of intracellular ligand supply for the estrogen and androgen receptors in the osteoblasts and other steroid sensitive cells. This modulation of steroid levels may be employed for a wide variety of indications, including the following: for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, for the treatment of ovarian cancer, breast cancer or endometrial cancer, for the treatment of endometriosis, for the treatment of prostate cancer and/or for the treatment of androgen-dependent hair-loss.
Several reversible or irreversible inhibitors of the 17β-HSD2 enzymes of steroidal and even non-steroidal origin are already known from the literature. The characteristics of these inhibitory molecules have been reported in the literature [reviewed in: Poirier D. (2003)]. In addition, the international patent application WO 02/26706 (and related US 2003-0087952) discloses 17β-HSD2 inhibitors of non-steroidal origin.
Accordingly, there is still a need for the development of compounds which are suited for the treatment and/or prevention of the aforementioned steroid hormone dependent diseases or disorders by selectively inhibiting the 17β-HSD1, 17β-HSD3 and/or 17β-HSD2 enzyme, while desirably failing to substantially inhibit other members of the 17β-HSD protein family or other catalysts of sex steroid degradation or activation. In particular, it is an aim of the present invention to develop selective inhibitors of the 17β-HSD1 enzyme, whereby in addition the compounds have no or only pure antagonistic binding affinities to the estrogen receptor (both subtypes, α and β). Furthermore, an increased metabolic stability of the compounds would be desirable, in order to prevent conversion of the compounds to metabolites with less inhibitory potential on the 17β-HSD1 enzyme. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The invention is directed to a process for the production of adhesive metal coatings applied chemically, by evaporation in vacuum or by sputtering to electrical non-conductors, especially synthetic resins, by roughening the surface regions to be coated by means of a preliminary etching before the metallization.
Metallized non-conductors, especially metallized synthetic resins, find many uses in all areas of technology. The metal coatings are produced by evaporation, chemical deposition or by pasting or rolling onto films.
Insofar as the metallization is not only for decorative purposes, the adhesiveness of the metal coating is always of greater importance.
There are known various processes for increasing the adhesiveness of the metal coatings before the metallization. This occurs above all through roughening of the surface to be coated by means of buffing processes, impressing a relief in the surface, swelling and roughening the surface by means of acids, alkalis or solvents, use of adhesion facilitating intermediate layers (varnishes, pastes), by means of acids or alkalis embedding foreign materials in the adhesive facilitator which foreign materials can be dissolved out (cavity formation), or through evaporation of the adhesion facilitating intermediate layers.
For the cases of use in which the metal coating must have a defined adhesiveness in the range of greater than 1.2 n/mm, previously sufficient values were produced only through the use of paste systems or adhesion facilitators.
However, even with these adhesion facilitators and adhesive systems, the adhesives frequently prove insufficient in the later processing of the materials, particularly in thermal requirements. This concerns specifically all materials with paste systems. For example the paste causes problems in later soldering processes or bonding processes if such materials are used for the production of printed circuits. Furthermore, pastes and adhesive facilitators are expensive and can only be applied uniformly at high expense.
Therefore it was the problem of the present invention to develop a process for the production of adhesive metallic coatings applied chemically, by evaporation in a vacuum or by sputtering on non-conductors, especially on synthetic resins, by roughening the surface region to be coated by means of a preliminary etching before the metallization through which a very high adhesiveness of the metal coating is attained, even without the use of adhesive facilitating intermediate layers. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention is an electronic circuit for demodulating servo information read from a magnetic storage medium. More specifically, the present invention is a demodulation circuit used in a digital video cassette recording system for demodulating embedded frequency modulated servo schemes from a magnetic storage medium, and thereby determining the position of a read head with respect to a specific track of the magnetic storage medium.
A video cassette can include two types of information on the magnetic storage medium, such as a magnetic tape. First, the storage medium can include data information which can be written to or read from the storage medium by electrical circuitry within a video cassette recorder (VCR) and which can be manipulated by the electrical circuitry within the VCR to recover the data from the storage medium. Second, the video cassette can include servo information, which is information which can be recovered from the magnetic storage medium by electrical circuitry within the VCR to monitor and position a read head of the VCR. The servo information is utilized by the VCR to position and center the read head above the desired track of data information on the magnetic storage medium such that the read head will properly read the data from the track. If the read head is not properly centered over the desired track of the magnetic storage medium, circuitry within the VCR will utilize the servo information to alter the position of the read head such that it is properly centered above the desired track.
Presently there are two positions on a magnetic storage medium in which servo information is written. First, servo information can be written at the beginning of each track of the magnetic storage medium. In this type of system, the servo information is also called servo bursts, meaning that there is a burst of information positioned at the beginning of each track containing no data information, just servo information. These servo burst areas are a source of interruption to data information storage.
Second, servo information can be written on alternating tracks such that a first track would include data as well as embedded servo information and a second track would include data information only. While reading down the data-only track the read-head can also read the embedded servo information on the two adjacent tracks as a fringing field. This information is then used to center the read-head on the track. The technique of storing and subsequently recovering servo information from alternating tracks has become the standard in digital video cassette recording systems.
One type of prior art VCR system uses high-Q or very tight bandpass, continuous-time filters to extract servo information from the recovered data. Given the typical component tolerances in any standard silicon IC fabrication process, a high-Q bandpass, continuous-time filter is usually difficult to control. In order to achieve accurate control over parameters such as the filter cut-off frequency, elaborate control circuitry needs to be included on the same chip. The resulting system complexity is often high leading to an increase in the overall cost as well as power consumption. An alternate is to emulate the filtering function using Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technique. However, this alternative also results in an unacceptably high-cost high-complexity implementation for most applications. Yet another option is to lock onto the frequency-modulated servo information using a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL). For such a system to function, the PLL circuitry needs to have a very narrow lock-range leading to an unacceptably long transient response time for the overall system.
Therefore, there is a need for an automatic tracking frequency servo demodulation technique for digital VCR applications which is not hardware intensive and which provides a relatively fast response. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In recent years, semiconductor devices have been developed, and a variety of semiconductor devices such as one with a silicon wafer or a glass substrate, which depends on the usage, has been manufactured.
For example, in a liquid crystal display device, a transistor and a wiring are formed over a glass substrate. An LSI, a CPU, or a memory is an aggregation of semiconductor elements each provided with an electrode which is a connection terminal, which includes a semiconductor integrated circuit (including at least a transistor and a memory) separated from a semiconductor wafer.
In the above semiconductor device, a transistor can be used for part of the components. A silicon-based semiconductor material has been known as a material for a semiconductor thin film that can be applied to a transistor. As another material, an oxide semiconductor has also attracted attention.
As a material of the oxide semiconductor, a material including zinc oxide as its component is known. In addition, a transistor which is formed using a semiconductor including zinc oxide is disclosed (Patent Documents 1 to 3). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Monitoring of the environment can occur in spaces, such as homes, greenhouses or humidors; and the remote control of environment altering equipment, such as air conditioners are available. Products sold by LaCrosse Technologies and Sensorcon monitor environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, in spaces. Focused as they are on spaces, as opposed to individual moveable objects residing in spaces, such sensor/warning systems do not include motion detectors.
Independently, existing monitors, because they are too large and heavy, cannot be attached to musical instruments without altering the musical performance of the instrument. Further, in order to offer practical protection of individual objects in a store or in a museum, the monitoring sensor system must be significantly less expensive than the object itself. This is not the case.
Independently, patent application CN 203149795 describes a single-chip system that monitors temperature and humidity; it does not address motion detection. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and in particular relates to a liquid crystal display device in which misalignment between upper and lower substrates is suppressed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display device has a configuration that a thin-film transistor (TFT) substrate in which a pixel electrode, a TFT and the like are formed in a matrix, and an opposite substrate in which a color filter and the like are formed at a position corresponding to that of the pixel electrode of the TFT substrate are arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween, and liquid crystal is retained in the gap between the TFT substrate and the opposite substrate. To regulate the gap between the TFT substrate and the opposite substrate to be constant, a columnar spacer is interposed between the substrates.
In a liquid crystal display device, when a temperature change occurs between upper and lower substrates due to a use environment condition or lighting of a backlight, because rates of thermal expansion of the upper and lower substrates are different, misalignment of one substrate to another substrate in a surface direction occurs, and a display failure occurs due to occurrence of uneven brightness caused by misalignment between a pixel region of the upper substrate and a pixel region of the lower substrate and a bright spot caused by shaving of an orientation film associated with the misalignment in a surface direction. In particular, when a screen size is large or thickness of polarizing plates laminated on the upper and lower substrates are different, misalignment between the upper and lower substrates in a surface direction becomes more significant.
About regulation of an interval between substrates and prevention of misalignment between upper and lower substrates, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-131238 discloses that columnar spacers having different height are formed on one substrate, reduction of a frictional resistance between the substrate and an opposite substrate is attempted with a taller spacer, and a cell gap between the substrates is finally ensured with a shorter spacer.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-84290 discloses a liquid crystal display device in which a columnar spacer for maintaining a substrate gap is arranged in a pixel electrode at a contact portion that supplies electrical signals to the pixel electrode to realize stable control of a panel gap without impairing display quality and an aperture ratio of pixels.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-5190 discloses that to suppress a variation in inter-substrate positions and a cell gap caused by a positional variation of a columnar spacer due to application of an external force, a top part of the columnar spacer formed fixedly at an inner surface of one of a pair of substrates is positioned at a concave part of a multilayer structure film of another substrate. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to puzzles and toys. More particularly, the present invention is directed to construction toys for building stable three-dimensional structures utilizing various construction elements, at least some of which have luminescent characteristics.
2. Background of the Invention
Individuals often find enjoyment in the challenge of building aesthetic structural designs and/or functional structural models. Frequently, the utility associated with constructing such structures is found in the creative and/or problem-solving process required to achieve a desired structural objective. Currently, construction assemblies that exploit magnetic properties to interlink various structural components and thereby form different three-dimensional structures are known and can provide an added dimension of sophistication to the construction process. Examples of such construction assemblies include the magnetic construction toy disclosed in Balanchi U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,727, the modular assemblies disclosed in Vicentielli U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,992, and the magnetic puzzle/toy disclosed in Smith U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,262. In particular, German Patent No. DE 202 02 183 U1 to Kretzschmar describes flat triangles, squares and rectangles used in conjunction with ferromagnetic balls to create a limited range of geometric constructions. The flat shapes disclosed in the Kretzschmar German Patent consist of magnets inserted in the corners of a triangular or square piece, or six magnets in a rectangular plate that can be attracted to steel balls to create three-dimensional shapes. Thus, conventional construction kits are appealing to persons of all ages in that they allow for both aesthetic and geometric creativity.
The above-noted magnet construction assemblies each contain a certain number of component parts, which can sometimes limit geometries and stable or secure connections. Thus, a need remains for a magnetic construction assembly that provides more flexibility in both aesthetic and geometric design, and, moreover, that provides an additional degree of design/construction sophistication. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Textile designers are very creative. This is necessary because of seasonal factors and because the public taste continually changes, so the industry continually demands new products. Many designers in this industry would like the ability to custom-make their own yarns, so their products would be more unique, and so as to provide more flexibility in designing textiles.
For textile purposes, a "textile" yarn must have certain properties, such as sufficiently high modulus and yield point, and sufficiently low shrinkage, which distinguish these yarns from conventional feed yarns that require further processing before they have the minimum properties for processing into textiles and subsequent use. Generally, hereinafter, we refer to untextured filament yarns as "flat" yarns and undrawn "flat" filament yarns as "feed" or as "draw-feed" filament yarns. Filament yarns which can be used as a "textile" yarn without need for further drawing and/or heat treatment are referred to herein as "direct-use" filament yarns. It will be recognized that, where appropriate, the technology may apply also to polyester filaments in other forms, such as tows, which may then be converted into staple fiber, and used as such in accordance with the balance of properties that is desirable and may be achieved as taught hereinafter.
It is important to recognize that what is important for any particular end-use is the combination of all the properties of the specific yarn (or filament), sometimes in the yarn itself during processing, but also in the eventual fabric or garment of which it is a component. It is easy, for instance, to reduce shrinkage by a processing treatment, but this modification is generally accompanied by other changes, so it is the combination or balance of properties of any filament (or staple fiber) that is important. It is also understood that the filaments may be supplied and/or processed according to the invention in the form of a yarn or as a bundle of filaments that does not necessarily have the coherency of a true "yarn", but for convenience herein a plurality of filaments may often be referred to as a "yarn" or "bundle", without intending specific limitation. Many yarns have had several desirable properties and have been available in large quantities at reasonable cost; but, hitherto, there has been an important limiting factor in the usefulness of most polyester flat yarns to textile designers, because only a limited range of yarns has been available from fiber producers, and the ability of any designer to custom-make his own particular polyester flat yarns has been severely limited in practice. The fiber producer has generally supplied only a rather limited range of polyester yarns because it would be more costly to make a more varied range, e.g. of deniers per filament (dpf), and to stock an inventory of such different yarns.
Conventional flat polyester filament yarns have typically been prepared, for example, by melt-spinning at low or moderate speeds (to make undrawn yarn that is sometimes referred to as LOY and MOY) and then single-end drawing and heating to reduce shrinkage and to increase modulus and yield point. Conventional polyester filaments have combinations of properties that, for certain end-uses, could desirably be improved, as will be indicated hereinafter. Recently, there has been interest in using flat undrawn filament yarns (e.g., LOY, MOY, and most especially POY), which have generally been cheaper than drawn yarns, and incorporating a drawing step in the beaming operation, as disclosed, e.g., by Seaborn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,767. This process is referred to herein as "warp-drawing", but is sometimes called draw-beaming or draw-warping.
As disclosed, e.g., in the parent application (U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,447 referred to hereinabove, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference), it was known that conventional polyester undrawn LOY, MOY, and POY (defined hereinafter) draw by a necking operation; i.e., such conventional undrawn polyester filaments have a natural draw-ratio (NDR) and that drawing such polyester filaments at draw ratios less than this natural draw-ratio (herein referred to as partial-drawing, i.e., drawing to a residual elongation of more than about 30% in the drawn yarns) produces irregular "thick-thin" filaments which are considered inferior for most practical commercial purposes (unless a specialty yarn is required, to give a novelty effect, or special effect). For filament yarns, the need for uniformity is particularly important, more so than for staple fiber. Fabrics from flat yarns show even minor differences in uniformity from partial drawing of conventional undrawn polyester yarns as defects, especially when dyeing these fabrics. Thus, uniformity in flat filament yarns is extremely important.
Undrawn polyester filaments were unique in this respect because nylon filaments and polypropylene filaments did not have this defect. Thus, it has been possible to take several samples of a nylon undrawn yarn, all of which have the same denier per filament, and draw them, using different draw ratios, to obtain correspondingly different deniers in the drawn yarns, as desired, without some being irregular thick-thin filament yarns, like partially drawn polyester filament yarns. POY stands for partially oriented yarn POY, meaning spin-oriented yarn spun at speeds of, e.g., 2.5-3.5 km/min for use as draw feed yarns for draw-texturing as suggested in Petrilie, U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,307 and Piazza & Reese, U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,872. These draw-texturing feed yarns (DTFY) had not been used, e.g., as textile yarns, because of their high shrinkage and low yield point, which is often measurable as a low T.sub.7 (tenacity at 7% elongation) or a low modulus (M). In other words, POY used as DTFY are not textile yarns (sometimes referred to as "hard yarns") that can be used as such in textile processes, but are draw feed yarns (DFY) that are drawn and heated to increase their yield point and reduce their shrinkage so as to make textile yarns. MOY means medium oriented yarns, and are prepared by spinning at somewhat lower speeds than POY, e.g., 1.5-2.5 km/min, and are even less "hard", i.e., they are even less suitable for use as textile yarns without drawing. LOY means low oriented yarns, and are prepared at much lower spinning speeds of the order of 1.5 km/min or much less.
When conventional polyester undrawn POY of high shrinkage are prepared at higher spinning speeds, there is still generally a natural draw-ratio (NDR) at which these yarns prefer to be drawn, i.e., below which the resulting yarns are irregular; although the resulting irregularity becomes less noticeable, e.g., to the naked eye or by photography, as the spinning speed of the precursor feed yarns is increased, the along-end denier variations of the partial drawn yarns are nevertheless greater than are commercially desirable, especially as it is generally desired to dye the resulting fabrics or yarns. Denier variations often mean the filaments have not been uniformly oriented along-end, and variations in orientation affect dye-uniformity. Dyeing uniformity is very sensitive to variations resulting from partial drawing, as reported, for instance, by Bosley, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,098; Lipscomb, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,749; Nakagawa, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,622; Allen, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,295. It has also been reported that such prior art drawing results in along-end spontaneous crimp on shrinkage (Schippers U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,311; col. 10/lines 44-59 and col. 11/lines 24-31). Both of these are undesirable defects for end-uses requiring uniform along-end dyeability. This has severely limited the utility of conventional spin-oriented polyester POY filament yarns, for example, as a practical draw-warping feed yarn.
Thus, previously, even with POY, such as has been used as feed yarn for draw-texturing, it had not been practical to draw-warp the same such POY to two different dpfs that vary from each other by as much as 10% and obtain two satisfactory uniform drawn yarns. Thus, it will be understood that a serious commercial practical defect of prior suggestions for draw-warping most prior undrawn polyester (POY, MOY or LOY) had been the lack of flexibility in that it had not been possible to obtain satisfactory uniform products using draw ratios below the natural draw-ratio for the polyester feed yarn.
So far as is known, it had not previously been suggested, except in the parent application, that a draw process (such as a draw-warping process) be applied to a polyester textile yarn, i.e., one that was itself already a direct-use yarn, such as having shrinkage and tensile properties that made it suitable for direct use in textile processes such as weaving and knitting without first drawing. Indeed, to many skilled practitioners, it might have seemed a contradiction in terms to subject such a yarn to draw-warping, for example, because such a yarn was already a textile yarn, not a feed yarn that needed a drawing operation to impart properties useful in textile processes such as weaving or knitting.
According to the parent application, processes were provided for improving the properties of feed yarns of undrawn polyester filaments (especially undrawn polyester filament feed yarns having the shrinkage behavior of the spin-oriented polyester filaments disclosed by Knox in U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,071, and by Frankfort & Knox in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,134,882 and 4,195,051). Such processes involved drawing with or without heat during the drawing and with or without post heat-treatment, and are most conveniently adapted for operation using a draw-warping machine, some such being sometimes referred to as draw-beaming or warp-drawing operations; but such benefits may be extended to other drawing operations, such as split and coupled single-end drawing (or of small number of ends, typically corresponding to the number of spin packages per winder or spin position of a small unit of winders) and to various draw (and no-draw) texturing processes for providing bulky filament yarns. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A number of international standards define how information representing aural and visual stimuli can be encoded and formatted for recording and transmission, and how the encoded information can be received and decoded for playback. For ease of discussion, information representing aural and visual stimuli is referred to herein as audio and video information, respectively.
Many applications that conform to these standards transmit the encoded audio and video information as binary data in a serial manner. As a result, the encoded data is often referred to as a bitstream but other arrangements of the data are permissible. For ease of discussion, the term “bitstream” is used herein to refer to encoded data regardless of the data format or the recording or transmission technique that is used.
Two examples of these standards that are published by the International Standards Organization (ISO) are ISO/IEC 13818-7, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), also known as MPEG-2 AAC, and ISO/IEC 14496-3, subpart 4, also known as MPEG-4 audio. These two standards share technical features that make them similar to one another for purposes of this disclosure.
Standards such as the MPEG-2 AAC and MPEG-4 audio standards define bitstreams that are capable of conveying encoded data representing one or more audio channels. The concept of an audio channel is well known. The conventional stereophonic playback system with two loudspeakers is a well-known example of a playback system capable of reproducing two audio channels, often referred to as the left (L) and right (R) channels. Multichannel playback systems for so-called home theatre applications are capable of reproducing additional channels such as the center (C), back-left-surround (BL), back-right-surround (BR) and low-frequency-effects (LFE) channels.
A system that is capable of playing back audio from an encoded bitstream must include a device that is capable of extracting encoded data from the bitstream and decoding the extracted data into signals representing the individual audio channels. The cost of hardware resources for memory and processing required to decode data and apply a synthesis filter to obtain an output signal is a significant portion of the total manufacturing cost of the decoding device. As a result, the power requirements and purchase price of a decoder is affected significantly by the number of channels the decoder is capable of decoding. In an effort to reduce power requirements and purchase price, audio system manufacturers build decoders that are capable of decoding only a desired subset of all channels that are defined in a bitstream standard. Referring to the MPEG-2 AAC and MPEG-4 audio standards as examples, bitstreams can convey encoded data representing from one to forty-eight audio channels but most if not all practical decoders can decode only a small fraction of the maximum number of channels.
A typical decoder will process a particular bitstream only if it has the capability to decode all of the encoded channels that are conveyed in that bitstream. If a typical decoder receives a bitstream that conveys data representing more audio channels than it can decode, that decoder essentially discards the encoded data in the bitstream and does not decode any of the channels. This unfortunate situation exists because the decoder does not have the logic necessary to select and process a subset of the channels conveyed by the bitstream in an intelligent manner. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to the field of contactless systems and more particularly to a receiver circuit and method for a contactless identification system.
Contactless identification systems and smart cards do not have internal power sources. As a result they require a receiver circuit that captures both power and information. Commonly, these systems amplitude modulate (AM) the carrier wave to transmit information. Unfortunately, the present receivers have problems receiving information over a range distances between the card and the reader.
Thus there exists a need for a receiver circuit that increases the capability of the card to xe2x80x9cseexe2x80x9d the reader over a wide range of distances. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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