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In the existing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, an access point access point (AP) can support a maximum of 2007 access devices (or referred to as Stations, STAs for short, which, in the 802.11 standard, refer to devices that support the 802.11 protocol). Actually, STAs connected to one AP are restricted by bandwidth of the AP, and a maximum of dozens to hundreds of STAs can be connected to one AP. When there are more users (for example, during a game in a stadium), an AP needs to be added to increase bandwidth resources.
The 802.11ah standard under development uses a free frequency spectrum below 1 GHz to cover a scope of 1 kilometer. The standard is used in application fields such as a smart meter and a smart sensor network. A feature of these applications is that a data amount of a terminal is very small, and a coverage area of an AP is large; therefore, a large number of terminals may be supported. For example, the AP needs to support more STAs. For example, the number of STAs increases to 6000.
However, if the AP is required to support more STAs and a plurality of STAs simultaneously contend for accessing a network, an existing contention mechanism cannot operate. Because an existing biggest contention backoff window is 1023, it is almost impossible to avoid a conflict when thousands of STAs contend for a channel. As a result, it is very difficult for the STAs to access the network, or access of the STAs to the network takes a long period. | {
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The present disclosure generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to an improved cartridge magazine for a firearm.
Auto-loading firearms generally utilize a magazine for storing and automatically feeding ammunition cartridges or rounds into the firing system. When such firearms are discharged, a cartridge held in the chamber at the rear of the barrel is struck by a firing pin or striker to detonate the charge and propel the bullet or slug down the muzzle. This causes the action to reciprocate rearwards wherein the spent cartridge case or casing is extracted from the chamber and ejected from the firearm. A new cartridge presented by the magazine is then stripped therefrom by return movement of the action and loaded into the chamber in preparation for the next firing cycle.
The last expended case ejection has been a problem since the beginning of auto-loading magazine fed firearm designs. High speed photography has shown that autoloaders consistently eject spent casings by impacting the next round in the magazine more so in some instances than the firearm's ejector mechanism. When no next round is present, such as in the case of an empty magazine, the expended and extracted case upon occasion may slip off the extractor and does not reach the ejector, thereby remaining in the firearm until the magazine is eventually removed for replenishment with new cartridges or is manually shaken out of the action by the user.
A magazine with improved cartridge feed system is desired. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image input apparatus which comprises a camera head using a solid state image sensor and a controller connected to the camera head by a cable, to input a digital image signal to a computer machine via the controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, it is required to input image to a personal computer. There are a method for inputting the image to the personal computer using home video cameras (camcoders) and floppy type electronic still cameras and a digitizer or video capture board for converting the analog signal to a digital signal as an interface, and a method for inputting the image to the personal computer using a digital still camera using a memory card and a dedicated interface unit or a digital still camera containing a semiconductor memory and a dedicated cable.
The solid state image sensors used for the home video cameras or the electronic still cameras have about 250,000 or 400,000 pixels. However, the number of the pixels cannot provide a sufficient resolution in obtaining a still picture. Furthermore, the digitizer, video capture board or dedicated interface are required, resulting in increasing cost of the television system. If a specific interface is used as the digital interface, it cannot be applied for general purpose. In other hands, a standard interface has large-size connectors and a very low transfer rate. When the camera is connected to the computer, the power of the computer must be temporally turned off.
Triple-tube type cameras or triple-plate type CCD cameras which is of a high resolution is not portability and is high in cost since its optical system is bulky. Although flat type scanners have high resolution and high image quality, it has no portability and cannot pick up document images. Handy type scanners can pick up only document images. | {
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The present disclosure relates to an embedded power module, and more particularly to an embedded power module of a transport system.
Typical power module designs, such as those used in transport systems (e.g., elevators, escalators, and others), include silicon insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) and diodes. The semiconductor devices may be attached to a ceramic substrate and wire bonded to form the necessary electrical connections. The assembly may then be placed in a plastic housing that is connected to the user design application through screw terminals or press fit pins. | {
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U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,061 discloses a cutting tool in the form of a turning tool, the turning or cutting insert of which is detachably connected to a basic body via a partly resilient (deflectable) tightening screw. In connecting surfaces included in an interface between the cutting insert and the basic body, a number of engagement structures are arranged, which in a mounted state engage each other in order to secure the cutting insert in a predetermined position. The engagement structures are arranged in such a way that a certain displacement of the cutting insert is allowed before the tightening screw is finally tightened. The screw hole in the basic body is eccentrically arranged in relation to the hole in the cutting insert in order to apply a certain bias force to the cutting insert in connection with the tightening of the screw. As a consequence of the eccentricity between the holes in combination with a certain thread play and the elasticity of the screw, the screw affects the cutting insert by two tightening forces acting in different directions, viz., on one hand, a bias force, which acts rectilinearly along the connecting surface of the basic body, and on the other hand a tightening force, which acts straight down into the basic body. By the bias force, the cutting insert is displaced in the direction from a front end of the insert seat until the cutting insert abuts by transverse flank or shoulder surfaces against a pair of rear flank surfaces, which function as stop surfaces. When the cutting insert approaches the final position thereof, the holes are still eccentric, which means that the screw shank upon continued tightening will be somewhat deflected. In such a way, it is ensured that the cutting insert maintains contact with the stop surfaces. However, a problem with this tool is that the screw risks becoming worn out because of, among other things, the biasing of the screw, which may result in a deteriorated clamping of the cutting insert. Another disadvantage with the bias is that the tightening force is not brought straight down into the cutting insert, which results in the tightening force being considerably reduced. Furthermore, in practice the screw lacks capacity to secure the cutting insert in a position in which the active cutting edge of the cutting insert can reliably retain an exact space position in relation to the basic body, since the screw, on one hand, via the male thread thereof, has a certain play in relation to the female thread in the basic body, and on the other hand can be deflected away by the cutting forces.
The present invention aims at managing the above-mentioned problems, and at providing an improved cutting tool. Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a tool having improved clamping, more precisely by eliminating the need to position the cutting insert in the correct end position directly by the proper tightening screw.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tool that not only locates the cutting insert in the desired way initially in connection with mounting, but also can retain the stable fixation of the cutting insert under the severe stresses encountered by the cutting insert during the chip removing machining.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a tool having a tightening screw that applies a large, unidirected tightening force to the cutting insert, and has a long service life by not needing to be deflected upon the tightening. | {
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The urinary incontinence is involuntary leakage of urine which can be proved objectively and defined as urinary leakage closely related to human life from social and hygiene perspectives (according to the International Incontinence Society). Now, the urinary incontinence is increasing specifically in men and women over 40 years old. Among types of urinary incontinence, stress urinary incontinence occurs most frequently and, supposedly, accounts for half or more of urinary incontinence in women. The stress urinary incontinence tends to involuntarily occur when experiencing abdominal pressure due to coughing, sneezing, lifting weights, walking for long time, singing, laughing or yelling, consequently resulting in causing suffering. Especially in women, the number of postmenopausal patients has markedly increased and it seems that the stress urinary incontinence is attributed to weakening of the pelvic floor muscle, which is caused by aging and occurs with greater frequency in women who have been pregnant or multiparous.
On the other hand, there is an overactive bladder which has drawn attention in recent years as another factor of urinary incontinence is a syndrome accompanied typically by frequent micturition or nocturia with urinary urgency as a predominant symptom and impending incontinence in certain instances, but overt causative disease thereof cannot be found in 12.4 percents of men and women aged 40 and over. (International Continence Society, 2002) This symptom has been reported to be increased with age and manifested in 20 percents of 70's and 35 percents of 80's. Also, the urinary incontinence associated with cystitis or interstitial cystitis is increasing.
Furthermore, the male-specific urinary incontinence may be developed due to disturbance of the bladder sphincter which occurs frequently in patients undergoing a total relaxation to treat prostate cancer or aftereffects suffered from indispensable dominant nerve section, aftereffects of radiation by radiotherapy for prostate cancer or prostate enlargement related surgery, or inadvertent nerve cutting happened during a surgery operation.
The group of diseases as a predominant symptom of urinary incontinence increases remarkably in male and female patients aged over 50 with igniting a social problem. A disturbance in pelvic floor muscle and flaccidity of a supporting structure such as a ligament are subjected to an operative procedure performed for the cure of female urinary incontinence on the basis of an integral theory.
However, a patient with less serious disease and a patient who prefers not to undergo surgery for any other reason have longed for ambisextrous-applicable measures capable of being relieved of physical pain by relatively-easy treatment without relying on any open surgery. As a passive way, there have been measures to absorb urine with a napkin or the like, collect urine in a urine-collecting bag worn on the penis or absorb urine with a pad or the like worn on the external genitals in case of precipitating urinary incontinence. However, these supplies must be replaced at frequent intervals and abhorrently cause unpleasant sensation and an objectionable odor in the event of attachment or replacement. Thus, there is a need for positive measures to control urination per se for preventing urinary incontinence. As an example, there have been devised a variety of methods using a device which is disposed in the urethra to prevent urinary leakage in its closed state and expedite urination in its casually open state.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a device provided in the urethra with a slit-type beaklike valve or a ball and a catheter with a valve for controlling urination of female. The device having a stylet to place a catheter in the urethra of woman is used to insert a urination tool from the body into the slit-type valve in the open state of the catheter valve, thereby enabling excretion of intravesical content.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a device comprising a bladder balloon to be fitted within the bladder, a conduit for conducting and excreting urinary flow, and an incontinence controller having an actuating valve for closing the conduit. The disclosed device is provided with a switching mechanism for operating the actuating valve by means of a spring and a manual actuating member so as to excrete urine by operating the actuating member to part a metallic valve head from the conduit and arbitrarily control incontinence by manually releasing the spring to close the conduit with the valve head.
Patent Literature 3 discloses a urination controlling device chiefly comprising a valve, which is disposed in the proximity of the bladder in the urethra. The disclosed device is used to control urination responsive to the abdominal muscle pressure with which a patient causes a muscle contraction by opening the valve with stress difference between the intravesical pressure in the bladder and the spring.
Patent Literature 4 discloses a urination controlling device comprising an intraductal coil to be inserted into the conduit and magnet-operated switching means so as to enable the switching operation of the switching means from outside. The device is intended to reliably perform closing of the urinary tract and controlling of urination.
In addition to the devices of the type set inside the body, there has been developed a device for controlling urination by arbitrarily dissolving a blocking medicament inserted in the urethra. Patent Literature 5 makes mention of inserting the medicament containing polyvinyl alcohol laced with alginate polymer or boronate polymer into the urethra to block the urethra, thereby to make a gel plug for preventing urinary incontinence. By infusing dextrose solution or the like into the gel plug when urinating, stability of gel is broken to dissolve the gel plug, consequently to allow urination. | {
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The present invention relates to transimpedance amplifiers and in particular to a transimpedance amplifier having a feedback resistive network.
Transimpedance amplifiers convert an input current signal into an output voltage signal. Transimpedance amplifiers may be utilized in a variety of systems and applications including an optical communication system. A transimpedance amplifier typically includes one feedback resistor coupled across an input terminal and output terminal of a voltage amplifier. The current signal applied to the voltage amplifier is passed substantially through the feedback resistor because of the high input impedance of the voltage amplifier. A voltage signal proportional to the input current is thus produced at the output of the voltage amplifier.
To achieve greater gain and sensitivity of the transimpedance amplifier, the resistance of the feedback resistor is typically increased. However, increasing the resistance of the feedback resistor has several drawbacks. First, the feedback resistor has an increased physical size which takes up more space in an environment where there is a premium on such space. Second, resistors manufactured utilizing semiconductor technology processes have a parasitic capacitance associated with them. Therefore, a larger resistor has a larger parasitic capacitance which leads to a reduction in bandwidth of the transimpedance amplifier.
Third, output potential drift of the transimpedance amplifier may be increased in some transimpedance amplifiers. For instance, some transimpedance amplifiers have an input stage including bipolar transistors which have specific tolerances and temperature dependence. In this situation, current through the feedback resistor creates a potential drift in the output voltage of the transimpedance amplifier that is proportional to the feedback resistor value. This drawback is especially prevalent in multistage transimpedance amplifiers with galvanic connection architecture.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a transimpedance amplifier having a feedback resistive network with a fixed effective resistance value for maintaining a high effective resistance value while improving on the above drawbacks.
A transimpedance amplifier consistent with the invention includes a voltage amplifier having an input terminal and an output terminal, and a feedback circuit coupled to the input terminal and the output terminal of the voltage amplifier. The feedback circuit includes an impedance element in parallel with a feedback resistive network have a fixed effective resistive value.
An optical communication system consistent with the invention includes a light detector configured to detect an optical signal and produce a current signal representative of the optical signal, and a transimpedance amplifier configured to accept the current signal and provide a voltage signal representative of the current signal. The transimpedance amplifier includes a voltage amplifier having an input terminal and an output terminal, and a feedback circuit coupled to the input terminal and the output terminal of the voltage amplifier. The feedback circuit includes an impedance element in parallel with a feedback resistive network have a fixed effective resistive value.
Another transimpedance amplifier consistent with the invention includes a voltage amplifier having an input terminal and an output terminal, and a feedback resistive network having a fixed effective resistive value. The feedback resistive network is disposed between the input terminal and the output terminal of the voltage amplifier. The fixed effective resistive value is given by the equation: Reff=R1+R2+R1(R2/R3), wherein Reff is the fixed effective resistive value; R1 is a resistance value of a first resistive element; R2 is a resistance value of a second resistive element; and R3 is a resistance value of a third resistive element.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention there is provided a transimpedance amplifier including a voltage amplifier having an input terminal and an output terminal, and a feedback resistive network having a fixed effective resistive value. The feedback resistive network is disposed between the input terminal and the output terminal of the voltage amplifier. The feedback resistive network includes a first resistive element disposed between the input terminal of the voltage amplifier and a node, a second resistive element disposed between the output terminal of the voltage amplifier and the node, and a third resistive element disposed between the node and a ground terminal.
There is also provided a method of increasing the bandwidth of a transimpedance amplifier that includes the steps of: providing a current signal to an input terminal of the transimpedance amplifier; providing an impedance element disposed between the input terminal and an output terminal of the transimpedance amplifier; and setting a fixed effective value for a feedback resistive network having an associated parasitic capacitance, the feedback resistive network disposed between the input terminal and an output terminal of the transimpedance amplifier in parallel with the impedance element, the bandwidth based on the associated parasitic capacitance of the feedback resistive network. | {
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Enterprise Content Management (ECM) refers to the strategies, methods, and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to business processes. To this end, ECM generally covers the management of information within the entire scope of an enterprise whether that information is in the form of a paper document, an electronic file, a database print stream, or an e-mail. In one aspect, an ECM system can serve archiving needs as a universal repository. Users can access the centrally managed content through various distribution means. Possible examples include the Internet, extranets, intranets, e-business portals, employee portals, e-mails, faxes, mobile devices, multimedia services, and so on.
Enterprises are increasingly implementing ways to help present enterprise content to users in order to improve productivity, sales, and user engagement. Challenges arise in sharing and syncing enterprise content. For example, traditionally, enterprise software systems must be brought offline to do even a small upgrade to applications. Further, traditionally, clients all have access to the ECM repository and the clients and ECM are all integrally tied. Thus, if an update is made to the ECM, the user interface (UI) to the ECM system will also need to be updated. There is no way to alter one without altering the other one. To do an update, the ECM system must be down and when that is happening, no one has access to the document. On the other hand, cloud-based systems can roll-out incremental changes to cloud applications' user interfaces to all users and, as such, the cloud user interfaces can be constantly improved. This feature can be seen on free cloud services on the Internet. Applications like Google Docs, Twitter, and Facebook are constantly improving their user interfaces to streamline the usability of their features. While third party cloud services allow users to share their files, they do not provide for secure sharing and syncing of content owned by an enterprise in a manner that allows the enterprise to maintain control of their content. Embodiments disclosed herein can address the aforementioned challenges and more. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dielectric films, and more particularly, to improved methods for forming such materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dielectric films and, more particularly, high dielectric constant (.epsilon.>10) films, such as tantalum pentoxide (Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5), titanium oxide (TiO.sub.2), and barium strontium titanate ((Ba,Sr)TiO.sub.3 or BST), play an important role in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. Such films have applicability, for example, in the manufacture of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors as well as in the manufacture of metal-oxide-metal (MOM) and metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors and amorphous semiconductors.
High dielectric constant films are generally formed by either sputtering or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). For several reasons, the preferred method, however, is CVD. For example, high dielectric constant films deposited using CVD are far less dense and, therefore, can be annealed at lower temperatures than sputtered films. Further, sputtered high dielectric constant films are typically oxygen deficient (or metal-rich). This is especially true in the interfacial regions between the electrode and the dielectric, as in the case of MOM and MIM capacitors. The oxygen deficiency that is typical of a sputtered high dielectric constant film generates pathways for electrical conduction (referred to as "leakage"). This leakage (and hence the oxygen deficiency that causes it) is considered a flaw in the film. In an attempt to remedy this flaw, post deposition annealing of the film in an oxygen ambient is usually required to incorporate oxygen into the film and thereby reduce the leakage by eliminating (or substantially eliminating) the oxygen deficiency. However, because of the dense nature of sputtered films, they are difficult to anneal.
Despite the foregoing disadvantages of sputtering, sputtering does have some advantages over CVD for forming high dielectric constant films. For example, with sputtering, there is more flexibility in varying the composition of dopants in the resultant film. Further, it is easier to change materials to be deposited by sputtering. Still further, sputtering involves fewer dangerous chemicals than CVD. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to RF components, and particularly to RF Power resistors.
2. Technical Background
In one approach that has been considered, a conventional RF power resistor 100 is shown in FIG. 10. Resistor 100 includes: a substrate material 102; conductive traces 104; and a resistive structure 106. The substrate material is typically fired and lapped ceramic, with BeO, AlN (aluminum nitride) or Alumina being typical substrate materials. Secondary processing includes making holes and slots, typically drilled by a laser as needed. The conductive traces and pads are typically made of silver (Ag) (printed Ag paste).
In resistor 100, resistive structure 106 is typically made from a resistive paste that is made of a mixture of materials as is known in the prior art (as is printed on the ceramic substrate 102). The resistive structure is a single layer structure. It is not a transmission line as it is typically much wider (in a direction transverse to current flow) than the impedance desired on the input port, hence transmission line is used for matching the relatively wide resistor to the desired impedance. Herein, this type of resistor will be called a “widepath resistor” or a “widepath structure” in order to distinguish this kind of structure from a transmission line structure.
Because of the geometry and/or material used to make widepath resistor 106, the widepath resistor itself must be tuned, which is costly and labor intensive. Some other recognized performance limitations of conventional widepath resistors are as follows:
(i) maximum temperature limit between 200 C to 250 C;
(ii) performance drift when operated at or above 200 C for extended duration;
(iii) hard failure if operated above 250 C;
(iv) as resistor footprint increases to become greater than 0.5 by 0.5 inches the risk of cracking drastically increases; and (v) Labor intensive manufacturing process (for example, must generally tune each resistor individually);
With respect to issue (iv) listed above, the cracking risk is due to coefficients of thermal expansion (“CTE”) mismatch between the ceramic substrate and the widepath resistor structure, and it is believed to be an exponentially increasing cracking risk as footprint area increases. Historically, 50% yields have been observed for 1.0 square inch square resistors of the type corresponding to resistor 100.
By way of background, a “delay line” (which is not considered to be an RF power resistor or analogous to an RF power resistor) is a non-resistor device that is used to control the timing of an RF signal. While a delay line device will generally attenuate the input signal a certain amount, delay lines are designed to minimize attenuation and are configured to act as little like resistors as possible. A delay line device includes a long transmission line structure (not a widepath structure) which includes: (i) a highly conductive layer, with traces; and (ii) a dielectric material layer. The highly conductive material is typically copper and the dielectric material is typically made of circuit board material. Because the highly conductive material is highly conductive, the use of the delay line will not generate much heat which is why simple circuit board material (as opposed to ceramic or the like) can be used for the dielectric layer.
The following published document(s) (which may or may not legally constitute prior art) may also include helpful background information: US patent application 2008/0258838 ('838 Oshima”).
Technical Background Section Disclaimer: To the extent that specific publications are discussed above in this Technical Background Section, these discussions should not be taken as an admission that the discussed publications (for example, published patents/patent applications) are prior art for patent law purposes. For example, some or all of the discussed publications may not be sufficiently early in time, may not reflect subject matter developed early enough in time and/or may not be sufficiently enabling so as to amount to prior art for patent law purposes. To the extent that specific publications are discussed above in this Technical Background Section, they are all hereby incorporated by reference into this document in their respective entirety(ies). | {
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This invention relates to a lancet device for use in taking capillary blood samples by pricking a body tissue, such as a fingertip.
In the case of certain diseases, such as diabetes, or test kits, such as cholesterol test kits, a patient is required to provide small specimens of blood for analysis. This involves pricking a finger or other suitable body part in order to obtain the blood specimen. It is physiologically and psychologically difficult for many people to prick their own finger with a hand-held needle, which must be sterile.
Other lancet devices for obtaining blood samples, such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,869,249 and 4,817,603, include a cap which is used to protect the needle or to keep the needle sterile. This makes manufacturing of these devices more difficult and costly, and makes the device harder to use.
In other devices, a spring used to shoot a needle into the tissue is compressed during use by the trigger mechanism, which can lead to misfiring or skewing of the spring so that the incision made is not suitable for obtaining a blood sample. Also, two hands are required for operation of many of these devices.
Thus, there is a need for a simple, inexpensive, reliable, self-activating, disposable lancet device in which reproducibility of suitable incisions is well controlled. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical plates, and particularly, to an optical plate used in a backlight module.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In a liquid crystal display device, liquid crystal is a substance that does not illuminate light by itself. Instead, the liquid crystal relies on light received from a light source to display information. In a typical liquid crystal display device, a backlight module powered by electricity supplies the needed light.
FIG. 12 represents a typical direct type backlight module 100. The backlight module 100 includes a housing 11, a light reflective plate 12, a light diffusion plate 13, a prism sheet 14, and a plurality of light emitting diodes 15 (hereinafter called LEDs). The housing 11 includes a rectangular base 111 and four sidewalls 113 extending around a periphery of the base 111. The base 111 and the four sidewalls 113 cooperatively define a chamber 115. Each LED 15 includes a base portion 153 and a light-emitting portion 151 disposed on the base portion 153. The LEDs 15 are electrically connected to a printed circuit board 16 that is fixed to the base 111 of the housing 11. The light reflective plate 12 is disposed on the LEDs 15 in the chamber 115. The light reflective plate 12 defines a plurality of through holes 122 that allows the light-emitting portions 151 of the LEDs 15 to pass through correspondingly. The light diffusion plate 13 and the prism sheet 14 are stacked in that order on the chamber 115. Light emitted from the LEDs 15 is substantially reflected by the light reflective sheet 12, and then enters the light diffusion plate 13. The light is diffused uniformly in the light diffusion plate 13, and finally concentrated at the prism sheet 14.
Generally, a plurality of dark areas may occur because of reducing intensity of light between adjacent LEDs 15. In the backlight module 100, each LED 15 further includes a reflective sheet 17 disposed on the top of the light-emitting portion 151, configured for decreasing the brightness of a portion of the backlight module 100 above the LED 15. However, the brightness of the backlight module 100 is still not uniform. One method of enhancing the uniformity of brightness of the backlight module 100 is to increase the space between the light diffusion plate 13 and the LEDs 15. However, increasing the space between the diffusion plate 13 and the LEDs 15 will also increase the thickness of the backlight module and further the overall intensity of the output light rays is reduced.
What is needed, therefore, is a new optical plate and a backlight module using the optical plate that can overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a mounting substrate and an electronic device and, more particularly, a mounting substrate and an electronic device having a dam to suppress a flow of an underfill material.
2. Background Art
Recently, as the method of mounting an electronic element such as a semiconductor chip on a mounting substrate, flip-chip mounting is used frequently. The flip-chip mounting is such a method that bumps are formed on a mounting surface of the electronic element and then the electronic element is face-down bonded to electrodes formed on the mounting substrate.
In this flip-chip mounting, the electronic element and the mounting substrate are bonded by bonding force between the bumps and the electrodes. Thus, once a stress is generated between the electronic element and the mounting substrate, this stress is applied wholly to bonded positions between the bumps and the electrodes. Therefore, in this flip-chip mounting, normally an underfill resin (an epoxy resin is often used) is filled between the electronic element and the mounting substrate to attain the stress relaxation.
Meanwhile, a higher packaging density is desired in the electronic device such as the semiconductor device, or the like. As the package that meets this higher packaging density, much attention is focused on the system in package (SiP). Various structures have been proposed as this SiP. As one type of such structures, there is the package on package (PoP) that realizes the SiP structure by stacking the package (semiconductor device) in which a single semiconductor chip is packaged and the package in which a plurality of semiconductor chips are stacked.
In the case of SiP having this PoP structure, normally the package serving as the lower layer and the package serving as the upper layer are bonded mutually using the solder balls. Therefore, in the package serving as the lower layer, the electrodes that are bonded to the solder balls must be formed on an upper surface of the mounting substrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted. That is, both the chip mounting area on which the semiconductor chip is mounted and the electrode forming area in which the electrodes are formed are formed on the upper surface of the mounting substrate constituting the package serving as the lower layer. Since usually the electrodes are arranged to surround the semiconductor chip, the electrode forming area is arranged to surround the chip mounting area.
Here, when the package serving as the lower layer has such a structure that the semiconductor chip is flip-chip mounted, the underfill resin must be filled between the semiconductor chip and the mounting substrate to attain the stress relaxation, as described above. However, since the underfill resin has a flowability during the filling operation, it is feared that such underfill resin flows out from the chip mounting area into the electrode forming area.
For this reason, the dam member for blocking flow out of the underfill resin from the chip mounting area into the electrode forming area is provided between the chip mounting area and the electrode forming area in the related-art (see e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication: JP-A-2005-276879).
FIGS. 4A and 4B show an example of a mounting substrate having the dam member in the related-art. FIG. 4A is a view showing a forming position and its neighborhood of a dam member 105 of a mounting substrate 100 in an enlarged fashion, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the same.
A dam member 105 is formed between an electrode forming area 103 in which electrodes 101 are formed and a chip mounting area 102 on which a semiconductor chip (not shown) is mounted, as described above. In the electrode forming area 103, the electrodes 101 are exposed from the openings formed in a solder resist 104. Also, the underfill resin is filled in the chip mounting area 102 after the semiconductor chip is mounted.
According to the related-art, the dam member 105 is formed like a frame shape. Also, the dam member 105 and the electrodes 101 are arranged relatively distantly in the past when the requested packaging density is not so higher than the recent year.
However, there is a tendency recently that the semiconductor chip is increasing in size according to its greater functionality, and thus the number of terminals tends to increase. In contrast, as to the mounting substrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted, a smaller area is desired to meet a demand for size reduction of the electronic device that is mounted on the mounting substrate.
Therefore, with respect to the chip mounting area 102 and the electrode forming area 103 formed on the mounting substrate, the chip mounting area 102 must be increased in area in response to an increase of size of the semiconductor chip, and also the electrode forming area 103 must be increased in area in response to an increase of the number of electrodes. In addition, the mounting substrate 100 must be reduced in area as a whole, as described above.
In the related-art, such a problem existed that this mounting substrate 100 cannot meet respective requests at the same time. Also, as the means for fulfilling these requests, it may be considered that a width of the dam member 105 should be narrowed. However, when a width of the dam member 105 is narrowed, a bonded area of the dam member 105 to a substrate body 100a is narrowed and correspondingly a mechanical strength is lowered. As a result, the dam member 105 is damaged in filling the underfill resin, and thus it is feared that flow out of the underfill resin into the electrode forming area 103 cannot be prevented effectively. | {
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The described subject matter relates generally to turbine engines and more specifically to cooling turbine blades.
Turbine engines provide efficient, reliable power for a wide range of applications in aviation, transportation and industrial power generation. Individual compressor and turbine section(s) may be subdivided into a number of stages, formed of alternating rows of rotor blade and stator vane airfoils. Due to various operational constraints, rotor blades and stator vanes are prone to leakage of compressed gases over their tips from a higher pressure surface to a lower pressure surface. Several attempts have been made to reduce these flows, but they cannot be completely eliminated due to clearance requirements over the airfoil tips which account for variations in both thermal and centrifugal growth of adjacent components. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a computer system, and more particularly to a server system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, an architecture diagram of a conventional server system is shown. The conventional server system 1 comprises a motherboard 11 and a server power system 12. The server power system 12 comprises a number of power supplies 122 for converting an AC power VAC into a DC power VDC and outputting the DC power to a circuit board 11. The reason for employing plural power supplies 122 is to assure that when one of the power supplies 122 breaks down, the other power supplies 122 may provide a backup power supply to maintain the normal operation of the server system 1. However, when the AC power VAC is disconnected or the power line comes off the connection, the conventional server system 1 still cannot be exempted from power failure. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The embodiment relates to a light emitting device, a light emitting device package, a lighting system and method for fabricating the same.
A light emitting device (LED) includes a p-n junction diode having a characteristic of converting electric energy into light energy. The p-n junction diode can be formed by combining group III and V elements of the periodic table. The LED can represent various colors by adjusting the compositional ratio of compound semiconductors.
When forward voltage is applied to the LED, electrons of an n layer are bonded with holes of a p layer, so that energy corresponding to an energy gap between a conduction band and a valance band may be generated. This energy is mainly realized as heat or light, and the LED emits the energy as the light.
A nitride semiconductor represents superior thermal stability and wide band gap energy, so the nitride semiconductor has been spotlighted in the field of optical devices and high-power electronic devices. In particular, blue, green, and UV light emitting devices employing the nitride semiconductor have already been developed and extensively used.
Meanwhile, a light emitting device including the nitride semiconductor can be classified into a lateral type light emitting device and a vertical type light emitting device according to positions of electrode layers.
However, the vertical type light emitting device has a difficulty in the manufacturing process because a non-conductive substrate has to be separated after the nitride semiconductor has been formed over the non-conductive substrate such as a sapphire substrate. Accordingly, researches and studies have been actively carried out toward a nitride semiconductor light emitting device that does not require the separation of a substrate by using a conductive substrate when the vertical type light emitting device is manufactured.
For example, according to the related art, a nitride semiconductor layer may be formed over a gallium oxide substrate.
However, according to the related art, the nitride semiconductor layer may be delaminated from the gallium oxide substrate.
For example, the gallium oxide is easily etched at a high temperature hydrogen gas atmosphere, but the nitride semiconductor layer is grown at a high-temperature atmosphere of the mixture of ammonia gas and hydrogen gas. Therefore, when the nitride semiconductor layer is grown, a portion of the interface between the gallium oxide substrate and the nitride semiconductor layer is irregularly etched by hydrogen gas at a high temperature. The irregular etching of the interface degrades the adhesive strength of the interface, thereby causing the delamination between the nitride semiconductor layer and the gallium oxide substrate.
In addition, the gallium oxide substrate has a thermal expansion coefficient different from that of the nitride semiconductor layer. Accordingly, when the nitride semiconductor layer is cooled after the nitride semiconductor layer has been grown, or when a heat treatment process is performed in order to manufacture the light emitting device, the delamination may be caused at the interface between the gallium oxide substrate and the nitride semiconductor layer due to the stress caused by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the gallium oxide substrate and the nitride semiconductor layer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a linear motor having a structure in which permanent magnets and a coil are subjected to relative movement, and an apparatus and a method for protecting such a linear motor.
Movable coil-type linear motors have conventionally been widely used as driving means for positioning articles in stroke ranges of about 10-100 cm (for instance, Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-49100 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-93783). The movable coil-type linear motor comprises a plurality of permanent magnets magnetized in their thickness directions and arranged such that their different magnetic poles are opposing each other, and a movable coil assembly moving in a magnetic gap defined between the opposing permanent magnets (or between permanent magnets and a yoke) in perpendicular to a magnetic flux.
Such a linear motor is free from a center yoke in a magnetic circuit portion, and comprises a plurality of closed-loop magnetic fluxes in the magnetic gap, so that a magnetic flux is not concentrated in part of the magnetic path. Accordingly, this linear motor can generate a uniform magnetic flux density in an overall range of a long stroke.
FIG. 5 schematically shows one example of a mechanical portion of the linear motor, in which permanent magnets and a coil are subjected to relative movement. This linear motor comprises a pair of flat plate-shaped yokes 1, 1 made of ferromagnetic materials such as soft iron, a pair of permanent magnet rows 102, 102 constituted by a plurality of permanent magnets 2 magnetized in their thickness directions, and attached to the inner surface of the flat plate-shaped yokes 1, 1 respectively, such that they are opposing via a magnetic gap 3, and supports 4, 4 attached to both ends of a pair of yokes 1, 1 to provide the magnetic gap 3. In each permanent magnet row 102, the permanent magnets 2 are arranged on each yoke 1, 1 in a longitudinal direction, such that N poles and S poles alternately appear on the surfaces of the permanent magnets 2, and that different magnetic poles appear on the surfaces of the permanent magnets 2 opposing via the magnetic gap 3. A plurality of closed-loop magnetic circuits are constituted by a pair of yokes 1, 1 and a pair of opposing permanent magnets 2, 2 (refer to FIG. 5). Incidentally, the supports 4 are preferably formed by the same ferromagnetic materials as those of the yokes 1.
FIG. 6 schematically shows another example of the linear motor. This linear motor comprises a plurality of permanent magnets 2 arranged on one yoke 1 to constitute magnetic circuits, instead of having a structure that the different poles of a plurality of permanent magnets 2 are opposing via the magnetic gap 3.
FIGS. 5 and 6 respectively show movable coil-type, linear motors, both of which are essentially the same except for difference in that the number of the combination of a permanent magnet row 102 and a yoke 1 is two or one. Because the linear motor of FIG. 5 has a larger magnetic flux density at the same current level, it provides a larger thrust.
The coil 5 is constituted by flat multi-phase coils with the winding direction of the coil 5 in perpendicular to a magnetic flux direction in a magnetic gap 3. A plurality of coils 5 (only one coil is shown for simplicity) are arranged longitudinally along the permanent magnet row 102, and the directions of their magnetic poles are detected to switch a coil to which current is supplied and the direction of current by a means such as a magnetic field detecting element, etc.
In the movable coil-type linear motor, a plurality of coils 5 are arranged in a stroke direction to generate a large thrust. A plurality of coils 5 are integrally fixed to a non-magnetic holder (not shown) to constitute a mover. The mover is movably supported by a sliding member (not shown) in a longitudinal direction of a permanent magnet row 102, and the holder is integrally fixed to a table (carriage) on which an article is placed. The holder is made of non-magnetic materials such as resins, aluminum, ceramics, etc. so as not to provide magnetic influence on a closed-loop magnetic circuit. To make the magnetic gap 3 as small as possible, the holder is preferably as thin as possible.
In order that the coil 5 receives thrust to move in a constant direction, the direction of current should be changed successively according to the polarity of the opposing permanent magnets 2. When the coil 5 faces a boundary of the adjacent permanent magnets 2, 2, there is no thrust of movement. Current supply is thus stopped to the coil 5. The holder is equipped with one element (usually Hall element) for detecting the polarity of the permanent magnets 2 per one phase of the coil. Accordingly, in the case of the three-phase coil, the holder is equipped with three detecting elements.
An arranging pitch is not the same for the coil 5 and the permanent magnets 2. If both were the same, there would appear a moment in which the combined force of the thrust of each coil 5 is zero, resulting in a large thrust ripple, which leads to the cogging of the coil 5. With the arranging pitch of the coil 5 and the permanent magnets 2 deviated form each other, the coil 5 undergoes smooth movement with a reduced thrust ripple. In that case, electric current should be supplied successively to part of a plurality of coils 5. The timing of ON/OFF to supply electric current to each coil 5 and the direction of electric current are determined depending on the output of the hole element.
When current is supplied to the coil 5, it receives thrust in the longitudinal direction of the yoke 1 by the Fleming""s rule, a mover (not shown) integrally provided with the coil 5 moves in the longitudinal direction of the yoke 1. When current is supplied to the coil 5 in an opposite direction, thrust in an opposite direction acts on coil 5, resulting in moving the mover in an opposite direction. Accordingly, current supply to the coil 5 and the direction of that current can be chosen to move the mover to the predetermined position. The strength of this thrust is proportional to current flowing through the coil 5.
Contrary to the above embodiment, the coil may be a stator, and the permanent magnets may be movers to achieve the same function. Though the coil 5 is disposed in the magnetic gap 3 in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a linear motor may be free from a magnetic gap 3. In such a linear motor, the coil 5 is movable on permanent magnets 2 disposed on a yoke 1.
When current is caused to flow through the coil 5, Joule heat is generated, and when the temperature of the coil 5 is elevated to a level exceeding its heat resistance limit, the coil 5 is burned down. As a method preventing this problem, for instance, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-67763 proposes the mounting of a temperature-detecting element such as a thermistor, etc. to a coil. However, though a surface portion of the coil is well cooled by air-flowing effect, etc., heat is likely to be accumulated inside the coil, resulting in the tendency that the temperature of the coil is higher in an inner portion than in a surface portion. Because a temperature-detecting element such as a thermistor, etc. is mounted onto the coil surface, it is impossible to detect the temperature inside the coil. Accordingly, it has been found that the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-67763 fails to accurately detect the temperature at which the coil 5 is burned down. In addition, it suffers from the problem that the mounting of a thermistor, etc. onto the coil surface makes wiring, etc. more difficult.
To avoid such problems, there is a known method for generating a coil overheat signal when the product of Ixc3x97T, in which I is a level of current flowing through a coil, and T is time in which the current flows, exceeds a predetermined value. As one example thereof, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-89517 proposes an electronic overcurrent relay for generating an overload signal for a time period of operation corresponding to the current level, when alternating current in a main apparatus exceeds a predetermined value. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-209420 proposes an electronic thermal relay having operation characteristics obtained by improving the electronic overcurrent relay of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-89517 in a range of a large current.
In general, an induction motor achieves the maximum speed in a steady operation, in which it is required to provide the maximum torque. Accordingly, it is necessary to detect overload to load variations in this state. Effective as an overload-detecting apparatus is an electronic overcurrent relay or an electronic thermal relay, with which Ixc3x97T is calculated.
On the other hand, the maximum speed is achieved in a linear motor in a steady operation, and the speed can be kept with a relatively small current necessary for compensating deceleration by a running resistance in this state. The maximum thrust is required rather at the time of acceleration or deceleration, causing large current to flow through the linear motor. Accordingly, it is necessary to accurately detect the overheat of the coil by current measurement for a short period of time, during acceleration or deceleration at which large current flows for a short period of time, rather than in a steady operation in which the maximum speed is achieved.
Used in the control of a linear motor are a position deviation signal obtained by subtracting the feedback value of position information from the predetermined value of position information, and a speed deviation signal obtained by subtracting the feedback value of speed information from the predetermined value of speed information. In general, current in proportion to the position deviation signal and the speed deviation signal is supplied to a coil in a linear motor in a steady operation. However, when a mover has fallen into a full stop by accident in the course of movement, or when a mover has stopped, for instance, before reaching a predetermined stop position because of overload (particularly when it has stopped immediately before reaching the predetermined stop position), the level of current supplied to the coil is kept relatively low because of a small position deviation signal (position deviation), failing to restart the mover. With this current supply condition kept for a long period of time, a Joule heat is accumulated in the coil. If current supply were not stopped soon in this state, the coil would be overheated.
Though the conventional electronic overcurrent relay or electronic thermal relay have good operation characteristics in a range of a large current, they cannot properly detect the overheat of the coil when a relatively small current flows for a long period of time. If the predetermined value of overload-detecting current were made smaller to detect the overheat of a coil, even small current after reaching the predetermined speed would lead to the determination that the coil is overheated, resulting in trouble in the operation of the linear motor.
In the case of the linear motor comprising a multi-phase coil, as described above, a plurality of coils are arranged with deviations corresponding to an exciting period in the arrangement direction of the permanent magnets. For instance, in the case of a three-phase coil having at least three coils arranged in a stroke direction, the pitch of the coils is 120xc2x0 relative to a period of a magnetic field (one magnetic field period with two magnets). The direction of a magnetic pole is detected by a means such as a magnetic field-detecting element, etc. To make it possible to switch coils through which current should flow and its direction, it is preferable to control the driving of the multi-phase coils independently.
However, in the conventional apparatus for protecting a linear motor, which has wiring via Y-connection or xcex94-connection, for instance, in the case of three-phase coils, current is detected only in one or two phases among the three phases to mainly control the level of current. The detected level of current is also used as operation information for a protecting means. Therefore, a current level (effective value) of each phase differs depending on the deviations of a magnetic field, the impedance of each coil, etc. In some cases, an undetected phase may have a high current level, while a detected phase may have a low current level. In this case, excess current in the undetected phase leads to the overheat of the coil.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for protecting a linear motor, which can accurately detect the overheat of a coil by the measurement of current in a short period of time during acceleration or deceleration in which large current flows in a short period of time, which do not detect the overheat of a coil in a state where small current flows after a mover has reached a predetermined speed, and which can detect the overheat of a coil when the mover has stopped in the course of movement, resulting in relatively small current flowing for a long period of time, whereby Joule heat is accumulated, and a linear motor equipped with such a protecting apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for protecting a linear motor comprising a multi-phase coil, which can detect current in all phases to prevent the overheat, and a linear motor comprising a multi-phase coil equipped with such a protecting apparatus.
The apparatus of the present invention for protecting a linear motor having a structure in which permanent magnets and a coil are subjected to relative movement, comprises (a) a means for detecting current flowing through said coil, (b) a multiplying means for calculating the squared value of the detected current every constant time xcex94t, (c) a memory means receiving said squared values for successively storing said squared values from the first one to the nth one, the first squared value being eliminated when the (n+1)th squared value is input, and the same operation being repeated subsequently, (d) an adding means for calculating the total of n squared values in said memory means, (e) a means for setting a reference value, which is to be compared with the total of said squared values, (f) a means for comparing the total of said squared values with said reference value for outputting an overload signal when said total has become larger than said reference value, and (g) an overload-preventing means receiving said overload signal for controlling a driving means of said coil, thereby protecting said coil.
The method of the present invention for protecting a linear motor having a structure in which permanent magnets and a coil are subjected to relative movement, comprises the steps of (1) detecting current flowing through said coil, (2) calculating the squared value of the detected current every constant time xcex94t, (3) successively storing said squared values from the first one to the nth one, eliminating the first squared value when the (n+1)th squared value is input, and repeating the same operation subsequently, (4) calculating the total of n squared values, (5) comparing the total of said squared values with a reference value, (6) outputting an overload signal when said total has become larger than said reference value, and (7) controlling a driving means of said coil when said overload signal is received, thereby protecting said coil.
The linear motor of the present invention has a structure in which permanent magnets and a coil are subjected to relative movement, comprising a protecting apparatus comprising (a) a means for detecting current flowing through said coil, (b) a multiplying means for calculating the squared value of the detected current every constant time xcex94t, (c) a memory means receiving said squared values for successively storing said squared values from the first one to the nth one, the first squared value being eliminated when the (n+1)th squared value is input, and the same operation being repeated subsequently, (d) an adding means for calculating the total of n squared values in said memory means, (e) a means for setting a reference value, which is to be compared with the total of said squared values, (f) a means for comparing the total of said squared values with said reference value for outputting an overload signal when said total has become larger than said reference value, (g) an overload-preventing means receiving said overload signal for controlling a driving means of said coil, thereby protecting said coil.
The apparatus for protecting a linear motor having a structure in which permanent magnets and a multi-phase coil are subjected to relative movement, comprises in each phase of said multi-phase coil, (a) a means for detecting current flowing through said coil, (b) a multiplying means for calculating the squared value of the detected current every constant time xcex94t, (c) a memory means receiving said squared values for successively storing said squared values from the first one to the nth one, the first squared value being eliminated when the (n+1)th squared value is input, and the same operation being repeated subsequently, (d) an adding means for calculating the total of n squared values in said memory means, (e) a means for setting a reference value, which is to be compared with the total of said squared values, (f) a means for comparing the total of said squared values with said reference value for outputting an overload signal when said total has become larger than said reference value, and (g) an overload-preventing means receiving said overload signal for controlling a driving means, thereby protecting said multi-phase coil.
The method of the present invention for protecting a linear motor having a structure in which permanent magnets and a multi-phase coil are subjected to relative movement, comprises in each phase of said multi-phase coil the steps of (1) detecting current flowing through said coil, (2) calculating the squared value of the detected current every constant time xcex94t, (3) inputting said squared values to successively store said squared values from the first one to the nth one, eliminating the first squared value when the (n+1)th squared value is input, and repeating the same operation subsequently, (4) calculating the total of n squared values, (5) comparing the total of said squared values with a reference value, (6) outputting an overload signal when said total has become larger than said reference value, and (7) controlling a driving means of said coil when said overload signal is received, thereby protecting said multi-phase coil.
The linear motor of the present invention has a structure in which permanent magnets and a multi-phase coil are subjected to relative movement, comprising in each phase of said multi-phase coil a protecting means comprising (a) a means for detecting current flowing through said coil, (b) a multiplying means for calculating the squared value of the detected current every constant time xcex94t, (c) a memory means receiving said squared values for successively storing said squared values from the first one to the nth one, the first squared value being eliminated when the (n+1)th squared value is input, and the same operation being repeated subsequently, (d) an adding means for calculating the total of n squared values in said memory means, (e) a means for setting a reference value, which is to be compared with the total of said squared values, (f) a means for comparing the total of said squared values with said reference value for outputting an overload signal when said total has become larger than said reference value, (g) an overload-preventing means receiving said overload signal for controlling a driving means, thereby protecting said multi-phase coil. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Polymeric materials, while desirable in many applications due to ease of processing, low tooling cost, and design freedom, are usually not as strong or rigid as non-polymeric materials, such as metals or ceramics. Polymer-based composites have been developed in which reinforcement materials, such as non-polymeric fibers, are embedded in a polymer matrix in an attempt to combine the desirable properties of the polymer with the higher stiffness and strength of the reinforcement material. Attempts to incorporate fullerenes such as carbon nanotubes into polymer-based composites as a reinforcement material, to realize the benefits of the high-strength all-carbon molecular structure of fullerenes, have been met with limited success due to problems with entanglement, folding, low affinity for the matrix material, changes in rheological properties and processability, or difficulty in properly orienting such reinforcements. | {
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The present invention relates to the utilization of a water cushion specifically adapted for utilization as a coupling device between the body of a human being on one hand and an apparatus for contactless lithotripsy on the other hand.
Contactless lithotripsy is a specific technology developed in recent years and concerns the destruction and comminution of concrements such as kidney stones in the body of the living being such as a human patient. In this technology shock waves are generated and focused onto and into the concrement in that body. The generation and focusing of such a shock wave is carried out within a device that is basically water filled and the problem exists to couple that device, e.g. to the body of the patient. If the device is a self contained unit which is physically separated and separable from the human being then some form of coupling is needed by means of which the shock waves generated in the equipment and device can be transmitted or coupled into the body of the human being. In earlier technologies the patient was placed in a water tub; hence the body of the patient was in immediate and direct contact with water which served as coupling fluid. The device by means of which the shock waves were generated included equipment with water filled cavities and the water of the cavities was in immediate and direct fluid conductive and exchanging contact with the water of the tub. This way a continuious uninterrupted transmission path was generated between the physical location of shock wave generation which shock waves were transmitted immediately and directed from the point of generation, into the coupling fluid namely water, and the transmission for the shock waves i.e. the water provided a continuous uninterrupted interface free transmission path to the skin of the patient. Even if for reasons of containment, some kind of membrane closed off the shock wave reflector cavity, the water in the tub provided a gapless transmission to the skin of the patient.
On the other hand it is apparent that this kind of arrangement is from an overall point of view voluminous and a more compact overall arrangement is desirable obviating the need for placing the patient into a water tub. There is still present the basic concept of generating a shock wave within a particular fluid and that shock wave has to be transmitted into the human body so that some form of coupling structure is needed. From an equipment point of view it is certainly advisable and advantageous to construct and design the equipment such that the shock wave generation is carried out in a self contained unit which is physically separable from the body of the human being without to put it in somewhat primitive terms, water pouring out all over the place. The liquid in the shock wave generation device should be kept separate and apart from the equipment that is self contained. On the other hand the shock waves as generated have to leave that equipment and be coupled into the body of the human being. For this some form of intermediate structure is needed and that is the purpose and function of the invention. The intermediate coupling device that couples the shock wave generator to the body of the human being will be a water cushion and details of such a water cushion constitute the object of the invention. Specifically the shock wave generator including focusing chamber, an immediate and direct shock wave source including a liquid medium for the shock waves is separated from the outside world by means of a membrane which has as its basic function the containment of the liquid i.e. water in which the shock wave is generated. That membrane is physically separated and separable from the body of the human being and some form of intermediary is needed to provide for shock wave transmission from the shock wave generating and focusing device into the body of the human being. To place that membrane right next to and into an immediate physical contact with the skin of the human being may seem to be the immediate solution to this problem. Such a "solution" is not satisfactory for the simple reason that an immediate contact between that membrane and the body of the human being cannot be assured and it is moreover uncertain as to how the propagation path from the shock wave generator into the human being will in fact continue from this complex interphase. A water cushion therefore has to be interposed which, in a multidimensional fashion, establishes an adaptable transmission path for the shock waves.
A specific problem was encountered that if one places some form of water cushion in between the patient and the shock wave generator-membrane a certain pressure is exerted by that water cushion upon the body of the human being. Whenever for some reason or another there is a change in position of the equipment vis-a-vis the patient by the water pressure that is exerted upon the patient, that pressure variation moves ever so slightly organs of the patient in the vicinity of the area of contact and that entails in cases movement of the concrement to be destroyed in the body, so that the position of that concrement vis-a-vis the shock wave and generating equipment becomes uncertain and dependent upon any possible variations in water pressure that is exerted on the body of the human being on account of the requisite coupling. It should be noted that this problem is not encountered (or to a much lesser degree) if the patient and the equipment are submerged in a water filled tub wherein, so to speak and from a hydrostatic point of view, an overall equilibrium can be established readily which in terms of transmission of shock waves establishes as homogenous a propagation medium as possible. But on the other hand it was outlined above that the cumbersomeness of the water filled tub is an aspect which for reasons of overall practicality one wants to get away from. | {
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Various surgical procedures are routinely carried out intravascularly or intraluminally. For example, in the treatment of vascular disease, such as arteriosclerosis, it is a common practice to access the artery and insert an instrument (e.g., a balloon or other type of catheter) to carry out a procedure within the artery. Such procedures usually involve the percutaneous puncture of the artery so that an insertion sheath may be placed in the artery and thereafter instruments (e.g., catheters) may pass through the sheath to an operative position within the artery. Intravascular and intraluminal procedures unavoidably present the problem of stopping the bleeding at the percutaneous puncture after the procedure has been completed and after the instruments (and any insertion sheaths used therewith) have been removed. Bleeding from puncture sites, particularly in the case of femoral arterial punctures, is typically stopped by utilizing vascular closure devices.
While there are a variety of prior art devices and techniques for closing such punctures, one primary problem is insuring a complete seal of the puncture. One technique includes the use of a bioadhesive material to seal the puncture. Some types of bioadhesive materials must be activated prior to use, and should be activated just prior to use in order to avoid premature activation of the bioadhesive material. The handling and activation of bioadhesive materials for use in vascular and other tissue puncture closure applications present a number of challenges, particularly when using bioadhesive sealant components that have a quick set time. | {
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This invention relates to an electric power distribution and metering system within a box-like enclosure and more particularly to an apparatus for rejecting improperly installed plug-on units, containing circuit controlling devices, in the enclosure.
There is a trend for electrical codes and certification laboratories for electrical equipment to require that power distribution panels designed for use outdoors such as in mobile home parks, marinas, parking lots and the like with interchangeable plug-on units have a means to assure grounding prior to the live contacts being energized.
The closest prior art believed to be pertinent to the present invention is set forth in the Shallbetter U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,047 and the Boyle U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,951 both of which disclose an outdoor electrical meter box and service outlet to be mounted on a hollow post or the like through which electrical power lines may pass into the meter distribution panel. However, neither patent discloses a means for insuring a ground connection on a plug-on unit before its circuit is energized. A serious drawback to this type of an electrical power distribution and metering system is that the plug-on unit may not be grounded before the live contacts of the circuit are energized and thus create a potential shock hazard. | {
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The present invention relates to a meltable ink composition, for use in printing devices in which ink drops are ejected from ink ducts. Inks of this kind, which are also known as hot melt inks or phase change inks, are solid at room temperature and liquid at elevated temperatures. In a printing device, for example, an ink jet printer, the ink is melted and transferred to substantially closed ink ducts which lead at one end into a nozzle. As a result of a sudden pressure rise in the duct, produced for example by rapidly reducing the volume of the duct or rapidly evaporating some of the ink in the duct, a drop of ink can be ejected from the duct through the nozzle. In this way an image can be built up from individual ink drops on a receiving material. Meltable inks contain a carrier material with a melting point higher than room temperature so that the ink melted in the printing device is practically not subject to evaporation when the printing device is not printing. This prevents the nozzles of the ink ducts from becoming clogged. In addition, inks of this kind have the advantage that they set rapidly on the receiving material, so that the print quality, particularly the edge sharpness, is less dependent on the type of receiving material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,045 discloses oxidized montan waxes which are the reaction product of aliphatic diols and C25-35 fatty acids. These waxes have the disadvantage that their melting temperature is relatively low, so that printed ink images may result in blocking at elevated temperature or bleeding through the paper. In addition, the crystallized waxes are relatively soft, so that printed images may feel xe2x80x9cwaxyxe2x80x9d and be less resistant to mechanical stresses. Finally, the viscosity of these esterified montan waxes is relatively high, so that it is difficult to use them in ink compositions for ink jet printers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,095 discloses benzoates as a component of meltable inks. Compounds of this kind are formed by esterifying benzoic acid, an unsubstituted aromatic acid, with a suitable alcohol. From the patent specification it is known to use polyalcohols, such as pentaerythritrol, sucrose and glycerol for this purpose. These benzoates have the disadvantage that they set amorphously when they cool rapidly from a melted state, particularly when a liquid ink drop is transferred to a relatively cold receiving material. As a result, the solidified ink drops are to some extent tacky at room temperature, particularly when mechanically stressed. By gumming, scratching or rubbing over a printed image, for example, the ink may block. In addition, the compounds may subsequently crystallize after being transferred to a receiving material, so that quality of the image, particularly the visual quality, deteriorates in the course of time.
EP 0 856 565 A1 discloses the toluate and anisylate esters of pentaerythritol as a component of a meltable ink. These compounds differ from the benzoates due to the presence of a substituent on the aromatic benzene ring. As a result, the physical and chemical properties of these compounds differ from those of the benzoates. These toluates and anisolates, however, also have the disadvantage that they solidify amorphously when cooled rapidly. In addition, the compounds have a relatively intensive after-crystallization. They also have the disadvantage that their melting temperature is relatively high, thus making them less suitable as a component for a meltable ink. A higher melting temperature makes much higher demands of the printing device itself.
The toluate and anisylate esters of 2,2xe2x80x2-bisphenol are known from EP 0 978 548 A1. These substances result in inks which exhibit a deterioration in copy quality if the prints are stored for a long time, for example some months. This is probably the result of a slow after-crystallization from an amorphous state.
A specific 1,4-bis-[(substituted)-benzoyloxymethyl]-cyclohexane is known from JP 2076786 as a sensitivity improver for a color developer in a sheet suitable for thermal transfer. This patent does not indicate or suggest that these compounds can also be used in meltable inks suitable for ink jet printers. The latter inks are subject to totally different requirements from inks for thermal transfer. Ink jet printers differ from thermal printers in that the liquid ink in the form of individual ink drops ejected through air over a certain distance, is transferred to a receiving material. As already indicated hereinbefore, the print heads used for this purpose have ink ducts provided with nozzles and means for ejecting one ink drop at a time from a specific nozzle. To achieve this drop formation, the physical properties of the ink, particularly the viscosity and surface tension, must lie within narrow limits. In addition, meltable ink is frequently heated a number of times in an ink jet printer and then cooled again to room temperature before actually being transferred to a receiving material. This places high demands on the thermal stability of the ink. All this makes the development of meltable inks for ink jet printers a particularly complex area.
High-boiling organic solvents for use in a silver halide photographic material are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,783, in accordance with formula I
(ArCOO)nxe2x80x94L xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
wherein Ar is an aryl group with 6 to 24 carbon atoms, L is a 2-valent to 6-valent alkylene with 2 to 24 carbon atoms possibly containing one or more ether bonds and n is an integer between 2 and 6. Compounds of this kind reduce the reductive bleaching of cyan dyes as a result of damp and heat. This patent contains no suggestion that these substances can be used as a component in a meltable ink.
An object of the present invention is to provide a meltable ink composition having advantageous properties for use in printing devices in which the ink is ejected in the form of drops from ink ducts. Another object of the present invention is to provide ink compositions which result in printed images having a good and stable print quality. A further object of the present invention is to provide inexpensive ink compositions. To this end, an ink composition has been discovered which contains a compound in accordance with the following formula II
where R1 and Rxe2x80x21 are the same or different and are selected from a C1-8 alkyl group or a C1-8 alkoxy group, R2 is a C1-12 linear alkane diyl or a C5-12 alkane diyl which contains an alicyclic group, and n is 1, 2, or 3. These bis-ester compounds have melting temperatures suitable for forming a meltable ink composition usable in an ink jet printer. The melt viscosity of the compounds is also sufficiently low, typically lower than 20 cP, at the regular jet temperatures. The compounds are also such that they can result in inks sufficiently resistant to mechanical stress. Finally, these compounds are stable in the solidified state, so that the risk of deterioration of the copy quality of printed images is reduced. Compounds of this kind can advantageously be used in meltable ink compositions. In this way the present invention counters the disadvantages of the prior art ink compositions as described above.
Advantageously, R1 and Rxe2x80x21 are selected from a C1-6 alkyl group or a C1-6 alkoxy group. With these compounds it is possible to obtain ink compositions which are less waxy. With ink compositions of this kind, therefore, it is possible to obtain images which are more resistant to mechanical stress such as rubbing, scratching, gumming or folding. More preferably, R1 and Rxe2x80x21 are selected from a C1-4 alkyl group or a C1-4 alkoxy group. These compounds are even less waxy and can thus result in ink compositions for printing images which are even more resistant to mechanical stresses.
In one preferred embodiment, R1 is equal to Rxe2x80x21. In this way, better-defined compounds can be obtained, the properties of which can be more satisfactorily controlled. In this way it is possible to obtain an ink composition which is better adapted to the specific requirements that a specific application imposes for the ink. In addition, a better defined product of this kind can be obtained in a purer form which enables the reliability of use of the ink composition to be increased.
Preferably, R1 and Rxe2x80x21 are a C1-4 alkoxy group. These compounds crystallize more rapidly. Ink compositions provided with such compounds can result in printed images which are resistant to mechanical stresses very soon after actual printing. In this way it is possible to subject printed receiving material to further processing practically immediately, for example in a finishing station in order to make up sets of documents. In addition, these ink compositions have the advantage that they are even more stable.
In one preferred embodiment R1 and Rxe2x80x21 are a C1-2 alkoxy group. Compounds of this kind are simpler and hence less expensive to produce, this being advantageous in terms of the cost of the ink composition. Even more preferable, R1 and Rxe2x80x21 are a methoxy group. Very good ink compositions according to the present invention can be obtained with these compounds.
In one embodiment n is equal to 1. The resulting compounds can easily be obtained in pure form, resulting in a good ink composition.
In a further embodiment, R1 and Rxe2x80x21 are substituted at the para position. It has been found that compounds of this kind can crystallize relatively quickly and are stable in the solidified state. The reason for this is not entirely clear, but is probably due to the symmetry in the molecule, so that it is easier to build up a crystal lattice. Ink compositions which contain such compounds become hard relatively quickly when transferred to a receiving material and are stable in the course of time. A high print quality can be obtained in this way.
In one specific embodiment, R2 is a C2-C6 linear alkane diyl. These compounds have a very favorable melting point and are relatively hard in the crystallized state. With these it is possible to obtain ink compositions which are improved with respect to resistance to mechanical stress.
In a further embodiment, the ink composition contains a compound selected from the group consisting of bis-esters of paramethoxy benzoic acid with 1,3-propane diol and 1,6-hexane diol. With these compounds it is possible to obtain very good ink compositions according to the present invention. In another embodiment, R2 is a C6-C8 alkane diyl containing an alicyclic group. These compounds have a higher melting point so that an ink composition can be obtained which is very resistant to mechanical and thermal stresses.
In a preferred embodiment in which the alicyclic group is substituted so as to have a cis and a trans-conformation (one example of such an R2 group is 1,4-cyclohexane dimethylene), the ink composition contains the trans-conformation of the alkane diyl. This stereoisomer crystallizes more satisfactorily than the cis-conformation so that an ink composition can be obtained with better mechanical properties. In addition, this compound results in ink compositions which are more stable in time, because after-crystallization will occur to a lesser degree.
In yet a further preferred embodiment, the ink composition substantially contains the trans-conformation of the alkane diyl. Inks with further improved properties can be obtained in this way.
Preferably, the ink composition contains 10-99% by weight of compounds according to formula II. It has been found that the formula II compounds are particularly suitable as a carrier material for a meltable ink composition, because in this way it is possible to form ink compositions with an optimal melting temperature and melt viscosity. Also, the ink compositions, after cooling, are very resistant to mechanical stress and are stable over the course of time. It has been found that the compounds according to formula II can advantageously be used in a meltable ink provided with a gelling agent.
In a further embodiment, the ink composition contains 30-99% by weight of one or more formula II compounds. In this way the advantages of this compound can be further utilized so that meltable inks can be obtained with even more favorable properties.
The compounds according to formula II can be used in many ways in meltable inks suitable for use in ink jet printers. For example, they can be used in relatively large quantities as a carrier material in an ink composition and, for example, in smaller quantities as a viscosity regulator, softener, mixture improver, and so on. In addition to a single compound, ink compositions according to the present invention may also make use of mixtures of these compounds. In addition, these compounds can be used in combination with known hot melt ink components, such as waxes, paraffins, resins, softeners, viscosity regulators and so on. The final composition depends on the specific requirements the ink must meet, and this depends on the type of ink jet printer, the required print quality, the type of receiving material, the specific application, and so on.
The present invention will now be explained further with reference to the following examples and tables which are given as examples only and are not limitive of the present invention.
Example 1 shows a number of ink compositions according to the present invention. Comparative Example 2 gives a number of ink compositions containing compounds which are known in the prior art. Example 3 indicates how formula II compounds can be made.
Table 3 gives a number of examples of formula II compounds.
Table 4 shows a number of compounds known from the prior art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to an ionization-type smoke detector and more particularly to an ionization-type smoke detector being relatively thin with the inner and outer ionization chambers being arranged transversely.
Conventional ionization-type smoke detectors have been constituted such that the inner and outer ionization chambers as well as the electrical circuits are disposed vertically. That is, detectors in which the outer ionization chamber, inner ionization chamber and the electrical circuits are stacked from the bottom up in the above order are adapted to be secured to a base installed on the ceiling of a room, etc. for detecting the possible occurrence of a fire.
Thus, since conventional ionization-type smoke detectors have their essential components arranged axially or vertically, when they are mounted to the surface of the ceiling of a room, etc. they protrude considerably from the ceiling, affecting its appearance. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to accessing a memory over a bus, and, more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for accessing memories having a time-variant response over a PCI bus by using two-stage DMA transfers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demand for delivery of information in video and multimedia formats to households is steadily increasing. Presently installed communication technologies do not have enough bandwidth to provide adequate data transmission and new broadband cabling will take a significantly long time to reach all prospective subscriber households.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology increases the digital capacity of ordinary telephone lines, by converting existing twisted-pair telephone lines into access paths for multimedia and high speed data communications. ADSL and its variants can share the same line as the telephone, because they use higher frequencies than the voice band used for typical telephone signaling protocols. The ADSL signals are combined and separated at both sides of the telephone line. At the customer's site, the splitting is done either with an external device, or it is built into an ADSL modem. Contrary to ASDL, ISDN transmits through a standard telephone system based on copper wires carrying analog voice data, a so-called switched telephone network.
The standard bus architecture found in most personal computers today is the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. A PCI bus is comprised of a set of wires that is used to electrically interconnect the various semiconductor chips and input/output devices of a computer system. Electrical signals are conducted over the bus so that the various components can communicate with each other. This type of bus architecture offers a simple, efficient, and cost-effective method of transmitting data.
For communication between a device and an ADSL card residing on a PCI bus, four types of transactions generally exist: 1. master write accesses from the device to the ADSL card, which is equivalent to a target read access from the perspective of the ADSL card; 2. master read accesses from the device to the ADSL card, which is equivalent to a target write access from the perspective of the ADSL card; 3. master write accesses from the ADSL card to the device, which is equivalent to a target read access from the perspective of the device card; and 4. master read accesses from the ADSL card to the device, which is equivalent to a target write access from the perspective of the device card.
Master accesses of the ADSL card are not critical, because master writes can be posted. This leads to minimal occupation time of the PCI bus. Generally, master read accesses are targeted at fast memory. This excludes long idle times of the PCI bus while data is fetched. However, master accesses of the device to the ADSL card are critical, if the main memory of the ADSL card is slow and time-variant.
As data transmissions increase, known PCI bus transmission procedures do not show adequate operation speed, since they are too slow for present-day applications.
To fully take advantage of the ADSL technology, it is desirable to improve the accessibility of PCI cards in an ADSL environment, especially with regard to latency over a PCI bus. In a typical computing system, the most time-consuming operation is usually associated with memory access times and availability, i.e., special memories on PCI cards that have time-variant access behavior and that are not accessible by normal DMA (Direct Memory Access) transfers.
DMA is a technique for transferring data from main memory to a device without passing it through the CPU. Although DMA may periodically steal cycles from the CPU, data is transferred much faster than when the CPU is used for all data transfers. DMA uses dead time on an external bus, to perform the data transfer operations. In this way, when the processor is not accessing an expansion card, the external bus can transfer data directly to the memory. When accessing PCI card memories having time-variant access behavior, polling over the PCI bus may be required to check whether the required data is available. Furthermore, additional overhead may be attributed to setup and maintenance of control information associated with such memory accesses. In state-of-the-art systems, software overhead associated with such memory accesses is present and a high bandwidth is required. Therefore, the performance of such systems is not optimal and improved performance is desirable.
The present invention solves, or at least reduces, some or all of the aforementioned problems. | {
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This invention relates to resonant converters of the type which are commonly used for converting one source of electrical energy to another source having predetermined characteristics. Such resonant converters are well generally comprise a series resonant circuit, through which current is switched alternately in opposite directions at a frequency close to the resonant frequency of the circuit; an output is developed across one element of the resonant circuit, with an amplitude that can be controlled in accordance with the switching frequency.
These known resonant converters have the disadvantage that control of an output current by controlling the switching frequency will normally only permit an output current reduction down to about 5% of a nominal output current, and thus current reduction from nominal down to zero is not feasible. Moreover, wide switching frequency variations, say from 20 kHz to 60 kHz, produce a correspondingly wide variation in noise which is undesirable for some applications wherein a predictable noise spectrum associated with a constant switching frequency would be an advantage.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a resonant converter in which the foregoing shortcomings of the known converters are obviated or diminished. | {
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An image sensor is a semiconductor device that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and is generally classified as a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor (CIS).
In the related art, a photodiode is formed on a substrate using an ion implantation method. However, as the size of the photodiode is gradually reduced in order to increase the number of pixels without increasing chip size, the area of a light receiving part is reduced, which tends to reduce image quality.
Moreover, although there exists a method of increasing electron generation rate by increasing capacitance of the photodiode, there is a limitation in expanding a depletion region of the photodiode in order to increase capacitance. In addition, a photo aperture ratio is lowered by a structure formed by a back end process of the photodiode.
As one of alternative proposals for solving the problem as described above, the photodiode is formed with amorphous silicon (Si) or a structure where a readout circuitry is formed on a silicon (Si) substrate (main substrate) and the photodiode is formed on another substrate (donor substrate) and bonded to the upper portion of the readout circuitry through a wafer-to-wafer bonding method is attempted (for reference, referred to as “three-dimensional image sensor” and “PD-up CIS”).
The structure as described above is made by forming a p+ region, an n− region, and an n+ region in the photodiode region of the donor substrate in sequence and bonding the donor substrate to the main substrate.
However, when a pixel trench isolation (PTI) process is performed for isolating between the photodiodes forming a pixel unit after the donor substrate is coupled to the main substrate, excessive plasma damage due to the etching is generated, causing a problem that a plurality of dark defects are generated at a chip edge.
This causes the low illumination characteristics of the image sensor to degrade and the production yield to reduce. | {
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The invention relates to an objective arrangement for an endoscope comprising a light exit that is angled in relation to a light entrance and comprising a deflection unit which guides an imaging beam path proceeding from the light entrance to the light exit. Here, the imaging beam path, in particular the marginal rays of the imaging beam path, defines a transmission region, a first reflection surface, and a second reflection surface within the deflection unit. If the imaging beam path is followed through the objective arrangement proceeding from the light entrance, said imaging beam path initially passes through the transmission region in order to be respectively reflected subsequently at the first reflection surface and, thereafter, at the second reflection surface. Consequently, the imaging beam path finally emerges at the light exit of the objective arrangement.
Such objective arrangements are known and used, for example, in endoscopes for imaging an object field which is angled in relation to a shaft axis of the endoscope such that the viewing direction on the object field extends at an angle of e.g. approximately 30° in relation to a longitudinal axis of the endoscope. Here, the endoscope can be embodied either as an endoscope, for example with a relay-lens system, eyepiece lens system or an attached optical fiber bundle, or else as a video endoscope with an integrated image sensor, the latter for example arranged at the distal end of the endoscope (a so-called “chip-in-tip endoscope”).
For the purposes of the beam deflection, the deflection unit in the objective arrangement in such endoscopes is typically embodied with two reflection planes, wherein the reflection planes may be arranged parallel to one another or in a manner extending in a convergent fashion and wherein reflection surfaces are embodied in the reflection planes.
Thus, known objective arrangements are often configured in such a way that the incident light initially passes through a first reflection plane in a transmission region in order subsequently to be reflected at a second reflection plane in a first reflection surface. Subsequently, the light that was reflected by the first reflection surface experiences a second reflection in a second reflection surface at a side of the first reflection plane that is facing away from the original direction of incidence of the light. Additionally, objective arrangements in which more than two reflections are used for the beam deflection are also known.
Until now, it has been conventional to embody the respective reflection surfaces on the reflection planes completely by reflective coatings in order to securely steer the light into a downstream image-side optical unit. | {
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1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing device. In particular, the present invention relates to an information processing device for taking and displaying pictures electronically, and when displayed, the pictures can be either enlarged or reduced.
2. Description of Related Art
With the progress of electronic circuits, electronic cameras have become widespread which use photoelectric conversion elements to electrically process picture images.
Such electronic cameras often have a liquid crystal display (LCD). The LCD, referred to as an electronic viewfinder, is used for displaying the picture images and provides real-time picture images of the objects or subjects being photographed by the user at the time of taking the picture which will be referred to hereinafter as “shooting the object”.
FIGS. 15 and 16 show an example of a conventional electronic camera 81. In the electronic camera 81, light from the object that enters through a shooting lens 101 is converted into electrical signals by a photoelectric conversion element (not shown in the figure) and the electrical signals are digitized to create image data.
Then, by displaying the image data on a LCD 106, the user can confirm the object being photographed.
When a release switch 102 is pressed by the user, an image of the object at that time is taken, i.e., shot, and image data corresponding to the image is stored in a built-in memory (not shown in the figure).
In addition, operating a focal length changing switch 107 changes the focal length of the shooting lens 101, for example, between either a “NORMAL” mode or a “TELEPHOTO” mode. When the focal length changing switch 107 is switched to the “TELEPHOTO” mode, the shooting lens 101 is adjusted so that the focal length becomes longer, and the image of the object becomes larger than the image in the “NORMAL” mode and is displayed on the LCD 106. In such manner, images of the object can be shot in either the “NORMAL” or “TELEPHOTO” modes.
In addition, by operating a specified operating button (not shown), an image, shown by example in FIG. 17, that has been previously taken can be retrieved from storage in the memory and displayed on the LCD 106. Now, the image displayed on the LCD 106 (FIG. 17) can be enlarged as shown in FIG. 18 by pressing a zoom button 105.
Moreover, if a minus (−) switch 103 is pressed while the image in FIG. 18 is being displayed, an enlarged left-side of the image in FIG. 17 is displayed as shown in FIG. 19. Conversely, if a plus (+) switch 104 is pressed while the image in FIG. 18 is being displayed, an enlarged right side of the image in FIG. 17 is displayed as shown in FIG. 20.
Furthermore, by pressing the zoom button 105 again while the image in either FIGS. 18–20 is being displayed, the image reduced to its original size as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed.
As described above, the focal length can be changed at the time of shooting the object by operating the focal length changing switch 107. Thus, the object is displayed as enlarged on the LCD 106. In addition, when displaying images retrieved from the memory i.e., the recorded images, operating the zoom button 105 enlarges the image displayed on the LCD 106.
However, for the similar operations to enlarge the image displayed in the LCD 106, the focal length changing switch 107 is used at the time of shooting images and the zoom button 105 is used at the time of displaying the images retrieved from the memory. Therefore, a problem arises in that the user can be easily confused by these operations. Thus, the user can easily misuse the electronic camera, e.g., by pressing the wrong button.
Moreover, due to providing two operating components, i.e., the zoom button 105 and the focal length changing switch 107, as described above, another problem is that the number of operating components is increased. As a result, the external appearance of the device is tainted. | {
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Transactions are often performed with different applicable taxes, such as sales taxes and value-added taxes, which must be tracked accurately for accounting purposes. Sales and purchases are sometimes initially recorded with gross values that include one or more taxes, and sometimes initially recorded with net values, prior to or not subject to application of various taxes. Systems for recording taxable transactions have typically provided for a net amount to be input and for other information such as gross amounts to be calculated from the net amount, with more complicated procedures required if a gross amount is to be provided as input or if a net amount is otherwise to be determined from other information.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an xcex1-agarase and a method for producing the same. Specifically, the present invention relates to an xcex1-agarase, which is useful for producing agarooligosaccharides with low degrees of polymerization having various physiological activities from agarose, and a method for producing the xcex1-agarase as well as use of the enzyme. The present invention also relates to a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity and a gene encoding said polypeptide. Specifically, the present invention relates to an amino acid sequence of an xcex1-agarase, which is useful for producing agarooligosaccharides with low degrees of polymerization having various physiological activities from agarose, and a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for producing a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity by genetic engineering. In addition, the present invention relates to a method for producing an agarooligosaccharide using a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity.
2. Description of Related Art
Agarose is the principal constituent of agar. Agarose is a polysaccharide that has a structure in which D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose are alternately linked together through xcex1-1,3 bonds and xcex2-1,4 bonds. One must degrade agarose into smaller molecules in order to produce oligosacchaides from agar. For this purpose, methods in which agarose is chemically degraded and methods in which agarose is enzymatically digested are known. In a chemical degradation method, agarose can be hydrolyzed using an acid. In this case, xcex1-1,3 bonds are mainly cleaved. Two enzymes, xcex2-agarase which cleaves xcex2-1,4 bonds in agarose and xcex1-agarase which cleaves xcex1-1,3 bonds in agarose, are known to digest agarose.
Oligosaccharides obtained by cleaving agarose at xcex2-1,4 bonds are called as neoagarooligosaccharides. Neoagarooligosaccharides have D-galactose at their reducing ends and their degrees of polymerization are expressed by even numbers. On the other hand, oligosaccharides obtained by cleaving agarose at xcex1-1,3 bonds are called as agarooligosaccharides. Agarooligosaccharides have 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose at their reducing ends and their degrees of polymerization are expressed by even numbers. Recently, it was shown that agarooligosaccharides which have 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose at their reducing ends have physiological activities such as an apoptosis-inducing activity, a carcinostatic activity, various antioxidant activities, an immunoregulatory activity, an antiallergic activity, an anti-inflammatory activity and an activity of inhibiting xcex1-glycosidase (WO99/24447, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-11646). Based on the physiological activities, pharmaceutical compositions and functional foods or drinks containing the agarooligosaccharides as their active ingredients can be provided.
It is difficult to control the size of produced oligosaccharides in a method in which agarose is chemically degraded. In particular, it is quite difficult to selectively produce smaller oligosaccharides with low degrees of polymerization (e.g., T. Tokunaga et al., Bioscience and Industry, 49:734 (1991)). If xcex2-agarase is used, only neoagarooligosaccharides which do not have the above-mentioned physiological activities can be obtained because this enzyme cleaves only xcex2-1,4 bonds.
It is expected that agarooligosaccharides having physiological activities are produced by using xcex1-agarase which has an activity of cleaving xcex1-1,3 bonds. Known xcex1-agarases include enzymes produced by a marine Gram-negative bacterial strain GJ1B (Carbohydrate Research, 66:207-212 (1978); this strain is indicated as Alteromonas agarlyticus strain GJ1B in European Journal of Biochemistry, 214:599-607 (1993)) and a bacterium of genus Vibrio (JP-A 7-322878; strain JT0107-L4) However, it is impossible to produce agarobiose which has notable physiological activities by using the xcex1-agarase derived from Alteromonas agarlyticus strain GJ1B because the enzyme cannot digest hexasaccharides or shorter oligosaccharides. Furthermore, the xcex1-agarase derived from a bacterium of genus Vibrio cannot be used for the production of agarooligosaccharides using agarose as a raw material because this enzyme exhibits its activity only on hexasaccharides and shorter oligosaccharides and does not act on agarose at all.
As described above, prior art has problems regarding the production of smaller agarooligosaccharides such as agarobiose and agarotetraose which have 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose at their reducing ends and have various physiological activities.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity which can be used for efficient production of smaller agarooligosaccharides, an amino acid sequence of the polypeptide, a gene encoding the polypeptide, a method for producing the polypeptide and a method for producing the smaller agarooligosaccharides.
In view of the problems as described above, the present inventors have studied intensively and conducted search in order to obtain an enzyme that cleaves xcex1-1,3 bonds in agarose and generates agarooligosaccharides having notable physiological activities. As a result, the present inventors have successfully found two microbial strains that produce enzymes having properties suitable for this purpose. The enzymes produced by these microorganisms were isolated and their physical and chemical as well as enzymatic properties were elucidated. Furthermore, the present inventors have successfully isolated genes for the enzymes, and found a method for readily producing polypeptides having xcex1-agarase activities by means of genetic engineering using the genes, thereby completing the present invention.
The present invention is outlined as follows. The first aspect of the present invention relates to a novel xcex1-agarase having the following physical and chemical properties:
(1) action: hydrolyzing an xcex1-1,3 bond between 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose and D-galactose;
(2) substrate specificity: acting on agarose, agarohexaose and agarooligosaccharides longer than agarohexaose but not on agarotetraose;
(3) optimal temperature: exhibiting its enzymatic activity at a temperature of 55xc2x0 C. or below; and
(4) heat stability: retaining 20% or more of its activity after treatment at 48xc2x0 C. for 30 seconds.
Such xcex1-agarases are exemplified by an enzyme that contains an amino acid sequence consisting of 749 residues from amino acid number 177 to amino acid number 925 in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:14, or an amino acid sequence in which one or more amino acids are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said amino acid sequence consisting of 749 residues, or an enzyme that contains an amino acid sequence consisting of 767 residues from amino acid number 184 to amino acid number 950 in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:15, or an amino acid sequence in which one or more amino acids are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said amino acid sequence consisting of 767 residues.
The second aspect of the present invention relates to a gene encoding a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity, which encodes the xcex1-agarase of the first aspect. Such genes are exemplified by a gene that contains a nucleotide sequence consisting of 2247 bases from base number 529 to base number 2775 in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:12, or a nucleotide sequence in which one or more bases are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said nucleotide sequence consisting of 2247 bases, or a gene that contains a nucleotide sequence consisting of 2301 bases from base number 550 to base number 2850 in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:13, or a nucleotide sequence in which one or more bases are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said nucleotide sequence consisting of 2301 bases.
The third aspect of the present invention relates to a gene that is hybridizable to the gene of the second aspect under stringent conditions and encodes the xcex1-agarase of the first aspect.
The fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a recombinant DNA molecule that contains the gene of the second or third aspect.
The fifth aspect of the present invention relates to a transformant harboring the recombinant DNA molecule of the fourth aspect.
The sixth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity, comprising culturing a microorganism capable of producing an xcex1-agarase (e.g., a microorganism belonging to a genus to which a microorganism TKR1-7AGxcex1 (FERM BP-6990) or a microorganism TKR4-3AGxcex1 (FERM BP-6991) belongs) and collecting the xcex1-agarase of the first aspect from the culture. Both of the microorganisms TKR1-7AGxcex1 and TKR4-3AGxcex1 were deposited under Budapest Treaty on Jan. 26, 1999 (the date of the original deposit) at the National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 1-3, Higashi 1-chome, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki, Japan under accession numbers FERM BP-6990 and FERM BP-6991, respectively.
The seventh aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity, comprising culturing the transformant of the fifth aspect and collecting the xcex1-agarase of the first aspect from the culture.
The eighth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing an agarooligosaccharide, comprising digesting agarose using the xcex1-agarase of the first aspect and collecting an agalooligosaccharide from the resulting digest.
The ninth aspect of the present invention relates to a novel xcex1-agarase. Such xcex1-agarases are exemplified by an enzyme containing an amino acid sequence consisting of 591 residues from amino acid number 335 to amino acid number 925 in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, or an amino acid sequence in which one or more amino acids are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said amino acid sequence consisting of 591 residues, or an enzyme containing an amino acid sequence consisting of 586 residues from amino acid number 365 to amino acid number 950 in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, or an amino acid sequence in which one or more amino acids are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said amino acid sequence consisting of 586 residues.
The tenth aspect of the present invention relates to a gene encoding a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity, which encodes the xcex1-agarase of the ninth aspect. Such genes are exemplified by a gene containing a nucleotide sequence consisting of 1773 bases from base number 1003 to base number 2775 in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, or a nucleotide sequence in which one or more bases are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said nucleotide sequence consisting of 1773 bases, or a gene containing a nucleotide sequence consisting of 1758 bases from base number 1093 to base number 2850 in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, or a nucleotide sequence in which one or more bases are substituted, deleted, added and/or inserted in said nucleotide sequence consisting of 1758 bases.
The eleventh aspect of the present invention relates to a gene that is hybridizable to the gene of the tenth aspect under stringent conditions and encodes the xcex1-agarase of the ninth aspect.
The twelfth aspect of the present invention relates to a recombinant DNA molecule that contains the gene of the tenth or the eleventh aspect.
The thirteenth aspect of the present invention relates to a transformant harboring the recombinant DNA molecule of the twelfth aspect.
The fourteenth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing a polypeptide having an xcex1-agarase activity, comprising culturing the transformant of the thirteenth aspect and collecting the xcex1-agarase of the ninth aspect from the culture.
The fifteenth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing an agarooligosaccharide, comprising digesting agarose using the xcex1-agarase of the ninth aspect and collecting an agarooligosaccharide from the resulting digest. | {
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Die casting machines generally utilize one of two classifications of casting material pumping systems, either a hot chamber system or a cold chamber system. Hot material chamber die casting machines include parts that are partially submerged in a vat containing the molten metal and thus operate at the temperature of the metal bath. Cold chamber die casting machines are unheated except for the die member which receives the molten metal during the casting process. Hot chamber systems are used primarily for the casting of metals having low melting points such as tin, zinc and lead alloys. Cold chamber machines can be used for die casting most metals, however, they are most commonly used for aluminum, magnesium and copper alloys.
The industry has lavished great care in choosing materials for the construction of hot chamber die casting machines. Improved materials for the various parts have led to enhanced resistance against wear, hardening and softening. The industry, however, has had little success in overcoming failure problems resulting from the high operating pressures present in the hot melt die casting process.
A recent, major improvement in the industry has been a reinforced casting. Specifically, the improvement is a reinforced gooseneck and reinforced components for use with a hot chamber die casting machine. The improvement provides for the reinforcement of the gooseneck, nozzle, and nozzle seat. The preferred embodiment focuses on reinforcing the gooseneck as this is the location where most pressure-caused failures occur. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,489 issued to Melvin A. Jones which is herein incorporated by reference.
Another problem has been communication between the pressure cylinder of the gooseneck and the molten metal reservoir. Various attempts have been made to fast fill the chamber of the gooseneck or to more completely reach the bottom of the reservoir of molten material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,414 discloses a complicated mechanism for rapidly providing molten metal to a die casting machines. This patent discloses a double toggle arrangement including a bell crank pivotally mounted on a yoke. The patent also discloses a double shaft arrangement for filling the chamber of the gooseneck. Shaft 104 operates gate valve 100. Gate valve 100 has two apertures. Aperture 112 provides communication between pump chamber 96 and pot 32. Aperture 114 provides communication between chamber 96 and nozzle 54. Shaft 108 operates pump 110 mounted in chamber 96. Movement of shafts 104 and 108 operate in sync to fill and drain chamber 96 through apertures 112 and 114. Obviously, keeping the shafts in sync would be difficult. While this system may function, it cannot be retrofitted to an existing gooseneck assembly. Maintenance also would be difficult. | {
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Electronic devices including conventional button assemblies often require the internal components to be coupled to a housing of the device, prior to the positioning of the external button within an opening of the housing. As a result of the internal components being fixed prior to the installation of the external button, the alignment of the button within the opening of the housing may be off-center.
In some embodiments, the external button may be positioned within the opening of the housing and may be subsequently coupled to the fixed internal components of the button assembly. Unless the internal component of the button assembly is perfectly centered on the opening of the housing, the external button will be off-center (e.g., non-concentric) with the opening. The non-concentric positioning of the external button within the housing may affect functionality of the button if the button contacts and/or catches the edge of the opening during actuation of the button. Additionally, where the button is not concentric with the opening of the housing, the aesthetic or cosmetic appearance of the electronic device may be negatively affected.
Electronic devices also typically include two-piece casing systems for securing internal components. It is desired for these cases to maintain a strong connection to prevent undesirable exposure of the internal components of the electronic device. That is, where casing system includes a top case and a bottom case, it is desired that neither case comes unintentionally loose or becomes disconnected from one another. Conventionally, this may be achieved by including external fasteners (e.g., screws, snap-fits, etc.) that couple the two distinct cases. However, because these fasteners are exposed, they become vulnerable to failing due to normal wear-and-tear or usage of the electronic device. Additionally, because the fasteners are typically exposed or provided on the outside of the electronic device, the top case (e.g., exposed case) usually includes multiple holes, hinges and/or connection points for receiving the fasteners to couple the two cases. These features can be aesthetically, or cosmetically unappealing to a user of the electronic device. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fuel cell system, and more particularly, to an apparatus for controlling electric power from a fuel cell, which takes a transient response of a gas controlling system of the fuel cell into account.
2. Description of the Related Art
A running state (working fluid is gas in this state) may respond slowly as demanded output power from a fuel cell increases. Therefore, producible output power may not satisfy the demanded output power. When the demanded output power increases, if the demanded output power is attempted to be produced, output voltage from the fuel cell may fall and the fuel cell may deteriorate. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-284102 (Hereafter, this application is called a first conventional art.) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H7-75214 (Hereafter, this application is called a second conventional art.) are known as conventional arts to solve the above problems.
The first conventional art has features that a function generator sets a transient upper limit of an electric current corresponding to the inputted target output, and that output power from the fuel cell is restricted so that electric current produced from the fuel cell does not exceed the transient upper limit of the electric current.
The second conventional art has features that a target mass flow rate of air being necessary for the demanded output power is set, and that an ultimately demanded output power is determined based on a detected mass flow rate of the air. | {
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1. Technical Field
This application relates generally to an ignition device for internal combustion engines.
2. Background Art
Typical internal combustion engines, such as gasoline engines mounted in automobiles, are equipped with an ignition device with a spark plug to ignite fuel sprayed into a combustion chamber of the engine. For instance, a spark plug is known for use in such an ignition device which has a center electrode and a ground electrode and works to develop a plasma discharge between the center electrode and the ground electrode in response to application of a high-frequency voltage to the center electrode.
For example, Japanese Patent First Publication No. 2014-211148 teaches an ignition device equipped with an ignition circuit working to supply a high-frequency voltage to the spark plug. Specifically, the ignition circuit applies the high-frequency voltage between the center electrode and the ground electrode of the spark plug to create and develop a streamer discharge moving on a surface of an insulator porcelain between the center electrode and the ground electrode, so that an AC glow discharge or an arc discharge (each of which will also be referred to below as a glow discharge) is produced along a discharge path, as made by the streamer discharge, between the center electrode and the ground electrode.
The action of the streamer discharge as a precursor to the generation of the glow discharge requires application of very high voltage to the spark plug. Specifically, a voltage (i.e., a peak-to-peak voltage) of as high as 30 kVpp is required to develop the streamer discharge to produce the glow discharge. For this purpose, the ignition circuit is equipped with a step-up transformer which works to step-up a primary voltage, as developed by a high-frequency power supply, up to a secondary voltage and apply it to the spark plug. The ignition circuit is equipped with the high-frequency power supply which delivers a degree of the primary voltage (i.e., a high-frequency power) needed to develop the required voltage to the step-up transformer,
Once the glow discharge has been developed through the streamer discharge, the discharge will create an electrical conduction between the center electrode and the ground electrode of the spark plug, which results in a drop in impedance between the center electrode and the ground electrode, so that an electrical current actually flows therebetween. Accordingly, if the primary voltage (i.e., the high-frequency power) continues to be supplied, like when the streamer discharge is developed, to the step-up transformer to apply the secondary voltage to the spark plug, a high degree of current will flow between the center electrode and the ground electrode. In other words, an excessive current which is higher in level than that required to maintain the glow discharge will flow between the center electrode and the ground electrode, which results in a drop in durability of the spark plug arising from, for example, physical wear of the center and ground electrodes or deterioration of a resistor of the spark plug,
The above publication teaches dividing the current into a plurality of stages and delivering them in sequence to the spark plug in order to ensure the durability of the spark plug (i.e., the burst control). It is, however, difficult for such a method to maintain the glow discharge at a required level. | {
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Electronic sports (“e-sports”), also known as competitive video gaming, has grown in popularity due in large part to the explosive growth of online video games and availability of network connectivity. Along with the popularity of e-sports, demand for live streaming or pre-stored replays of video gameplay sessions has grown. Although network technology has advanced in recent years to accommodate large scale data storage and transferring, the load on storage and network infrastructure imposed by live streaming and pre-stored playback of video gameplay sessions can be quite large, potentially causing delays and dissatisfaction for end users and maintenance problems for system administrators. This is because conventional methods of providing such playback typically involves recording gameplay as media files. These media files become very large, thanks in large part to modern high definition, graphics-intense, video games. Furthermore, due to the fast-paced nature of many of these competitive video gaming events and gameplay sessions, it is often difficult to obtain relevant information relating to in-game events and historical statistics.
These and other problems exist with annotating and sharing video game playback. | {
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This invention relates to structural systems and elements for use in the construction of such systems.
The invention is particularly concerned with the provision of structures which may be advantageously for use in horticulture or the like making use of recycled materials, especially recycled plastics which can be used in the manufacture of the elements from which the structures are made, although it is not restricted to the use of such recycled materials and first use materials, such as suitable plastics, or metals may be used. In certain uses, such as horticulture, clear plastics may be of utility.
It is an object of the invention to provide elements for use in the construction of structural systems which can be assembled from a small range of simple components, without skilled labour to provide a wide range of such structures.
According to one aspect of the invention, a set of elements for use in the construction of a structural system comprises two or more plank members which have hollows or voids in at least part thereof, and each open towards a respective end of the plank, and one or more connector members each comprising a body and a plurality of projections, each connector having at least one projection located to enter into a respective hollow or void of at each of at least two plank members, to connect said plank members.
The plank members each preferably comprise a plastics extrusion of uniform cross-section throughout the length of each plank member, and this may comprise a hollow rectangular section, subdivided by partitions or dividing walls into for example longitudinally extending compartments which form the hollows or voids which are open at each end of the plank member to receive projections of one or more connector members. The form of extrusion allows the plank member to be relatively light in weight, whilst the subdividing partitions or walls strengthen the plank member against compression exerted in the direction of the dividing walls.
The connector member or members may each comprise a hollow or solid plastics body providing a stem, and formed with at least two arrays of projections for insertion into the open ends of the longitudinal compartments of two different plank members, so as to join the plank members together.
Connector members may be provided in each of a range of forms for effecting different types of connection. For connection of two plank members in an end-to-end straight line arrangement, the projections are preferably aligned on opposite sides of a square or rectangular stem. For connection of two plank members at right angles, to form a corner, the projections are set at mutual right angles, on adjacent sides of a square or rectangular stem. On the other hand, the stem may be formed as a curved member with end faces formed which are at right angles to each other, and carrying the projections.
In further embodiments of connector member, the connector may provide a xe2x80x98Txe2x80x99 connection for three plank members. In addition, provision may be made for connections at angles other than right angles, such as 60 or 120 degrees. A modification of the connector comprising a stem with only one set of projections may be provided as a trim to xe2x80x98finishxe2x80x99 an exposed end of a plank member.
Plank members may be connected vertically by means of rods which pass through apertures in the projections. These apertures may be in the form of closed holes, but for ease of manufacture, are preferably slots which open to one edge of the projections.
From another aspect, the invention provides a structural system constructed from a set of elements according to the first aspect of the invention. Such horticultural structures may include for example a raised bed, or a sand pit wherein a single tier of plank members is secured together to form a low wall around a specified area, using both right angle (corner) connectors and straight-line connectors. The volume may then be filled with a soil/loam/humus/compost material or mixture to form a raised bed, or sand to form a sand pit.
A structure of two or three superimposed tiers of plank members may be used as a pet run, to define an area in which a pet animal may be exercised, from rodents to small dogs. The height and extent of the enclosure will generally be related to the species involved.
A simple high walled structure including for example up to ten or more tiers of plank members may be provided as a bin for collection and storage of garden or other rubbish, whilst a complex structure comprising a plurality of interconnected compartments of similar height to the bin may be designed as a compost installation. Such a compost installation may comprise for example three compartments, one or collection of current organic garden refuse, a second for compacting and maturing compost collected from a previous period, and a third for extraction of matured compost for use.
A single tier structure may also be used as the basis for a cloche, in combination with a glass or clear plastics cover. | {
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Bar codes are useful for identifying and maintaining inventory for a variety of products and goods. One of the disadvantages of a bar code system is that it may be difficult to read, depending upon the available light, the environment or the angle that the bar code can be scanned. The shapes of bar codes generally need to be somewhat uniform and of course a limitation for bar codes is that they cannot be hidden out of view, but instead must be readily available so that the light from a bar code reader can impinge directly upon the bar code.
Because of some of the limitations of bar codes and bar code readers, passive transponder systems have been developed. There are for example radio frequency electrical transponders which require contact with a reader in order to be read. There are also radio frequency tag magnetic readers in which no contact is required. These magnetic RF tags can be read by a reader which activates an antenna within the RF tag when the RF tag becomes disposed within the magnetic field generated by the RF tag reader. This causes a radio frequency signal to be transmitted which can then be received by the reader.
The magnetic RF tag readers in the prior art are somewhat bulky and have an internal computer disposed therein which is dedicated to the reader itself. The disadvantages of such a reader with a dedicated internal computer is that the computer terminal is not useful for other purposes and the size of the reader makes it very awkward to use, for example it cannot be placed in a normal sized pocket or the like. | {
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Shelves are part of the standard equipment of commercial warehousing areas and of private households. They are used for presentation or display of wares or for visible storage and/or preservation of articles of any sort and are commercially available in a number of different embodiments and materials.
The drawback inherent in traditional shelves lies in that their dimensions cannot be modified. The outline, size, dimensions or design of the shelving generally cannot be changed at all or can be modified only slightly by sequential stacking of some plurality of shelves, which are either arranged disengaged but adjacent to one another or are to be screwed together. | {
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Bicyclic compounds containing a pyrimidine skeleton in the structure thereof are disclosed as an antipsychotic agent in WO97/47601; as a metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) antagonist in WO2001/32632; as a glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibitor in WO2001/44246; as a protein kinase inhibitor in WO2002/22601, WO2002/22602, WO2002/22604, WO2002/22606, WO2002/22607, WO2002/50065 and WO2002/62789; as a modulator of CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) function in WO2002/30358 and US Published Patent Application No. 2003/0173524; and as a phosphodiesterase 7 (PDE7) inhibitor in WO2002/87513, respectively.
TARC was found as a T cell chemotactic factor [Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 271, p. 21514 (1996)], and MDC was found as a monocyte chemotactic factor [Journal of Experimental Medicine, vol. 185, p. 1595 (1997)]. Particularly, TARC is assumed to be involved in allergic diseases, since it is formed from a monocyte stimulated by Th2 cytokine [Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 271, p. 21514 (1996)]. Further analyses have shown that TARC and MDC are CCR4 ligands [Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 272, p. 15036 (1997); and Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 273, p. 1764 (1998)].
CCR4 has been cloned as a receptor expressed in T cells and thymocytes [Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 218, p. 337 (1996)], and further investigation shave reported that CCR4 is mainly expressed in “Th2” T cells [Journal of Experimental Medicine, vol. 187, p. 875 (1998); and Journal of Immunology, vol. 161, p. 5027 (1998)]. | {
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Reaction injection molding (RIM) is a versatile process by which elastomeric and thermoset parts can be fabricated. The RIM process involves high pressure impingement mixing of a polyisocyanate stream (A-side) and an active-hydrogen containing isocyanate-reactive stream (B-side) followed by immediate injection into the closed mold. The primary appeal of this process lies in its inherently high productivity. One factor which limits productivity, however, is the necessity to spray the molds with external mold release prior to each injection. This is a time-consuming task and often has a negative environmental impact. This difficulty can be overcome by the incorporation of an internal release agent into the formulation via one of the two streams to significantly increase the number of molding cycles which can be accomplished between mold release sprayings.
The use of metallic soaps as release agents has been known for a long time. Zinc stearate, in particular, is known to be soluble in aliphatic amines, such as the polyether polyamines and ethylenediamine-initiated polyols. This is the basis for its use as an internal mold release (IMR) agent in RIM. If zinc stearate is simply dispersed as a fine powder in polyol blends, it does not dissolve and does not act as a release agent. Various patents teach that zinc soaps can be compatibilized or dissolved in polyol blends with amines, enamines, ketimines or salts of amidines or guanidines, and that excellent releasability of the subsequent RIM parts will result.
While the IMR approach is commercially applied, there remains significant shortcomings to the currently available IMR systems. The amine-solublized metallic soaps, which are most commonly used in this application, have been implicated in reactivity and/or physical property deficiencies for the RIM elastomers in which they are used. Furthermore, the high melting points and limited solubilities of the metallic soaps make them prone to precipitation in the RIM processing equipment, necessitating replacement of the piping regularly.
The search for IMR agents which are liquids without the possibility of solidifying led to the development of special silicone fluids for this application. U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,695 discloses certain carboxy-functional silicone fluids as IMR agents for RIM, including Dow Corning's commercial carboxy-functional silicone fluid Q2-7119, which has the following general formula: ##STR1##
In general, acids have a deleterious effect on the green strength of aryldiamine-extended polyurethaneurea RIM systems due to a general deactivation of the tin catalyst. Thus, higher than normal levels of tin catalysts are needed when acids are present. Due to the sulfur atom, alpha to the carbonyl group, Q2-7119 is a much stronger acid than a typical fatty acid, such as lauric acid. Therefore, when T-12 (dibutyltin dilaurate) and Q2-7119 are in the same polyol blend, the equilibrium reaction involving the two components leads to a gelled silicone salt. This gelation results from a crosslinking reaction between the trifunctional silicone and the difunctional tin salt. The result is that the system exhibits extremely poor green strength which cannot be corrected by the addition of more tin catalyst.
Attempts to dissolve this problem include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,100 discloses the use of a 3-stream approach to RIM molding where the Q2-7119 is delivered dispersed in polyol containing no tin catalyst. The other two streams are the normal A and B sides of RIM technology. The A side is isocyanate and the B side is a blend of polyol, diamine chain extender, surfactants and tin and amine catalysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,570 discloses that the tin catalyst can be placed in the A side. Gelation is avoided, but high levels of catalysts are still needed for adequate green strength. Furthermore, placing the tin catalyst in the isocyanate increases the moisture sensitivity and susceptibility to side reactions, such as allophonate formation, leading to gelation of the isocyanate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,729 discloses replacing the polyether polyol and the tin catalyst with polyether polyamines which require no tin catalyst. The result is polyurea RIM, and Q2-7119 can be used with no chemical modification or 3-stream approach.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,341 discloses that the acid groups on Q2-7119 can be converted to amides by reaction with amines or to esters by reaction with alcohols or epoxides yielding nonacidic IMR silicones. These materials have been shown to cause paintability problems. In addition, they have been seen to interfere with polyol nucleation so that low part densities cannot be achieved. In extreme cases, large voids are found in the parts due to coalescence of bubbles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,366 discloses that Q2-7119 can be dispersed on the isocyanate side by using a nonisocyanate-reactive silicone as a dispersing and inhibiting agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,912 discloses the use of the reaction products of fatty cyclic anhydrides with primary or secondary amines, including distearylamine as IMR agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,803 discloses that salts of Q2-7119 can be made with Group IA, IB, IIA, IIB, aluminum, chromium, molybdenum, iron, cobalt, nickel, tin, lead, antimony or bismuth. These salts are then compatiblized in the B-side blend with certain tertiary amines. In practice, these salts are extremely viscous or gelatinous in nature and do not disperse well into the polyol.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,764,540 and 4,789,688 disclose that salts of Q2-7119 can be made with amidines and guanidines, such as tetramethyl-guanidine, to yield neutralized forms of the silicone which would not gel tin catalysts. Waxy amidines such as the imidazolines from stearic acid and ethylenediamine derivatives were cited as particularly efficacious for release.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,992 discloses the use of N-hydroxyalkyl quaternary ammonium carbonylate salts as catalysts in the production of polyisocyanurates and polyurethanes. Among the exemplary preferred catalysts are N-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium salts of carboxylic acids such as those of formic and acetic acids and of fatty acids such as hexanoic and octanoic acids and the like. | {
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The present invention relates to a novel polymer, and a light emitting element containing the polymer, with the excellent high luminance light emission, high light emission efficiency and durability.
Recently, study and development have been executed actively on various kinds of display elements. In particular, an organic electroluminescence (EL) element capable of obtaining high luminance light emission with a low voltage has been attracting attention as a prospective display element. For example, an EL element with an organic thin film formed by depositing an organic compound is known (Applied Physics Letters, 51, p. 913-, (1987)) The organic EL element disclosed in the literature has a laminated structure of an electric transporting material and a hole transporting material. It has a dramatically improved light emission characteristic compared with the conventional single layer type elements.
According to the laminated type element, the element is formed by depositing a low molecular organic material as the element material. As a technique for forming the thin film used in the organic EL element, various methods such as a vacuum deposition method as in the above-mentioned literature, a sputtering method, a CVD, a PVD, a coating method using a solvent, or the like can be used. Details thereof are described in the content of some documents. Examples thereof include ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT MATERIALS AND DEVICES (OPA, Amsterdam, 1997), Organic EL element and Industrialization Front Line Thereof (NTS, 1998), or the like. The present inventor has discussed a method of coating a solution of an organic compound, in particular, an organic polymer material as the thin film forming technique. In the case of the organic polymer material, a thin film can be formed with little defect by the material alone, and the formed thin film can provide characteristics of the excellent physical and chemical fastness.
However, in the case a plurality of materials having various functions such as the electron transporting property, the electron injecting property, the hole transporting property, the hole injecting property and the light emitting property is used for a light emitting element, phase separation, or the like can frequently be generated at the time of mixing the organic polymer materials, and thus it was learned that it is problematic in terms of the performance. Moreover, even in the case of using a low molecular compound mixed with a polymer material, it was learned that it is problematic in terms of the durability.
As an attempt for solving the above-mentioned problem, a method of copolymerizing monomers having various functions is conceivable. However, according to the study and discussion of the present inventor, it was learned that a sufficient performance cannot be obtained by a simple copolymer.
According to a general light emitting element, the light emitting efficiency can be improved by using a hole transporting compound and an electron transporting compound in laminated layers or in the same layer. The present inventor has discussed an element using a plurality of materials in a coating type organic EL element. As to a light emitting element material to be used for a coating type light emitting element, an electron rich hetero aromatic compound such as a pyrrole, a thiophene and a furan is effective as the hole transporting compound. Moreover, an electron deficient hetero aromatic compound containing a plurality of hetero electrons is effective as the electron transporting compound. However, as mentioned above, in the case a plurality of functional materials are used for a light emitting element, it was learned that only a low light emitting performance can be obtained with organic polymer materials. Moreover, in the case a low molecular compound is used as a mixture with a polymer material, it was learned that a problems arises in terms of the durability.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification No. 2000-286056 discloses an EL element material containing a carbazole derivative. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification No. 9-255725/1997 discloses a method for producing an oxadiazolylated polymer usable as an electron transport material of an organic electroluminescent element by selecting a polymer having oxadiazole groups at the side chains.
A first object of the invention is to provide a novel polymer. A second object is to provide a light emitting element using the same, capable of emitting a light with a high luminance and a good light emitting efficiency, and having the excellent durability.
The invention was achieved by the below-mentioned polymer and light emitting element:
1. A polymer represented by the below-mentioned formula (1):
(Am)p-(Bn)q-(Ck)rxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
(wherein A represents a monomer unit including a pyrrole, a thiophene, a furan and aromatic and hetero aromatic condensed ring derivatives, B represents a monomer unit including a hetero ring derivative containing two or more hetero atoms in a ring system, C represents a monomer unit having a structure other than the above-mentioned, m and n represent an integer of 1 or more, k represents an integer of 0 or more, p and q each denote a mole percentage (%) of 1-99(%), r represents 0-98(%) with the premise that p+q+r=100(%), and a ballast group having 4 or more carbon atoms is substituted at least in one of the A, B and C monomer units);
2. The polymer according to the above-mentioned item 1, wherein at least one of A in the formula (1) is a monomer unit including a carbazole derivative and at least one of B is a monomer unit including a 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivative;
3. The polymer according to the above-mentioned items 1 to 2, wherein the monomer units in the formula (1) are a vinyl monomer unit;
4. A light emitting element provided by coating at least one or more kinds of polymers between an anode and a cathode, wherein at least one of the polymers contains the polymer according to the above-mentioned items 1 to 3; and
5. The light emitting element according to the above-mentioned items 1 to 4, wherein at least one kind of a light emitting material capable of emitting a light from a triplet exciter is used as a light emitting material. | {
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α-olefin is an industrially important raw material monomer that is produced by the oligomerization of ethylene using a metal catalyst. However, the oligomerization of ethylene usually gives et-olefin mixtures according to Schulz-Flory distribution. Therefore, the development of a catalyst system capable of selectively producing one kind of α-olefin is very important industrially.
For example, Patent Document 1 has reported that a half-metallocene titanium complex represented by formula (Cp-B(R)nAr)TiR13 activated with an activating co-catalyst component works as a catalyst for selective trimerization of ethylene.
Among these catalysts for selective ethylene trimerization, a half-metallocene titanium complex (carbon-bridged Cp-Ar complex) comprising cyclopentadiene bonded to a substituted aryl group via a carbon atom, such as [1-(1-methyl-1-(3,5-dimethylphenyl)ethyl)-3-trimethylsilylcyclopentadienyl]titanium trichloride, has been reported to work as an efficient catalytic component for ethylene trimerization under conditions of 30° C. with MAO (methylaluminoxane) as an activating co-catalyst component (see e.g., Non-Patent Document 1). On the other hand, [dimethylphenylsilylcyclopentadienyl]titanium trichloride, which is a half metallocene titanium complex (silicon-bridged Cp-Ar complex) comprising cyclopentadiene bonded to a substituted aryl group via a silicon atom, has been reported to have low catalytic activity in ethylene trimerization reaction under the same conditions as above and to also have low 1-hexene selectivity (see Non-Patent Document 1). | {
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Electrical activity of the brain can be recorded using electroencephalography (EEG), an accepted and useful technique for obtaining information about brain activity. The information about brain activity obtained from an EEG recording can be used in the diagnosis and monitoring of sleep disorders, epilepsy, attention deficit disorder, depression, chemical dependency, pain, and other disorders. To ensure accurate EEG recordings through proper electrode placement, EEG tests are generally conducted in a hospital or office setting by a trained medical professional. However, the technology used to record the EEG data, as well as the hospital or office setting, is both uncomfortable and unnatural for the patient, leading to questions of whether the EEG data is truly an accurate reflection of the patient's natural brain activity. | {
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The present invention is related to a method for preventing or reducing the effects of ischemia. The ischemia may be associated with injury or reperfusion injury, such as occurs as a result of infarctions, thermal injury (burns), surgical trauma, accidental trauma, hemorrhagic shock and the like. The invention is also related to methods for preventing or reducing bacterial translocation, adult respiratory distress syndrome, adherence of blood cells and platelets to endothelial cells and pulmonary hypertension. In accordance with the present invention, these conditions are prevented or reduced by administering a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) derivative.
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 incorporated by reference, and for convenience are numerically referenced in the following text and respectively grouped in the appended bibliography.
The consequences of accidental injury represent the leading causes of death in the United States among young adults. The use of aggressive resuscitation protocols has increased the chances of a patient surviving the initial trauma event following injury. However, the development of infectious complications still represents a significant problem in these individuals. Infection and the pathologic consequences of infection contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality observed post-injury (1, 2). Post-surgical complications in particular, represent a frequently studied model of the array of systemic inflammatory aberrations observed following all types of severe traumatic injury and major surgery (2).
It is well known that trauma patients are predisposed to life-threatening infections as a consequence of being immunologically compromised (1, 2). It is believed that the negative influences on the immune system following severe traumatic injury are similar to the protective mechanisms involved in less severe injury. Recently, it has been established that the pathophysiology of trauma/shock injury is associated with an alteration in intestinal motility that can affect the ecology of the enteric microflora and contribute to bacterial translocation (3, 4). In addition, increase permeability of the intestinal capillaries facilitates infiltration of microbial toxins that induce a systemic inflammatory syndrome mediated by potent cytokines and other bioactive substances. One of the early indicators of the systemic inflammatory syndrome is induction of an acute phase response as measured by production of acute phase reactants (4, 5).
It appears that infection, leading to sepsis and multiple organ failure, remains a major hurdle to overcome in the pathophysiologic response to trauma (6, 7). Thus far, therapeutic modalities designed to either maintain or restore organ system homeostasis in surgical and trauma patients have only been partially successful, and for the most part disappointing. The failure to develop effective therapeutic drugs in this area may be due to an inadequate base of knowledge upon which past studies were designed. A better understanding is needed of the specific components of the physiologic response to traumatic and surgical injury, such as a better distinction between host-protective inflammatory mechanisms from those that are host-injurious.
A number of studies have shown that multiple alterations in immunity occur following stress and trauma. Changes in innate host resistance to infection (3, 4), loss of memory skin test reactions (7), altered cytokine production (8), decreased B-cell function (9), and profound deficits in T cell responses (10) are among the most notable. Significant monocytosis following trauma has also been observed, along with reduced monocyte/macrophage function and increased negative regulatory macrophage activity. These later observations are associated with an increased production of immunoregulatory E series prostaglandins (11). Likewise, serum immunoglobulin and protein profiles of patients appear to be significantly altered as a consequence of trauma (12, 13).
The existence of cytokine deficits/excesses following several distinct forms of traumatic injury have been established. These reports are relevant because lymphokines and cytokines are necessary and important for the induction and regulation of almost all types of immune responses (14). Recent studies have documented the existence of altered cytokine secretion in trauma patients, as a prolonged decrease in peripheral T cell potential for IL-2 secretion and IL-2R expression (15). Wood et al. demonstrated a persistent reduction in IL-2 production in vitro by PBMC from burn patients, with even lower levels of IL-2 production by T cells from burn patients suffering from systemic sepsis (10). Additionally, high levels of circulating soluble IL-2R in serum from trauma patients have been reported (10). A depression in yIFN production has been shown to occur in burned humans (16), as well as in mice (17). A number of investigators have noticed that iatrogenic procedures (surgical manipulations, transfusions, anesthesia) induce a marked depression in the capacity of activated T cells to produce IL-2 (18). There have also been observations of increased levels of tumor necrosis factor and IL-6 following burn and mechanical trauma (2, 6). These changes persisted for up to 21 days post injury (2,6). The persistence of plasma levels of IL-6 post-trauma appears to correlate with the severity and an unsuccessful outcome of septic episodes (6), and high levels of TNF have been associated with mortality (19). The cytokine, IL-6, is a potent biologic response modifier (20, for review). High blood levels have been correlated to a pathologic response to a variety of stress stimuli, such as inflammation or infection (20). IL-6 possesses a multiplicity of effects including induction of the acute phase response (21), ELAM expression on endothelial cells and growth of plasma cells (20). IL-6 can be produced by T cells, macrophages and fibroblasts in response to appropriate stimulation (20).
The metabolic and neuroendocrine responses to injury represent components of the adaptive stress response (22). Following a given stressful event, the production of many hepatic proteins (acute phase reactants) and neuroendocrine compound is altered. These changes are believed to enhance survivability of the host. Changes in liver function are marked by elevations in plasma Zn.sup.2+, C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, .alpha.1-antitrypsin, fibrinogen, .alpha.1-acid glycoprotein and a number of heat-shock proteins. It is common to observe increased production of ACTH, cortisol and some neurotransmitters (beta-endorphin and eukephalins) with concomitant decreases in estrogen and androgen production (24,25). The altered production of many of these diverse substances can have pronounce effects. When an individual has an uneventful recovery from traumatic injury, neuroendocrine output and immune responsiveness will eventually return to normal (23, 24). In the patient sustaining severe injury, normal homeostasis of both the neuroendocrine and the immune systems become dysregulated for extended periods of time regardless of whether the patient recovers (18, 25).
Inflammatory stimuli such as thermal injury, major surgery and accidental trauma are know to be potent inducers of the HPA axis. The effect of activating the HPA is to alter normal adrenal output of steroid hormones, because glucocorticoid (GCS) production is increased at the expense of DHEAS synthesis and export. It has been clearly established that thermal injury of mice has a profound and reproducible effect on T cell function and host resistance (26). Specifically, it has been demonstrated that a number of T cell-derived lymphokines are either enhanced or repressed by the effect of thermal injury. These effects have led to the hypothesis that the change in GCS and DHEA levels is responsible for the alterations in innate and adaptive immune function. The mechanisms by which GCSs cause a depression of immunological function now appears to involve an interference with the function of certain nuclear transcription factors (27, 28). GCSs are now appreciated to exert a negative influence on gene transcription through the ability of GCS-receptor complexes to bind and inactivate the proto-oncogene product cJun, which combined with cFos activates the AP-1 transcription site (27, 28). Therefore, while the enhancement of gene transcription caused by GCS results from a classical DNA-protein interaction (29), repression of the transcription rate of other genes by this same hormone may result from specialized protein--protein (transcription factors-hormone-receptor complexes) interactions (27, 28).
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a weak androgen, serves as the primary precursor in the biosynthesis of both androgens and estrogens (30). DHEA has been reported to play a mitigating role in obesity, diabetes, carcinogenesis, autoimmunity, neurological loss of memory (31-34), and the negative effects of GCS on IL-2 production by murine T cells (35).
Recent insight into the mechanism of action of DHEA has come from studies of ischemia-induced reperfusion injury. The clinical term used to describe the pathological process of wound extension is progressive dermal ischemia and it appears to represent the consequences of a host-initiated, time-dependent reperfusion injury. We questioned whether the degree of progressive dermal ischemia and necrosis of the skin following thermal injury in a murine model would be significantly reduced by post-burn, systemic administration of the steroid hormone DHEA (36).
DHEA and several related species of steroid hormones were evaluated for a capacity to either reduce or protect thermally injured mice against reperfusion damage of the microvasculature. Subcutaneous administration of DHEA at approximately 1-2 mg/kg/day achieved optimal protection. DHEA, as well as, 17.alpha.-hydroxy-pregnenolone, 16.alpha.-bromo-DHEA and androstenediol were all protective, whereas treatment of burned animals with other types of steroids, including androstenedione, 17.beta.-estradiol or dihydrotestosterone had no protective effect. Additionally, intervention therapy with DHEA could be withheld for up to 4 hours after burn with substantial therapeutic benefit (36, 75). It is desired to identify additional compounds which could be used for protection of patients from reperfusion damage.
It has been observed that the immediate response to a burn injury is in many ways similar to an experiment reperfusion injury in other tissues. Studies suggest that DHEA, either directly or indirectly, through its action on endothelium prevents damage to the microvasculature in reperfusion injury.
In another study the effect of DHEA on ischemia/reperfusion injury of the isolated rat cremaster muscle was evaluated. The experimental approach employed intravital microscopy to establish whether DHEA pre-treatment of rats prior to ischemia/reperfusion of the isolated muscle would protect against damage to the capillaries and venules of microcirculation. These studies indicated that in control animals, 6 hours of ischemia followed by re-flow analysis at 90 minutes and 24 hours lead to insufficient perfusion of the muscle. In DHEA pre-treated rats, 6 hours of ischemia followed by re-flow analysis at 90 minutes, 24 hours and even 4 days showed normal perfusion values in the isolated muscle. In addition, it was clear that the DHEA pre-treatment prevented sticking of neutrophils to endothelium. Additional studies in a global ischemic model demonstrated the protective effect of DHEA given intravenously after resuscitation of clinically dead rats.
It has been recognized that the maintenance of vascular integrity is an important response to injury. Complex hemostatic mechanisms of coagulation, platelet function and fibrinolysis exist to minimize adverse consequences of vascular injury and to accelerate vascular repair. Vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells actively maintain vessel wall thromboresistance by expressing several antithrombotic properties. When perturbed or injured, vascular cells express thrombogenic properties. The hemostatic properties of normal and perturbed vascular cells has been reviewed by Rodgers (38).
Interference with the supply of oxygenated blood to tissues is defined as ischemia. The effects of ischemia are known to be progressive, such that over time cellular vitality continues to deteriorate and tissues become necrotic. Total persistent ischemia, with limited oxygen perfusion of tissues, results in cell death and eventually in coagulation-induced necrosis despite reperfusion with arterial blood. Ischemia is probably the most important cause of coagulative necrosis in human disease. A substantial body of evidence claims that a significant proportion of the injury associated with ischemia is a consequence of the events associated with reperfusion of ischemic tissues, hence the term reperfusion injury. To place reperfusion injury into a clinical perspective, there are three different degrees of cell injury, depending on the duration of ischemia:
(1) With short periods of ischemia, reperfusion (and resupply of oxygen) completely restores the structural and functional integrity of the cell. Whatever degree of injury the cells have incurred can be completely reversed upon reoxygenation. For example, changes in cellular membrane potential, metabolism and ultrastructure are short-lived if the circulation is rapidly restored.
(2) With longer periods of ischemia, reperfusion is not associated with the restoration of cell structure and function, but rather with deterioration and death of cells. The response to reoxygenation in this case is rapid and intense inflammation.
(3) Lethal cell injury may develop during prolonged periods of ischemia, where reperfusion is not a factor.
The reversibility of cell injury as a consequence of ischemia is determined not only by the type and duration of the injury, but also by the cell target. Neurons exhibit very high sensitivity to ischemia, whereas myocardial, pulmonary, hepatic and renal tissues are intermediate in sensitivity. Fibroblasts, epidermis and skeletal muscle have the lowest susceptibility to ischemic injury, requiring several hours without blood supply to develop irreversible damage.
The proximity of the endothelium to circulating leukocytes makes it an important early target for neutrophil adherence and subsequent damage to vascular and parenchymal tissue. Interaction of activated endothelial cells and neutrophils is an immediate early, and necessary, event in ischemia/reperfusion injury (39, 40). The adhesive properties of endothelium are rapidly induced by the influx of oxygenated blood. In response to oxygen, endothelial cells become activated to produce several products, including leukotriene B4 (LTB4), platelet activating factor (PAF) and P-selectin. Leukotriene B4 is a potent neutrophil chemotactic agent (41, 42). Upon activation of the endothelial cells, P-selectin is rapidly translocated from intracellular organelles to the plasma membrane, where it acts to tether circulating neutrophils and stabilize them for activation by endothelial-bound PAF (platelet activating factor), endothelium-derived cytokines and other biologically active mediators (43). Thus, the physiologic interaction between the activated endothelium and the activated neutrophil is recognized as a critical and immediate early event in reperfusion injury of organs and tissues. Other cellular and biochemical mediators of inflammation injury such as platelets, the complement cascade, and the coagulation system are also important, but come into play much later in the cascade, in a process called coagulative necrosis. Finally, monocytes, macrophages, fibroblasts and smooth muscle cell infiltration are responsible for reconstruction and replacement of dead tissue with new, vital tissue, a process called wound healing.
A popular theory postulates a role for partially reduced, and thus activated, oxygen species in initiation of membrane damage in reperfusion injury. Present evidence indicates that activated oxygen (superoxide, peroxide, hydroxyl radicals) is formed during ischemic episodes and that reactive oxygen species injure ischemic cells. Toxic oxygen species are generated not during the period of ischemia itself, but rather on restoration of blood flow, or reperfusion. Two sources of activated oxygen species have been implicated as early events in reperfusion injury, those produced intracellularly by the xanthine oxidase pathway and those which can be transported to the extracellular environment by activated neutrophils (39, 40, 44-46).
In the xanthine oxidase-dependent pathway, purines derived from the catabolism of ATP during the ischemic period provide substrates for the activity of xanthine oxidase, which requires oxygen in catalyzing the formation of uric acid. Activated oxygen species are byproducts of this reaction. The species of oxygen radicals derived from the xanthine oxidase pathway are O.sub.2.sup.- (superoxide with one electron) and H.sub.2 O.sub.2 (hydrogen peroxide with two unpaired electrons). Superoxides are generated within the cytosol by xanthine oxidase (located in the cytosol). The superoxides are then catabolized to peroxides within mitochondria by superoxide dismutase. The peroxides are further converted to water either by glutathione peroxidase, in the cytosol, or by catalase in peroxisomes. Both glutathione peroxidase and catalase comprise the antioxidant defense mechanism of most cells. The major evidence for this hypothesis rests on the ability of allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, to protect against reperfusion injury in experimental models.
In the NADPH-dependent pathway, NADPH oxidase is activated to generate superoxides through reduction of molecular oxygen at the plasma membrane. The superoxides are reduced to hydrogen peroxide by superoxide dismutase at the plasma membrane or within phagolysosomes. Finally, hydrogen peroxide within phagolysosomes can be reduced in the presence of superoxides or ferrous iron to hydroxyl radicals. A third form of oxygen metabolite is mediated by myloperoxidase in the presence of chlorine to reduce hydrogen peroxide to hypochlorous acid.
The hydroxyl radical is an extremely reactive species. Mitochondrial membranes offer a number of suitable substrates for attack by OH.sup.- radicals. The end result is irreversible damage to mitochondria, perpetuated by a massive influx of Ca.sup.2+ ions. Another probable cause of cell death by hydroxyl radicals is through peroxidation of phospholipids in the plasma membrane. Unsaturated fatty acids are highly susceptible targets of hydroxyl radicals. By removing a hydrogen atom from fatty acids of cell membrane phospholipids, a free lipid radical is formed. These lipid radicals function like hydroxyl radicals to form other lipid peroxide radicals. The destruction of unsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids leads to a loss in membrane fluidity and cell death. Some investigators believe that the effects of oxidative stress cause programmed cell death in a variety of cell types.
Infarctions and traumatic injury involve many tissues, including vascular tissue. One response following traumatic injury is to shut down blood supply to the injured tissue. A purpose of this response is to protect the patient from the entry of infectious agents into the body. The severe reduction in blood supply is a main factor leading to progressive ischemia at the region of the traumatic injury. With progressive ischemia, tissue necrosis extends beyond the directly affected tissue to include surrounding unaffected tissue. This progressive ischemia plays an important role in defining the ultimate tissue pathology observed in humans as a consequence of the traumatic injury. For example, see Robson et al. (47).
One form of traumatic injury which has received a great deal of attention is thermal injury or burns. The burn wound represents a non-uniform injury, and the spectrum of injury ranges from tissue which is totally coagulated at the time of injury to tissue which is only minimally injured. Between these two extremes is tissue which is seriously damaged and not immediately destroyed, but which is destined to die. The etiology of the progressive depth of necrosis has been shown to be stasis and thrombosis of blood flow in the dermal vessels, causing ischemia and destruction of epithelial elements. This ischemia occurs for 24-48 hours following the thermal injury (47, 48). Many effects have been seen following a thermal injury, including adhesion of leukocytes to vessel walls, agglutination of red blood cells and liberation of vasoactive and necrotizing substances (48).
It has been established that burn-associated microvascular occlusion and ischemia are caused by the time dependent increase in development of microthrombi in the zone of stasis, a condition which eventually leads to a total occlusion of the arterioles and a microcirculatory standstill. Whereas margination of erythrocytes, granulocytes and platelets on venular walls are all apparent within the first few hours following thermal injury, the formation of platelet microthrombi (occurring approximately 24 hours after surgery) is believed to be responsible for creating the conditions that cause complete and permanent vascular occlusion and tissue destruction (49, 50). The formation of platelet microthrombi appears to provide the cellular basis for expanding the zone of complete occlusion and the ischemic necrosis that advances into the zone of stasis following thermal injury.
Bacterial translocation is the process by which indigenous gut flora penetrate the intestinal barrier and invade sterile tissue. Included in this process is the migration of microbial organisms to the draining mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, blood and in some instances, the lung (51, 52). This phenomenon has been documented in humans following thermal injury (53-55) and ischemia-reperfusion injury (56). DHEA has been reported to be useful in reducing or preventing bacterial translocation (36, 75). It is desired to identify additional compounds which are useful for preventing or reducing bacterial translocation.
The evidence implicating the role of neutrophils in adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is substantial but indirect (57). Some of the first suggestions that neutrophils may cause an ARDS-like picture were found in severely neutropenic patients who were infused intravenously with donor neutrophils. Occasionally, within hours of neutrophil infusion, there was an abrupt "white-out" of the lungs (by x-ray) and onset of ARDS symptoms. Numerous studies have shown that neutrophils accumulate in the lung during ARDS. For example, their presence has been demonstrated histologically. During the early phases of ARDS, the number of circulating whole blood cells transiently decreases, probably due to their abnormal pulmonary sequestration. Some neutrophils that accumulate within lung capillaries leave the vascular space and migrate into the interstitium and alveolar airspaces. In normal healthy volunteers, neutrophils account for less than 3% of the cells that can be obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). In patients with ARDS, the percentage of neutrophils in the lavage is markedly increased to 76-85%. The accumulation of neutrophils is associated with evidence of their activation. They demonstrate enhanced chemotaxis and generate abnormally high levels of oxygen metabolites following in vitro stimulation. Elevated concentrations of neutrophil secretory products, such as lactoferrin, have been detected in the plasma of patients with ARDS. Further evidence that neutrophils actively participate in lung injury was obtained from a clinical study of patients with mild lung injury who were neutropenic for an unrelated reason (e.g., receiving chemotherapy). It was noted that lung impairment frequently worsened if a patient's hematological condition improved and circulating neutrophil counts recovered to normal levels.
Although the evidence implicating neutrophils in the genesis of human ARDS is still largely indirect, data demonstrating the importance of neutrophils in various animal models of acute lung injury is convincing. The common approach that has been used to demonstrate neutrophil independence is to deplete the animal of circulating neutrophils and measure any diminution in lung injury that occurs. Although a number of experimental models have been used to study neutrophil dependence of lung injury, only a few have been selected for discussion herein because of space limitations.
One extensively studied model is the administration of endotoxin to sheep. When endotoxin is intravenously infused into sheep, a complex set of events occurs, one of which is increased permeability of the pulmonary capillary endothelium. This is manifested by an increase in the flow of lung lymph which contains a higher-than-normal protein concentration. These changes indicate a reduction in the ability of the capillary endothelium to retain plasma proteins within the vascular space. The neutrophil dependence of the permeability injury was established when it was found that neutrophil depletion of the sheep prior to endotoxin infusion protected them. Another in vitro model of acute lung injury involves intravenous infusion of cobra venom factor into rats, which causes complement activation followed by leukoaggregation and sequestration of neutrophils within the pulmonary microvasculature. Alveolar wall damage occurs, leading to interstitial and intra-alveolar edema with hemorrhage and fibrin deposition. Again, neutrophil depletion prevented the increased pulmonary capillary leak.
Isolated, perfused rabbit or rat lungs have also been used to study mechanisms of alveolar injury under circumstances that allow improved control of the variables that affect fluid flux. When neutrophils were added to the perfusate and then stimulated, albumin leaked from the vascular compartment into the lung interstitium and alveolar airspaces. Unstimulated neutrophils or stimulus alone (e.g., phorbol myristate acetate) failed to increase alveolar-capillary permeability.
As further proof that stimulated neutrophils can independently injure lung tissue, in vitro experiments have been performed using vascular endothelial and lung epithelial cells as targets. In some reports, neutrophils have been shown to detach endothelial cells or alveolar epithelial cells from the surface of the tissue culture dish. Obviously, if such an event were to occur in vivo, the denuded surfaces would permit substantial leakage of plasma contents. Furthermore, many reports have provided clear evidence that stimulated neutrophils are able to facilitate lysis of cultured vascular endothelial cells and alveolar epithelial cells. DHEA has been reported to be useful in reducing or preventing ARDS (36, 75). It is desired to identify additional compounds which are useful for preventing or reducing ARDS.
In the United States, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents the fifth most common cause of death (58). COPD also constitutes one of the most important causes of work incapacity and restricted activity (59). COPD, along with many other pulmonary diseases, causes pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy or cor pulmonale. Over 12 million patients in the United States alone have chronic bronchitis or emphysema, and approximately 3 million are chronically hypoxic with PaO.sub.2 <60 mmHg. These patients develop hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, and eventually, right ventricular hypertrophy (60). Once right ventricular hypertrophy develops, the three-year mortality rate of those patients is 60% (61, 62). Irrespective of the current management, morbidity and mortality of patients with COPD and pulmonary hypertension remain high.
One model to study pulmonary hypertension is the pulmonary vasoconstriction induced by alveolar hypoxia. Experiments in isolated animal (63) and human (64) pulmonary arteries suggest that hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction is mediated by a direct effect of hypoxia on pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell. It has been reported (65) that hypoxia can depolarize the pulmonary vascular smooth muscle membrane by inducing an increase in tissue Na+ and a decrease in K+. More recently, it has been reported that hypoxia can alter the membrane potential in rat main pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell and can stimulate Ca.sup.2+ influx through voltage-gated channels (66). There is strong evidence that Ca.sup.2+ entry blockade can attenuate hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction in isolated rat lung (67) and in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (68). Conceivably, hypoxia may effect other membrane transport mechanisms that are involved in Ca.sup.2+ influx and/or efflux. For example, Voelkel et al. (69) speculated that hypoxia may impair Ca.sup.2+ extrusion. Farrukh et al. (70) has demonstrated that cAMP and cGMP reverse hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction by stimulating Ca.sup.2+ ATP-ase-dependent Ca.sup.2+ extrusion and/or redistribution. It is desired to identify compounds which are useful for treating, reducing or preventing pulmonary hypertension.
DHEA is an endogenous androgenic steroid which has been shown to have a myriad of biological activities. Araneo et al. (26) has shown that the administration of DHEA to burned mice within one hour after injury resulted in the preservation of normal immunologic competence, including the normal capacity to produce T-cell-derived lymphokines, the generation of cellular immune responses and the ability to resist an induced infection. Eich et al. (71, 72) describes the use of DHEA to reduce the rate of platelet aggregation and the use of DHEA or DHEA-sulfate (DHEA-S) to reduce the production of thromboxane, respectively.
Nestler et al. (73) shows that administration of DHEA was able in human patients to reduce body fat mass, increase muscle mass, lower LDL cholesterol levels without affecting HDL cholesterol levels, lower serum apolipoprotein B levels, and not affect tissue sensitivity to insulin. Kent (74) reported DHEA to be a "miracle drug" which may prevent obesity, aging, diabetes mellitus and heart disease. DHEA was widely prescribed as a drug treatment for many years. However, the Food and Drug Administration recently restricted its use. DHEA is readily interconvertible with its sulfate ester DHEA-S through the action of intracellular sulfatases and sulfotransferases.
Daynes et al. (75) shows that administration of DHEA was useful for the reducing or preventing progressive tissue necrosis, reperfusion injury, bacterial translocation and adult respiratory distress syndrome. However, Daynes et al. (75) further shows that the administration of DHEAS was not useful for reducing or preventing these pathological conditions.
Despite the above teaching of Daynes et al. (75), it has now been discovered that DHEAS can be used to reduce or prevent the pathophysiologic responses to the above noted pathological conditions when administered intravenously when necessary or orally at the doses described in detail below. It has also now been discovered that additional DHEA congeners can be used to reduce or prevent the pathophysiologic responses to the above noted pathological conditions. | {
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Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and non-volatile (e.g., flash) memory.
Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that may allow for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Changes in threshold voltage of the memory cells, through programming of a charge storage structure such as floating gates, trapping layers or other physical phenomena, may determine the data state of each cell.
The memory cells may be arranged in strings of memory cells where each string may be coupled to a source. Groups of strings of memory cells (e.g., memory blocks) may all be coupled to a common source.
When a memory manufacturer desires to increase a memory density of a memory device, additional groups of strings of memory cells may be added to the memory device and coupled to the common source. Thus, the common source may be increased in length, thereby increasing its resistance.
It may be desirable to keep the resistance of the source as low as possible since, as is known in the art, a larger resistance may cause a larger voltage drop from a particular point of the circuit to the common source. A larger voltage drop can cause problems during memory operations that rely on very small voltage differences. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improved thermoplastic compositions. In another aspect, it relates to aromatic carbonate compositions having improved properties including low temperature impact strength and impact strength after heat aging, the improvements provided through the addition of functionalized elastomeric polymers.
2. Description of Art in the Field
Aromatic carbonate compositions are known to have excellent physical properties, particularly high impact resistance and heat resistance, and are known as "engineering plastics". However the performance of these compositions tend to suffer in the area of resistance to crack propagation. This deficiency is illustrated in notch sensitivity, brittle breaks and occasional catastrophic failure of molded or extruded parts. The tendency of some of these polycarbonate compositions to break in brittle fashion, particularly in low temperature usage or after continuous or intermittent exposure at high temperatures, is a significant limitation of utility. The tendency toward brittle break behavior can be characterized by the notched Izod test ASTM D-256-56. With a normal notch of 1/8 (3.2 mm) inch, unmodified polycarbonate compositions will show a decrease from notched Izod values at room temperature of about 80% when tested at temperatures of about -20.degree. C. Notched Izod values show a similar magnitude of decrease if the thickness of the sample is increased as little as 1/8 (3.2 mm) inch, to 1/4 (6.4 mm) inch, even at room temperature. Aging at temperatures of about 125.degree. C. for a period of about 4 hours shows similar results.
Consequently, there is much in the art concerned with improving the impact strength of aromatic carbonate and particularly polycarbonate compositions. A variety of additives have been added or suggested for addition to polycarbonates with some improvement in impact strength being obtained. U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,859 teaches toughened thermoplastic compositions of various materials including polycarbonate nresins admixed with about 1-40 wt. % of at least one random copolymer and sheared so as to disperse the random copolymers in the resin in a particle size of 0.01 to 3.0 microns. The random copolymer is said to be comprised of one or more monomers taken from eight classes of monomers, included within which are ethylene, propylene and non-conjugated dienes, specific examples being ethylene/propylene/1,4-hexadiene-g-maleic anhydride, ethylene/propylene/5-propenyl-2-norbornene-g-maleic anhydride, ethylene/propylene/1,4-hexadiene/norbornadiene-g-fumaric acid, ethylene/propylene/5-ethylidine-2-norbornene-g-fumaric acid (sic), and ethylene/propylene/1,4-hexadiene/5-ethylidiene-2-norbornene-g-fumaric acid (sic). Mixed polymers are said to include examples such as ethylene/propylene/1,4-hexadiene/norbornadiene with styrene/maleic anhydride and styrene/butadiene with ethylene/maleic anhydride. Improved notched Izod values as reportedly tested in accordance with ASTM-256-56 are taught and the improvement is said generally to be proportional to adherent sites in the polymeric component, the melt viscosity and molecular weight distribution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,563 discloses a polycarbonate composition said to possess an improved thick section impact strength as measured by notched Izod. The improvement is said to arise from preparing an aromatic carbonate polymer endcapped with an XR moiety, where X is inclusive of derivatives of organic compounds such as phenol, carboxyl, carboxyl halides, R is an alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, etc., of about 5-20 carbons, and admixing with a polyolefin impact modifier. The polyolefins include, for example polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-propylene diene copolymers, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,950 discloses the modification of polycarbonate compositions with excellent impact resistance and heat resistance to improve weld strength. The disclosed compositions are said to comprise (A) a polycarbonate resin and (B) a rubber modified copolymer with (C) an epoxy group containing olefin copolymer. (B) is said to comprise a graft copolymer of such as ethylene/propylene/non-conjugated diene copolymer, styrene/butadiene copolymer, etc., graft polymerized with monomers such as styrene, acrylonitrile, or an alkyl acrylate, and combined with a copolymer comprising these last-named monomers. (C) is said to be a copolymer of at least one unsaturated epoxy compound and at least one olefin with or without at least one ethylenically unsaturated compound, such as glycidyl methacrylate/ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer or glycidyl methacrylate/ethylene copolymer.
European Patent Application No. 0 119 533 discloses polycarbonate resin compositions said to have improved impact strength, especially in thick sections, and resistance to environmental stress crazing and cracking. The improvements are attributed to the use of a modifier combination (b) comprising, e.g., (b) (i) a selectively hydrogenated linear copolymer of one or more blocks of a vinyl aromatic polymer segment, like polystyrene, and one or more blocks of an olefinic elastomer of butadiene, isoprene, etc., (b) (ii) an olefin-methacrylate copolymer like ethylene-methylmethacrylate or a methacrylate alone, and optionally (b) (iii) a polyolefin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymers, polyisobutylene and EPDM copolymers.
European Patent Application No. 0 106 096 discloses polycarbonate resin compositions said to have improved resistance to environmental stress crazing and cracking. The improvements are attributed to the use of a modifier combination (b) comprising (i) a thermoplastic olefin polymer insoluble in the polycarbonate resin, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyisobutylene, copolymers of ethylene and propylene, and mixtures, and a linear low density polyolefin such as ethylene-butene-1.
European Patent Application No. 0 119 531 discloses polycarbonate resin compositions said to have improved impact strength, especially in thick sections, and weld line strength. The improvements are attributed to the use of certain acrylic-olefin co/terpolymers (c) prepared from olefins and acrylates or acrylics, e.g. ethylene-ethyl-acrylate, in a composition comprising a polycarbonate resin (a) and an olefin polymer or copolymer (b) such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymers, polyisobutylene, EPDM copolymers and linear low density polyolefins such as ethylene-butene-1.
In addition to the above it is known in the art that polymers containing alkenyloxazolines can be crosslinked to make novel polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,505,297 discloses the crosslinking and conversion of polymers containing alkenyloxazolines into infusible, water and solvent resistant polymers by reaction with a polycarboxylic acid, including polymers having plural carboxylic acid groups in the polymer molecule. The article "Coupling of reactive polystyrene and polyethylene in melts", by Baker and Saleem in Polymer, 1987, Vol. 28, No. 12, 2057-2062, discloses reacting polystyrene having oxazoline groups and polyethylene having carboxyl groups in a melt blend for the investigation of claims in the art of production of alloys having better impact strength and tensile properties than the ordinary polyethylene-polystyrene blends.
As indicated above there is a continuing need for novel means of improving various properties of polymer compositions including the impact strength of aromatic carbonate compositions. It is thus an object of the instant invention to provide novel functionalized elastomeric polymers that are useful as impact modifiers for polycarbonate compositions as well as to provide a means of improving the impact strength of these compositions. A further object thus, is achieving novel aromatic carbonate compositions having improved impact strength at low temperatures, in thicker sections and after continued exposure to high temperatures. | {
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Polyolefin resins having bimodal molecular weight distributions and/or bimodal composition distributions are desirable in a number of applications. Resins including a mixture of a relatively higher molecular weight polyolefin and a relatively lower molecular weight polyolefin can be produced to take advantage of the increased strength properties of higher molecular weight resins and articles and films made therefrom, and the better processing characteristics of lower molecular weight resins.
Bimetallic catalysts such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,032,562 and 5,525,678, and European Patent EP 0 729 387, can produce bimodal polyolefin resins in a single reactor. These catalysts typically include a non-metallocene catalyst component and a metallocene catalyst component which produce polyolefins having different average molecular weights. U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,678, for example, discloses a bimetallic catalyst in one embodiment including a titanium non-metallocene component which produces a higher molecular weight resin, and a zirconium metallocene component which produces a lower molecular weight resin.
As stated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,995,109, controlling the relative amounts of each catalyst in a reactor, or the relative reactivity of the different catalysts, allows control of the bimodal product resin. Other background references include EP 0 676 418, WO 98/49209, WO 97/35891, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,867.
Bimetallic catalysts are also disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,199,072, 7,141,632, 7,172,987, 7,129,302, 6,964,937, 6,956,094, and 6,828,394.
Hydrogen gas is often used in olefin polymerization to control the final properties of the polyolefin, where the hydrogen gas acts as a chain transfer agent during polymerization. Single metal based catalyst using hydrogen as a chain transfer agent may produce a polymerization product with relatively predictable molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. Further, changes in reactor hydrogen concentration may additionally be used to alter the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the resulting polymer.
Bimetallic catalysts such as those described in the patents listed above, however, typically include catalyst components having different hydrogen responses (each having a different reactivity toward hydrogen). For example, a first catalyst component may have a higher response to changes in reactor hydrogen concentration than a second catalyst component. Thus, in contrast to single metal based catalysts, a change in reactor hydrogen concentration may affect molecular weight, molecular weight distributions, and other properties of the resulting bimodal polymer when using a bimetallic catalyst. Owing to the differing hydrogen response of the components in the bimetallic catalyst, control of polymer properties is considerably more complicated and less predictable, as there is an additional independent variable (a second catalyst having a different hydrogen response) affecting polymerization dynamics.
A need exists for bimetallic catalyst systems having predictable and controllable responses to changes in reactor hydrogen concentration. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
It has been known for a long time that it is possible to improve the corrosion resistance of the said surfaces by subjecting them, after zinc plating, to a passivation treatment using chromate-plating baths. However, for components used under an engine bonnet and therefore subjected during use to thermal shocks and to corrosion, the requirements of the automobile industry have recently become more stringent since manufacturers now want the corrosion resistance to be in accordance after the said surfaces have been subjected to a thermal shock for one hour at 120.degree. C. or even 180.degree. C.
The corrosion resistance is assessed in the laboratory by an accelerated Salt Spray Test carried out according to the AFNOR NFX41002/ASTM B117 73/DIN40046-11 standard. The automobile industry wants components which have been subjected to a thermal shock to show no zinc salt (or white rust) after exposure to the salt spray for 200 hours and no red rust after 400 hours or indeed 600 hours. Moreover, also after thermal shock, the said components should also successfully undergo natural-corrosion tests.
Moreover, components intended for the automobile industry should satisfy aesthetic color requirements: yellow, green and more particularly black. This black color, which should be deep, glossy and uniform, is particularly difficult to obtain when, at the same time, a high corrosion resistance is demanded after thermal shock for one hour at 120.degree. C.
Chromate-plating baths based on chromium, copper and silver or molybdenum which make it possible to obtain a shiny black coating are described in Patent FR 2,522,023. However, after thermal shock for one hour at 120.degree. C., this type of coating does not last longer than 48 hours in the corrosion test with salt spray.
The use of a chromate-plating bath comprising an acrylic polymer and a phosphate makes it possible, according to Patent EP 264 472, to obtain a beautiful black coloring which is resistant to corrosion in salt spray after thermal shock. However, it is more difficult to bring such a bath into operation than a conventional chromate-plating bath. Moreover, the film obtained proves to be unstable (formation of yellow chromium salts) and the use of a polymer leads to the emergence of "drops" on the components treated on jigs and to difficulties in cleaning the equipment (centrifugal drier Jigs) used in the treatment.
It has also been proposed to subject the components to a conventional chromate plating and then to treat them in a separate bath containing the acrylic polymer and the phosphate. This two-stage process does not give reproducible results and, like the above process, has the disadvantage of leading to the formation of "drops".
It has now been found that, by using a chromate-plating bath comprising cobalt instead of copper and a top coat bath based on colloidal silica, it is possible to obtain, on zinc, zinc alloy or cadmium surfaces, a coating with a beautiful black colouring exhibitions excellent corrosion resistance in salt spray after thermal shock. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the transfer of fluids, electric and hydraulic power, and signals between installations on the sea bed and a weathervaning vessel that is moored to a single point mooring. The primary application of the invention is for offshore oil production vessels that are moored to a single point mooring or a turret and to oil tankers that are moored to single point moorings.
The invention relates to the fluid swivel required in the conduits and cables connecting the systems aboard the weathervaning vessel to the sub sea systems.
2. BACKGROUND ART
In recent years a number of systems have been developed to moor vessels offshore in high sea states. These systems generally provide for the mooring of oil tankers and oil production and storage vessels such that they are moored to a single point (such as a single point mooring or a turret mooring). The vessels are typically designed to be able to freely weather vane about the mooring. Typically the vessel is connected with fluid, power, and signal connections to sub sea systems. Because the vessel can freely rotate, swivels must be incorporated in the said fluid, power, and signal connections.
Typically there are 5 to 10 fluid connections and a large number of signal connections, however, the number of fluid connections may range from one to more than 30. A number of solutions to this swivel problem exists in the known art as follows:
1. Multiple ball bearing or roller bearing type swivels stacked one on top of each other such that they all have one common (usually vertical) axis. All conduits must pass through the center of the lowest swivel, all but one must pass through the center of the next lowest swivel, and so on.
2. Numerous flexible conduits of the type manufactured by COFLEXIP deployed in a cylindrical drum and subject to twisting, such as for example described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,201,551 and 4,648,848.
3. Numerous flexible conduits of the type manufactured by COFLEXIP reeled onto or off a drum with a vertical axis and that are maintained in tension by an idler drum with a vertical axis and moved horizontally with respect to the first drum as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,048.
4. Numerous flexible conduits of the type manufactured by COFLEXIP deployed spirally on a plane or slightly conical surface where the two ends of the conduits rotate relative to one another by winding or unwinding the spiral similar to a clock spring as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,416.
5. Numerous flexible conduits of the type manufactured by COFLEXIP transferred between two coaxially deployed cylinders and being transferred between the two cylinders by means of an intermediate spooling device mechanically coupled to both cylinders such that the spooling device rotates with the average rotational speed of the two cylinders as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,643,462 and 4,597,595.
Swivels of the first type can rotate an unlimited number of revolutions in either direction. However, for multiple paths this type of swivel has the disadvantage of being heavy and prone to leaks. It also has limited internal pressure capability of up to about 35 MPa.
Swivels of the types 2 through 5 are all limited number of revolutions swivels. They can practically only be designed for 6 to 8 revolutions before reaching the limit. They are all heavy with the exception of type 5. Type 5 as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,643,462 and 4,597,595 has a practical limit of revolutions on the order of 4 to 6 revolutions.
An object of the present invention is to make a limited number of revolutions swivel permitting a large number of revolutions such as 20 and permitting a large number of fluid, power, and signal paths. A further object is to make the swivel leak proof and capable of resisting large internal pressures in the conveyed fluid such as 70 MPa.
These and other objects are achieved by providing a swivel of type 5 as described above but rather than spooling the pipes between two cylinders the pipes are spooled between two cones in such a manner that the pipe on one cone is spooled from the top down and on the other cone from the bottom up. This method of spooling ensures a constant distance between the unwinding point on one cone and the winding point on the other cone. By providing cones with the apex pointing up the spooled flexible pipe on either cone is prevented from falling down.
An alternative embodiment spools between two cylinders with a common axis. In this embodiment the pipe spooled on one cylinder is supported by a structure resting on the pipe spooled on the other cylinder, thereby preventing the pipe on either cylinder from falling down.
Yet another embodiment spools between two cylinders provided with helically formed shelves. In this embodiment the pipes spooled on the cylinders are supported by the helically formed shelves.
The invention removes the limitation on existing type 5 swivels of only being able to practically store two wraps of pipe on each spool to permitting 10 or more wraps on each spool thereby making the number of revolutions end to end 20 or more. Because there are no rotating seals in the swivel according to this invention and because the swivel may use pipe of the type manufactured by COFLEXIP, the pressure limitations for the swivel are basically the same as for COFLEXIP type pipe. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for electroplating metals onto a substrate, for example, fine features used in the electronics field, and, in particular, to improving the uniformity of electroplating feature thickness across regions of different feature density.
2. Description of Related Art
The electrical performance of a multi-chip module (MCM) is strongly influenced by the thickness distribution of interconnect metal, i.e., the thickness of deposited metal forming the particular interconnect feature. Circuit pattern densities are not always uniformly distributed on a carrier surface. In some areas, the patterns can be very dense, for example where the wires or other features are relatively closely spaced, while in other areas, the patterns can be very isolated, where the wires or features are spaced relatively far apart. Using prior art plating tools and processes, the plated metal thickness can vary significantly. The resultant thin film interconnect structure of nonuniform thickness can severely impact the electrical performance and the production yields due to high standard deviation of parametric measurements. These may be found in other electronics applications, for example, printed circuit boards and magnetic recording heads.
Paddle cells have been used which employ separate power supplies to impress a current between an anode and the cathode comprising the substrate (workpiece) to be plated, and a current between the anode and a secondary cathode, or thief ring, which surrounds the substrate. Traditionally, plating in a paddle cell is controlled only by adjusting substrate and thief currents. There is little control on the local currents on a substrate. Another method to achieve uniformity includes creating dummy pads in the isolated areas. However, it may generate more electrical performance issue. Another approach was employed in Kaja et al. U.S. Ser. No. 09/699,909, filed on Oct. 30, 2000, which disclosed the use of a woven metallic mesh of uniform spacing placed over the substrate and electrically connected to the thief plate. While the Kaja et al. method worked well in its intended use to plate only very few lines on a substrate, it did not solve the thickness uniformity problem for areas having different feature density. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Block copolymers containing polysiloxane segments and polyoxyalkylene segments are widely used as surface active agents in coatings, urethane foams, plastics, textiles and printing processes, to name only a few applications. Specifically, the silicone compounds are composed of a siloxane backbone with polyalkylene oxide pendants. Members of this class, when dissolved in water, achieve low surface tension values (as low as 20 dynes/cm.), an ability only exceeded by fluorocarbon surfactants.
Fluorochemical surfactant compounds are the most effective surface active agents known, reducing the surface tension of water to as low as 15 dynes/cm. The unique surface activity of fluorosurfactants is attributed to the ability of the perfluoroalkyl groups to pack at the air-water interface.
Fluorochemical surfactants, however, are quite costly at $20-50/lb compared to the silicone surfactants which are available at about $5/lb. For this reason, fluorosurfactants are prohibitively used in applications that require surface active agents.
In this invention, we have developed a new class of surfactants containing both silicone and perfluoroalkyl groups. We have shown improvement in surface active properties of alkoxylated siloxanes by modification of the alkylene oxide pendants with perfluoroalkyl containing groups. These novel perfluoroalkyl modified silicones exhibit greater surface activity i.e. lower surface tension, than the parent siloxane, even at 10% of the concentration. As a result, they improve or impart properties such as wetting, penetration, spreading, levelling, foam stability, flow properties, dispersion properties and oil and water repellency. Their cost is competitive with the silicone surfactants since only a small amount of a perfluoroalkyl moiety is required to improve surface properties and since the use level required to obtain similar performance is greatly reduced. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to circuit board accessories, and more particularly to a circuit board combination ejector and guide for attachment to an extender circuit board to provide a secure connection between the extender circuit board and an equipment circuit board.
In the testing of electronic equipment, circuit boards may be tested independently at a test bench, but preferably are tested in situ, i.e., while still installed in the equipment. To test the circuit boards in situ requires some means of making the circuit boards accessible. Accessibility is obtained by removing the circuit board to be tested and by replacing it with an extender board that provides extender connectors at an outer edge and circuit connectors at an inner edge for connection to corresponding equipment connectors. Electrical connections are provided between the inner edge connectors and the extender connectors so that the extender connectors are equivalent to the equipment connectors. The circuit board to be tested is then connected to the extender connectors in lieu of the equipment connectors so that the circuit board is outside the euipment while still being electrically in situ, thus making all testing points on the circuit board readily accessible.
The circuit board generally has some sort of ejector mechanism to assist in removing the circuit board from the equipment, and the equipment provides guides to assist in properly installing the circuit board. However when the circuit board is connected to the extender circuit board, the circuit board ejector mechanism is not functional for removing the circuit board from the extender circuit board and there are no means for guiding and holding the circuit board for assistance in installing securely the circuit board on the extender circuit board.
What is desired is a circuit board ejector/guide for attachment to an extender circuit board that assists and securely holds a circuit board to be tested when connected to the extender circuit board while providing a means for using the circuit board ejector to assist in removing the circuit board from the extender circuit board. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Having a high second order intercept point (IIP2) in a wireless communication receiver can be an important characteristic that determines how well the receiver performs in circumstances where there might be significant interference entering the receiver, e.g., transmit signal leakage.
For example, when operating in full duplex, as may be the case when operating under the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standard, a direct conversion receiver may need to have a very high second order intercept point (IIP2) due to transmit signal leakage. As another example, with a handset incorporating a low-IF Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) receiver that can receive a GSM signal while also transmitting a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a high IIP2 may be needed to prevent the CDMA signal from be down-converted/demodulated into the low-IF GSM receiver. As yet another example, a high IIP2 may be needed when a CDMA transmitter is transmitting in close proximity to an active GSM receiver.
High IIP2 can be difficult to maintain in receivers (such as direct conversion receivers and low-IF receivers) because IIP2 can be very sensitive to manufacturing variations and operating conditions like supply voltage, local oscillator (LO) power and/or frequency, and temperature. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film deposition apparatus for depositing a film on a substrate by causing the substrate on a turntable to alternately pass through a source gas supply area for supplying a source gas and a reaction gas supply area for supplying a reaction gas reactable with the source gas by rotating the turntable in a vacuum chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
So-called ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) is known as a method for depositing a thin film such as a silicon oxide (SiO2) film on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (which is hereinafter called a “wafer”). Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2013-222948 discloses an apparatus for implementing ALD that includes a vacuum chamber and a turntable for receiving a plurality of wafers thereon provided in the vacuum chamber and causes the plurality of wafers arranged on the turntable to alternately pass through an area to which a source gas is supplied and an area to which a reaction gas reactable with the source gas is supplied. In a top surface of the turntable, a plurality of concave portions is formed to hold the wafers therein when the wafers are fitted therein. Each of the concave portions is formed to have a diameter slightly larger than a diameter of the wafer when seen in a planar view to provide a clearance outside the outer edge of the wafer (to hold the wafer detacheably therefrom).
It is known that the wafer warps at its central part so as to rise as compared to its peripheral part immediately after being transferred into the concave portion due to nonuniformity of a temperature of the wafer and then gradually reduces its warp as the uniformity of the temperature of the wafer increases. In the meantime, because the turntable is rotated, the wafer moves toward the peripheral side of the turntable by the clearance due to a centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the turntable. In this manner, because the wafer moves while returning to a flat state from a warped state, the wafer moves while rubbing the bottom surface of the concave portion with its peripheral part, which is liable to cause particles.
To prevent this, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2013-222948 proposes a configuration of providing a pedestal to support a wafer having a planar shape smaller than that of the wafer on the bottom surface of the concave portion. According to the configuration, because the peripheral part of the wafer is prevented from rubbing the bottom surface of the concave portion, the generation of the particles can be prevented. However, the inventors of the present invention have found that when performing a process of rotating the turntable at a high rotational speed or setting a processing atmosphere at a high pressure, a phenomenon occurs that the film thickness becomes locally thick at a part of the periphery. This phenomenon is considered to occur because when the wafer moves to the peripheral side of the turntable by the centrifugal force, the outer edge of the wafer is pressed against the inner wall of the concave portion and an upper end of a groove portion formed between the side wall of the pedestal and the inner wall of the concave portion is partially enclosed by the wafer, in which a gas is enclosed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating and/or conditioning electrically conductive and electrochemically oxidizable and/or reducible polymeric electrodes for use in a battery or electrochemical storage cell, in particular a secondary cell. A battery or electrochemical storage cell utilizing an electrode conditioned by the method of the present invention can be at least substantially free, or completely free, of metal components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the discovery that polymeric materials, and in particular polyacetylene, could be reversibly doped and undoped and thus employed as electrode materials for charge storage applications, much consideration and investigation have been directed towards employing polymers in a wide variety of electrical and electronic device applications, including energy storage [R. B. Kaner et al., J. Phys. Chem., 90, 5102 (1989); K. Kaneto et al. Japn. J. Appl. Phys., 22, L567 (1983)], light emitting diodes [D. Braun et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 58, 1982 (1991); J. J. M. Halls et al. Nature, 376, 498 (1995); M. Granstrom et al., Science, 267, 1479 (1995)], sensors [J. W. Thackeray et al., J. Phys. Chem., 89, 5133 (1985); G. Fortier et al., Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 5, 473 (1990); P. N. Bartlett et al., J. Electroanal. Chem., 224, 27 (1987)], and electrochromic devices [H. Yashima et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 134, 46 (1987); M. Gazard, Handbook of Conducting Polymers, Vol. 1, ed. (1983)].
The conductivity of neutral polymers can be dramatically increased by chemically doping the polymers in a controlled manner with electron acceptor and/or electron donor dopants. The term doping used in connection with conducting polymers refers to the partial oxidation (p-doping) or partial reduction (n-doping) of the polymer, combined with the associated transport of charge compensating dopant ions into or out of the polymer. Conducting polymers are characterized by their ability to be switched between a neutral (or insulating) state and one or more doped (conducting) state(s).
In charge storage applications, such as electrochemical secondary storage cells, electrode materials should be able to undergo multiple doping and undoping cycles with high utilization efficiency and chemical stability. In addition, the two electrode materials should have a high charge capacity and combine to exhibit a high cell voltage.
Polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythienylene, and polythiophene are among the several polymers that have been investigated and drawn intense interest to date in connection with charge storage applications. For example, a polymeric storage cell with a polypyrrole (cathode) electrode and polypyrrole/polystyrene sulfonate (anode) electrode is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,421 to Poehler et al., the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
However, repeated doping and undoping during charging and/or discharge may cause degradation of the polymer. Many polymers, such as polyacetylene, have been plagued by poor charge/discharge cycling characteristics (i.e., reversibility) due to inferior chemical and electrochemical stability. Limited improvement in charge capacity and reversibility has been reported in connection with the p-doping of poly (3(4-fluorophenyl) thiophene), this polythiophene derivative exhibits improved charge capacity reversibility when n-doped. Further improvement was shown by varying the position and number of electrophilic substituents on a phenyl thiophene. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,683, Searson et al., Y. Gofer, J. G. Killian, H. Sarker, J. O. Poehler, P. L. Searson, J. Electrochem. Soc. 443, 103-115. (1998) the complete disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, while some progress has been made in understanding conduction mechanisms, electronic structure, doping characteristics, and optical properties in conductive polymers, there remains the need to develop a method of fabricating improved polymeric electrodes for electrochemical storage cells that exhibit suitable charge capacities and reversibilities in both the n-doped and p-doped states and can be employed in commercial applications without the need for metallic components.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of conditioning polymeric electrode materials so as to improve their charge capacities and enhance their abilities to undergo multiple doping and undoping cycles with high cycling efficiency and chemical stability.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, this and other objects are achieved by a method of electrochemical conditioning of an electrode prepared from a polymer having a lower polymerization potential than p-doping peak. Especially suited for this invention are (1) a series of fluorophenyl thiophene polymers synthesized by devising preparatory techniques to systematically vary the number and position of the fluorine on the phenyl group; and (2) a series of different phenylene-thienyl based polymers synthesized by devising preparatory techniques to systematically vary the number and position of the fluorine on the phenyl group. These polymers are disclosed in related co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 08/961,100 filed Oct. 30, 1997, which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
The electrochemically conditioned electrode, prepared according to the method of the present invention, exhibits an improved high electrochemical stability and charge capacity for both n-doping and p-doping, particularly in a sulfolane-based electrolyte.
A substantially metal-free cell can be constructed which employs electrodes conditioned by the method of the present invention. Such a cell could be manufactured by providing non-metallic current collectors carbon black loaded polyethylene, and supports, such as graphite current collectors and poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (TEFLON) supports.
Since cells employing electrodes manufactured by the method of the present invention can be fabricated from multiple polymer films, the cells are lightweight and flexible and do not have the safety and environmental concerns associated with conventional high performance batteries. The elimination of any metallic components or liquid phases provides a unique alternative for battery technology.
Further, since the components of such a cell are both moldable into various shapes and flexible, the cell can be incorporated into a device, such as a lining, and therefore takes up much less space in the device. This feature makes an electrochemical cell.fabricated by the method of the present invention especially adaptable for application in battery-operated automobiles and satellites, and other compact devices.
The present invention still further relates to batteries and electrolyte storage cells containing electrodes electrochemically conditioned according to the method of the present invention. The battery may be either of a single cell structure or a multi-layer cell structure, and can be practiced as a primary or secondary battery. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
There exist many different techniques for the analysis of molecules. One such technique is optical spectroscopy, in particular optical absorption spectroscopy. Such spectroscopy may be carried out in the infrared (IR), visible (Vis), or ultraviolet (UV) regions. Vibrationally resolved UV-Vis/IR spectroscopy of small polyatomic molecules in the gas phase has been used for decades to generate specific molecular fingerprints. This allows identification of the molecules and, in conjunction with theoretical calculations, their structural determination. However, it becomes very challenging to use the technique for large molecules (e.g. proteins and peptides) due to the complexity of their spectra and the often low concentrations of the molecules in the gas phase, which inhibits the use of optical absorption for the measurement of spectra. In such a case, photofragmentation spectroscopy can be used to determine molecular absorptions and hence obtain structural information about molecules. This involves single or multiple photon dissociation of molecules in the gas phase by infrared (IR), visible (Vis), and/or ultraviolet (UV) (which includes vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)) radiation from a laser or non-laser light source. Another challenge with large, non-volatile molecules is bringing them into the gas phase for analysis. However, numerous reliable and convenient techniques have been developed in recent years in conjunction with mass spectrometry. These include converting the molecules to ions using an ionization technique, for example electrospray ionization.
The technique of mass spectrometry, which analyzes ions on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z), permits recording a mass spectrum of ions and also their fragments. High resolution instruments, which include Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) instruments, such as those having an Orbitrap™ mass analyzer from Thermo Scientific or ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) mass analyzer, and time-of-flight (TOF) instruments, provide resolution sufficient to distinguish charged peptides by observing their isotopic distributions. Coupled with high dynamic range and m/z accuracy, this has resulted in mass spectrometry becoming a primary technique for the analysis of proteins and peptides, along with others such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray crystallography.
A fundamental limitation of mass spectrometry, however, is that it relies solely on measuring the mass and charge of ions and their fragments, but often provides only limited information on the conformational arrangement or other structural arrangement of atoms in the molecules. Complementary techniques based on ion drift in gas, like ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) or field-asymmetric IMS (FAIMS), provide only very limited additional information on molecular structure.
It is known to measure photofragmentation mass-spectra based on a fixed wavelength UV/VUV laser/non-laser light source, e.g. VUV photofragmentation of proteins and peptides in the MS/MS top-down approach (see J. S. Brodbelt, Chemical Society Reviews 43 (8), 2757 (2014); and J. Lemoine, T. Tabarin, R. Antoine, M. Broyer, and P. Dugourd, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 20 (3), 507 (2006)). This approach allows for a drastic increase in a variety of fragments and their yield, facilitating protein identification. In particular, VUV excitation, typically by ArF or KrF excimer lasers, results in cleavage of peptide bonds and high abundance of characteristic b and y fragments. All these studies employ lasers with a fixed wavelength. In a recent patent publication, WO 2013/005060 A2 discloses photodissociation as a method of fragmentation in mass spectrometry, specifically in an MSn approach for peptide sequencing. However, structural information such as conformational/isomeric arrangement is usually not provided by this approach.
Accordingly, there remains a need to improve the analysis of large molecules, such as large biomolecules and their clusters, and their interactions, e.g. the binding of drugs to target peptides. In particular, it is desirable to provide an improved means for structural, e.g. conformational and isomeric, identification of such molecules and their mixtures. Achieving this is difficult with existing techniques due to the complexity of both the biomolecular systems involved and the corresponding experimental approaches.
In view of the above background, the present disclosure is made. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to photographic apparatus, in general, and more particularly to a mechanism for urging a pressure member against a photographic film to locate an exposure area of the film in an exposure plane.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in still picture cameras that when a film frame is moved during exposure or does not lie substantially flat in the focal plane of the picture-taking lens, the resulting picture will be blurred or distorted. For this reason, there is usually provided a pressure-applying assembly for securely holding the film frame in the focal plane of the lens during exposure. Such pressure-applying assemblies are known in a wide variety of constructions. However, the known constructions suffer from several disadvantages. For example, many pressure plates are mounted on a loading door or a removable rear wall of the camera, the pressure plate being urged by a compression or leaf spring to bear against the film, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,311,037 and 3,707,904 and in the above-referenced Harvey patent applications (which are generally described in Publication No. 172,108 of Research Disclosure, Aug. 1978, Number 172.) Because in most constructions, the pressure plate and the spring protrude from the loading door, they are accessible to damage or deforming during the time the loading door is opened. Moreover, such an arrangement usually adds to the front-to-back dimension of the camera, which makes it difficult to design a camera that is relatively thin, such as a pocket-size or miniature camera.
Another type of pressure-applying assembly, as in U.S. Pat. No. 1,829,332, includes a cam mechanism which is actuated by movement of a shutter operating mechanism to hold a pressure plate firmly against the film. Here, the cam urging of the pressure plate is not resilient, as in the example of the spring-urged pressure plate, and may require substantially more front-to-back spacing in the camera than the spring-operated version.
A number of spring-operated and cam-operated pressure-applying assemblies have been devised in which a pressure member is relievable with respect to the film, as in the above-referenced Harvey patent applications and U.S. Pat. No. 1,829,332. That is, the pressure member is retracted from the filmstrip after exposure to permit film advance. Such relievable pressure-applying assemblies, in addition to suffering from the problems described above, are relatively more complex and expensive than the non-relievable types. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Travel mugs of the prior art come in a variety of styles and configurations, but most, if not all, are designed to retard the natural cooling of the liquid so that the user may enjoy a hot beverage longer than would otherwise be possible. Existing mugs use various materials, lids, vacuum chambers, and the like to maintain the temperature.
Because of the potentially elevated temperatures of the liquids held in mugs of the prior art, a user must generally wait for the beverage to cool before consuming, or risk injury.
Devices in the prior art have attempted to address this problem through various means. For example, some other devices cool hot beverages within cup or mug by separating a portion of the drink in the lid. However, these devices are lacking in several respects. First, they may not be effective enough to cool beverages from the highest possible temperature (212° F.) to the temperature range widely regarded as truly safe (136° F.). Second, they may fail even to cool beverages to the devices' maximum capacity from the very first sip, but may become more effective only with subsequent sips. Third, they are inconvenient to use, requiring the user to tip the cup more and more with each successive sip.
Alternative methods employ phase change material (PCM) encased in metal capsules that cool hot beverages when immersed in liquid. However, these devices require a wait (5 minutes, per instructions) for the product to absorb the beverage's heat, and cool the entire contents of the cup or mug into which they are inserted at the same time, meaning the consumer must rush to finish drinking quickly once the beverage has reached target temperature. These capsules also take up space inside the mug and significantly reduce the volume of beverage itself that the mug can carry.
Accordingly, what is needed is a thermal beverage container that rapidly cools the liquid as the user drinks from the container, without significant initial waiting or significant waiting between subsequent sips.
What is further needed is a thermal beverage container that cools the liquid to a safe drinking temperature from the initial sip.
What is further needed is a thermal beverage container that cools the liquid without requiring progressively more uncomfortable tipping to cool the liquid, and permits consumption using a straw.
What is further needed is a thermal beverage container that cools only the amount of beverage being consumed at the moment, and leaves the remainder hot, so the user can finish the contents of his tumbler at satisfying temperature at his leisure.
What is still further needed is a thermal beverage container that brews and cools South American mate or tea in the Chinese gongfu style. The mate and gongfu practices require brewing a small quantity of beverage at a time (e.g., 1-2 oz.), drinking it, and then repeating multiple times, until a full beverage serving is consumed. Since the ideal brewing temperature of mate and tea is higher than the safe drinking temperature, what is needed is a thermal beverage container that cools beverage in discrete portions, immediately after each portion is brewed, while leaving the unused water for brewing still hot.
Lastly, what is needed is a thermal beverage container that is volumetrically efficient and substantially maximizes the amount of volume available for liquid within the device. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A tablet computing device commonly allows users to make various gestures by touching the surface of the device's touchscreen in a prescribed manner. For example, a user can instruct the computing device to execute a panning operation by touching the surface of the touchscreen with a single finger and then dragging that finger across the surface of the touchscreen surface. In another case, a user can instruct the computing device to perform a zooming operation by touching the surface of the touchscreen with two fingers and then moving the fingers closer together or farther apart.
To provide a robust user interface, a developer may wish to expand the number of gestures that the computing device is able to recognize. However, a developer may find that the design space of available gestures is limited. Hence, the developer may find it difficult to formulate a gesture that is suitably distinct from existing gestures. The developer may create an idiosyncratic and complex gesture to distinguish over existing gestures. But an end user may have trouble remembering and performing such a gesture. | {
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During the wiping operation of a windshield wiper some portions of the blade member deteriorate before other portions. As a result of these deteriorations undesirable streaks are formed on the windshield of the vehicle during subsequent operation of the windshield wiper. In order to eliminate these streaks and also to increase the effective area wiped by the blade member, prior art methods and apparatus have directed their attention to the solution of these problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. of Perkins et al, 2,821,735 discloses a windshield wiper which is designed and constructed as to affect a relative displacement of the wiper blade to its carrier or actuating arm so that when moved in one direction the wiper blade will travel over a given area of the windshield and when moved in the opposite direction it will travel over a somewhat extended or partially overlapped area to that of the companion wiper stroke. The wiper blade is suspended from the actuating arm so as to automatically cause its end-wise displacement relative thereto. The wiper blade is automatically caused to be relatively displaced by a pair of links pivotally connecting the wiper blade member and the arm member. Stop means limit the longitudinal movement of the arm and wiper blade members longitudinally with respect to each other.
Likewise the U.S. Pat. No. to Kato 3,422,480 discloses a windshield wiper apparatus for use in a vehicle comprising a crank arm connected to a driving shaft and which is adapted to be rotated thereby. A wiper arm is pivotally connected to one end of the crank arm and has a wiper blade fixedly mounted thereon at the other end thereof. An oscillation lever is pivotally connected at one end of the wiper arm at a point between the opposite ends thereof and is also pivotally connected at a point near the other end whereby the blade upon rotation of the crank arm is driven to move in such manner that the ends of the blade describe loops on the surface of the windshield.
Other windshield wiper attachments generally of the type to which this invention relates are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. of Carey 2,412,319, Lacey, 2,644,187 and Wise 2,809,388. | {
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While a number of efforts are currently being made to achieve a finer pattern rule in the drive for higher integration and operating speeds in LSI devices, deep-ultraviolet lithography is thought to hold particular promise as the next generation in microfabrication technology.
One technology that has attracted a good deal of attention recently utilizes as the deep UV light source a high-intensity KrF excimer laser, especially an ArF excimer laser featuring a shorter wavelength. There is a desire to have a microfabrication technique of finer definition by combining exposure light of shorter wavelength with a resist material having a higher resolution.
In this regard, the recently developed, acid-catalyzed, chemical amplification type resist materials are expected to comply with the deep UV lithography because of their many advantages including high sensitivity, resolution and dry etching resistance. The chemical amplification type resist materials include positive working materials that leave the unexposed areas with the exposed areas removed and negative working materials that leave the exposed areas with the unexposed areas removed.
On use of the chemical amplification type, positive working, resist compositions, a resist film is formed by dissolving a resin having acid labile groups as a binder and a compound capable of generating an acid upon exposure to radiation (to be referred to as photoacid generator) in a solvent, applying the resist solution onto a substrate by a variety of methods, and evaporating off the solvent optionally by heating. The resist film is then exposed to radiation, for example, deep UV through a mask of a predetermined pattern. This is optionally followed by post-exposure baking (PEB) for promoting acid-catalyzed reaction. The exposed resist film is developed with an aqueous alkaline developer for removing the exposed area of the resist film, obtaining a positive pattern profile. The substrate is then etched by any desired technique. Finally the remaining resist film is removed by dissolution in a remover solution or ashing, leaving the substrate having the desired pattern profile.
The chemical amplification type, positive working, resist compositions adapted for KrF excimer lasers generally use a phenolic resin, for example, polyhydroxystyrene in which some or all of the hydrogen atoms of phenolic hydroxyl groups are protected with acid labile protective groups. Iodonium salts, sulfonium salts, and bissulfonyldiazomethane compounds are typically used as the photoacid generator. If necessary, there are added additives, for example, a dissolution inhibiting or promoting compound in the form of a carboxylic acid and/or phenol derivative having a molecular weight of up to 3,000 in which some or all of the hydrogen atoms of carboxylic acid and/or phenolic hydroxyl groups are protected with acid labile groups, a carboxylic acid compound for improving dissolution characteristics, a basic compound for improving contrast, and a surfactant for improving coating characteristics.
Bissulfonyldiazomethanes, especially bisarylsufonyldiazomethanes such as bis(2,4-dimethylphenylsulfonyl)diazomethane and bisphenylsulfonyldiazomethane are advantageously used as the photoacid generator in chemical amplification type resist compositions, especially chemical amplification type, positive working, resist compositions adapted for KrF excimer lasers because they provide a high sensitivity and resolution and eliminate poor compatibility with resins and poor solubility in resist solvents as found with the sulfonium and iodonium salt photoacid generators.
The characteristics required for the photoacid generator differ depending on a particular application of the resist. Preference is given to either a resist composition having an increased transmittance using a photoacid generator having reduced light absorption or a resist composition having a transmittance controlled relatively low using a photoacid generator having noticeable light absorption.
The latter is used in the case of a resist to be used on a high reflectivity substrate where a photoacid generator having light absorption is intentionally added to the resist to reduce the transmittance of the resist film to reduce the influence of reflected light from the substrate, or in the case of a resist film which is so thin that the resist transmittance is unlikely to have an influence.
Naphthyl group is known as the substituent group having strong absorption in proximity to 248 nm. Photoacid generators in the form of sulfonium salts and sulfonyldiazomethanes having naphthyl groups introduced therein have been reported. For example, JP-A 3-103854 discloses a bilaterally symmetric bis(2-naphthalenesulfonyl)diazomethane though no reference is made to its application and characteristic light absorption.
However, these photoacid generators having naphthyl groups are highly crystalline and have poor solubility in resist solvents and poor affinity (solubility) to developers. They will precipitate out, rather than being kept dissolved, during resist preparation and shelf storage or be left on the substrate as insoluble matter (consisting of the photoacid generator or a mixture thereof with the resin) upon development and/or resist film removal.
In JP-A 2000-171964, bilaterally symmetric naphthylsulfonyldiazomethanes, especially phenylsulfonylnaphthylsulfonyldiazomethane and cyclohexylsulfonylnaphthylsulfonyldiazomethane are proposed for the purpose of achieving a high sensitivity. As long as we confirmed, these compounds have poor solubility and are often left on the substrate as insoluble matter (consisting of the photoacid generator or a mixture thereof with the resin) upon development and/or resist film removal.
Aside from the above-discussed problem of insoluble matter upon development and/or removal, there is also a problem that the pattern profile often changes when the period from exposure to post-exposure baking (PEB) is prolonged, which is known as post-exposure delay (PED). Such changes frequently reveal as a slimming of the line width of unexposed areas in the case of chemical amplification type positive resist compositions using acetal and analogous acid labile groups, and as a thickening of the line width of unexposed areas in the case of chemical amplification type positive resist compositions using tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-BOC) and analogous acid labile groups. Since the period from exposure to PEB is often prolonged for the operational reason, there is a desire to have a stable resist composition which is free from such changes, that is, has PED stability.
The solubility of photosensitive agents or photoacid generators was the problem from the age when quinonediazide photosensitive agents were used in non-chemical amplification type resist materials. Specific considerations include the solubility of photoacid generators in resist solvents, the compatibility of photoacid generators with resins, the solubility (or affinity) in a developer of photo-decomposed products and non-decomposed compound (photoacid generator) after exposure and PEB, and the solubility of the photoacid generator and photo-decomposed products thereof in a remover solvent upon resist removal or peeling. If these factors are poor, there can occur problems including precipitation of the photoacid generator during storage, difficulty of filtration, uneven coating, striation, abnormal resist sensitivity, and foreign matter, left-over and staining on the pattern and in spaces after development.
The photoacid generator in resist material is required to meet a fully high solubility in (or compatibility with) a resist solvent and a resin, good storage stability, non-toxicity, effective coating, a well-defined pattern profile, PED stability, and no foreign matter left during pattern formation after development and upon resist removal. The conventional photoacid generators, especially diazodisulfone photoacid generators do not meet all of these requirements.
As the pattern of integrated circuits becomes finer in these days, a higher resolution is, of course, required, and the problem of foreign matter after development and resist removal becomes more serious. | {
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The invention relates to a magnesium alloy for technical applications and to the use of such an alloy for producing extruded semi-finished products and components and for producing sheet.
Magnesium alloys are lightweight materials that are used in automotive engineering, engine construction, aerospace engineering, and other lightweight designs.
With very good strength properties and a low specific weight, magnesium alloys are especially suitable as metal construction materials for vehicle and aircraft construction.
Especially in vehicle construction it is necessary to reduce weight because additional elements are built in due to rising standards for comfort and safety. Lightweight construction is also important for the design of energy-saving vehicles. When processing magnesium materials, the methods used—primary shaping by die-casting and shaping by extrusion, forging, rolling, stretch-forming or deep-drawing—become increasingly significant. Lightweight components that are enjoying increasing demand, especially for vehicle construction, can be produced using these methods.
Known from DE 806 0055 is a magnesium alloy that constitutes a composition of 0.5 to 10% metals from the group of rare earths, and the remainder magnesium, with the provision that the rare earths constitute at least 50%, preferably at least 75% neodymium, at most up to 25% lanthanum and cerium separately or together, and praseodym and small quantities of samarium and traces of the elements of the yttrium group as the remainder, one or a plurality of the following elements being added: manganese, aluminum, calcium, thorium, mercury, beryllium, zinc, cadmium, and zirconium.
Known from DE 42 08 504 A1 is a magnesium alloy that contains 2 to 8% rare earth metals, the rare earth metal comprising samarium.
Other alloys that in addition to the main component include magnesium, manganese, and other elements from the group of the rare metals and/or aluminum, copper, iron, nickel, calcium, etc., are known for instance from DE 199 15 276 A1, DE 196 38 764 A1, DE 679 156, DE 697 04 801 T2, DE 44 46 898 A1.
The known magnesium alloys have various disadvantages.
In the presence of calcium, heat cracks can occur after casting in a casting process that has a rapid cooling speed, for instance injection molding. The strength of alloys that include magnesium-aluminum-zinc-manganese or magnesium-aluminum-manganese declines at higher temperatures.
Overall the shaping behavior, weldability, and resistance to corrosion deteriorate.
The cold formability of the most common magnesium alloys is limited due to their hexagonal crystal structure and low ductility. Most magnesium alloys are brittle at room temperature. For certain shaping methods for producing semi-finished products from magnesium alloys, ductility is necessary in addition to high tensile strength. Higher ductility enables improved shaping and forming, and sometimes also higher strength and toughness. Many of the known magnesium alloys have properties that vary widely with the production condition. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to azasilacyclopentanes and a method of preparing it. This invention also relates to specific intermediate compounds, methoxymethylvinyl(3-chloro-2-methylpropyl)silane and chloromelthylvinyl(3-chloro-2-methylpropyl)silane.
2. Background Information
A search for new crosslinkers for use in the preparation of room temperature vulcanizing silicones (RTV's) lead to the discovery of the azasilacyclopentanes of the present invention. Speier in U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,250, issued Aug. 25, 1964, disclosed nitrogen-containing cyclic silanes and their preparation, which is hereby incorporated by reference to show the preparation of the nitrogen-containing cyclic silanes. Speier teaches nitrogen-containing cyclic silanes of the general formula ##STR2## wherein R is a hydrogen atom, a monovalent hydrocarbon radical, a monovalent hydrocarbon radical containing divalent oxygen in the form of an ether linkage, an aminoalkyl radical, an aminophenyl radical, a halogenphenyl radicals, and an organosilyl radical of the general formula (XR)Y.sub.2 Si- in which Y is a monovalent hydrocarbon radical and X is chlorine, bromine or iodine, R' is a divalent hydrocarbon radical with 3 to 6 carbon atoms between the bonds with the nitrogen atom and the silicon atom, R" is a monovalent hydrocarbon radical, a monovalent hydrocarbon radical with divalent oxygen as an ether linkage, an alkoxy radical, an alkoxy radical containing divalent oxygen as an ether linkage, and a phenoxy radical. Speier teaches preparing these compounds by reacting a halogeno-alkylhalogenosilane of the formula ##STR3## with an amino compound of the formula RNH.sub.2. Speier also discloses making siloxanes having the unit formula ##STR4## by hydrolyzing and condensing a compound of the formula ##STR5## where Z is an alkyl radical, a phenyl radical, or an alkyl radical containing divalent oxygen in the form of ether linkages, and a is 0 to 2. Speier also teaches making endblocked diorganosiloxanes by effecting a reaction between EQU HO(R'".sub.2 SiO).sub.a H
and ##STR6## to produce a siloxane of the formula ##STR7## | {
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Conventional vehicle side impact detection systems for triggering passive safety devices, such as an air-bag mounted in the door or seat of a vehicle or an inflatable side curtain, are normally configured to detect objects striking the front or rear doors, or the B pillar of a vehicle. Such detection arrangements typically comprise one or more accelerometers and/or pressure sensors mounted in the front or rear side doors, or in the B pillar. In particular, the zone in which impacts are detected is between the A pillar and the C pillar, and impacts occurring in this region are known as “in-zone” impacts. However, “off-zone” side impacts, involving objects striking the vehicle in front of the A pillar or behind the C pillar, may be severe, and may often not be detected by conventional side impact detectors. Thus a need exists to provide a vehicle side impact detection system that ameliorates one or more of the above problems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that operates in one of a plurality of power modes, a method for controlling the image forming apparatus, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with an increasing concern over the environment, many devices having environmentally friendly functions have been commercialized. Such functions include, for example, an energy saving mode (hereinafter referred to as “power saving mode”). An image forming apparatus has a power saving mode as well. The image forming apparatus is controlled to continue the power saving mode as long as possible while the image forming apparatus is not in use, depending on the usage status and wait time of the user of the image forming apparatus.
However, as the image forming apparatus has become multifunctional, the usage patterns of users and the contents of function settings have become various. As a result, an increasing number of standby modes are provided in the power saving mode, leading to variations in the power consumption in the power saving mode. Accordingly, the number of factors for returning the image forming apparatus from the power saving mode has also increased. In other words, the ways of shifting to and returning from the power saving mode have become complicated and difficult to control.
For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) controller can be connected or disconnected at an arbitrary timing by a user's personal computer (PC) serving as a USB host device. It is also known that on the image forming apparatus side, the standby mode of the power saving mode is changed depending on the connection or disconnection of the USB host device.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-227064 discusses a technique for controlling the operations in an apparatus by recognizing the connection or disconnection of a USB host device based on a VBUS signal of a USB. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-227064, VBUS connection or disconnection is associated with the operation of a component in the apparatus. For example, when the VBUS connection is detected, a print job may be received from a PC, and therefore the VBUS connection is associated with turning ON of a printer. Similarly, the VBUS disconnection is associated with turning OFF of the printer to maintain low power consumption.
Such a configuration can realize responsiveness at the time of the VBUS connection, and power saving at the time of the VBUS disconnection. However, this configuration may not be able to meet the needs of all users. For example, in an environment where a job can be received via a network even if the VBUS is disconnected, there may be many users who desire to maintain the responsiveness while keeping the printer turned ON even after the VBUS is disconnected. | {
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The present invention relates to receptor proteins, DNA sequences encoding same, and various uses therefor.
Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a 41-residue hypothalamic peptide which stimulates the secretion and biosynthesis of pituitary adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) leading to increased adrenal glucocorticoid production. CRF was originally isolated and characterized on the basis of its role in this hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) [Vale et al., Science Vol. 213:1394-1397 (1981)]. More recently, however, CRF has been found to be distributed broadly within the central nervous system (CNS) as well as in extra-neural tissues such as the adrenal glands and testes [Swanson et al., Neuroendocrinology Vol. 36:165-186 (1983); Suda et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. Vol. 58:919-924 (1984; Fabbri and Dufau, Endocrinology Vol. 127:1541-1543 (1990)], and sites of inflammation, where it may also act as a paracrine regulator or neurotransmitter.
In addition to the critical role of CRF in mediating HPA axis activation, it has been shown to modulate autonomic and behavioral changes that occur during the stress response. Many of these behavioral changes have been shown to occur independently of HPA activation in that they are insensitive to dexamethasone treatment and hypophysectomy [Britton et al., Life Sci. Vol. 38:211-216 (1986); Britton et al., Life Sci. Vol. 39:1281-1286 (1986); Berridge and Dunn, Pharm. Bioch. Behav. Vol. 34:517-519 (1989)]. In addition, direct infusion of CRF into the CNS mimics autonomic and behavioral responses to a variety of stressors [Sutton et al., Nature Vol. 297:331-333 (1982); Brown and Fisher, Brain Res. Vol. 280:75-79 (1983); Stephens et al., Peptides Vol. 9:1067-1070 (1988); Butler et al., J. Neurosci. Vol. 10:176-183 (1990)]. Furthermore, peripheral administration of CRF or the CRF antagonist, xcex1-helical CRF 9-41, failed to affect these changes, thus supporting a direct brain action for CRF in such functions. CRF antagonists given peripherally attenuate stress-mediated increases in ACTH secretion, and when delivered into the cerebral ventricles can mitigate stress induced changes in autonomic activity and behavior.
As a result of the extensive anatomical distribution and multiple biological actions of CRF, this regulatory peptide is believed to be involved in the regulation of numerous biological processes. The peptide has been implicated in the regulation of inflammatory responses. On the one hand, it has been observed that CRF plays a pro-inflammatory role in certain animal models, while in others CRF can suppress inflammation by reducing injury induced increases in vascular permeability.
It has also been found that CRF can modify steroid production by the gonads, placenta, and adrenal glands. CRF also has vascular effects such as dilating the superior mesenteric arterial bed and dilating the coronary arteries. In addition to CRF acting on the central nervous system to modify gastrointestinal function, CRF has been found to directly effect the gastrointestinal tract as well.
In order to more fully investigate the role of CRF within the endocrine, gastrointestinal, reproductive, central nervous and immune systems, and the possible interactions of CRF with its cognate receptor, it would be desirable to have available a ready source of CRF receptor. Furthermore, the availability of recombinant receptor would allow the development of less expensive, more sensitive, and automated means for assaying CRF and CRF-like compounds and developing CRF-based therapeutics.
The responsivity to CRF or the quantity of CRF receptors in target tissues has been shown or predicted (from altered sensitivity to CRF) to change in response to a variety of circumstances including Alzheimer""s Disease, melancholic depression, anorexia nervosa, Cushing""s Disease, alcoholism, and the like. Thus, the development of specific anti-CRF-R antibodies and molecular probes for CRF receptor(s) are desired for use in appropriate diagnostic assays.
In accordance with the present invention, there are provided new G-protein-coupled receptor proteins which have high binding affinity for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), said proteins are referred to hereinafter as CRF-receptor(s) (CRF-Rs). Invention receptor(s) are principal neuroregulators of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortical axis and play an important role in coordinating the endocrine, autonomic and behavioral responses to stress and immune challenge. CRF-Rs are functionally coupled to adenylate cyclase as it transduces the signal for CRF-stimulated intracellular cAMP accumulation. Invention CRF-Rs can be employed in a variety of ways, such as, for example, in bioassays, for production of antibodies thereto, in therapeutic compositions containing such proteins and/or antibodies, and the like.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, binding assays employing CRF-Rs are provided, useful for rapidly screening a large number of compounds to determine which compounds (e.g., agonists and antagonists) are capable of binding to the receptors of the invention. The invention binding assays may also be employed to identify new CRF-like ligands (e.g., putative mammalian sauvagine or urotensin). Test samples (e.g., biological fluids) may also be subjected to invention binding assays to detect the presence or absence of CRF or CRF-like compounds.
In accordance with the present invention, recombinant DNA molecules encoding CRF-Rs are also provided. DNA molecules encoding CRF-Rs (or fragments thereof) are useful, for example, as probes for detecting the presence of CRF-R encoding nucleic acids in biological samples, the identification of additional CRF receptor proteins, as coding sequences which can be used for the recombinant expression of the invention receptor proteins (or functional fragments thereof), and the like. Recombinant human CRF-Rs have been expressed in COS cells and bind to CRF and CRF analogs with high affinity. The recombinant production of CRF-Rs makes feasible their use in the foregoing manners. Fragments of CRF-R encoding nucleic acid can also be employed as primers for PCR amplification of CRF-R encoding DNA. In addition, sequences derived from sequences encoding CRF-Rs can also be used in gene therapy applications to target the expression of vectors carrying useful genes to specific cell types.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, anti-CRF-R antibodies are also provided. CRF-R and anti-CRF-R antibodies are useful for diagnostic assays to determine levels of CRF-Rs in various tissue samples, e.g., neoplastic tissues, and the like. Anti-CRF-R antibodies can also be used to purify CRF-R protein. Moreover, these antibodies are considered therapeutically useful to counteract or supplement the biological effect of CRF-Rs in vivo.
Methods and diagnostic systems for determining the levels of CRF-R in various tissue samples, and levels of CRF-R peptide fragments and CRF in vascular fluid samples, are also provided. These diagnostic methods can be used, for example, for monitoring the level of therapeutically administered CRF-R (or fragments thereof) to facilitate the maintenance of therapeutically effective amounts. These diagnostic methods can also be used to diagnose physiological disorders that result from abnormal levels of CRF or CRF-R.
CRF-Rs, fragments thereof that bind CRF, or analogs thereof, are capable of therapeutically modulating the effect of CRF. For example, CRF-R fragments can inhibit CRF binding to CRF-R and can inhibit CRF-induced ACTH release in vitro by pituitary cells. Thus, CRF-Rs can be administered therapeutically in mammals to reduce high ACTH levels caused by excess CRF. Such treatments can be used, for example, to treat Cushing""s Disease, and the like. These CRF-Rs are also useful in combating pituitary tumors that produce CRF. Moreover, they can be used to reduce pituitary ACTH secretion and hence reduce cortisol levels under any condition in which they are abnormally high, such as, for example, during chronic stress, in patients afflicted with anorexia nervosa or alcoholism, and the like. CRF-Rs administered intravenously (IV) are effective to prevent CRF-induced ACTH release. Furthermore, it is contemplated that IV administration of CRF-Rs can reduce intestinal transit time and thus combat irritable bowel syndrome. | {
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Static chairs are known. Static seating restricts movement and can have a detrimental effect on the body when used for extensive periods of time. Other chairs that have been designed to combat this issue have involved highly complex mechanisms and have not achieved the desirable level of fluidity of movement and responsiveness for this application. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In order to achieve full coverage of the key monitoring areas, a plurality of cameras are generally used for shooting. For example, for video monitoring of a crossroad of an urban main road, a plurality of network cameras are installed and arranged with respect to various directions to achieve a 360-degree monitoring without dead angle.
However, in the above technical solution, each network camera independently transmits video data to the monitoring center and the video data is displayed independently on the large screen of the monitoring center, which is not only costly, but is also greatly affected in the visual experience due to displaying of the independent scenes to the viewer.
In order to solve the above problem, the real-time videos acquired by the plurality of network cameras at the front-end are usually transmitted to the central server, and a complete panoramic image may be formed through a composition processing at the backend on the videos. However, the respectively acquiring of the videos by the plurality of network cameras and the transmissions over the network would result in different delays. Due to different delays, there may be a mismatch in image stitching, resulting in problems such as misalignment or overlapping of moving objects in the composite image.
On the other hand, although there is also a solution for obtaining a panoramic image by directly stitching real-time videos acquired by a plurality of network cameras or a plurality of cameras of the network camera at the front-end. However, there is a problem that the consumption of system resources is large and the stitching effect is not good. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to satellite communication systems, and more particularly to an improved method for pointing an antenna subsystem associated with a moving platform towards a satellite in a satellite communication system.
Broadband data and video services, on which our society and economy have grown to depend, have heretofore generally not been readily available to users onboard mobile network platforms such as cars, buses, boats, trains, airplanes, etc. While the technology exists to deliver such services to most forms of mobile network platforms, past solutions have been generally quite expensive, with low data rates and/or available to only very limited markets of government/military users and some high-end maritime markets (i.e., cruise ships).
Satellite communication systems are commonly used to provide broadband data services to mobile network platforms. One obstacle in such communication systems is accurately pointing the antenna system residing on a moving platform towards a stationary satellite without degrading the performance of the communication link.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a method for accurately pointing an antenna subsystem on a moving platform towards a satellite without degrading the performance of the communication link.
In accordance with the present invention, an improved method is provided for pointing an antenna subsystem residing on a mobile platform towards a satellite in a satellite communication system. The improved method includes: transmitting a tone signal from the satellite; receiving the tone signal at the antenna subsystem; determining position of the mobile platform in relation to the satellite a monopulse tracking technique, where the position of the satellite is based on the tone signal received at the antenna subsystem; and pointing the antenna subsystem towards the satellite.
In another aspect of the present invention, a reflector antenna subsystem is adapted to receive a monopulse tracking signal. The reflector antenna subsystem includes: a primary reflector; a feed device disposed on a surface of the primary reflector; a sub-reflector coupled by one or more support arms to the primary reflector, such that the subreflector is suspended above the feed device; and a second antenna disposed on an outwardly facing surface of the sub-reflector, thereby orientated to receive the monopulse tracking signal. | {
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Pyrimidine nucleosides are important antiviral agents, increased attention has recently been focused on these compounds with the FDA approval of 3xe2x80x2-azido-2xe2x80x2,3xe2x80x2-dideoxythymidine (AZT) stavudine (D4T) as an effective treatment for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Since the synthesis of such agents utilizes the pyrimidine nucleoside xcex2-thymidine as a starting material, new methods for the low-cost production of this and other synthetic intermediates are also becoming important. The present invention involves an expeditious route to the O2,2xe2x80x2-anhyro-l-(xcex2-arabinofuranosyl) 5-hydroxy 5,6 dihydro pyrimidine nucleosides, a class of compounds easily converted to the xcex2-pyrimidine derivatives. Analogous syntheses of these anhydronucleosides is described in the following publications.
Japanese Kokai No. 81 49 398 laid open on May 2, 1981 refers to the synthesis of acylated arabinofuranosylcyclothymine compounds. The process of the Japanese Kokai requires that the imincarabino(1 2:4.5) oxazoline acid addition salt be acylated.
In an article appearing in J. Mo. Biol., 1970, 47, 537 the authors describe the use of a readily available amino-oxazoline carbohydrate derivative as a useful precursor to a variety of anhydronucleosides.
In the reference Kampe, K. D.; Justus Leibigs AnnChem., 1974, (4), 593-607 (ger), reactions of aminooxazolines with unsaturated esters are disclosed. European patent application 0 351 126 discloses a process for the formation of O2,2xe2x80x2-anhydro-l-(xcex2-D-arabinofuranosyl) thymine by reacting 2-amino-xcex2-D-atabinofurano-oxazoline(s) with an alkyl 3-halo or alkoxy-methacrylate derivative.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,403 is disclosed a process which starts with acrylates or acrylonitriles and related derivatives; compounds that are at a lower oxidation state than other substrates previously used for similar condensations. This results in the formation of 5,6-dihydro pyrimidine nucleoside derivatives which are then oxidized to the required nucleosides in high to excellent yields.
Since the issuance of the xe2x80x2403 patent, the following articles have been published.
Pragnacharyulu, Palle V. P.; Vargeese, Chandra; McGregor, Michael; Abushanab, Elie, Diastereomeric 5,-6Dihydrothymidines. Preparation, Stereochemical Assignments, and MnO2 Oxidation Studies to Thymidines, Journal of Organic Chemistry, pp. 3096-3099, 60, 1995;
Rao, A. V. Rama; Gurjar, Mukund K.; Lalitha, Sista V. S., Discovery of a Novel Route to xcex2-Thymidine: a Precursor for anti-AIDS Compounds, J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., pp. 1255-1256, 1994;
Barvian, Mark R.; Greenberg, Marc M., Diastereoselective Synthesis of Hydroxylated Dihydrothymidines Resulting from Oxidative Street, J. Org. Chem., 58, 6151-6154, 1993;
Sawai, Hiroaki; Nakamura, Akiko; Sekiguchi, Sumie; Yomoto, Keisuke; Endoh, Masakazu; Ozaki, Hiroaki; Efficient Synthesis of New 5 -Substituted Uracil Nucleosides Useful for Linker Arm Incorporation, J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., pp. 1997-1998, 1994; and
Sawai, Hiroaki; Hayashi, Hidekazu; Sekiguchi, Sumie, Facile Synthesis of 5 -Substituted Arabinofuranosluracil Derivatives, Chemistry Letters, pp. 605-606, 1994.
Broadly, the present invention is directed to a process for the production of pyrimidine nucleoside compounds of the formula:
wherein R1 is hydrogen, alkyl C1-C16 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, aralkyl, substituted aralkyls, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl, cyano, carboxy, carboxy esters, carboxamido, N-mono substituted and N,N-disubstituted carboxamido with alkyl, aralkyl and aryl groups; R2 is hydrogen, alkyl C1-C16 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, aralkyl, substituted aralkyls, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl; R3 is alkyl C2-C6, branched alkyl, aryl C2-C6, substituted aryl and R4 is halogen or H.
A Michael type condensation reaction is effected on a compound of the formula:
with a compound of the formula:
to form a novel compound of the formula:
Compound (2) is acylated with a compound of the formula:
R,COCl
to form novel compounds (3) and (6) depending upon the duration of the reaction.
In the preferred embodiment, compound (3) is mixed with pyridine and is reacted with thionyl chloride to form compound (4) where R4=Cl.
Compound (4) is dihalogenated to form compound (5).
Compound (5) can be hydrolyzed by any well known process to form thymidine.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, compound (6) is mixed with pyridine and is reacted with alkyl or aryl sulfonyl halide to form a novel compound of the formula (7).
Compound (7) is then mixed with pyridine and thionyl chloride to form a compound of the formula (8).
where R6 is alkyl C2-C6, branched alkyl, aryl C2-C6 substituted aryl
Compound (8) can be converted to either AZT or d4t as described in the chemical literature, B. C. Chen. et al., Tetrahedron letters 36, 7957-7960 (1995); B. C. Chen. et al., Tetrahedron letters 36, 7961-7964 (1995).
The present disclosure embodies several inventive embodiments. One embodiment of the invention is a process for the production of compounds (4) and (5); another embodiment of the invention comprises the compound (2) and the method for the production of compound (2); another embodiment comprises compound (3) and the method for the production of compound (3) and the conversion of compound (3) into 5 hydroxy 5,6 dihydro pyrimidines, e.g. AZT, d4t; another embodiment comprises novel compounds (6) and (7) and the processes for the production of compounds (6) and (7); and lastly, another embodiment of the invention comprises a process for the production of compound (8). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In typical internal combustion engines, pairs of hollow semi-cylindrical bearing lining shells (also known as “half bearings”) are used to allow rotation of the crankshaft at both connecting rod bearing assemblies and main bearing assemblies.
Connecting rod bearing assemblies are provided at the “big end” of a connecting rod, where it connects onto a crankshaft pin. The bearing shell in the connecting rod bearing assembly that is closest to the piston is known as the “loaded” bearing shell, as it bears higher peak loads than the complementary “unloaded” bearing shell, due to experiencing the combustion load from firing the corresponding piston. Main bearing assemblies are provided where the engine block and engine cap form a housing to support the main (axial) crankshaft journal. In contrast to the connecting rod assembly, in the main bearing assembly, it is the bearing shell that is furthest from the piston that is known as the “loaded” bearing shell and which bears higher peak loads that the complementary “unloaded” bearing shell, also due to experiencing the combustion load from firing the corresponding piston cylinder.
The bearing surfaces of bearing shells generally have a layered construction, in which a strong backing material is coated with one or more layers having preferred tribological properties to provide a bearing surface that faces the cooperating moving part (i.e. a crankshaft journal), in use. Known bearing shells comprise: a backing, lined with a lining layer, and optionally an overlay layer. The strong backing material may be steel, having a thickness of about 1 mm or more. A lining layer is provided on the backing, for example, a copper-based material (e.g. copper-tin bronze) or an aluminium-based material (e.g. aluminium or aluminium-tin alloy), which is adhered to the backing. The thickness of the lining layer is generally in the range from about 0.05 to 0.5 mm or 0.1 to 0.5 mm (e.g. 300 μm of copper-based alloy of 8% wt Sn, 1% wt Ni, and balance of Cu, apart from incidentally impurities). The bearing surface is optionally coated with a layer (the “overlay layer”) of 6 to 25 μm of a plastic polymer-based composite layer or a metal alloy layer (e.g. a tin-based alloy overlay). For example, WO2010066396 describes a plastic polymer-based composite material for use as an overlay layer, and WO2004007809 discloses a known tin-based overlay.
Lubricating oil is distributed from an oil gallery running through the engine block or engine cap to the main bearing assemblies, with oil supply channels supplying the oil to the bearing clearance through radial oil supply holes in the bearing shells. Channels (known as “drillings”) running through the crankshaft then redistribute oil from the bearing clearances of the main bearing assemblies to the bearing clearances of the connecting rod bearing assemblies. In normal operation, the crankshaft journal and bearing shell are spaced apart by a wedge-shaped cushion-like oil film that is drawn between them, under a condition known as “hydrodynamic lubrication”.
The bearing shell can become damaged by operating under excessively high peak loads, causing mechanical fatigue, which is commonly referred to as “overloading” the bearing assembly.
High peak loads in bearing assemblies result in correspondingly high, localised peak oil pressures and oil temperatures between the crankshaft journal and the bearing shells. Despite the addition of sophisticated oil additives, when the bearing assembly runs under high temperature operating conditions, the dynamic viscosity of the lubricating oil may greatly reduce, producing a thinner oil film. High peak loads and the low dynamic oil viscosity arising from high oil temperatures increase the incidences of direct physical contact between the crankshaft journal and bearing shell through failure of the intervening oil film, leading to increased rates of abrasion of the bearing shell, in use.
High temperature operation of the bearing shells also causes thermal degradation of the bearing shells, for example by enhancing the migration of minority species to metal-alloy grain boundaries (e.g. migration of tin to grain boundaries in an aluminium-tin lining layer), which weakens the layer. Further, high temperature operation can cause metal species to migrate between layers (e.g. to diffuse out of the overlay and/or lining layer). Yet further, high temperature operation causes thermal degradation of the lubricating oil, necessitating more frequent lubricating oil changes.
In conventional crankshaft main bearing assemblies, oil is fed into the bearing clearance between the crankshaft journal and the bearing shells through a radial oil supply hole in the unloaded bearing shell, which receives high pressure lubricating oil by an arrangement of channels through the engine.
In the case of main bearing assemblies, it is known to provide a wide circumferential oil distribution groove along the middle of the bearing surface (the concave inner surface) of the unloaded bearing shells, to supply oil to a connecting rod bearing assembly through a corresponding crankshaft drilling. The oil groove is used to increase the period of each crankshaft rotation during which oil is supplied from the wide circumferential groove, through a hole in the main journal, and through the crankshaft internal drillings, to the connecting rod bearing assemblies. A wide circumferential groove is required to ensure that oil is provided to the entire crankshaft bearing assembly at high pressure. Motivated by maximising the surface area across which the peak load is distributed, a grooved bearing is not used as a lower main bearing shell. An unloaded main bearing shell having a wide circumferential oil distribution groove is illustrated in WO2012069191.
In conventional crankshaft connecting rod bearing assemblies, oil is fed into the bearing clearance between the crankshaft journal and the bearing shells through a radial oil supply hole in the unloaded bearing shell, which receives high pressure lubricating oil from main bearing clearance, through the crankshaft drillings.
Connecting rod bearing assemblies may be subjected to higher peak loads than the main bearing assemblies, and may operate particularly close to their performance limit. Conventionally, to minimise the peak pressures in connecting rod bearing assemblies, neither the loaded nor unloaded connecting rod bearing shells are provided with oil distribution grooves, in order to maximise the surface area across which the loads are spread. | {
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This invention relates to dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). More particularly, this invention relates to power distribution on DRAMs.
A DRAM is a form of semiconductor random access memory (RAM) commonly used as main memory in computers and other electronic systems. DRAMs store information in arrays of integrated circuits that include capacitors. Because capacitors lose their charge over time, they need to be regularly recharged. This regular recharging is performed during “refresh” cycles.
DRAMs also include other circuits and devices, known as peripherals, that support memory read and write operations as well as other DRAM functions. High speed DRAMs, known as synchronous DRAMs (SDRAMs), use clocks to synchronize control and data signal transfers and include peripherals known as delay lock loop (DLL) circuits to maintain that synchronization.
DLL circuits, however, are susceptible to power and ground bus noise typically generated by the memory arrays during row activations and data reads and writes. This susceptibility can cause the DRAM to lose synchronization. Loss of synchronization causes timing problems that can result in the wrong data being read from or written to memory, thus adversely affecting data integrity throughout a computer or other system.
One known solution is to isolate the power and ground buses connected to the DLL and other synchronization control circuits from the power and ground buses connected to the DRAM arrays. This can be done by running separate power and ground buses to peripheral circuits from one set of chip power and ground input/output (I/O) pads and running separate power and ground buses to the arrays from another set of chip power and ground I/O pads. Each chip power and ground pad is connected to an external voltage. Thus, rather than have a network of power and ground buses commonly connected to all respective power and ground pads, separate and isolated power and ground buses are connected to respective subsets of the DRAM chip's power and ground pads.
Such power distribution, however, results in less available current per separate power bus, because each bus has fewer pads connected to it from which to draw current. Each power pad can supply only a limited amount of current. This can adversely affect the DRAM arrays during refresh cycles when significantly increased amounts of current are needed to recharge the capacitors. With less current available, the capacitors may not fully charge. This can decrease the time that a capacitor retains the correct stored value, thus resulting in either a loss of stored data or more frequent refresh cycles. More frequent refresh cycles result in reduced DRAM performance, because read/write operations cannot be performed during refresh cycles.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide synchronization control circuits with power and ground busing having inconsequential, if any, noise generated by memory arrays during row activations and read/write operations while still providing the arrays with sufficient current during refresh cycles. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Bacterial Type IV pili are essential for host colonization and virulence for many Gram negative bacteria, and may also play a role in pathogenesis for some Gram positive bacteria. Type IV pili extend from the bacterial surface and mediate specific adherence to biotic and abiotic surfaces.
The pili binding domain responsible for this binding is encoded within a 12-17 disulfide loop region located in the C-terminal region of the protein, and synthetic peptides containing this region only, e.g., a disulfide-loop peptide composed of residues 128-144 from the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type IV pilin, have been shown to bind to biotic and abiotic surfaces.
The present inventors and colleagues have recently shown that pilin-derived protein nanotubes (PNTs) bind to stainless steel with high affinity, and the binding event was shown to be C-terminal tip-associated through competitive inhibition of PNT binding by synthetic peptides corresponding to the Type IV pilin peptide binding domains. (Yu, B. et al., J. Bionanoscience, 1:73-83 (2007).
It was then further demonstrated by the present inventors and colleagues that pilin peptides derived from the C-terminal receptor binding domain, when bound to abiotic surfaces such as stainless steel, tin, aluminum, titanium, chromium, plastic, glass, silicate, ceramics, and mixtures thereof, were able to inhibit bacterial biofilm formation on the coated surfaces (U.S. 20080287367).
More recently, the inventors discovered that binding of synthetic pilin peptide containing a disulfide loop derived from the C-terminal receptor binding protein of Type IV P. aeruginosa (T4P) pilin to some metals significantly enhances certain other properties of the metal, that is, properties independent of biofilm formation, and in some metals, alters the electronic properties of the surfaces in ways that can be exploited, for example, in biosensor applications (U.S. Ser. No. 12/899,958). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for a fast changeover in a duplex system, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for a fast changeover in a duplex system, by which one system is changed over fast to the other system when either of one system of a duplex system in an optical CATV system fails.
In a conventional changeover method for a duplex system, to verify the state of a self side in an active state, the information of a pair side is stored in a particular area of a register or a memory, and the content stored in the memory area is accessed in a polling manner to interpret a state so that restoration operation is processed according to a fail state of the system. However, using the above conventional method causes a complicated structure of a processor and other circuit to recognize the pair state, and also, requires lots of manufacturing cost. Also, when multiple units or groups are to be checked, the whole system breaks down before being changed over due to a low processing speed. Thus, the liability of the duplex system becomes low, and the expansion of a large system, such as an optical CATV, becomes impossible.
On the other hand, as a changeover technology used for CATV, there is one for example that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,309. The disclosed optical system includes at least one optical input port for receiving an optical signal from an optical source, a modulation port for receiving the optical signal from the optical source, an optical modulator having complementary output ports, and an optical source, wherein complementary modulated output signals are applied at least to a single optical receiver at the other end of an optical transmission link. This is for maintaining a particular level by modulating an optical signal into a complementary form in the optical modulator to reduce the S/N ratio of the system, and separately providing the modulated signal to two separate optical receivers.
In an embodiment, two complementary signals are provided to the separate optical receivers, or to a signal balanced receiver, thereby an optically modulated signal is modulated. The S/N ratio is increased by doubling a signal level. In the embodiment, a signal optical transmission channel is used, and the two optically modulated signals are separated in polarization so as to be capable of being separately detected on the receiving end of the link, and feedback means is used to insure proper polarization state for the two complementary signals.
However, the aforesaid changeover technology is for separating a signal itself, thus, the technology cannot be applied to a changeover technology where a signal itself is exchanged. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light fixtures and more particularly pertains to a new light fixture thermal insulator for precluding a conventional temperature automatic shut off switch within a light from triggering.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of light fixtures is known in the prior art. More specifically, light fixtures 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. 4,237,671; U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,377; U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,054; U.S. Pat. No. 1,844,639; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 329,537; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,815.
In these respects, the light fixture thermal insulator 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 precluding a conventional temperature automatic shut off switch within a light from triggering. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This application is a continuation of U. S. application Ser. No. 11/324,865, filed Jan. 4, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,282,495, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/759,595, filed Jan. 16, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,034,029, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/003,015, filed on Nov. 1, 2001, now abandoned, which claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/245,118, filed on Nov. 2, 2000, the entire disclosure of each application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Compounds capable of forming 5-HT6 receptor ligands are potentially useful in the treatment of a number of central nervous system disorders such as anxiety, depression, epilepsy obsessive compulsive disorders, migraine, cognitive disorders, sleep disorders, feeding disorders, panic attacks, disorders resulting from withdrawal from drug abuse, schizophrenia, or certain gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome. Significant efforts are being made to understand the recently identified 5HT-6 receptor and its possible role in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative functions. To that end, new compounds which demonstrate a binding affinity for the 5HT-6 receptor are earnestly sought, particularly as potential potent therapeutic agents.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide compounds which are useful as therapeutic agents in the treatment of a variety of conditions related to or affected by the 5-HT6 receptor.
It is another object of this invention to provide methods and compositions useful for the treatment of psychoses (e.g., schizophrenia, anxiety, or depression), motor disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease), anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, or any condition which is known to be related to or affected by the 5-HT6 receptor.
These and other objects and features of this invention will become more apparent by the detailed description set forth hereinbelow. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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“Vaping” or the inhalation of vaporized substances using a vaporizer, electronic cigarette, or similar device, has become increasingly popular since its introduction to the market a short time ago. However, known vaporization devices have certain drawbacks, including power source issues, cumbersome form factors, and difficulty functioning in harsh environmental conditions.
Current devices such as vaporizers and electronic cigarettes function via an electrically heated and controlled vaporization element. This allows for a very precise level of control, but forces complete reliance upon electricity, batteries, charging devices, and connectors. Although battery technology continues to improve and evolve, volumetrically batteries can only store a small fraction of the energy stored in most fuels.
Without the ability to function independent of electricity, the user of current technology devices must carry sufficient stored energy, typically in the form of batteries as well as chargers to convert line voltage or power, such as from a car, to a suitable voltage and current to recharge the batteries contained in the device. The result is a cumbersome experience—not only are the devices themselves large and difficult to handle, but they also often require additional proprietary accessories to maintain functionality.
Another noteworthy drawback of the current generation of existing devices is their susceptibility to failure in harsh environmental conditions. For example, the two conditions often most detrimental to proper functioning are wet and very cold conditions. Water can, in many cases, cause permanent damage to the sensitive electrical componentry of electronic devices. Cold can dramatically affect the ability of the battery systems to provide the necessary power for proper vaporization, sometimes rendering the device completely unusable.
In addition, these known devices cannot also be used for smoking (consumption of dried substances via combustion instead of vaporization). Furthermore, known vaporizer devices likewise may be difficult to clean and/or customize.
Accordingly, there are currently no known devices designed for, or which provide for accurate and repeatable vaporization of fluids or other material, such as smoking material, without the use of an integrated heat source and associated control mechanism. What is needed is a device that allows for easy and consistent vaporization of substances for inhalation that has a smaller form-factor, is easy to clean, and addresses the limitations and other issues faced by current vaporization devices without the need for complex controls, circuitry and/or integrated energy storage components. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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It has become common practice in modern retail merchandising to provide a dispenser for both storing a quantity of like items of merchandise and dispensing the merchandise one at a time. In the dispenser, items of merchandise are aligned one behind the other and they are biased forward toward an opening which enables dispensing of the front item of merchandise. When the front item is removed, the remaining aligned items of merchandise automatically move forward such that the next item in line can be removed via the opening.
An example of a merchandise dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,563 issued to Yablans. The Yablans apparatus can be used to store and dispense merchandise such as lipstick.
A problem with known merchandise dispensers is that the quantity of merchandise contained within the dispenser is not easily determinable. The structure of the dispensers, and how the dispensers are installed, do not allow for ready visual observation of the stored merchandise.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,936 issued to Rein addresses the problem of indicating the quantity of merchandise remaining in the dispenser. The Rein dispenser utilizes a bias mechanism to bias the aligned quantity of merchandize forward. In one embodiment, the bias mechanism is a coiled spring, and in a second embodiment, the dispenser is mounted at an angle steep enough so that the force of gravity biases the merchandise forward. Separate and apart from the bias mechanism, the Rein dispenser utilizes a numerically embossed self coiling plastic sheet. The embossed numerals correspond to the quantity of merchandise remaining in the dispenser. The bias mechanism provides the driving force to move the articles to be dispensed.
Although the aforementioned merchandise dispensers function satisfactorily for their intended purposes, there is a need for an improved merchandise dispenser having a single means for not only biasing the merchandise forward but also for indicating the inventory contained in the dispenser. The biasing and inventory means should be capable of being produced inexpensively in commercial quantities to minimize the overall cost of manufacturing a commercially-desirable merchandise dispenser. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed circuit board layout.
2. Background Information
Integrated circuits are typically assembled into packages that are soldered to a printed circuit board. The packages and printed circuit board may be part of an electrical system such as a computer.
The printed circuit board contains routing traces that interconnect a plurality of integrated circuit packages that are mounted to the board. The routing traces typically carry digital signals that are transmitted between the integrated circuits of the system.
Some integrated circuits have a relatively large number of input/output (I/O) pads. The large number of I/O pads require a larger number of routing traces. Some printed circuit boards require multiple layers of routing traces to accommodate all of the I/O for the system. Routing traces located within different layers are typically connected by vias formed in the board. Multiple layers and interconnecting vias increase the complexity and cost of constructing the circuit board.
The integrated circuit packages typically have leads that are soldered to corresponding contact pads of the printed circuit board. The leads of some integrated circuit packages are aligned in a pair of single rows that extend along opposite sides of the package. One type of dual row package is referred to as a TSOP package. The top surface of the printed circuit board typically contains routing traces that route the contact pads to a row(s) of vias located on each side of the package. Such an arrangement simplifies the routing of the printed circuit board but limits the I/O of the package.
There have been developed integrated circuit packages which have a two-dimensional array of contacts located along a bottom surface of the package. For example there have been developed integrated circuit packages which contain a two-dimensional array of external solder balls that are reflowed onto the printed circuit board. These types of packages are typically referred to as ball grid array (BGA) packages.
It is difficult to route a two-dimensional array of contacts, particularly the contacts located at the center of the array. Routing two-dimensional arrays typically requires multiple routing layers. Each routing layer increases the cost of producing the printed circuit board. It would be desirable to provide a printed circuit board layout that effectively routes a two-dimensional array of contacts to an array of vias that extends along one edge of the package similar to a via array(s) used with TSOP packages. | {
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The invention relates to office workspace. More specifically, the invention relates to a multi-surface projection system with multi-camera input for such an office workspace.
As companies and corporations continue to grow and increase in employment, office space as well as worker efficiency become more important commodities. Accordingly, the design and use of office spaces, such as cubicles or walled offices, become a priority for such companies and corporations.
Current approaches to such designs of office space include the incorporation of projectors and cameras to replace and supplement portions of an office worker""s computer workstation. For example, the computer monitor can be replaced by a projector system such that the computer screen can be projected onto a wall of the office, thereby eliminating the need to have a computer monitor in the office workspace. Accordingly, this increases the amount of workspace for an office worker without increasing or even decreasing the actual size of the office. Moreover, this approach increases the viewing area of the computer screen thereby allowing the office worker to become more efficient, as multiple applications can be viewed at one time.
However, typical approaches to such designs place the projectors off-angle to the project screen. For example, one such approach is to mount the projectors on the ceilings above the projection screens. However, when projectors are off-angle, the projections are often distorted. In particular, this off-angled projection causes what is termed xe2x80x9ckeystoning.xe2x80x9d A projection that is xe2x80x9ckeystonedxe2x80x9d is trapezoidal in nature. In particular, FIGS. 1a-1b illustrate a projection that is xe2x80x9ckeystonedxe2x80x9d due to the projector being off-angle from the projection screen. FIG. 1a includes projector 102 projecting projection 106 onto projection screen 104. Projector 102 is above and thus off-angle from projection screen 104. Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 1b, the image produced onto projection screen 104 is shaped like a trapezoid, which causes the image to be distorted and out-of-focus.
Further, current approaches incorporate cameras into the office space to provide for video conferencing capability. With regard to video conferencing capability, a typical approach includes the placement of a camera on the top of the computer monitor from which a user is working, thereby allowing the users to view one another as they are working at their respective computers. Disadvantageously, the cameras employed in such embodiments are inherently wide-angled in order to be able to capture the user""s image due to the closeness of the camera to the user, thereby causing fish-eye distortion typically associated with wide-angle lenses. Moreover, because the user looks at the monitor screen rather than the camera, the camera does not capture an eye-contact view, which is important in video-based interactions.
Another typical approach for the incorporation of cameras into the office space to provide for video conferencing capability is to mount the cameras on the ceiling above the workspace. However, this set-up still does not provide for gaze awareness and eye contact between individuals involved in the videoconference.
Accordingly, the current approaches to the projection/camera-based office workspace lack the proper integration of projectors and cameras into such workspaces to provide video conferencing that minimizes the distortion while providing a better facial perspective and providing gaze awareness among the individuals involved in the video conference. Moreover, current approaches to the projection/camera-based workspace fail to provide undistorted projections onto the projection screens of the workspace as well as other limitations. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present disclosure relates generally to genetically modified plants, and more particularly to methods of using genetically modified crop plants to control the negative effects of certain disease-causing organisms in crop plants.
Members of the saprophytic fungus genus Aspergillus produce aflatoxin, a strictly regulated and highly carcinogenic metabolite in plants. Alfatoxin-producing members of Aspergillus include A. flavus, which commonly afflicts many important food crops including the cereal crops maize, sorghum, pearl millet, rice, wheat, and oilseeds including peanut, soybean, sunflower and cotton. A. flavus causes ear rot on corn that results in aflatoxin contamination and the presence of aflatoxin results in a large loss of marketable crop by farmers each year.
The native habitat of Aspergillus is in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains undergoing organic decay. It commonly invades all types of organic substrates whenever favorable growth conditions exits. Favorable conditions include a relatively high (7% or higher) moisture content and higher ambient temperatures. Thus, A. flavus is widely present under common crop field and storage conditions, and can threaten significant contamination of a crop before harvest or in storage. Moreover, host crops are more susceptible to Aspergillus infection and resulting aflatoxin contamination under stressful growing conditions, including drought. At this time, few options are available for effective control of this pathogen. Breeding programs to generate aflatoxin-resistant cultivars of agricultural significance have not met much success. A need remains for methods to prevent and control aflatoxin contamination in the field. | {
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This invention relates to a system for transferring packet data.
Packet transfer systems, where data are transferred within a wired section of communication network while being sectioned into given data-length packets each of which is provided with a destination code, are of a connectionless type that without establishing a line when calling a packet, packet data are transferred using shared channel and of a connection-oriented type that a leased channel is assigned to each user when calling a packet and then packet data are transferred using the leased channel.
FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a connectionless type packet transfer system.
As shown in FIG. 1, a communication system that the conventional connectionless type packet transfer system is applied is composed of multiple terminals 110a to 110c, a wireless base station 120 that is connected through wireless lines with the terminals 110a to 110c, and a packet switching office 130 that is connected through wired packet lines with the wireless base station 120. The packet switching office 130 is connected with a network 140, such as a packet network as a public network and PSTN as a circuit switched network. Also, in the packet switching office 130, packet terminal equipment 135 to perform a Layer 2 protocol terminal function is provided, where the other Layer 2 protocol terminal function is performed by the terminals 110a to 110c.
In the communication system using the connectionless type packet transfer system, all the lines between the wireless base station 120 and the packet switching office 130 are used as shared channels that the multiple terminals 110a to 110c can use commonly. So, through one channel, the transferring of packet data by the terminals 110a to 110c may be performed.
FIG. 2 is an illustration showing a connection-oriented type packet transfer system.
As shown in FIG. 2, a communication system that the conventional connection-oriented type packet transfer system is applied is similar to that in FIG. 1.
In the communication system using the conventional connection-oriented type packet transfer system, when calling a packet, multiple channels between the wireless base station 120 and the packet switching office 130 are used as leased channels each of which only one of the terminals 110a to 110c can use, where the transferring of packet data by the terminals 110a to 110c can be performed using the leased channels assigned to the respective terminals 110a to 110c.
However, in the conventional packet transfer systems, the following problems may occur.
(1) In the connectionless type packet transfer system, since one channel is used commonly by multiple users, the utilization efficiency per one channel is enhanced. However, the retransmission throughput for guaranteeing the packet data of multiple users at that channel must be reduced.
(2) In the connection-oriented type packet transfer system, since one channel is assigned to one user, the retransmission throughput at that channel is enhanced. However, since the leased channel is used exclusively by one user from calling to releasing of packet, the hard physical quantity must increase.
Also, when packet data are transferred intermittently, the leased channel will be established even when there is no data transferred. Therefore, the ineffective reserved hard resource must increase. Here, for the packet communications, the per-unit charging system (charging based on the amount of information transferred) is employed in place of the time charging system (charging based on the time during the line is used) for line switching. Therefore, in the above case, a wasteful cost will occur.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a packet transfer system that packet data can be transferred efficiently without reducing the retransmission throughput of line and without increasing the hard physical quantity.
According to the invention, a packet transfer system for transferring data from a plurality of terminals while sectioning the data into given data-length packets, comprises:
a communication system that is composed of the plurality of terminals, a base station connected through a wireless line with the plurality of terminals and a switching office connected through one or more wired lines with the base station, the wired lines being composed of shared channels that the plurality of terminals can use commonly;
wherein when the amount of data transferred from one of the plurality of terminals is greater than a predetermined value, one of the shared channels is assigned exclusively to the one of the plurality of terminals and data transferred from the one of the plurality of terminals is transferred using only the one of the shared channels.
According to another aspect of the invention, a packet transfer system for transferring data to a plurality of terminals while sectioning the data into given data-length packets, comprises:
a communication system that is composed of the plurality or terminals, a base station connected through a wireless line with the plurality of terminals and a switching office connected through one or more wired lines with the base station, the wired lines being composed of shared channels that the plurality of terminals can use commonly;
wherein when the amount of data transferred to one of the plurality of terminals is greater than a predetermined value, one of the shared channels is assigned exclusively to the one of the plurality of terminals and data transferred to the one of the plurality of terminals is transferred using only the one of the shared channels.
According to another aspect of the invention, a packet transfer system for transferring data from a plurality of terminals while sectioning the data into given data-length packets, comprises:
a communication system that is composed of the plurality of terminals, a base station connected through a wireless line with the plurality of terminals and a stitching office connected through one or more wired lines with the base station, the wired lines being composed of shared channels that the plurality of terminals can use commonly and a leased channel that only one of the plurality of terminals can use;
wherein only when the amount of data transferred from one of the plurality of terminals is greater than a predetermined value, the leased channel is assigned to the one of the plurality of terminals and data transferred from the one of the plurality of terminals is transferred using the leased channel.
According to another aspect of the invention, a packet transfer system for transferring data to a plurality of terminals while sectioning the data into given data-length packets, comprises:
a communication system that is composed of the plurality of terminals, a base station connected through a wireless line with the plurality of terminals and a switching office connected through one or more wired lines with the base station, the wired lines being composed of shared channels that the plurality of terminals can use commonly and a leased channel that only one of the plurality of terminals can use;
wherein only when the amount of data transferred to one of the plurality of terminals is greater than a predetermined value, the leased channel is assigned to the one of the plurality of terminals and data transferred to the one of the plurality of terminals is transferred using the leased channel.
According to another aspect of the invention, a packer transfer system for transferring data from a plurality of terminals while sectioning the data into given data-length packets, comprises:
a communication system that is composed of the plurality of terminals, a base station connected through a wireless line with the plurality of terminals and a switching office connected through one or more wired lines with the base station, the wired lines being composed of shared channels that the plurality of terminals can use commonly;
wherein the base station is composed of means for counting packet data transferred from the plurality of terminals, the counting means being provided for each of the plurality of terminals, a mode switching means for switching the shared channels into a shared mode that the plurality of terminals can use commonly or a leased mode that one of the plurality of terminals can use exclusively, the mode switching means being provided for each of the shared channels, and a control means for comparing a count value of the counting means with a predetermined value and controlling the operation of the mode switching means based on the comparison result, wherein the control means, when the count value of the counting means is greater than the predetermined value, controls the mode switching means to switch one of the shared channels into the leased mode that concerned one of the plurality of terminals can use exclusively.
According to another aspect of the invention, a packet transfer system for transferring data from a plurality of terminals while sectioning the data into given data-length packets, comprises:
a communication system that is composed of the plurality of terminals, a base station connected through a wireless line with the plurality of terminals and a switching office connected through one or more wired lines with the base station, the wired lines being composed of shared channels that the plurality of terminals can use commonly and a leased channel that only one of the plurality of terminals can use;
wherein the base station is composed of means for counting packet data transferred from the plurality of terminals, the counting mean; being provided for each of the plurality of terminals, and a control means for comparing a count value of the counting means with a predetermined value and controlling the setting of the wired lines to the plurality of terminals based on the comparison result, wherein the control means, when the count value of the counting means is greater than the predetermined value, controls the leased channel to be set to concerned one of the plurality of terminals.
In this invention, when data transferred from or to a terminal is greater than a predetermined value, one of shared channels is assigned exclusively to the terminal and data is transferred from or to the terminal using only the assigned channel.
Thus, in normal packet transferring, the communications are performed using by the shared channel with leased mode, and when specific-calling traffic increases, one of shared channels is switched into a leased mode that only the specific calling uses the channel. Since only the specific calling is transferred using the channel, packet data can be transferred efficiently without reducing the retransmission throughput of line and without increasing the hard physical quantity.
Alternatively, when data transferred from or to a terminal is greater than a predetermined value, a leased channel that one terminal can use exclusively is assigned to the terminal and data is transferred from or to the terminal using only the leased channel.
Thus, in normal packet transferring, the communications are performed using by the shared channel with leased mode, and when specific calling traffic increases, the leased channel is newly assigned to the specific calling. Since only the specific calling is transferred using the leased channel, packet data can be transferred efficiently without reducing the retransmission throughput of line and without increasing the hard physical quantity. | {
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The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Currently, portable handheld devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and other devices are in wide use around the world. Many individuals carry such devices and use them for a variety of functions. These devices can enable both cellular and Wi-Fi® communications and provide users with the ability to access content almost instantaneously. In particular, these devices can run application software, also known as a “mobile application,” a “mobile app,” or simply an “app,” which facilitate user access to various functionalities of these devices, or content stored on these devices or a remote server.
Mobile applications were originally intended for general productivity increase and information retrieval. Such applications provided email, calendars, contacts, and weather information. However, public demand and the availability of developer tools have driven rapid expansion of mobile applications into other categories such as mobile games, navigation and location-based services, banking, order-tracking, fitness related monitoring and tracking, ticket purchases, and others. Mobile applications are usually available through application distribution platforms, such as Apple App Store®, Google Play®, Windows Phone Store®, and Blackberry App World®, which correspond to operating systems installed on mobile devices such as an iPhone®, an Android® phone, a Windows Phone®, and a Blackberry®.
The diversity of these devices can present a challenge to producers who want to develop content for as wide an audience as possible, because the mobile devices have different operating systems (OS) and require different versions of mobile applications to be written for different platforms. In other words, software developers need to create hardware/OS platform specific mobile applications for each type of mobile device, with similar look, same functionality, and ability to access the same content. For example, a software developer should use Objective C language to create a native mobile application for iOS® devices (e.g., iPhone®), Java® to create a native mobile application for Android® devices, and .NET® language for Windows® phones. This approach results in different applications, which are not portable across other OS platforms.
Web-based applications can be used to address portability issues. Web applications can be designed using HTML5 (HyperText Markup Language 5), CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), and/or Javascript® and other scripting technologies such as Ruby®, which are often hardware/OS platform independent as they can be run with a web browser. Web applications can enable software developers to create a single application suitable for all major OS platforms. Existing libraries such as jQuery Mobile®, Sencha Touch®, or similar can also be used to make this task easier on the client/browser side, whereas on the server side there are yet more choices of scripting languages such as PHP, .NET, Perl®, Python®, Ruby® and other languages supported by means of Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) or Representational state transfer (REST) protocols. However, web applications do not provide the ease of use and the look and feel of native mobile applications, nor can they leverage and keep up with rapidly changing core functionalities of the device such as speech input, Global Positioning System (GPS), camera, and operating systems. | {
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Various types of solid state imaging devices have been developed, which primarily include charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor devices, as well as hybrid image sensors that based on a combination of CCD and CMOS image sensor designs. In general, CCD and CMOS solid state imaging sensors CCD image sensors operate based on the “photoelectric effect”, which occurs when silicon is exposed to light. In particular, CCD and CMOS image sensors include pixel arrays where each unit pixel includes a light receiving region including one or more photodetector elements (such as photodiodes) formed in an active silicon region of the pixel. When the light receiving region is exposed to light, photons in the visible and near-IR (infra red) light spectrums have sufficient energy to break covalent bonds in the silicon, thereby releasing electrons from the valence band into the conduction band. The amount of electrons generated is proportional to the light intensity. The photon-generated charges are accumulated by the photodetector elements in the pixel array, and then detected and processed to generate a digital image.
Historically, analog CCD image sensors have dominated the market for solid-state imaging applications due to various advantages afforded by CCD image sensors, including superior dynamic range, low FPN (fixed pattern noise) and high sensitivity to light. Advances in CMOS technologies, however, have led to the development of improved CMOS image sensor designs, thereby allowing CMOS solid state image sensors to displace CCDs in various solid state imaging applications. Solid state CMOS image sensors afford various advantages including, for example, low cost fabrication, low power consumption with a single voltage power supply, system-on-chip integration, high-speed operation (e.g., capturing sequential images at high frame rates), highly-integrated pixel arrays, on-chip image processing systems, random access to unit pixels, etc. In contrast, CCD image sensor devices are expensive to fabricate, typically require 2, 3 or more supply voltages at different clock speeds with significantly higher power consumption, and do not allow random access to unit pixels.
Conventional solid state CMOS image sensors, however, can suffer from low sensitivity and various sources of noise resulting in degraded performance. For example, some conventional CMOS image sensors are highly susceptible to noise such as dark current. As is known in the art, dark current is thermally generated charge that is produced in the absence of illumination and accumulated along with photon-generated charges. Dark current is typically generated as a result of surface damage (e.g., dangling silicon bonds) to the active silicon regions of the unit pixel, such as the photodiode region, resulting from manufacturing processes such as gate and spacer etching steps. In addition, dark current can be generated as a result of damage to the silicon at the interface between an isolation region and the active silicon region. In general, the amount of dark current produced is a function of temperature and time, and the amount of dark current produced can vary significantly from pixel to pixel depending upon operating conditions. As a result, dark current can result in reduced pixel sensitivity and lower the dynamic range of the image sensor device.
Moreover, CMOS image sensors can suffer from a phenomenon known as image lag. As is known in the art, image lag can result from an incomplete pixel reset, where the reset voltage of a photodiode or sense node of a pixel varies from a desired reference voltage reset level at the beginning of the reset operation. Moreover, image lag can result from an incomplete charge transfer from a photodiode to a sensing node of a given pixel. The ability of a CMOS image sensor to completely transfer charge between two regions depends on the electric field strength between the regions. In this regard, as CMOS image sensor devices are designed to operate with lower supply voltages to meet requirements for decreased power consumption, the ability to minimize image lag (due to incomplete charge transfer and reset) becomes more problematic. | {
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The invention relates to catalysts for the process of oxidizing ammonia.
At present, platinum and its alloys with palladium and rhodium are the main industrial catalysts for oxidizing ammonia. Taking the high cost of metals of the platinum group into account, the problem of how to reduce the use and losses of platinoids becomes important. Several compositions of oxide catalysts have been developed in which ferric oxide, chromium oxide, cobalt oxide, or bismuth oxide are the active component.
An oxide catalyst is known which is prepared by mixing aluminum, ferric, calcium and chromium oxides, and subsequently tableting and calcining at 875-900xc2x0 C. (SU N 641985, 1979).
A catalyst for oxidizing ammonia is also known which comprises, % by weight, 90-95 ferric oxide and 5-10 chromium oxide, and is prepared by mixing ferric nitrates and chromium, curing at 315xc2x0 C., cooling, mixing with graphite and subsequently tableting and calcining at 560-650xc2x0 C. (Patent FR No. 2119121, 1972).
An oxide catalyst is known, which is prepared in the form of tablets and consists of ferric oxide and aluminum oxide (SU No. 1220193, 1986). The method for preparing the catalyst consists of mixing ferric oxide and aluminum hydroxide in an acidic medium, with subsequent thermal decomposition of the catalytic mass at 600-700xc2x0 C., grinding, tableting and caking the prepared tablets. Its serviceability in the second step of ammonia oxidation was shown in pilot tests.
Drawbacks of such catalysts are a substantial gas dynamic resistance of the catalyst layer, a change in the phase composition during service, and the presence of ammonia in the gas flow after the catalyst layer.
A catalyst having a perovskite structure for the selective oxidation of ammonia into nitrogen oxide with a yield of at least 90% is selected as the prototype (U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,300, 1989). Powders of perovskites of the series La1xe2x88x92xSrxMeO3, where Me=Co, Mn, and x=0.25-0.75, and LaMeO3, where Me=Co, Mn, Ni, Cr, Fe, were obtained by the method of coprecipitating tetraethyl ammonium from diluted solutions of nitrates taken in appropriate ratios and tested in a reaction of ammonia oxidation (samples were 0.005-0.1 g) at temperatures of from 500 to 1050 K and rates of the gas flow (1.5% by volume of NH3, 5% by volume of O2, balance helium) from 1000 to 10000 h1. However, in order to be used for industrial purposes, the catalyst should be formed into granules. The powders obtained by the coprecipitation method are not only not formed into honeycomb structures, but not into simple granules either.
The object of the present invention is to develop a high-strength, granulated catalyst, including a block catalyst having a honeycomb structure, for oxidizing ammonia, the catalyst having high activity, resistance to thermal shocks, not containing noble metals and making it possible to enhance the safety of the process by reducing the hydraulic resistance of the catalyst layer and stabilizing the gas flow.
The object is attained by using a catalyst in the reaction of oxidizing ammonia, which is a makeup of mixed oxides of the general formula (AxByO3z)k (MemOn)f, wherein: A is a cation of Ca, Sr, Ba, Mg, Be, La or mixtures thereof, B is cations of Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Cr, Cu, V or mixtures thereof, x=0-2, z=0.8-1.7; MemOn is aluminum oxide and/or oxide of silicon, zirconium, chromium, aluminosilicates, oxides of rare earth elements (REE) or mixtures thereof, m=1-3, n=1-2, k and f are % by weight, with the ratio f/k=0.01-1.
Pure oxides and also an undivided mixture (metal mixture) of oxides of rare earth elements of the following composition, % by weight, may be used as oxides of REE: lanthanum oxidexe2x80x9430-33, ceryl oxidexe2x80x9445-55, praseodymium oxidexe2x80x945-6, neodymium oxidexe2x80x9410-13, samarium oxide mol,xe2x80x941-2, balance lanthanidesxe2x80x94not more than 1. Zirconium oxide additionally comprises an alkaline-earth metal, wherein the ratio of zirconium to the alkaline-earth metal in zirconium oxide is 9:1.
The catalyst may be made up of granules of different configuration, including blocks of honeycomb structure.
The method of preparing the catalyst consists of the following steps:
1) Preparing a powder of AxByO3z oxide.
Oxides of the AxByO3z series are prepared by the method of mechanochemical synthesis (L. Isupova, V. Sadykov, L. Solovyova / Monolith Perovskite Catalysts of Honeycomb Structure for Fuel Combustion // Scientific Basis for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts. 6th Int. Symp., Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), 1994, v. 2, p. 231]. In order to do this, the mixture of initial simple oxides, hydroxides or carbonates, taken in appropriate ratios, is subjected to mechanochemical activation, and then the powder is calcined at 600-800xc2x0 C. for 2-4 hours. The specific surface of the prepared complex oxides is 10-20 m2/g.
2) Mixing and forming.
Powder of the oxide according to 1) is mixed in a powder mixer with compounds providing, during calcining, oxides of Al, Cr, Si, Zr, REE or with aluminosilicates in an acidic medium. In order to enhance the resistance of the catalyst to thermal shocks, reinforcing aluminosilicate fibers may be additionally introduced into the composition of the paste during the mixing step. Used as the Al-comprising adhesive agent are: aluminum oxynitrate or pseudoboehmite; Cr-comprisingxe2x80x94chromic acid; Si-comprisingxe2x80x94kaolin; Zr-comprisingxe2x80x94zirconium oxynitrate; Ln-comprisingxe2x80x94lanthanide nitrates. In order to enhance the rheological characteristics of the paste, surfactantsxe2x80x94ethylene glycol, polyethylene oxide, carboxymethyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, etc.xe2x80x94are added to the composition. Granules or blocks of honeycomb structure are formed from the obtained paste.
3) Thermal treatment.
The catalysts are dried at a final temperature of 120xc2x0 C., then calcined in air at 700-1100xc2x0 C. for 2-4 hours. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposure control mechanism for use in an image pickup apparatus in which a diaphragm aperture formed by a plurality of diaphragm blades moving straightforward in opposite directions is covered by an ND filter, and more particularly to the technique of suppressing deterioration of image quality caused by diffraction even in an image pickup device having a small picture size and a short pixel pitch.
2. Description of the Related Art
In image pickup apparatuses such as video cameras, an exposure control mechanism comprising two diaphragm blades moved on a straight line in opposite directions for reduction of size, weight and cost have become more commonly used instead of the so-called “iris diaphragm” wherein a plurality of diaphragm blades are rotated about an optical axis to adjust the aperture size.
However, if the aperture size becomes too small when a subject is bright, there occur such problems that image quality is deteriorated due to diffraction and smudges are brought into an image due to an increase of the depth of focus.
In view of those problems, a mechanism has been proposed in which an ND filter is affixed to one of diaphragm blades in such a manner as to project into a cutout which is formed in the diaphragm blade to define the aperture size, so that the aperture is avoided from becoming extremely small.
FIG. 14 shows one example of an exposure control mechanism for use in conventional image pickup apparatuses.
An exposure control mechanism a comprises two diaphragm blades b, c and a drive means d for driving the diaphragm blades b, c.
One (front) diaphragm blade b has a cutout e formed at a lower end for defining the aperture size. Two guided slits f, f extending vertically are formed in the diaphragm blade b at a position near a right edge thereof in vertically spaced relation. Also, a guided slit: g extending vertically is formed in the diaphragm blade b at a position near a left edge thereof.
It is to be noted that directions U, D, L, R, F and B indicated by arrows in the drawings, including FIG. 14, represent the upward, downward, leftward, rightward, forward and backward directions, respectively.
A connecting slot h being elongate horizontally is formed in the diaphragm blade b at a position just above the upper right guided slit f.
Guide pins provided on a housing (not shown), which has formed therein a light passing hole, are slidably engaged in the guided slits f, f and g, respectively. The diaphragm blade b is thereby supported by the housing in a vertically slidable manner.
The other (rear) diaphragm blade c has a cutout i formed at an upper end for defining the aperture size, and an ND filter j is attached to the diaphragm blade c so as to cover a lower end area of the aperture size defining cutout i. Two guided slits k, k extending vertically are formed in the diaphragm blade c at a position near a left edge thereof in vertically spaced relation. Also, a guided slit 1 extending vertically is formed in the diaphragm blade b at a position near a right edge thereof. Incidentally, the ND filter j has transmittance of 10%.
Furthermore, a connecting slot m being elongate horizontally is formed in the diaphragm blade c at a position just above the upper left guided slit k.
Guide pins provided on the housing (not shown) are slidably engaged in the guided slits k, k and l, respectively. The diaphragm blade c is thereby supported by the housing in a vertically slidable manner.
The drive means d comprises a drive motor n attached to an upper portion of the housing (not shown), and an operating arm o fixed to a rotary shaft of the drive motor n.
The operating arm o extends substantially in the right-and-left direction, and is fixed at its central portion to the rotary shaft of the drive motor n. Also, connecting pins p, p are projected respectively from right and left ends of the operating arm o.
The connecting pin p at the right end of the operating arm o is slidably engaged in the connecting slot h of the diaphragm blade b, and the connecting pin p at the left end of the operating arm o is slidably engaged in the connecting slot m of the diaphragm blade c.
Accordingly, when the operating arm o is rotated by energizing the drive motor n, the connecting pins p, p are moved in opposite directions, whereupon the diaphragm blades b, c coupled to the connecting pins p, p are moved vertically in opposite directions. As a result, a diaphragm aperture q defined by the aperture size defining cutouts e, i of the two diaphragm blades b, c is changed.
FIGS. 15a to 15f show a manner in which the ND filter j covers the diaphragm aperture q when the diaphragm aperture q is gradually narrowed from an open state (FIG. 15a) to a small aperture state (FIG. 15f) by moving the diaphragm blades b, c of the exposure control mechanism a.
FIG. 16 shows values of an MTF (modulation transfer function) depending on various sizes of the diaphragm aperture q indicated in FIGS. 15a to 15f. Here, the MTF value means a diffraction limit value of the white MTF value determined by calculating, based on wave optics, the capability in the vertical direction (line image in the horizontal direction) at spatial frequency corresponding to the TV resolution of about 260 lines. Also, the dimension of the ND filter j is decided so that the diaphragm aperture q has a size corresponding to F 5.6 at the moment when the diaphragm aperture q is entirely covered by the ND filter j (see FIG. 15e). The MTF value at that moment is 0.73.
Specifically, the MTF value means a diffraction limit value of the white MTF value determined by calculating, based on wave optics, the capability in the vertical direction (line image in the horizontal direction) that is evaluated by the fact that the effect of diffraction appears significantly in the states of FIGS. 15a to 15f, in view of spatial frequency of 48 lines/mm corresponding to the TV resolution of about 260 lines, i.e., frequency representing image quality in a motion video camera comprising an image pickup device wherein the picture diagonal length is 4.5 mm, a pixel pitch is about 5 μm, and the number of effective pixels is 380,000.
Accordingly, deterioration of image quality is regarded as being allowed if the MTF value is not less than a predetermined value. The MTF value =0.65 has been employed, by way of example, as an allowable limit value in the past. Note that the MTF value is not an absolute value, but a relative value used for determining whether deterioration of image quality is in the allowable range.
In the case of conventional image pickup devices in which the picture diagonal length is 4.5 mm, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 16, when the diaphragm blades b, c are moved to gradually narrow the diaphragm aperture q, the MTF value is also gradually reduced, and takes a minimum value in the state shown in FIG. 16d, i.e., at the aperture size d. Then, the MTF value increases again and takes a maximum value in the state shown in FIG. 16e, i.e., at the aperture size e. Thereafter, the MTF value decreases again.
The reason why the MTF value takes a minimum value at the aperture size d is that a vacant space area surrounded by the diaphragm blade b and the ND filter j serves as like a small aperture to develop diffraction, and image quality is deteriorated in an intermediate aperture state.
When the diaphragm blades b, c are further moved to gradually narrow the diaphragm aperture q, the MTF value increases again and takes a maximum value at the aperture size e. This is because until the diaphragm aperture q changes from the aperture size d to the aperture size e at which the diaphragm aperture q is completely covered by the ND filter j, the effect of diffraction is gradually reduced so that the MTF value increases. When the diaphragm aperture q is further narrowed from the aperture size e, the MTF value decreases again due to the effect of diffraction.
Taking into account such changes of the MTF value, it has been customary that the transmittance of the ND filter j is designed to keep the MTF value not less than 0.65 in all the sates from the open aperture a to the small aperture f.
Recently, in image pickup apparatuses, there has been a tendency to reduce the picture size of an image pickup device. A reduction in the picture size of the image pickup device decreases the pixel pitch and increases the effect of diffraction, thus making it hard to obtain satisfactory image quality. While conventional image pickup devices had a picture diagonal length of 4.5 mm, for example, the picture diagonal length has been recently reduced to 2.25 mm. The spatial frequency corresponding to the TV resolution of about 260 lines is 48 lines/mm for the picture diagonal length of 4.5 mm, and 96 lines/mm for the picture diagonal length of 2.25 mm. If the picture diagonal length of an image pickup device is changed to 4.5 mm with the pixel pitch remained unchanged, this case corresponds to frequency representing image quality in a still-video camera comprising 1.5 millions pixels.
When an image pickup device having a picture diagonal length of 2.25 mm is employed in combination with the conventional exposure control mechanism a, the spatial frequency is doubled and therefore the effect of diffraction is remarkably increased, thus giving rise to a problem that image quality is deteriorated.
More specifically, a broken line in FIG. 16 shows a curve of the MTF value resulted when the conventional exposure control mechanism a is combined with such a small image pickup device. As seen, the MTF value is reduced down below 0.65 in a state in which the diaphragm aperture q is narrowed from the aperture size b to some extent. This means that the above combination is not practicable. In other words, the conventional exposure control mechanism a has a problem of being not adaptable for downsizing of the image pickup device. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to purses with breakaway shoulder straps and more particularly pertains to purses with straps which break away from the user when excessive force is applied as during a mugging.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of purses and handbags is known in the prior art. More specifically, purses and handbags heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of carrying objects of a user are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which had been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art discloses breakaway straps for various purposes including purses in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,855,669 to Meyer and No. 5,119,910 to Heggeland. In addition, quick release buckles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,564,672 to Mcintyre; No. 4,777,703 to Knox and No. 5,148,582 to Dennis.
In this respect, the purses with breakaway shoulder straps according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting users in the event of a mugging.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved purses with breakaway shoulder straps which can be used to protect users in the event of a mugging. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. | {
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The present invention relates to inert gas fusion analyzers and particularly to an improved system for the replacement of the final scrubber for the inert carrier gas.
In existing gas fusion analyzers, such as Model No. TCH-600 available from Leco Corporation of St. Joseph, Mich., an inert gas, such as helium, is used as a carrier to sweep the byproducts of fusion of a sample in the furnace to the detectors of the analyzer. The carrier gas must be substantially free of contaminates and impurities which would interfere with accurate detection of the desired elements. Thus, oxygen or moisture, for example, must be removed from the carrier gas stream before it enters the furnace. Contaminates are removed by a finish or final scrubber in the carrier gas stream which is typically located in close proximity to the carrier gas inlet to the combustion furnace.
Prior art systems required the use of tools and a somewhat complicated procedure to remove and replace the final scrubber. | {
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Digital satellite broadcasting is being widely used increasingly. As compared with existing analog broadcasting, digital satellite broadcasting is resistant to noise and fading and is able to transmit a high-quality signal. Digital satellite broadcasting can also increase frequency utilization factor and can provide multiple channels. For example, in the digital satellite broadcasting, one satellite can secure several hundreds of channels. The digital satellite broadcasting prepares a large number of special channels such as a sports program, a movie, music and a news program, and these special channels are broadcasting the programs of their own contents.
Of these special channels, a music program channel is one of the popular channels of the digital satellite broadcasting and is broadcasting promotion programs mainly introducing new songs and hit songs.
The conventional music channel is broadcasting the music promotion programs introducing new songs and hit songs in the form of moving pictures and sounds. Listeners are often urged to purchase a CD with introduced numbers and wish to listen to such numbers while viewing the music promotion programs. Listeners often want to know information about artists in the desired numbers and information about an album of desired numbers. While listeners are viewing music channel programs and wish to get the information about the artist of desired number and the information about the album of such desired numbers, it would have been very convenient for the listeners if they could get such information on the spot. When the listeners found favorite numbers, it would have been very convenient if they could download audio data of such desired numbers. The conventional music channel is, however, unable to meet such listeners requests because it is usually transmitting moving pictures and sounds concerning numbers to the listeners one-sidedly.
To solve the above problem, there is proposed a music contents distribution system capable of easily obtaining information concerning music broadcast on the music channel and which is also able to easily download number data to a data storage equipment (Japanese patent application No. 9-308488 (1997)). Some proposed music contents distribution system is able to download words data and jacket data as well as the music data.
When a user sets up the music contents distribution system, the user who receives digital satellite broadcasting should connect a tuner for receiving digital satellite broadcasting to a data storage equipment (recording equipment) using a recording medium such as a magnetooptical disk to download a music program received at the tuner onto the recording equipment. When the music program received at the tuner is downloaded onto the recording equipment, the recording operation of the recording equipment connected to the tuner should be controlled based on data such as a start time of the corresponding program transmitted together with the music program, for example, by the digital satellite broadcasting, and hence the tuner and the recording equipment should be set in such a manner that they can operate in unison with each other. There are known various types of the recording equipment for recording an audio signal, for example, and hence an unspecified recording equipment, which will be connected to the tuner, cannot directly be controlled substantially based on data from a broadcast station from which music program is transmitted.
Only one recording equipment is not always connected to the tuner, and a plurality of recording equipment may be connected to the tuner. In that case, the broadcast station is unable to select a specific recording equipment to which a music program should be downloaded, and hence the tuner has to explore some countermeasures to select a specific recording equipment.
In order to make the above download become possible, the assignee of the present application has previously proposed a control equipment in which a program (HTML (Hyper Text Make-Up Language), MHEG (Multimedia and Hypermedia Information Coding Experts Group), XML (extensive Markup Language) called scripts) from the outside obtains device information from an internal program previously-prepared in the tuner and is able to instruct the tuner to select a specific device onto which the broadcast music program should be downloaded based on the device information (Japanese patent application No. 10-202360 (1998)).
The processing proposed by the previously-proposed application encounters with the problem that, when the user energizes the tuner to start the download first time, the tuner is unable to determine which device is the recording equipment onto which the music program should be downloaded. A device that has been selected as the recording device to which the music program should be downloaded is referred to as a “default device”.
While the default device is not existing, e.g., downloading is effected on the recording equipment for the first time, the external program should execute the sequence to request the internal program to obtain information of devices currently connected to the tuner, to display a list of connected devices and to request a user to select a specific device onto which music program should be downloaded.
Even when the tuner stored the previously-obtained information of the device in a predetermined memory within a control section (CPU), if the corresponding device is not connected to the tuner in the next download (e.g., if a user purchases a new device on which data should be downloaded and changes the previous device), then the tuner has to again obtain information of currently connected devices, to display a list of those connected devices and to urge the user to again select one device that should be used.
In the previously-proposed download, the download is effected on the device on which the download has been effected previously. Depending on the state of the device onto which data should be downloaded (whether the device has already been powered or a recording media has already been inserted into the device), after processing for executing the download has started, when a recording media is not inserted into the device, an abnormality occurs in the download and the download is often ended in somewhere of its processing. There is then the possibility that the tuner will become unable to select a proper device as a default device. Hence, the tuner has to make some device to solve this problem.
When a tuner can be connected to various networks (e.g., IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 system, USB (Universal Serial Bus), etc.), unless the user makes complicated input operation to specify a device, the user becomes unable to specify a download target device connected to a specific network. Consequently, operation for the download becomes considerably cumbersome for the user.
While the problem arising when the music program is transmitted through the digital satellite broadcast has been described so far, a similar problem arises when various programs transmitted from the outside by broadcast waves are downloaded onto the receiving side based on data transmitted together with those programs. | {
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(1) Field of Invention
The present invention is concerned with the utilization of all tubers of family Convolvulaceae, including tubers at least more deeply colored than light-fleshed tubers, including yellow and orange varieties, and including regardless of color, varieties with firm flesh and varieties with moist flesh, with the purpose of producing various flours from the tubers, and other valuable edible products and industrial products.
The present invention is concerned with the utilization of tubers at least more deeply colored than light-fleshed tubers in the family Convolvulaceae, including yellow and orange varieties, and including regardless of color, varieties with firm flesh and varieties with moist flesh, with the purpose of producing various flours from the tubers and other valuable edible products and industrial products.
The present invention is concerned with the utilization of orange sweet potato tubers in the family Convolvulaceae, with the purpose of producing various flours from the tubers and other valuable edible products and industrial products.
(2) Description of The Background
Products of dried orange sweet potatoes are well known, and have been reported in the patent literature as early as the 1840's. Dried, ground orange sweet potatoes were patented for use as an ingredient in a coffee blend (U.S. Pat. No. 100,587 issued in 1870) because these dried orange sweet potatoes look and taste like burned bricks. The caroteen pigment seems to have concentrated during drying and to have caused a disagreeable taste and color. The other patented uses of orange sweet potato flour are limited primarily to that of rehydratable powders primarily for use in orange sweet potato pie or pumpkin pies. This is probably due to the strong taste of orange sweet potato flours of the prior art and the fact that when rehydrated, these orange sweet potato flours lose cohesion, and will not keep a shape or hold trapped air.
Uncooked orange sweet potato flour made by the methods of Marshall (U.S. Pat. No.77.995), and Baylor (U.S. Pat. No. 100,587) produced a flour considered inferior. The orange sweet potatoes tended to darken during dehydration; this darkened flour could not be rehydrated to make a good tasting substitute for the original fresh product, and the flour tended to have a very strong bitter taste, particularly when produced by the method of Baylor. Because of the inferior properties of uncooked orange sweet potato flour, in the late 1800's and early 1900's the field as a whole turned emphasis away from uncooked to cooked orange sweet potato flours. In the only mention of uncooked orange sweet potato flour since then, it is described as cattle fodder by Ware (Possibilities in New and Extended Uses of the Sweet Potato, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, 9 p., 1941).
Until the instant invention, no orange sweet potato flour, whether uncooked or cooked, has been able to be used as a substitute for more than about 30% of a wheat dough without significant deterioration in texture risen structure, and taste. Even when a 15-85 mixture, by weight, of orange sweet potato flour and wheat flour was used, the resulting bread product was significantly lower in specific volume. At ratios of 20-80 by weight of orange sweet potato flour and wheat flour, the specific volume of the bread product was reduced by about 50 percent.
Other investigators have added cooked orange sweet potato flour to many products such as cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream, breads, and the like. In not one case was it possible to develop a product with orange sweet potato flour as the primary ingredient. It was only possible to add small amounts of cooked orange sweet potato flour to existing recipes containing conventional ingredients. The result was to produce previously known products having orange sweet potato flavor and color.
In my early research on sweet potatoes I tried making and using flours of orange sweet potatoes. The color of the flour was very dark, and the flavor of the uncooked orange sweet potato flour was very strong, as was described by other investigators. When I tried to use the flour to prepare pancakes and the like, the products fell apart in much the same way that fresh orange sweet potatoes tend to fall apart when they are cooked. In agreement with the teachings of the art. I was unable to prepare any products from orange sweet potato flour alone.
I then began to work with white sweet potatoes. In my early research on white sweet potato flour, the white sweet potato flour was made by a high speed impact grinding method which produced a flour of wide particle-size distribution, with the fibrous portions of the tuber remaining in the larger particle sizes, and rendering the flour unsuitably heavy and gritty. When screened. (as is accepted practice in the art to obtain a fine flour) the larger particles (representing about 1/2 or more of the total weight of the comminuted meal) were removed; this produced a lighter and less gritty flour, but one poorly suited for producing breads and other products where consistency and lightness are important. Applicant found that by eliminating the high impact grinding method, a more uniformly fine flour which incorporated a greater proportion of the plant fiber into the flour was produced, thus greatly improving the ability of the doughs to hold a rise and produce consistently uniform products.
In addition white sweet potato flour was made by soaking white sweet potato tubers in water between the peeling and drying steps. This produced shreds with a high moisture content that made them susceptible to spoilage during dehydration and produced sour-tasting inferior products that spoiled easily. It was found that the soaking step could be eliminated thus eliminating spoilage problems during drying steps and producing a flour of better taste. lower moisture content, and better baking properties.
I then developed a new process for preparing white sweet potato flour which involved reducing moisture content, incorporating more fibrous and other non-farinaceous material into the flour, and obtaining a whole, moderately fine or finer flour. This flour had improved storage capability and provided products of palatable consistency. This white sweet potato flour was suitable for use in baked and other products, and it was possible to develop new processes. different from conventions of the art, which made it possible to use the white sweet potato flour of the instant invention to prepare products with properties and characteristics previously only obtainable from products containing wheat and other grains, legumes, eggs, milk, nuts and the like.
I continued to work with white sweet potatoes exclusively, and developed improved processes. I found that flours retaining most of the substance of the tuber or sweet potato, preferably substantially all of the substance of the tuber or sweet potato, most preferably all of the substance of the tuber or sweet potato, provided a flour with improved properties.
Similarly, I found that including most of the flesh and fiber of the tuber or sweet potato, preferably including substantially all of the flesh and fiber of the tuber or sweet potato, most preferably including all of the flesh and fiber of the tuber or sweet potato, provided a flour with improved properties.
Similarly, I found that flours which in addition to containing starch retain most of the non-farinaceous substance of the tuber or sweet potato preferably in addition to containing starch retain substantially all of the nonfarinaceous substance of the tuber or sweet potato, most preferably in addition to containing starch retain all of the non-farinaceous substance of the tuber or sweet potato, provided a flour with improved properties.
Similarly, I found that flours retaining most of the starch, insoluble substance, and soluble substance of the tuber or sweet potato, preferably retaining substantially all of the starch, insoluble substance, and soluble substance of the tuber or sweet potato, most preferably retaining all of the starch, insoluble substance, and soluble substance of the tuber or sweet potato, provided a flour with improved properties.
The term `farinaceous` means starch or starchy. In this application, Applicant uses the term `non-farinaceous` to refer to the components of the tuber other than starch. such as protein, soluble and insoluble fractions, fat, vitamins, minerals, and metabolic products. In the context of a flour or dried product, water will necessarily have to be removed, and some volatiles may be lost during drying. The term `non-farinaceous` is used to refer to all components other than starch of a whole, dried tuber.
I further found that obtaining this flour by methods which produced a flour without sifting or with very little sifting provided a flour with improved properties.
Thus I found that a dry, whole flour of white sweet potatoes provided a flour with unique properties not obtained before, and one which without the addition of other flours, chemical modifiers, dough strenghtheners, or other foods such as milk, legumes, eggs, sugar, and yeast, could be used to prepare baked products of risen structure that were previously not possible. In other words. the flour alone with no other additives can be used to prepare a dough capable of holding a rise, and is suitable for preparation of baked products of risen structure that were previously not possible.
This is not the orange sweet potato flour with which I began my research. The early flour had been prepared according to the conventions of the art, which included a soaking step, incurring large losses (primarily of soluble and insoluble fiber) due to removal of thick peels, drying at high enough temperatures to provide for carmelization and charring of portions of the sweet potato, obtaining a fine flour by processes of repeated sifting which resulted in the loss again of fibrous material.
After defining the properties for obtaining flour from white sweet potatoes, I began to wonder whether the properties thus obtained would be sufficient to overcome the more hygroscopic nature of orange sweet potatoes, their tendency to carmelize, and the lack of structure upon combining with water.
I therefore prepared a flour of orange sweet potatoes by the method used to obtain the white sweet potato flour, and used the flour in processes for baking bread and other products. To my surprise I found that the flour was not the color of bricks but rather was a very light orange color, did not have the flavor of burned bricks but rather had a very pleasant, slightly sweet, sweet potato flavor. I found that when I used the flour to prepare a bread, the identical proportions and steps described for white sweet potato flour also produced a wonderful-tasting orange sweet potato bread. The risen structure of the bread was at least equal to that of the white sweet potato bread and possibly was slightly higher than that of white sweet potato bread. The color was definitely a bright orange, and the flavor was definitely that of sweet potato; however, without any other ingredients (eg the sugars and spices so often used) the flavor of the bread was very pleasant and satisfying without being overpowering.
In my subsequent research, I have found that contrary to my own teachings, I have been able to obtain a flour from orange sweet potatoes with properties that are sufficient to provide a risen structure to baked products without the addition of any agents for dough strenghthening, without chemical modifiers. and without any added ingredients such as wheat or other grains, eggs, legumes, milk, fat, yeast, or the like.
This orange sweet potato flour, like that for white and light-fleshed sweet potato flours can be used as a complete substitute for milk, eggs, wheat and other grains, legumes, sugar, and the like. I have found that the processes developed for white sweet potatoes and light-fleshed sweet potato varieties provide products of equal properties when orange sweet potatoes are used in these processes. The proportions and processes are generally the same. Thus the methods for making flour and the processes for obtaining a wide variety of products are equally applicable to all types of sweet potatoes and other tubers in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae, independent of color, and independent of firmness or moistness of flesh. | {
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Electrical cables for transmission of electrical signals are well known. One common type of electrical cable is a coaxial cable. Coaxial cables generally include an electrically conductive wire surrounded by an insulator. The wire and insulator are surrounded by a shield, and the wire, insulator, and shield are surrounded by a jacket. Another common type of electrical cable is a shielded electrical cable comprising one or more insulated signal conductors surrounded by a shielding layer formed, for example, by a metal foil. To facilitate electrical connection of the shielding layer, a further un-insulated conductor is sometimes provided between the shielding layer and the insulation of the signal conductor or conductors. Both these common types of electrical cable normally require the use of specifically designed connectors for termination and are often not suitable for the use of mass-termination techniques, i.e., the simultaneous connection of a plurality of conductors to individual contact elements, such as contacts of an electrical connector or contact elements on a printed circuit board. | {
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An interframe prediction technology in the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) adopts a conventional Motion Compensated Prediction (MCP) method. For motion vector prediction, the HEVC adopts a multiple motion vectors competition method, which improves the accuracy of motion vector prediction, thereby improving the coding compression performance.
The HEVC interframe prediction mode may include, but is not limited to, a Merge mode, a Skip mode, and so on, all of which use the multiple motion vectors competition to perform interframe prediction. A motion vector list is used when motion vector prediction is performed. For the Merge mode and the Skip mode, the motion vector list is allowed to contain at most four spatial motion vector predictors and one temporal motion vector predictor, where the Merge mode and the Skip mode share one motion vector list. A coder selects a best motion vector predictor from the motion vector list as a motion vector predictor of a current Prediction Unit (PU), which may be called a prediction block hereinafter.
A method for building the motion vector list may include:
As shown in FIG. 1, spatial neighboring blocks of the current PU may include: a neighboring block A0 (a bottom-left reference block corresponding to a bottom-left corner position of the current PU), a neighboring block A1 (a left reference block corresponding to the bottom-left corner position of the current PU), a neighboring block B0 (a top-right reference block corresponding to a top-right corner position of the current PU), a neighboring block B1 (a top reference block corresponding to the top-right corner position of the current PU), and a neighboring block B2 (a top-left reference block corresponding to a top-left position of the current PU). A Temporal Motion Vector predictor (TMVP) is a motion vector predictor corresponding to the current PU in time domain.
Firstly, motion vector predictors are successively obtained from the neighboring blocks and the TMVP in a sequence of the neighboring block A1, the neighboring block B1, the neighboring block B0, the neighboring block A0, the neighboring block B2, and the TMVP. Then, the obtained motion vector predictors are added to the motion vector list according to a rule in the HEVC. The specific motion vector list building process is a technology well known by a person skilled in the art, so that details will not be described herein again.
Further, a current Coding Unit (CU), which may be called a coding unit hereinafter, may include at least two PUs, and motion vector lists of the at least two PUs are built in a serial manner.
During the implementation of the above motion vector list building process, it is found that the prior art has at least the following problem: if the current CU includes at least two PUs, and the motion vector lists of the at least two PUs are built in a serial manner, the speed of building the motion vector lists of the at least two PUs in the same CU is slow, thereby reducing the parallel processing capability. | {
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Computer virtualization is a technique that involves abstracting a physical computing machine platform into a virtual machine that is executed under the control of virtualization software running on a single hardware computing platform (also referred to herein as a “host system” or a “host computer”). A group of hardware computing platforms may be organized as a cluster to provide the hardware resources for virtual machines. In a server or data center that employs virtual machines, it is common to see hundreds, even thousands, of virtual machines running on multiple clusters of host systems.
For ease of deployment, software management, and hardware cost reduction reasons, virtual machines have been used to support virtual desktops for use in an organization in place of physical workstations. In such environments, a virtual desktop includes a virtual disk that refers to one or more “delta disk images” layered on top of a master image, or “base disk image.” By “layered” it is meant that modifications to the master image, which is configured to be read-only, are written to one or more of the delta disks. In a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), the operating system is typically encapsulated in the master image. The same master image is used in generating all virtual desktops. User-specific applications and settings are installed in the one or more delta disks that are layered on top of the master image.
However, this approach has some limitations. First, if the master image is updated with patches, the delta disk images layered on top of the patched master image would not function properly since the delta disk images are dependent on the master image. Accordingly, new delta disk images would need to be created for each VM each time the master image is updated. Second, when many applications and settings are incorporated into the delta disks, the size of the delta disk images may become quite large. Managing large delta disk images can be time-consuming and cumbersome for an administrator. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Recent improvements in MOS semiconductor technology have resulted in advancement in large scale integrated circuit microprocessors. The latest generation of LSI microprocessors is an order of magnitude more powerful than the previous generation of microprocessors introduced 3 or 4 years ago. The latest generation of microprocessors has 16-bit data paths and 16-bit arithmetic capability, and such microprocessors directly address multiple-megabyte memories. In terms of functional capability and speed, such microprocessors will outperform all but the high end models of current 16-bit minicomputers.
LSI microprocessor design is now at the stage where better implementation techniques are required in order to control complexity and meet tight design schedules. One technique for achieving these goals is to use microprogramming for controlling the processor. Most of the traditionally claimed benefits of microprogramming, for example, regularity (to decrease complexity), flexibility (to ease design changes), and reduced design costs, apply to the implementation problems for current LSI microprocessor design.
Generally, a data processor performs a series of operations upon digital information in an execution unit according to a stored program of instructions. These instructions are often termed "macroinstructions" in order to avoid confusion with the microinstructions contained in the control store of the data processor. The microinstructions are often grouped into microinstruction routines in order to perform various macroinstructions.
A data processor generally includes an arithmeticalogic unit (ALU) for performing arithmetical and logical operations upon digital information in order to execute a macroinstruction. Also, a data processor usually includes a condition code or status register which stores conditional signals reflecting the occurrence of certain conditions within the arithmetic-logic unit, such as zero result, negative result, overflow generation and carry generation. In order to execute a macroinstruction, the date processor may be required to perform two or more arithmetical or logical operations. This would be true, for example, where iterative operations are called for such as add-and-shift routines used to execute a multiply macroinstruction. Even if the same operation is performed by the data processor in two different microcycles, the setting of the condition codes may be controlled differently during the two microcycles. If the control words in the control store are required to specify all of the control signals for the operation to be performed by the ALU and for the setting of the condition codes, the control word will require a large number of bits and thereby increase the size of the control store.
Furthermore, many macroinstructions require different ALU operations but the sequence in which these different operations are performed is the same. For example, an ADD (add) macroinstruction and a SUB (subtract) macroinstruction may enable the ALU on the same microcycle but perform different functions. If a separate microinstruction routine is required for ADD and SUB, the number of words in the control store is increased, again increasing the size of the control store. On the other hand, if the control store contains generalized routines which can be shared by several macroinstructions, then the size of the control store can be reduced, thereby reducing semiconductor chip area and overall cost. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a data processor which can process a wide variety of macroinstructions while minimizing the size of the control store is a significant improvement over the prior art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to educational games and, more specifically, to games involving binary mathematics and logic functions performed by the game participants of the type normally performed in digital computers.
Computers play an ever-increasing role in the conduct of the affairs of virtually everyone in the country. The functions of digital computers are based upon logic and arithmetic operations which recognize two states, e.g., on-off, high-low, magnetized-non-magnetized. The two states are assigned respective meanings which relate to the operation being performed, e.g., true-false, 1-0, etc. While overall computer construction, operation and programming can be very complex and highly technical, the basics of binary mathematics and the various manipulations of the digit sequences which implement the logic and arithmetic operations may be learned by persons of all ages having basic numerical familiarity.
Thus, it is both desirable and feasible to provide a simple and enjoyable means for learning the basics of binary mathematics and typical computer operations, which is the principal object of the present invention.
A further object is to provide a general game format, subject to many variations in rules and game procedure, which familiarizes the players with binary numbers and computer-type manipulation thereof.
Another object is to provide a novel game board and associated random chance selection means for playing games involving binary digit sequences and basic computer-type operations thereon.
A still further object is to provide instructional games which may be implemented with simple and inexpensive playing pieces such as cards, dice, playing board, and the like, involving no electrical or electronic parts, yet which are effective to convey a knowledge of basic digital computer operation.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser device, in particular, to a current injection type laser device for a frequency band ranging from a millimeter wave band to a terahertz wave band (30 GHz to 30 THz).
2. Description of the Related Art
As a new type semiconductor laser, a semiconductor laser called a quantum cascade laser which is based on a transition between energy levels (intersubband transition) of carriers in a certain energy band of a conduction band or a valence band has been known so far. An oscillation wavelength of the quantum cascade laser depends on an energy gap between two energy levels of optical transition. Thus, the oscillation wavelength can be selected from over a wide spectral range (for example, from a mid-infrared region to a terahertz band). At first, it was demonstrated that such a laser could be achieved by using a structure having a selected oscillation wavelength of 4.2 [μm] in the mid-infrared region. Recently, because there is a demand for an electromagnetic wave source of a terahertz wave band which is believed to be useful to bio-sensing and the like, there has been a development of a long wavelength laser in which the oscillation wavelength is shifted toward a longer wavelength from a mid-infrared region.
A long wavelength laser should have a structure which is provided with a gain medium for producing a gain within the frequency range, and achieve an optical confinement to the gain medium; for, a gain medium may have a layer thickness on the order of 1 [μm] to 10 [μm] at most, and a gain medium for a typical long wavelength laser has a thickness which is 1/10 or less of that of an oscillation wavelength. An approach for optical confinement by conductive cladding is known in the field of conventional semiconductor laser, but the use of this approach does not enable an optical confinement to a gain medium having a thickness which is smaller than the diffraction limit of light. Therefore, other types of optical confinement approaches have been proposed for oscillating a long wavelength laser.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-138420 discloses a method for solving the above problem. The cladding used in this method is a negative dielectric constant medium in which the real part of the dielectric constant is negative. In this method, the waveguide mode guided by the cladding is an electromagnetic wave due to the polarization oscillation of charge carriers (which is called a surface plasmon) in the negative dielectric constant medium. Since there is no diffraction limit in the surface plasmon, most of the modes can be confined to the gain medium which has a thickness on the order of 1/10 of an oscillation wavelength. By using such an approach, the method achieves a laser oscillation having an oscillation wavelength of 11.4 [μm], which is shifted toward a longer wavelength.
An example of the prior art is found in Benjamin S. Williams et al.; Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 83 (2005), 2124. This document discloses a method for arranging negative dielectric constant media in which the real part of the dielectric constant is negative, to the top and the bottom of a gain medium as a cladding. In this method as well, the waveguide mode guided by the claddings is a surface plasmon. The gain medium having two negative dielectric constant media as a cladding allows more modes to be confined to the thin gain medium which has a thickness on the order of 1/10 of an oscillation wavelength, compared to the case in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-138420. By using such an approach, the method achieves a laser oscillation having an oscillation wavelength of about 100 [μm] (3 [THz]), which is shifted further toward a longer wavelength.
However, it is known that, in the conventional approaches for optical confinement, a confinement of a surface plasmon to a gain medium which is much thinner than an oscillation wavelength causes a relatively large waveguide loss. The waveguide loss increases a threshold of laser oscillation, which in turn causes other problems such as an increase of power consumption accompanied by an increased threshold current density, and a necessity of a separate cooling unit for maintaining the laser oscillation. Because the thinner gain medium increases the threshold of laser oscillation, a gain medium had to have a relatively large thickness for the conventional long wavelength laser. That is, a gain medium which is used in a quantum cascade laser and is formed with a semiconductor multi-layer film including hundreds to thousands of layers is required, but such a gain medium is relatively expensive, and has increased the cost of the conventional long wavelength laser.
The above problems are particularly acute in the case of a long wavelength laser of 100 [μm] or more (3 [THz] or less) which requires an optical confinement to a gain medium having a thickness of 1/10 or less of an oscillation wavelength. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A known surface acoustic wave (SAW) device comprises a substrate of piezo-electric material having two input transducers and two output transducers on its upper surface. Each transducer has a generally rectangular contact pad, to which electrical contact is made by wire bonding. The four pads are arranged in a rectangular array, rather than being collinear.
SAW devices are made using several of the techniques that are employed in the manufacture of integrated circuits, and for this reason it is conventional to fabricate a large number of SAW devices, e.g. 100 or more, concurrently on a wafer or substrate material and then dice the wafer and package and individual SAW devices. The SAW devices could be tested after dicing and packaging, using the bond wires to achieve electrical connection to the devices. However, for reasons that are well understood by those skilled in the art, it is desirable that the SAW devices be tested in wafer form, i.e. prior to dicing.
A wafer prober developed for use in testing integrated circuits in wafer form comprises a stage or table defining an X-Y plane on which the wafer is placed, a probe head having probe tips for engaging the contact pads of an individual integrated circuit, and a drive mechanism for moving the probe head in the X, Y and Z directions. The drive mechanism is programmed with respect to the pitch of the integrated circuits in the X and Y directions, and on initial set-up the probe head is positioned in the Z direction so that the probe tips engage the contact pads of a given integrated circuit with a force that is considered by the operator of the machine to be acceptable. This position establishes the Z axis adjustment of the prober. In use, the prober drive mechanism automatically advances the probe head from die to die by raising the probe head, moving it in the X and/or Y direction, and lowering it in the Z direction to the position established on initial set-up.
The conventional wafer prober has no means for determining the force with which the probe tips are applied to the integrated circuit contact pads. If the operator makes an error on initial set-up, the contact pressure might be too high, resulting in the wafr and/or the probe head being damaged. If the conventional wafer prober is used in the testing of SAW devices, the absence of reliable means for measuring contact force implies that the contact force will vary from wafer to wafer, and may vary from die to die if the upper surface of the wafer does not lie accurately perpendicular to the Z axis. Since SAW devices are pressure-sensitive, variation in contact force may result in spurious measurement results.
Conventional integrated circuit dice are rectangular in form and may have 20 or more contact pads along each of the four sides. The contact pads along a given side are in a linear array. Conventional wafer probers for integrated circuits employ four probe heads, associated with the four sides respectively of a die. The probe head described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 672,846 filed Nov. 16, 1984 comprises a platelike support member of ceramic material, the support member being sufficiently thin to bend somewhat. The probe tips of each probe head are arranged in a linear array and may be, for example, gold beads. The malleability of the gold and the limited flexibilty of the support member allow contact to be made to each of the contact pads with a reasonable degree of reliability. In a SAW device, in which there are relatively few contact pads, it is desirable to use a single probe head, but because the contact pads are not collinear the flexibility of the support member cannot compensate for possible deviations of the plane containing the probe surfaces of the probe tips from its nominal orientation. Moreover, whereas the contact pad material of conventional integrated circuits is frequently gold, it is common to use aluminum for the contact pads in a SAW device, and therefore it is desirable that the probe tips be made of a hard, non-malleable metal, such as nickel, in order to penetrate the passivation layer that forms on the aluminum contact pads. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for protecting the copyright of digital information, preventing forging and illegal copying thereof, a method therefor and a memory medium storing such method.
2. Related Background Art
With the recent remarkable progress in computer and network technology, various digital information (for example text data, image data, audio data etc.) are being handled in computers and in networks.
In such environment, the user can easily process the digital information and can also easily reproduce information same as the original.
Therefore, in order to protect the copyright of such digital information, there is being developed a technology of embedding, in the digital information itself, copyright information or user information relating to the digital information as digital watermark information.
Such digital watermarking technology is intended to apply a predetermined process to the digital information such as image data or audio data, and to embed certain information into such digital information so as to be invisible to the user.
The copyright owner of the digital information can obtain the copyright information or the user information of the digital information by extracting the digital watermark information therefrom, and can trace the illegal copy.
For embedding the digital watermark information, there are known following two methods: the first method includes embedding in the space area of the digital information, while the second method includes embedding in the frequency area of the digital information.
However there has not yet been established a technology of efficiently determining the method for embedding or extracting the digital watermark information into or from the digital information.
In consideration of the foregoing, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a technology for efficiently controlling the method for embedding the digital watermark information into the digital information or for extracting such digital watermark information.
Another object of the present invention is to enable, in case the above-mentioned digital information has components of different kinds, individual management of the digital watermark information and the information representing the method for embedding the digital watermark information (or method for detecting such information).
The foregoing objects can be attained, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, by an information processing apparatus capable of embedding digital watermark information into digital information, comprising:
input means for inputting digital information including signal components of plural kinds; and
control means for controlling the method for embedding the digital watermark information into the signal component of a first kind contained in the signal components of said plural kinds, based on the signal component of a second kind contained in the signal components of said plural kinds.
According to another preferred embodiment, there is provided an information processing apparatus capable of embedding digital watermark information into digital information, comprising:
input means for inputting digital information including signal components of plural kinds; and
control means for controlling whether or not to embed the digital watermark information into the signal component of a first kind contained in the signal components of said plural kinds, based on the signal component of a second kind contained in the signal components of said plural kinds.
According to still another preferred embodiment, there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising:
input means for inputting digital information in which digital watermark information is embedded, wherein said digital information is composed of signal components of plural kinds; and
discrimination means for discriminating the embedding method of the digital watermark information into the signal component of a first kind, based on the signal component of a second kind contained in said digital information and different from said first kind.
According to still another preferred embodiment, there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising:
input means for inputting digital information in which digital watermark information is embedded, wherein said digital information is composed of signal components of plural kinds; and
discrimination means for discriminating whether the digital watermark information is embedded in the signal component of a first kind, based on the signal component of a second kind contained in said digital information and different from said first kind.
Still other objects of the present invention, and the features thereof, will become fully apparent from the following description of the embodiments, to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Because of the nature of conventional metal casting methods and molds, molten metal, when solidifying after casting, can experience variability in cooling rates. This has been recognized to result in a variety of casting discontinuities including porosity, microfissures and internal tears. Many of such discontinuities are well within the casting and unconnected with the casting surface. However, some are surface-connected through surface openings.
Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) processing, a production process, subjects a casting to a preselected combination of temperature and pressure to heal discontinuities, through the creeping together and diffusion bonding of the surfaces of internal porosity, microfissures, etc., or the homogenization of undesirable internal phase regions within the casting. In order to prevent pressurizing fluid used in such HIP processing from penetrating into surface openings of surface-connected discontinuities, coatings have been applied to the casting outer surface to bridge such openings. The HIP process and the application of such coatings is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,347 - Stalker, issued Sept. 11, 1973, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In that disclosure, application of the HIP process has been described in connection with alloys based on such elements as Ni, Co, Fe and Ti, although it should be recognized that the application of such process to other materials can be and have been made. For example, such application is contemplated for the closure of sub-surface porosity in aluminum or aluminum alloy castings in U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,624 - Kerr et al, issued Feb. 24, 1970, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Thus, the HIP process can be practiced within a relatively broad temperature range, for example about 1,300-2,200.degree. F., depending upon the alloy being treated. The temperature is selected so that there will be substantially no degradation in the mechanical properties of the metal as a result of the HIP processing but sufficiently high in level to achieve diffusion bonding of the surfaces of the discontinuities. For example, in the range of about 1-30 thousand psi, sufficient pressure is applied to exceed the creep strength of the alloy being processed at the preselected temperature.
As is shown in the above-incorporated Stalker patent, surface-connected porosity can be healed through the use of a surface coating which prevents HIP pressurizing fluid penetration beneath the surface and into the surface-connected discontinuities. One type of coating which has been used for this purpose is a metal coating deposited over the surface-connected openings. Such a metallic coating in the form of nickel electro-plate is discussed in Example 2 of the above-incorporated Stalker patent. Further evaluation of the use of such metallic coatings has recognized that a change occurs in surface chemistry of the casting. Removal of such a changed surface can add undesirable cost to the process. Therefore, the present invention is an improvement on the invention of such incorporated Stalker patent through the provision of an improved coating useful in the above-described HIP process when applied to castings with surface-connected discontinuities. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Not Applicable.
The present application includes a hard copy appendix comprising pertinent specification pages and drawings of co-inventors"" U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/844,862, filed Apr. 27, 2001, by ZHANG et al. for MOLECULAR MECHANICAL DEVICES WITH A BAND GAP CHANGE ACTIVATED BY AN ELECTRIC FIELD FOR OPTICAL SWITCHING APPLICATIONS as relates to subject matter claimed in accordance with the present invention.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for distribution of information, more specifically to electronically displaying informational content and, more particularly to a reusable, high contrast, very high resolution, rewritable print medium and methods for fabrication thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Hard copy and, more recently, electronic display information is communicated in many forms and by many means. Erasable-rewritable print media communication tools range from simple pencil-on-paper to chalk-on-blackboard to dry marker pen-on-whiteboard. More sophisticated hard copy processes allow mechanized business and commercial printing processesxe2x80x94including laser and ink-jet printers, offset lithography, silkscreen, and the like, for printingxe2x80x94but those processes are usually restricted to the permanent print category (versus xe2x80x9cerasable printxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cerasably writablexe2x80x9d formats and methods). The bulk of print is commercially produced and made available through books, magazines, newspapers, and various other forms of permanent ink (xe2x80x9ctonerxe2x80x9d or, more generically xe2x80x9ccolorantxe2x80x9d) on cellulose fiber media (commonly known as xe2x80x9cpaperxe2x80x9d). The information contentxe2x80x94generally alphanumeric text and graphical imagesxe2x80x94contained in this form is of a sufficiently high resolution and contrast to be easily read over prolonged periods of time without eye discomfort. Compared to electronic devices, hard copy media has the advantages of having zero power consumption while remaining highly portable, allowing comfortable reading in locations of choice and body positions that may be periodically varied to change reading distance and posture to maintain comfort. Such print media, however, requires a relatively high cost in printing, binding, warehousing, and distribution. The hard copy cost, independent of printing means, is normally amortized through a single reading, after which the book or other document is physically stored or discarded. Since these latter cost factors also require a definable time expenditure between content generation and availability to the reader, the content of the media is not contemporaneous; e.g., today""s newspaper actually is filled with xe2x80x9cwhat happened yesterday.xe2x80x9d
Much print is created by hand, e.g., using pen or pencil on paper. In many cases, such print is used for temporary information storage such as phone numbers, reminders, grocery lists, and appointments. Print media for such print commonly consists of notepads, Post-It(copyright) notes, calendars, tear-sheet display boards, and the like. In each instance, the medium is usually used for its intended purpose then later discarded or ignored, leading to waste, recycling costs, and clutter.
Chalk-on-chalkboard and dry marker pen-on-whiteboard print overcome issues of media waste and clutter. Such print images are produced with powders or inks that coat the media surface without permanent attachment, allowing easy image viewing, erasing, and subsequent re-imaging. However, such print is not applicable to portable media applications, such as grocery lists, bound image applications, or other uses in which the media surface may be smeared by contact. A further disadvantage is the messy residue that results from the removal of the chalk or ink from the media surface.
Business printers, such as the ubiquitous laser and ink-jet printers, in connection with the Internet overcome some of these problems and provide contemporaneous information distribution with an attendant hard copy printing availability, but at a higher cost per page and usually at a lower quality or in a different format than commercial print. (The term Internet is used herein as a generic term for a collection of distributed, interconnected networks (ARPANET, DARPANET, World Wide Web, or the like) that are linked together by a set of industry standard protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, UDP, and the like) to form a generally global, distributed network. (Private and proprietary intranets are also known and are amenable to conforming uses of the present invention.)
Computers, on the other hand, provide virtually instantaneous distribution of content through the Internet at significantly reduced cost to the reader. Similarly, with the advent of handheld devices such as palmtop computers, electronic books, net-ready telephones, and xe2x80x9cpersonal digital assistantsxe2x80x9d (PDAs), print can be generated on electronic displays of varying sizes and types. Computer displays, however, provide far less comfortable readability by displaying content at significantly lower resolution than hard copy media. Cathode ray tube (xe2x80x9cCRTxe2x80x9d) displays have greater resolution capability but have low portability, if any, and require substantially stationary body positioning and reading at a somewhat fixed focal length, leading to comparatively rapid eye strain and posture discomfort. Liquid crystal displays (xe2x80x9cLCDxe2x80x9d) generally used in portable computers allow somewhat greater portability, but at the expense of display contrast, off-axis viewability, and higher cost. In part, the lower resolution of portable displays stems from the difficulty of matrix addressing at higher resolution.
FIG. 1AA (Prior Art) exemplifies the basic operation of a flat panel electronic display, such as a commercially available, flat panel, LCD 1 (dashed lines are used in this drawing to indicate continuation of discrete elements of the apparatus so as to make the drawing less complicated). Basically, the LCD 1 includes a plurality of picture elements (xe2x80x9cpixelsxe2x80x9d) defining the resolution of the display, generally formed by an array of thin film transistors (xe2x80x9cTFTxe2x80x9d) and too small to be seen in this FIGURE (e.g., 600 dots per inch (xe2x80x9cdpixe2x80x9d). A plurality of gate lines 2 and data lines 3 form a pixel control grid for active area xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d of the panel 1. The gate lines 2 and data lines 3 extend as leads 5 outside of the active area B for connection to known manner integrated circuit drivers. A plurality of pads, one for each line, are formed in region xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d about the periphery of the active area B as discrete pad regions 4 are coupled by the leads 5 to the gate and data lines 2, 3. Color LCD is produced by backlighting the individually switched pixels crystals through color filters. Note importantly that the resolution of the screen is limited by the technology related to interconnect wiringxe2x80x94namely, between the gate and data lines and the microprocessor or memory sending dataxe2x80x94and driver size for each pixel. Moreover, such a device requires power to maintain each pixel in its current state and continually to backlight the crystal screen.
The at least one order of magnitude lower resolution of computer displays in comparison to commercial hard copy commonly prevents the reader from seeing a full-page comparable document at one time. Moreover, because of screen size constraints, without a very large video monitor or shrinking the page to fit a screen, the reader must use manual controls to scroll the displayed image down the document page in order to read its entire content. Furthermore, graphic images often can not fit on a single screen without severe zoom-out reduction in size, limiting the detail which can be displayed. Still further, there is the requirement of booting-up the computing device, turning on the specific application (notepad, calendar, or the like), and making at least one user command entry to obtain a document page of interest. More often than not, rather than using a PDA to make a note, a simple note scribbled on a piece of paper is much more convenient.
In addition to the aforementioned shortcomings of electronic displays, such displays are relatively high in power consumption, particularly if the screen is of the active transistor type. Also, they suffer from relatively poor contrast (viewability) in outdoor or other bright ambient environment conditions. Emissive displays, such as CRT, plasma, light emitting diode (xe2x80x9cLEDxe2x80x9d), and backlit LCD, have self-illuminated picture elements (xe2x80x9cpixelsxe2x80x9d). Emissive displays have excessive power consumption by virtue of the need to produce light. Such self-illumination is still comparatively low in brightness and therefore appears dark in bright ambient viewing conditions due to the eye""s automatic adaptation to the ambient brightness. Non-backlit LCDs have poor contrast under virtually all ambient illumination; the ambient light reflected from each LCD pixel must pass through polarizers that significantly reduce pixel brightness relative to ambient brightness. This makes the LCD appear dark and of poor contrast. Prior art electronic displays used in computers and televisions have therefore been limited to practical use under controlled office and home ambient illumination. With the advent of mobile computer appliances, such as web-based telephones, palmtop computers, and televisions, there is a growing need for display technologies that provide good viewability under the wider range of ambient illumination conditions in which users commonly communicate, do business and are entertained. Mobile appliances demand low power consumption for long battery life. Therefore, there is a growing need for an alternative to conventional electronic displays that consume less power.
When a long document is downloaded from the Internet, the reader will commonly print the contents to gain back the aforementioned hard copy media benefits. Such printing, however, adds local cost to the process for documents that commonly are still read just once and eventually discarded. The recycling of paper barely makes a dent in the multiple costs to the environment. For information distribution, current computer solutions are, thereby, still somewhat antithetical to the needs for distribution of books, periodicals such as magazines and newspapers, and the like.
Electrostatically polarized, bichromal particles for displays have been known since the early 1960xe2x80x2s. The need for an electronic paper-like print means has recently prompted development of at least two electrochromic picture element (pixel) colorants: (1) a microencapsulated electrophoretic colorant (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,851 (Jacobson) for an ELECTRONIC BOOK WITH MULTIPLE PAGE DISPLAYS, E Ink Corp., assignee), and (2) a field rotatable bichromal colorant sphere (e.g., the Xerox(copyright) Gyricon(trademark)). Each of these electrochromic colorants is approximately hemispherically bichromal, where one hemisphere of each microcapsule is made the display background color (e.g., white) while the second hemisphere is made the print or image color (e.g., black or dark blue). The colorants are field translated or rotated so the desired hemisphere color faces the observer at each pixel. FIGS. 1BB and 1CC schematically depict this type of prior art.
Electronic ink is a recent development. E Ink Corporation (Cambridge, Mass.; www.eink.com) provides an electronic ink in a liquid form that can be coated onto a surface. Within the coating are tiny microcapsules (e.g., about 30 xcexcm to 100 xcexcm in diameter, viz. about as thick as a human hair, thus quite visible to the naked eye). As illustrated in FIG. 1BB (Prior Art), each microcapsule 6 has white particles 7 suspended in a dark dye 8. When an electric field is applied and sustained in a first polarity, the white particles move to one end of the microcapsule where they become visible; this makes the surface appear white at that spot. A carrier 9 is provided. An opposite polarity electric field pulls the particles to the other end of the microcapsules where they are substantially hidden by the dye; this makes the surface appear dark at that spot.
The Xerox Gyricon sphere is described in certain patents. FIG. 1CC (Prior Art) is a schematic illustration of this type of sphere. U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,854 (Sheridon ""854) describes a bichromal sphere having colored hemispheres of differing Zeta potential that allow the spheres to rotate in a dielectric fluid under influence of an addressable electrical field. U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,103 (Sheridon ""103) describes a display system using bichromal spheres in a transparent polymeric material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,027 (Sheridon ""027), issued Feb. 18, 1997, for SOME USES OF MICROENCAPSULATION FOR ELECTRIC PAPER, describes a printer. Essentially, each sphere 10 (again, about 30 xcexcm in diameter) has a bichromal ball 13 having two hemispheres 11, 12, typically one black and one white, each having different electrical properties. Each ball is enclosed within a spherical shell 14 and a space 15 between the ball and shell is filled with a liquid to form a microsphere so that the ball is free to rotate in response to an electrical field. The microspheres can be mixed into a substrate which can be formed into sheets or can be applied to a surface. The result is a film which can form an image from an applied and sustained electrical field. Currently, picture element (xe2x80x9cpixelxe2x80x9d) resolution using this Gyricon spheres is limited to about 100 dpi.
Thus, in the known prior art, each individual colorant device is roughly hemispherically bichromal; one hemisphere is made the display background color (e.g. white) while the second hemisphere is made the print or image color (e.g. black or dark blue). In accordance with the text and image data, these microsphere-based colorant devices are field translated or rotated so the desired hemisphere color faces the observer at each respective pixel. It can be noted that, in commercial practice, displays made from these colorants have relatively poor contrast and color. The layer containing the microcapsules is generally at least 3 or 4 microcapsules thick. Light that penetrates beyond the layer surface internally reflects off the backside hemispheres causing color (e.g. black and white) intermixing. The image is, for example, thus rendered dark gray against a light gray background. Thus, these technologies do not provide a promising extendability and scaling to high resolution color displays because the colorant switches only between two opaque colors, disallowing passage of light from different colorant layers for a given pixel. Still further, as is these colorant technologies produce a visually poor display resolution relative to hard copy print due to the relatively large size of the colorant microcapsule spheres. Moreover, the spheres are bichromal, limiting application to two-color rather than true full color display. Further still, the need for overlapping spheres in multiple layers to achieve adequate color density limits pixel resolution Yet another limitation is that these colorant technologies suffer from poor pixel switching times in comparison to standard CRT and LCD technology. Each technology relies on the electrophoretic movement of colorant mass in a dielectric material, such as isoparafin. The color rotation speed of dichroic spheres under practical electrical field intensities is in the range of 20 milliseconds (ms) or more. At that rate, a 300 dpi resolution printer employing an electrode array would be limited to under one page per minute print speed. These large sphere colorants require high switching voltages (e.g. 80-200 volts) to obtain adequate fields through the consequently thick ( greater than 100 xcexcm) carrier-colorant layer. Such switching voltages add high cost to the pixel drive electronics, similar to that of the high-end matrix LCD apparatus. Thus, those involved in the development of microcapsule type colorants are struggling with the resolution of these and other related problems rather than focusing on a new molecular level technology as described in accordance with the present invention.
There are limitations to microcapsule technologies. The Gyricon microcapsule technology produces limited resolution compared to hard copy due to the relatively large size of the microcapsule spheres, typically a diameter greater than 30 xcexcm. As schematically illustrated in FIG. 1DD (Prior Art), overlapping spheres in multiple layers are needed to achieve adequate color density, limiting pixel resolution to the order of 300-400 dots-per-inch (xe2x80x9cdpixe2x80x9d), whereas, depending on the viewing conditions, the unaided human eye can discriminate to over 1000 dpi. Displays made from microcapsules tend to have poor contrast and color because light that penetrates beyond the surface layer of microcapsules reflects back off subjacent microcapsules causing color intermixing. As also demonstrated in FIG. 1DD, poor image contrast arises from backside reflections from each microcapsule. Light entering and penetrating the interstices of a first layer of microcapsules (now illustrated as hemispherically colored black and white circles 8) in the media surface coating 16 reflects and is absorbed by the backside, as well as front side, hemispheres of subsequent microcapsule layers. Low color density areas of the image become darker and high color density areas become lighter than would otherwise occur if the microcapsules were of uniform color throughout their exterior (as is true with pigments and dyes used in standard printing processes). Thus, in a device using layers of bichromal microcapsules, the image is often actually rendered dark gray against a light gray background
Another limitation to achieving high contrast is that the microcapsules of the type shown in FIG. 1BB superimposes the two encapsulated components so that independently of which colorant faces the observer, the second colorant is also visible. Because of the finite nature of the white particles 7 and dark color dye 8, when the white hemisphere is displayed (rotated toward the viewer), dye will still show in the interstitial spaces between the white particles; likewise, when the dye hemisphere is displayed, the inherent transparent nature of the dye allows reflection toward the viewer off the subjacent white particles, lightening the dye color (e.g., deep blue to a medium blue). In other words, neither one hundred percent reflection of white nor one hundred percent of absorption is achieved. Of the type of microcapsule as illustrated in FIG. 1CC, while the hemispheres are opaque black and opaque white, respectively, when light hits the ball 13 it also goes between the spheres 10 similarly to as shown in FIG. 1DD, again limiting contrast and resolution capability.
Furthermore, because they rely upon the electrophoretic movement of a mass in a liquid, these microcapsule technologies suffer from poor pixel switching times in comparison to standard CRT and LCD screens. Color switching comprises the relative rotational or translational movement of solid particles and liquid from the forward facing to backside facing hemispheres. Relatively slow color switching time is the simple result of the microcapsule""s mass and fluidic drag within the sphere. The combined mass and fluidic drag define the time required to affect a color switch at a given pixel. This, in turn, defines both the switching energy requirements and the imaging speed, or xe2x80x9cthroughput,xe2x80x9d of a printer using media with this technology.
Further still, these relatively large microcapsules require high switching voltages (e.g., 20-200 volts) to obtain adequate fields through the relatively thick (greater than 100 xcexcm), multiple microcapsule layers 16. Such switching voltages add further cost to the pixel drive electronics, making it comparable to the cost of an LCD screen.
Still further, these microcapsule technologies do not provide a promising extension to high resolution color displays because the colorant switches only between two opaque colors, disallowing passage of light from different colorant subjacent layers for a given pixel. In other words, microcapsule colorant is not a true dye where outside the particular dye absorption bandwidth the colorant becomes transparent, allowing different layered chemical compositions to render full color images (e.g., as used in color film and print technology). Thus, to gain a full color adaptation, microcapsule colorant based devices will be limited to mosaic patterning which further limits resolution and, ultimately, print quality.
Moreover, the microcapsules themselves suffer from difficult manufacturing processes and relatively poor durability. Microcapsules, by their nature, have thin walls that are subject to breakage with subsequent liquid leakage that destroys colorant functionality. Wall thickness is typically of the order of 1-2 xcexcm (or about 10% of diameter). Microcapsule breakage may occur by pressure externally applied to the media surface, media folding, and by the coating process itself used to make the media. This limits the ability of the display media to be folded or even contacted without a high probability of capsule breakage and subsequent loss of imaging function.
It can be concluded that there is not a currently available electronic information-displaying mechanism which does not have at least some of the foregoing described limitations. More particularly with respect to the present invention, among the collection of present print and display state-of-the-art technologies there does not exist a rewritable media capable of commercial hard copy resolution, contrast, and durability. Further, there is not a rewritable media that has the full color quality appearance nor print readability of commercially printed paper. Thus, there is a need for new and improved print media.
Still further, there is not an electronic rewritable media having good bright ambient illumination viewability and low power consumption.
Still further in the state-of-the-art, for digital data, mass storage media is another form of xe2x80x9crewritable media.xe2x80x9d Conventional mass storage media includes disks and tapes having a magnetic surface coating. The surface coating used in disks and tapes generally contains a thin film deposition, or polymer suspension, ferromagnetic crystal layer. When exposed to an externally applied magnetic field, the ferromagnetic crystals develop a residual magnetic field that remains stable in the absence of the external field. The surface coating is written for data storage by a magnetic writing head translated (by disk revolving or tape streaming) relative to the surface coating. Data is stored in the form of patterns of residual magnetic fields over the surface. The data is retrieved by a magnetic read head (e.g., an electric coil) translated relative to the encoded coating surface, transforming the residual magnetic field patterns into an oscillating electrical current stream representing the original electronic data form. The area density and field strength of the magnetically recorded data is determined by the size of the ferromagnetic crystal domains. In an alternate form, digital data is stored on CD-ROM media in the form of a pattern of laser-ablated or impressed pits on the surface of a light reflective disk. The data is read optically as the disk rotates by reflecting light off the surface into a light sensor. The sensed signal changes as it alternately strikes pits and reflective regions between successive pits. The density of data storage on the disk is a function of the size of the ablated pits and intervening reflective regions. In general, data can be read from a CD-ROM at a significantly greater rate than data can be written, since writing requires physical ablation of material in making pits. However, at present, writable CD technology is in its infancy and quality apparatus is relatively expensive.
With the ever-increasing need to store more data on storage media, there is increasing need for rewritable storage data storage elements that are much smaller than available through conventional magnetic and CD-ROM media, creating a higher data density capability. There is also a need to write data at higher data rates.
There is a need for a new technology for the field of displaying information that is adaptable to a wide range of implementations. Molecular science holds the promise for solution to many, if not all, of the shortcomings of the conventional methods and apparatus currently available for erasable writing and data storage, retrieval and display. Thus, the present invention provides molecular level solutions, viz., molecular systems in the form of molecular level optical switches, that can be assembled easily to make displays, electronic books, rewritable media, electronic lenses, electrically-controlled tinting for windows and mirrors, optical crossbar switches for fiber optic communications, and much more.
Due to the nature of the present invention which reaches into molecular science technology, it will become apparent to the reader that there also arises a question as to what is xe2x80x9cprint mediaxe2x80x9d and what is a xe2x80x9cwriting surfacexe2x80x9d and what is a xe2x80x9cdisplay screenxe2x80x9d (more simply xe2x80x9cdisplayxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cscreenxe2x80x9d as best fits the context). In some implementations, discriminating as to which conventional definition such an apparatus or method of use falls into may be less than clear. Therefore, it should be noted that no limitation on the scope of the present invention is intended by the use of such a particular conventional term when describing the details and no such limitation should be implied therefrom. Thus, further limitations regarding convention displays is appropriate to understanding the need for and objects and advantages of the present invention.
In its basic aspect, the present invention provides a colorant for a substrate, the colorant including: a molecular system, said system including electrochromic, switchable molecules, each of said molecules being selectively switchable between at least two optically distinguishable states, wherein said system is distributable on the substrate thereby forming an erasably writable surface. In another aspect, the present invention provides a writeable-erasable coating for a substrate, including: a carrier; and within said carrier, a composition including electrochromic switchable molecules, each of said molecules being selectively switchable between at least two optically distinguishable states, wherein said molecules are distributable on the substrate thereby forming an erasably writable surface. Another aspect of the invention is an erasable writing medium including: a substrate; and at least one layer of a molecular colorant coating affixed to said substrate, wherein molecules of the coating are at least bichromal and selectively switchable between color states under influence of a localized electric field. Still another aspect of the invention is a method for writing on electrical field addressable rewritable medium including: providing a substrate having at least one layer of a molecular colorant coating wherein molecules of the coating are at least bichromal and subjectable to switching between color states under influence of a localized electric field and wherein said layer is distributed across said substrate forming pixels on said medium; and electrically addressing pixels by selectively controlling each said localized electric field to form document content on said medium. Another aspect of the present invention is a data storage device including: a substrate; and at least one layer of a molecular colorant coating wherein molecules of the coating are at least bichromal and subject to bistable switching between at least two electro-optical states under influence of a localized electric field. Still another aspect of the present invention is a method of fabricating rewritable media including: providing a substrate; and forming with said substrate, a rewritable layer wherein the writable-erasable layer is formed by a molecular system, said system including electrochromic switchable molecules, each of said molecules being selectively switchable between at least two optically distinguishable states.
It is an important advantage and novel feature of the present electronic media that rendered images are of a quality as good as or better than conventional, very high resolution, ink-on-paper and can be rendered as good as any photographic print.
The foregoing summary is not intended to be an inclusive list of all the aspects, objects, advantages, and features of the present invention nor should any limitation on the scope of the invention be implied therefrom. This Summary is provided in accordance with the mandate of 37 C.F.R. 1.73 and M.P.E.P. 608.01(d) merely to apprise the public, and more especially those interested in the particular art to which the invention relates, of the nature of the invention in order to be of assistance in aiding ready understanding of the patent in future searches. Objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following explanation and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference designations represent like features throughout the drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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