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This invention relates generally to motion limiters for orthopedic short leg walker devices for ambulatory patients. Short leg walkers are orthopedic leg devices worn by ambulatory patients recovering from a leg injury. Limiting the range of molten on short leg walkers is a time consuming chore, often requiring numerous adjustments with a screwdriver or other tool. Further, the apparatus for limiting range of motion is typically cumbersome, and can snag or catch the user's clothing. A short leg walker with a typical prior art motion limiter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,768 to Crispin wherein a separate limiting mechanism is required on the medial and distal sides of the walker. Since each of Crispin's limiting mechanisms requires screwdriver adjustment of two elements, a total of four adjustments must be made to limit motion in the walker. Further, from a manufacturing standpoint, such motion limiting devices are not universal in the sense that one size device does not readily accommodate different sized walkers.

Exposure to air eventually degrades the quality of some fluids. For example, exposing wine to air over time allows oxidation, which degrades its taste and quality. When a bottle is opened, air enters into the head space (i.e., the internal volume of beverage bottle not occupied by the remaining beverage). Therefore, even if the bottle is later closed, the air inside the headspace oxidizes the remaining wine.

The present invention generally relates to a developing apparatus for use in a copying apparatus, printer or the like, based on an electrophotographic copying process, and more particularly, to a developing apparatus arranged to use part of a two or dual-component developing material composed of toner and carrier for developing, while such developing material is transported through circulation. Conventionally, as a developing apparatus of the above described type, there has been proposed, for example, an arrangement as shown in FIG. 4. The known developing apparatus 101 in FIG. 4 includes a casing 102, and a developing section 104 formed at a front portion of said casing 102, and having a developing sleeve 105 incorporated therein with a magnet roller (not shown) and disposed to confront a photosensitive surface 100a of a photosensitive or photoreceptor drum 100 as shown. At the rear side of the developing section 104, there are formed a first transport passage 113 and a second transport passage 114 partitioned by a partition wall 107 and communicated with each other through a first path 109 and a second path 111 respectively formed at an inner side and an outer side of the partition wall 107, with first and second screw members 116 and 117 being rotatably provided within the transport passages 113 and 114 respectively. In the conventional developing apparatus 101 having the construction as described above, the two or dual component developing material composed of toner and carrier is accommodated, and the developing material in the second transport passage 114 is transported in a direction indicated by an arrow X4 based on the rotation of the second screw member 117, and is further transported into the first transport passage 113 along the direction of an arrow X5 through the path 109 at the inner side end portion. Meanwhile, the developing material in the first transport passage 113 is transported in a direction indicated by an arrow Xl based on the rotation of the first screw member 116, and is transported into the second transport passage 114 in a direction of an arrow X3 through the path 111 at the outer side end portion, with part of the developing material being supplied onto the surface of the developing sleeve 105 as the developing material is transported through the transport passage 113. The developing material thus fed onto the developing sleeve 105 is transported in a direction indicated by an arrow X2 based on the rotation of the developing sleeve 105 so as to be led to a developing region P where the developing sleeve 105 confronts the photosensitive surface 100a of the photoreceptor drum 100, and supplies toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface 100a of the drum 100 for the formation of a visible toner image. On the other hand, in the developing apparatus 101, in order to stably supply the developing material larger than a predetermined amount to the developing section 104 at all times, it is so arranged to make the transport capacity of the developing material by the second screw member 117 larger than that by the first screw member 116, and also to make a cut-out width of the first path 109 larger than that of the second path 111, thereby to maintain the developing material in the first transport passage 113 at a high level. However, in the prior art developing apparatus 101 as described above, since there is provided no means for adjusting the amount of the developing material to be transported into the first transport passage 113 through the first path 109, the amount of the developing material transported through the first transport passage 113 is directly affected by the reduction of the developing material. Therefore, when the whole amount of the developing material is reduced as the carrier is gradually decreased as well as the toner through repeated developing functions effected, or when the amount of the developing material is temporarily varied by the toner replenished through the second transport passage 114, its influence directly appears in the amount of the developing material transported to the developing region P, thus resulting in deterioration of image quality due to smearing or fogging, etc. of the copied images.

Seating assemblies for vehicles are increasingly becoming more adapted for occupant comfort in a variety of vehicle environments and for a number of driver and passenger preferences. For instance, temperature adjustment components are more frequently being included in vehicle seating assemblies to adjust the temperature of the occupant support surface. Many of these temperature adjustment components are embedded in a dense foam structure of the vehicle seat cushions to conductively transfer heat between the occupant and the temperature control components. As modern vehicle seating improves ergonomic support and temperature controls, air circulation and ventilation between the seated occupants and the seating assemblies is progressively developing to be more important.

Protection of fragile articles such as electric lamps having bulbous glass envelopes from breakage during shipping, storage and eventual display and handling at the retail store level is usually accomplished by placing the lamp in a suitable wrapper or carton at the lamp factory. The lamp typically remains in this carton until final sale to a purchaser at the retail store who eventually removes it for placement in an appropriate receptacle (socket). In view of the relatively delicate nature of these glass articles, such protection is absolutley essential. Understandably, in view of the large numbers of such products produced and sold annually in this country and throughout the world, the cost for providing such effective protection constitutes a significant factor in the lighting industry. Examples of efforts to provide reduced cost packages are illustrated in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,526,352--Swett PA1 3,734,397--Cote PA1 3,750,934--Clinage PA1 4,134,531--Martinez et al PA1 4,561,542--Przepiora et al In U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,352, there is shown a dispensing-type carton of octagonal configuration having flap elements which appear to provide a snap-action, self-locking end closure for the carton. This carton is designed especially for delicate food products such as potato chips. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,934, there is shown a fiberboard container having a hexagonal configuration including a series of inwardly turned, upwardly angled and apparently rigid panels formed from parts of the container's walls. These panels apparently provide some means of rigidifying the container to support the article (e.g., a light bulb) positioned therein. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,397, there is shown a carton of square cross-section for containing a parabolic reflector light bulb, the carton including a pair of yoke-like platforms formed by inwardly turned, upwardly angled and apparently rigid panels or flaps cut from the carton's walls for supporting the positioned bulb. These panels are also spaced apart so as to only engage opposite surfaces of the lamp's curved neck. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,531, the paperboard container (for cheese products) includes a tubular body portion of octagonal configuration which is apparently self-locking. Lastly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,542, there is illustrated a carton of hexagonal configuration wherein panels cut from the carton's sides combined to form a platform wherein the contained article (light bulb) is frictionally retained. Many of the above cartons, although considered of relatively firm and rigid construction capable of satisfactorily retaining the contained article(s), are deemed to be of such relatively complex construction that they are not considered readily adaptable to mass production techniques to assure a cost efficient end product. And those which are deemed more readily adaptable to such production (e.g., automatic loading and locking) are not considered satisfactory from the standpoint of effective product containment (e.g., preventing rotational or other undesirable product movement). It is believed, therefore, that a display carton for an electric lamp or similar fragile article which provides sound article containment on a cost-effective basis such that the combined carton and contained article product can be readily produced on a mass production basis would constitute a significant advancement in the art.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a method of communicating between devices in a telecommunication system and, more particularly, to a communication protocol for asynchronous data communications. 2. Description of the related art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97-1.99 Telecommunication systems having a multiport switch controlled by a central processing unit to interconnect telephone units of an external telephonic network with an internal network of agent telephonic units connected with the switch are well known. Examples of such telecommunications systems are shown in patent application U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,903 of Jones et al. entitled "Multichannel Telephonic Switching Network With Different Signaling Formats and Connect/PBX Treatment Selectable For Each Channel", filed Oct. 2, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,611 of Jones et al. entitled "Pulse Modulated Self-Clocking and Self-Synchronizing Data Transmission and Method for a Telephonic Communication Switching System", issued Aug. 18, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,004 of Lenihan et al. entitled "Tone and Announcement Message Code Generator for a Telephonic Switching System and Method", issued Jun. 30, 1992 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,047 of Pitroda et al. entitled "Integrated Voice and Data Telecommunications Switching System", issued Dec. 2, 1986. In such telecommunication systems, cathode ray tube (CRT) terminals are often connected to the central processing unit to receive data from the telecommunication system to display at a remote location. The CRT terminals used in these known systems are "dumb" and therefore have no processing or programming capabilities. All processing is done at the central processing unit of the telecommunication system. Disadvantageously, this limits the processing capabilities of the telecommunication system. Therefore, in many known telecommunication systems distributed computer processing schemes are used in which the processing of information is performed at remote computing devices and the resultant data is sent to the central processing unit. Distributed processing is often desirable, since each remote computing device can be devoted to perform specific applications, and efficient use of computer processing power is achieved. However, it is nearly impossible for computer based devices from different vendors to communicate without a standard set of rules to follow for transmitting data. Accordingly, in such telecommunications systems it is also known to communicate according to a preselected protocol which specify how the communicating devices initiate calls, terminate calls and transmit data between each other. Only computer based devices which have the same communication protocol or method of communicating are able to communicate with each other. Thus, the International Standards Organization (ISO) has established the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standard protocol in order to develop an internationally accepted standard framework for communication between data communication devices made from different vendors. Referring to FIG. 1, the OSI reference model 20 of the prior art is arranged into seven layers. The seven layer OSI model refers to a collection of network processing functions that together comprise a set of rules and standards for successful data communication. Layer one is the physical layer 22, which performs the physical control of sending data over communications lines. Layer two is the data link layer 24, which provides the functional and procedural means to establish, maintain and release data lines between network entities. Layer three is the network layer 26 and is used for determining how data is transferred between computing devices. Layer four is the transport layer 28 which defines the rules for information exchange between devices. Layer five is the session layer 30 which manages the dialogue between the communicating devices. Layer six is the presentation layer 32 which masks the differences of the varying data formats between the dissimilar devices. Layer seven is the applications layer 34 which contains the functions for particular applications services. X.25 is a known protocol commonly used in packet switching networks which conforms to the OSI seven layer reference model. The X.25 protocol is frequently used to enable many types of mainframe computers, minicomputers and large scale microcomputers to communicate with each other. High level Data Link Control (HDLC) is another known standard protocol. The HDLC protocol, developed by the International Standards Organization, consist of layer two of X.25. Protocols X.25 and HDLC are synchronous protocols designed for communication between devices from different vendors which transmit data synchronously. Unfortunately, asynchronous devices, such as personal computers and workstations, typically do not support the X.25 and HDLC protocols. Therefore, these known protocols are not capable of providing data communications between a synchronous device and an asynchronous device. Personal computers having asynchronous interface characteristics are desirable as remote computing devices used in conjunction with a main central processing device in a telecommunication system because of their computing capabilities. A personal computer unlike a "dumb" CRT terminal, is capable of processing functions thereby relieving the computing load from a main central processing device in a system using distributed computer processing. Disadvantageously, the known protocols do not enable communication between a device which transmits data asynchronously such as a personal computer, and a device which transmits data synchronously.

1. Field Example embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to semiconductor devices, and more specifically, to semiconductor devices including capacitor structures and methods of manufacturing the same. 2. Description of the Related Art Due to higher integration and smaller sizes of semiconductor devices, the size of a capacitor of a DRAM device may also be reduced. A thickness of a capacitor dielectric layer between an upper electrode and a lower electrode is also reduced depending on the reduced size of the capacitor. However, due to the reduced thickness of the capacitor dielectric layer, a leakage current of the capacitor can be increased and a short circuit between the upper electrode and the lower electrode or a breakdown of the capacitor dielectric layer can occur.

The present invention relates generally to audio, video, audio/video interconnected systems for home and office use. More particularly, the present invention relates to address spaces on bus bridges. With the development of consumer electronic audio/video (A/V) equipment, and the advance of digital A/V applications, such as consumer A/V device control and signal routing and home networking, various types of data in various formats can now be transferred among several audio/video control (AV/C) devices via one digital bus system. However, many current systems do not have sufficient bandwidth resources to transfer and display all the different types of data at the same time. Typical computer systems solve the bandwidth problem by increasing the bandwidth of the system bus to handle all of these forms, types and amount of data. As a result, as users request more types of information such as in multimedia applications, the system bus has become more clogged with information other than information directly utilized and needed by the main processor. Many computer systems incorporate at least two buses. A first bus, commonly referred to as a memory bus, is typically used for communications between a central processor and a main memory. A second bus, known as a peripheral bus, is used for communications between peripheral devices such as graphics systems, disk drives, or local area networks. To allow data transfers between these two buses, a bus bridge is utilized to xe2x80x9cbridgexe2x80x9d and thereby couple, the two buses together. One example of a high-speed bus system for interconnecting A/V nodes, configured as a digital interface used to transport commands and data among interconnecting audio/video control (AV/C) devices, is the IEEE 1394 standard serial bus implemented by IEEE Std 1394-1995, Standard For A High Performance Serial Bus, Aug. 30, 1996 (hereinafter xe2x80x9cIEEE 1394 standardxe2x80x9d) and related other 1394 standards. The IEEE 1394 standard is an international standard for implementing a high-speed serial bus architecture, which supports both asynchronous and isochronous format data transfers. The IEEE 1394 standard defines a bus as a non-cyclic interconnect, consisting of bus bridges and nodes. Within a non-cyclic interconnect, devices may not be connected together so as to create loops. Within the non-cyclic interconnect, each node contains an AV/C device, and bus bridges serve to connect buses of similar or different types. The primary task of a bridge is to allow data to be transferred on each bus independently without demonstrating performance of the bus, except when traffic crosses the bus bridge to reach the desired destination on the other bus. To perform this function, the bridge is configured to understand and participate in the bus protocol of each of the buses. Multi-bus systems are known to handle the large amounts of information being utilized. However, communication between buses and devices on different buses is difficult. Typically, a bus bridge may be used to interface I/O buses to the system""s high-performance processor/memory bus. With such I/O bridges, the CPU may use a 4-byte read and write transaction to initiate DMA transfers. When activated, the DMA of a serial bus node generates split-response read and write transactions which are forwarded to the intermediate system backbone bus which also implements serial bus services. Depending on the host system design, the host-adapter bridge may have additional features mandated by differences in bus protocols. For example, the host bus may not directly support isochronous data transfers. Also, the host-adapter bridge may enforce security by checking and translating bridge-bound transaction addresses and may often convert uncached I/O transactions into cache-coherent host-bus transaction sequences. Each time a new device or node is connected or disconnected from an IEEE 1394 standard serial bus, the entire bus is reset and its topology is reconfigured. The IEEE 1394 standard device configuration occurs locally on the bus without the intervention of a host processor. In the reset process, three primary procedures are typically performed; bus initialization, tree identification, and self identification. Within the IEEE 1394 standard, a single node must first be established as the root node during the tree identification process in order for the reconfiguration to occur. Some bus bridges lack a stable node identification system. This could result in the wrong node being accessed if the node identifications are changed, which could lead to system corruption. A system for allowing a node to be accessed through multiple address spaces. The system includes a virtual address memory providing a software settable bus identification address and a stable node identification address for each node in a net, a physical address memory providing a physically assigned node identification address for each node in a local bus, and a logical address memory providing a stable node identification address for each node in the local bus.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to semiconductor processing, and more particularly, to an integrated circuit with transistors, and to a method of making the same integrating gate and source/drain formation. 2. Description of the Related Art A typical field effect transistor implemented in silicon consists of a source and a drain formed in a silicon substrate, and separated laterally to define a channel region in the substrate. A gate electrode composed of a conducting material, such as aluminum or polysilicon, is disposed over the channel region and designed to emit an electric field into the channel region. Changes in the electric field emitted by the gate electrode enable, or alternatively, disable the flow of current between the source and the drain. In a conventional process flow for forming a typical field effect transistor, a gate oxide layer is grown on a lightly doped silicon substrate and a layer of polysilicon is deposited on the gate oxide layer. The polysilicon and the gate oxide are then anisotropically etched back to the upper surface of the substrate leaving a polysilicon gate electrode stacked on top of a gate oxide layer. Following formation of the polysilicon gate electrode, a source and a drain are formed by implanting a dopant species into the substrate. The gate electrode acts as a hard mask against the implant so that the source and drain are formed in the substrate self-aligned to the gate electrode. Many conventional semiconductor fabrication processes employ a double implant process to form the source and drain. The first implant is performed self-aligned to the gate electrode to establish lightly doped drain ("LDD") structures. After the LDD implant, dielectric sidewall spacers are formed adjacent to the gate electrode by depositing and anisotropically etching a dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide. The second of the two source/drain implants is then performed self-aligned to the sidewall spacers. The substrate is then annealed to activate the dopant in the source and the drain. Salicidation steps frequently follow the formation of the source and drain. Early MOS integrated circuits were implemented as p-channel enhancement mode devices using aluminum as the gate electrode material. Aluminum had the advantages of relatively low resistivity and material cost. Furthermore, there was already a large body of manufacturing experience with aluminum in the chip industry developed from bipolar integrated circuit processing. A later process innovation that is still widely used today, involves the use of heavily doped polysilicon as a gate electrode material in place of aluminum. The switch to polysilicon as a gate electrode material was the result of certain disadvantages associated with aluminum in early fabrication technologies. In conventional semiconductor fabrication processing, aluminum must be deposited following completion of all high temperature process steps (including drive-in of the source and drain regions). As a result, an aluminum gate electrode must ordinarily be separately aligned to the source and drain. This alignment procedure can adversely affect both packing density and parasitic overlap capacitances between the gate and source/drain regions. In contrast, polysilicon with its much higher melting point, can be deposited prior to source and drain formation and therefore provide for self-aligned gate processing. Furthermore, the high temperature capability of polysilicon is routinely exploited to enable interlevel dielectric layers to be applied to provide multiple metallization layers with improved planarity. Despite the several advantages of polysilicon over aluminum as a gate electrode material, polysilicon has the disadvantage of a much higher resistivity as compared to aluminum. Higher resistivity translates into higher values of interconnect line resistance that can lead to undesirably long RC time constants and DC voltage variations within VLSI or ULSI circuits. The development of polycide films on top of polysilicon layers has alleviated some of the resistivity shortcomings of polysilicon gate electrodes. However, the resistivity of polysilicon gate electrodes in conventional MOS integrated circuit processing still presents a potential impediment to successful process scaling through reductions in the operating voltages of VLSI and ULSI devices. Another disadvantage of polysilicon as a gate electrode material is polysilicon depletion. In p-channel transistors, the source and drain are commonly formed in the substrate by implanting a p-type dopant, such as boron. The implant also deposits boron into the polysilicon of the gate electrode. Subsequent thermal processing steps to fabricate a conventional p-channel field effect transistor frequently cause boron to diffuse from the gate electrode through the gate oxide layer and into the channel region. If the amount of boron diffused is sufficiently high, the electrical performance of the field effect transistor may be severely degraded due to polysilicon depletion. Still another potential shortcoming of conventional gate electrode formation, particularly in CMOS circuits, is asymmetrical threshold voltages for n-channel and p-channel devices. For optimal logic gate performance, the threshold voltages of n-channel and p-channel devices in a CMOS circuit should have comparable magnitudes. In addition, it is desirable to keep threshold voltages for both types of devices as small as possible in order to minimize sub-threshold currents and needless power consumption. Conventional process flows have incorporated various combinations of n.sup.+ or p.sup.+ polysilicon gate electrodes for n-channel and p-channel devices. For n-channel devices incorporating n.sup.+ polysilicon gate electrodes, the work function of n.sup.+ polysilicon is ideal, and will yield threshold voltages of less than about 0.7 volts for common values of channel doping and oxide thicknesses. However, where n.sup.+ polysilicon is used as the gate electrode for a p-channel device, proper control of threshold voltage is more difficult since the threshold voltage of the p-channel device is already more negative than -0.7 volts, particularly in the doping range of 10.sup.15 to 10.sup.17 cm.sup.-3. A boron implant is commonly used to adjust the threshold voltage of p-channel as well as n-channel devices in CMOS circuits with n.sup.+ polysilicon gates. This approach has been widely used in semiconductor processing but requires careful tailoring of the background dopings of the substrate and the well in view of the parameters for the threshold voltage control implant. The requisite tying of these various parameters represents processing complexity and a limitation on the flexibility of a given process flow. Another approach in CMOS processing has involved a dual-doped polysilicon process in which n.sup.+ polysilicon is used as the gate electrode material for n-channel devices and p.sup.+ polysilicon is used as a gate electrode material for p-channel devices. Such a dual doped approach can lead to difficulties when interconnection is made between the n.sup.+ and p.sup.+ polysilicon gate electrodes, such as when the two transistors are used to construct an inverter. The interconnect between the n.sup.+ and p.sup.+ polysilicon gates is frequently made via a silicide local interconnect strap that provides a diffusion pathway for the p and n-type dopants of the two gates. During subsequent high temperature steps the migrating p and n-type dopants may counterdope the respective gate electrodes and significantly degrade the performance of the transistors. The present invention is directed to overcoming or reducing the effects of one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same, and relates to a semiconductor device in which a semiconductor layer is deposited on a substrate, and a method for manufacturing the same. 2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor layer deposited on a substrate is used as an optical waveguide, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-135563) describes a semiconductor layer whose thickness is varied, The variation of the thickness is formed by crystal growth using a shadow mask. The semiconductor layer whose thickness is varied is used as a waveguide, In the method of Patent Document 1, the thickness of the semiconductor layer is varied in the width direction of the waveguide,

1. Field of the Invention The present invention is in the field of computer telephony integration (CTI) systems, and pertains particularly to methods and apparatus for selecting a dialing strategy for placing an outbound call. 2. Discussion of the State of the Art In the art of CTI telephony, contact centers are leveraged by enterprises to provide services like sales, customer service, and the like to enterprise customers who may call into the contact center to receive such services. Most contact centers employ agents to work live interactions and to perform other communications-oriented tasks. Incoming calls are typically intercepted by an interactive voice response (IVR) unit and are routed internally according to nature of and intent of the call. Agents may be organized into agent groups having differing skill sets or departments and calls are routed to these agents based on availability, among other factors that might come into play. Agents typically operate a computer connected to a local area network (LAN) and an agent telephone when answering live voice interactions. Contact centers often employ proactive tactics to provide business revenue and to fully employ agent employees. One of these tactics is an outbound calling campaign. An outbound calling campaign makes use of contact information known to or otherwise made available to the contact center for the purposes of automatically dialing out to individual contacts, and if calls are answered, connecting the calls to agents to accomplish a purpose of the campaign, such as sales. Such a calling campaign often employs an automated dialing system that dials numbers from a list of contact records or calling list. One drawback with standard outbound calling campaigns is that campaign settings established, such as dialing strategy, dialing application, and other settings are configured at campaign level and affect every outbound call made during a same campaign. In order to treat contacts differently using different dialing strategies, dialing modes, and other settings, the contacts have to be sorted accordingly for multiple campaigns where the settings are different for each different campaign. The campaign level settings still apply to all outbound calls made under that campaign. Therefore, what is clearly needed is a system and methods for selecting dialing strategies and other campaign settings on a call-by-call basis. A system such as this would provide flexibility to exploit different attributes of different contacts, where such exploitation may increase probability of successful call resolution and potentially increase campaign revenues.

Aluminum electrical wire has been used extensively for branch circuits in structures including homes and mobile homes over the past couple of decades. A fire hazard is believed to occur from overheating caused by high resistance developing at the terminals where the aluminum wire is connected. This high resistance develops over a period of time apparently due to oxidation of the aluminum and relaxation of the forces holding the connection together. This combination of oxidation and relaxation results in high resistance. The electric current, of course, flows when the appliances or lights are turned on or other use of the electrical energy occurs. When electric current flows through the high resistance connection, heat results. since several outlets are usually connected in parallel in a chain-like arrangement within a circuit, current flowing to any particular point of consumption may be flowing through the terminal connections of several wiring devices. As a result, temperatures of the high resistance connections become very high and terminals which glow red hot have occurred. It has been determined that temperatures may be reached with such wiring devices that are more than high enough to ignite the adjacent construction and household materials. Perhaps the most favorable factor in minimizing such fires to date is that the development of high resistance at the connections usually progresses slowly. The resulting odor of heat and smoldering on occasion has been enough to detect such a failure. However, reliance upon this happening is hazardous, since this would indicate that the temperature is already dangerously high. Feeling of the wiring devices is obviously a help but again it is impractical to rely on such a method of detection, since at any given time, many of the outlets will not be conducting electrical current. A detector which can be readily mounted on the wiring device and indicates to the homeowner when a hazard is developing, could prevent the serious consequences of allowing a hazard to go undetected. A detector which indicates an excessive increase in temperature by changing color irreversibly would achieve this desired result. The use of color change for heat detection has been shown in the following patents: ______________________________________ Inventor Patent Number ______________________________________ Parker 3,827,301 Postal 3,182,153 Ferkel 1,676,536 Linebarger 1,374,857 ______________________________________

The present invention relates to a method for producing gradient gel medium membrane for electrophoresis for determining the base sequence of DNA or DNA partially decomposed material. Conventionally, in a plane electrophoretic method, high-molecular concentration radient el of acrylamide having no self-supporting property has been obtained by forming gel in layers having concentrations different from each other and stacked on one support or between two supports in the electrophoretic direction. Such a gel has been used as a membranous material. In the method in which gel is formed on a support, however, there has been a disadvantage in that the gel can sometimes be damaged by dropping a material other than a sample onto the gel while the gel is being formed on the support, when the gel is set in an electrophoretic tank, when the gel is in a state of preservation, or when the gel is being added with a sample to be analyzed. Therefore, close attention and a high level of skill are required in operation. On the other hand, in a vertical electrophoretic method in which gel is formed in a mold formed by two glass plates or the like, and electrophoretic analysis is performed while holding the mold vertically, there has been a disadvantage in that it is difficult to make the mold uniform in thickness and a high level of skill is required in operation to pour a gel forming solution into a narrow mold before the gel forming solution has gelled. Particularly, in an operation for determining the base sequence of DNA, it is desirable to form an elongated sheet of gel so that pieces of DNA, as many as possible in number, can be analyzed using one sheet of gel. However, production and handling of such an elongated sheet of gel has proved difficult. Further, since glass plates are used, there has been a disadvantage in that the glass plates are apt to break. Recently, for the purpose of industrially producing a gradient gel material for electrophoresis, there has been disclosed a method for producing gradient gel including steps of: preparing an aqueous solution or a water dispersion liquid of a mixture of acrylic amide monomers and a cross-linking agent, adding a free radical generating material for initiating polymerization of the monomers by absorption of light irradiated on the solution, forming the solution into the shape of desired gel product, and adjusting the time period of light irradiation on the monomer solution so as to change the porosity of the gel while the solution is being irradiated so as to cause polymerization and cross-linking in the monomer solution or the monomer dispersing liquid. (See European Patent No. 0169397A). Further, there has been disclosed a method for producing gradient gel for electrophoresis having a concentration gradient of a polymer in the electrophoresis direction and including steps of: supplying two kinds of aqueous solutions different in concentration from each other and each containing monomers, a cross-linking agent and a polymerization initiator into a forming device while mixing the aqueous solutions with a mixing ratio therebetween being changed gradually, and completing polymerization of the monomers with the cross-linking agent in the forming device. (See Japanese Patent Publications Nos. 61-022903 and 61-39617). The former method, however has problems in that the cost is high due to the need for light irradiation equipment and generally low productivity, the resolution is low because of an increased thickness of the gel, and it is impossible to obtain gradient el having good stability and reproducibility because the reaction initiator causes polymerizing and cross-linking reactions in the presence of light even after completion of prosecution. The latter method, on the other hand, has problems in that the productivity is poor because of its batch type production system, and it is difficult to uniformly branch a medium liquid for electrophoretic separation when it is poured into forming devices, making it impossible to obtain gradient gel with good reproducibility. To produce gradient gel medium membrane for electrophoresis with a high productivity and good reproducibility and to solve the foregoing problems, the present applicant has proposed a method for producing gradient gel medium membrane for electrophoresis including steps of: mixing high and low concentration monomer solutions supplied at respective flow rates, the ratio of which is continuously changed, with a predetermined quantity of polymerizing reaction initiator solution with a static mixer to thereby prepare a gel forming solution for use in electrophoresis, and coating a continuously moving web with the gel forming solution for electrophoresis. In this proposed method, however, the flow-rate ratio of the high and low concentration monomer solutions is changed so that the concentration gradient changes from low to high every product unit length as shown in FIG. 3A, and therefore the distance t at the changeover length for every product unit length has been exceedingly long, that is, t=1.0 m for l=0.4 m.

When software developers correct a problem in the source code of a computer program (such as an operating system kernel), they typically create and distribute a patch, which consists of a set of changes to the source code. Software vendors or system administrators apply the patch to their copy of the source code, build a new binary copy of the computer program, and then distribute that new binary program to servers and end-user machines. The updated program must then be restarted in order to benefit from the update. Restarting programs in order to update them can cause undesirable disruption. A “hot update” changes a running program without restarting it. Existing hot update systems that are designed to update “legacy binaries” (i.e., mostly-unmodified binaries that are created with essentially no foresight of the update system) rely on a programmer to write source code files with certain properties (e.g., as in LUCOS and DynAMOS), or the systems cannot achieve safety guarantees or determine what values to use for ambiguous symbols without a programmer laboriously inspecting the running program (e.g., as in OPUS).

The present invention is in the environment of handling utility poles, specifically apparatus for pulling and setting poles which are supporting electric power lines and the like. Many of these poles are thirty and forty feet in length and are sunk in the ground to a depth of six to eight feet minimum. Obviously a network of power lines and utility poles is present in all types of terrain and environments including heavily populated residential and commercial developments along with more sparsely populated rural areas. In the past, utility poles have been handled by means of large boom trucks with which utility companies move a load of poles to a centralized location and the boom is then used to lift the poles off the truck, after which the poles are manually transported to the site of installation. At repair or installation time, a new hole must be dug and the new pole set therein, prior to lifting the old utility pole out of the ground and carrying it back to the boom truck. This process alone can take several men a period of hours to perform, and does not include the task of transferring the wiring and other mechanical components from the old utility pole to the new pole. This procedure is generally done by a lineman physically climbing the old pole to release the wiring, and then a second man climbing the new pole to attach the wiring thereto. As commerical and residential developments became more heavily populated, and in some areas of the country extremely dense, it became more and more difficult for the utility companies to make necessary repairs to existing utility poles or to install new networks of utility wires. The boom trucks which are conventionally used for handling the utility poles are large and because of the height of the operating boom the trucks require a substantial clearance in order to manipulate the poles. Further, because of the necessary clearance for the boom and because of the increasingly densely developed areas, it became necessary that the boom trucks be parked increasingly farther away from the actual installation site. Therefore, because of the time and expense involved with handling the utility poles, many times repairs were postponed until absolutely necessary, to the detriment of the utility system. The cost of manually handling the poles also substantially increases the cost of developing and installing new utility systems because as many as six to eight men might be tied up for hours to replace only one or two poles. When some of the small scale earth and material moving equipment such as the skid steer loaders became available, attachments were available for these small loaders which could be used for digging holes for setting utility poles. However, there was no equipment available which could be used to transport the poles to or from the actual work site, and which could also lift the old pole out of the ground and then insert the new pole. It was originally believed that the small scale of these loaders would be detrimental or prohibitively dangerous in handling these extended length utility poles because of the weight and length of the pole. Originally the balance of the loader was believed to be compromised by the size of the utility poles. It was to overcoming these restrictions that the inventor turned in development of an attachment that could be used for transporting, lifting or pulling, and setting utility poles without compromising the balance and function of the loader. The present invention is such a device and has been successfully tested in the environment of handling conventional wooden utility poles or the newer aluminum poles which are used for supporting streetlights and the like. The device is an attachment for the small loaders such as the Toyota, the Clark Bobcat.TM., and other like machinery; which attachment can be utilized to support a utility pole that is placed thereon by a boom truck, and after reaching the installation site move the pole into position for setting in the ground. The same attachment is also utilized for grasping and pulling an old utility pole from the ground, pivoting it up and in position over the loader for transporting back to the primary supply truck where the pole is removed from the loader by a boom and placed on the truck. The present invention is an hydraulically operated gripping and supporting mechanism that is attached to the loader. In use the gripper is centered around the utility pole, after which the hydraulic control is activated to close the gripping arm to engage the pole and hold it securely through the movement of pulling or setting. The gripping and supporting mechanism also secures the pole for transporting in a position wherein the pole is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the loader. The mechanism holds the pole without slippage during a pivotal movement from that position wherein the pole is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the loader, to a position wherein the pole is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the loader and thereby in a position for pulling or setting. The improved handling mechanism additionally includes a plurality of removable stud devices on the gripping surfaces for improving the gripping action on aluminum or other types of materials which might have a slippery surface. The studs are also useful when handling wooden utility poles during wet or damp conditions. The handling mechanism attachment itself is a self-contained attachment which is attached to the loader lift arm by a simple leverage action lock, taking only two to three minutes to remove one attachment (such as an auger used for digging the hole for the pole) and replace with the pole handling attachment. In addition to the aforementioned gripper, the mechanism includes a cradle in which the pole is supported during pivotal movement. Further, an auxillary, permanently mounted pole stabilizer means is attached to the upper surface of the loader to receive and stabilize the end portion of the utility pole during its transport position. It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus for handling utility poles by attachment of the apparatus to small scale loaders and earth moving equipment. Another primary objective of the present invention was to provide such a handling mechanism on small scale equipment which could be utilized in densely populated and developed areas. Other objectives include the provision of an apparatus which could be attached to the selected loader and utilize hydraulic and steerage controls existing on the loader; the provision of a utility handling apparatus which could be quickly attached or detached from the loader by the operator, while remaining in the loader; and the provision of such a handling apparatus having a minimum number of components, thereby maximizing efficiency and dependability. Other objectives and advantages of the apparatus will become apparent to those skilled in the art as they study the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

A prior outset hinge of a door is not easy to adjust through the door fittings. It is an object of the present invention to provide an outset hinge which is easy to adjust through the door fittings in forward and rearward directions. It is another object of the present invention to provide an outset hinge which is easy to adjust through the door fittings in sideways directions.

This invention relates generally to flushing of internal combustion engine liquid cooling systems; more particularly, it concerns apparatus and method for conveniently and quickly relieving pressure in an engine liquid coolant system, and for transferring coolant to and from the system. There is need for simple, efficient operation to quickly and conveniently relieve pressure in an engine liquid coolant system, and to transfer coolant to and from the system, without injury to the operator, by high temperature coolant and/or exposure to high temperature, potentially toxic coolant vapors.

Attachment of a tow hook to a bumper reinforcement for a vehicle, in order to tow a vehicle and to bind a vehicle to a ship, is known. Japanese Patent No. 3328237 describes an example of attaching a tow hook to a bumper reinforcement. According to the construction described in Japanese Patent No. 3328237, an attachment metal plate, which is configured to be long from side to side and has a nut portion, is bolted to a back surface of a front wall portion of a bumper reinforcement. A tow hook is screwed at the nut portion via an access hole on the front wall portion. With the construction described in Japanese Patent No. 3328237, the tow hook is screwed onto the nut portion of the attachment metal plate via an attachment hole on the front wall portion of the bumper reinforcement in order to support a load at the front wall portion when a force in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle is applied to the tow hook. Thus, the front wall portion of the bumper reinforcement to which the attachment metal plate is bolted is configured to be thick in order to bear the load. This requirement leads to an increase in the weight of the bumper reinforcement, and is also not desirable in terms of fuel consumption. A need thus exists for a bumper reinforcement for vehicle, which bears a load with a compact configuration. Present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a health food utilizing garlic which is made into a garlic taffy, i.e. garlic with a taffy consistency, or a garlic beverage, wherein garlic is the major raw material. Garlic in such a form renders it available for usual use. From ancient times, garlic has been known as a food having various medicinal advantages with efficacies in such areas as stomach strengthening, digestive benefits, intestine adjusting, perspiration, urination, phlegm loosening, diarrhea treatment, and other restorative features, whereby the habitual use of "Allicin," which is one of the constituents contained in garlic, has the ability to kill harmful bacteria in a manner similar to antibiotics such as Penicillin or Tetramycin. Also, garlic containing Allicin is known to strengthen the immune system and inhibit the onset of cancer thought to be due to the presence of sulfides within the garlic product. In fact, it has already been proven through tests that garlic is a non-toxic natural food which exhibits efficacy as a resistivity and basic body strengthening agent. The present invention is directed to a method of making a garlic taffy or a garlic beverage wherein garlic is the major raw material thereof.

It has become commonplace to incorporate relatively low power devices into clothing articles and/or other products commonly carried and/or worn by persons, including radio frequency identification (RFID) tag devices incorporated into shirts, pants, shoes, hats, coats, bags, luggage, etc. Such devices typically employ near field radio frequency (RF) communications which uses relatively little electric power. However, such near field communications with such low power consumption supports only relatively low data rates over a relatively short range of mere inches. Further, RFID tag devices typically rely on the provision of reading devices generating an electromagnetic field to wireless provide electric power, and such electromagnetic fields also have a relatively short range of mere inches. However, the relatively short range of such provision of electric power and of such communications does enable the physical location of an RFID tag device within a venue to be known during use, since they must be within a relatively short distance of a reading device that may have a known location. It has also become commonplace for individuals to carry and/or wear portable devices capable of wireless communications, including smart phones, laptop computers, tablet computers, smart glasses, smart watches, etc. Such devices typically employ RF wireless communications to form a wireless network enabling relatively high data rates. However, such wireless communications with such high data rates consume electric power at a relatively high rate and require the use of relatively complex access point devices providing a relatively sophisticated infrastructure in which various protocols are used to resolve collisions among devices and negotiate for available bandwidth for transmissions. Techniques have been devised to determine the physical location of such devices within a venue using such a network, but such techniques typically require coordinated triangulation among multiple access point devices.

The present disclosure relates to a display apparatus. As an information-oriented society develops, needs for diverse forms of display apparatuses are increasing. Accordingly, research has been carried out on various display apparatuses such as liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), electro luminescent displays (ELDs), vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs), and the like, which have been commercialized. Also, researches with respect to three-dimensional (3D) images are being carried out in recent years. 3D image technologies are being generalized and commercialized in various environments and techniques as well as computer graphic fields.

USB protocol technology is a serial bus standard by which a host is connected to a peripheral, which is widely used on a host (such as a personal computer, a personal digital assistant and a mobile computer, etc.). USB protocol technology supports hot-plug, instant plug-and-play and power supply via bus. Almost all peripherals such as mouse, keyboard, game handler, scanner, digital cameral, printer, hard disk, security device, disc driver and net card, can connect to and communicate with a host by operation of USB interface. So USB interface has become a default interface connecting most of the current host peripherals and a computer. In some situation, a device should know type of operating system on a computer connecting to it. However, in the prior art the device cannot identify operating system on a host.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a composite fabric suitable for use in garments that provide protection against contact with hazardous substances. More particularly, the invention concerns such a fabric and garments made therefrom that include at least two different film layers and a textile fabric, one film being of polyvinyl or polyvinylidene fluoride and the second film being of polyvinyl alcohol. 2. Description of the Prior Art Workers in many industries need protection from hazardous substances. Some such protection is often in the form of a disposable, or limited use, outer garment which prevents worker's clothing or skin from contacting the hazardous material. Chemical plant workers, asbestos removers, radioactive-contamination cleaners, chemical-waste disposal workers, and farmers handling various agricultural chemicals and pesticides are among the many users of such protective garments. Such garments need to be as impervious to chemicals as is consistent with safety, comfort and cost. Many of the disposable garments now available commercially provide only short-term protection. Chemicals can pass through such garments in but a few minutes, after which the wearer must immediately leave the work area, remove the contaminated clothing, and bathe. Such short-term protection results in lost production time and, more importantly, in exposure of the worker to the hazardous substances. Goldstein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,851, discloses protective garments made of spunbonded, polyethylene nonwoven sheet (e.g., "Tyvek", sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company) which may be coated or laminated on one side with a polyethylene film. Du Pont brochure, E-32814, entitled "For Hazardous or Dirty Jobs...Protect Your Workers with Garments of "TYVEK" Spunbonded Olefin" discloses garments made from the spunbonded olefin nonwoven sheets laminated with coextruded, multilayered thermoplastic film (e.g., "Saranex", sold by Dow Chemical Company) along with the permeation characteristics of these laminated sheets. "Saranex" is a three-layered laminate of "Saran" vinyl chloride/vinylidene chloride copolymer film, sandwiched between two layers of polyethylene. Research Disclosure, 12410 (Aug. 1974), discloses protective garments of spunlaced aramid fiber (e.g., "Nomex", sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company). Though not related to fabrics for protective garments, Dehennau, U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,694, and Decroly and Dehennau, U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,625, disclose films of polyvinyl fluoride or polyvinylidene fluoride bonded to another polymer. Kuga et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,654, discloses polyvinyl alcohol films coated with copolymer compositions. Bolt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,946, discloses a film of polyvinyl alcohol laminated to a substrate, such as a fluorocarbon material, which is then treated with iodine to form a polarizing sheet. The known protective garments have enjoyed some commercial success. However, fabrics are needed that would provide the protective garments with longer times before hazardous substances could permeate or pass through the fabric; an increase in the so-called "hold-out time" of the hazardous substances by the fabric would enhance the utility of protective garments made therefrom. Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide such an improved fabric for use in protective garments.

This invention relates generally to automatic electronic and telephonic and Internet transactions through print media, as well as providing value that flows to a supplier such as, for example, a print medium supplier, a provider, or other facilitator, for the service of enabling such transactions. Printed communications and advertisements supply information about possible transactions, where the term “transaction” is used herein to mean at least one interaction between parties, about which a recipient might be interested. Print media includes all forms of printed communications and may include all forms of packaging for goods and products. The term “transaction” may also include the desire of a consumer to purchase said goods and products. Possible transactions can include, but are not limited to, commercial or private transactions, legal transactions, or other transactions, to name a few examples. Printed communications and advertisements typically require that the recipient manually conduct the transaction, either by telephoning an establishment, such as, for example, a commercial establishment, by accessing the web page of the establishment, by physical transport (i.e. the USPS mail, courier service such as FEDEX or UPS, etc.) or by going to the establishment to make the transaction or purchase. Each of these activities could require a measure of organization on the part of the recipient, and thus the establishment could lose timely response or sales simply because the communication and/or advertisement becomes misplaced among the recipient's other printed mediums and papers. Likewise, printed bills require manual reaction to pay the bill by mail or phone. Bills can also be misplaced and remain unpaid. What is needed is a system by which transactions associated with printed material could be conducted automatically, thus relieving the recipient of the extra task of organizing printed material and reacting to it at a later time. What is further needed is to converge the print medium and the electronic medium to facilitate the payments of bills and/or the transactions being communicated or advertised and to automate and make it easier for the recipient to conduct such transactions by automatically connecting the recipient to the mailer of the print media communicating and/or advertising such transactions or requesting payments of bills. It is further to the advantage of the supplier of the printed material or other facilitators to enable such transactions associated with the printed material when mechanisms exist to assess compensation, for example a fee, on such enablement in order to generate value, for example a revenue stream, based on the compensation.

In many applications of laser light, it is essential that the light intensity delivered by the laser be as constant as possible. A certain fluctuation of the intensity around its mean value is, however, unavoidable. One reason is that the energy supply rate from the pump source is never completely steady. There is a noise contribution which the laser not only transfers to its output intensity, but rather tends to exaggerate, especially if it is operated not too far above its threshold. On the other hand, there are sources for fluctuations of the output intensity that are located inside the laser itself. The most common of these internal noise sources is a small vibration of the optical components (e.g. mirrors), such as are caused by acoustic waves in the environment. Some types of lasers have additional sources for fluctuations; dye jet lasers, for example, are easily perturbed by small fluctuations in the flow of the jet. All these noise contributions can be kept within limits by a proper construction. It is common practice to use regulated power supplies and set up lasers on vibration-damping tables. Nevertheless, a typical laser still has a fluctuation of its output intensity of the order of a few percent. For many applications, this is far too much, and in these cases active stabilization is required. Active stabilization makes use of a measurement of the output intensity by steering a small portion of the output beam to a detector. The AC component of the detector signal represents the fluctuation that has to be removed and can thus serve as the error signal. All known schemes for active stabilization proceed according to one of the two following schemes: (1) the error signal is fed back to the energy source of the laser, which may be an electric power supply unit, and feedback is arranged in such a way that the error signal is reduced, that is, so the output intensity is stabilized; (2) the error signal controls a variable light attenuator, which may be an electro-optic modulator placed between the laser output and the place where the output intensity sample is taken, and feedback is arranged so as to give the desired effect of reducing the fluctuation. Both prior art schemes, however, have severe disadvantages. The first scheme may not be applicable at all if there is no way of controlling the power supply. Even if the supply can be reasonably controlled, very often this control can act only very slowly so that only a small bandwidth of the noise is affected. The second scheme avoids these difficulties, but trades them in for others. In order to be effective, the variable attenuator typically attenuates the transmitted beam by 30 to 50 percent. This means that a substantial amount of the total power has to be sacrificed. It is often difficult to produce just enough laser power for a given purpose, and such a sacrifice is then unacceptable.

There have been demanded ferroelectric non-volatile memories in which operation speed and the number of data rewriting are improved by utilizing spontaneous polarization characteristics of ferroelectric materials as compared with conventional non-volatile memories such as EEPROM and flash memory. Memory cell structures fundamental to the non-volatile memories are classified into the following two types. A first type is a type wherein a conventional memory capacitor of DRAM is replaced with a ferroelectric capacitor. The first type includes a structure wherein a ferroelectric capacitor of a ferroelectric thin film sandwiched with electrodes is connected to a source or a drain of a MOS transistor through a polysilicon plug or the like. This is called a one transistor-one capacitor type memory cell. Currently, ferroelectric non-volatile memories utilizing the memory cell of the first type have been practically used. However, to deal with an increase of memory capacity and higher integration for the future, realization of a structure in which one transistor solely constitutes a memory cell (hereinafter this structure is referred to as a second type) has been demanded. However, since there are problems in that ferroelectric materials having necessary characteristics for the realization have not been obtained and fabrication techniques thereof have not been established, memory cells of the second type have not been materialized yet. Hereinafter, the problems are explained in detail. The memory cell of the second type utilizes, as its fundamental structure, a gate element of MFS (ferroelectric material--metal--semiconductor) structure wherein a ferroelectric thin film and a gate electrode are layered on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. Most of the ferroelectric thin films currently applicable are oxides and require a thermal treatment at a high temperature in an oxidizing atmosphere to crystallize the oxides at the formation of the thin films. Therefore, at the formation of the ferroelectric thin film, an oxide layer (e.g., SiO.sub.2 layer) having low dielectric constant tends to be formed at its interface to the semiconductor substrate (e.g., Si). Further, it is problematic in that reaction and mutual diffusion between elements constituting the ferroelectric thin film and the semiconductor substrate cannot be avoided. Accordingly, it is also difficult to obtain normal characteristics of the MFS because it is extremely difficult to realize a favorable interface state. That is, moving carriers are generated owing to impurities and defects introduced to the inside of the semiconductor substrate or the interface, which leads to a flat band shift in C-V hysteresis characteristics of the MFS and an increase in leak current. As a result, the C-V hysteresis characteristics which reflect the characteristics of the ferroelectric material are lost in a short period so that the memory cannot be maintained. Thus, even if an FET is actually fabricated in the conventional MFS structure, a memory maintaining time is only a few minutes to a few hours. In contrast, the memory cell of the first type realizes a memory maintaining time for more than 10 years. The most important subject of the memory cell of the second type for practical use thereof is an improvement of the memory maintaining time. Ferroelectric materials used for the memory cell of the second type are desirably materials which are capable of reversing polarization at a low voltage (low coercive electric field Ec) and do not deteriorate (are not exhausted) in the ferroelectric characteristics through repetition of polarization reversal. Further, for forming directly on the Si substrate, a ferroelectric material capable of forming at a temperature as low as possible and a fabrication process thereof are required to inhibit the reaction and mutual diffusion between the elements. As the ferroelectric materials used for the memory cell of the second type, ferroelectric materials made of Bi-containing oxide of layered structure are excellent in resistance to exhaustion and expected as an alternative to conventional Pb-containing ferroelectric materials represented PZT. Among them, a ferroelectric material Bi.sub.4 Ti.sub.3 O.sub.12 having great anisotropy exhibits good bulk characteristics of spontaneous polarization Ps=50 .mu.C/cm.sup.2 and Ec=50 kv/cm in the direction of a-axis, and Ps=4 .mu.C/cm.sup.2 and Ec=5 kv/cm in the direction of c-axis. The ferroelectric material exhibiting smaller coercive electric field in the c-axis direction is useful for the memory cell of the second type, and therefore it has been proposed in the past to apply the material to the MFS structure (for example, see IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, ED-21 (1974) 499-504; J. Appl. Phys. 46 (1975) 2877-2881). These documents describe a process for obtaining a crystalline thin film by sputtering at a high temperature such as 675.degree. C. or more and a process for obtaining a crystalline thin film by annealing at 650.degree. C. after formation by sputtering at a low temperature. However, in the above processes, since the thin film is formed al a high temperature, a layer having low dielectric constant made of silicon oxide is generated at the interface between the Si substrate and the ferroelectric thin film. When a voltage is applied to the resulting memory cell of the MFS structure, a major part of the applied voltage is distributed to the low dielectric layer. Accordingly, it is difficult to apply enough voltage to the ferroelectric thin film having higher dielectric constant for the reversal of the polarization. Further, the ferroelectric thin film is not sufficient in an orientation along the c-axis direction and the thickness thereof is as great as 1 .mu.m or more. Therefore it requires a high voltage to be applied to reverse the polarization of the ferroelectric thin film. Moreover, it is difficult to perform a stable memory operation because of an electric charge injection phenomenon caused by defects generated by the reaction at the interface between the Si substrate and the ferroelectric thin film. Then, in order to realize a more favorable connection at the interface between the ferroelectric thin film and the semiconductor substrate, there has been studied a MFIS (metal ferroelectric material--insulator--semiconductor) structure in which the ferroelectric thin film is formed on an insulating film formed preliminary by epitaxially growing an insulating material having relatively high dielectric constant into a thin film on a surface of the Si substrate. As the insulating film, an epitaxial film such as ZrO.sub.2 or CeO.sub.2 is used. The insulating film is generally formed by a vapor deposition technique and requires a thermal treatment at a temperature as high as 800.degree. C. or more. Therefore, in a memory cell of the MFIS structure utilizing CeO.sub.2 as the insulating film and PbTiO.sub.3 as the ferroelectric thin film (for example, see Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34 (1995), 4163-4166), an SiO.sub.2 layer is generated between the Si substrate and the insulating film. Further, the C-V hysteresis characteristics are deteriorated over about 11 hours. Moreover, since the insulating film and the ferroelectric film are made of completely different materials, they need to be formed individually with different forming devices, which makes the process complicated. To solve the above problems, the inventors of the present invention have reported a process for forming a bismuth silicate film as the insulating film on the surface of the Si substrate and forming thereon a ferroelectric thin film made of Bi.sub.4 Ti.sub.3 O.sub.2 oriented along the c-axis direction (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 8(1996)-12494). In the above process, a SiO.sub.2 layer is removed first from the surface of the Si substrate. Then, a thin film of bismuth silicate (Bi.sub.2 SiO.sub.5, Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 and the like) is formed by a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. That is, the bismuth silicate film is formed by supplying a Bi material gas and an O.sub.2 gas simultaneously to the surface of the Si substrate and reacting Si on the surface of the Si substrate with Bi and O in the material gases. Then, a thin film of Bi.sub.4 Ti.sub.3 O.sub.12 is formed on the bismuth silicate film by adding a Ti material gas. In this process, elements for constituting the insulating film are all contained in elements constituting the Si substrate and the ferroelectric thin film. Therefore it is advantageous in that mixing of impurity elements is avoided and the insulating film and the ferroelectric thin film can be successively formed in the same forming device. Incidentally, processes described in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 32 (1993), 135-138 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 5(1993)-243525 are known as processes for forming the thin film of Bi.sub.4 Si.sub.3 O.sub.12, for example. That is, the SiO.sub.2 layer is preliminarily formed on the surface of the Si substrate. On the SiO.sub.2 layer the Bi.sub.4 Si.sub.3 O.sub.12 thin film is formed by supplying the Bi material gas and the O.sub.2 gas simultaneously to the surface of the SiO.sub.2 layer by the MOCVD technique. A surface morphology of the ferroelectric film formed by the above process is made of crystalline particles having a plate form. Therefore unevenness and pinholes are present on the surface. Accordingly, the thickness of the film may be locally insufficient because of the unevenness on the surface, and favorable ferroelectric characteristics arc hardly obtained with the thickness as small as 200 nm or less because of the pinholes. Further, in terms of reduction of a driving voltage of a semiconductor device, the thickness of the ferroelectric thin film is required to be reduced in the MFIS structure, for which the ferroelectric thin film needs to be formed more accurately. Furthermore, it is necessary to add the Ti material gas while forming the Bi.sub.4 Ti.sub.3 O.sub.2 thin film after the bismuth silicate film is formed. According to this, a modification of other forming conditions (flow rate of a carrier gas and the like) is required, which makes the formation process complicated. Additionally, in order to obtain a memory cell of the MFIS structure with a longer memory maintaining time by inhibiting the mutual diffusion and the like between the semiconductor substrate and the bismuth silicate film and preventing deterioration of the state of the interface therebetween, it has been demanded to lower the temperature for forming the bismuth silicate film (550.degree. C. or more in the case of Bi.sub.2 SiO.sub.5, for example) to a further extent.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device and method for the control of the motion of particles suspended in a gas stream and, more particularly to a device and method for real-time, on-line sampling of particles in process gas streams. 2. Discussion of the Background In a substantial number of industrial, manufacturing, and scientific processes, the detection, control and analysis of micron and submicron sized particulates is essential. Specifically, the removal of particles, detection of particles for particle counting, and/or sampling of particles for chemical analysis is often crucial to achieving maximum operating efficiency and to minimizing yield losses. In the semiconductor industry, for example, particle contamination during VLSI manufacturing processes is one of the primary sources of yield loss. About 50% of all yield losses in semiconductor device fabrication are due to particles (i.e., contamination of wafers with particles). One source of particles during semiconductor device manufacture is vacuum processing equipment. This is due to the nature of the mechanical movements (e.g., wafer transfer) in the equipment, and chemical and physical deposition and etching processes which can form particles. Thus, semiconductor manufacturers require a device and method for the removal of particulate matter suspended in process gas streams that can also be utilized in a vacuum environment. Further, the device must have the capability of operating on gas streams having very low particle concentrations (e.g., 5 to 10 particles per cubic foot) and/or very high gas flow rates (e.g., 1 to 5 cubic feet per minute), which are characteristic of semiconductor process gas streams. Producers of specialty gases and researchers in aerosol science and technology represent others interested in particle contamination problems. In addition to the actual removal of the particles that can potentially contaminate gases and the products being manufactured, sampling of particles present in gases and during product manufacturing provides an effective tool for evaluating the severity of particle contamination and probable yield loss, and for determining the likely source of the particles through particle analysis. In the case of sampling of particulate matter, it is highly desirable to perform such sampling on an unaltered gas/particle sample, during the actual manufacturing process (i.e., in real-time). Further, a sampling device that has the capability to be used on-line, with the processing equipment being operated, in both atmospheric and subatmospheric (i.e., vacuum) conditions, is also desirable. Devices and methods have been developed for the removal and sampling of particulate matter suspended in gas streams in an attempt to minimize the presence of particles during processing and to isolate or capture particles for particle counting and analysis. Such attempts are characterized, generally, by providing (1) a means for aerodynamic focusing of the particles suspended in the gas stream or (2) a means for creating an electric field to apply a force on the suspended particles causing the particles to collect on a collecting plate or migrate to a designated area. Available particle control and measurement devices and methods of the aerodynamic focusing type, such as Model HS-LAS Optical Particle Counter, manufactured by Particle Measuring Systems, Inc. of Boulder, Colo. are characterized by the use of an aerodynamic focusing inlet comprising (1) a sampling pipe having an inlet end, an outlet end, and a reduced diameter center portion, and (2) a sheath air inlet. The particle-enriched gas stream is introduced into the inlet end of the sampling pipe. After entering the reduced diameter center portion of the sampling pipe, the particle-enriched gas stream is surrounded by a sheath air stream, introduced through the sheath air inlet, flowing concentrically to the flow direction of the particle-enriched gas stream. The concentrically flowing sheath air stream causes the particles suspended in the particle-enriched gas stream to focus into a narrow axial region in the center of the sampling pipe. Once focused, the particles can be captured and removed, counted, or analyzed. Due to their reliance solely on aerodynamic forces to focus the suspended particles, devices and methods of the aerodynamic focusing type cannot effectively operate in subatmospheric conditions. Many of the particle control devices and methods currently available utilize a means for creating an electric field to apply a force on particles in a gas stream to cause the particles to collect on a collecting plate or to migrate to a designated area. Such devices and methods are characterized by the use of a pair of electrodes connected to a direct current voltage supply for generating a uniform electric field. In such devices and methods, the particles are removed from the gas stream by (1) electrostatic charging in a unipolar manner of the particles, causing a migration of the charged particles to an oppositely charged electrode, and (2) removing the charged particles from the collecting electrode in a mechanical manner by rapping or vibrating the collecting electrode, such as, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,217 to Volsy. Although such devices and methods are somewhat effective in separating the charged particles from the gas stream, the removal of the particles deposited on the collecting electrode by scraping, sweeping, rapping, or vibrating, causes a number of the particles already separated to become re-entrained into the gas stream. Further, due to the collection of the particles on the plate, and subsequent removal step, devices and methods of the collection/removal type do not provide an unaltered particle/gas sample and cannot be operated to perform real-time, on-line sampling for particle counting and analysis. In addition, such devices and methods are not effective for removing electrically neutral particles from the gas stream. Other devices and methods utilizing a means for creating an electric field to apply a force on particles suspended in a gas stream are characterized by the use of a plurality of electrodes arranged in a specific configuration to drive the particles in the gas stream toward a particular area or region. For example, the device and method for the removal of particles from a gas stream by means of an electric field disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,105 to Eliasson et al. includes an electrode configuration having step-wise decreasing electrode spacing between successive direct current field electrode pairs. An untreated gas stream loaded with particles enters the device through an inlet end and is ionized by the electrode pairs and electrically charged in a bipolar manner. A uniform electric field forces the charged particles progressively towards the center of the successive electrode pair configuration, wherein the gas stream loaded with particles is diverted off and withdrawn. Although such devices and methods provide improved particle removal relative to systems utilizing the collection/removal process, their ability to effectively remove and accurately control the motion of particulate matter suspended in a gas stream is still problematic and extremely limited in application. Prior devices and methods cannot adequately transport the focused particles through the electric field or electrode configuration due to their reliance soley on aerodynamic forces (i.e., the velocity of the gas stream/particles flowing through the field), which forces are typically not present in vacuum conditions. Further, the electric field generated by a device of this type does not create sufficient force to focus the particles suspended in gas streams having very low particle concentrations and/or very high gas flow rates. Other devices and methods for the removal of particulates in gas streams utilizing a plurality of electrodes arranged in a specific configuration attempt to provide greater control (i.e., focusing) of particle movement by a four electrode configuration connected to an alternating current voltage supply to generate a nonuniform, alternating electric field. U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,701 to Berg shows such an arrangement of four electrodes connected to an alternating current voltage supply. The non-uniform, alternating electric field generated includes a point of zero potential and zero electric field in the center of the configuration. The particulates suspended in the gas stream will concentrate at that point. Although such a system provides improved particle control and particulate focusing over the previously described devices and methods, the electric field generated by a Berg-type device lacks sufficient strength to focus the particles suspended in gas streams having very low particle concentrations and/or very high gas flow rates. In addition, a Berg-type system does not have the capability to operate in varying atmospheric conditions (i.e., atmospheric and subatmospheric) due to its reliance soley on aerodynamic forces (i.e., the velocity of the gas stream/particles flowing through the field) for particle transport and the lack of real-time AC voltage adjustment in response to changing pressures. Notwithstanding the available devices and methods for particle control, there is a need for a particle control device and method that can operate in changing atmospheric conditions (i.e., atmospheric and subatmospheric), on gas streams having very low particle concentrations and/or very high gas flow rates, that can provide for particle removal, detection or analysis on-line, in real-time. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art described above by providing a device and method for the control of the motion of particles suspended in a gas stream that can effectively operate in atmospheric and subatmospheric (i.e., vacuum) conditions. Another key object of the invention is to provide a particle control device and method having the capability of effectively operating on gas streams having very low particle concentrations and/or very high gas flow rates. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a particle control device and method that can be operated on-line and can provide for particle removal, detection or analysis in real-time. Another object of the present invention is to eliminate reliance on aerodynamic forces for controlling the motion of the particles suspended in a gas stream for performing particle focusing and, in subatmospheric conditions, for performing particle transport. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a particle control device and method having the capability of generating an electric field of sufficient strength to focus the particles suspended in gas streams having very low particle concentrations and/or very high gas flow rates. Another object of the invention is to provide a device and method for controlling the motion of particles suspended in a gas stream by applying an inhomogeneous electric field generated from an AC field and a DC field to the gas stream. Still another object of the invention is to provide a device and method for particle control including a plurality of electrodes, wherein at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are connected to an AC voltage supplying means and at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are connected to a DC voltage supplying means. Another object of the invention is to provide a device and method for particle control including a plurality of electrode sets in series, each electrode set comprising a first pair of opposed electrodes connected to an AC voltage supplying means for oppositely charging the first pair of opposed electrodes and a second pair of opposed electrodes connected to a DC voltage supplying means for oppositely charging the second pair of opposed electrodes. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device and method for controlling the motion of particles suspended in a process gas stream, wherein the particles are electrically neutral. These and other objects are achieved according to the present invention by providing a new and improved device and method for controlling the motion of particles suspended in a gas stream which includes a plurality of electrodes, positioned within a pipe, wherein at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are connected to an AC voltage supply and at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are connected to a DC voltage supply, for generating an inhomogeneous electric field to cause the particles suspended in the gas stream to concentrate into a narrow axial region in the center of the pipe. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a device and method for controlling the motion of particles suspended in a gas stream, including a pipe, through which at least a fraction of the gas stream flows, a source of AC voltage, a source of DC voltage, and a plurality of electrode sets positioned within the pipe in series. Each electrode set includes a first pair of opposed hyperboloidally shaped electrodes connected to the AC voltage source for oppositely charging the first pair of opposed electrodes and a second pair of opposed hyperboloidally shaped electrodes connected to the DC voltage source for oppositely charging the second pair of opposed electrodes. The first and second pairs of opposed electrodes are positioned at spaced apart intervals around the circumference of the pipe. The electrodes of the first pair of opposed electrodes are spaced apart a predetermined distance and disposed on a first axis in a plane, and the electrodes of the second pair of opposed electrodes are spaced apart at approximately the same predetermined distance and disposed on a second axis, which is perpendicular to the first axis and in approximately the same plane. The first and second pairs of opposed electrodes define an opening through which at least a fraction of the gas stream flows. The plurality of electrode sets are positioned within the pipe in series such that the gas stream flows through the openings defined by each successive electrode set. The spaced apart predetermined distance between the electrodes of the first and second pairs of electrodes of each successive electrode set is decreased to reduce the size of the openings defined by each successive electrode set causing the particles suspended in the gas stream to concentrate into successively narrower axial regions in the center of the pipe. A plurality of computer operated solenoid controlled valves for controlling the rate of flow of the gas stream through the pipe are positioned within the pipe. Each valve is positioned downstream from and adjacent to one of the openings defined by each successive electrode set. Each valve reciprocates between an open position, wherein the rate of flow of the gas stream through the pipe is generally unaffected, and a closed position, wherein the rate of flow is decreased. A plurality of computer operated switches controls the activation and deactivation of each of the electrode sets in response to the opening and closing of the valves. Other desirable features of the present invention include (1) a particle charger, positioned upstream from the electrodes, for electrically charging the particles suspended in the gas stream and (2) a means, positioned downstream from the electrodes, for receiving the particles transported through the pipe and concentrated into the narrow axial region in the center of the pipe to perform particle detection or analysis. Still other and more specific objects and features of the invention may be understood from an examination of the following description of the preferred embodiment of the drawings and invention.

This invention concerns improvements in racking systems, and more especially to cantilever type racking systems comprising a structure formed by a frame-work of metal support members. A variety of such systems are known, which generally comprise upright pillars of rolled steel or extruded metal sections, from which are hung horizontally extending cantilever arms arranged to support a load stored thereon, either directly or via shelving. The cantilever arms are generally required to be vertically adjustable to enable adaption of the system to storage requirements, whilst being secure against vertical movement in use. Hitherto known structures devised to meet these needs have, however, suffered from attendant disadvantages, including relatively uneconomic use of metal in the load bearing supports, and complicated fastening systems that are expensive to produce and/or unsightly. Furthermore, hitherto known racking systems adapted for the support of relatively heavy loads do not lend themselves to assembly within an aesthetically pleasing structure, such as may be required in establishments wherein goods are displayed upon racking systems at the point of sale. In such systems it may, for example, be required that the structural frame-work of the system be enclosed within decorative panelling serving to partition the establishment and from opposite surfaces of which the racking system is to extend.

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a holographic neurochip, ie., opto-electronic integrated circuit (1) with a substrate surface, which generates a light pattern (2), whereby light rays emanate from some of its optically active components, light rays pass through some of its optically active components and/or light rays are reflected by some of its optically active components so as to generate the light pattern, and with a reflecting hologram which may consist of all kinds of light diffracting structures, such as, for example, reflecting binary or multilevel phase gratings, multilayered holograms, thick holograms or volume holograms, which change wave fronts impinging on them so that images of light points are generated by them alone, with additional lenses and/or additional mirrors, and that the diffraction is created by a localized change of amplitude, of the phase, of the polarization and/or a combination thereof, whereby the light pattern or parts thereof are reflected back to the substrate surface by the hologram (4). 2. The State of the Art Hitherto opto-electronic circuits have been known which optically interconnect a predetermined arrangement of light sources and detectors utilizing one or more olograms, without, however, considering an optimum arrangement of the light sources and detectors relative to each other. This process would lead to malfunctions, if light sources and detectors are arranged in an integrated manner so that their size and distances amount to several wave lengths of the utilized light. In WO 87 06411 connections have to be formed by extremely complicated wave guides. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,344 the connections are formed by an array of holograms. This process allows for small apertures only, so that at a large number of connections the diffraction would result in cross-talk. Moreover, the light rays have to be deflected twice, once to the corresponding hologram element and a second time on the corresponding detector which results in an increase of cross-talk. In U.S. Pat. No. 5, 170, 269 the light rays are even deflected four or more times at similarly small apertures. In all three of the patents the modulation of the light intensities with interference is particularly critical. For that reason, coherent light sources must be used, and the entire arrangement becomes extremely temperature dependent and mechanically complex. In the present arrangement, light rays are only collected and guided to the corresponding detector, whereby with coherent light there may be areas within the surface of a detector which may experience destructive or constructive interference. While this may cause the intensity to change locally, the total sum remains always constant in accordance with the principle of energy conservation and is equal to the sum of the incident partial intensities. In addition, the light rays of all light sources impinge on a single hologram and thus emanate from the light sources, or are received by the detectors, with a large angle light cone. As a result, the aperture of this optical arrangement is particularly large, and a high resolution may be achieved.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to external combustion engines, and more particularly, to multi-cylinder external combustion Stirling cycle engines. 2. Description of the Prior Art One basic physical requirement of all engines operating in accordance with the Stirling cycle is that there must be approximately a 90.degree. phase shift between cooperating displacer pistons and power pistons. One prior art method of providing the requisite 90.degree. phase shift was to utilize a series of separate in-line displacer cylinders and power cylinders in combination with a crankshaft and a plurality of connecting rods for coupling together the various displacer pistons and power pistons to an output shaft while simultaneously providing the proper phase shift. One disadvantage of this method of providing the desired phase shift is that the in-line cylinder alignment necessarily requires a large, long fire box to provide heat to the upper portion of each of the displacer cylinders. The in-line cylinder configuration causes the engine to be large and quite difficult to incorporate in mobile installations. A more modern versions of the Stirling engine incorporates a displacer piston and a power piston within a single cylinder by utilizing a pair of coaxial rods, one of which is coupled to the displacer piston and the other of which is coupled to the power piston. Since a 90.degree. phase shift must still be maintained between each displacer piston and its cooperating power piston, an extremely elaborate and complex rhombic drive assembly must be positioned directly beneath each cylinder. While eliminating the requirement for separate displacer cylinders and power cylinders, the rhombic drive greatly increases the amount of space required to house the lower portion of the engine. Furthermore, the rhombic drive includes a large number of different types of parts, all of which contribute to a reduction in overall reliability of the engine. An additional difficulty encountered by prior art Stirling engines arose as a result of the typically limited number of cylinders incorporated into any given engine. A limited number of cylinders causes the power derived from the engine to occur in pulses, often necessitating the addition of a massive flywheel to the output shaft of the engine to smooth the periodic acceleration and deceleration of the output shaft. The How And Why Of Mechanical Movements by Harry Walton, pages 160-166, explains the structure and operation of several prior art Stirling engine designs. The following U.S. Patents disclose prior art engine and transmission designs related to the present invention: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,830,208 (Turner); 3,196,698 (Liddington); 2,653,484 (Zecher); 1,971,645 (Ehmig); 1,315,680 (Nordberg); and 1,943,664 (Fear).

An integrated circuit such as a system-on-a-chip (SoC) often includes sub-systems such as receivers and transmitters that are clocked by corresponding clock signals. To keep the various sub-systems synchronized, it is conventional for an SoC to include a reference clock transmitter that provides a reference clock to a plurality of PLLs. Each PLL provides an output clock signal to a corresponding subsystem. An example clock distribution architecture for an SoC 100 is shown in FIG. 1. SoC 100 includes a plurality of n sub-systems ranging from a first sub-system 105, followed by a second sub-system 110, and so on to a final nth sub-system 115. Each sub-system is clocked by a corresponding clock signal. First sub-system 105 is thus clocked by a first clock signal clk1, second sub-system 110 is clocked by a second clock signal clk2 and so on such that nth sub-system 115 is clocked by an nth clock signal clkn. Each clock signal is produced by a fractional-N PLL. A first fractional-N PLL (PLL1) produces the first clock signal clk1, a second fractional-N PLL (PLL2) produces the second clock signal clk2, and so on such that an nth fractional-N PLL (PLL_n) produces the nth clock signal clkn. Each fractional-N PLL produces its clock signal responsive to a reference clock signal Fref from a reference clock source 120 such as a crystal oscillator. The use of fractional-N PLLs in SoC 100 provides greater flexibility with regard to the frequency for the clocking of the sub-systems. In contrast, the clock frequency from an integer-N PLL has an integer relationship to the reference clock. But a fractional-N PLL untethers the sub-system clocking from such an integer relationship so that the sub-system clock frequencies can have a non-integer relationship to the reference clock. Although fractional-N PLLs thus provide advantageous frequency flexibility, their usage introduces a phase ambiguity between the various sub-system clocks. In particular, it is conventional for each fractional-N PLL to be shut down while the corresponding sub-system is in a dormant or sleep mode of operation to enable low-power operation of SoC 100. Each fractional-N PLL thus operates only when enabled such as commanded through a multi-bit enable signal 125. Due to the fractional division in the fractional-N PLLs, the clocking frequencies for the sub-systems will have a phase relationship that varies depending upon when a particular sub-system was enabled. This random phase relationship is problematic in a number of applications. For example, in the uplink and downlink during multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) operation, a known phase relationship avoids unnecessary channel estimations. Moreover, undesirable couplings between the sub-systems may be minimized through an optimal phase relationship for the sub-system clocking. In addition, cross-clock domain data and signal handover is simplified when the sub-system clocking has a known phase relationship. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a clock phase management in which the output clock signals from fractional-N PLLs have a known phase relationship.

(a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron emission device, and in particular, to an electron emission device with a grid electrode which focuses the electron beams emitted from the electron emission regions, and prevents the electron emission regions from being adversely influenced by the anode electric field. (b) Description of Related Art Generally, electron emission devices can be classified into two types. A first type uses a hot cathode as an electron emission source, and a second type uses a cold cathode as the electron emission source. Also, in the second type electron emission devices, there are a field emitter array (FEA) type, a surface conduction emitter (SCE) type, a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) type, a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) type, and a ballistic electron surface emitting (BSE) type. Although the electron emission devices are differentiated in their specific structure depending upon the types thereof, they all basically have a vacuum structure formed by first and second substrates. Electron emission regions and driving electrodes are formed on the first substrate to emit electrons from the electron emission regions. Phosphor layers are formed on the second substrate together with an anode electrode for accelerating the electrons emitted from the electron emission regions toward the second substrate to emit light or display the desired images. Assuming a case where the voltages applied to the driving electrodes on the first substrate are the same, the higher the voltage applied to the anode electrode, the more the screen brightness is enhanced. However, as the voltage applied to the anode electrode is elevated, the electron emission regions are influenced by the anode electric field, and electrons are emitted from the electron emission regions even at the off-state pixels where the electron emission should not be made, thereby causing mis-emission of light. Because of this, it has been proposed that a mesh-shaped grid electrode be provided between the first and second substrates with a plurality of beam-guide holes. The grid electrode functions both to shield the electron emission regions from the anode electric field, and to focus the electron beams emitted from the electron emission regions. Typically, the grid electrode has one electron beam passage hole that corresponds to each of the respective pixel regions on the first substrate. However, with such a structure, it is very difficult to align the grid electrode between the first and second substrates in accordance with the alignment state of the first and second substrates such that the electron beam passage holes are located at their proper positions, and to assemble them with each other. Because of this, the method for assembling an electron emission device with the above described grid electrode is complicated and expensive. Furthermore, the grid electrode primarily influences the trajectory of the electron beams depending upon its positional relation to the first and second substrates, and the voltages applied thereto. However, although the typical grid electrode may effectively shield the electron emission regions from the anode electric field, the electron beams passing through the typical grid electrode may be over-focused because the typical grid electrode is not optimized based upon its positional relation to the first and second substrates, and the voltages applied thereto, thereby deteriorating the screen image quality.

1. Field of Invention The techniques described herein are directed generally to the field of clinical documentation, and more particularly to techniques for the creation and use of patient records in clinical settings. 2. Description of the Related Art Clinical documentation is an important process in the healthcare industry. Most healthcare institutions maintain a longitudinal medical record (e.g., spanning multiple observations or treatments over time) for each of their patients, documenting the patient's history, encounters with clinical staff within the institution, treatment received, and plans for future treatment. Such documentation facilitates maintaining continuity of care for the patient across multiple encounters with various clinicians over time. In addition, when an institution's medical records for large numbers of patients are considered in the aggregate, the information contained therein can be useful for educating clinicians as to treatment efficacy and best practices, for internal auditing within the institution, for quality assurance, etc. Historically, each patient's medical record was maintained as a physical paper folder, often referred to as a “medical chart”, or “chart”. Each patient's chart would include a stack of paper reports, such as intake forms, history and immunization records, laboratory results and clinicians' notes. Following an encounter with the patient, such as an office visit, a hospital round or a surgical procedure, the clinician conducting the encounter would provide a narrative note about the encounter to be included in the patient's chart. Such a note could include, for example, a description of the reason(s) for the patient encounter, an account of any vital signs, test results and/or other clinical data collected during the encounter, one or more diagnoses determined by the clinician from the encounter, and a description of a plan for further treatment. Often, the clinician would verbally dictate the note into an audio recording device or a telephone giving access to such a recording device, to spare the clinician the time it would take to prepare the note in written form. Later, a medical transcriptionist would listen to the audio recording and transcribe it into a text document, which would be inserted on a piece of paper into the patient's chart for later reference. Currently, many healthcare institutions are transitioning or have transitioned from paper documentation to electronic medical record systems, in which patients' longitudinal medical information is stored in a data repository in electronic form. Besides the significant physical space savings afforded by the replacement of paper record-keeping with electronic storage methods, the use of electronic medical records also provides beneficial time savings and other opportunities to clinicians and other healthcare personnel. For example, when updating a patient's electronic medical record to reflect a current patient encounter, a clinician need only document the new information obtained from the encounter, and need not spend time entering unchanged information such as the patient's age, gender, medical history, etc. Electronic medical records can also be shared, accessed and updated by multiple different personnel from local and remote locations through suitable user interfaces and network connections, eliminating the need to retrieve and deliver paper files from a crowded file room.

Raster Output Scanners (ROS) conventionally have a reflective, multifaceted polygon which is rotated about its central axis to repeatedly sweep one or more intensity modulated beams of light across a photosensitive recording medium in a line scanning direction while the recording medium is being advanced in an orthogonal, or "process", direction. The beam or beams scan the recording medium in accordance with a raster scanning pattern. Digital printing is performed by serially intensity modulating each of the beams in accordance with a binary sample stream representing the image to be printed, whereby the recording medium is exposed to the image represented by the samples as it is being scanned. In a four layer printing process, typical for full color applications, the image to be printed will be divided into four color layers. Each layer is representative of one of four system colors, and is exposed on a different layer (in single station applications), or on a different photoreceptor (in multi-station applications). For multiple beam printing, each beam may be intensity modulated with raster information which corresponds to one scan line of an interlaced representation of the image layer to be printed. Image layers processed for multiple-beam ROSs can be subdivided into a number of sub-images, depending upon the number of beams used in the ROS. The sub-images, stored in channels, are further subdivided into scan lines. Each scan line represents one raster of image data. The number of scan lines per image layer is dependent upon factors such as resolution, spot size and image size. The number of scan lines reflected per facet of the polygon mirror equals the number of light sources (usually laser diodes) in the ROS, and is referred to as the beam set. Each rotation of the polygon, therefore, will lay down a number of scan lines per facet (corresponding to the number of laser diodes in the beam set) separated by a multiple of the scan spacing. Interlacing is the introduction of additional scan lines between scan lines already laid down by a previous facet of the polygon. The number of scan lines interspersed between any two scan lines reflected by a single facet of the rotating polygon mirror is the interlace factor and has units of scans per beam. It is because of interlacing that each channel of the image data must be selectively delayed so that it is laid down sequentially on the photoreceptor even though the beam set does not lay down adjacent scans in the photoreceptor during a single facet of the polygon. As the photoreceptor moves and the polygon rotates through a single facet, the beam set will lay down a number of scans separated by a multiple of the scan spacing. Successive facets will position successive scan lines between scan lines already laid down. If there are q equally spaced beams in the beam set, then each laser beam could be modulated with information from every qth raster of an image, and in addition, since, in any rasterized image, there are q mutually exclusive sets of such rasters, each laser beam could be associated with its own set of rasters in each channel. This ensures that the superposition of the sets of rasters associated with each laser beam will define the entire image. Typically, a start-of-scan (SOS) detector is utilized to synchronize the beams to the data rasters in the q channels, and q rasters are output for each scan. Since each scan of the polygon will produce q rasters, the recording medium will be advanced a distance corresponding to q times the reciprocal of the raster density, d, between each start of scan signal. In order to synchronize the recording medium position with the beginning of the image rasters, a page-sync signal may be produced by a suitable means to signify a particular position of the recording medium (usually the top of page). After that time, but synchronized with SOS, raster information can begin to flow. Since there is generally an asynchronous relationship between page-sync and SOS, the initial image rasters will have a positional error in the process direction corresponding to the distance between q rasters on the photosensitive recording medium. For single layer printing, such as black and white, this may not be a problem, because an image registration error in the process direction of only q rasters may be unnoticeable. However, for multiple layer printing such as color printing, where layer registration is important, a positional error of q/d between layers is unacceptable. In multiple layer printing applications, the top edge (i.e. top of page or page-sync) signal can occur when a laser diode is coincident with a scan placed by another laser diode in the previous layer. The need to divert data from the same memory channel that drove the laser on the previous layer into this new laser diode requires the channel-to-laser assignments to be switched, and the appropriate delays be generated. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the information, defining which laser diode is coincident with which channel is not available until the top edge synchronization (page sync) signal occurs, so there is little time to effect the change. Suitable means must be provided to measure the laser to channel error, redefine the laser to channel assignment and generate appropriate delays for each layer to be printed. Therefore, it is understood that the raster positioning precision that is subject to a positioning error of q/d rasters for each layer scanned is unacceptable in multi-layer multibeam ROS printing. This error can be reduced to one raster by providing a system that allows for corrective mapping of memory locations and channel assignments of image data, with respect to the delay between the SOS and the page-sync for each layer to be printed.

Web application deployments enable a large number of users to access one or more web applications and/or resources controlled by web applications. For example, a large corporation may deploy an enterprise software application (“web application”) on one or more servers in its corporate network or other Internet-accessible computer, and enable all its employees and/or clients to access that application via the web. Web-accessibility of such applications provide employees and/or clients with the ability to access the application at any time and from anyplace where a client device has network connectivity. Also, web applications are accessible using information processing devices of different types. The same user may sometimes access a web application using different information processing devices. For example, a user may attempt to access the web application using his smartphone while also simultaneously accessing it via a desktop computer. Sometimes the web application may be accessed by the same user using two different browsers (e.g., Chrome by Google and Internet Explorer by Microsoft). Thus, web application deployments provide numerous benefits related to accessibility and availability. The capability for the same user to simultaneously access the web application using more than one device or one browser, and/or other client application, may improve aspects of a user's interaction with a web application, such as efficiency and convenience. However, the increased convenience of web applications offered by advances in software technology and network technology, unless properly controlled, can also result in misuse of access privileges. For example, in the case of a web application for which a license or access fee is charged by the provider on a per user basis, some users may attempt to avoid paying the full fee by using another user's privileges to access the web application, thus potentially depriving the provider some amount of revenue. Such misuse of access privileges can also negatively affect the system capacity available for fee-paying users and/or negatively affect the system performance experienced by users. Therefore, as more enterprise software applications of increasing commercial value are being deployed as web applications, technology is needed for improving accessibility of such applications and also for improving protection of application providers' resources.

1. Field Of The Invention The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for efficiently carrying out computations in finite fields of odd prime characteristic on binary hardware. The invention is particularly useful for carrying out such computations in cryptography and in error correction, but is not limited to such uses. 2. Background Information Some Basic Aspects of Finite Fields A finite field (also called a Galois field) is a finite algebraic structure, possessing two well-defined operations: an “addition” and a “multiplication”. A finite field with N elements exists if and only if N is the power of a prime number, i.e. N=pn for some prime p=2, 3, 5, . . . such as discussed in R. Lidl and H. Niederriter, Introduction to Finite Fields and Their Applications, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Revised ed., 1994. This field is unique up to an isomorphism and is normally denoted GF(pn). For a prime p, the ground field GF(p) is simply the integers under addition and multiplication modulo p. In general, if F is a field of q=pk elements (i.e. F=GF(pk)), the extension field of degree l can be defined, denoted as F[t]/(f(t)), where f(t) is a polynomial of degree l, irreducible over F. This extension field may also be referred to as GF(plk). This then gives (the unique) finite field of ql elements. In other words, this is the field of plk=pn elements. The number p is called the characteristic of the field. The well-known fact that the two fields of the same size are isomorphic does not necessarily mean that the mapping between the fields is trivial. However, constructions of such mappings are not necessary for the present invention and, in any event, are within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the art and are discussed in textbooks, such as Introduction to Finite Fields and Their Applications referred to above. There are two predominant ways to represent a finite field. One representation is the normal basis representation well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and such as described in Introduction to Finite Fields and Their Applications referred to above. The main advantage with a normal basis is that it facilitates multiplying elements by themselves, i.e. squaring-type operations. The normal basis representation is not discussed further here. Some computational aspects associated with normal basis representations are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,627 (Computational method and apparatus for finite field arithmetic), U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,600 (Method and apparatus for maintaining the privacy of digital messages conveyed by public transmission), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,759 (Method and apparatus for efficient finite field basis conversion), the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. Another representation is known as the polynomial basis representation. In this representation, field elements of GF(pk) may be thought of as polynomials of degree at most k-1 whose coefficients are field elements of the ground field GF(p), i.e., integers in the set (0, . . . , p-1). A typical element, γ, in the field can therefore be expressed asγ=γk−1 tk−1+ . . . +γ1 t+γ0,  (1)for some integers γ1 where 0≦γ1≦p-1, and where t is a formal variable. The field element γ may also be viewed as the k-dimensional vector (γk−1, . . . , γ1, γ0), and the polynomial basis representation as referred to herein is intended to encompass this view. Another aspect of the polynomial basis representation is the choice of a polynomial h(t) of degree k and irreducible over GF(p) that is utilized in multiplication of field elements. This will be discussed in greater detail below. Because any two fields of the same size are isomorphic, it does not matter which irreducible h(t) is chosen. From system point of view, h(t) is a system parameter that is agreed upon for the particular use in mind. As noted above, an extension field of degree l over the field F=GF(pk) can be denoted as F[t]/(f(t)) or as GF(plk). An element of the extension field can be viewed as a polynomial of degree at most l-1 whose coefficients are elements of GF(pk). In other words, an element of the extension field may be viewed as a polynomial with other polynomials as field coefficients. An element γ of the extension field can be written asγ=γl−1 tl−1+ . . . +γ1 t+γ0,  (2)where each γj is a polynomial of degree at most k-1 having coefficients in the set (0, . . . , p-1). Thus, the polynomials γj can be written asγj=γk−1,j uk−1+ . . . +γ1,j u+γ0,j   (3)where another formal variable, u, has been chosen for these polynomials to avoid confusing them with the extension-field polynomial, whose formal variable is t. This extension-field formulation using a polynomial basis representation will be used to describe the present invention. The sum of two elements α, β in GF(pk) is defined by simply adding the corresponding polynomials (or, equivalently, vectors):α+β=(αk−1+βk−1) tk−1+ . . . +(α1+β1) t+(α0+β0),   (4)where each (integer) coefficient (α1+βi) is computed modulo p. The complexity (in terms of the number of modulo-p operations) of adding two elements by directly using the definition in equation 4 above is equal to k. For example, for the finite field GF(32) where p=3, a field element α=(2, 1) in vector notation can be written as the polynomial α=2t+1, and a field element β=(2, 2) in vector notation can be written as the polynomial β=2t +2. The sum of these field elements is (α+β)=(2+2)t+(1+2) where each coefficient is evaluated modulo 3 (mod 3). Thus, the sum reduces to (α+β)=t because 4 mod 3=1 and 3 mod 3=0. In vector notation, the sum is (1, 0). The product of two field elements is defined by forming their product modulo h(t), where h(t) is a polynomial of degree k and irreducible (i.e., cannot be factored) over GF(p):α·β=δ2k−2 t2k−2+δ2k−3 t2k−3+ . . . +δ1 t+δ0 mod h(t)  (5)where δi=Σj αj β1−j mod p. Here “mod h(t)” means taking the remainder when dividing by h(t), using standard polynomial division. This leaves the result with a degree strictly less that that of h(t), i.e. less than k, as desired. The complexity of multiplying two elements according to this definition is clearly on the order of k2. Alternatively, using the Karatsuba algorithm known to those of ordinary skill in the art, multiplication can (asymptotically in k) be performed with roughly k1 6 operations, but this algorithm involves more administration of the computations. The Karatsuba algorithm is, therefore, only beneficial for large values of k, for example, k>100, as noted in §4.4.3 of D. Knuth, Seminumerical Algorithms, Vol. 2 of The Art of Computer Programming, 2nd ed, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1981. As an example, to multiply the field elements α=(2, 1) and β=(2, 2) of finite field GF(32), a polynomial h(t) of degree k=2 and irreducible over GF(3) must be chosen, and the polynomials 2t+1 and 2t+2 are then multiplied modulo h(t). An appropriate irreducible polynomial is h(t)=t2+t+2. Then, α·β=(4t2+6t+2)mod h(t)=4(t2+t+2)+2t−6=2t (because 2 mod 3=2 and 6 mod 3=0). Thus, α·β=2t or (2, 0) in vector notation. For an extension field (also referred to as a composite field), the formulas for addition and multiplication are the same. However, it is recognized that all coefficient-wise operations are carried out over the ground field, which may itself involve polynomial arithmetic. Subtraction in a finite field can be done by simply noting that in the field GF(p), the negative of an element x is p-x. Thus, an element x can be replaced with p-x to obtain the negative, and then normal coefficient-wise addition may be carried out to obtain the subtraction. Division can be carried out by multiplying by the inverse as known to those skilled in the art. Conventional Utilization of Finite Fields The use of finite fields is central to many applications. In particular, for communication purposes, finite fields are very useful. For example, by embedding messages into a finite field, one can transmit messages so that errors introduced by the transmission medium can be corrected at the receiver end. This is the principle behind error correcting codes. In addition, finite fields can be used to achieve protection (confidentiality, integrity, origin authentication, and non-repudiation) for messages by means of encryption, message authentication, and digital signatures. To be useful, these coding and encryption operations involving finite fields must be as efficient as possible, especially if the computations are done on a lightweight platform such as a mobile phone or other handheld device. For instance, many cryptographic methods use the following exponentiation operation exp g ⁡ ( x ) = g · g ⁢ ⁢ ⋯ ⁢ ⁢ g = g x ⁢ ( x ⁢ ⁢ times ) ( 6 ) where g is an element in the multiplicative group of a finite field, x is an integer and “·” denotes multiplication in the finite field. The reason for using the expg(x) function is that expg(x) can be computed with only approximately (log2 x)3 field multiplications in the ground field, but no efficient (i.e. polynomial-time in log2 x) algorithm exists for the inverse transformation—finding x from expg(x). The latter is known as the discrete logarithm problem. In other words, expg(x) is a strong candidate for a so-called one-way function—a function easy to compute, but hard to invert. The discrete logarithm problem is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and is discussed, for example, in Handbook of Applied Cryptography by A. Menezes, P. van Oorschot, and S. A. Vanstone, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., 1997. However, on a computationally weak platform, even (log2 x)3 multiplications may be computationally excessive, and for currently recommended field sizes (e.g., key size) such computations might in many situations take about 30 seconds, for example. A conventional way to improve performance is to restrict the computations to binary finite fields (fields of characteristic two). Restricting computations to binary finite fields improves performance because most available hardware is binary in nature (e.g., CPUs, etc.). Therefore, field operations can be composed of elementary binary operations, such as bitwise XORs, which are directly and efficiently supported by the hardware. In addition, methods have been devised to improve efficiency by carrying out computations using a binary extension field whose extension degree is a composite number (non-prime), as disclosed in E. De Win, A. Bosselaers, S. Vanderberghe, P De Gersem, and J. Vandewalle, “A fast Software Implementation for Arithmetic Operations in GF(2n)”, Advances in Cryptology, Proceedings of Asiacrypt '96, LNCS 1163, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1996, pp. 65-76 (hereinafter “De Win et al.”). In the De Win et al. method, a standard binary hardware architecture is assumed to be able to perform operations (normal arithmetic and bit-operations) on k bit quantities (i.e., the word length is k bits). It is further noted that for an even characteristic (binary) field where p=2, forming remainders modulo 2 can be done by a simple bit operation. When n is not a prime number, the finite field GF(2n) is viewed as a “non-trivial” extension of degree l over GF(2k), where n=lk, and l,k>1. Thus, an element in the field can be written asγ=γl−1 tl−1+ . . . +γ1 t+γ0,  (7)where each γi is an element of GF(2k). Adding field elements α and β in this representation can be done by carrying out the operationα+β=(αl−1+βl−1) tl−1+ . . . +(α1+β1) t+(α0+β0).   (8)Since αi, βi are elements of GF(2k), their sum, α1+β1 can be computed as the bitwise XOR between the αi and βi. Thus, if k is small enough to fit in a hardware register (typically k≦32), k additions can be performed in parallel using only one operation in hardware, and a factor of k is gained in the speed of executing the addition. Multiplication using the De Win et al. method is carried out noting that the multiplicative group of GF(2k) (or any other finite field) is always cyclic, meaning that there is an element g in GF(2k) so that any non-zero element, αj, in the field can be written as αj=gx for some integer 0≦x<2k−1 (i.e., x is the discrete logarithm of αj, and g is known as the generator). If k is moderately large (e.g., k≦16), the generator g can be found by exhaustive search. Also, in this case (e.g., k≦16), a table, ANTILOG{x}, of gx for all x where 0≦x<2k−1 can be formed. In addition, a table for the discrete logarithms, DLOG{αj}, for all non-zero αj in the field GF(2k) can also be formed. That is,ANTILOG{DLOG{αj}}=αj  (9)andDLOG{ANTILOG{x}}=x  (10)for all such αj and x. The product of α and β in GF(pn) is computed in accordance with the equationα·β=δ2l−2 t2l−2+δ2l−3 t2l−3+ . . . +δ1 t+δ0 mod f(t)   (11)where δi=Σj αj βi−j is computed as a sum of products, and all operations take place in the field GF(2k). Given that gxgy=gx+y, each term αjβi−j can be computed by three table look-ups in the above-noted pre-computed tables in accordance with the equationαjβi−j=ANTILOG{DLOG{αj}+DLOG{βi−j} mod (2k−1)}.  (12)The memory requirement is about k·2k−2 bytes, and the number of operations to perform the multiplication is on the order of l2=(n/k)2. A factor of k2 is thus gained in speed. The approach requires pre-computation of the tables and requires memory to store those tables. If k is moderate (e.g., k≦16), it is feasible to use this method using on the order of 2k pre-computation operations. In contrast, for finite fields of odd characteristic p where p is an odd prime, the situation is more complicated than for binary finite fields because the basic operations needed for odd-characteristic finite fields are not modulo-2 operations (bit-operations) but, rather, modulo-p operations. The De Win et al. addition method as described therein, for example, is not applicable to finite fields of odd characteristic (p=3, 5, 7, . . . ), and no similar method for finite fields of odd characteristic has been reported to the knowledge of Applicants. Carrying out odd-characteristic finite-field computations in a conventional manner involves modular arithmetic, which requires long divisions. Most hardware supports modular arithmetic, but only on a word-oriented level. Thus, the above-noted optimizations for computations involving binary finite fields are not realized for computations involving odd-characteristic finite fields. For the above noted reasons, binary finite fields have been the most widely used finite fields in error correction and cryptography. However, Applicants note that restricting such computations to binary fields can have drawbacks. For example, algorithms for inverting the expg(x) function noted above are more efficient if the field has characteristic two (a binary field) than if the field has a characteristic that is odd. Thus, the cryptographic strength of the function expg(x) may be expected to be less for binary fields than for general odd-characteristic finite fields. Indeed, it has recently been suggested that implementing cryptography using finite fields of odd characteristic and composite degree can provide enhanced cryptographic security compared to other cryptographic approaches involving finite fields, and that the gains in cryptographic security can be expected to outweigh the computational costs of such computations (see K. Rubin and A. Silverberg, “Supersingular Abelian Varieties in Cryptology”, Crypto 2002, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 2442, ed. M. Jung, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 336-353, 2002). In addition, in the case of binary fields of composite degree where the optimizations described in the De Win et al. article referred to above are applicable, attacks on elliptic curve cryptosystems over such fields have been recently found as described in N. P. Gaudry, F. Hess, and N. P. Smart “Constructive and Destructive Facets of Weil Descent on Elliptic Curves”, Technical Report CSTR-00-016, Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, October 2000, and in N. P. Smart, “How secure are elliptic curves over composite extension fields?”, Technical Report CSTR-00-017, Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, November 2000. Thus, it is advisable to avoid such binary fields of composite degree for encryption. These attacks are much less effective if the finite field has odd characteristic (even if the degree is non-prime), so they are not a relevant threat in that case. However, as noted above, utilizing conventional computational methods involving odd-characteristic finite fields requires sacrificing the computational optimizations that would otherwise be gained using a binary finite field structure.

Cabinets as used in offices comprise a conventional cabinet housing and one or more hinged doors mounted thereto. Many such cabinets are formed of sheet steel or other similar metal and include lock mechanisms mounted to such doors for selectively latching or locking the door in a closed position. The invention relates to an improved door assembly and associated lock mechanism which lock mechanism is readily mountable to the door and positionable in proper alignment with a lock aperture formed in the front face of the door. Generally, the door construction comprises an outer panel which defines the finished aesthetic appearance of the door, and an inner liner which mounts in facing relation to the outer panel. The outer panel includes the lock aperture through which a key is insertable to actuate the lock mechanism for locking and unlocking thereof. The inner liner includes a lock mounting window in which the lock mechanism is mounted. The lock mechanism initially is mounted in the mounting window by a clamp ring on the lock mechanism. Thus, the lock mechanism is preliminarily mounted on the inner liner, after which the inner liner is then mounted to the outer panel with the lock mechanism preliminarily positioned adjacent to the lock aperture. The inventive lock mechanism includes an alignment tool which is insertable through the lock aperture from the front thereof and into a corresponding cylinder bore in which a lock cylinder or plug will subsequently be seated. Before the lock plug is inserted, however, the alignment tool is inserted in the bore so that the lock bore may be aligned with the corresponding lock aperture. Once the bore and aperture are aligned, the clamp ring is then tightened in a fixed, final position so that the lock assembly is properly and stationarily aligned with the lock aperture. Thereafter, the lock plug is inserted into the bore to permit key-operation of the lock mechanism. The lock mechanism of the invention further includes a cam driven arrangement of lock racks which are moveable upwardly and downwardly in opposite directions. The mechanism further includes elongate locking rods or latches which extend from the lock mechanism upwardly to the upper and lower perimeter edges of the door so as to be selectively extended and retracted for respective locking and unlocking of the door. The inventive lock mechanism includes an improved connector arrangement between the locking rod and the corresponding lock rack. More particularly, the lock rack includes a sideward opening engagement slot which opens sidewardly, transversely to the direction of movement of the lock rack. The locking rod includes a drive end which is slidably received within this slot in the sideward, transverse direction so that vertical displacement of the lock rack causes a corresponding longitudinal displacement of the locking rod. To prevent disengagement of the drive end of the locking rod from the lock rack, a snap fit cover is snap lockingly connected to the lock window. This cover includes guide sections or flanges which define vertically spaced guide slots that each slidably fits over a respective one of the locking rods and permits longitudinal movement of the respective locking rod while preventing sideward, transverse movement of the drive end which thereby prevents disengagement of the locking rod from the corresponding lock rack. This cover also closes off the lock mechanism from the interior of the cabinet to provide a finished appearance. Generally therefor, the invention relates to a door assembly for a storage cabinet which comprises a door having a lock window therein within an interior portion thereof, and at least one locking rod which is slidably supported by the door so as to be movable along a slide path. The locking rod has a lock end disposed adjacent an edge of the door so as to be movable to an extended position to lock the door and a retracted position to permit opening of said door. The locking rod further includes a drive end disposed within the area of the lock window. The door assembly also includes a lock mechanism having a lock housing mounted to the door such that the lock mechanism is disposed within the lock window. The lock mechanism further includes at least one lock rack which is slidable along a drive path and further includes an actuator accessible from an exterior of the door to effect selected displacement of the lock rack. The lock rack and the drive end of the locking rod are engagable with each other such that displacement of the locking rod effects displacement of the locking rod along the respective slide path to effect locking and unlocking of said door. The drive end of the locking rod and the respective lock rack include cooperating engagement portions which are inter-fitted with each other by displacement of the drive end transverse to said drive path. Still further, the door assembly has a lock mechanism cover which is releasably fixed to the door so as to overlie the lock mechanism. The cover includes a rod guide for the locking rod which fits over the locking rod and prevents transverse displacement of the locking rod and prevents disengagement of the locking rod from the respective lock rack. The rod guide permits longitudinal sliding of the locking rod when driven by the lock rack. With this arrangement, an improved lock mechanism and door configuration is provided which allows for ready assembly and alignment of the lock mechanism and the connection of the slide rods to the remaining components of the lock mechanism. Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings. Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the arrangement and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.

Tightening devices for garments, particularly trousers, have been well known for many years, and in this sense mention should be made of the U.S. Pat. No. 1,017,544, dated 13 Feb. 1912, in which the tightening device has a buckle, similar to that of a conventional belt, but which does not close over itself as in the case of belts but which, rather, is formed by two separate parts which, together, affect only around half of the waist band of the trousers and are attached to the latter by buttons and button holes. The appearance and the features of this tightening device provide the user with more or less the same performance as that of a conventional belt. A more developed tightening device appears in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,594, dating back to 1987, in which the device uses a couple of loops on the trousers and materializes in a simple strip which, at each end, has “Velcro®” type adhesive elements which can be fixed to the respective loops by folding the strip back on itself. This solution is uncomfortable to use and is designed more as an aesthetic device than as a tightener, being used normally in pairs on both sides of the waist and comprising, in essence, an aesthetic element which improves the appearance of the garment at the waist but which does not participate in tightening the garment to stabilize it on the user's body. A more recent solution is that shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,397, which is a genuine tightener, which uses a couple of loops on the garment but where, in this case, the tightener materializes in two parts in the form of rings which are fixed to said loops. Attached immovably to one of these rings is a kind of belt which passes through the corresponding part to the other loop, doubling up on itself and becoming stabilized with the collaboration of a kind of central buckle. In this case, too, the result is a tightener with the appearance of a classic belt, particularly when the user's trousers are hidden on the side by the corresponding or complementary jacket. Moreover, due to the system of fastening to the loops, it means that these are on the whole visible and undergo noticeable deformation, due to the pulling effect of the tightener, which has very negative repercussions on the appearance of the whole. The applicant is the title holder of the invention patent P 200502173, in which he describes a tightener for garments formed by a central element which represents the support for the decorative development of the tightener, a central element of any appropriate length extended at each end with its respective tying or hooking elements which can easily be passed through the respective loops, being attached to the latter of doubling up on themselves, once again reaching the central element to be tied or fixed behind it, all of that with the necessary tension to achieve the sought-after tightening effect. With this solution, substantial improvement is achieved both in the appearance and handling of the tightener, even though there is still a series of problems such as the visibility of the loops used and the means of fastening the device to them, the impossibility of adjusting the tightener in terms of length, the difficulty in adapting it to the waist profile, particularly when the loops are far apart, as well as other problems which will become evident during the following description.

1. Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates generally to the acquisition and tracking of broadcast pseudo random codes, in particular but not exclusively to codes transmitted as part of a GPS signal. 2. Description of the Related Art The Global Position System (GPS) is a well-known system which uses broadcast pseudo random codes to allow receivers to determine time differences, and hence relative positions, between a transmitter and receiver. The transmitters are satellites orbiting the earth in known orbit paths whose position at any given time is accurately known. Using received signals from four such satellites, a receiver can unambiguously determine its position using trigonometry to an accuracy dependent upon the repetition rate of the code, accuracy of components and other factors, such as the atmosphere and multipath reflections. To increase accuracy, more than the minimum of four reference transmitters are usually tracked. There are around 24 satellites available for tracking in the GPS system, of which 8 are specified to be Avisible@ by a receiver at any given time. In fact, GPS receivers typically include 12 channels to allow up to 12 satellites to be tracked at once. GPS satellites transmit two L-Band signals which can be used for positioning purposes. The reasoning behind transmitting using two different frequencies is so that errors introduced by ionospheric refraction can be eliminated. The signals, which are generated from a standard frequency of 10.23 MHz, are L1 at 1575.42 MHz and L2 at 1227.60 MHz and are often called the carriers. The frequencies are generated from the fundamental satellite clock frequency of fo=10.23 MHz. SignalFrequency (MHz)Wavelength (cm)L1154fo = 1575.42~19L2120fo = 1227.60~24 Since the carriers are pure sinusoids, they cannot be used easily for instantaneous positioning purposes and therefore two binary codes are modulated onto them: the C/A (coarse/acquisition) code and P (precise) code. Also it is necessary to know the coordinates of the satellites and this information is sent within the broadcast data message which is also modulated onto the carriers. The coarse/acquisition (CA) code was so named as it was originally designed as a coarse position measurement signal on its own, or as an acquisition code to assist in looking onto the phase of the precise code. However, the CA code is now used generally both for acquisition and for position tracking, and so will be referred to simply as the CA code herein. The C/A code is a pseudo random (PN) binary code (states of 0 and 1) having 1,023 elements, or chips, that repeats itself every millisecond. The term pseudo random is used since the code is apparently random although it has been generated by means of a known process, hence the repeatability. Due to the chipping rate (the rate at which each chip is modulated onto the carrier) of 1.023 Mbps, the chip length corresponds to approximately 300 m in length and due to the code length, the ambiguity is approximately 300 km—i.e., the complete C/A code pattern repeats itself every 300 km between the receiver and the satellite. The code is generated by means of a linear feedback register which is a hardware device representing a mathematical PRN algorithm. The sequences that are used are known as Gold codes which have particularly good autocorrelation and cross correlation properties. The cross correlation properties of the gold codes are such that the correlation function between two different sequences is low—this is how GPS receivers distinguish between signals transmitted from different satellites. The receiver needs to know the actual position of satellites in addition to knowing its relative position to them, and for that reason a data message is broadcast. The data message includes information describing the positions of the satellites and their health status. Each satellite sends a full description of its own orbit and clock data (within the ephemeris information) and an approximate guide to the orbits of the other satellites (contained within the almanac information). The data is modulated at a much slower rate of 50 bps and thus it takes 12.5 minutes to transmit all of the information. To reduce the time it takes to obtain an initial position, the ephemeris and clock data is repeated every 30 seconds. Parameters representing the delay caused by signal propagation through the ionosphere are also included within the data message. The broadcast data message is modulo-2 added to the C/A code. This inverts the code and has the effect of also inverting the signal after correlation allowing the data to be recovered. Binary biphase modulation (also known as binary phase shift keying [BPSK]) is the technique that is used to modulate the codes onto the initial carrier waves. The codes are now directly multiplied with the carrier, which results in a 180 degree phase shift of the carrier every time the state of the code changes. The modulation techniques also have the properties of widening the transmitted signal over a much wider frequency band than the minimum bandwidth required to transmit the information which is being sent. This is known as spread spectrum modulation and has the benefits of developing processing gain in the despreading operation within the receiver, and it helps prevent possible signal jamming. The L1 signal is modulated by both the C/A code and the P code, though only the CA code is relevant to the present description. This is done by modulating one code in phase and the other in quadrature (i.e., they are at 90 degrees to each other). A representation of the CA code, data message bits and the resultant signal spectrum is shown in FIG. 1. As can be seen, the thermal noise level is higher than the actual signal level. In fact, the thermal noise is around −110 dB per MHz whereas the signal itself is around −130 dB. To extract the CA code from the noise, use is made of the fact that the CA code is a known sequence and correlation is performed. The function performed is to integrate the received signal with a locally generated version of the CA code, as follow: ∫ 0 20 ⁢ ⁢ ms ⁢ ( signal + noise ) × CA ⁢ ⁢ code = ∫ 0 20 ⁢ ⁢ ms ⁢ ( carrier × data × CA ⁢ ⁢ code ) × CA ⁢ ⁢ code + ∫ 0 20 ⁢ ⁢ ms ⁢ ( noise ) × CA ⁢ ⁢ code = ∫ 0 20 ⁢ ⁢ ms ⁢ ( carrier × data × 1 ) + ( 0 ) As can be seen, the integration of white noise over the integration period is substantially zero, whereas the integration of the CA code×CA code is 1. The result of the integration is that the noise component does not increase in signal level, but that (carrier×data component CA code is increased by 20,000=+43 dB. The signal to noise ratio is now: - 130 ⁢ ⁢ dB ⁢ ⁢ ( signal ) + 110 ⁢ ⁢ dB ⁢ ⁢ ( noise ) + 43 ⁢ ⁢ dB ⁢ ⁢ ( integration ⁢ ⁢ gain ) = + 23 ⁢ ⁢ dB The signal energy thereby becomes distinguishable from the noise. A digital signal processor 10 for performing the above function is shown in FIG. 2. Prior to digital processing, the received radio frequency (RF) signal is filtered within a radio chip (FIG. 2a) to reject parts of the signal not in the L1 bandwidth (a filter with central frequency 1575 MHz and bandwidth 20 MHz or narrower). The signal is then mixed with a sinusoid generated by a local oscillator, resulting in the generation of a signal with sum and difference frequency components. A further filter of around 2 MHz bandwidth selects the desired signal. The signal produced is an IF signal which is sampled by the downconverter 12 at a rate defined by the clock generator 14 to convert to digital. The rate is typically a multiple of 1.023 MHz which is the CA code chip rate (in this case 4.092MHz). The signal is then copied and sent into typically 12 separate channels 16, each channel being arranged to extract the code and carrier information for a particular satellite. A replica of the CA code for the particular satellite is generated by a prn 18 and correlated with the signal in each channel 16. Two replica codes are actually used for the correlations; one delayed (late) and one advanced (early). The early and late codes lie on the slope of the correlation function either side of the peak, and are used in continuous tracking of the code to reduce tracking error. The signal is then processed for the data modulation and carrier phase measurements. A locally generated carrier is generated by a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) 22 and a second downconverter 20 used to reject images prior to an output block 24. When correlating to acquire the signal the time and hence code phase of the incoming signal is an unknown. It is necessary, therefore, to compare 2×1,023=2,046 acquisition samples of the CA code signal for every possible relative position of the incoming and locally generated CA codes, with an integration period of typically 1 millisecond. It thus takes around 2 seconds to acquire the first satellite using one channel. Thereafter the position of the sequence is known and tracking requires only two correlations, rather than 2046, to maintain the tracking position within a few nanoseconds window of the early and late measurements. We have appreciated the need for a large number of correlations for acquisition of signals, but only a few correlations to track the signals after acquisition. We have further appreciated disadvantages of known solutions which use large numbers of correlators.

The present embodiments relate to a device and a method for determining control parameters for a particle irradiation system. Particle therapy is an established method for treating tissue, in particular tumorous diseases. Irradiation methods, as used in particle therapy, are also used in non-therapeutic areas. The non-therapeutic areas include, for example, research activities (e.g., for product development) in the field of particle therapy, which are performed on non-living phantoms or bodies, and irradiation operations on materials. In the applications, charged particles (e.g., protons, carbon or other ions) are accelerated to high energies, shaped into a particle beam and conducted via a high-energy beam transport system to one or more irradiation rooms. In an irradiation room, an object to be irradiated is irradiated in a target volume with the particle beam.

DNA sequencing is driving genomics research and discovery. The completion of the Human Genome Project was a monumental achievement with incredible amount of combined efforts among genome centers and scientists worldwide. This decade-long project was completed using the Sanger sequencing method, which remains the staple genome sequencing methodology in high-throughput genome sequencing centers. The main reason behind the prolonged success of this method is its basic and efficient, yet elegant, method of dideoxy chain termination. With incremental improvements in Sanger sequencing—including the use of laser-induced fluorescent excitation of energy transfer dyes, engineered DNA polymerases, capillary electrophoresis, sample preparation, informatics, and sequence analysis software—the Sanger sequencing platform has been able to maintain its status. Current state-of-the-art Sanger based DNA sequencers can produce over 700 bases of clearly readable sequence in a single run from templates up to 30 kb in length. However, as it is with most technological inventions, the continual improvements in this sequencing platform has come to a stagnant plateau, with the current cost estimate for producing a high-quality microbial genome draft sequence at around $10,000 per megabase pair. Current DNA sequencers based on the Sanger method allow up to 384 samples to be analyzed in parallel. It is evident that exploiting the complete human genome sequence for clinical medicine and health care requires accurate low-cost and high-throughput DNA sequencing methods. Indeed, both public (National Human Genome Research Institute, NHGRI) and private genomic sciences sector (The J. Craig Venter Science Foundation and Archon X prize for genomics) have issued a call for the development of “next-generation”sequencing technology that will reduce the cost of sequencing to one-ten thousandth of its current cost over the next ten years. Accordingly, to overcome the limitations of current conventional sequencing technologies, a variety of new DNA sequencing methods have been investigated, including sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) approaches such as pyrosequencing (Ronaghi et al. (1998) Science 281: 363-365), sequencing of single DNA molecules (Braslaysky et al. (2003) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100: 3960-3964), and polymerase colonies (“polony” sequencing) (Mitra et al. (2003) Anal. Biochem. 320: 55-65). Some conventional next-generation sequencing technologies include single molecule optical detection methods, e.g., as used in technologies developed by PacBio; optical (clonal) methods, e.g., as used in technologies developed by Illumina; and fluorescently labeled nucleotide based methods (including those that use photodeprotection), e.g., as used in technology developed by Lasergen. Such methods have varying degrees of advantages and disadvantages, but the significant challenge up until now has remained the issue of conducting such sequencing analyses with ultra-low cost instrumentation systems with truly low cost and disposable reagents. The concept of DNA sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) was revealed in 1988 with an attempt to sequence DNA by detecting the pyrophosphate group that is generated when a nucleotide is incorporated by a DNA polymerase reaction (Hyman (1999) Anal. Biochem. 174: 423-436). Subsequent SBS technologies were based on additional ways to detect the incorporation of a nucleotide to a growing DNA strand. In general, conventional SBS uses an oligonucleotide primer designed to anneal to a predetermined position of the sample template molecule to be sequenced. The primer-template complex is presented with a nucleotide in the presence of a polymerase enzyme. If the nucleotide is complementary to the position on the sample template molecule that is directly 3′ of the end of the oligonucleotide primer, then the DNA polymerase will extend the primer with the nucleotide. The incorporation of the nucleotide and the identity of the inserted nucleotide can then be detected by, e.g., the emission of light, a change in fluorescence, a change in pH (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,932,034), a change in enzyme conformation, or some other physical or chemical change in the reaction (see, e.g., WO 1993/023564 and WO 1989/009283; Seo et al. (2005) “Four-color DNA sequencing by synthesis on a chip using photocleavable fluorescent nucleotides,” PNAS 102: 5926-59). Upon each successful incorporation of a nucleotide, a signal is detected that reflects the occurrence, identity, and number of nucleotide incorporations. Unincorporated nucleotides can then be removed (e.g., by chemical degradation or by washing) and the next position in the primer-template can be queried with another nucleotide species. While it has become apparent that next-generation sequencing has broad application to diagnostics including cancer, infectious diseases, companion drugs, and hereditary diseases, the extant next-generation sequencing systems are designed to sequence whole genomes and therefore the systems a have high cost per test (e.g., approximately $100 to $500 per test). Moreover, implementing the current commercial systems is also expensive (e.g., $75,000 to $700,000) and the sample-to-sequence work flow is laborious. As such, the extant technologies do not provide a sample to sequence system that is desirable for diagnostic applications. As such, it is a goal to generate high quality data at a reasonable cost and deliver next-generation sequencing data accurately and rapidly in an easy to use system. Companies such as PacBio have developed specific chemistries for implementation on their systems. At the same time, other companies such as VisiGen and Life Technologies have pursued alternative chemistries for addressing low cost sequencing. In particular, LaserGen has developed approaches using optical detection systems and certain reaction chemistries to produce and polymerize photo-deprotectable nucleotides that could be employed in next generation sequencing applications, e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,893,227; 7,897,737; 7,964,352; and 8,148,503. The LaserGen nucleotides have a photocleavable, fluorescent terminator moiety attached to the nucleotide base and a non-Mocked 3′ hydroxyl on the ribose sugar. The photocleavable, fluorescent terminator provides a substrate for polymerization, e.g., a polymerase adds the nucleotide analog to the 3′ hydoxyl of the synthesized strand. While attached to the nucleotide at the 3′ end, the photocleavable, fluorescent terminator prevents additional nucleotide addition by the polymerase. Also, the fluorescent moiety provides for identification of the nucleotide added using an excitation light source and a fluorescence emission detector. Upon exposure to a light source of the appropriate wavelength, the light cleaves the photocleavable, fluorescent terminator from the 3′ end of the strand, thus removing the block to synthesis and another nucleotide analog is added to begin the cycle again. When used in a sequencing-by-synthesis reaction, the LaserGen fluorescently labeled nucleotide compounds offer a way to photodeprotect and at the same time allow for extension, e.g., by sterically unblocking the region in the enzyme so as to permit extension. However, these compounds suffer from having to use fluorescence to detect the presence or absence of a particular incorporation event. As such, the need to use optical detection in the context of utilizing optical cleavage of photodeprotectible labels in these technologies is prohibitive to achieving the lowest optimal cost in creating a low-cost sequencing system. The system requires careful coordination of the excitation and deprotecting light sources so that excitation does not deprotect free or incorporated nucleotides. Accordingly, extant methods and previous ideas are inadequate for achieving the desired optimal cost for sequencing.

Electronic devices frequently require more than a single voltage source and to this end are powered either by multiple power supplies or by a single power supply having multiple voltage outputs. In either case, synchronization between the actual initiation of multiple voltage sources applied indiscriminately to the same device can be critical and failure to synchronize can cause malfunction of the device or even damage thereto. An example of the damage which can ensue is provided in the Texas Instruments TGC4000/TEC4000 design manual (1996) with regard to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) having voltage inputs of 5 volts and 3.3 volts. It is explained on page 2-39 that if the 3.3V supplied is turned on before the 5V supply, TGC4000/TEC4000 5V-tolerant buffers in a is logic 1 state can supply large amounts of current through their clamp diodes to the 5V supply pin. This can lead to excessive power dissipation in the TGC4000/TEC4000 device and a violation of current density limits. However, if the 5V supply is turned on before the 3.3V supply, the maximum drain-to-gate voltage of the n-channel transistors in the 5V-tolerant buffers exceeds the recommended value, and the effects of channel hot carriers can be accelerated. This problem has been addressed in the art principally in two ways. Thus, according to one approach, also explained in the above-cited reference, mixed voltages are usually ramped. Thus, in a typical scenario, the 3.3V supply is ramped to full voltage first. During this operation, all the system components which are tolerant to a 5V supply are forced into a high-impedance state so as to be effectively voltage-insensitive. Once the 3.3V supply has reached its peak voltage, the 5V supply is then ramped up. For power-down sequencing, the 5V-tolerant system components are forced in the high-impedance state, whereupon the 5V supply is then shutdown, followed by the 3V supply. The additional components add to the cost of the power supply and use precious PCB real estate. Alternatively, a switched power supply may be used, which can turn on power after a predetermined time. Such an approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,348 (Leu) and is also expensive because of the cost overhead imposed by the switchable power supply. There is therefore a need for a more compact arrangement using readily available circuit components, for allowing proper synchronization between multiple power supplies, whilst imposing minimum overhead cost and space overheads.

A compressed air distributing apparatus being designed as a compressed air control apparatus is known from German Patent No. DE 195 44 621 C1 corresponding to European Patent No. EP 0 776 807 B1. A pressure controller and an air dryer including respective elements are located in a common housing. The common housing may also be designed to be divided. The known compressed air control apparatus includes a multi circuit protection valve being designed and arranged to serve for a plurality of circuits being connected to the housing. Each circuit includes an overflow valve having limited backflow. For this purpose, each overflow valve includes a valve body or a so called “movable wall” being supported on a spring at one side. An effective surface is located at the other side. The effective surface is subjected or impinged by compressed air in a flow chamber being located at the upstream side. The flow chamber is permanently connected to a central bore serving for distribution of the compressed air arriving from the compressor. The valve body of the overflow valve includes two effective surfaces facing the upstream side, namely the aforementioned first effective surface and a second effective surface. The second effective surface is active in the opened position, and it is subjected with compressed air in the opened position, respectively. The valve body is supported on a spring being surrounded by a spring chamber. A bypass conduit is located between the flow chamber and the spring chamber. A solenoid valve including its own deaerating connection is located in the bypass conduit. The solenoid valve is closed in its currentless condition such that the spring chamber of the overflow valve is connected to the atmosphere. When the solenoid valve is actively controlled, it switches to reach its other position. This means that the deaerating connection is locked and the spring chamber is connected to the flow chamber such that there is an additional force (or auxiliary force) in addition to the force supplied by the spring. The auxiliary force tends to close the overflow valve and to keep the overflow valve closed, respectively. In this way, the overflow valve fulfills a plurality of functions. When the rear chamber is connected to the atmosphere, it functions in the common way, meaning it provides the advantageous functions of an overflow valve having limited backflow. When the rear chamber is supplied with the same pressure as the control chamber at the other side of the valve body, the force of the spring in the rear chamber closes the overflow valve. This means that it also fulfills the function of the locking valve. In this way, it is possible to lock the respective circuit, especially in case of a failure. This has a positive effect on the other unlocked circuits, meaning emergency operation may also be maintained for these circuits during a failure. Furthermore, the multi circuit protection valve and the respective overflow valve may also be used for the purpose of limiting the pressure. It is a drawback that the known overflow valve having limited backflow cannot be opened before having reached the opening pressure. Another essential drawback of the known compressed air control apparatus is the fact that there is increased pressure in this circuit having limited pressure during failure of the electrical supply or when ignition of the vehicle is turned off when using different pressures in the circuits and using an overflow valve as the pressure limiting device. This increased pressure is forbidden by law. Another drawback is that the known overflow valve having limited backflow cannot be opened below its opening pressure in an arbitrary way, meaning when it is desired to realize a special function. Another similar compressed air control apparatus is known from German Patent No. DE 197 00 243 C1. The effective surface to be directly subjected by the solenoid valve is located at the side of the valve body facing away from the flow chamber and, thus, at the side of the spring. A special pressure limiting valve is used for the circuits. The pressure limiting valve is arranged downstream of the respective overflow valve of the respective circuit. In this case, the overflow valve is only used to fulfill its normal pneumatic function. The pressure limiting valve may be additionally influenced by the solenoid valve. However, it is not possible to open the overflow valve below the predetermined opening pressure in an arbitrary way, meaning when it is desired. The actuation of the solenoid valve results in the pressure limiting function of the pressure limiting device being turned off. Another compressed air control apparatus is known from German Patent No. DE 44 21 575 C2 corresponding to European Patent No. EP 0 689 117 B1. The known apparatus includes a pressure controller, an air dryer and a multi circuit protection valve. The circuits are protected by check valves being pushed open by an actuation piston to be switched by a solenoid valve. The circuits may also be protected by an overflow valve including limited backflow. A solenoid valve is associated with each of the overflow valves of each circuit. The solenoid valve in its non-excited condition is opened, meaning the spring chamber of the overflow valve is connected to the flow chamber. In this way, the overflow valve has a comparatively increased opening pressure. In the excited position, the solenoid valve switches, and it deaerates the spring chamber. The effective surface to be impinged by the solenoid valve is located at the side of the valve body facing away from the flow chamber, meaning in the spring chamber. This results in the insofar increased effective surface of the spring chamber having the effect of the overflow valve not opening during filling. This is only possible when the solenoid valve switches to reach the position in which the spring chamber is connected to the atmosphere. In this way, there is the drawback of supply of the circuits not being possible during a failure of the electric supply. On the other hand, when the electric supply works correctly, it is not possible to open the overflow valve of a circuit before having reached the predetermined opening pressure of the overflow valve. A compressed air control apparatus including a pressure controller, an air dryer and an integrated multi circuit protection valve is known from German Patent Application No. DE 195 15 895 A1. A check valve is located downstream of the air dryer in the filling conduit. The central aerating chamber begins at the check valve, the overflow valves of the circuits being supplied with compressed air by the central aerating chamber. The overflow valves having limited backflow include effective surfaces being located to face the upstream side. Each overflow valve includes a valve body or a so called “movable wall” being supported on a spring. An actuation member is located at this side of the spring chamber, the actuation member being subjected with pressure or deaerated by a pre-control valve. Supply of the pre-control valves with compressed air is not realized by the common flow chamber of the overflow valves starting after the check valve, but rather upstream of the check valve such that there is no control air in this conduit during the idle phase. The pre-control valves may also be supplied with compressed air by a second supply conduit, the compressed air coming from the circuit I. When the circuit I fails—for example when there is leakage—the pre-control valves are not supplied with compressed air in the idle phase. Consequently, arbitrary closing of the overflow valves is not possible. Arbitrary opening of the overflow valves of the circuits below the opening pressure of the overflow valves is also not possible.

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a document management system, a document management apparatus, a computer-readable medium and a computer data signal. 2. Related Art In an example of processing that uses an information processing apparatus, a stored document (may be referred to as an “electronic document”, hereinafter) that are saved as electronic data in a storage device is edited by in units of pages on a terminal device. Such document editing functions include a page substitution function, a page addition function, a page deletion function, and a page exchange function. In this apparatus, when an electronic document is to be edited in units of pages, a user needs to find out individual pages to be edited (may be referred to as “edit pages” in some cases) one by one. For example, in the work of reading and digitizing a large amount of documents using an image reading device, let consider the works of substituting only particular pages in a digitized read-out document, inserting another manuscript to the document, adding a manuscript before or after a particular page of the document, and the like. When a particular page is to be deleted, the user needs to find out the page to be deleted while checking pages of the saved read-out document and then, issues an operation instruction for deletion. Alternatively, in a case that substitution is to be performed in units of pages, a page to be substituted needs to be found out in the document which has not been subjected to the substitution processing (i.e., an already digitized and saved document) and then be deleted. After that, a paper document (manuscript) to be newly digitized in substitution needs to be read and digitized. Then, the newly digitized read-out manuscript needs to be inserted into a particular page position in the already saved electronic document (i.e., the position where the page to be substituted has been deleted). In page addition processing, a page where addition is to be performed is found out in a saved read-out document, its page position is specified, and then a manuscript to be added is read. Thereby, a document can be added. In page exchange processing, both of one page and another page which are exchange targets are found out in a saved read-out document, these page positions are specified, and then instruction for exchange is issued. Thereby, the page positions can be exchanged. In the editing processing such as deletion, substitution, addition, and exchange performed for a saved document in units of pages, time and effort are required for finding out from the saved document a page (pages) to be edited (a page to be deleted, a page to be substituted, a page where addition is to be performed, or pages to be exchanged).

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lens-fitted photo film unit with a stop changing device for changing the aperture size of an aperture-stop, and more particularly to a lens-fitted photo film unit that can provide good quality pictures in any photographic conditions. 2. Background Arts A variety of lens-fitted photo film units have been produced and sold in the market. The lens-fitted photo film unit, hereinafter called the film unit, is preloaded with a roll of unexposed photo filmstrip, and is provided with simple photographic mechanisms. For the purpose of making the film unit as handy and economy as possible, the film unit conventionally uses a simple taking lens whose focal length, focal point and aperture size are fixed. In order to obtain moderate focusing conditions in a wide subject distance range from about 1 m to the infinity, the taking lens is designed to have a large depth of the field, and the f-stop number or f-number is set at around xe2x80x9cf/10xe2x80x9d. With such a fixed f-number, photographs with adequate exposure conditions can be obtained only in limited photographic conditions. To solve this problem, most of the film units is provided with a flash device. In correspondence with the f-number of around xe2x80x9cf/10xe2x80x9d, the guide number of the flash device is set at around xe2x80x9c10xe2x80x9d. That is, the intensity of the flash light is relatively high. With such a flash light, however, the difference in brightness between a main subject and a background becomes very large in those scenes where the flash light merely reaches the main subject and does not reach the background, and the brightness of the background is relatively low. In that case, if the photographed picture is printed in a condition adjusted to the exposure condition of the main subject, the background would become too dark. To obtain satisfactory exposure conditions in the flash photography with respect to the background and the main subject as well, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. 8-114836 and 10-333287 disclose a film unit wherein the aperture size of the aperture-stop is enlarged when the flash photography is selected, for example, by switching over a stop blade in cooperation with a flash charge switch. Thereby, it becomes possible to avoid overexposure in those scenes where the subject brightness is so high that the flash light is not needed. On the other hand, where the subject brightness is low, a sufficient exposure amount is obtained by using the flash light and the large size aperture in combination. However, because the decision as to whether the flash light is necessary or not depends on the photographer""s subjectivity, the risk of resulting improperly exposed photographs is relatively high. Moreover, where the main subject exits in a near range of about 1 m to 2 m, the main subject would be photographed in an overexposed condition when the large size aperture is used in the flash photography. There have been suggested many film units that measure the subject brightness and change the aperture size of the aperture-stop depending upon the subject brightness. However, even in such a film unit, if the combination between the f-number, the shutter speed, the film speed and the guide number of the flash device is inappropriate, proper exposure conditions cannot be obtained. In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a film unit that prevents overexposure of the main subject in the flash photography if the main subject exists in the near range, and also achieves adequate exposure conditions with respect to the background as well as the main subject in any scenes. Another object of the present invention is to provide a film unit, of which performance factors, including f-number, shutter speed, film speed and guide number of a flash device, are optimized as a whole. According to an aspect of the present invention, a lens-fitted photo film unit comprises a flash device for projecting a flash light toward a subject; a flash light control device that measures a light amount reflected from the subject while the flash device is projecting the flash light, and stops the flash device from projecting the flash light when the measured light amount reaches a predetermined value; and a stop changing device that changes over the aperture size of an aperture-stop at least between a large size and a small size. Since the flash light control device stops the flash device from flashing when the light reflected from the subject reaches the predetermined amount, overexposure of the subject is prevented in the flash photography even if the subject exists in the near range. According to a preferred embodiment, the stop changing device cooperates with a flash ON-OFF member that is manually operated to turn the flash device on or off, such that the stop changing device sets the aperture-stop at the large size while the flash device is on, or at the small size while the flash device is off. Because the aperture-stop is set at the large size in the flash photography, the background is prevented from being too dark in comparison with the lightness of the main subject. According to another aspect of the present invention, a lens-fitted photo film unit comprises a flash device for projecting a flash light toward a subject; a flash light control device that measures a light amount reflected from the subject while the flash device is projecting the flash light, and stops the flash device from projecting the flash light when the measured light amount reaches a predetermined value; and a stop changing device that measures a subject brightness and changes over the aperture size of an aperture-stop at least between a large size and a small size depending upon the measured subject brightness. Since the aperture-stop is changed over depending upon the subject brightness, the photographer does not need to decide whether the aperture-stop is to be set at the small size or the large size. Even when the flash light is used for a relatively bright subject, overexposure is prevented because the flash device is stopped from flashing when the light amount reflected from the subject reaches the predetermined value. In order to obtain adequately exposed photographs under any photographic conditions, the present invention suggests determining an f-number of the taking with the large aperture-stop size to satisfy the following condition (1), and an f-number of the taking lens with the small aperture-stop size to satisfy the following condition (2): 6 xe2x89xa6AV+TVxe2x88x92SV+5xe2x89xa611.5xe2x80x83xe2x80x83Condition (1) 10.5xe2x89xa6AV+TVxe2x88x92SV+5xe2x89xa615xe2x80x83xe2x80x83Condition (2) wherein AV=log2 (f-number2), TV=log2 (1/shutter speed), and SV=log2 (0.32xc2x7film speed). According to a preferred embodiment, the f-number of the taking with the large aperture-stop size is determined to be not more than f/8.0, and the f-number of the taking lens with the small aperture-stop size is determined to be not less than f/14. It is preferable to provide the film unit with a flash device whose guide number is equal to or more than 4 but less than 8.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing control device and printing control method, and a printing control system, for performing printing processing via network. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, communication infrastructures being built and developments in information communication technology has enabled information providing services using the Internet. Particularly, technology for providing image information providing services extremely easily using the Internet has been established, so that image information can be transferred to the user, and exchange of image information between users is becoming commonplace, as well. Though the technology whereby image information on the Internet can be obtained has been established and propagated, technology protecting the rights of the image information is still immature, and so information is constantly being provided in an illegal manner infringing on such rights. Hitherto, contents providers having the rights to the image information have not aggressively pursued image information providing services as a form of business. Also, though the contents providers have used printed materials as means to provide image information to users, but high prices have been unavoidable for such services to users, taking into consideration the investments and upkeep for the facilities necessary, and daily operational efficiency. On the other hand, even in the event that the user desires to pay for image information and print out the image information, there are limits to the output size and image quality of individually-owned printers, and accordingly, it has been difficult for such users to obtain varied printouts. Further, the provider providing the printout service must obtain a license for the contents to print out which it obtains, meaning that the size of the business is affected by the contents gathered therein.

Oil sand deposits such as those found in the Athabasca Region of Alberta, Canada, generally comprise water-wet sand grains held together by a matrix of viscous heavy oil or bitumen. Bitumen is a complex and viscous mixture of large or heavy hydrocarbon molecules which contain a significant amount of sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen. Oil sands processing involves mining the oil sand, bitumen water extraction and bitumen froth treatment to produce diluted bitumen which is further processed to produce synthetic crude oil and other valuable commodities. Extraction is typically conducted by mixing the oil sand with steam, hot water and caustic. After extraction, the froth is initially stored in a large capacity froth storage tank until a sufficient volume is collected for subsequent froth treatment. The tank also acts as a surge vessel to absorb sudden fluctuations/changes in production rates. A froth storage tank is typically flat-bottomed (FIG. 1). However, the residence time within the tank is of sufficient duration to settle a portion of the solids from the froth. Build-up of solids within the tank may reach up to 30% by volume, such that the tank must be operated in the level of about 30-88% of capacity. Removal of the settled solids from the tank using a pump is often unsuccessful due to the loss of the solids slurry/froth interface. This loss is attributed to the uneven settling of solids on the bottom of the tank coupled with uneven removal resulting from coning of the solids. The solids build-up reduces both the capacity and ability of the tank to act as a surge vessel. The uneven deposition of solids can result in periodic sloughing of solids into the froth treatment process during times of low tank levels or large rate changes, causing major upsets in downstream equipment including, for example, overload of centrifuges and filters. Cleaning of the tank is typically conducted by cutting a hole through the tank sidewall and removing the accumulated solids using a loader to alleviate the problem temporarily for about two to three months. In addition, conventional froth storage tanks tend to have limited mixing capability. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved process and apparatus for storing and separating bitumen froth.

The identification of borders of cell bodies and/or cell nuclei in a microscopy image of a sample may be referred to as segmentation of cell bodes and/or nuclei in the image. To image structures of cells in a sample (e.g., for segmentation), staining or labeling techniques are often used to enhance contrast between different types of cell structures. For example, a specimen may be stained with dyes that react with DNA or RNA (e.g., ethidium bromide), or dyes that interact differently with the nucleus and the cytoplasm of a cell (e.g., hematoxylin-eosin). As another example, labels, which may be one or more colored agents (chromopores) and/or or one or more fluorescent agents (fluorophores), are useful in identifying a desired substance in a cell structure based on the presence of a specific tag. Such staining and labeling techniques aid in the identification of cell structures; however, staining or labeling using external contrast agents may affect the structure or other properties of interest of the sample being imaged. Further, in general, such staining or labeling cannot be performed on live cells. Conventional phase-contrast imaging techniques (e.g., Zernike, different interference contrast (DIC)) enable imaging of cell monolayers with improved contrast as compared with bright-field imaging. These phase-contrast techniques, which do not require staining or labeling, generally can provide sufficient image contrast, but at the expense of additional optical components, light sources and alignment procedures. Conventional phase imaging can be approximated as processing a series of traditional transmitted light images (e.g., by subtraction of in and out of focus images). While providing an image with enhanced edge features, the contrast is often not sufficient to ensure reliable automated segmentation of cells and/or nuclei. Further, neither conventional optical imaging with labels and stains, nor conventional phase-contrast imaging provides quantitative thickness information regarding cell monolayers.

The invention relates to a wrist locking golf training device. More particularly, the invention pertains to a device which attaches onto a golf club handle such that as the golfer grasps the handle, the leading forearm is effectively engaged to lock both wrists, forcing the golfer to learn to execute the putting stroke using the shoulders. It is often said that golf is simultaneously the most enjoyable and most frustrating game. To maximize the enjoyment and minimize the frustration, golfers seek to improve their skill by any means necessary. Accordingly, numerous teaching techniques and devices have been devised which seek to improve the skills of the fledgling golfer. In particular, many of the these focus particularly on the golf swing. Most pros agree that one of the most critical factors in being successful in the game of golf is maintaining proper form. However, xe2x80x9cproper formxe2x80x9d often requires that the body act contrary to its prior conditioning, and even contrary to common sense. Accordingly, to achieve proper form, the body must be trained to act in a certain way, through repetition, concentration, and consistent correction. Since training which reinforces a poor habit is clearly counterproductive, it is desirable to correct the golfers form continuously throughout any golf training exercises. Golf coaches will continuously correct the form of even a pro golfer while observing them practicing. However, not all bad habits are noticed by the coach, and can even occur to quickly to be seen at all. For these habits, it is desirable to use training aids which seek to ensure the golfer""s compliance with proper form. Over the years, numerous devices have been promulgated by various inventors as an attempt to overcome that inventor""s concept of the biggest problem facing a golfer. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,221 to Thornhill discloses a device which has a pair of arms which extend from the center of a putter, and which lightly contact the outside if the forearms to provide feedback to the golfer regarding the swing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,922 to Elliot, Jr. discloses a golf training aid which includes a sleeve which fully encloses the forearm and wrist in an attempt to immobilize the same. U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,685 to Thomas discloses a golf swing improvement device. In particular, the device has a pair of wrist encircling members which seek to maintain the relative positioning of the wrists. U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,464 Dablo discloses a golf swing forearm/wrist positioner. Dablo seeks to immobilize both forearms by providing a V-shaped device which extends between and against both forearms. U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,523 to Sheftic discloses a golf training device which includes a body contacting arm which extends from the proximal end of the golf club. The body contacting arm then contacting arm then extends toward the hip of the golfer. When the ball is properly addressed, the contacting arm moves adjacent to, but does not contact the hip of the golfer. Accordingly, Sheftic seeks to train the golfer to lock the leading armxe2x80x94making Sheftic perhaps useful for training a golfer in driving, but not suitable for training a golfer to maintain proper form while putting U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,392 to Foresi et al. discloses a golf training device for teaching a pendulum-type putting swing. In particular, Foresi includes a rigid elongated member which attaches to the shaft of the golf club below the grip. The elongated member includes a bend to avoid contact with the hands of the user and then extends upwards all the way to the armpit of the golfer. The present invention seeks to improve the golfer""s swing by engaging the wrist whenever the club is grasped, to train the golfer to use his/her shoulders when putting. The system is particularly suited for use with a putter, and with training the proper form for putting. Accordingly, while these other units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter. It is an object of the invention to produce a golf training device that effectively trains a golfer to swing a putter using the shoulders by preventing the golfer from moving the wrists. Accordingly, the system engages the leading forearm and prevents the golfer from varying an angle of the leading forearm by immobilizing the leading wrist. It is another object of the invention to provide a golf training device that prevents the golf club from pivoting the club between either the leading or trailing wrists. Accordingly, the device employs a stop arm which engages and immobilizes the leading forearm. Unexpectedly by locking the relative angle between the leading forearm and the golf club, the golfer cannot even xe2x80x9cbreakxe2x80x9d (pivot) the trailing wrist. Accordingly, the putting stroke only be swung by using the shoulders. It is a further object of the invention to provide a golf training device that is adjustable for different golfers, having different hand positioning preferences, wrist flexibility, and right or left handed preferences. Accordingly, the device is positionable at any height desired on the club handgrip, is adjustable in maximum upward angle so as to effectively yet comfortably lock the wrist, and can be simply rotated around the handgrip to accommodate either a right handed or a left handed golfer. It is a still further object of the invention to provide a golf training device that is comfortable for use. Accordingly, the stop arm is contoured to match the curvature or contours of the golfer""s forearm inner surface, so as to engage the leading forearm with maximum surface area whereas the immobilizing force of the stop arm is effectively and comfortably distributed on the leading forearm of the golfer. It is yet a further object of the invention that the device is suitable for use during everyday play. Accordingly, the device flips downward for storage so that it can remain attached on the handgrip of the club even when the club is inserted in the golf bag. A downward locking mechanism can prevent the stop arm from inadvertently flipping upward as the club is withdrawn from the golf bag, or from becoming snagged on other clubs. The invention is a golf training system for training a golfer to swing a golf club using his/her shoulders rather than wrists, by using a device having a sleeve for attaching onto the golf club and a stop arm pivotally attached to and extending from the sleeve. The golf club has a handgrip and the sleeve has a sleeve bore for extending over the handgrip and tightening thereon. A stop arm has a maximum upward angle which is adjustable with an adjustment mechanism. When the golfer grasps the golf club with a leading arm, the leading arm wrist is prevented from moving by the stop arm engaging the leading arm forearm. When the golf club is grasped with the hand of the trailing arm, the trailing arm wrist is also prevented from pivoting. Accordingly, the golfer has no choice but to use his/her shoulders to execute a swing. To the accomplishment of the above and related objects the invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the invention, limited only by the scope of the claims.

An essential semiconductor device is semiconductor memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) device. A RAM allows a memory circuit to execute both read and write operations on its memory cells. Typical examples of RAM devices include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM). Another form of memory is the content addressable memory (CAM) device. A CAM is a memory device that accelerates any application requiring fast searches of a database, list, or pattern, such as in database machines, image or voice recognition, or computer and communication networks. CAMs provide benefits over other memory search algorithms by simultaneously comparing the desired information (i.e., data in the comparand register) against the entire list of pre-stored entries. As a result of their unique searching algorithm, CAM devices are frequently employed in network equipment, particularly routers and switches, computer systems and other devices that require rapid content searching. In order to perform a memory search in the above-identified manner, CAMs are organized differently than other memory devices (e.g., DRAM). For example, data is stored in a RAM in a particular location, called an address. During a memory access, the user supplies an address and writes into or reads the data at the specified address. In a CAM, however, data is stored in locations in a somewhat random fashion. The locations can be selected by an address bus, or the data can be written into the first empty memory location. Every memory location includes one or more status bits which maintain state information regarding the memory location. For example, each memory location may include a valid bit whose state indicate whether the memory location stores valid information, or whether the memory location does not contain valid information (and is therefore available for writing). Once information is stored in a memory location, it is found by comparing every bit in memory with data in the comparand register. When the content stored in the CAM memory location does not match the data in the comparand register, the local match detection circuit returns a no match indication. When the content stored in the CAM memory location matches the data in the comparand register, the local match detection circuit returns a match indication. If one or more local match detect circuits return a match indication, the CAM device returns a “match” indication. Otherwise, the CAM device returns a “no-match” indication. In addition, the CAM may return the identification of the address location in which the desired data is stored or one of such addresses if more than one address contained matching data. Thus, with a CAM, the user supplies the data and gets back the address if there is a match found in memory. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a conventional DRAM-based CAM cell 100, which includes two one-transistor (1T) DRAM cells 110a and 110b, and a four-transistor comparator circuit 120 made up of transistors Q2 through Q6. DRAM cells 110a and 110b are used to store values. Generally, the content of cell 110a is the logical NOT of the content of cell 110b. However, the cells 110a, 110b may also store the same values, i.e., “1”, “1”, or “0”, “0”, so that the CAM cell is respectively set to “always match” or “always mismatch” states. DRAM cell 110a includes transistor Q1 and a capacitor CA, which combine to form a storage node A that receives a data value from bit line BL1 at node U during write operations, and applies the stored data value to the gate terminal of transistor Q2 of comparator circuit 120. Transistor Q2 is connected in series with transistor Q3, which is controlled by a data signal transmitted on data line D1, between a match line M and a discharge line D. The second DRAM cell 110b includes transistor Q3 and a capacitor CB, which combine to form a storage node B that receives a data value from bit line BL2 at node V, and applies the stored data value to the gate terminal of transistor Q4 of comparator circuit 120. Transistor Q4 is connected in series with transistor Q5, which is controlled by a data signal transmitted on inverted data line D1#, between the match line and the discharge line. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portion of a CAM device 200 which includes a plurality of CAM cells, such as the CAM cell 100 of FIG. 1. For purposes of simplicity, only a portion of the CAM device 200 is illustrated. In particular, some well known components, such as the previously discussed comparand register, control logic, and I/O logic are not illustrated. The device 200 includes two arrays 210a, 210b of CAM cells 100. Each array 210a, 210b includes its own bit lines (e.g., BL11–BL16 for array 210a, BL21–BL26 for array 210b) and word lines (e.g., WL11–WL13 for array 210a). Each word line WL11–WL13, WL21–WL23 is coupled a respective word line driver 220a, 220b. Similarly, each bit line is also coupled to respective bit line drivers (not illustrated). The CAM device 200 also includes a plurality of sense amplifiers 230. Each sense amplifier 230 is coupled to the CAM cells 100 of two separate bit lines (e.g., bit lines BL11, BL21) from two different arrays. This type of architecture, where a sense amplifier is coupled to bit lines from different arrays, is known as an open bit line architecture. Now referring back to FIG. 1, in order perform a write operation upon a CAM cell, the data values (which are complements) to be stored are respectively written to dynamic storage nodes A and B by applying appropriate voltage signals (e.g., Vcc for logical ‘1’ or ground for logical ‘0’) on bit lines BL11 and BL21, and then applying a high voltage signal on word lines WL1 and WL2. The high voltage on word lines WL1 and WL2 turn on transistor Q1 and Q2, thereby passing the voltage signals to dynamic storage nodes A and B. Refresh circuitry (not illustrated), periodically refreshes the charges stored in capacitors CA and CB, so the data does not decay over time. In order to perform a match operation, the data stored at nodes A and B are respectively applied to the gate terminals of transistors Q2 and Q5 of comparator circuit 120. Comparator circuit 120 is utilized to perform match (comparison) operations by, for example, precharging the match line M, grounding the discharge line D, and transmitting an applied data value and its complement respectively on data lines D1 and D1# to the gate terminals of transistor Q3 and Q6, respectively. A no-match condition is detected when match line M is discharged to ground through the signal path formed by transistors Q2 and Q3 and the discharge line D, or through the signal path formed by transistors Q5 and Q6 and the discharge line D. For example, when the stored data value at node A and the applied data value transmitted on data line D1# are both logic “1”, then both transistors Q2 and Q3 are turned on to discharge match line M to the discharge line (e.g., ground). When a match condition occurs, match line M remains in its pre-charged state (i.e., no signal path is formed by transistors Q2 and Q3, or transistors Q5 and Q6). In order to perform a read operation, data stored as a charge level in the capacitors CA, CB of one of the dynamic storage nodes A, B of the CAM cell 100 is sensed using an associated sense amplifier 230 (FIG. 2) which compares the voltage level of a bit line coupled to one of the dynamic storage nodes (known as the active bit line) with the voltage level of a bit line not coupled to any dynamic storage nodes (known as the reference bit line). For example, node A of the CAM cell 100 which appears as the top left CAM cell illustrated in FIG. 2 can be sensed by first precharging two bit lines. The two bit lines to be precharged would include the bit line BL11 which will couple the CAM cell 100 to the sense amplifier 230 (i.e., the active bit line), as well as the other bit line BL21 coupled to the same sense amplifier 230 (i.e., the reference bit line). As illustrated in FIG. 2, each sense amplifier has one input coupled to a bit line of array 210a and another input coupled to a corresponding bit line of array 210b. The word line WL13 associated with the CAM cell 100 would then be charged, causing the transistor Q1 in the CAM cell 100 to conduct and thereby share the charge of capacitor CA with bit line BL1. The charge sharing alters the voltage level of bit line BL11. The sense amplifier 230 is then used to detect the change in potential between BL11 and BL21. The sense amplifier outputs an indication of the state stored at storage node A as a signal indicating the relative potential difference between bit lines BL11 and BL21 on line 235. The performance of the above described read operation suffers from many noise issues since the sensing mechanism relies on the reference and active bit lines to be from two separate arrays of the device during a sensing operation. As CAM devices increase in density and therefore power consumption, the level of noise within a CAM cell is likely to increase. There is therefore a need for a CAM device architecture which has better noise immunity.

Patent document 1 discloses a stand type lighting apparatus having a function as a speaker. The lighting apparatus has a plurality of LED (light emitting diode) elements disposed on a lateral side of a cylinder. By a vibration of a vibrator coupled to a magnetostrictive actuator provided in the cylinder, a shade connected via an electric wire to this vibrator can vibrate to generate a sound (see, for example, paragraph 0020 in the specification and FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1). A lighting apparatus described in Patent document 2 has a speaker. The speaker is disposed in the center of a case-type heat radiation element. In the heat radiation element, a light emitting diode module provided with a plurality of light emitting diode chips is disposed around the speaker (see, for example, paragraphs 0015 and 0017 in the specification and FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2). Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-141924 Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-77015

The present invention relates to the electrotechnical industry, precisely to adjustable transformers. Widely known in the art are transformers regulated by the disconnection of part of the power winding turns with the aid of contactors or thyristors. Transformers employing contactors are deprived of a smooth adjustment from the point of view of their characteristics and they are second to the two following types of transformers. Most widely spread are transformers with series-connected opposing-parallel controlled valves exercising a pulse-position or a pulse-width adjustment. But the following disadvantages are characteristic to them: (1) A low power efficiency which cannot be substantionally increased by connecting capacitor batteries and sharply goes down if the load power coefficient is cos .phi..sub.k &lt; 1, where .phi..sub.k denotes load power factor. (2) The shape of voltage and current curves are considerably distorted which is greatly dangerous in case of big powers when high harmonics violate the normal operation of the connected consumers fail them. (3) If phase adjustment is exercised by thyristors the load current should be reduced. (4) Being of an equal price with the disclosed adjustable transformers they have poor reliability and in reality there are two elements of equal power in one device: a semiconductor adjuster and a transformer. Damages to the control circuits of the thyristors (short-circuiting, discontinuity) causes failure in the device, the disclosed transformer being immune to this. Known in the prior art are transformers with contactless switching of the power winding taps with the help of controlled valves having the advantages over the transformers discussed thereinabove only in the power efficiency and in a voltage curve shape. But their operation is still less reliable and their price is still higher since they integrate three elements: an adjustable transformer and two units of thyristors. The automatic control circuit is still more expensive. It is an object of the present invention to remove the above-mentioned deficiencies. It is another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable transformer with advanced technico-economy parameters enabling to smoothly change the transformation ratio without distorting the sine shape of the output voltage.

Expanded external data storage can be provided to a computer or other device that uses data storage, or to a network, by providing a disk enclosure containing a hard disk drive (HDD), and connecting the enclosure to the computer or to the network. Expanded storage connected directly to a PC or the like is commonly referred to as direct-attached storage (DAS), while expanded storage connected to a network is commonly referred to as network-attached storage (NAS). In home use, there are several common uses for expanded storage. One use is to expand the storage space available to a personal video recorder (PVR) by attaching the additional storage directly to the PVR. Another is to expand the storage space available to a game console or personal computer (PC) gaming platform by attaching high speed dedicated storage directly to the game console or PC. Still another is to expand the storage space available on a network by attaching the additional storage to the network. An expanded storage device typically comprises a drive enclosure containing one or more hard disk drives (HDDs), although other types of storage can also be used. A PVR is generally a set top box (STB) that can record television programs on a hard drive contained in the PVR, for viewing on a viewing device such as a television, typically attached to the PVR via a cable. With some PVRs, the storage space of the PVR can be expanded by attaching an expanded storage device to the PVR via a direct attached storage (DAS) port. The expanded storage has a so-called “device-side” DAS port, and the PVR has a so-called “host-side” DAS port. Usually, such DAS ports are universal serial bus (USB) ports, external Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (eSATA) ports, or IEEE 1394 (Firewire) ports. The expanded storage is connected to the PVR by connecting its device-side DAS port to the PVR's host-side DAS port using a cable. The DAS device preferably provides low-cost storage with a dedicated high-speed connection to the PVR, with bandwidth sufficient to record shows directly from the PVR to the device, and to view recorded material stored on the DAS device via the PVR. Expanded storage can also be added to a network, such as for shared file access and file backup. In that case, storage space can typically be added to the network by attaching expanded storage to the network using a network attached storage (NAS) device. The NAS device comprises an NAS port. The NAS port can be a wired or wireless network connection, but is most commonly an Ethernet port used to connect the NAS device to an Ethernet port on a network hub or switch using an Ethernet cable. A NAS device can also be combined with a built-in wired or wireless network hub, switch, or router. The NAS device provides and manages shared bandwidth to users on the network. Depending on the application, it may or may not be important that the NAS device provide high-speed dedicated bandwidth to a user on the network. To satisfy needs for both direct attached storage and network attached storage, a user must purchase separate DAS and NAS devices. In general, a DAS device connected to a device such as a PVR and an NAS device connected to a network cannot directly communicate or provide cross access. It is desirable to provide a single expanded storage device that can satisfy the need for both a DAS device and an NAS device, and provide simultaneous access to its storage assets by a directly attached product such as a PVR and by a user on a network.

Physical device security is essential when a device holding secret data is to be placed in potentially unfriendly hands. To protect the secret data, the device can be configured to sense attempted physical access (e.g., tampering) to the device and can zeroize the data upon the attempted physical access. In order to easily zeroize the data, it can be stored on a memory device (e.g., a volatile random access memory (RAM)). Sensing the attempted physical access to the device can be accomplished with a tamper sensitive material disposed to detect attempted access to the memory device. When the tamper sensitive material senses an attempted access to the memory device, the memory device can be zeroized thereby rendering the secret data unobtainable.

A steering apparatus has hitherto existed, which includes an operation lever for switching over fixing a steering column and releasing the same from being fixed in order to enable a tilted position and a telescopic position of the steering wheel to be adjusted corresponding to a physique etc of a driver. On the other hand, there exists a technique for elongating a distance between a clamping portion and an operating portion of the lever in order to lighten a lever operation for the purpose of attaining better operability of the lever. In this type of steering apparatus, if the steering apparatus receives an impact such as when an on-moving vehicle undergoes a collision, an impact load and a moment of inertia of the lever operating portion cause the operation lever to sway on the side of releasing the steering column from being fixed, and it happens in some case that the steering column is released from being fixed. The conventional steering apparatus is configured to be provided with a spring for biasing the operation lever toward the fixing side in a state where the steering column is fixed thereby preventing the operation lever from swaying on the side of releasing the steering column (refer to, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-285064).

An inertia ring is desired on the turbine of a torque converter to improve efficiency and certain noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics. A durable attachment method is necessary, and brazing is preferred in conjunction with current turbine blade assembly methodology. An inner surface of the turbine, turbine blades and a core ring face up during brazing operations securing the turbine blades to the inner surface and securing the core ring to the turbine blades. Holding the inertia ring in place against an outer surface of the turbine shell (facing downwards) while the inner surface faces up is essential for a durable attachment. Multiple fixtures on a brazing furnace belt could be used to hold the inertia ring in place; however, many problems and considerable costs would be associated with the use of multiple fixtures. For U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,216 A, a mass is connected to a damper, not to a turbine. Therefore, the mass provides a damper inertia, not a direct inertia. U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,621 welds an inertial mass to a turbine shell. However, welding weakens brazed turbine blade joints and reduces turbine blade durability. Further, the mass is relatively large and the large size of the mass results in a slower take-off. U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,112 uses welding to attach an inertial mass to a turbine shell for a torque converter to increase inertia of the turbine. However, welding weakens brazed turbine blade joints and reduces turbine blade durability. Further, the mass is relatively large, which results in a slower take-off. U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,446 B2 uses welding to attach a ring gear to a cover for a torque converter to increase inertia of the cover. As a result, inertia from the ring gear acts in different modes than a ring on only the turbine. U.S. Pat. No. 8,763,775 adds mass to the intermediate mass in the damper and not to turbine (which would add mass to the transmission input shaft). Thus, the mass provides a different mode for NVH and efficiency. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0226794 adds mass (inertia) to the intermediate mass in the damper and not to the turbine (which would add mass directly to the transmission input shaft). Thus, the mass provides a different mode for NVH and efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor manufacturing processes. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a band pass filter for radiation in a photo lithography tool. 2. Description of Related Art Integrated circuits (ICs), such as microprocessors and memory devices, include millions of interconnected semiconductor components such as transistors and capacitors. Sizes of these components have decreased over time to reduce cost of manufacturing, provide additional capabilities, and/or reduce power consumption. Solutions for manufacturing components at smaller sizes focuses on producing smaller feature sizes during photo lithography. Conventionally, in photo lithography, a light source illuminates a mask containing patterns that build the components. Optics reduce the patterns to the desired size, which illuminate a photosensitive material deposited on material stacks that are later processed into semiconductor components. A minimum feature size produced by a photo lithography process is related, by the Raleigh equation, to k1λ/NA, where k1 is a process dependant variable, λ is the wavelength of the light source, and NA is the numerical aperture of the projection lens. Conventional light sources include an ArF laser, which produces ultraviolet (UV) light with a wavelength of 193 nm. Tools with ArF laser light sources manufacture ICs with feature sizes of 65 nm and 45 nm. One proposal for further reducing feature size includes tools having an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source, at a wavelength of approximately 13.5 nm, and therefore a higher resolution capable of imaging smaller features. Light sources, such as EUV sources, produce additional out-of-band (OOB) radiation at wavelengths outside the desired wavelength for lithography. Specifically, light sources may produce infrared (IR) radiation. IR radiation propagates through the exposure tool heating components in the IC manufacturing process. Heating of components may result in shorter lifespan of the components. Shorter lifespan of lithography tools leads to undesirable costs for the manufacturer, as lithography tools often cost tens of millions of dollars. Additionally, the IR radiation may heat masks used during exposure resulting in damage to the masks or lower achievable resolutions of a lithography tool by reducing the contrast of the images coming off of the mask.

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium. Description of the Related Art A perpendicular magnetic recording system has been adopted as a technology for increasing the recording density of a magnetic recording medium. A medium recorded magnetically by this system (a perpendicular magnetic recording medium) has a nonmagnetic substrate formed from a nonmagnetic material, an underlayer, a magnetic recording layer, a protective layer for protecting the surface of the magnetic recording layer, and a liquid lubricant layer. The medium sometimes further has a soft magnetic under layer that is formed from a soft magnetic material and plays the role of concentrating a magnetic flux generated by a magnetic head onto the magnetic recording layer. As a magnetic recording layer of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium, there is proposed a magnetic recording layer having a granular structure in which a nonmagnetic substance such as SiO2 or TiO2 is added to an alloy material such as CoCrPt or CoCrTa (granular magnetic recording layer) (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-291230). In a CoCrPt—SiO2 granular magnetic recording layer, for example, a SiO2 nonmagnetic substance is segregated around CoCrPt magnetic crystal grain and separates the individual CoCrPt magnetic crystal grain magnetically. In addition, a stacked body with a plurality of magnetic recording layers or an exchange-coupled composite (ECC) structure having an exchange-coupling control layer inserted between magnetic recording layers, is used in the perpendicular magnetic recording medium. Stacking a plurality of magnetic recording layers provides the effect of reducing magnetic switching loss while ensuring thermal stability. Note that each of the magnetic recording layers here is a single layer. Furthermore, in recent years, for the purpose of making up for a reduction in thermal stability, L10-ordered alloy (Strukturbericht designation) such as CoPt or FePt has been proposed as a material with higher magnetocrystalline anisotropy (Ku) (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3318204). An underlayer plays an important role in formation of a L10-ordered alloy layer. This is because crystals of L10-ordered alloy need to have a (001) orientation (a [001] axis of each crystal is positioned perpendicularly to a film surface) in order to provide magnetic crystal grain with a high magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In so doing, MgO having high lattice matching with the L10-ordered alloy is generally used as the underlayer. In this manner, granular structure control, exchange-coupling control between magnetic recording layers, crystalline orientation control with lattice matching using an underlayer, and other advanced control are performed on each magnetic recording layer in order to improve the performance of the magnetic recording medium, requiring further improvement of the quality of each magnetic recording layer. A magnetic recording layer is generally formed using a vacuum deposition equipment such as a sputtering/deposition/CVD equipment. It is effective to remove, as much as possible, impurity gas such as H2O, O2, H2, CO, CO2 and the like remaining in a vacuum in order to further improve the quality of the generated magnetic recording layer. Among the conventional semiconductors, there is proposed a getter pump for absorbing impurity gas inside a vacuum chamber of a vacuum deposition equipment by using an active material such as Ti to improve the quality of a generated film. The getter pump heats and thereby evaporates a filament made of an active material, to generate a clean active material film on an inner wall of a chamber, and then absorbs and removes impurity gas such as H2O, O2, H2, CO, CO2 and the like remaining in a vacuum, by means of the active material film. As a vacuum processing equipment capable of absorbing/removing impurity gas by using an active material with no spatial constraint of a vacuum chamber caused by a getter pump, there is proposed a vacuum processing equipment that has a shield plate and provides an opposite surface of a processing part of the shield plate with an absorption film of an active material for absorbing impurity gas (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-234326). There is also proposed an equipment in which a target is configured by a film-forming material region and an annular active material surrounding the film-forming material region and a shield is used to block sputtered particles generated from an active material region (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-106290). However, one of the major problems of the technology using a conventional getter pump is a spatial constraint in the vacuum chamber. Another problem is a worsening of the magnetic property of the magnetic recording medium due to an accumulation of the heated/evaporated active material on the medium substrate. Moreover, in the method for preventing the active material from accumulating on the substrate by blocking the active material with the shield, the shield often needs to be replaced because particles are produced as a result of an accumulation of the active material on the shield, deteriorating the maintenance and productivity. In addition, in the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-106290 in which the target is configured by the film-forming material region and the active material surrounding the film-forming material region and the shield is used to block the sputtered particles generated from the active material region, it is difficult to create the target, and the maintenance becomes worse.

The washing machine progresses washing, rinsing, and spinning cycles to remove contaminants stuck to clothes by using actions of detergent, and water. FIG. 1 illustrates a section of a typical pulsator type washing machine, which will be described. Referring to FIG. 1, there is an outer tub 20 in a cabinet 10 which forms an outside shape in a floated state by dampers 15, for holding water, and an inner tub 30 rotatably mounted on an inside of the outer tub 20. The inner tub 30 has a plurality of pass through holes (not shown), so that the water supplied to the inner tub 30 or the outer tub 20 flows between the inner tub 30 and the outer tub 20. There is a pulsator 35 rotatably mounted on a central part of a bottom of the inner tub 30. In the meantime, the outer tub 20 has a drain hose 60 in communication with an outside of the cabinet 10 connected thereto, with a drain valve 65 on a middle of the hose 60. The inner tub 30 has a washing shaft 41 connected thereto, and the pulsator 35 has the washing shaft 41 connected thereto through a spinning shaft 45 and the inner tub 30. The washing shaft 41 and the spinning shaft 45 are connected with a clutch assembly 40, mechanically. In the meantime, there is a motor 50 under the outer tub 20 spaced a distance from the clutch assembly 40 for generating power, and a belt 55 connects the motor 50 and a lower end of the washing shaft 41. In the foregoing typical pulsator type washing machine, when the motor 50 is put into operation, the rotation power is transmitted to the washing shaft 41 through the belt 55. In this case, if it is in a state the clutch assembly 40 separates the washing shaft 41 from the spinning shaft 45, only the pulsator 35 rotates. Accordingly, the washing machine can carries out washing or rinsing by using water circulation and friction force generated by rotation of the pulsator 35. Opposite to this, if it is in a state the clutch assembly 40 connects the washing shaft 41 and the spinning shaft 45, the pulsator rotates 35, together with the inner tub 30. According to this, the washing machine can carry out spinning for extract moisture from the laundry. Of course, in this time, the drain valve 65 is opened to drain water from the outer tub 20 to an outside of the washing machine through the drain hose 60. However, the typical washing machine has the following a few problems. At first, as described, the typical washing machine has a structure in which rotating power is transmitted from the motor to the washing shaft by a belt, indirectly. Therefore, power transmission loss caused by belt slip, and friction is very high. Moreover, in the typical washing machine, for preventing slip during the power transmission, the belt is set to pull a lower end part of the washing shaft with high tension. And, the heavy motor is mounted under the outer tube on one side thereof away from a center part. Therefore, the inner tub, and the outer tub can be tilted within the cabinet.

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a method of producing a piston for an internal combustion engine including at least one strengthened piston ring groove. It is especially where highly loaded pistons are concerned in both diesel and petrol engines that the load on the topmost piston ring groove is particularly high. This is why this piston ring groove needs to be specially strengthened by special hard-wearing materials. 2. Prior Art It is known from EP 0 654 596 A1 to include a ring of an iron based alloy in casting a piston body and to then work out the piston ring groove from this ring. As an alternative, it is known to work out the groove from the material of the piston skirt and to render the flanks of the groove with good hard-wearing properties in a suitable subsequent process, by hard anodizing for example. In this case, however, high costs materialize from disposal of the ferrous alfin and waste chemicals as well as from the working processes involved. Known from DE 198 33 827 C1 is to configure the strengthening of cermaic material in the region of the groove flanks which is likewise relatively complicated, however. DE 34 05 983 C1 describes hardfacing the flanks of the piston ring grooves with austentic hard manganese steel. Such a method, however, exposes the piston to relatively high thermal stress. Furthermore, this requires a relatively large amount of strengthening or filler materials. The invention is based on the objective of providing a method with which a piston for an internal combustion engine, requiring to comprise at least one strengthened piston ring groove, can now be produced at little expense. The achievement of this objective reads from the method as described in claim 1. In accordance therewith, a strengthened piston ring groove is configured on a piston for an internal combustion engine by configuring at least one, preferably two, relatively narrow grooves in the region of the upper and/or lower flank of the piston ring groove provided. More particularly, these grooves may be incised. Between the two grooves, or in the vicinity of the one groove, a web of the base material remains which, as described in the following, needs to be removed. After the groove(s) have been configured, at the locations at which the upper and/or lower flanks of the piston ring groove is provided, these groove(s) are filled with a hard-wearing material preferably by means of a single-stage coating procedure. In conclusion, the piston ring groove is worked out of the piston such that the upper and/or lower flank of the piston ring groove is formed by the hard-wearing material. In other words, in the course of the last step, the web of base material remaining between the relatively narrow grooves as well as part of each filling of hard-wearing material are removed. Part of the filling, consisting of the hard-wearing material, remains at the upper and/or lower flank of the piston ring groove configured in this way, so that the at least one flank of the groove consists of a material, with the aid of which, the requirements on the flanks of the piston ring groove are satisfied. The method in accordance with the invention offers the advantage of the piston being exposed to less thermal stress than is the case in known hardfacing. Furthermore, since only relatively narrow grooves are filled with the strengthening or filler material, less material is used. Due to the reduced filler volume less time is needed for processing. As compared to casting a ring of hard-wearing material in place in a base body of the base material and subsequently working out the groove from the cast-in place ring, the material requirement is likewise less. In conclusion, the consumption of strengthening material, processing time and other process parameters remain the same, irrespective of how the geometry and width of the ring groove is configured. In other words, the locations at which the relatively narrow grooves are configured, as well as their geometry and the geometry of the subsequently worked-out piston ring groove can now be freely selected without the method in accordance with the invention requiring any appreciable change or complication. Preferably further embodiments of the invention are described in the further claims. It is good practice to implement the step of filling the relatively narrow groove(s) configured in the base body by means of a laser or plasma source. By these steps in processing, advantageous filling of hard-wearing material is achievable at low expense. Tests have furthermore indicated it to be of advantage to use microspraying for filling the groove(s). In conclusion, use is made preferably of a wire- or powder-type material for the filling step. Such materials permit particularly good handling so that in this case a particularly simple variant of the method in accordance with the invention is achieved.

Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is a possible avenue for increasing the areal density of magnetic recording. As such, advances in HAMR are ongoing.

Typical radio access cellular networks operate by way of various radio transmission devices, or base stations. These base stations provide wireless access to wireless mobile devices, such as cellular phones, to a core network of a cellular service provider. The base stations along with various data routing and control mechanisms (e.g., base station controllers, core and edge routers, and so on) facilitate remote communication for the mobile devices. As communication service providers expand base station coverage, more land areas can be covered by the radio access network. However, some areas can be difficult to provide reliable radio coverage, for various reasons such as population, high mobile traffic, interference with other transmitters, or materials that absorb base station transmission (e.g., dense, concrete and steel buildings, underground facilities, and the like). Indoor cellular reception in particular has issues such as high interference, especially in higher floors subject to significant pilot signal noise pollution. Some venues have high capacity for people within a small area (e.g., shopping mall, airport terminal). These high density communication venues thus strain available capacity. It can be difficult to provide seamless integration of indoor cells with outdoor cells, not only managing interference but also in association, neighbor lists and handover procedures. One solution to provide mobile communication support to areas where radio access is difficult, is a ‘personal’ base station, or femto Base Station (BS) (also termed, e.g., a home Node B or Femtocell). A BS can be a relatively small range device (compared with standard radio network base stations, such as a Node-B) that facilitates wireless communication over a licensed cellular radio band (as opposed to an unlicensed band, utilized by wireless local area network routers). In an exemplary aspect, the BS can be of any size to serve a large coverage area and amount of user equipment (e.g., cellular devices, mobile station, access terminals, handsets, etc.) within the coverage area. The BS can maintain a wireless link with cellular devices over such a radio band, in a similar manner as a Node-B base station. Consequently, a BS can provide small range cellular coverage for an area that does not receive a good signal from a radio access base station. Often, an individual consumer might utilize a BS in their home, an apartment building, an office building, and so on, for personal cellular access. In addition to mobile phone networks currently in place, a new class of small base stations has emerged, which may be installed in a user's home and provide indoor wireless coverage to mobile units using existing broadband Internet connections. Such personal miniature base stations are generally known as access point base stations, or, alternatively, Home Node B (HNB) or femtocells. Typically, such miniature base stations are connected to the Internet and the mobile operator's network via DSL router, IP communication or cable modem.

Fastening devices typically include two flexible elongated components having teeth that are forced to interlock and separate by moving a slide along the components. Although such fastening devices have long been used to close and open various articles, such as clothing and bags, such devices suffer from the allowance of liquids and gases within the fastener, and are therefore not useful for conditions in which a wind-proof, gas-tight and/or waterproof article is desirable. Fluid-tight fasteners are available, but such fasteners are typically not fluid-tight at the ends of the fastener. Furthermore, other devices have sealing members that are aligned adjacent each other as opposed to extending away from each other. Still other devices are expensive, heavy, and/or require the use of a covering material over the fastener to establish a wind and/or watertight closure. There is also a need for an endless sealing device for the attachment of a first item to a second item, such as attachment of glove or boot to a hazardous waste protective suit. There is also a need for a sealing device that provides a substantially low profile slider that operates in conjunction with an upper seal member and a lower seal member that are directed in substantially opposing directions. For example, it would be advantageous to provide a slider that operates with upper and lower sealing members for a jacket, thereby providing a waterproof and windproof closure along the length of the seal, while having a relatively low profile and having the upper and lower seal members also lie substantially flat. There is also a need for a zipper system that will allow a soldier or emergency response worker to push their way out of a sleeping bag under extreme or emergency conditions. In such conditions, the user of the sleeping bag does not have the time or the ability to redirect their focus on fumbling with tabs or zipper pulls because these devices are too difficult to operate under extremely stressful and/or life threatening conditions. The prior art offers typical sleeping bag configurations with a standard zipper that does not permit the user to rapidly breakaway and exit the sleeping bag in stressful situations or poor weather conditions. Accordingly, a breakaway sleeping bag (or alternate enclosure item) is need that is preferably easy to operate, fast to exit, water-resistant, and cost-effective. There is also a need for a device to cooperate with a slider and upper and lower seal members, wherein the device can be positioned at the end of the seal for holding the upper seal member in place relative to the lower seal member while advancing the slider along the upper and lower seal members to form the seal. There is also a need for mating shapes that provide a proper watertight and gas migration resistant seal, while also providing sufficient resistance to unwanted opening of the seal.

The invention, in accordance with the preamble of Claim 1, pertains to a pressure control valve with a control piston that can be displaced in a valve bore. The control piston of pressure control valves according to the state of the art is held in its normal position by an energy storage device. In one direction of travel, the pressure control valve connects a pump connection to a load connection. In the other direction of travel, the pressure control valve connects the load connection to a tank connection while disconnecting the pump connection. If the pressure at the load connection exceeds a be predetermined set point, the control piston travels against the force of the energy storage device and thus reduces the flow cross section between the pump connection and the load connection until the pressure at the load connection corresponds to the predetermined set point. If the set point is exceeded, the control piston travels against the force of the energy storage device to such an extent that pressure is released from the load connection to the tank connection. In known pressure control valves, it is disadvantageous if control instabilities occur during rapid control processes, due to the spring-mass system, in particular, within the region of the control piston. DE 35 05 377 C2 discloses a pressure control valve in which a control piston that can be moved by an electromagnet is displaceably arranged in an axially closed distributor housing. DE-OS 27 00 058 discloses a flow control valve in which a plunger piston, which can be axially displaced in a bore in the control piston and forms an annular gap with the bore, forms a damping device for the movement of the control piston. The invention is based on the objective of making available a pressure control valve that also guarantees a reliable and stable operation over a wide control range. The design costs for preventing the instabilities should be held to a minimum, and the individual components of the pressure control valve should be low in number. The objective is realized with the pressure control valve disclosed in Claim 1. Special embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the subordinate claims. According to Claim 1, the invention is based on a pressure control valve with a control piston that can be displaced in a valve bore; in one travel direction, said control piston connects a pump connection to a load connection under the effect of an energy storage device In the other travel direction, it connects the load connection to a tank connection while disconnecting the pump connection. The invention is characterized by the fact that a volume flow between the control piston and the valve bore, in particular, a volume flow in an annular gap formed by the control piston and the valve bore, causes a damping of the excursion movement of the control piston independently of the direction of travel of travel. The volume flow is preferably small, specifically, it is only as large as is required for the damping. The advantages of the invention are that the damping is realized with an annular gap formed directly in the pressure medium channel, and that the damping volume is linked to the pressure medium volume flow. In addition, the arrangement has no dead volume with respect to the damping effect. These advantages become particularly evident in directly controlled pressure controllers, in which the damping options are basically limited. The damping of the control piston by means of the volume flow and the respective pressure build-up associated therewith also provides the advantage that the damping effect is a function of the speed of the control piston and is due to the portion of the frictional forces caused by the entrained flow or displacement flow, and that the damping effect is a function of the differential pressure between the pump connection and the load connection and is due to the portion of the frictional force which is caused by the leakage flow from the pump connection to the load connection. This results in a particularly advantageous damping and control behavior of the pressure control valve. The portions of the leakage flow and the entrained flow or displacement flow can be adjusted in a particularly simple and advantageous fashion by correspondingly adapting the geometrical shape of the pressure control valve, in particular, the control piston. Since the frictional forces act on the outer surface of the preferably cylindrical control piston, a particularly uniform force effect and consequently a particularly superior control and damping behavior of the pressure control valve can be achieved. The special embodiment of the invention according to Claim 2 provides the advantage that the direction and the amount of the entrained flow can be predetermined. In this case in particular, it can be predetermined that the entrained flow is introduced into the pressure control valve at the load connection which is usually subjected to a lower pressure than the pump connection. The special embodiments of the invention according to Claims 3 and 4 provide the advantage that a hollow cylindrical volume, into or from which the entrained flow or displacement flow which passes through the larger annular gap at the load connection can be introduced or discharged, respectively becomes larger or smaller due to the step formed between the two sections of the control piston which have different diameters during the axial travel of the control piston between the step of the control piston and the corresponding step of the valve bore. Due to the geometrical design of the steps as well as the annular gap, the damping characteristic of the pressure control valve can be easily and precisely adjusted as well as adapted to different situations. For example, the control and damping characteristic of a pressure control valve can be changed by exchanging the control piston. The special embodiment of the invention according to Claim 6 provides the advantage that coil springs represent reliable and inexpensive energy storage devices which have a long service life, and that coil springs are available with nearly any desired dimensions. As an alternative to coil springs, other mechanical energy storage devices, e.g., a leaf spring, an elastic element, or pneumatic or hydraulic pressure reservoirs may be considered for this purpose. The special embodiment of the invention according to Claim 7 provides the advantage that a reliable connection between the load connection and the pump connection and between the load connection and the tank connection can be produced with simple and inexpensive structural means. The special embodiment of the invention according to Claim 9 provides the advantage that a clear structural separation between the load connection, the pump connection and the tank connection is ensured. In this case, the pump connection and the tank connection may be realized radially or annularly. The special embodiment of the invention according to Claim 10 provides the advantage that the control pressure or the set point can also be changed after the manufacture of the pressure control valve, even after the pressure control valve is installed into a larger system. The special embodiment of the invention according to Claim 11 provides the advantage that the pressure control valve can also be easily installed and replaced in larger pressure control systems modularly, due to the use of the pressure control valves in the form of screw-type cartridges. Additional advantages, characteristics and details of the invention are disclosed in the subordinate claims as well as the following description, in which one embodiment of the invention is described in detail with reference to the figure. In this respect, the characteristics disclosed in the claims and in the description may be essential for the invention individually or in arbitrary combination.

The present invention relates generally to compositions and methods for treating immune system mediated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a destructive autoimmune disease that is a chronic inflammatory and destructive arthropathy of unknown etiology. RA is commonly associated with decreased life expectancy. RA causes the synovial lining to become hyperplastic leading to formation of pannus and destruction of cartilage and bone. In fact, RA may cause the synovial lining to increase from 1-2 cell layers to as much as 10 layers thick. The increase in synovial lining may be attributed to decreased death of both fibroblasts and macrophages since there is a paucity of apoptotic cells in RA, even though the milieu of the joint contains noxious factors that are normally detrimental to the survival of the cell. The induction of synoviocyte apoptosis in animal models of inflammatory arthritis, including streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis, collagen-induced arthritis, HTLV-1 tax transgenic model, and RA explants in SCID mice result in either amelioration of the disease or reduction in joint inflammation and destruction. While the data from these animal studies suggest that increased apoptosis may be associated with an improved clinical outcome, the studies use adenoviral vectors, overexpression of FasL, or anti-Fas antibodies that are known to induce an inflammatory response. Thus, the applicability of these studies as a basis for therapies to treat RA is unclear and questionable. Apoptosis in mammals proceeds through two distinct pathways, an “extrinsic” pathway that transduces an apoptotic signal following the ligation of death receptors on the cell surface and an “intrinsic” pathway in which mitochondria play a critical role. The induction of apoptosis mediated by the extrinsic pathway is initiated by binding of death ligands to their receptors. The intrinsic pathway is regulated by the Bcl-2 protein family which is divided into anti-apoptotic members (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Mcl-1, Al/Bfl-l and Bcl-w) and pro-apoptotic members (Bax, Bak, Bad, Bim/Bod, Bok/Mtd, Bik/Blk/Nbk, Bid, Hrk/DP5, Bmf, Noxa, Puma/Bbc3). Bcl-2-related proteins contain Bcl-2-homology (BH 1-4) domains that are critical for homodimer and heterodimer formation between the family members. While the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 like proteins contain at least three and possibly all four BH domains, the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 related proteins are subdivided into two categories: (1) the multi-BH domain (BH1-3: e.g. Bak, Bax); and (2) the BH3-only proteins (e.g. Bad, Bim). Many Bcl-2 family members are localized to the mitochondrial outer membrane and certain other intra-cellular membranes which suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in apoptosis. During intrinsic apoptosis signaling, the integrity of the outer mitochondrial membrane is lost, leading to the dissipation of the transmembrane potential through the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pores and release of apoptogenic mitochondrial inter-membrane proteins, such as cytochrome c. In the cytoplasm, cytochrome c binds to the adaptor protein Apaf-1 which then causes aggregation and activation the initiator caspase 9. Caspase 9, in turn, activates the effector caspases 3 and 7 that cause the downstream degradative events in apoptosis. Apoptosis signaling through the intrinsic pathway is inhibited by overexpression of any of the Bcl-2 like pro-survival members or by loss of both multi-BH domain proteins Bak and Bax. The BH3 domain is critical for cell death since deletion of the BH3 domain results in a failure to induce apoptosis in cells overexpressing the mutant constructs. The BH3 domain forms an amphipathic α-helix that binds to hydrophobic cleft on the surface formed by the BH1-3 domain of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members. Recent studies using peptides that correspond to the BH3 domains have shown that BH3-only proteins are also subdivided into two categories based on their ability to induce apoptosis. Bid and Bim are sufficient to sequester anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, induce oligomerization of Bak and Bax, induce permeabilization of liposoines, and/or the release of cytochrome C. In contrast, Bad, Bmf, Hrk, Noxa, and Puma are sensitizers for apoptosis since they are only able to bind to the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 members and require Bid or Bim to induce the death response. Recent studies have examined the potential of altering the molecular rheostat that governs the Bcl-2 family through the use of BH3-domain peptides. 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1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to battery separator systems and methods for preparing the same and particularly to composite absorber/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) barrier separator systems for use, for example in cells of high energy density secondary alkaline batteries. 2. Description of the Prior Art Fabricating techniques for fabricating battery separators for alkaline battery cells have included the technique of thermally adhering, at limited sites, a thin polymer film separator to a synthetic, fibrous, heat sealable electrolyte absorbent sheet whereby a composite thin film separator/absorbent sheet is formed and maintained throughout handling and within a finished cell. For a discussion of this technique see U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,693 issued Sept. 2, 1980 to Ralph B. DiPalma and Anthony Loh, Jr. Such a composite structure appears to provide improved handling characteristics and dimensional stability of thin film separators as well as to eliminate a step in cell manufacture whereby installation of a separate electrolyte absorbent member is eliminated. However, this thermal adhering approach for forming a dual function separator seems to be an ineffective technique since spot thermal adhering two sheets together may cause spotty densification of the separator material, resulting in regions of the separator to be impermeable to both diffusion and hydrodynamic flow of electrolyte ions. Another technique that has been employed which eliminates the need for providing a sandwich-type system, i.e., a barrier attached to an absorber in a battery cell, is to form a composite separator by laminating; for example, a sheet of lightly crosslinked PVA film is laminated to a top surface of a sheet of absorber material. Such a technique can provide an effective battery separator system; but, however, laminating techniques are usually sheet uniting means requiring subjecting the composite structure to relatively high levels of heat or adhesives and pressure. When pressure is used in conjunction with heat or adhesives, a new and different material composition results at the interface that differs substantially from either of the materials that are being united. Subsequently, laminating techniques inherently provide material between the layers which react differently to electrolyte flow than either of the materials that are united. It is reasonably obvious that both the surface and volume resistivity of the composite material formed in this manner are not enhanced by such a condition. Also, such an approach is probably a very expensive process since large quantities of crosslinked PVA film structures, suitable for laminating processes, are unavailable commercially. The use of PVA films as barrier separators in a separator system is well known. In general, PVA material has been used as a barrier material in alkaline battery cells because suitably lightly crosslinked films have high mechanical strength and high hydrophilic properties. Also, suitably lightly crosslinked films can be fabricated readily from aqueous solutions despite the fact that noncrosslinked PVA will readily dissolve in water. This characteristic of PVA film provides a desirable attribute useful in battery separator systems. But, however, most prior art methods for moderately crosslinking PVA to the extent required to form suitable barrier material for battery separator systems has required casting, onto base material such as a glass sheet, a film of noncrosslinked PVA from an aqueous solution. Then the PVA film which had been treated previously with a reagent that inhibits dissolution of the film, is contacted either by an acid catalyst or by an ionizing radiation technique in such a manner as to effect moderate insitu crosslinking of the PVA sheet. This moderately crosslinked PVA sheet is removed from the glass sheet base and then laminated or spot bonded to an absorber-type material to form the composite separator/absorber separator. Various techniques and methods to achieve lightly crosslinked PVA film structures have been employed to improve the mechanical properties and chemical stability of PVA film for use as barrier material in alkaline battery cells. U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,912 which issued May 15, 1979, to Philipp et al describes a two step method for forming an insitu self crosslinked PVA separator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,280 which issued Aug. 19, 1980 also of Philipp et al describes an irradiation technique for crosslinking a PVA film which also had been cast on a sheet of glass. U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,687 dated Apr. 20, 1976 of Takamura et al describes a PVA separator formed by coating both sides of a porous alkaline resistant nonwoven substrate with a mixture of an aqueous PVA solution and at least either of one selected from boric acids and metal oxides having low solubility to alkali solution and then drying the nonwoven fabric thus coated. Such procedure taught by Takamura et al could be used to mass produce PVA separators for sandwich-type use but by coating both sides of the substrate with the mixture appears to increase the volume resistivity of the separator material. Another method for forming a PVA separator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,033 dated July 19, 1977 also of Takamura et al. There, a nonwoven fabric is pretreated by soaking it in a solution of a surfactant and then drying it. Then a mixture of PVA and an aqueous boric compound is coated over the treated nonwoven fabric covering all surfaces so that the separator does not have any large channels capable of being penetrated by dendrite growth. Such a procedure also could be used to mass produce PVA separators but it would consume considerable amounts of time and the separator is probably most useful in the sandwich-type separator systems. A search for various other means of providing a PVA separator system which would eliminate the need for a separate absorber sheet and which could be mass produced readily was initiated. This search was successful and resulted in the present invention.

1. Field The present disclosure relates to a neutral atom trapping device with high optical depth for quantum optics experiments. 2. Background Since laser cooling and trapping was developed in 1980's [E. L. Raab, M. Prentiss, A. Cable, S. Chu, and D. E. Pritchard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 2631 (1987)] that led to the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, the magneto-optical trap (MOT) has been widely applied and implemented to provide cold atom sources for scientific researches in the field of atomic physics and quantum optics. Many cold atom devices have been invented for possible applications in atomic sensors and some of them have been commercialized [See ColdQuanta Inc; D. Z. Anderson and J. G. J. Reichel, US Patent 2005/0199871; D. Z. Anderson et al, US Patent 2010/0200739; M. Hyodo, U.S. Pat. No. 7,816,643 B2]. The most commonly used cold atom device is the three-dimensional (3D) MOT with a configuration of six trapping laser beams and a 3D quadrupole magnetic field where the cold atoms are trapped at the position of zero magnetic field spherically. In that configuration, there is only one point of zero magnetic field and the atoms experience magnetic gradients along every direction. Therefore, for experiments and applications which require long atomic coherence time, such as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), atomic quantum memory, and single-photon generation, the magnetic field must be switched off before the experimental time window [A. Kuzmich, W. P. Bowen, A. D. Boozer, A. Boca, C. W. Chou, L.-M. Duan, and H. J. Kimble, Nature 423, 731 (2003).]. This significantly adds complicity in the controlling system and prevents the experimental data collected from a high repetition rate because it always takes time to switch off the current in a magnetic coil due to the inductance. The quantum optics and photon counting experiments based on the 3D MOT are typically time consuming. One approach changes a 3D quadrupole magnetic field to a 2D quadrupole magnetic field with a line of zero magnetic fields. This is called a 2D MOT where the cold atoms are trapped in the zero magnetic field line along the longitudinal symmetry axis. There are two configurations in the conventional 2D MOT devices. In the first configuration, there are only 4 trapping laser beams transmitted perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis [T. G. Tiecke, S. D. Gensemer, A. Ludewig, and J. T. M. Walraven, Phys. Rev. A 80, 013409 (2009)]. As a result, the cooling and trapping occur only two-dimensionally and there is no cooling and trapping along the longitudinal symmetry axis where the atoms are free to move. In the second configuration, two more counter-propagating trapping laser beams are added along the longitudinal axis to provide the additional cooling in the third dimension [K. Dieckmann, R. J. C. Spreeuw, M. Weidemuller, and J. T. M. Walraven, Phys. Rev. A 58, 3891 (1998)]. In that setup, the optical accesses along the longitudinal symmetry axis are blocked or shared by the two trapping beams along that direction. The conventional 2D M High optical depth (OD) is sought for much quantum optics research [A. V. Gorshkov, A. Andre, M. Fleischhauer, A. S. Sorensen, and M. D. Lukin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 123601 (2007)], but in the traditional MOT optical configuration high OD is commonly obtained by increasing the MOT size where more cold atoms can be obtained in the cloud. But the MOT size is usually determined by the MOT laser beam size which is limited by the total laser power. Another way to improve the OD is increasing the atomic density in the cloud using a dark-spot configuration [W. Ketterle, K. B. Davis, M. A. Joffe, A. Martin and D. E. Pritchard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2253(1993)], but the magnetic field gradient is often required to switched off for applications. Also, in conventional 2D MOTs, there is a limitation for optical access due to its geometry and the OD may need to be further improved.

A network equipment system in which a plurality of network devices are connected to each other through telecommunications lines such as the Internet and they perform a predetermined action in concert with each other has been provided. For example, a system in which a home server and various equipment devices in a home (for example, an information display device, an air-conditioning control device, and so on) are connected to each other through the Internet and which controls the equipment devices in the home and/or monitors the power in the home through the Internet has been provided. Heretofore, in order to design such a system, an object-oriented language is widely used. The object-oriented language has features such as encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and it is effective for especially a large-scale software development. When a new network device is added to a network equipment system constituted by the object-oriented language, it is necessary to examine the influence of the new network device upon the whole system, and it requires a lot of time and effort as the system becomes complex. This is because the objects in the object-oriented language operate while interacting with each other, and when an object is added, the states of other objects are influenced by the added object. If the investigation of the system is imperfect, so-called deadlock may occur. Therefore, as the system becomes complex, it becomes difficult to add a new network device to the network equipment system constituted by the object-oriented language. Furthermore, because the object has much internal state information, if a problem arises in investigating the system, it is necessary to identify the internal state information and to re-create the state in order to re-create the problem, so, debugging is not easy. By the way, Japanese Non-examined Patent Publication No. 8-137697 discloses an autonomous distributed system in which a plurality of agents communicate and work together to process a task according to a predetermined system characteristics. In this distributed system, a problem of a whole system is decomposed (broken down) into subproblems capable of being resolved independently, and each agent determines its share of the subproblems by negotiation. Each subproblem is configured so that it is does not depend on other subproblems and a result of each subproblem is not required for other subproblems. In this autonomous distributed system, it is described that it becomes easy to maintain the system, such as a change of a system configuration, because each agent resolves a problem autonomously. So, in order to deal with a system change easily, it is conceivable to apply such an autonomous distributed system to the above-mentioned network equipment system. However, in the above network equipment system, because it is difficult to decompose a problem of a whole system into subproblems and there is a dependence relationship between the decomposed subproblems, it is difficult to apply the autonomous distributed system of the above publication.

Scale formation from the precipitation of inorganic chemical species in water has long been a problem. In residential experience, scale typically builds up as hard water deposits in pipes and other conduits, water softeners and the like, in areas where the water is "hard" that is, contains relatively high quantities of minerals. The carrying capacity of water pipes can be greatly reduced over time, and this phenomenon can cause substantial decrease in water pressure. The problem of scale formation is particularly aggravated in industrial uses where large volumes of aqueous fluids containing dissolved minerals are handled. For example, scale commonly forms on the surfaces of storage vessels and conveying conduits for process water, and may break loose. These relatively large masses of scale deposits become entrained and ultimately damage and clog equipment such as tubes, valves, filters, screens and pumps. These crystalline scales may detract from the cosmetic appearance of a final product, such as paper products. In more severe cases, scale can clog heat exchange surfaces and thereby form a thermal insulating barrier which inhibits heat transfer efficiency, as well as impeding fluid flow in the system. In the production and processing of petroleum, scale formation problems are particularly exacerbated by the high levels of dissolved inorganic minerals in the fluids encountered, and by conditions which favor the precipitation and growth of these minerals as scale. For example, injection waters used to pressurize formations often contain dissolved minerals which combine with other dissolved minerals in the formation brine to yield insoluble salts which appear as scale. The mixing of formation brine with water flood fluids can also lead to shifts in ionic strength and pH, which may also cause scale formation. Shifts in temperature and pressure in the near-wellbore region of the formation also cause scale to form. Prevention and inhibition of scale formation is needed to avoid plugging of the producing formation and production equipment. One of the problems in treating scale is that it can be of many types. The compounds which form scale include, but are not limited to, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, barium sulfate, calcium sulfate, other salts of alkaline earth metals, aluminum silicates, etc. Attempts to prevent or inhibit scale formation are complicated by the wide-ranging chemical and solubility characteristics of the various scale constituents. Often, more than one chemical treatment is used: for example, both acidic and alkaline soaks may be employed to address the variety of scales. Many techniques are known in the art which attempt to address scale prevention or inhibition. One such method is outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,817 to Hansen, et al., assigned to Betz Laboratories. In the process of this patent, scale inhibition of an adsorbent is improved through the addition to the formulation of a metal ion. It is broadly stated that the invention applies to "any water soluble, dispersable adsorbents which are normally employed in the adsorption of inorganic contaminants." The adsorbents specifically mentioned and addressed, however, are phosphonic acid derivatives of the general formula: ##STR1## where X and Y are hydrogen or an alkyl group having between one to four carbon atoms, including the ammonium, amine and metal salts of these acids. Metal ions cited as having performance-enhancing effects on scale inhibition are Fe(III), Fe(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Cu(II) and Al(III). The effectiveness of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,817 invention is attributed to the displacement of positive ions, such as Ba(II) for the case of BaSO.sub.4 scale, at the surface of the scale crystal by the aforementioned ions. This displacement supposedly changes the electrostatic potential of the surface in such a way so as to allow the adsorption of more inhibitor. Stated another way, the role of the added metal ion is to increase the amount of inhibitor adsorbed at the surface and thereby achieve better inhibition. The use of nitrilotri(methylenephosphonic) acid (NTMPA) as a scale inhibitor is one example covered by U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,817. The present inventors have observed a small increase in the scale-inhibiting performance of NTMPA in the presence of, for example, Cu(II). Other phosphonate scale inhibitors also show some extremely modest improvements in performance in the presence of some of the above mentioned metal ions, although Fe(III) and Al(III) have always been observed to have a deleterious effect on performance. Thus, it would be a great advance in the art of scale inhibitors if a material giving something more than a small incremental benefit could be found. The use of ethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic) acid (ENTMP) and other phosphonic acids alone as scale inhibitors is well known. For example, the following references described the uses of such compounds. (a) U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,286; (b) U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,084, both to Quinlan, which teach this material as a CaCO.sub.3 scale inhibitor and as a chelating or sequestering agent of metal ions; however complexes with metal ions are not taught as scale inhibitors; and (c) P. H. Ralston, "Inhibiting Water Formed Deposits with Threshold Compositions," Materials Performance, Vol. 11, No. 6(1972) pp. 39-44, which primarily discusses aminomethylenephosphonate (AMP); 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonate (HEDP) and amine phosphate (AP). Metal ion complexes of some of the phosphonic acids described above, including ENTMP, are also known, but not as scale inhibitors. Publications describing these complexes include, but are not limited to: (a) B. Spiess, et al., "Complexing Properties of Nitrilotri(methylenephosphonic) Acid With Various Transition and Heavy Metals in a 10:90 Ethanol-Water Medium," Polyhedron, Vol. 6, No. 6, (1987) pp. 1247-1249 (teaches the demetallization of wine); (b) M. T. M. Zaki, et al., "Metal Chelates of Phosphonate-Containing Ligands-IV: Stability of Some 1,6-Hexamethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-Tetra(methylenephosphonic) Acid Metal Chelates," Talanta, Vol. 27, (1980) pp. 709-713; (c) European Pat. No. 186,990 to Christiansen teaching the use of alkyleneaminephosphonic acids together with polyalkylenepolycarboxylic acids as stabilization aids for peroxide systems in the presence of alkaline earth metal ions; (d) U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,486 relating to cyanide-free electroplating, to Nobel, et al.; and (e) European Pat. Document 256,284 A2 where a phosphonate sequestrant synergistically works with a soluble tin compound to extend the storage life of photoresist stripping solutions.

This invention relates to apparatus for and a method of adding toner to the toner hopper of an electrostatic reproduction machine. In conventional xerography, a xerographic surface comprising a layer of photoconductive insulating material affixed to a conductive backing is used to support electrostatic latent images. In the process, the xerographic surface is electrostatically charged, and the charged surface is then exposed to a light pattern of the image being reproduced to thereby discharge the surface in the areas where light strikes the surface. The undischarged areas of the surface thus form an electrostatic charge pattern (the latent image) conforming to the original pattern. The latent image is then developed by contacting it with a finely divided electrostatically attractable powder referred to as toner. The toner is held on the image areas by the electrostatic charge on the photoconductive layer. Where the charge is greater, the greater amount of toner is deposited. Thus, a toner image is produced in conformity with a light image of the copy being reproduced. Generally, the developed image is then transferred to a suitable transfer member and affixed thereto to form a permanent record of the original document. The latent image is developed by a suitable developer such as a magnetic brush developer. During the reproduction process, the toner in the developer is depleted. Thus, additional toner is periodically automatically dispensed into the developer by a toner hopper. Consequently, toner must also be added periodically to the toner hopper. Prior art arrangements for adding toner into a toner hopper require that toner be poured out of a container into the hopper; there are no connections between the container and the hopper. Toner is generally black and of small particle size. Unless extreme precaution is taken in pouring the toner, a cloud of fine toner is produced and toner is invariably deposited on the hands and clothing of the operator. This is highly undesirable because the powder is difficult to remove because of its small particle size. Also, in attempting to empty all of the toner from the toner container into the toner hopper, the operator may have to shake the toner container and/or tap the toner container against the toner hopper. This may result in spilling toner on the inside of the reproduction machine and in generating additional toner clouds, thus contaminating the interior of the reproduction machine. Another prior art arrangement utilizes a toner bottle combined with a flexible conduit, the latter being connected to the toner bottle and to the toner hopper. The toner bottle is uprighted, and the toner passes through the conduit into the toner hopper. Like the above described arrangement this arrangement is also time consuming in that the toner bottle must still be shaken in attempting to empty all of its contents into the toner hopper. Also, if the hopper is filled before all of the contents of the toner bottle have been emptied, the operator is faced with the problem of disconnecting the conduit from the toner hopper without spilling toner within the machine. The toner contained within the conduit is almost invariably spilled on internal machine parts and/or the operator, thus producing the same contamination described above. Thus, what is needed is an arrangement whereby toner can be quickly added to the toner hopper. The apparatus should be simple, easy to use, and should eliminate or minimize the danger of contaminating the inside of the reproduction machine or the operator.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to adaptive processor systems, and more particularly, to a novel phase weighted adaptive processor system for use in radar altimeters, transmitter-receiver systems, null and/or steeering systems such as used in phased array antennas and sidelobe cancellation systems. 2. Description of the Prior Art Prior art adaptive processor systems are known and have been described in text books. Adaptive processors have been employed in sidelobe cancellation systems and for countering anti-radar jamming devices. Such prior art systems have employed parallel signal paths and a pair of amplitude modulators which are phase shifted ninety degrees, one from the other. Such systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,177 which describes a system for cancelling an undesired signal. When the undesired signal is much stronger than the desired signal, it often masks the desired signal to the extent that the desired signal cannot be properly recovered. Prior art adaptive processors employed numerous elements which are and were susceptible to signal dispersion. Quadrature power splitters, as employed in the prior art are designed for changing the phase of a signal exactly ninety degrees. These devices are not highly accurate, and if several such quadrature power splitters are employed in a single adaptive processor system, the added effect of the error in such devices can produce inaccurate cancellation signals. It is difficult to obtain a ninety degrees phase shift with phase shifters. Further, in high frequency adaptive processor systems, there are line delays and component delays which can cause phase shifts. Temperature and the age of components and the frequency of the signal applied to components may change the phase shift and/or delay encountered by the signals in a system. Even if the components are properly tuned when a system is manufactured, they are susceptible to drift and changee in use. Prior art adaptive processors are complex and require expensive components for accurate results. The mode of operation of the aforementioned prior art adaptive processors employ amplitude modulation for the adjustment of the phase of the signals to cancel unwanted weak signals. These prior art systems are expensive and difficult to keep in tune. It would be extremely desirable to provide an adaptive processor system which is more accurate than prior art adaptive processing systems and is cheaper to build and would eliminate undesired signals.

In selective call networks, such as a paging network, a sequence of digital symbols is modulated and sent from a transmitter to a receiver. The receiver performs the necessary signal processing functions to demodulate the signal and to decode the demodulated signal into digital symbols. In order to decode the received signal into digital symbols, the receiver must obtain timing and other synchronization information from the received signal upon which it can base its symbol decoding decisions. Once synchronization onto a given frame of a received signal has been achieved, a tracking element is utilized to adapt thresholds that are used for symbol decoding as well as for the timing recovery operation. In known pagers utilizing such protocols as FLEX having a four-level structure with a 6400 bps frame, the output of an FM demodulator of the pager is sampled at a very high rate. Peak and valley techniques are applied to the sampled output of the demodulator in order to establish symbol detection thresholds. A zero-crossing phase-locked loop is utilized for acquiring and maintaining timing synchronization. During four-level data detection, however, the performance of the receiver is very sensitive to the quality of the symbol detection thresholds that are set by the peak and valley routine. Depending on the distribution of the data, the peak and valley search operation will result in sub-optimum detection thresholds so that on average performance degrades. Further, the phase-locked loop clock recovery system must run at a very high sampling rate and can experience timing phase jitter even in the presence of a strong received signal. This jitter typically occurs about the center of the zero-crossings of the waveform so that the loop does not necessarily lock onto the point of the sampled waveform where inter-symbol interference is minimum, this point being known as the point of maximum-eye-opening. Stochastic gradient symbol recovery routines have been used in radios, but it has not been known to use these routines in selective call receiving devices such as a pager. A stochastic gradient symbol recovery routine or system will lock onto the maximum-eye-opening point with very little jitter and further requires only a few samples of the signal per symbol. However, stochastic gradient systems can experience false lock points during acquisition that render the system unusable. One method for acquiring initial acquisition for a stochastic gradient symbol recovery system is to use a signal correlator that correlates the raw received signal with an expected synchronization word waveform. This method, however, has severe falsing problems in the presence of noise.

The present invention relates to lamp fixing structure, and particularly to a wire connection box with a rapidly-assembled lamp rod, Where in assembly, it is only necessary to insert the inserting rod into the retaining seat for use. No other tool, such as studs, is needed. Thereby, the user can assemble the wire connection box by himself (or herself). Prior wire connection devices of lamps, such as wall lamps, stand type lamps, ceiling lamps, use studs and nuts to lock the components. In assembly, not only the user is easy to be harmed, but also other locking tools (such as spanners, openers, etc.) are necessary. Moreover, in assembly, electric wires are easy to expose out and some dangers are induced. Thereby, the prior art is not suitable to be assembled by the user. In general, the manufacturer assembles the device in advance, namely, the wire box is assembled with inserting rods in the manufacturing process. However, this will induce that a large space is required for transferring and storing the wire connection device and thus cost is increased. Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an assembly having a wire connection box with a rapidly-assembled lamp rod or inserting rod. In assembly, it is only necessary to insert the inserting rod into the retaining seat for use. No other tool, such as studs, is needed. Thereby, the user can assemble the wire connection box by himself (or herself). To achieve above object, the present invention provides a wire connection box with a rapidly-assembled lamp rod comprises a retaining seat installed at a via hole at a lateral side of the wire connection box and an inserting rod inserted in the retaining seat. A front end of the inserting rod with respect to the retaining seat is firmly secured with a rapidly-connecting joint secured to a front end of the retaining seat. In this wire connection box, the inserting rod can be pulled out from the retaining seat for packaging, transferring and storage. Since the wire connection box and the inserting rod can be detached for reducing the volume, the retaining seat inserted by the inserting rod is assembled in the wire connection box.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates in general to railroad cars and more specifically, to a one piece center sill and its method of manufacture. 2. Summary of the Prior Art The center sill is the primary structural member of the underframe of a rail car. It is subjected to the buff and draft forces created during operation of the rail car and normally extends as a continuous member along the length of the car body. In the past, center sills have possessed many different cross-sectional configurations depending on the type of rail car and other considerations. Center sills have been in the shape of hat designs, C-sections and other configurations. Regardless of its particular shape, it is well known to form a center sill by welding a plurality of pieces together as a unit along its substantial length. The use of welds to manufacture center sills presents several long existing problems. Because welding is needed, the reliance on this process to fabricate a finished center sill is inefficient from both a cost and productivity standpoint. The application of the welds along the lengths of the pieces being joined as a center sill is labor intensive and cannot attain high-speed production. In addition, the application of multiple welds heats the material being joined and results in so-called weld flux. Weld flux creates deviations in the straightness or acceptable tolerances of the center sill being formed. As a result, further physical steps are needed to finish the welded center sill unit and conform it to acceptable tolerances in camber, sweep and twist to be suitable for use in a railroad car. As an additional important consideration, a welded center sill is an inherently heavy structure due to its design and fabrication technique. Accordingly, it is desirable in the prior art to provide an improved, light weight center sill in which the necessity of welds or other securement techniques are eliminated. It is an objective of this invention to provide an improved single piece center sill capable of being cold formed into a straight member having close tolerances. The various configurations of the several embodiments of the invention are cold formed at a plurality of cold rolling stations from a plate or sheet of coiled steel. The flat sheet undergoes progressive formation at each rolling station whereby drawings of the steps of shaping developed by each roll station, when superimposed, form a flower diagram to assist the roll tooling designer. The center sills herein disclosed can be formed on a continuous basis without interruption between separate center sills. The unique cold forming process of the invention allows center sills having a thickness up to one-half inch to be formed without the use of welds as in the prior art. Because the bent sections forming the shape of the center sill are cold worked numerous times during working, the material is strengthened to produce a stronger cross-section without thicker sections or reinforcing material. The center sills are open at the bottom to provide desired access within the center sill body. Two of the configurations of the center sill include extra structural features that provide enhanced strength characteristics without adding significant weight.

Various arrangements are known in the art for securing the inner ring of a bearing assembly onto a shaft. Such arrangements have included shaft engaging set screws and shaft-surrounding locking collars. Such locking collars may include locking or tightening means, generally in the form of one or more locking screws. In the so-called SKWEZLOC® arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,537,519 and 4,728,203, the inner ring has finger extensions which, when compressed with a screw operated locking collar, tightly grip and hold the shaft. This finger extension/locking collar combination enhances the concentricity of the inner ring with the shaft and facilitates rotation of the shaft at higher speeds. An improved bearing locking collar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,039 incorporated herein by reference, where a bearing assembly is provided wherein the locking collar is pre-assembled on the inner bearing ring at the factory and may remain properly positioned on the inner bearing ring during installation onto a shaft. In one aspect, the inner diameter of the annular locking collar is provided with a protrusion which extends radially inwardly. When the locking collar is disposed about the finger extensions of the inner ring, the protrusion is disposed within a recessed groove which extends at least partially along the collective outer annular surface defined by the finger extensions for precisely locating and orienting the collar. A locking screw is tightened to deform the finger extensions into secure engagement with the shaft. Typically, the locking collars are manufactured from straight bar stock having a generally square cross-section. The bar stock is typically bent nearly 360 degrees such that the ends of the bar nearly meet. When the bar stock is bent, stresses are introduced into the locking collar, particularly at the portion of the locking collar located opposite from the locking screw. When the locking screw is tightened to secure the locking collar, the ends of the bar stock are drawn together. This results in the introduction of even further stresses in the locking collar. As a result, the bar stock must have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area to handle the stresses that are introduced during the manufacture of the locking collar as well as during the tightening of the locking screw. Alternatively, a solid cylindrical bar or thick-walled tube can be cut to the width of the locking collar, and the center machined away to create the annular locking collar. Using this method wastes a significant amount of material, is time-consuming, and very costly, but does eliminate the stresses introduced from bending. Moreover, it is only practical to provide a locking collar with circular inner and outer surfaces. In addition, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,039, the recesses or protrusions provided in the locking collar to mate with the finger extensions of the inner bearing ring must be machined into the locking collar. If the recesses or protrusions are machined into the bar stock while it is still straight and prior to bending, then the protrusions or recessions may become deformed or non-uniform during the bending process. However, it is more difficult and more costly to machine the recesses or grooves after the bar stock has been bent, or during the machining of a cylindrical bar or thick walled tube. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a bearing locking collar where the stresses are reduced or eliminated during the process of manufacture. It is also desirable to provide an easier or less costly method of manufacture. It is also desirable to provide a locking collar having a reduced cross-sectional area to reduce material costs. It is further desirable to provide a locking collar where recesses or grooves may be more easily provided on the inner surface of the locking collar. Finally, it is desirable to provide a locking collar having performance enhancing geometries, and a cost-effective method of making locking collars having such geometries.

Personal accounts or other resources are often protected by passwords that, when known by a user, allow access to the account or resource. For example, financial accounts, e-mail accounts, and other types of accounts often require a user to maintain and use a username and password or other security credentials to access and use the accounts. In addition, some computing devices and other resources require passwords. For example, a computing device's operating system may require entry of a correct password to attain increased functionality of the computing device. In another example, a safe may use an electronic password to protect against unauthorized access to the contents of the safe. Sometimes these passwords are subject to an expiration after a passage of time. Typically passwords expire at a fixed time after selection of the password (e.g., 90 days, 1 year, etc.). The fixed time is often set by an administrator and has a same duration for all users.

This invention generally relates to sensor systems, and more particularly to a computer module that communicates with a smart sensor system having activation alert capabilities. Many electronic products, especially in the automotive and medical fields, require a rapid response to a sensed input signal. Input devices, such as smart sensors, are known which are used to evaluate the validity of an input signal prior to communicating an output signal for actuating an electronic system. Mechanical switches and relays which generate the input signals are electrically noisy when they change from open to closed or closed to open. The transition from a low input signal (i.e., an “off” position of the mechanical switch or relay) to a high input signal (i.e., an “on” position of the mechanical switch or relay) creates a signal bounce for a certain period of time. During this period of time, such as a time period of 60 milliseconds, the input device is uncertain whether the input signal is a true signal for which an output signal must be communicated to actuate the appropriate electronic system. Therefore, the input signal must be analyzed and filtered to determine whether a true signal change has occurred. Smart sensors often include special circuitry or microprocessors to evaluate the validity of an input signal prior to communicating the output signal to the electronic system. The smart sensor utilizes the microprocessor or special circuitry to filter and evaluate the input signal while the input signal is bouncing. Once the smart sensor determines that the input signal is valid, the smart sensor communicates an output signal to a computer module of an electronic system. Computer modules which control electronic systems often utilize sleep modes for preserving system power during periods of time in which the electronic systems are not in use. For example, a vehicle passive entry and starting (PASE) system may be programmed to enter a sleep mode when the vehicle is turned off. Therefore, the output signal communicated from the smart sensor will wake up the computer module of the electronic system. The computer module must then execute a startup and initialization sequence in which the circuitry of the computer module prepares to receive a valid output signal from the smart sensor and perform the functionality of the electronic system. Disadvantageously, the amount of time required to startup and initialize the computer module is added to the amount of time required to debounce the input signal. That is, the reaction of the receiver module may be postponed until the start-up and initialization sequence is completed. Therefore, the electronic system reaction time is increased, which may result in an additional 50 milliseconds or more of reaction time. This additional reaction time may be unacceptable to a customer. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a computer module which can communicate with a sensor system having activation alert capabilities.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to gypsum board and is particularly directed to the production of gypsum board of variable yet predictable density by a continuous process in which fibrous stucco is incorporated in the board. 2. Description of the Prior Art In the production of gypsum board products, gypsum stucco, which is also referred to as calcined gypsum and which is calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO.sub.4 .multidot.1/2H.sub.2 O), and other additives are admixed with water to make a slurry which is then formed into the desired shape, allowed to set and dried. The standard calcined gypsum or gypsum stucco conventionally used in producing gypsum boards is prepared according to the standard prior art process in a kettle, flash or rotary calciner at normal atmospheric pressures. The setting is a hydration reaction converting the stucco to set gypsum which is calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO.sub.4 .multidot.2H.sub.2 O). In conventional manufacturing, the boards produced have densities within a fairly narrow range of from about 1650 lb/MSF to 1900 lb/MSF. It would be highly desirable if a way could be found to produce an acceptable board product having a variable yet predictable density. A lightweight yet strong board would be especially useful.

In the past, a framework of "Impreg Mahogany" was created. Impreg mahogany is laminated strips of mahogany bonded with resins which are considered to be carcinogenic. The framework consisted of platforms and support structures that provide attachment surfaces for "armatures". Armatures are tooling bases, again normally made of impreg mahogany, to provide customized support bridging the space between the support structure attachment surfaces of the framework and the finished product surface development. By nature of their design, the armature also provided machining base coordinates for use in manufacturing processes such as Numeric Controlled (NC) machining, and Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) inspection. Impreg mahogany is a German-made product which is carcinogenic. It is now in limited supply, is very expensive and requires toxic waste disposal. In the normal operating methods used with the impreg mahogany product, dimensional accuracy was suspect due to changes in temperature and humidity. In addition, the normal material handling, shipping and storage of the wood base system is more vulnerable to damage. When the design verification process for a particular model year was complete, the wood based system was scrapped. Before an industry acknowledgement for increased quality, impreg mahogany structures had performed satisfactorily. With the advanced use of Computer Aided Design (CAD), it became apparent when a verification model was considered acceptable, it could be scanned or digitized to actual acceptable surface. The math data from the scanning process would then be fed back into the computer as qualified data. Numerical control (NC) surfacing and cutter path programming would allow product steel dies to be cut. This process reduces the manufacturing process by a time period of about one year. It also minimizes variables associated with previous manufacturing methods. To ensure the accuracy of the verification model, a more accurate support structure had to be found. Many methods were investigated. The most popular was an extruded aluminum structure fabricated of a product named "Item". This product was widely used, but did not satisfy all the performance requirements. Various types of other modular tooling systems for models has been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,290 discloses a tool system for an integrated manufacturing and assembly system that includes a plurality of profile boards which are connected together with connector boards. The profile board includes a profile edge which defines a mold line surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,032 discloses a convertible mold having a frame including bars and beams carrying movable heads that support a lattice of slats in a desired configuration. A conforming sheet material is fixed to the slats to provide a mold surface. Universal fixtures have also been disclosed for Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) as can be seen for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,599 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,033.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a superconductive substance whose electric resistance disappears at a low temperature. More particularly, the invention relates to a so-called high-temperature superconductor which can be made superconductive by liquid nitrogen coolant. 2. Description of the Prior Art With conventional superconductors, cooling by costly liquid helium (whose boiling point is 4.2K) at very low temperatures is indispensable. Practical use of the superconductor has been restricted only to very special cases due to the high cooling cost and the limited availability of helium resources in certain countries. The superconductive substance which has the highest critical temperature so far has been confirmed to be Nb.sub.3 Ge. Its critical temperature (i.e. transformation-starting temperature) Tc is 23.6K which is not high enough to be achieved by cooling with liquid nitrogen (whose boiling point is 77K). It has been reported that superconductors made of oxides of La-(Ba, Sr)-Cu system have a transformation temperature in a range of 25-45K. However, the temperature at which the electric resistance of the above oxides completely disappears is about 25K. With the above oxides, that temperature at which they start to become superconductive is lower than the nitrogen boiling point (i.e., 77K), and the highest of such superconductivity-starting temperatures reported in Japan is 54K. Thus, such substance which starts to become superconductive at a temperature above the nitrogen boiling point of 77K has not been developed yet. Heretofore, the coolant for producing superconductivity has been limited to either liquid helium at very low temperatures or liquid hydrogen (whose boiling point is 20K). Helium is expensive, and liquid hydrogen is dangerous to handle. Accordingly, there has been a need for such new superconductive substance of which critical temperature for superconductivity is so high that the material can be cooled by liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen (whose boiling point under atmospheric pressure is 77K) as a coolant is much cheaper than liquid helium and safer than liquid hydrogen. Generally speaking, the following conditions must be met in order to confirm the superconductivity of a substance. (a) In addition to the data on electric resistance, the structure of the substance is clearly identified. (b) The properties of the substance are stable and the results of tests on them are reproducible. (c) The electric resistance rapidly reduces with temperature reduction over a ran9e of a few degrees from a certain temperature (superconductive transformation-starting temperature). (d) The substance shows the Meissner effects, namely perfect diamagnetism, that is peculiar to the superconductive phenomenon. (e) Related physical properties, such as the magnetic susceptibility, the critical current, and the critical magnetic field intensity, of the substance are measured and proved. No superconductive substance having a high critical temperature suitable for liquid nitrogen coolant while meeting all of the above five conditions has been found yet. Thus, such superconductive substance which is practically usable at a temperature above the nitrogen boiling point has not been developed yet.

This invention relates to implantable cardiac pacemakers and, more particularly, to implantable cardiac pacemakers having the capability of being programmed to operate in either a unipolar or bipolar mode of operation, and including the capability of having either unipolar or bipolar leads connected thereto. The technology of cardiac pacemakers has developed a high level of sophistication of system performance. The current generation of cardiac pacemakers incorporates microprocessors and related circuitry to sense and stimulate heart activity under a variety of physiological conditions. These pacemakers may be programmed to control the heart in correcting or compensating for various heart abnormalities which may be encountered in individual patients. A background description of modern cardiac pacemaker technology is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,555, which patent is incorporated herein by reference. It is a primary goal of programmable, multiple-mode, demand-type, cardiac pacemakers to accommodate the changing requirements of a diseased or malfunctioning heart. For example, single chamber, fixed rate pacers have been used extensively in the past to correct bradycardia, or slow heart rates. Demand pacing is employed to avoid competing rhythms in patients who have some cardiac activity. Dual chamber pacing is used to treat complete or intermittent heart block by maintaining atrio-ventricular (AV) synchrony. Various other parameters (such as rate, pulse amplitude or width, sensitivity, refractory, etc.) may also need to be altered from time to time to custom-fit the pacemaker to each patient. Programmability has also been incorporated into pacemakers to select the type of electrodes implanted, either unipolar or bipolar. A unipolar lead is one in which stimulation occurs between the cathode tip and the pacemaker case, or anode. A bipolar lead is one in which stimulation occurs between the cathode tip, however, the anode is a ring electrode spaced approximately one inch from the cathode tip. Physicians select one lead-type over the other for a variety of reasons. A unipolar lead may be chosen due to its advantage of being physically smaller and more flexible and, therefore, easier to implant. Unipolar leads also have the advantage of being less vector sensitive for intrinsic complexes (particularly premature ventricular and atrial contractions) due to the larger dipole. On the other hand, bipolar leads provide superior noise immunity to myopotentials and electromagnetic interference. It is also known that bipolar leads eliminate pectoral muscle stimulation, however, there has also been an occasional report of diaphragmatic stimulation. Since these leads are inaccessible after implantation (except by surgical procedure), the greatest advantage of bipolar leads is its capability of being noninvasively reprogrammed to either unipolar or bipolar operation. While electronic circuitry can be, and is, incorporated within the pacemaker itself for exercising or testing various circuit components (such as the status of battery power sources, and the effectiveness of various amplifiers, waveform shaping stages and the like), it is often more difficult to test the integrity of the leads and implanted electrodes to which the pacemaker is coupled in order to verify that such leads and electrodes can function to allow for the desired pacing operation. At the implanting of the pacemaker and electrode system, minor damage is sometimes incurred which may affect the system's electrical insulation. This type of damage may go undetected and be without present effect on the implanted system, but the condition may manifest itself after extended time in service. When a breakdown or significant degradation of the pacemaker lead insulation occurs, it can result in a loss of sensing of intrinsic cardiac events or a loss of capture due to a lessened amount of energy reaching the cardiac tissue. Based on the underlying rhythm of the patient, this may have serious or even disastrous results. The reduced output energy reaching the heart is due to partial energy being shunted to other areas through the insulation opening. Other types of damage can also occur to a pacemaker lead at implantation or later. A fracture in a conductor coil can affect operation by reducing the energy output to the cardiac tissue by causing a substantial increase in the lead resistance to current flow. A partial fracture will cause a reduction in output energy, while a complete fracture will result in no energy reaching the heart due to an infinite resistance (open circuit). Another type of detectable error relates to the failure of the electrode tip to be in proper contact with the heart wall. Particular methods and apparatus for scanning the implanted leads of a pacemaker system to determine lead impedance and to detect abnormalities which may signal degradation and impending failure of pacemaker leads are the subject of U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/183,191, filed concurrently herewith, entitled "Lead Impedance Scanning System for Pacemakers" of Christer Ekwall, assigned to the assignee of this application. The disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference. Briefly, the Ekwall application discloses a scanning system for measuring the output energy delivered to the stimulation circuit during pacing and determining the lead impedance from that measurement. The thus-determined lead impedance is compared with a moving average of the measured parameter and any deviation from that average by more than a predetermined amount is considered an anomaly. Three such anomalies in succession result in an event being counted in a first event counter for future consideration by a doctor during a patient checkup or the like. The system also monitors sensed heart signals and counts as a notable event any deviations in slope of the heart signal by more than a predetermined amount. These latter events are counted in a second counter to provide information for future reference. Thus, the Ekwall system determines the integrity of the implanted leads and electrodes by making measurements during both the pacing and sensing time intervals of the pacemaker timing cycle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,131 (Dutcher et al.) discloses arrangements for detecting impedance level (either too high in the case of an open circuit, or too low in the case of a short circuit) and voltage level of the power source so that a warning may be given the patient. Basically, the lead resistance is considered as part of a voltage divider circuit and lead resistance is calculated from knowledge of impressed voltage and voltage across a known series resistor. The disclosed method is but one example of ways of measuring lead impedance which might be employed in connection with the present invention. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,131 is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,548 (Wittkampf et al.) discloses a programmable pacemaker system in which the selection of lead electrodes to which pacemaker output may be connected is changed during each pacer cycle to optimize the choice of unipolar and bipolar operation for given pacemaker events. According to the patent, the selection of unipolar or bipolar mode of operation is based on a determination for monitoring the amplitude of sensed heartbeat signals to determine whether the sensing operation would be performed better in the unipolar or the bipolar mode. This is directed to a determination of heart performance vis-a-vis the leads involved so as to control the selection of unipolar or bipolar sensing. As indicated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,349 (Livingston et al.), it is known in the pacemaker art to provide a pacemaker that can be programmably switched to operate in either a unipolar or bipolar mode of operation. While the Livingston et al. patent suggests that a bipolar lead always be connected to the pacemaker, which lead is then used in either a bipolar (tip-to-ring) or unipolar (tip-to-case) mode of operation, there are situations where it is desirable to use a unipolar lead. A problem thus arises when such a pacemaker has a unipolar lead connected thereto but has been programmed to operate in the bipolar mode. Similarly, if a bipolar lead is being used in a bipolar mode of operation, and if one of the conductors breaks, the pacemaker is not able to continue operation without being reprogrammed. Unfortunately, such reprogramming can only be performed by a doctor after he has diagnosed that the conductor has broken. Then, if it is the ring conductor that has broken, the pacemaker could be reprogrammed to operate in a unipolar mode of operation using the existing implanted broken bipolar lead as a unipolar lead (tip-to-case). If it is the tip conductor that has broken, the pacemaker may, in some situations, be reprogrammed to operate in a unipolar ring-to-case mode of operation. In either event, it takes careful diagnosis and reprogramming before the pacemaker can be rendered operational. For many patients, the loss of pacemaker operation for the time period between breaking of the conductor and reprogramming of the pacemaker could present a serious health risk. What is needed, therefore, is a pacemaker that can be programmed to operate in either a bipolar or unipolar mode of operation, that can receive either bipolar or unipolar leads, and that automatically prevents a programming configuration inconsistent with the lead used. Further, there is a need to have such a pacemaker that automatically responds to a broken conductor of a bipolar lead so as to preserve whatever pacemaker operation may be available using the remaining intact conductors of the bipolar lead. The present invention addresses these and other needs.

The present invention relates generally to welding-type systems and welding-type power sources and, more particularly, to a welding-type system that includes a remote control and backup system for the remote control. The backup system is configured to monitor the remote control and override the remote control upon detecting an irregularity. Many welding-type devices are adaptable to include a remote control. Particularly, when performing a Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) process, or a “stick” process, there sometimes is a need to control the output of the welding device with a remote control. Typically, the remote control directly controls the welding device or sends commands to control electronics within the welding device, which govern the operation of the welding device. Under either of these configurations, the welding device is set by way of a control panel located on the welding-type device or power source to a current greater than the intended output. By doing so, the remote control can control the output as a percentage of this current with relative accuracy. During operation, the remote control typically assumes control of the welding device in one of two ways. That is, the remote control may be automatically sensed by the welding device whereby upon sensing the remote control, the welding device passes control from the front panel to the remote control. Alternatively, an operator may engage the remote control and manually select the remote control as the control means from the welding device. However, while these systems are configured to adapt to planned configuration changes of adding or removing a remote control, the welding devices are typically not designed to adapt to unplanned control changes. That is, the welding devices are typically not configured to adapt to an unexpected removal of a remote control during the performance of a welding-type process. However, while the welding devices are not configured to adapt to unplanned removals of a remote control, such unplanned removals are not uncommon in some instances. Specifically, many welding-type processes are performed within harsh environments and under harsh conditions. In these instances, the cable connecting the remote control to the welding device may fail. Furthermore, in industrial manufacturing facilities, the cable connecting the remote control to the welding device may be inadvertently cut or severed. Additionally, an operator error may accidentally disconnect the remote control from the welding device. In any case, depending on the particular configuration of the welding device and whether the connection to the remote control shorts or opens, the welding device can experience a number malfunctions. Should the connection to the remote control open and the output of the welding device prematurely fall to zero, the welding surface may be severely damaged. On the other hand, should the connection to the remote control short, the welding device may default to the panel setting. In this case, an unexpected current surge will be supplied to the weld that may damage the welding surface. Additionally, should the connection to the remote control short to one of the other power leads within the cable, the output at the weld may exceed the panel setting and also damage the weld. It would therefore be desirable to design a welding-type apparatus incorporating a remote control backup system to protect the welding-type apparatus and the workpiece from an inadvertent removal or malfunction of the remote control.

Throughout this application various references are referred to within parenthesis. Disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Full bibliographic citation for these references may be found at the end of this application, preceding the sequence listing and the claims. One of the important early events in the development of the mammalian central nervous system is the establishment of regional diversity along the neural tube under the influence of signals from the underlying mesoderm (Mangold 1933; Spemann 1938; Placzek et al. 1990). The caudal portion of the neural tube gives rise to the spinal cord while the rostral part develops into the brain. Morphologic studies have identified the initial subdivision of the developing brain into three vesicles, the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. The forebrain and hindbrain subsequently each subdivide, resulting in the five major regions of the brain. The most rostral region, the telencephalon, gives rise to the structures of the cerebral hemispheres which include the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia (Kandel et al. 1991). This subdivision of the developing brain is apparent initially as changes in the shape of the neuroepithelium, and is established prior to differentiation of the progenitor cells into neurons and glia (McKay 1989). Our understanding of the molecular events which establish the regional subdivision of the brain during mammalian development have been aided by several approaches. Because development depends on the expression of genes in distinct spatial and temporal patterns, one approach has been the study of transcription factors which control gene expression in a cell or tissue-specific fashion. Another approach is the identification of mammalian homologs of Drosophila genes which have been established to play crucial roles in insect development (Kessel and Gruss 1990). For example, homeobox gene complexes in Drosophila and mammals are strikingly similar in structural organization and expression pattern along the A-P axis of the organism (Duboule and Dolle 1989; Graham et al. 1989). While recent findings of restricted expression in the developing brain of several homeodomain and one zinc finger proteins have provided insight into the development of the hindbrain (Murphy et al. 1989; Wilkinson et al. 1989; Wilkinson et al. 1989; Hunt et al. 1991). The molecular basis of forebrain development remains poorly understood. We have recently described a novel family of transcriptional activators, the HNF-3 family, whose members function to stimulate expression of a group of liver-specific genes. The expression of these factors in the mature animal is limited to tissues which derive from the gut endoderm such as the liver, lung and intestine (Lai et al. 1991). These findings suggested that HNF-3 family members might play a significant role in the development of these tissues. This hypothesis was supported when we learned that HNF-3 proteins were highly homologous to a Drosophila protein, fork head, which had been shown to be critical to normal fly development and to be expressed in the cells which were to form the insect gut structures (Weigel et al. 1989; Weigel and Jackle 1990). In this paper we described the discovery of a new member of the HNF-3/fork head family of transcription factors which is unique in that its expression is restricted to the telencephalon of the developing rat brain. Expression is readily detectable by embryonic day 10 in the area of the neural tube which gives rise to the telencephalic vesicles suggesting a critical role for this factor in the development of this region of the forebrain.

The present invention relates to a sealed battery, in which the leaking of electrolyte can be checked, and in particular, to a lithium ion battery, in which leaking can be checked at high sensitivity and in reliable manner. In a sealed battery such as lithium ion battery, a battery element is placed in a battery case, and a header with an external connection terminal, a safety valve, an electrolyte inlet, etc. is attached on the battery case by welding. Then, the battery case is sealed except the electrolyte inlet, and after the electrolyte is injected, a sealing piece is attached on the electrolyte inlet, and the inlet is sealed by laser welding. During the manufacture of the sealed battery, detects may occur such as welding defect caused in the sealing process of the inlet or defective caulking on the external connection terminal mounted via an insulating member. As a result, the electrolyte may leak or moisture in external air may be introduced into the battery. In the sealed battery with defective sealing, problems may arise such as damage of devices due to leakage of the electrolyte as the performance characteristics of the battery are deteriorated. In this respect, leakage is checked with the purpose of preventing the shipment of the battery with defective sealing. It has been generally practiced to perform external inspection by visually checking the battery charged after sealing and by confirming stains or the like on the surface caused by the leakage of the electrolyte. However, in the checking method based on visual inspection, there may be variations due to individual difference of the inspectors. When there is very small sealing defect, it is very difficult to detect a battery with such small sealing defect because the time for inspection is limited at the time of shipment and because the leaking amount is very small. In this connection, a method for airtightness test using an airtightness tester not depending on human vision has been proposed. For example, a method is proposed in JP-A-9-115555. According to this method, the battery to be tested is accommodated in a sealed container, and gas pressure inside is reduced and pressure change in the sealed container is measured. By this method based on the pressure change, it is not possible to detect the battery with leakage accurately within short time. According to JP-A-4-25738, an airtightness tester is described. In this tester, after a top cover is mounted on a battery chamber in the assembling process of the battery, hydrogen is introduced under pressure into the battery chamber, and leaking hydrogen is detected by a semiconductor gas sensor. In this method, it is not that leakage is tested in a completed sealed battery with the electrolyte injected in it. Also, an explosive gas such as hydrogen is used, and this leads to a problem of endangering safety. JP-A-11-307136 describes an airtightness tester. In this tester, after a top cover is attached on a battery chamber, a cover is mounted to enclose junction of the battery chamber and the top cover. Then, helium is introduced into the battery chamber. The air in the cover is sucked and airtightness is judged by detecting helium in the sucked air. This is based on the test of the junction between the battery chamber and the top cover in the manufacturing process, and it is not a leakage test of a completed sealed battery with the electrolyte injected in it. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sealed battery, by which it is possible to reliably detect defective sealing point of a sealed battery. It is another object of the invention to provide a method for manufacturing a sealed battery, by which it is possible to completely prevent the shipment of the battery with defective sealing.

The present invention relates to a photoresist (termed herein as xe2x80x9cresistxe2x80x9d) developing process, more especially to a developing process for preparing a resist pattern on a wafer by applying a puddling method in a process for preparing a semiconductor. In a process for preparing a semiconductor, forming a resist pattern on a wafer is now put into practice by using, for example, an apparatus shown in FIG. 8. In FIG. 8. xe2x80x9c11xe2x80x9d denotes a wafer; xe2x80x9c12xe2x80x9d, a chuck for holding a wafer by absorption; xe2x80x9c13xe2x80x9d, a shaft of a chuck; xe2x80x9c14xe2x80x9d, a motor for rotating a shaft of a chuck; xe2x80x9c15xe2x80x9d, a supporting plate and xe2x80x9c16xe2x80x9d, a connecting part of an apparatus. As to the apparatus shown in FIG. 8, refer to microfilmed Japanese Utility Model Registration Application No. 61-135016 (1986) (Utility Model Kokai Publication JP-U-A-63-43427 (1988)), particularly its conventional art (FIG. 2). At the outset, a resist is coated on a wafer and then exposed with an exposing apparatus. The resultant wafer 11 is held on a wafer chuck 12 and then rotated at a most appropriate number of rotation for equalizing the dimension of a pattern developed on the surface of the wafer without causing defects upon developing, and a developer is dropped by applying a spraying method or the like. After dropping, a paddle state of the developer cast up on the wafer to have a liquid thickness of about 2 mm is formed in order to progress developing without fault by maintaining the developer cast up on the wafer for a predetermined time, e.g., for about 60 seconds. Subsequently, the developer is splashed away from the wafer by high speed rotation followed by washing away with pure water and then the wafer is subjected to be dried while rotating. Alternative to the rotary chuck with a stationary, straight axis of rotation, JP-U-A-63-43427, proposed a method wherein the chuck is rotated at a low speed while tiltedly swinging its rotational axis for distributing the developer and proceeding the developing. In proportion to minimizing a pattern or enlarging the size of a wafer, the process margin for preparing a semiconductor has become narrower and narrowe. The above developing process without exception includes the following problems. That is, it is desirable to make the width of a resist pattern formed after developing uniformly over the entire surface of the wafer, however, it is difficult to meet the requirement of enlarging the size of the wafer or minimizing the pattern simply by applying conventional means or equipments. For this reason, the optimum combination including the dropping condition of the developer and the number of rotation (rotation speed) has been assessed through varying various parameters by trial and error, whereby an enormous time has been required for establishing new satisfactory conditions. Similarly to the developing process, it can be concluded that next step of dry-etching process involves a problem that a vast developing time has been required for pattern-etching uniformly over the entire surface of the wafer. In order to solve the above problem, if the uniformity of the on-surface pattern of the wafer can be changed partially simply by apparatus adjustment, it will be possible to grade up the on-surface uniformity of the resist in terms of its dimension, and in addition to shorten a time for evaluation and development. The present invention has been achieved based on recognizing the above problems and findings thereafter. It is an object of the present invention to provide a resist developing process which can make the central pattern width narrower selectively (i.e., prevent widening) simply by apparatus adjustment (mechanical adjustment), in case where, otherwise under certain conditions, the pattern width of a wafer""s central portion becomes wider, thereby making it possible to grade up the on-surface uniformity and improving the performance. It is another object of the present invention to provide a resist developing process which can serve as shortening a time for evaluation and development and grading up the productivity. Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the entire disclosure. In order to attain the above objects, there is provided a novel resist developing process for forming a resist pattern on a wafer for semiconductor according to the present invention. The process comprises steps of puddling (casting up) a developer on the surface of a wafer, holding the wafer inclined at a predetermined angle while the developer is being puddled and repeating stoppage and slow rotation alternately plural times. The pattern width at the central portion of the wafer can be made narrower as compared with the case where no such process is applied. Namely, otherwise the pattern width of the central portion of the wafer becomes wider than that of the peripheral portion of the wafer. Thus an increased pattern uniformity in the width over the entire wafer surface can be achieved. The tilt angle is set at an angle which does not allow the developer to spill over the wafer. The slow rotation is carried out at a speed which allows the developer to be retained puddled on the wafer. The stoppage of rotation is performed during a period of time which is sufficient to allow the developer to flow toward and puddle at the lowest end portion of the inclined wafer to provide a thinner thickness of the developer at the other end portion thereof. The alternate stoppage and slow rotation are repeated until a uniform pattern width over the entire wafer is achieved. Alternatively, the alternate stoppage and slow rotation are repeated sufficient times to give an increased developing rate at the control portion of the wafer as compared with the peripheral portion thereof.

The present invention has as its principal objective the control of a computer caused by stimuli in the body and brain. The present invention is thus primarily concerned with the mode of finding the radiating properties of the human brain and selectively applying these findings to the control of computerized devices. Additionally, stimuli of other places of the body are included in these teachings. It has been known for nearly 30 years that the electrical activity of nerves and muscle cells create electric energy and magnetic fields that can be measured. To draw conclusions about the electric functions of organs from those fields, however, one has to know the spatial and temporal distribution of the biomagnetic fields. In 1988, the first biomagnetic multichannel system was introduced for clinical research enabling the acquisition of complete magnetic field patterns, noninvasively and in real time. The latest technology using superconductive gradiometers and SQUIDs (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) were employed in this device. “The feasibility for noninvasively analyzing the cardiac excitation path, especially in localizing the accessory bundle in Wolff Parkinson White syndrome and regions causing extrasystoles and tachycardia, had already been demonstrated. An example of localization of epileptic foci in the interictal state, or slow wave activity in the brain.” Ref. R. Helle and A. Oppelt, FIRST EXPERIENCES FROM CLINICAL INSTALLATIONS OF BIOMAGNETIC MULTICHANNEL SYSTEMS, Siemens Medical Engineering Group, Henkestr. 127, D-W-8520, Erlangen, Germany. The activity of biological cells, e.g. nerves, muscle fibers and brain matter, is electric in origin. In a physical context, excited cells can be considered as galvanic elements situated in a conductive medium—the body. Sometimes bundles of cells are active simultaneously. The activity of these cells can be modeled by an equivalent current dipole (i.e., a small battery), consisting of a current source and sink, separated by a short distance. A current dipole sends a known volume of current into the conductive surrounding. When this current reaches the surface of the body, electric potentials can be measured with electrodes. Medical diagnosis measurements in the heart are shown on an electrocardiogram (ECG). Those in the head are shown on an electroencephalogram (EEG). ECGs and EEGs provide information on the time course of the current sources in the body. However, sufficient localization accuracy can not be attained with these methods due to the strong influence of local tissue conductivity, which can vary considerably. The strength of the electric fields being measured generally depends on the strength of the source and on the position of the electrodes with respect to the source. Since the conductivity of different tissues normally is not known, localization of a current dipole in the body is only possible with electrodes if they are brought very close to the site of the electric activity. For example, to determine the origin of electric activity in the human heart, one has to work with catheters—an invasive procedure. A goal of this invention is to primarily provide thought control with noninvasive techniques. Likewise for the human brain, invasive procedures here create a much greater risk. Every electric current is surrounded by a magnetic field which is, in essence, unaffected by the electromagnetic properties of tissue. Research into the localization of current dipoles using magnetic field measurements was performed as early as 1963. Ref. W. Moshage, S. Achenbach, S. Schneider, K. Gohl, K. Abraham-Fuchs, R. Graumann, and K. Bachmann, APPLICATION OF MULTICHANNEL SYSTEMS IN MAGNETOCARDIOGRAPHY, 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Biomagnetism: Clinical Aspects. M. Hoke, Editor. The magnetic field, generated by current dipole in the human body and measured outside of the body, has two fields of activity: one originates from the current dipole itself and the other originates from the volume currents. While the influence of the first field of activity can easily be calculated from the Biot-Savart law, the second depends on the paths of the currents in the body. In order to localize the current dipole, it is necessary to know the distribution of the magnetic field being measured. Generally, one measures a north pole where the magnetic field lines leave the human body and a south pole where they enter again. The current dipole lies in the center, between the two poles. The depth is determined by the distance between the two poles: the further the two poles are apart, the deeper the dipole is situated. It is known that there are areas of the brain that emit magnetic energy in response to the thinking process. We know from ECG's and EEG's, monitors can record body changes. Further, Biofeedback studies and empirical data show some of the functional control that is possible with the brain and body. Also known is Magnetic Source Imaging (MSI) equipment in use today, such as the “Krenicon” and the “Magnes,” which noninvasively monitor and record brain activity. This has many uses, including use as a diagnostic tool for brain disorders such as epilepsy. Today's MSI are multichanneled and include high pass filters, anti-aliasing filters and 14 bit A/Ds with generally a 4 kHz sampling rate. Siemens' (Germany) Krenicon has 127 output channels which can be directed to 127 areas of the brain. It can show medical imaging and a journey into the brain to cure a patient with epilepsy. The journey depended on Siemens' Krenicon, cooled by liquid helium, to detect magnetic signals one billion times smaller than the earth magnetic field. In the U.S., Biomagnetic Technologies, Inc.'s Magnes offers 147 output channels. Ref. W. Moshage, S. Achenbach, A. Weikl, K. Gohl, K. Abraham-Fuchs, S. Schneider and K. Bachmann PROGRESS IN BIOMAGNETIC IMAGING OF HEART ARRHYTHMIAS Frontiers in European Radiology, Vol. 8, Eds Baert/Heuck, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1991. The advantage of MSI is that it is noninvasive and that this invention may require stimulus from parts of the brain that may be quite a distance from the surface and at a variety of locations, e.g., electrodes may not be practical by themselves. The mobility of this “Thought Controlled System” (TCS), FIG. 1 will become greater as the technology advances and as TCS is mass produced. There are difficulties encountered when using today's MSI technology. However, they are being overcome by numerous organizations throughout the world. As more and more MSI equipment is placed in service and as the race for economic feasibility and technical advancements are pursued, this invention becomes more attractive. Publications say the race is on among many companies to bring MSI technology to a stage where it is miniaturized, inexpensive and insensitive to interference. Furthermore, the main features may be proven by sensing with less expensive techniques until MSI becomes cost effective. Each advance is contributing toward a more economically feasible TCS as presented here. A few examples of efforts where challenges are being met are: Two Krenicons are installed in hospitals for clinical research as well as for establishing the clinical relevance of biomagnetic diagnosis. In the Biomagnetic Center of the University of Erlangen (Germany), biomagnetic investigations are performed regularly in the field of cardiology, epilepsy and other neurologic disorders, such as transitory ischemic attacks and stroke. At the Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, epilepsy is diagnosed and new methods for treating biomagnetically localized foci with high energy radiation are explored. The investigation of ventricular late fields started 1993. See earlier Ref. to R. Helle and A. Oppelt. Another challenge with current MSI equipment found in the same Ref. (Pg. 2, Col. 1) is: “Selecting a site requires special attention in order to keep the influence of moving iron masses such as cars and elevators to an acceptable minimum. Installation includes a special shock proof concrete foundation for a shielded room and an active shielding loop. Large consumers of electric energy like a subway can cause considerable interference, even over large distances, especially if the current varies slowly as the shielding effect of the chamber is lowest in the range below about 0.1 Hz.” Spatial resolution of the biomagnetic localization is dependant on identifying and compensating. “ . . . sources of localization errors (may be) . . . coordinate transfer into the magnetic resonance (MR) image, system noise, ‘biologic’ noise from electrical background activity of the human body, and modeling inaccuracies. Influence of system noise with phantoms, and an error of 1-2 mm was found. The reproducibility of the head position in the MEG device and the MR imaging system is typically 2 mm for a point in the temporal region and about 4 mm for a point in the occipital region” Ref. Siefried Schneider. Ph. D., et al MULTICHANNEL BIOMAGNETIC SYSTEM FOR STUDY OF ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY IN THE BRAIN AND HEART, Radiology 1990; 176-825-830. This is being overcome with technology and will be further reduced with the use of a “helmet” system mentioned later in this application. As TCS costs are reduced and become used more by one individual, the site locations will be less often in hospitals and large metropolitan areas but rather suburban and rural residential areas. Also, additional noise reduction techniques are being developed using signal processing and signal enhancing as mentioned later. Signal processing is used for enhancing the evaluation of data amid noisy environments and to correct physiological interference. Signal preprocessing is performed on the biomagnetic data prior to source localization. For example, the signal preprocessing may include algorithms for noise suppression or separation of signals from different sources. The end result of data evaluation in biomagnetic imaging is the reconstruction of bioelectric activity from the measured field distribution in time and space. Such a procedure may consist of several signal-processing steps: a) correction of each measurement channel, b) averaging of several cycles to improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), c) definition of a physiological model, d) reconstruction of the source of interference for use in noise and echo cancellations, e) automated or semi-automated validation of the reconstruction result, and f) viewing and comparing reconstructed three dimensional localization with other imaging methods. Biomagnetic image reconstruction is critically dependent on signal fidelity. Signal distortions, such as dc offset and low frequency (i.e., below 0.1 Hz) noise, have to be removed without imposing new distortions. Dc offset and low frequency noise stem mainly from electronic noise in high-gain amplifiers, thermal magnetic noise in surrounding materials, movement of the torso, and mechanical vibrations. In some cases, the signal of interest is also influenced by a preceding physiological activity from organs, such as the user's heart. Special correction algorithms are used for these cases and, depending on the type of interference, different baseline correction techniques are applied. The word “artifacts” is used in the field of body measurement sciences to refer to additional signals (usually interfering) resulting from the functions of body parts other than the signal of interest. Webster defines it “a characteristic product of human activity.” The Magnetoencephalograph (MEG) can pick up magnetic signals produced by the heart with a signal strength which may be equal to or even greater than the neuromagnetic signals of interest. These undesirable signals, called artifacts, in MEG data may contaminate the signal. Sporadic events may not be recognized or classified correctly and the error in source localization can increase. In this instance a correction algorithm is utilized to suppress artifacts produced by the heart. Ref. K. Abraham-Fuchs et al., IMPROVEMENT OF NEUROMAGNETIC LOCALIZATION BY MCG ARTIFACT CORRECTION IN MEG RECORDINGS, Pg. 1787, 1992, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. An example of a heart artifact removal algorithm is to make use of the fact that the user's heart is electrically inactive during a portion or portions of the heart cycle. A time window of the preceding cycle is defined and the mean of the signal during the appropriate portion or portions is subtracted from each stimulus channel individually. This theory is supported on Pg. 6 of earlier Ref. to W. Moshage, “PROGRESS IN BIOMAGNETIC . . . ” 1991. Care must be taken however, (such) “algorithms usually do not achieve their purpose ideally, but leave a residual of distortion in the data, or even may introduce new distortions.” Ref. Klaus Abraham-Fuchs et al., EFFECT OF BIOMAGNETIC SIGNAL PROCESSING ON SOURCE LOCALIZATION ESTIMATED BY MEANS OF STATISTICAL SOURCE DISTRIBUTIONS 0-7803-0785-2/92$03.00 IEEE (Pg. 1768 Col. 1, Abstract). The state of the art of improving signal recognition and identifying the location (Localizing) of areas, specific parts and especially specific thoughts is such that localizing can be performed in varying degrees of accuracy. Companies throughout the world recognize the need for improvement and are in a race to improve the state of the art. The utility, efficiency and attraction of thought control will constantly increase with advances in signal recognition. Having said all this about improving the biomagnetic image reconstruction to a point of fine precision, much of the sophistication and expensive components may be eliminated when the TCS is applied to specific tasks. These low cost systems are arrived at with experimentation by the user combined with utilizing empirical history data. This occurs because of the unique characteristics exhibited as unexpected thought patterns are identified for each individual and chosen for control. Image reconstruction is an attractive and often necessary tool for experiments and configuring systems. However, after the system is configured and the user is completely checked out, the image reconstruction feature can be eliminated. This is useful when economy is paramount. TCS offers a valuable contribution to humanity in that of offering paralysed individuals a means for controlling computerized devices without the need for physical movement. Of particular benefit would be a case where, even with total physical paralysis, a person could do a full day's work at a computer; or communicate; or socialize; etc.; etc. Although it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to such applications, examples of applications in which the present invention is particularly useful are as follows: TCS could be of assistance to persons who cannot use their hands, arms or any other part of their body to perform work or otherwise perform computer control. This invention would allow a quadriplegic to put in a full days work including but not limited to computer control of production line devices, doing visual sorting and other tasks. This thought controlled system (TCS) will enable a paralyzed person to control automation in the home, control the movement of an automated wheelchair and control other assistance devices. The speed alone may be sufficient justification for employing a TCS. A Ref. to substantiate the speed potential is, “With the possibility of localizing electrical sources (dipoles) with a time resolution of milliseconds, biomagnetic evaluation has the potential to become a valuable tool in functional diagnosis, especially in combination with anatomic imaging” See earlier (Pg. 6) Ref. to Siefried Schmeider. Ph.D. The thought controlled system will be of assistance to a person who cannot speak. The TCS method used may be similar to typing into a computer with a keyboard where the text is converted to an audio output. In order to accomplish this with fewer key stroke equivalents, the user might be trained in the language of a court reporter's shorthand typewriter. Speeds are attained at least as fast as a person speaks. This, again, depends on the number of reliable stimuli that the MSI can reliably produce from the electrical impulses of the user's brain. Using thought controlled systems, handicapped persons will continually uncover new and additional information concerning detectable stimulus. The handicapped have a great appetite for improving the quality of their life. It is envisioned that clubs and organizations will be formed of this elite group and that their accomplishments will be monitored by the medical profession for unprecedented scientific advancements. Improvements to society will be furthered as TCSs are shared during off hours and around the clock by people intent on contributing experimental time. All these incidents will proliferate through interest groups and user group organizations as technology advances to produce more affordable systems. Other candidates for uses of a TCS may be the military, industrial production lines, the games industry, and researchers in: Biofeedback, Psychiatry, Metaphysics, Subconscious thought analysis, Source of specific thoughts, Patients' “self data finding”, Patient therapy, and Human interfaces for the phenomenal speed potential. A reference for brain activity controlling a computer is a video game by Pope et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,100. He teaches a method of encouraging attention by correlating video game difficulty with attention level. Pope's video game comprises a video display which depicts objects for interaction with a player and a difficulty adjuster which increases the difficulty level, e.g., action speed and/or evasiveness of the depicted object, in a predetermined manner. The electrical activity of the brain is measured at selected sites by an EEG. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) breaks down the generated wave to determine levels of awareness, e.g., activity in the beta, theta, and alpha frequency bands. A value is generated based on this measured electrical signal, which is indicative of the level of awareness. The difficulty level of the game is increased as the awareness level value decreases and vice versa. Pope's computer games require sensing entire frequency bands, each as a stimulus, for control functions to play the game. Conversely, TCS teaches selection and utilization of one individual stimulus or more stimuli and considers the actual thoughts of the user. Many more forms of games and control systems are suggested with this application by utilizing virtually unlimited numbers and types of stimuli. Other forms of input to the computer can be performed with this method, such as described later. It can also be seen that entities or equipments other than computers can be controlled in a similar fashion, or that the computer can communicate with control peripheral equipment or other systems. Another reference that is related to controlling a computer based on user physiology is U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,213 (Dilts et al.) which discloses a method and apparatus for controlling the position of an image on the screen of a computer using galvanic skin response (GSR), also known as Psycho galvanic reflex (PGR) or electrodermal reflex (EDR). In particular, the system teaches the introduction of a GSR amplifier circuit that couples to the game paddle port of a conventional computer, e.g., an Apple II computer. The GSR amplifier circuit is contained within a housing having GSR contacts that are located on the exterior of the housing for the user. When the user applies a finger to the GSR contacts, the GSR amplifier circuit utilizes the skin resistance available at the GSR contacts to create an electrical signal that changes in sense and amplitude directly with changes in the resistance sensed between the GSR electrodes. Furthermore, there is a product sold under the mark MINDRIVE™, by The Other 90% Technologies, Inc.™ of San Rafael, Calif. 94912-2669 which is believed to include a number of the features disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,213 that is available for use with home computers. Among other things, MINDRIVE™ permits the user to operate a ski simulator, create art, a flight simulator, etc., on the computer using the GSR method. Conversely, TCS teaches the selection and utilization of one individual stimulus or more stimuli and considers the actual thoughts of the user. Another feature to be found emanating from this TCS capability is personal identification from brain waves, not unlike the phenomenon of fingerprints, eye prints and voice prints.

Advances in computing hardware and networking technologies, including the availability of high bandwidth, have urged the development of networked multimedia applications (online video games, streaming movies, etc.). Recently, there has been a significant interest towards the use of three-dimensional (3D) media such as 3D immersion and virtual reality video applications. Virtual reality videos are immersive videos mapped into a 3D geometry where a user can look around during playback using a virtual reality head-mounted display (HMD), which gives the viewer a sense of depth in every direction. Despite recent advancements in virtual reality video technology, conventional systems face many challenges with delivering virtual reality content at high-quality levels. Virtual reality videos, which often include 360-degree videos, can be extremely bandwidth intensive and difficult to stream at acceptable quality levels. Accordingly, a major challenge with virtual reality video technology is how to efficiently transmit the large virtual reality video streams that require high bit rates to bandwidth-constrained devices, such as a wireless virtual reality HMD. For example, 4K video resolution is beginning to be viewed as a functional minimum resolution for current virtual reality video systems, while future virtual reality video systems anticipate 8K, 12K, and higher resolutions. Conventional systems, however, struggle to stream at acceptable quality levels even given the current resolutions. In response to this issue, many conventional systems restrict streams to lower resolutions compared with their two-dimensional (2D) counterparts. Other conventional systems stream virtual reality video using a large range of predetermined resolutions for different portions of each virtual reality video. However, this requires a large storage capacity as each portion needs to be saved at multiple resolutions, a solution that is not feasible as resolutions for virtual reality videos increase. Further, some conventional systems disregard virtual reality video streaming standards, which inhibits streaming across multiple types of virtual reality video devices (e.g., HMDs). These and other problems exist with regard to conventional virtual reality systems.

The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to semiconductors, structures thereof, and methods of forming semiconductor devices. In the past, the electronics industry often utilized a transient voltage suppressor (TVS) to protect electronic devices or electronic equipment that were interconnected by connections, such as wiring or cables, between the devices. The connection may be a power connection or wires that were between a charger and another device such as a cell phone or between other types of equipment or devices, or the connection may be a data line or data connection between two pieces of equipment or devices such as between two computers or a camera and a computer or a cell phone and a computer, etc. The TVS devices generally were implemented as a Zener diode that was connected between the connection, such as between the wiring or cable, and a common return voltage such as ground or other common reference voltage. In some applications, the TVS device did not have a low enough clamp voltage to sufficiently protect the electronic device or equipment. Additionally, in some applications the equipment or device may be subjected to a transient voltage that was high enough to damage the TVS device. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a TVS device that has a lower clamp voltage, or that can survive larger transient events or voltage therefrom. For simplicity and clarity of the illustration(s), elements in the figures are not necessarily to scale, some of the elements may be exaggerated for illustrative purposes, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements, unless stated otherwise. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements may be omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein current carrying element or current carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device such as a source or a drain of an MOS transistor or an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control element or control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device such as a gate of an MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Additionally, one current carrying element may carry current in one direction through a device, such as carry current entering the device, and a second current carrying element may carry current in an opposite direction through the device, such as carry current leaving the device. Although the devices may be explained herein as certain N-channel or P-channel devices, or certain N-type or P-type doped regions, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that complementary devices are also possible in accordance with the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art understands that the conductivity type refers to the mechanism through which conduction occurs such as through conduction of holes or electrons, therefore, that conductivity type does not refer to the doping concentration but the doping type, such as P-type or N-type. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during, while, and when as used herein relating to circuit operation are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly upon an initiating action but that there may be some small but reasonable delay(s), such as various propagation delays, between the reaction that is initiated by the initial action. Additionally, the term while means that a certain action occurs at least within some portion of a duration of the initiating action. The use of the word approximately or substantially means that a value of an element has a parameter that is expected to be close to a stated value or position. However, as is well known in the art there are always minor variances that prevent the values or positions from being exactly as stated. It is well established in the art that variances of up to at least ten percent (10%) (and up to twenty percent (20%) for some elements including semiconductor doping concentrations) are reasonable variances from the ideal goal of exactly as described. When used in reference to a state of a signal, the term “asserted” means an active state of the signal and the term “negated” means an inactive state of the signal. The actual voltage value or logic state (such as a “1” or a “0”) of the signal depends on whether positive or negative logic is used. Thus, asserted can be either a high voltage or a high logic or a low voltage or low logic depending on whether positive or negative logic is used and negated may be either a low voltage or low state or a high voltage or high logic depending on whether positive or negative logic is used. Herein, a positive logic convention is used, but those skilled in the art understand that a negative logic convention could also be used. The terms first, second, third and the like in the claims or/and in the Detailed Description of the Drawings, as used in a portion of a name of an element are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but in some cases it may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, in one or more embodiments. For clarity of the drawings, doped regions of device structures are illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that due to the diffusion and activation of dopants the edges of doped regions generally may not be straight lines and the corners may not be precise angles. In addition, the description illustrates a cellular design (where the body regions are a plurality of cellular regions) instead of a single body design (where the body region is comprised of a single region formed in an elongated pattern, typically in a serpentine pattern). However, it is intended that the description is applicable to both a cellular implementation and a single base implementation. The embodiments illustrated and described hereinafter suitably may have embodiments and/or may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a scroll compressor, and more particularly, to a scroll compressor in which high pressure generated by an orbiting movement of an orbiting scroll during a compressing operation is adjusted such that oil is smoothly distributed over parts of the compressor, thereby preventing breakage and abrasion of the parts. 2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a scroll compressor is operated for compressing by means of relative movement of a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll, and widely used in the fields of room air conditioners and automobile air conditioners owing to its advantageous characteristics such as high efficiency, low noise, small size and light weight. The scroll compressor is classified into a low pressure scroll compressor and a high pressure scroll compressor according to the filling gas, namely whether an inhaling gas is filled in the casing or a discharging gas is filled therein, and the following description is based on the low pressure scroll compressor. A scroll compressor generally includes a main frame, an Oldham ring seated on the upper surface of the main frame for linear movement, an orbiting scroll seated on the upper portion of the Oldham ring for orbiting movement, and a fixed scroll positioned at an upper portion of the orbiting scroll and fixed to the main frame. In addition, the fixed scroll has a fixed scroll wrap spirally twisted, and the orbiting scroll has an orbiting scroll wrap spirally twisted and formed on the upper surface thereof. In more detail, the fixed scroll wrap and the orbiting scroll wrap form a compressor chamber, and the fluid received in the compressor chamber is compressed by means of movement of the orbiting scroll. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the compressing operation accomplished in a general scroll compressor of the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional scroll compressor includes a fixed scroll wrap 81 formed on the fixed scroll, an orbiting scroll wrap 71 formed on the upper surface of the orbiting scroll and inserted into the fixed scroll wrap 81 to form a compressor chamber P, and a discharge port 9 formed at the center of the orbiting scroll wrap 71 and the fixed scroll wrap 81 so that a compressed fluid may be discharged through it. To describe the compressing operation by the above configuration, the fluid collected in the compressor chamber P of a relatively larger volume formed in the outer portion of the scroll wraps 71 and 81 is moved toward the center by means of the orbiting movement of the orbiting scroll wrap 71. As the fluid moves toward the center, its volume is gradually decreased, thereby increasing the pressure. In addition, the pressure of the fluid is maximum at the center of the scroll wraps 71 and 81, and the fluid gathered at the center is discharged through the discharge port. The compressor which is operated as above for compressing is already disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,099, filed by the same applicant of this application. The conventional scroll compressor may have a tip seal on the uppermost surface of the orbiting scroll wrap in order to prevent the fluid from being partially leaked outward when the pressure of the fluid is excessively increased. However, in case of the conventional low pressure scroll compressor to which the above configuration is applied, the tip seal may be melted by high temperature in the compressor chamber P, and the refrigerant gas may be leaked out of the compressor chamber P. In addition, if a pressure in the compressor chamber P is excessively increased, the excessive pressure is applied to the Oldham ring seated between the orbiting scroll and the main frame. That is to say, if an excessive pressure is applied to the Oldham ring, the excessive pressure causes excessive frictions between the lower end of the orbiting scroll and the upper end of the Oldham ring and between the lower end of the Oldham ring and the upper end of the main frame, thereby increasing the pressure loss caused by friction.

F. B. Boston disclosed an automaic toilet seat lifter in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,185 which may automatically lift a toilet seat by spring mechanism. However, the toilet seat should be first lowered by a user's hand before sitting on the toilet seat. The user may dislike such an operation since he may suspect the hygienic condition of the toilet seat, whether being contaminated by urine or dirt. It is therefore needed an apparatus for conveniently lifting and lowering a toilet seat and cover without touching the toilet seat.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to variants of microbial cell-wall degrading enzymes, more specifically to variants of enzymes having a pectinase structure similar to that of Bacillus licheniformis enzymes exhibiting pectate lyase activity as their major enzymatic activity in the neutral and alkaline pH ranges; to a method of producing such enzymes; and to methods for using such enzymes in the textile, detergent and cellulose fiber processing industries. The enzyme variants of the invention may exhibit increased thermostability as compared to the parent enzyme. 2. Description of Related Art Plant cell walls consist of a complicated network of fibrous materials. The composition of the cell walls varies considerably, depending on the source of the vegetable material. However, in general its composition can be summarized as mainly comprising non-starch polysaccharides. These polysaccharides can be found in various forms: cellulose, hemicellulose and pectins. The composition of a plant cell wall is both complex and variable. Polysaccharides are mainly found in the form of long chains of cellulose (the main structural component of the plant cell wall), hemicellulose (comprising e.g. various beta-xylan chains) and pectin. The occurrence, distribution and structural features of plant cell wall polysaccharides are determined by: 1. Plant species; 2. Variety; 3. Tissue type; 4. Growth conditions; and 5. Ageing (Chesson (1987), Recent Advances in Animal Food Nutrition, Haresign on Cole, eds.). Butterworth, London, 71-89). Basic differences exist between monocotyledons (e.g. cereals and grasses) and dicotyledons (e.g. clover, rapeseed and soybean) and between the seed and vegetative parts of the plant (Carre""and Brillouet (1986), Science and Food Agric. 37, 341-351). Monocotyledons are characterized by the presence of an arabinoxylan complex as the major hemicellulose backbone. The main structure of hemicellulose in dicotyledons is a xyloglucan complex. Moreover, higher pectin concentrations are found in dicotyledons than in monocotyledons. Seeds are generally very high in pectic substances, but relatively low in cellulosic material. Three more or less interacting polysaccharide structures can be distinguished in the cell wall: 1. The middle lamella forms the exterior cell wall. It also serves as the point of attachment for the individual cells to one another within the plant tissue matrix. The middle lamella consists primarily of calcium salts of highly esterified pectins; 2. The primary wall is situated just inside the middle lamella. It is a well-organized structure of cellulose microfibrils embedded in an amorphous matrix of pectin, hemicellulose, phenolic esters and proteins; 3. The secondary wall is formed as the plant matures. During the plant""s growth and ageing phase, cellulose microfibrils, hemicellulose and lignin are deposited. There is a high degree of interaction between cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin in the cell wall. The enzymatic degradation of these rather intensively cross-linked polysaccharide structures is not a simple process. A large number of enzymes are known to be involved in the degradation of plant cell walls. They can broadly be subdivided in cellulases, hemicellulases and pectinases (Ward and Young (1989), CRC Critical Rev. in Biotech. 8, 237-274). Cellulose is the major polysaccharide component of plant cell walls. It consists of beta 1,4 linked glucose polymers. Cellulose can be broken down by cellulases, also called cellulolytic enzymes. Cellulolytic enzymes have been divided traditionally into three classes: endoglucanases, exoglucanases or cellobichydrolases and beta-glucosidases (Knowles, J., et al. (1987), TIBTECH 5, 255-261). Like all cell wall degrading enzymes they can be produced by a large number of bacteria, yeasts and fungi. Apart from cellulases degrading beta-1,4 glucose polymers, endo-1,3/1,4 beta-glucanases and xyloglucanases should be mentioned (Ward and Young op. cit.). Pectins are major constituents of the cell walls of edible parts of fruits and vegetables. The middle lamella which are situated between the cell walls are mainly built up from protopectin which is the insoluble form of pectin. Pectins are considered as intracellular adhesives and due to their colloidal nature they also have an important function in the water regulation system of plants. The amount of pectin can be very high. For example, lemon peels are reported to contain pectin at up to 30% of their dry weight, orange peels contain from 15-20% and apple peels about 10% (Norz, K. (1985). Zucker und Susswaren Wirtschaft 38, 5-6). Pectins are composed of a rhamno-galacturonan backbone in which 1,4-linked (alpha-D-galacturonan chains are interrupted at intervals by the insertion of 1,2-linked (alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl residues (Pilnik, W. and A. Voragen (1970), In: The Biochemistry of fruits and their products, vol. 1, Chapter 3, p. 53. Acad. Press). Other sugars, such as D-galactose, L-arabinose and D-xylose, are present as side chains. A large part of the galacturonan residues is esterified with methyl groups at the C2 and C3 position. A large number of enzymes are known to degrade pectins. Examples of such enzymes are pectin esterase, pectin lyase (also called pectin transeliminase), pectate lyase, and endo- or exo-polygalacturonase (Pilnik and Voragen (1990). Food Biotech 4, 319-328). Apart from enzymes degrading smooth regions, enzymes degrading hairy regions such as rhamnogalacturonase and accesory enzymes have also been found (Schols et al. (1990), Carbohydrate Res. 206, 105-115; Searle Van Leeuwen et al. (1992). Appl. Microbiol. Biotechn. 38, 347-349). Pectinases can be classified according to their preferential substrate, highly methyl-esterified pectin or low methyl-esterified pectin and polygalacturonic acid (pectate), and their reaction mechanism, beta-elimination or hydrolysis. Pectinases can be mainly endo-acting, cutting the polymer at random sites within the chain to give a mixture of oligomers, or they may be exo-acting, attacking from one end of the polymer and producing monomers or dimers. Several pectinase activities acting on the smooth regions of pectin are included in the classification of enzymes provided by the Enzyme Nomenclature (1992) such as pectate lyase (EC 4.2.2.2), pectin lyase (EC 4.2.2.10), polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15), exo-polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.67), exo-polygalacturonate lyase (EC 4.2.2.9) and exo-poly-alpha-galacturonosidase (EC 3.2.1.82). Pectate lyases degrade un-methylated (polygalacturonate) or low-methylated pectin by beta-elimination of the alpha-1,4-glycosidic bond. The enzymes are generally characterized by an alkaline pH optimum, an absolute requirement for Ca2+ (though its role in binding and catalysis is unknown) and good temperature stability. Pectate lyases have been cloned from different bacterial genera such as Bacillus, Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and Xanthomonas. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/073,684, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a cloned Bacillus licheniformis pectate lyase. The DNA sequence encoding this B. licheniformis pectate lyase and the deduced amino acid sequence are provided in SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 2, respectively. The crystal structures of pectate lyases of Bacillus subtilis (1BN81 (and an R279K mutant, 2BSP2)), of Erwinia chrysanthemi (PeIC: 2PEC3/1AIR4; PeIC (R218K) in complex with substrate: ref 10; and PeIE: 1PCL5), of Erwinia carotovora (PeIC: 1PLU6), and of Bacillus sp. strain 2 KSM-P15 (1EE6) have been published. In addition, the crystal structures of the structurally very similar pectin lyases from Aspergillus niger (PlyA:1IDJ7/1IDK7 and PlyB:1QCX8) and of the polygalacturonase from Erwinia carotovora (1 BHE9) are also known. 1: R. Pickersgill, J. Jenkins, G. Harris, W. Nasser, J. Robert-Baudrouy; Nat. Struct Biol. 1994, 1, 717; 2: R. Pickersgill, K. Worboys, M. Scott, N. Cummings, A. Cooper, J. Jenkins, D. Smith To Be Published; 3: M. D. Yoder, S. E. Lietzke, F. Jurnak; Structure, 1993, 1, 241; 4: M. D. Yoder, N. T. Keen, F. Jurnak; Science, 1993, 260, 1503; 5: M. D. Yoder, C. A. Dechaine, F. Jurnak; J. Biol. Chem. 1990, 265,11429; 6: S. J. Tamaki, S. Gold, M. Robeson, S. Manulis, N. T. Keen; J. Bacteriol. 1988, 170, 3468; 7: S. E. Lietzke, R. D. Scavetta, M. D. Yoder, F. A. Jurnak; Plant Physiol. 1996, 111, 73; 8: S. E. Lietzke, N. T. Keen, F. Jurnak; To Be Published; 9: Y. Kim, V. Mosser, N. Keen, F. Jurnak; J. Mol. Biol. 1989, 208, 365; N. T. Keen, S. Tamaki; J. Bacteriol. 1986, 168, 595; 10: M. D. Yoder, F. A. Jurnak; Plant Physiol. 1995, 107, 349; 11: O. Mayans, M. Scott, I. Connerton, T. Gravesen, J. Benen, J. Visser, R. Pickersgill, J. Jenkins; Structure, 1997, 5, 677; 12: J. Vitali, B. Schick, H. C. M. Kester, J. Visser, F. Jurnak; Plant Physiol. 1998, 116, 69; 13: R. Pickersgill, D. Smith, K. Worboys, J. Jenkins; J. Biol. Chem. 1998, 273, 24660; 14: R. D. Scavetta, S. R. Herron, A. T. Hotchkiss, N. Kita, N. T. Keen, J. A. E. Benen, H. C. M. Kester, J. Visser, F. Jurnak; Plant Cell 1999, 11, 1081; 15: M. Akita, A. Suzuki, T. Kobayashi, S. Ito, T. Yamane Crystallization And Preliminary X-Ray Analysis Of 2 High-Alkaline Pectate Lyase Acta Crystallogr., Sect. D V. 56 749 2000). The crystal structures of a pectin methyl esterase (J1QJV; Jenkins, J.; Mayans, O.; Smith, D.; Worboys, K.; Pickersgill, R. W. Journal of Molecular Biology, vol 305, 2001, 951-960) and a rhamnogalacturonase (1RMG; Petersen, T. N., Kauppinen, S., Larsen, S.: The crystal structure of rhamnogalacturonase A from Aspergillus aculeatus: a right-handed parallel beta helix. Structure 5 pp. 533 (1997)) have also been published. Pectinases consist of an unusual backbone of parallel beta-strands coiled in a large right-handed helix. The parallel beta-helix contains three beta-strands pr. turn (PB1, PB2, and PB3) and consecutive turns stack one on to another to form a super-helix. Two of the beta-sheets form a beta-sandwich folded against each other in an anti-parallel manner. The third parallel beta-sheet is perpendicular to the beta-sandwich, resulting in an L-shaped cross-section. There is no direct sequence repetition in the beta-helix, however a typical characteristic of the domain is that the side-chains of residues at corresponding positions in consecutive beta-strands stack directly upon each other. The stacks can be of aliphatic (typically leucine, isoleucine and valine residues), hydrogen-bonded (typically asparagine residues, known as an asparagine ladder), or aromatic (typically tyrosine and phenylalanine residues) character. Stack amino acid side chains are found both within and outside the parallel beta-helix, forming a linear arrangement parallel to the axis of the beta helix. The three beta-sheets are separated by turns, termed T1 (between PB1 and PB2), T2 (between PB2 and PB3, introducing a 90xc2x0 change of backbone orientation), and T3 (between PB3 and PB1). It is within these regions that the largest diversity among the different pectinases is found, the most conserved regions being the beta-sheets PB2 and PB3 and the T2 turn. There is a large variety in the length of these turns, ranging from only two amino acids to tens of amino acids. The T3 turns are commonly lengthy and of more complex formation and constitute a loop region which together with the beta-helix (primarily PB1) confines the substrate binding crevice. The N-terminal end of the parallel beta-helix domain is capped by an alpha-helix that is structurally conserved although the sequence conservation is undetectable. The C-terminal end of the beta-helix is terminated by a loop structure with no specific conservation. The N-terminal tail packs against PB2 while the C-terminal tail lies across PB2 ending in a highly structurally (but not sequentially) conserved, amphipathic alpha-helix, with the hydrophobic part packing against the T2 turn. In the bottom of the pronounced substrate-binding cleft calcium binds to three aspartate residues, two of which are conserved for all pectate lyases and one that can also be glutamate. In addition, two arginines, one lysine and a proline all facing the substrate-binding cleft are conserved in the pectinase family. Mutation of the aspartates (one can be mutated to glutamate), the arginines or the lysine destroys the catalytic activity, however the exact catalytic mechanism is not fully understood. A second cluster of invariant amino acids in the pectate lyases is located practically opposite to the Ca2+-binding site, that is, on the other side of the beta-helix domain packing against the N-terminus. Even though this iWiDH (SEQ ID NO: 27) region is highly conserved throughout the pectinase family, the function of this is as yet unknown. It does not seem to be important for pectinolytic cleavage, but has been speculated to be involved in a second, yet unidentified, enzymatic function, or to be of importance in secretion of the enzyme always being of extra-cellular origin. Hemicelluloses are the most complex group of non-starch polysaccharides in the plant cell wall. They consist of polymers of xylose, arabinose, galactose or mannose which are often highly branched and connected to other cell wall structures. Thus a multitude of enzymes is needed to degrade these structures (Ward and Young op.cit.). Xylanase, galactanase, arabinanase, lichenase and mannanase are some hemicellulose degrading enzymes. Endo- and exo-xylanases and accessory enzymes such as glucuronidases, arabinofuranosidases, acetyl xylan esterase and ferulic acid or coumaric acid esterase have been summarized by Kormelink (1992, Ph.D.-thesis, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands). They are produced by a wide variety of microorganisms and have varying temperature and pH optima. Like other cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDE""S) galactanases occur in many micro-organisms (Dekker and Richards (1976), Adv. Carbohydrat. Chem. Biochem. 32, 278-319). In plant cell walls two types of arabinogalactans are present: type I 1,4 beta-galactans and type II 1,3/1,6 beta-galactans which have a branched backbone (Stephen (1983). In: The Polysaccharides. G. O. Aspinael (ed.). Ac. Press, New York, pp. 97-193). Both types of galactans require their own type of endo enzyme to be degraded. It can be expected that other enzymes, such as arabinan-degrading enzymes and exo-galactanases play a role in the degradation of arabinogalactans. The hemicellulose 1,3-1,4-beta-glucan is a cell wall component present in cereal (barley, oat, wheat and rye) endosperm. The amount of beta-glucan in cereal endosperm varies between 0.7-8%. It is an unbranched polysaccharide built from cellotriose and cellotetraose residues linked by a 1,3-glucosidic bond. The ratio tri/tetra saccharose lies between 1.9 and 3.5. Lichenase (EC 3.2.1.73) hydrolyse 1,4-beta-D-glucosidic linkages in beta-D-glucans containing 1,3- and 1,4-bonds. Lichenase reacts not on beta-D-glucans containing only 1,4-bonds such as for example in cellulose. Thus, damage of cellulose fibers in fabrics does not occur by the application of lichenase. Lichenases are produced by bacteria like B. amyloliguefaciens, B. circulans, B. licheniformis and plants (Bielecki S. et al. Crit. Rev. in Biotechn. 10(4), 1991, 275-304). Arabinans consist of a main chain of alpha-L-arabinose subunits linked (alpha-(1xe2x86x925) to another. Side chains are linked alpha-(1xe2x86x923) or sometimes alpha-(1xe2x86x922) to the main alpha-(1xe2x86x925)-L-arabinan backbone. In apple, for example, one third of the total arabinose is present in the side chains. The molecular weight of arabinan is normally about 15 kDa. Arabinan-degrading enzymes are known to be produced by a variety of plants and micro-organisms. Three enzymes obtainable from A. niger have been cloned by molecular biological techniques (EP-A-506190). Also arabinosidase from bacteria such as Bacteroides has been cloned (Whitehead and Hespell (1990). J. Bacteriol. 172, 2408). Galactomannans are storage polysaccharides found in the seeds of Leguminosae. Galactomannans have a linear (1xe2x86x924)-beta-mannan backbone and are substituted with single (1xe2x86x926)alpha-galactose residues. For example in guar gum the ratio mannose/galactose is about 2 to 1. Galactomannans are applied as thickeners in food products like dressings and soups. Mannanase enzymes are described in PCT application WO 93/24622. Glucomannan consists of a main chain of glucose and mannose. The main chain may be substituted with galactose and acetyl groups; mannanases can be produced by a number of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi. To summarize, it can be said that a large number of plant cell wall degrading enzymes exist, produced by different organisms. Depending on their source the enzymes differ in substrate specificity, pH and temperature optima, Vmax, Km etc. The complexity of the enzymes reflects the complex nature of plant cell walls, which differ strongly between plant species and within species between plant tissues. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cell-wall degrading enzyme variant, especially a pectin degrading enzyme variant, which exhibits improved performance over the known microbial cell-wall degrading enzymes when applied e.g. in detergents or in textile industry processes. The inventors have now found that certain amino acid substitutions in cell-wall degrading enzymes having a structure including a beta-helix result in enzyme variants having improved performance in the neutral or alkaline pH range, especially improved thermostability when determined by DSC (Disc Scanning Calorimetry) or by a Pad-Steam application test. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, variants of the Bacillus licheniformis pectate lyase (EC 4.2.2.2) encoded by SEQ ID NO: 1 exhibit improved properties over the parent pectate lyase, the improved properties being advantageous when the enzyme is applied industrially. The inventors have provided such variants by having succeeded in identifying certain positions in the protein sequence in which positions the naturally occurring amino acid residue may be substituted or deleted or in which positions one or more amino acid residues may be inserted with the purpose of providing an improved pectate lyase variant, and have further provided a method of constructing cell-wall degrading enzyme variants with improved performance in industrial applications. Accordingly, in a first aspect the present invention relates to a variant of a cell-wall degrading enzyme having a beta-helix structure, which variant has at least one substituent in a position determined by (i) identifying all residues potentially belonging to a stack; (ii) characterizing the stack as interior or exterior; (iii) characterizing the stack as polar (typically asparagine, serine, threonine) or hydrophobic (either aliphatic: leucine, isoleucine or valine; or aromatic/heteroaromatic: phenylalanine, tyrosine, histidine, and less often tryptophan) based on the dominating characteristics of the parent or wild-type enzyme stack residues and/or its orientation relative to the beta-helix (interior or exterior); (iv) optimizing all stack positions of a stack either to hydrophobic aliphatic amino acids, hydrophobic aromatic/heteroaromatic amino acids (preferably histidine alone, tyrosine and phenylalanine alone or in combination) or polar amino acids (preferably asparagine) by allowing mutations within one or all positions to amino acids belonging to one of these groups; (v) measuring thermostability of the variants by DSC or an application-related assay such as a Pad-Steam application test; and (vi) selecting the stabilized variants. Alternatively, the variants may be provided by scanning the X-ray structure for positions that may be mutated into a proline residue; and mutating at least one of these positions into a proline; or by scanning the X-ray structure for positions that may be mutated into cysteine residues in order for these to form disulfide bridges and thereby stabilize the structure; and mutate at least one of these positions into a cysteine; or by initiating molecular dynamics calculations specifying different temperatures using the X-ray structure. In a preferred embodiment, the invention relates to a variant of a wild-type parent pectate lyase (EC 4.2.2.2) having the conserved amino acid residues D111, D141 or E141, D145, K165, R194 and R199, optionally also W123, D125 and H126, when aligned with the pectate lyase comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, in which the variant is substituted in at least one position selected from the group consisting of the positions 41, 55, 71, 72, 82, 83, 90, 100, 102, 114, 129, 133, 136, 144, 160, 163, 167, 168, 169, 189, 192, 197, 198, 200, 203, 207, 220, 222, 230, 232, 236, 237, 238, 244, 246, 261, 262, 265, 269, 282, 283, 284, 285, 288 and 289. It is believed that the novel enzyme will be classified according to the Enzyme Nomenclature in the Enzyme Class EC 4.2.2.2. However, it should be noted that it is contemplated that the pectate lyase variant of the invention also exhibits catalytic activity on pectin (which may be esterified) besides the activity on pectate and polygalacturonides conventionally attributed to enzymes belonging to EC 4.2.2.2. Within another aspect, the present invention provides an isolated polynucleotide molecule prepared from the DNA molecule comprising the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 by conventional methods such as site-directed mutagenesis. Within yet another aspect of the invention there is provided an expression vector comprising the following operably linked elements: (a) a transcription promoter, (b) the polynucleotide molecule of the invention, (c) degenerate nucleotide sequences of (a) or (b); and a transcription terminator. Within yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a cultured cell into which has been introduced an expression vector as disclosed above, wherein said cell expresses the polypeptide encoded by the DNA segment. Within another aspect of the present invention there is provided an enzyme composition comprising the pectate lyase variant of the invention in combination with other enzymes. Within another aspect of the present invention there are provided methods for producing a polypeptide according to the invention comprising culturing a cell into which has been introduced an expression vector as disclosed above, whereby said cell expresses a polypeptide encoded by the DNA segment and recovering the polypeptide. In comparison with the wild-type cell-wall degrading enzyme, especially a wild-type pectate lyase, it is contemplated that the variant of the invention exhibits increased thermal stability, either due to further stabilization of the beta-helix structure of the protein by amino acid substitution in positions within the aliphatic and aromatic stacks of amino acid side chains, or to further stabilization of the binding cleft or the C-terminal turn. Increased thermostability of an enzyme is indeed very useful in many industrial applications which advantageously can be carried out at a temperature above the temperature optimum for the enzymatic activity of the wild-type enzyme. The cell-wall degrading enzyme variant of the invention is useful for the treatment of cellulosic material, especially cellulose-containing fiber, yarn, woven or non-woven fabric, treatment of mechanical paper-making pulps or recycled waste paper, and for retting of fibres. The treatment can be carried out during the processing of cellulosic material into a material ready for garment manufacture or fabric manufacture, e.g. in the desizing or scouring step; or during industrial or household laundering of such fabric or garment. Accordingly, in further aspects the present invention relates to a detergent composition comprising an enzyme variant having substantial cell-wall degrading activity; and to use of the enzyme variant of the invention for the treatment of cellulose-containing fibers, yarn, woven or non-woven fabric. The enzyme variant of the invention, especially the pectate lyase variant, is very effective for use in an enzymatic scouring process in the preparation of cellulosic material e.g. for proper response in subsequent dyeing operations.

Moving laser beam readers or laser scanners have long been used as data capture devices to electro-optically read targets, such as one-dimensional bar code symbols, particularly of the Universal Product Code (UPC) type, printed on labels associated with products in many venues, such as supermarkets, warehouse clubs, department stores, and other kinds of retailers, as well as many other venues, such as libraries and factories. The moving laser beam reader generally includes a housing, a laser for emitting a laser beam, a focusing lens assembly for focusing the laser beam to form a beam spot having a certain size at a focal plane in a range of working distances relative to the housing, a scan component for repetitively scanning the beam spot over a scan angle across a target in a scan pattern, for example, a scan line or a series of scan lines, across the target multiple times per second, and a detector for detecting return light reflected and/or scattered from the target and for converting the detected return light into an analog electrical information signal bearing information related to the target. This analog electrical information signal varies in amplitude as a function of time due to the time-varying return light along each scan line, and varies in frequency as a function of the density of the symbol, as well as the distance at which the symbol is being read. The moving laser beam reader also includes signal processing receiver circuitry including a digitizer for digitizing the variable analog information signal, and a microprocessor for decoding the digitized signal based upon a specific symbology used for the target. The decoded signal identifies the product and is transmitted to a host, e.g., a cash register in a retail venue, for further processing, e.g., product price look-up or product inventorying. In one advantageous embodiment, during operation of the moving laser beam reader in a venue having one or more external light sources that emit ambient light, an operator holds the housing in his or her hand, and aims the housing at the target, and then initiates the data capture and the reading of the target by manual actuation of a trigger on the housing. The ambient light is also concomitantly detected by the detector, which generates an analog electrical ambient light signal. In the event that the external source is sunlight, then the ambient light is substantially constant in magnitude, and therefore, the analog electrical ambient light signal has a constant illumination DC component. In the event that the external source is an incandescent bulb or a fluorescent lamp energized at 50 Hz or 60 Hz, then the analog electrical ambient light signal has a constant illumination DC component and a relatively small time-varying AC frequency component at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. In the event that the fluorescent lamp is operated at higher frequencies for greater luminous efficiency, or in the event that the external source includes light emitting diodes (LEDs) operated at higher frequencies, then the analog electrical ambient light signal has a constant illumination DC component and a relatively larger time-varying AC frequency component at kilohertz frequencies, typically anywhere from 30 kHz to 300 kHz. In some circumstances, the presence of the ambient light signal interferes with, and weakens, the information signal. For example, the magnitude of the ambient light signal might be too large when compared to the magnitude of the information signal. To prevent interference, the constant illumination DC component of the ambient light signal can generally be filtered out from the information signal. Also, filters can be used to suppress the ambient light signal when its time-varying frequency component is very far in frequency away from the frequency of the information signal. However, if the time-varying frequency component of the ambient light signal is too close in frequency to the frequency of the information signal, then the ambient light signal can interfere and impede the decoding of the information signal, thus degrading the performance of the reader. By way of non-limiting example, an information signal of about 50 kHz and its harmonic at about 100 kHz can be generated during reading of a low density symbol located relatively close to the reader, e.g., about 10 inches away. If the ambient light source includes LEDs operated to have a frequency of about 100 kHz, then the 100 kHz frequencies of the ambient light signal and the information signal are too close and will cause an interference, and perhaps cause the symbol not to be successfully decoded and read. Accordingly, there is a need to remove such interference caused by such ambient light to enhance reader performance. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and locations of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Radio frequency (RF) receivers are used in a wide variety of applications such as television receivers, cellular telephones, pagers, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, cable modems, cordless phones, satellite radio receivers, and the like. As used herein, a “radio frequency” signal means an electrical signal conveying useful information and having a frequency from about 3 kilohertz (kHz) to thousands of gigahertz (GHz), regardless of the medium through which such signal is conveyed. Thus an RF signal may be transmitted through air, free space, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, etc. One common type of RF receiver is the so-called superheterodyne receiver. A superheterodyne receiver mixes the desired data-carrying signal with the output of tunable oscillator to produce an output at a fixed intermediate frequency (IF). The fixed IF signal can then be conveniently filtered and converted down to baseband for further processing. Thus a superheterodyne receiver requires two mixing steps. For example, a television receiver may translate one channel in the band of 48 MHz to 870 MHz to an IF of 44 MHz. And within the United States, FM radios will typically translate FM audio signals, which are broadcast in 200 KHz channels in the frequency band from 88.1 MHz to 107.9 MHz, to an IF of 10.7 MHz. Because of the wide frequency range required of television receivers, it has been difficult to design high quality television receivers at low cost. High quality television receivers have traditionally included automatic gain control (AGC) circuits that adjust the gain or attenuation of various elements in the receiver, in order to regulate the power levels in the receiver circuitry. For example, a television signal with low input power can be amplified to increase the signal strength for further processing. In another example, a filtered signal may be too powerful for a following component, and so the filtered signal can be attenuated to decrease the power level. Without such AGC circuits, the displayed image of a television signal will get dimmer as the power level drops, and brighter as power level rises. In receivers with AGC circuits, however, sudden changes in the input power level can also cause undesirable operation, causing the displayed image to appear to flicker, and the sound track to include unpleasant pops in volume. Such changes in input signal power level are common as, for example, when a moving receiver passes into a tunnel or behind a building, or an obstruction, such as an airplane, passes between the transmitter and the receiver. To efficiently implement AGC in highly integrated receivers, the gain or attenuation of the various elements can be controlled discretely in small gain steps. To achieve the small gain steps, gain or attenuation elements can be implemented by a large number of small gain or attenuation elements that are switched on or off in order to achieve the desired gain. Such small gain or attenuation elements are easily created in an integrated circuit process technology, such as a complimentary metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) process. However, the large number of gain or attenuation elements leads to larger die sizes, and consequently to higher costs to produce. What is needed, then, are new receiver architectures for applications such as television receivers that retain the high quality picture and sound properties of AGC circuits with small gain or attenuation steps, and the ease of manufacturing of integrated process technologies, but with smaller die sizes and at lower costs.

The present invention relates generally to the precision machining of parts, and more particularly to a device which compensates for the thermal sensitivity of a precision machining apparatus to allow machining at higher levels of accuracy. Reflective optics, infrared lenses and domes, spheric and aspheric lenses, fine ceramics, precision molds and other complex mechanical components are just examples of articles which, because of their specific applications and uses, require close tolerances in all dimensions. Therefore, the machining of such articles must be conducted on ultraprecision machining devices. Highly advanced multi-axis devices are commonly employed to machine such articles since they provide a very high degree of the requisite precision. These devices include lathes having a movable slide which carries a spindle and a slide which carries a toolholder for movement in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spindle. Single-crystal diamond, cubic boron nitride or carbide cutting tools are normally utilized to cut the workpiece mounted on the spindle. A single-crystal natural diamond cutting tool is preferred for removing materials such as non-ferrous metals, polymers and crystals because of its resistance to wear, the quality of its edge (which minimizes sub-surface stress and damage), its low coefficient of friction, chemical inertness, high thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion. Lathes of this type are often referred to as diamond tool lathes and an article machined on a diamond tool lathe is said to have been diamond machined. Those skilled in the art recognize that the machining of most symmetric and asymmetric components on a lathe requires the utmost precision in locating the center of the workpiece (which should be in the longitudinal axis of the spindle and chuck which holds the workpiece). Most applications of diamond tool lathes are in the field of optics where even a slight deviation from the center of the workpiece might render the component useless. Typically, numerically controlled lathes utilize resolvers, encoders, interferometers or linear scales to furnish position feedback information to the controller which positions the slides of the device. Such feedback information would be utilized to locate and continuously monitor the center of the workpiece being machined. In the production of symmetric and asymmetric components, the diamond cutting tool of the lathe would be moved from the perimeter of the component to the center of the workpiece as the workpiece is rotated by the spindle. Such sweeps of the tool against the workpiece would be made successively to remove material until the desired contour of the component was attained. It is imperative, therefore, that the exact center of the workpiece be located on each sweep. Most prior art arrangements for locating the center of the workpiece are installed on diamond tool lathes without regard to the fluctuating temperature in the environment surrounding the lathe or the temperature of the lathe components themselves. It is appreciated, but not fully understood, that temperature has a significant influence on the accuracy of machining and measurement. The thermal growth of the lathe components occurs for several reasons including heat generated by motors, moving components, bearings and friction. Since many lathes are adapted to move distances of approximately 0.000,001 inches, any significant thermal expansion of the lathe components, such as the slides or the supporting structure for the slides, effects the accuracy of positioning the cutting tool or locating the center of the workpiece. Thus, as the lathe components expand due to a rise in temperature in and about the lathe components, the sweeps of the tool to cut the surface become successively less accurate. The few attempts in the industry to compensate for the thermal sensitivity of ultra-precision machines such as diamond tool lathes have included the use of metrology frames. Metrology frames carry only position-sensing equipment and are built around the machine itself to isolate the position-sensing equipment from the load-carrying members of the machine so that the changing loads on the load-carrying members of the machine do not affect the position-sensing equipment and the position measurements. Typically, metrology frames employ laser interferometers or other feedback devices to furnish the requisite position information. This position information is obtained by measurements made behind and to the side of the workpiece and cutting tool. The points from which position measurements are to be made are chosen without regard to the workface of the workpiece or the tip of the cutting tool. Thus, the manner in which metrology frames "link" the two axes of a two-axis device takes into account only the center of the spindle and workpiece. With respect to thermal sensitivity, the servo motors, laser interferometer and other components of metrology frames are thermally isolated from the machine components in an attempt to reduce or eliminate position measuring error introduced by the thermal expansion of such machine components. Some metrology frames are made from alloys having relatively low coefficients of expansion in an attempt to minimize the effect of temperature changes. However, the cost of materials having low coefficients of expansion is high, therefore inhibiting their use in most commercial machines. Further, the advantages of using alloys having relatively low coefficients of thermal expansion is minimized because of the manner in which the metrology frame links the axes of ultra-precision machines. In prior art metrology frames, there is no attempt to make all displacement measurements from a common, specifically defined axis. Thus, the position information obtained from the measurements made on a metrology frame system is limited. Experience has revealed that metrology frames can provide acceptable results in the initial stages of operation after the position-sensing equipment has been properly aligned and adjusted. However, once the components of the ultra-precision machine employing a metrology frame undergo a rise in temperature, the alignment and adjustment of the position-sensing equipment is detrimentally affected. Therefore, ultra-precision machines employing metrology frames must frequently, as much as two to three times in a day, be taken out of operation so that the position-sensing equipment can be realigned and readjusted with respect to the center of the workpiece. Further, the only way to adjust and align such a device (i.e., set to center) is by a trial and error technique. Specifically, such a technique would require one to make a cut on a mock workpiece, analyze the cut workpiece on an interferometer, adjust the device, and repeat these steps until the interferometer shows the device to be properly aligned to center. This, of course, is tedious, expensive and slows production of the article being manufactured. Other drawbacks of metrology frames include their expense, their intricate installation, and their bulky size. The foregoing demonstrates that a device which substantially minimizes the thermal sensitivity of lathe components so that accurate position measurements can be readily taken throughout the machining of an article is warranted. Such a device should link the axes of a two-axis system to take into account the dimensions being measured with respect to the cutting tool and the workpiece and how such dimensions are being measured. It is also desirable that existing machinery could be easily modified with such a device.

The solar power source of the present invention is particularly suitable for powering outdoor advertising signs of the type and in a manner described in pending U.S. Application No. 90,322, filed Nov. 1, 1979, for Solar Powered Lighting System, by Edward J. Stackpole. Generally, however, the solar power source of the present invention would have application in any environment where a constant power source were desired. Because the present primary application of the herein described invention is for powering outdoor advertising signs, however, the invention will be described in conjunction therewith for explanatory purposes only. Illuminated outdoor advertising signs have traditionally been powered by connection to the local electrical utility service. That involves, of course, hiring an electrician to make the appropriate electrical connections to such signs and also involves the recurring monthly charge for electricity used. It is desirable for both environmental and economic reasons to use an alternative to commercially produced electricity. Solar power offers such alternative. Previous attempts at solar powered signs, however, have involved taking the low voltage output of photovoltaic panels and converting that low voltage to a higher voltage in order to power conventional illumination sources. As described more fully in the above referenced application, such attempts have generally failed because the voltage conversion involves energy loss and concomittant inefficiency. The above referenced application solves that problem by using a sign capable of being operated at low voltage. For example, a sign illuminated with light emitting diodes requires the same low voltage generated by conventional photovoltaic panels. That type of system is inherently more efficient because voltage conversion is not required. The present invention consists of a solar power source designed to operate such a low voltage sign. Because the solar power source is entirely self-contained, no connection to a local electrical utility service is necessary and of couse no commercially produced electricity need be used. Lastly, the electronic control of the present invention is capable of sensing a drop in battery voltage and operates to turn the powered device off until the battery is recharged thereby avoiding excessive battery discharge.

The present invention relates to raised floor systems and more particularly to a cable support assembly for use in connection with a raised floor system. Cable trays in general have been used in power stations and large industrial plants for a number of years to support and route various cables through the plants rather than placing these cables inside a conduit. These cable trays are normally supported from a wall or a ceiling at levels which are above a person""s head in order to avoid obstructing normal floor space. An alternative to the elevated cable tray has been elevated distribution ducts which are also normally mounted from a wall or a ceiling at elevations so as not to interfere with a person standing on the floor and thus, again, conserve floor space. In many multi-floor buildings, a current practice is to utilize poured concrete floors. Electrical conductor distribution ducts are normally provided within the poured concrete of these floors in order to provide electrical power distribution to various locations within the building. These electrical power distribution ducts are permanently located within the poured concrete making it impossible to accommodate the rearrangement of equipment as both the use of the floor space changes as well as to accommodate the changes in the equipment due to changes in technology. This has lead to the development of raised floors for certain uses of floor space. Computer rooms, data processing rooms and electronic equipment rooms, in general, are examples of room uses wherein the overhead wiring distribution approach and/or the power distribution ducts have been partially or totally replaced by the distribution of wires and cables on top of the concrete subfloor and below a removable panel raised floor on which the electrical equipment is placed. These raised floors are normally supported on column assemblies and the area below the raised floor is designed to be utilized as access for the distribution of the various electrical cables. With the increased complexity of electronic equipment and the increasing number of pieces of equipment being placed in a single room due to the equipment continuously becoming smaller, the interconnection of these pieces of electronic equipment by communication cables and power cables has become more complex. The space between the subfloor and the raised panel floor is somewhat restricted and there may be times when there is moisture on the concrete subfloor such as due to condensation. Cables lying on the concrete subfloor have to remain unaffected by the moisture on the subfloor and these cables also need to avoid the problems associated with entanglement. Cables simply lying on a concrete subfloor can become so entangled that it is difficult to remove one particular cable from the mass of cables on the subfloor should the individual cable need to be changed or rerouted for any reason. Prior art cable trays have been developed to eliminate some of the problems associated with the routing of cables beneath the raised panel floor. Most prior art cable trays are simply placed on the concrete subfloor. Other cable tray designs are suspended from the structure which supports the removable panels of the raised panel floor. These prior art designs are normally suspended between the raised panel floor and the concrete subfloor and provide an organized route for the various cables to travel in order to interconnect the numerous pieces of electronic equipment placed on the raised panel floor. While the introduction of these prior art cable trays has significantly reduced the entanglement and moisture problems associated with the concrete subfloors, they are not without their problems. As the number of pieces of electronic equipment being placed in a single room increases so does the number of electrical cables. Consequently the number of electrical cables which are being placed within the prior art cable trays is also increasing. This increasing number of cables in the prior art cable trays can now lead to an entanglement problem within the tray. In addition, when it is desired to have specific cables kept separate from each other, the prior art cable trays are used to route one, or one set of cables, while the second or other set of cables, which need to be kept separate, are routed across the concrete subfloor encountering the problems explained above. Accordingly, there is a need for a raised floor and cable management system which can accommodate the larger number of cables being routed beneath the raised panel floor as well as providing for the separate routing of specific cables without relying on the subfloor beneath the raised panel floor for routing of cables. Further, there is a continuing need for improved raised floor and cable management systems which require fewer number of components. A need also exists for raised floor and cable management systems which are easier to install than existing systems and which provide increased storage capacity and accessibility. The present invention provides a raised floor and cable management system that has lower material and labor costs to install a complete raised floor and cable management system. The present system also encompasses upgrading an existing raised floor system with the presently disclosed cable support assembly. In one aspect of the present invention, a raised floor system is provided which includes a plurality of upright support columns, a plurality of floor panels, and a cable tray support assembly. The support columns are disposed on a subfloor in a predetermined grid array and are spaced apart from each other a first predetermined distance. Each support column has a shaped body portion. The plurality of floor panels are supported by the support columns. The cable tray support assembly includes a plurality of first support pedestals and a platform section. Each first support pedestal has an elongated stringer member, a first upright sleeve member, and a second upright sleeve member. Each stringer member preferably has a horizontally disposed surface that defines an open channel extending therein. Each first and second sleeve member defines a bore extending from a top end through a bottom end. The first sleeve member is attached to a proximal end of the stringer member and the second sleeve member is attached to a distal end of the stringer member. By attaching the stringer member proximate the respective top ends of the first and second sleeve members, the elongated stringer member is supported above the respective bottom ends of the first and second sleeve members. The first and second sleeve members of the first support pedestal may be spaced apart less than or equal to the first predetermined distance. At least one of the first and second sleeve members of each first support pedestal is removably connected, in overlying registration, to the body portion of one support column of a pair of support columns. If the first and second sleeve members of the first support pedestal are spaced apart the first predetermined distance, then the first and second sleeve members of each first support pedestal are removably connected, in overlying registration, to the body portion of two support column of the pair of support columns. In a second embodiment of the present invention, the cable tray support assembly may also include a second support pedestal having an elongated stringer member, an upright sleeve member, and a hanger member. The elongated stringer member has a horizontally disposed surface that defines an open channel extending therein. The sleeve member is connected to a proximal end of the stringer member and defines a bore that extends from a top end to a bottom end. The hanger member is connected to a distal end of the stringer member and has a terminal hook portion that is oriented downwardly away from the horizontally disposed surface of the stringer member and generally parallel to the distal end of the stringer member. The hanger member of one second support pedestal may be removably connected to a sleeve member of an adjacent first or second support pedestal. The sleeve member of the second support pedestal may be removably connected, in overlying registration, to the body portion of an adjacent support column. In a third embodiment of the present invention, the cable tray support assembly may include a third support pedestal having an elongated stringer member, a first hanger member, and a second hanger member. The elongated stringer member has a horizontally disposed surface that defines a channel extending therein. The first and second hanger members are connected to the respective proximal and distal ends of the elongated stringer member and each have a terminal hook portion that is oriented downwardly away from the horizontally disposed surface of the stringer member. The terminal hook portions are generally parallel to the respective proximal and distal ends of the stringer member. The first and second hanger members of the third support pedestal may be releasably connected to a pair of first or second sleeve members of a pair of opposing first support pedestals. Each platform section is configured and dimensioned to support lengths of cable. One platform section is suspended from the stringer members of a pair of opposing support pedestals. The platform section has a proximal edge and an opposed distal edge and at least a portion of the proximal and distal edges of the platform section forms a downwardly extending flange. The flange may be operatively received within the channel of the stringer element.

Along with advancements in the digital image techniques, advancements are being made in a technique for compression-encoding image data so as to correspond to an increasing amount of data. With the improvement in data processing capability, a complicated operation for the compression encoding is possible, and the compression ratio of the image data is being greatly increased. Specifically, as a compression encoding technique which is employed in satellite and terrestrial digital HDTV broadcasting, a compression encoding scheme called MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) is used. In addition, MPEG4 AVC/H.264 (hereinafter, referred to as “H.264/AVC”), which is one of the compression encoding schemes which have been standardized following MPEG2, has a compression ratio which is even more improved than MPEG2. In order to perform the compression encoding at high speed, there has been proposed a method in which the encoding is performed in parallel by the use of a plurality of encoding units. For example, in the technique disclosed in JP-A-2002-199392, an image plane is divided into a plurality of regions, and the divided regions are respectively encoded in parallel. In the technique disclosed in JP-A-2008-66851, the encoding is performed in parallel with GOP units by using a closed GOP (closed Group Of Pictures) structure.

1. Field of Invention The present invention relates to an improved method of and system for mitigating payments risk, liquidity risk and systemic risk in the settlement of foreign exchange transactions and many other payments-based transactions. 2. Brief Description of Prior Art The foreign exchange (FX) markets in our world trade over $1 trillion worth of capital currencies daily. Economic order throughout the global banking system generally requires that parties engaging in such foreign exchange transactions make payments due thereunder in a timely manner to prevent default and the consequences associated therewith. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional method of making payments in connection with foreign exchange transactions, takes place over a standard 3 day cycle. On the Trade Date, various foreign exchange transactions are dealt either by telephone or electronic execution system between a User of the GPM system and a market counterparty. This is followed by the exchange of MT300 messages, in a prescribed industry data format, via a global bank communications network maintained by the Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Transmissions (S.W.I.F.T). This global bank communications network, commonly referred to as the SWIFT network, is a proprietary value added network (VAN) which use electronic data interchange (EDI) message format standards. The International Standards Organization (ISO) recognizes S.W.I.F.T. as the organization responsible for the promulgation and maintenance of these message standards within the global banking industry. Once the MT300 messages are matched in each party's back office, each party generates a payment instruction for the sold currency and a pre-advice for the bought currency to a bank's own branch, or a correspondent bank holding an account for the bank in a foreign currency. Where banks make payment using correspondent banks, they undertake payment for their own account, whether or not they are involved in an underlying transaction as principal or agent of a non-bank market participant. The message types most important to payments include the MT200 for own account payments, MT202 for general commercial payments, and MT210 Pre-advice of expected receipt of funds. The correspondent bank uses the S.W.I.F.T. network to confirm transactions in an account back to the account holder. The most important messages for this purpose are the MT900 advice of debit to account, MT910 advice of credit to account, and MT950 statement of daily account activity. In short, correspondent banking is a mechanism used by banks to effect payments in currencies other than their own. All payment message types reference the paying bank, the account holder (if any), the receiving bank, the counterparty account holder (if any), and the unique number identifying the underlying transaction using the prescribed industry data format. Messages to correspondent banks are sent using the S.W.I.F.T. network. Messages in domestic payments systems are sent using the network facilities and formats prescribed by the individual domestic payment system. Payments within domestic payment systems are currently managed by the construction of a queue of payments messages for a particular day within a bank directly linked to a domestic payment system. Liquidity management software is used to control the flow of payments messages from the queue into the domestic payment system for clearance, to monitor balances at the central bank, and to monitor payment conditions vis-a-vis other directly participating banks. The liquidity management software allows payments to proceed according to the priority of individual payment messages and the liquidity available in the system. Settlement Date is normally two business days after Trade Date for spot transactions in foreign exchange, and can be much later for forward transactions. On the Settlement Date, each branch of a bank operating the link to the domestic payment system for a currency, or each correspondent bank acting as a nostro for other banks' payments in a currency, will construct a payments queue containing all the messages requiring payment on that date. Where the payments are to be made via a real-time gross payment system or other system accommodating payment instructions on a real-time (as opposed to batch process) basis, the payments are released one by one as sufficient liquidity in the clearing account of the bank permits. Liquidity management software is used by banks connecting to these systems to keep track of the balance in the clearing account within the payments system and release payments as liquidity permits. Also, such software will generally ensure that sufficient balance or credit exists in the account of the account holder to cover the payment. Such software shall hereinafter be described as “liquidity/payments manager.” Payments made from the queue reduce the balance, while payments received from other banks in the system increase the balance. The process continues until all payments on the queue are sent. Banks acknowledge payments and receipts to their correspondent banking account holders using the S.W.I.F.T. network, and to non-bank account holders using various methods. For correspondent banks, an MT900 is sent following debit of a payment from a client's account. An MT910 is sent following credit of a received payment to a client account. At the end of the day, an MT950 statement of account activity is sent to confirm every debit and credit through the account during the day, and the opening and closing balances, using an industry standard data format. The Reconciliation Date is normally the day following the Payment Date. Institutions active in the foreign exchange markets typically take all the MT950 statements from all branches and correspondent banks acting on their behalf for settlement, and provide these statements as inputs to a batch process for reconciliation. This process determines whether for each payment made in respect of a trade, whether a counterpayment was duly received as expected. If payment has been made, but no counterpayment received, then the party is at risk for the gross amount of the payment as an unsecured creditor of the counterparty. An exceptions report is generated as a result of the reconciliation batch process, which is used for querying missed payments with counterparties, generally by telephone. Only after a query (often made difficult by geographical distance and time zone differences) can a decision be made about the credit-worthiness or potential default of a counterparty. As a result it can be two or three days following missed payments before a counterparty is declared in default and further payments are suspended. As a result of this process overall, the risk to a foreign exchange market participant, arising because payments are typically instructed on a transactional basis (as obligations are incurred) and are processed independent of other transactions which would result in expected receipts, may be as much as three days gross value of payments to a counterparty. This risk is known as “payments risk”. Payments risk may well exceed the capital of a bank or other financial institution, raising a potential that a counterparty failure could cause their own insolvency, arising from the difficulty that financial institutions are likely to have raising funding rapidly to cover a shortfall should expected receipts fail to materialize on the payment date. This risk is known as “liquidity risk”. Liquidity risk, in turn, may perpetuate a systemic impact throughout the chain of counterparties active in the financial markets, arising from payment failure due to liquidity problems, through a chain of co-dependent payments transactions. This risk is known as “systemic risk” and is a principal concern of central bankers and supervisors in overseeing the strength of capital markets. Payments risk, liquidity risk, and systemic risk associated with participation in payments systems are summarised in the table of FIG. 2. Cross-border payments risk in the foreign exchange markets has been exacerbated by recent trends in the markets. Many smaller participants now trade directly in the markets through electronic foreign exchange trading systems. The past five years have seen the market share of the top dealing banks fall from approximately 60 percent of the market to less than 40 percent of the market, demonstrating their displacement by more active smaller institutions. These smaller institutions tend to have lower credit ratings, and so present higher levels of payments risk to their counterparties. Additionally, there has been a shift toward increased trading volumes in the currencies of emerging economies. These currencies are generally less liquid and more volatile, particularly in conditions of general market uncertainty, and so present higher liquidity risk and systemic risk in the event of a financial failure. In addition, there has been a movement toward more rapid settlement of transactions, with some transactions now settling on the same day as trading or the next day, as opposed to the customary two days following trade date. The shorter settlement times put pressure on banks involved in payments as they increase uncertainty as to liquidity, and are often inconsistent with existing systems for trade processing and reconciliation. Even in a single currency, there is a more general payment risk associated with banks and commercial entities making payments to parties who are expected to make unrelated payments back on the same day. Currently, all general commercial payments on behalf of account holders are made irrespective of whether expected receipts actually occur. The result is that financial market participants and others incur credit risk on their payments which can result in large losses in the event of the counterparty's insolvency. This risk is possibly increasing as financial institutions are disintermediated from financial markets, with many institutions dealing directly with one another on a regular basis through electronic communications networks (ECN) and otherwise. Hitherto, a number of prior art systems and methods have been proposed for mitigating or managing the various types of risk associated with making payments in connection with foreign exchange transactions in our global financial capital market system. One proposed method of managing payment risk involves the “contractual netting” of payment flows, whereby parties agree to net all payment obligations for any given date and only effect net payments to one another. Contractual netting requires that both parties sign an enforceable legal agreement to net their obligations, that the parties agree daily the specific amounts of the payment flows in settlement of transactions, and that the parties maintain systems for the reconciliation of payments against transactions to ensure that underlying transactions have been settled. Supervisors generally require independent legal opinions supporting netting enforceability before conferring any benefit of risk reduction for capital adequacy purposes. In consequence of its complexity and legal uncertainty in many countries, contractual payments netting embraces only one-quarter of transactions in foreign exchange markets. In connection with the above method of risk management, a system referred to as FXNET exists for the calculation of bilateral netting exposures and net payment amounts in traded currencies for its participants. This system is designed to reduce the operational complexity of bilateral netting on a daily basis as between its users. It has less than 100 bank users. In addition, two other systems have been proposed for providing multi-lateral netting, or clearing house, operations to the foreign exchange markets. The first system is the MultiNet system which never became operational, and was abandoned in late 1996. The second system is the Exchange Clearing House (ECHO) which was operational for several years, but operations were suspended in 1998 because they were deemed uneconomic. CLS Bank has proposed an alternative method of managing risk in connection with foreign exchange transaction payment systems. This method involves developing a clearinghouse which seeks to provide a tiered system for clearing foreign exchange settlements, ending with value-for-value settlement of foreign exchange transactions through the agency of a special purpose bank with accounts at participating central banks. CLS Bank's clearinghouse is only effective for transactions wholly in the currencies admitted to the system (i.e. 7 currencies are proposed for initial operations), only market participants joining the CLS system or clearing through participants, and only for foreign exchange settlements. The CLS system requires substantial investment and changes to existing systems for reporting and matching of transactions, and for payment and liquidity management among participants. Even if CLS Bank were to settle all eligible foreign exchange trades for all its 60 shareholder banks, this would only address the risk on 27 percent of foreign exchange market transactions. In summary, prior art methods of and methods for managing risk in connection with FX and other payments transactions throughout the world suffer from the following shortcomings and drawbacks: they require agreement of the transaction counterparty; they do not extend to non-bank counterparties; they are complex and difficult to implement; and they do not adequately enable a typical foreign exchange or other market participant to control the risk arising in respect of the plurality of its counterparties, currencies and payment types. Consequently, there is a great need in the art to provide an improved method of and system for mitigating risk associated with participation in payments systems involved in settling foreign exchange and other financial transactions.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of plating a doctor blade. More specifically, the present invention relates to an efficient continuous plating method for doctor blades especially used for gravure (intaglio) printing, which provides the doctor blades having a coat excellent in-abrasion resistance, and the present invention also relates to an apparatus therefor. 2. Description of the Related Art In gravure (intaglio) printing, ink adhered to a non-image portion of a plate barrel is scraped away while a doctor blade is pressed against the circumferential surface of the plate barrel by a predetermined pressure. The doctor blade removes the ink on the non-image portion completely and has a function to leave a predetermined amount of ink on an image portion. Accordingly, the contact pressure between the plate barrel and the doctor blade must be always maintained at a predetermined level and a distal end portion of the doctor blade is required to have abrasion resistance. One of methods for providing abrasion resistance to the distal end portion of the doctor blade is to form a ceramic plating layer on that portion. This method is comprised of: adding an appropriate amount of ceramic fine powder such as silicon carbide or boron nitride to an electroless nickel bath or electric nickel bath; plating under agitation; depositing and compounding these fine powder into a plating film simultaneously with the plating; and baking the plating film as required to form a hard layer on the surface of the doctor blade. The size of the doctor blade to be installed in a printing machine conforms to the width of a roll of the plate barrel (such as 50, 90, 120 or 400 cm). The width of the blade itself is, for example, 45, 50 or 60 mm. To carry out composite plating on these blades efficiently, a belt-like steel base material has been directly plated under a state rolled in a roll shape through a spacer (such as a steel material) that does not affect an edge portion of the blade. Thereafter, the roll of the base material has been unrolled and cut to a predetermined length to obtain a doctor blade (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 4-70343). This method has the following problems: (1) Since the spacer is used, the marks of an unplated spacer portion are left behind as a net pattern, thereby impairing the outer appearance of a product, and the product has a durability problem because the unplated portion is easy to rust; (2) Since plating is carried out in a state that the base material is rolled, a forming effect at the time of plating remains when the base material is unrolled after plating. Therefore, a slightly curled product is obtained, a blade obtained by cutting the base material to a predetermined length has a slight warp (deformation), and contact pressure to a printing roll at both end portions is slightly different from contact pressure at a central portion. As a result, a locally abnormal weight loss is induced and printing cannot be made satisfactorily; (3) Since the base material wound spirally is pre-treated, plated and post-treated as a set, generally, the production of doctor blade may only be made manually in the batch manner. Therefore, the mass-production of the doctor blade requires much labor. Further, an examination that secures removal of ceramic fine powder adhered to the edge of the blade and the step of polishing the edge of the blade both of which are carried out before the shipment of products must be carried out separately from a plating step; and (4) Since not only the edge of the blade which is required functionally but also other portions of the doctor blade are uniformly plated, the consumption of an expensive chemical is large, thereby presenting a cost problem. The inventor of the present invention has made an intensive study to overcome the above problems in the ceramic plating of a doctor blade of the prior art and has accomplished the present invention. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of plating the doctor blade and an apparatus therefor which overcome the above problems in the ceramic plating of the doctor blade. In other words, the present invention provides a continuous ceramic composite plating method for long doctor base materials and an apparatus therefor, having the following constitutions. 1) A continuous ceramic composite plating method for long doctor base materials is characterized by comprising a degreasing step, rinsing step, acid immersion step, rinsing step, electroless ceramic composite nickel plating step, plating solution collection step, rinsing step, and drying step between a first step of supplying continuously a long doctor blade base material (2) held on a material reel (1) spirally while the blade surface is maintained in a horizontal direction with respect to the surface of a solution and a final step of taking up continuously the blade base material (2) on a corresponding take-up reel (30) while the blade base material (2) is cramped by a plurality of pinch rolls (20). 2) A continuous ceramic composite plating method for long doctor base materials is characterized by comprising a degreasing step, rinsing step, acid immersion step, rinsing step, electroless ceramic composite nickel plating step, plating solution collection step, rinsing step, and drying step between a first step of supplying continuously a plurality of long doctor blade base materials (2a, 2b, 2c) held on a plurality of material reels (1a, 1b, 1c) spirally while the blade surfaces are maintained in a horizontal direction with respect to the surface of a solution , and a predetermined interval therebetween is maintained and a final step of taking up continuously the plurality of doctor blade base materials (2a, 2b, 2c) on a plurality of corresponding take-up reels (30a, 30b, 30c) while the plurality of blade base materials (2a, 2b, 2c) are cramped by a plurality of pinch rolls (20). 3) The continuous ceramic composite plating method described in the above item 1) or 2) is characterized in that the doctor blade base materials are of a double-edged type, supplied from the material reels with a central portion other than both edge portions masked in a belt form, and taken up on take-up reels. 4) A continuous ceramic composite plating method for long doctor base materials is characterized by comprising letting out the long doctor base materials plated by the method described in any one of the above items 1) to 3) from the take-up reels, straightening out and baking the long doctor base materials by passing through a heating furnace. 5) A continuous ceramic composite plating apparatus for long doctor base materials, including one or a plurality of material reels (1 or 1a, 1b, 1c) for holding one or a plurality of long blade base materials (2 or 2a, 2b, 2c) spirally, a plurality of pinch rolls (20) for cramping and forwardly supplying the one or plurality of blade base materials continuously while the blade surface(s) of the one or plurality of blade base materials are maintained in a horizontal direction with respect to the surface of a solution and a predetermined interval therebetween is maintained, the same number of take-up reels (30 or 30a, 30b, 30c) for taking up the one or plurality of blades continuously, is characterized by comprising a degreasing tank (3), rinsing tank (4), acid immersion tank (5), rinsing tank (6), electroless ceramic composite nickel plating tank (7), plating solution collecting tank (8), rinsing tank (9), and drying tank (10) between the material reels and the take-up reels. 6) The doctor blade plating apparatus described in the above item 5) is characterized in that a space tank (12) is disposed between the respective treatment tanks, and a partition plate having a slit portion (14) through which a single blade can pass or a plurality of parallel slit portions (14a, 14b, 14c) through which a plurality of blades can pass with maintaining a predetermined interval therebetween is used to separate each treatment tank from each space tank. 7) An apparatus for continuously producing baked long doctor materials is characterized by comprising a plurality of pinch rolls (20) for continuously forwardly straightening out long doctor materials plated by the method described in the above item 1) or 2), from the take-up reel and a straightening furnace for baking through which the straightened plated blades pass.

Olefinic unsaturated monomers such as ethylene can often be polymerized in the presence of a catalyst composition, which has essentially two components: a compound of a transition metal belonging to one of groups 4 to 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements (Hubbard, IUPAC 1990) which is often called a procatalyst, and a compound of a metal belonging to any of groups 1 to 3 of said Table which is often called a cocatalyst. This kind of Ziegler-Natta catalyst composition has been further developed by depositing the procatalyst on a more or less inert and particulate support and by adding to the catalyst composition in the stages of its preparation several additives, among others electron donating compounds. These compounds have improved the polymerization activity of the catalyst, the operating life and other properties of the catalyst composition and first of all properties of the polymers which are obtained by means of the catalyst composition. When ethylene polymers are produced, the polymer molecules formed are not similar by molecular weight, but a mixture having a narrow or broad molecular weight distribution is developed. The broadness of the molecular weight distribution may be described by utilization of the ratio of two different averages, namely the weight average molecular Mw and the number average molecular weight Mn, where a high value of Mw/Mn indicates a broad molecular distribution. For controlling the molecular weight a so called chain transfer agent can be added to the polymerization reaction mixture. In order to obtain polymer products having different molecular weights, different amounts of the chain transfer agent for controlling the molecular weight must be fed into the polymerization reaction mixture. The most usual and preferable chain transfer agent is hydrogen, because when using it no foreign atoms or atom groups are left in the growing molecule, that would cause inconveniencies for the polymerization process or disadvantageous properties of the polymer produced. How well the molecular weight of the produced polymer varies as function of the hydrogen amount, i.e. how much the so called hydrogen sensibility changes, greatly depends on the catalyst composition. Generally the problem is, that in polyethylene production the polymerization activity decreases to quite an extent the more hydrogen is present. This absence of catalyst activity balance is a common drawback for all prior art catalysts today. The imbalance shows up when, using prior art catalysts, a drastic drop in the productivity of the catalysts occurs when going from polymerization conditions giving high molecular weight polymers (low melt flow rate) to polymerization conditions giving low molecular weight polymers (high melt flow rate). Even if such a commercial catalyst can have a quite good productivity at a polymer melt flow rate (MER, defined according to standard ISO 1133) of 1, there is often only 10% left of the productivity when producing a MFR of 500. Thus it is desirable to provide a catalyst system having a high activity which is independent of the molar mass of the polymer under formation. The activity balance discussed above is important in production of bimodal polyethylene. There, a low molecular weight component is produced in one stage at a high hydrogen concentration and a high molecular weight component is produced in another stage at a low hydrogen concentration. Since no fresh catalyst is added between these polymerization stages, the catalyst employed in production of bimodal polyethylene must be able to produce the different molecular weights with a high productivity. EP-A-32307 discloses a procatalyst that has been prepared by treating an inorganic support like silica with a chlorination agent like ethyl aluminium dichloride which support is then contacted with a magnesium alkyl compound like butyl ethyl magnesium, and with titanium tetrachloride (see claim 1, example 1, table 1). WO-A-96105236 discloses a catalyst component comprising (i) a particulate support where the majority of particles is in the form of an agglomerate of subparticles and (ii) a magnesium halide. The publication discusses the preparation of the support material. It also describes catalyst preparation and polymerization examples. The catalyst is prepared by adding titanium tetrachloride and DEAC on the agglomerated carrier containing magnesium chloride. The polymerization examples show that a higher bulk density and a higher MFR (better hydrogen response) as well as a lower FRR (narrower molecular weight distribution) is obtaines by the catalyst prepared according to the disclosure. The publication does no refer to the homogeneity of the material. EP-A-688 794 discloses a process for the preparation of a high activity procatalyst, wherein an inorganic support is reacted with an alkyl metal chloride, the first reaction product is reacted with a compound containing hydrocarbyl and hydro-carbyl oxide linked to magnesium, and the obtained second reaction product is contacted with a titanium chloride compound. The obtained procatalyst has good activity both at high and low MFR polymerization conditions, but it has the draw-back of giving an inhomogeneous ethylene polymer product, resulting in gels and white spots in the polymer material. These inhomogenities have detrimental effect on the appearance and mechanical properties of polyethylene film.