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In general, absorbent articles should comfortably fit the body of a wearer. Most absorbent articles include an absorbent pad formed by an absorbent core contained in a wrap comprising a barrier tissue and/or a forming tissue. The subject invention discloses an absorbent article generally having extensibility in at least one direction, preferably the cross-direction. Such extensibility permits an absorbent article to extend and expand about the wearer and thus to better conform to the body of the wearer. Such extension and expansion about the wearer is feasible because both the bodyside liner and the outer cover are extensible in at least the one direction. In conventional structures, the outer cover is typically adhesively secured to the forming tissue of the absorbent pad. In such embodiments, extending the outer cover in the cross-direction extends the forming tissue in the cross-direction. The force used to extend the outer cover, and thence the absorbent pad, can tear or otherwise damage the forming tissue or the barrier tissue of the absorbent pad. Since the absorbent pad is typically a sealed enclosure, namely an absorbent core enclosed within the combination of a forming tissue and a barrier tissue, tearing the absorbent pad, namely either the forming tissue or the barrier tissue, can release superabsorbent particles and other absorbent materials, such as cellulose fluff into contact with the body of the wearer. Superabsorbent particles can irritate the skin of the wearer. Such tearing of the absorbent pad indicates failure of the absorbent article to perform properly. Therefore, it is critical to find a way to prevent tearing or other structural failure of the absorbent pad.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-159163, filed Mar. 31, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The present invention relates to a method of forming a composite member, in which a conductive portion is formed in an insulator, the composite member being used in, for example, a wiring board in the fields of electric appliances, electronic appliances and electric and electronic communication. The present invention also relates to a photosensitive composition and an insulating material that can be suitably used in the manufacturing method of the composite member. Further, the present invention relates to a composite member manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention and to a multi-layer wiring board and an electronic package including the particular composite member. In recent years, increase in the degree of integration and miniaturization of various electric and electronic parts including a semiconductor device are being promoted. The particular tendency will be further promoted in the future without fail. In this connection, various measures are being proposed and tried in an attempt to apply a high density mounting to a printed circuit board including formation of a fine pattern and a fine pitch of a metal wiring and formation of a steric wiring. Particularly, the steric wiring is indispensable to a high density mounting and, thus, various methods are being proposed in an attempt to manufacture a wiring board having a steric wiring. In general, the steric wirings are of a multi-layered structure such as a built-up wiring board prepared by laminating two dimensional printed wiring boards and a multi-layered wiring board. It is difficult to form a steric wiring having a free three dimensional shape. The built-up wiring board or the multi-layered wiring board has a structure that adjacent wiring layers are connected to each other by a conductive column called via. The via is formed by processing an insulating layer by a photolithography process using a photosensitive polyimide or resist, followed by selectively applying a plating to the via or by filling the via with a conductive paste. For forming a via by such a method, it is necessary to repeat a plurality of times the steps of resist coating, light exposure and etching, making the via formation highly laborious. In addition, it is difficult to improve the yield. It is also possible to form the via by forming a through-hole (via hole) of a predetermined size in an insulating substrate constituting a printed wiring board by using a drill or a CO2 laser, followed by applying plating to the via hole or by filling the via hole with a conductive paste. In these methods, however, it is difficult to form freely a fine via having a size of scores of microns or less at a desired position. In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 7-207450, a compound having a hydrophilic group is introduced into pores of three dimensional porous film such as a PTFE film. Under this condition, the film is subjected to a light exposure in a predetermined pattern by using a low pressure mercury lamp (wave lengths of 185 nm and 254 nm), thereby forming the hydrophilic group on the three dimensional porous film. Further, a metal plating is applied to the three dimensional porous film. In the conventional method described above, however, the material forming the three dimensional porous film is deteriorated because a light beam having a short wavelength is used for the light exposure. Also, the light for the light exposure is absorbed by the three dimensional porous film and, thus, fails to reach the inner region of the porous body, resulting in failure to form fine vias. Further, in the conventional method described above, the PTFE forming the three dimensional porous film reacts with the light for the light exposure so as to selectively form hydrophilic groups. However, PTFE is defective in that the molding workability is low and that PTFE is costly. Another method of forming a via is disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-24977. In this method, the entire surface of a porous insulating member is impregnated with a photosensitive composition containing, for example, a photosensitive reducing agent and a metal salt. Then, a light exposure is applied in a predetermined pattern to the impregnated insulating member so as to reduce the cation of the metal salt in the light exposed portion to a metal nucleus, followed by removing by washing the photosensitive composition in the non-light exposed portion. Further, an electroless plating or a soldering is applied to the residual metal nuclei so as to form vias of a predetermined pattern. In the method described above, however, the entire surface of the porous insulating member is impregnated with a photosensitive composition containing a metal salt as described above, making it difficult to remove completely the metal salt adsorbed on the portion corresponding to the non-exposed portion after the light exposure step. As a result, a difficulty is brought about that the metal nuclei are precipitated on undesired portions in the subsequent reducing step. Such an abnormal deposition of the metal nuclei gives rise to a problem in terms of the insulating properties between adjacent vias and between adjacent wiring layers with progress in the fine pulverization of the pattern. Also, in the via formed in the insulating substrate by the conventional method of manufacturing a wiring board, the insulating body and the conductive portion are brought into a direct contact. In this case, since the adhesion between the insulating body and the conductive portion is poor, a problem is generated that the conductive portion is peeled off the insulating substrate during the use. Further, where a multi-layered wiring board is prepared by laminating a plurality of wiring boards manufactured by the conventional method of manufacturing a wiring board, it is required to further improve the electrical connection between the wiring layers of the wiring boards and the conductivity of the wiring. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a composite member, which has a high degree of freedom in the design of a conductive circuit, in which deterioration of the insulating body is not brought about by the light exposure, and which is free from an abnormal deposition of a metal on the insulating body so as to form a conductive portion having a fine pattern. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a composite member, which has a high degree of freedom in the design of a conductive circuit, which permits manufacturing a composite member at a low manufacturing cost without giving adverse effects to the selectivity of the material of the insulating portion and to the molding workability, and which is free from an abnormal deposition of a metal on the insulating body so as to form a conductive portion having a fine pattern. Another object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive composition and an insulating material used for the manufacturing method of a composite member described above. Another object of the present invention is to provide a composite member manufactured by the method described above. Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-layered wiring board comprising a composite member manufactured by the method described above. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic package using a composite member or a multi-layered wiring board manufactured by the method described above. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a composite member in which a conductive portion is selectively formed in an insulating body, comprising: (1) forming a photosensitive composition layer within or on the surface of said insulating body, said photosensitive composition containing a compound forming an ion-exchange group upon irradiation with light having a wavelength not shorter than 280 nm; (2) exposing selectively the photosensitive composition layer to light having a wavelength not shorter than 280 nm so as to form ion-exchange groups in the light exposed portion; and (3) forming the conductive portion by bonding a metal ion or metal to the ion-exchange group formed in the light exposed portion by the exposing. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a composite member in which a conductive portion is selectively formed in an insulating body, comprising: (1) forming a photosensitive composition layer within or on the surface of said insulating body, said photosensitive composition containing a compound having an ion-exchange group; (2) exposing selectively the photosensitive composition layer to light having a wavelength not shorter than 280 nm so as to cause ion-exchange groups in the light exposed portion to disappear and to cause the ion-exchange groups to remain in the unexposed portion; and (3) forming the conductive portion by bonding a metal ion or metal to be bonded to the ion-exchange group remaining in the unexposed portion after the exposing. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a composite member in which a conductive portion is selectively formed in an insulating body, comprising: (1) forming a photosensitive composition layer within or on the surface of said insulating body, said photosensitive composition containing a compound forming an ion-exchange group upon irradiation with light, and said compound being selected from the group consisting of an onium salt derivative, a sulfonium ester derivative, a carboxylic acid derivative and a naphthoquinone diazide derivative; (2) exposing selectively the photosensitive composition layer to light so as to form ion-exchange groups in the light exposed portion; and (3) forming the conductive portion by bonding a metal ion or metal to the ion-exchange group formed in the light exposed portion by the exposing. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a composite member in which a conductive portion is selectively formed in an insulating body, comprising: (1) forming a photosensitive composition layer within or on the surface of said insulating body, said photosensitive composition containing a compound having an ion-exchange group; (2) exposing selectively the photosensitive composition layer to light so as to cause ion-exchange groups in the light exposed portion to disappear and to cause the ion-exchange groups to remain in the unexposed portion; and (3) forming the conductive portion by bonding a metal ion or metal to the ion-exchange group remaining in the unexposed portion after the light exposure in a pattern. According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a composite member in which a conductive portion is selectively formed in an insulating body, comprising: (1) forming a photosensitive composition layer within or on the surface of said insulating body, said photosensitive composition containing a compound forming an ion-exchange group in the presence of acid and a photo acid generating agent; (2) exposing selectively to light and heating the photosensitive composition layer so as to form ion-exchange group in the light exposed portion; and (3) forming the conductive portion by bonding a metal ion or metal to the ion-exchange group formed in the light exposed portion by the exposing. It is desirable for the method of the present invention to further comprise the step of applying an electroless plating to the surface of the conductive portion formed in the third step. According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a photosensitive composition used for manufacturing a composite member, the composition containing a naphthoquinone diazide derivative and a polycarbodiimide derivative. According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a porous insulating body having the inner surface of the pore covered with a photosensitive composition containing a naphthoquinone diazide derivative. According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a composite member having a conductive portion formed on at least one of the surface and the inner region of a porous insulating body via an organic compound, wherein the amount of the organic compound, which is present between the insulating body and the conductive portion, per unit area of the surface of the insulating body is larger than the amount of the organic compound that is not in contact with the conductive portion. According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a multi-layered wiring board including a plurality of substrates that are laminated one upon the other, wherein the substrate comprises a porous insulating body having fine pores and a conductive portion formed on at least one of the surface and the inner region of the fine pore of the porous insulating body, and a layer formed of a conductive body that does not contain the component of the insulating body is formed on the outermost surface of the conductive portion of each substrate. Further, according to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electronic package comprising a wiring board consisting of the composite body described above or a multi-layered wiring board described above and an electronic part electrically connected to the wiring board.

The present invention relates generally to improved means and methods for processing documents using electronic imaging, and more particularly, to the use of electronic imaging for processing financial documents, such as checks and related documents in a banking environment. Today's financial services industry is facing the immense challenge of processing huge amounts of documents efficiently. Predictions that document payment methods would decline have not been realized. In fact, document payment methods have grown worldwide and are expected to continue increasing. There is thus a vital need to devise improved means and methods for processing such documents. The use of imaging technology as an aid to document processing has been recognized as one way of significantly improving document processing, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,205,780, 4,264,808, and 4,672,186. Generally, imaging involves optically scanning documents to produce electronic images that are processed electronically and stored on high capacity storage media (such as magnetic disc drives and/or optical memory) for later retrieval and display. It is apparent that document imaging provides the opportunity to reduce document handling and movement, since these electronic images can be used in place of the actual documents. However, despite technological advances in imaging in recent years, prior art document processing systems employing imaging, such as disclosed in the aforementioned patents, do not realized sufficient improvements to justify the added implementations costs.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a motor drive apparatus which is, for example, used for driving an X-Y table of a monolithic wire bonder or a die bonder serving as one of IC manufacturing apparatus, and a method of controlling the same. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a method of accurately stopping a motor at a target position, as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 55-77384/1980. In this prior art, after the motor passes through the target position, an error extreme point is obtained in order to determine a current value to be supplied to the motor to correct the error. Then, a rectangular current is supplied to the motor so as to eliminate the error and stop the motor at the target position. Hereinafter, a background technology of the present invention will be explained. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing one example of a motor drive apparatus controlling a typical three-phase synchronous motor. FIG. 11 is a detailed view showing a motor 1 of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a view showing inductive voltages of the motor 1 of FIG. 10. FIG. 13 is a view showing output signals from an encoder 2 shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 14 is a view showing an operation of a pulse converter 3 shown in FIG. 10. And, FIG. 15 is a detailed view showing a magnetic pole detector 4 of FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, a reference numeral 1 represents a three-phase synchronous motor equipped with 9 slots and 6 poles. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, this three-phase synchronous motor comprises a stator 5 and a rotor 6. The stator 5 is associated with three coils of U-phase 7, V-phase 8, and W-phase 9 windings. This motor 1 has nine slots 10 disposed on an inside surface of the stator 5 which are spaced at intervals of 40 degrees. These nine slots 10 are wound by the coil windings in the order of U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase repetitively so as to form a star connection. On the other hand, the rotor 6 has six permanent magnet poles 11 disposed on the outer circumferential surface thereof. An operational principle of the motor 1 will be explained below. The rotor 8 causes a magnetic field corresponding to its rotational position, which interacts with three, U-phase 7, V-phase 8, and W-phase 9, windings on the stator 5. Therefore, these three windings 7, 8, and 9 generate voltages due to Lorentz's force. Namely, three, U-phase 12, V-phase 13, and W-phase 14, inductive voltages of sine waveform are generated at intervals of 120 degrees as shown in FIG. 12 because a magnetic field to each winding is cyclically increased and decreased in response to spatial positioning of the permanent magnet 11 which cyclically approaches to and departs from each winding during one complete revolution of the rotor 6. If sine-wave currents being in-phase with these inductive voltages of FIG. 12 are supplied to the U-phase 7, V-phase 8, and W-phase 9 windings, respectively, the rotor 6 generates a torque in a clockwise (abbreviated as CW) direction due to Fleming's left-hand rule. The magnitude of the torque generated is proportional to an amplitude of the current supplied. Moreover, if the above currents are further multiplied with -1 and delayed 180 degrees in phase before being supplied to respective windings, the rotor 6 generates a torque in a counterclockwise (abbreviated as CCW) direction. In FIG. 10, a reference numeral 2 represents an optical encoder having three channels and installed on a rotor shaft of the motor 1. When the motor i rotates in the clockwise (CW) direction, the encoder 2 generates an A-phase signal 15 and a B-phase signal 18 having a mutual phase difference of 90 degrees therebetween as shown in FIG. 12, together with a Z-phase pulse signal 17 corresponding to one of zero-crossing 20 points of the U-phase inductive voltage 12. If the motor 1 rotates in the counterclockwise (CCW) direction, the phase relationship between the A-phase signal 15 and B-phase signal 16 are reversed. Therefore, the rotational direction of the motor 1 is easily judged by checking the phase relationship between the A-phase signal 15 and the B-phase signal 18. A reference numeral 3 represents a pulse converter connected to the encoder 2. This pulse converter 3 converts the A-phase and B-phase signals 15 and 18 into a CW pulse signal 18 as shown in FIG. 14 when the motor 1 rotates in the clockwise direction. On the contrary, this pulse converter 3 converts the A-phase and B-phase signals 15 and 16 into a CCW pulse signal 19 as shown in FIG. 14 when the motor 1 rotates in the counterclockwise direction. A reference numeral 4 represents a magnetic pole detector comprising a counter 20, a U-phase current phase command table 21, and a W-phase current phase command table 22. As shown in FIG. 15, the counter 20 receives the signals fed from the pulse converter 3 so as to effect its count-up and count-down operations in response to the CW pulse 18 and the CCW pulse 19, respectively. Furthermore, the counter 20 is connected to the encoder 2 so as to effect its clear operation in response to the Z-phase signal 17. The U-phase current phase command table 21 memorizes the phase of the U-phase inductive voltage 12 with respect to the Z-phase signal 17 of the encoder 2. The W-phase current phase command table 22 memorizes the phase of the W-phase inductive voltage 14 with respect to the Z-phase signal 17. An operation of the magnetic pole detector 4 will be explained below. The counter 20 is cleared at the zero-cross point of the U-phase inductive voltage 12 in response to the Z-phase signal 17 fed from the encoder 2. When the motor 1 rotates, a rotational displacement or shift amount from the above zero-cross point of the U-phase inductive voltage 12 is counted by the counter 20. The counted value becomes a pointer 23 of the U-phase current phase command table 21 for outputting a phase value of the U-phase inductive voltage 12 corresponding to the present rotational position of the motor 1. In the same manner, the counted value of the counter 20 becomes a pointer 23 of the W-phase current phase command table 22 for outputting a phase value of the W-phase inductive voltage 14 corresponding to the present rotational position of the motor 1. The magnetic pole detector 4 is connected to two multipliers 24U, 24W so that the phase values of the U-phase and W-phase inductive voltages 12 and 14 can be multiplied with an output of a speed control calculator 25. The speed control calculator 25 outputs a torque command value, i.e. a current amplitude command value. The multipliers 24U, 24W, therefore, multiply the current amplitude command value with the U-phase and W-phase current phase command values. The resultant two outputs from respective multipliers 24U, 24W are, then, fed to two D/A converters 28U, 28W so as to generate U-phase and W-phase current commands, respectively. These U-phase and W-phase current commands are, subsequently, fed to current amplifiers 27U, 27W in which drive currents to be supplied to the U-phase winding 7 and the W-phase winding 9 are generated in response to the U-phase and W-phase current commands, respectively. The U-phase winding 7, the V-phase winding 8, and the W-phase winding 9 are connected with each other so as to constitute a star connection; therefore, the sum of currents flowing through these three-phase windings 7, 8, and 9 becomes 0. A current command for the V-phase winding 8 is, accordingly, identical with -(U-phase current command +W-phase current command). A subtracter 28 is therefore provided to obtain a V-phase current command equal to -(U-phase current command +W-phase current command). Thus obtained V-phase current command is, thereafter, fed to another current amplifier 27V in which a drive current to be supplied to the V-phase winding 8 is generated in response to the V-phase current command. A reference numeral 29 represents a speed detector connected to the pulse converter 3. This speed detector 29 detects the speed of the motor 1 by counting the number of pulses generated during a time measured by a timer 38 when the motor 1 rotates at a high speed and measuring an interval between successive pulses generated when the motor 1 rotates at a low speed. Reference numerals 31 and 32 represent a positive-direction position command pulse and a negative-direction position command pulse, respectively, fed from an external device. Reference numerals 33 and 34 represent subtracters. A reference numeral 35 represents a positional deviation reading sampler which is open-or-close controlled at predetermined intervals in response to an output signal from a timer 37. A reference numeral 38 represents a speed deviation reading sampler which is open-or-close controlled at predetermined intervals in response to an output signal from the timer 38. If these samplers 35 and 38 are closed, the speed control calculator 25, the magnetic pole detector 4, the multipliers 24U, 24W, and the D/A converters 28U, 28W are activated to renew the current commands to be supplied to the current amplifiers 27U, 27W. The subtracter 34, constituted by an up-down counter, is counted up in response to the positive-direction position command pulse S1 and is counted down in response to the negative-direction position command pulse 32. The subtracter 34 is further counted down in response to the CW pulse 18 fed from the pulse converter S and is counted up in response to the CCW pulse 19. The subtracter 34 calculates a positional deviation through these count-up and count-down operations. A reference numeral 39 represents a position control calculator which amplifies the positional deviation obtained. The speed control calculator 25 amplifies a value supplied from the speed deviation reading sampler 38 to obtain a torque command, i.e. a current amplitude command. An operation of the above-described motor drive apparatus will be explained below. First of all, the subtracter 34, constituted by an up-down counter, is counted up in response to the positive-direction position command pulse 31 and counted down in response to the negative-direction position command pulse 32, and is further counted down in response to the CW pulse 18 fed from the pulse converter 3 and counted up in response to the CCW pulse 19, in order to obtain the positional deviation. Furthermore, the position control calculator 39 inputs the positional deviation through the positional deviation reading sampler 35 being open-or-close controlled by the timer 37. The position control calculator 39 amplitudes this positional deviation and outputs a speed command so as to reduce the positional deviation. Next, the subtracter 33 subtracts this speed command by a feedback speed obtained from the speed detector 29 to generate a speed deviation. The speed control calculator 25 inputs the speed deviation through the speed deviation reading sampler 36 being-open-or-close controlled by the timer 38. The speed control calculator 25 amplitudes this speed deviation and generates a torque command, i.e. a current amplitude command. On the other hand, when the motor 1 rotates in the clockwise (CW) direction, the encoder 2 generates the A-phase signal 15 and the B-phase signal 16 having a mutual phase difference of 90 degrees therebetween as shown in FIG. 12, together with the Z-phase pulse signal 17 corresponding to one of zero-crossing points of the U-phase inductive voltage 12. This A-phase signal 15 and B-phase signal 16 are, then, inputted into the pulse converter 3. These A-phase signal 15 and B-phase signal 16 are converted into the CW pulse 18 when the motor 1 rotates in the clockwise (CW) direction, and are converted into the CCW pulse 19 when the motor 1 rotates in the counterclockwise (CCW) direction. Next, the CW pulse signal 18 and the CCW pulse signal 19 outputted from the pulse converter 3, and the Z-phase signal 17 outputted from the encoder 2 are supplied to the magnetic pole detector 4. The counter 20 shown in FIG. 15 is counted up by the CW pulse signal 18 and counted down by the CCW pulse signal 19. Furthermore, the counter 20 is cleared by the Z-phase signal 17 fed from the encoder 2 to be 0. Namely, an arrival of the designated zero-cross point of the U-phase inductive voltage 12 is known by checking the Z-phase signal 17. And, a displacement or shift amount of the motor 1 from the designated zero-cross point of the U-phase inductive voltage 12 is known from the count value of the counter 20. The count value of the counter 20 becomes the pointer 23 of the U-phase current phase command table 21 for outputting the phase value of the U-phase inductive voltage 12 corresponding to the present rotational position of the motor 1. Moreover, the count value of the counter 20 becomes the pointer 23 of the W-phase current phase command table 22 for outputting the phase value of the W-phase inductive voltage 14 corresponding to the present rotational position of the motor 1. In the multipliers 24U, 24W, the phase values of the U-phase and W-phase inductive voltages 12 and 14 are multiplied with the torque command outputted from the speed control calculator 25. Namely, the multipliers 24U, 24W multiply the current amplitude command value with the U-phase and W-phase current phase command values, respectively. The resultant two outputs from respective multipliers 24U, 24W are, then, fed to two D/A converters 26U, 26W so as to generate U-phase and W-phase current commands, respectively. These U-phase and W-phase current commands are, subsequently, fed to current amplifiers 27U, 27W in which the drive currents to be supplied to the U-phase winding 7 and the W-phase winding 9 are generated in response to the U-phase and W-phase current commands, respectively. On the other hand, the subtracter 28 obtains the current command for the V-phase winding 8 by calculating the value identical with -(U-phase current command +W-phase current command). Thus obtained V-phase current command is, thereafter, fed to the current amplifier 27V in which the drive current to be supplied to the V-phase winding 8 is generated in response to the V-phase current command. If the torque command is a positive value, the motor 1 generates a torque in the clockwise (CW) direction. On the contrary, if the torque command is a negative value, the motor 1 generates a torque in the counterclockwise (CCW) direction because the multipliers 24U and 24W generate U-phase and W-phase current commands having 180-degree phase difference with respect to respective U-phase and W-phase current phase commands. Thus, the speed deviation is decreased. In accordance with the reduction of the speed deviation, the positional deviation becomes small. FIG. 9(A) shows a sampling interval of the speed deviation reading sampler 36 applied to both moving and stationary conditions of the motor 1. FIG. 9(B) shows a sampling interval of the positional deviation reading sampler 35 applied to both moving and stationary conditions of the motor 1. When the motor 1 is in a moving condition, in order to stabilize the motor drive operation by the above-described motor drive apparatus, the speed control must be performed by using three times or more sampling with respect to the calculated speed command as shown in FIG. 9. The reason why three times or more sampling are required when the motor 1 is in a moving condition is as follows. If the speed command sampling interval is identical with the control sampling interval in the speed control operation, the motor 1 will not be able to sufficiently follow up the speed command because, even if the speed of the motor 1 is controlled to coincide with the speed command value, the speed command value itself may vary at the next coming control sampling timing. Thus, the speed of the motor 1 cannot be stabilized. Especially, as the positional command varies widely when the motor 1 is in a moving condition, the speed command will correspondingly cause wide variation. Hence, three times or more sampling are required for allowing the motor 1 to follow up the speed command. For this reason, the speed of the timer 37 is set 1/3 or less compared with that of the timer 38. In accordance with the above motor drive apparatus, the sampling interval of the positional deviation reading sampler 35 will be sufficiently extended or elongated so as to stabilize the motor speed control during the moving condition of the motor. However, when the motor 1 is in a stationary condition, the sampling interval of the positional deviation reading sampler 35 will be too long to accurately detect a small positional deviation if this small positional deviation varies at a period smaller than that of the positional deviation reading sampler 35. Consequently, there is a problem that the positioning control cannot be accurately and responsively performed when the motor is in a stationary condition.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to particularly an optical coherence tomography apparatus including an interference optical system which is used in the medical field, an optical coherence tomography method, an ophthalmic apparatus, a method of controlling the ophthalmic apparatus, and a storage medium. 2. Description of the Related Art Currently, various types of ophthalmic apparatuses using optical devices are used. Such apparatuses include, for example, an anterior ocular segment imaging apparatus, a fundus camera, and a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO). Among them all, an optical coherence tomography (OCT) apparatus (to be referred to as an “OCT apparatus” hereinafter) is an apparatus capable of obtaining a high-resolution tomogram of an object to be examined. This OCT apparatus has been becoming an indispensable apparatus for dedicated retinal outpatient clinics. For example, the OCT apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-325849 uses low-coherent light as a light source. Light from the light source is split into measurement light and reference light through a splitting optical path such as a beam splitter. Measurement light is light to irradiate an object to be examined such as the eye through a measurement light path. Return light of this light is guided to a detection position through a detection light path. Note that return light is reflected light or scattered light containing information associated with an interface relative to the irradiation direction of light on the object. On the other hand, reference light is light to be guided to the detection position through a reference light path by being reflected by a reference mirror or the like. It is possible to obtain a tomogram of an object to be examined by causing interference between this return light and reference light, collectively acquiring wavelength spectra by using a spectrometer or the like, and performing Fourier transform of the acquired spectra. An OCT apparatus which collectively measures wavelength spectra is generally called a spectral domain OCT apparatus (SD-OCT apparatus). In an SD-OCT apparatus, a measurement depth Lmax is represented, as an optical distance Lmax, by a pixel count N of the image sensor of a spectrometer and a spectrum width ΔK of the frequency detected by the spectrometer according to equation (1). Note that the spectrum width ΔK is represented by a maximum wavelength λmax and a minimum wavelength λmin. The pixel count N is often an even number, and is generally the factorial of 2, that is 1024 or 2048. L max = ± N 4 ⁢ ⁢ Δ ⁢ ⁢ K Δ ⁢ ⁢ K = 1 λ min - 1 λ max } ( 1 ) If, for example, a central wavelength of 840 nm, a band of 50 nm, and a pixel count of 1024 are set, λmax=840+50/2=840+25=865 nm, λmin=840−50/2=840−25=815 nm, and N=1024. In this case, optical distance Lmax=3.6 mm. That is, it is possible to perform measurement up to about 3.6 mm on the plus side relative to the coherence gate. The coherence gate is the point at which a reference light path coincides with an optical distance in a measurement light path. When a desired region (a distance in the depth direction) is sufficiently smaller than 3.6 mm (for example, 1 mm or less), the measurement depth can be reduced by decreasing the pixel count of the spectrometer. Decreasing the pixel count is important in order to speed up processing and reduce the data amount. This is because, when measuring a three-dimensional image of the retina, it takes much measurement time and produces a large amount of data. When an object to be examined is a moving object like the eye, in particular, it is required to further shorten the measurement time. On the other hand, changing the pixel count of a spectrometer is equivalent to changing the resolution of the spectrometer. A problem in this case will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a graph obtained by plotting, for each spectrometer resolution, the light intensity measurement results obtained when the position of the coherence gate is moved while a mirror is located at the position of an object to be examined. The ordinate corresponds to the light intensity, and the abscissa to the distance. With an increase in distance from the coherence gate, light intensity attenuation called Roll-Off occurs. The degree of attenuation of a light intensity Int mainly depends on the resolution of a spectrometer and the pixel count of an image sensor. Letting x be a distance variable and a be a coefficient proportional to the resolution of the spectrometer, the degree of attenuation is proportional to a sinc function given by Int ∝ sin ⁢ ⁢ 2 ⁢ ⁢ π ⁢ ⁢ x ⁢ ⁢ α π ⁢ ⁢ x ( 2 ) As is obvious from FIG. 1, as a value indicating a resolution increases (from 0.1 nm to 0.2 nm, 0.5 nm, and 1.0 nm), the cycle in which plotted points approach zero is shortened. As described above, images formed from spectrum data from spectrometers having different resolutions differ in light intensity in the depth direction. Differences in light intensity are differences in image contrast. This makes images in the same region look different. That is, with spectrometers having different resolutions, obtained images look different. In consideration of the above problems, the present invention provides a technique of correcting the contrast differences between images which are caused when wavelength resolutions differ (spectrometers differ in resolution in the case of an SD-OCT) in an FD-OCT apparatus such as an SD-OCT apparatus.

This invention relates to a metal-cutting milling tool. Such tools are known that comprise a body rotatable around a central geometric axis, which body has a peripheral envelope surface extending between opposite end surfaces. In the envelope surface, recesses are provided which open outwards, each recess defined by a front wall, a rear wall and a bottom wall and has the purpose of receiving a machining element (e.g., a cassette which carries a cutting insert) as well as at least one clamping wedge arranged in the recess for fixing the machining element in place. The clamping wedge can be tightened by means of a clamping screw which enters a threaded hole formed in the bottom wall of the recess. The rear wall of the recess has first serrations arranged to co-operate with second serrations disposed on a rear side of the machining element, while the front wall is smooth in order to cooperate with a similar smooth front surface on the clamping wedge. A contact surface on the clamping wedge and a front contact surface on the machining element are both smooth in order to allow a substantially radial displacement of the clamping wedge in relation to the machining element during the clamping thereof.

It is a truism that modern cell phones feature a multitude of features that expand on the traditional cell phone functionality. For example, today cell phone users are able to use their phones to connect to the Internet, manage meetings, appointments, and other aspects of their every day lives, listen to music and watch videos, etc. In essence the cell phone—which began as a single-function communicator—has grown into a fully functioning multimedia device. However the fundamental function of a cell phone remains communication. It should be noted that cell phones are also sometimes referred to as mobile phones, which in the proper meaning of the word indicates that the user of that phone is mobile, and is supposedly always available for anyone who might want to contact him or her. The core functionality of mobile/cell phones has been basically the same since the first devices were made available to consumers. Although there has been a rapid expansion in the feature set of most cell phones, the core functionality has not seen a similar expansion. The reasons for the development discrepancy likely have to do with the fact that the core functionality is sufficient for most users and that there are not just that many ways of enhancing the person-to-person communication experience on a mobile device Arguably, the most important enhancement in the cell phone, at least as it relates to interpersonal communication, has been the development of the capability of sending short text messages from one phone to another. Otherwise, the main improvements in communications have been largely concerned with connectivity. For example, communications protocols such as infrared and Bluetooth have become de facto requirements for all but the most inexpensive phones. In addition advances have been made in connectivity to the Internet (for example) and now it is routine for users to be able to access their e-mail and browse the web via their phones. However, these improvements in connectivity, as welcome as they might be, do not expand on the one-to-one personal communication aspect of the phone. One thing that would be a leap forward in such communications would be the ability to quickly and easily assemble a multi-user communication session that is hardware independent and, further, does not require the user to purchase additional hardware. Although the prior art has provided multi-user communications in the form of, for example, conference calls—the present technology of conference calls is quite limiting to the user. For example, it is typically limited to a predetermined number of user connections (e.g., 5). Further, a start time must be communicated to each user so there is little opportunity for spontaneity. Further, adding more users to the session may be very difficult or impossible. Finally, the conference call will ultimately be limited to known users, i.e., those who are known to one of the participants and have been invited. Additionally, exchanging short messages between users is a time-delayed communication mode that typically involves a one-to-one communication. Even though some software providers have offered solutions that allow a user to send one short message to multiple participants, such is not the same as real time voice communication between these same users. Of course, such group messaging is a time-delayed communication mode too, in which at least one participant is always in a waiting position. Thus, this communication option also offers little in the way of spontaneity or flexibility to the user. As was mentioned previously, over the last few years several attempts have been made to enhance the communication options available to owners of mobile devices, for example infrared and Bluetooth have been added but they have been used so far mostly for communication with other devices, i.e. for data transfer—not for direct communication between users. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that infrared is limited to communications over a relative short line-of-sight distance between potential communication partners. As a consequence, the infrared protocol has typically been implemented as a simple data exchange protocol which is useful, for example, in synchronizing data between a mobile phone and a personal computer. On the other hand, the Bluetooth protocol provides for the creation of networks, so called piconets, in which up to 255 participants can be combined, of which only 8 participants can be active simultaneously, these 8 participants consist of one so called “master” device and seven so-called “slave” or secondary devices. The master device controls the communication and assigns so-called “sendslots” to participants. Additionally, communications within a piconet are based on the client server principle, which imposes the restriction that the master (server) is needed for on-going communications. Thus, when a master device looses the connection the piconet ceases to exist until a new master is selected and re-establishes the piconet by starting the creation process at the beginning. Although a Bluetooth device can be registered in multiple piconets, it can only be registered as master in one piconet. Additionally, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the term scatternet is often used to refer to a combination of up to 10 piconets in which each piconet is associated with a different identification frequency. However, the technical specifications of the Bluetooth communication protocol limit the functionality of that communication option. For example, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a piconet can accommodate a maximum of 8 active participants. Further, a piconet will collapse if the server (master) looses the connection. Others have sought, with varying degrees of success, to deliver enhanced communication functionality despite the limitations of the Bluetooth protocol. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,674,995 teaches the creation of a virtual ball game that utilizes data that is passed between participants via Bluetooth, thereby delivering to them the illusion that they are playing a ball game. As another example, U.S. patent application No. 20020151320 describes a method of giving users in a user community additional functionality when using a software package in a community environment. That is, certain functions are provided to the users depending on the number of participants, with higher user numbers being associated with the unlocking of additional program functionality. However, these sorts of approaches are still fundamentally limited by the nature of the Bluetooth protocol. As an example of an alternative approach to the use of Bluetooth, consider U.S. patent application 2005/0063409 that teaches a method for allowing users to communicate across several scatternets. However, this invention utilizes multiple interconnected servers and is not suitable for users that wish to quickly arrange and participate in an ad hoc communications group. None of the prior art communication options, however, deliver a flexible way of communicating with an arbitrary number of individual users. In each case either the users are restricted by the technical limitations of the Bluetooth standard or the communication options necessary to create a group chat are too involved for the average user to accomplish. Note that for purposes of the instant disclosure, the term enhancement of the communication options will be taken to refer to any approach that allows a user to communicate with a mobile device in addition to the already existing communication options. Thus what is needed is a method that gives the user of a cell phone or users of mobile devices the ability to create multi-user communications on that device without a need for elaborate equipment configurations, planning, or installation and which is not bound by the technical limitations of a specific communication protocol. Preferably the method will extend an invitation to others to join a communications group and will automatically provide the appropriate software for use by new users who do not already have it. Preferably the method will use a commonly available wireless protocol such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Accordingly it should now be recognized, as was recognized by the present inventors, that there exists, and has existed for some time, a very real need for a system and method that would address and solve the above-described problems. Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or preferred embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of the invention within the ambit of the appended claims.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to multi-chamber process equipments for fabricating semiconductor devices. 2. Description of the Prior Art In recent years, the advance in device miniaturization and IC complexity is increasing the need for more accurate and more complicated processes, and wafers of larger diameters. Accordingly, much attention is focused on multi-chamber process equipments (or systems) in view of increase of complex precesses, and enhancement of throughput in an individual wafer processing system. FIG. 14 shows one conventional example. A multi-chamber process equipment of this example includes a wafer transfer chamber 1, a plurality of process chambers 3 connected with the transfer chamber 1 through respective gate valves 2, a load lock chamber (preliminary evacuation chamber) 5 connected with the transfer chamber 1 through a gate valve 4, and a wafer load chamber 7 connected with the load lock chamber 5 through a gate valve 6. In the wafer transfer chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 5, there are provided wafer transfer arms 9 and 10 for carrying a wafer 8, as shown in FIG. 14. The transfer arm 10 is designed to take each wafer 8 from wafer cassettes 11, 11 placed in the wafer load chamber 7, through the gate valve 6, and bring the wafer into the wafer transfer chamber 1. The transfer arm 9 is arranged to receive the wafer 8 from the arm 10, and insert the wafer through one of the gate valves 2 into a predetermined one of the process chambers. The wafer 8 is shifted from one process chamber to another by the transfer arm 10 according to the sequence of processes. Another conventional example is shown in "NIKKEI MICRODEVICES", May, 1990, page 47. A multi-chamber process equipment of this example includes a wafer transfer chamber, a plurality of parallel PVD or other process chambers connected with the transfer chamber, a cooling chamber, a preclean chamber, a buffer chamber, and RTP/etching/CVD chamber (or chambers), a load lock chamber, and other chambers. The pressure of each chamber is held at a predetermined degree of vacuum (base pressure) according to the object of the chamber. For example, the wafer transfer chamber is held at 10.sup.-8 Torr (1.3.times.10.sup.-6 Pa), the PVD chamber is held at 10.sup.-9 Torr (1.3.times.10.sup.-7 Pa), and the load lock chamber is held at 10.sup.-5 Torr (1.3.times.10.sup.-3 Pa). Japanese Patent Provisional Publication (TOKKAI) No. 61-55926 shows still another conventional example. In these equipments, the pressures of the different chambers are determined so as to ensure the clean wafer processing environment. In general, the pressures are made closer to the atmospheric pressure in the following order; (Process chamber)<(Wafer transfer chamber)<(Load lock chamber). In the conventional process equipments, however, a wafer is readily affected by dew condensation especially in a low temperature etching chamber which is cooled to -20.degree. C..about.-70.degree. C. if the chamber is not evacuated sufficiently before loading of the wafer. Therefore, it is required to reduce the pressure in the chamber below a base pressure of the chamber (10.sup.-6 Torr, for example). Moreover, the degree of vacuum of the wafer transfer chamber is lower (that is, the pressure is higher) than that of the process chamber. Therefore, when the process chamber is opened, there arises a flow of residual water content from the wafer transfer chamber to the process chamber, resulting in the dew condensation. The conventional equipments cannot prevent condensation satisfactorily even if the pressure of the process chamber is decreased sufficiently below the base pressure. On the other hand, cross contamination is caused by a flow of residual gases from a process chamber for heat treatment or photo-assisted CVD, to the wafer transfer chamber if the degree of vacuum in the wafer transfer chamber is too high. Furthermore, the conventional equipments cannot sufficiently reduce variations of wafer properties such as sheet resistance from wafer to wafer, especially when the wafers are processed in a high temperature silicide CVD chamber. It is possible to reduce the variations of the sheet resistance by decreasing the pressure in the load lock chamber below the above-mentioned level. However, the pumping operation must be continued for three hours or more.

(a) Field Embodiments of the present system and method relate to a stereoscopic image display device, and more particularly, to a stereoscopic image display device with an enhanced display quality. (b) Description of the Related Art In general, a display device that can display a three-dimensional (3D) image expresses a 3D effect of objects by using binocular parallax. That is, different 2D images are displayed to the left eye and the right eye of a user viewing the display. When the image displayed to the left eye (hereafter referred to as “left-eye image”) and the image displayed to the right eye (hereafter referred to as “right-eye image”) are processed by the user's brain, the brain recognizes the combination of the left-eye image and the right-eye image as a three-dimensional image having depth perception. A display device capable of displaying 3D images using binocular parallax is generally referred to as a stereoscopic 3D image display device. Some stereoscopic 3D image display devices may require the user to wear special headgear or eye glasses (e.g., shutter glasses and polarized glasses). Other stereoscopic 3D image display devices, referred to as autostereoscopic 3D image display devices, however, do not require the user to wear special head gear or eye glasses. An autostereoscopic 3D image display device generally includes an optical system (e.g., a lenticular lens and a parallax barrier having a plurality of openings) in the display device itself that divides a 3D image into several viewpoints so as to realize a 3D image.

The present invention relates generally to digital copy protection, digital rights management, and conditional access, and more particularly but not exclusively to enabling transferable entitlements using Entitlement Management Messages (EMMs) for providing content to different network devices. Today a consumer can readily purchase an entitlement to content such as a ticket to the opera, a sports event, movie, or the like. Often, the purchased ticket can be redeemed at some later stage and location. Similarly a consumer may purchase an airline ticket and redeem it for an airplane flight. However, there is a difference of transferability between these two ticket transactions. For various reasons, of both pricing and security, airline tickets represent non-transferable entitlements, where only the named recipient of the entitlement may redeem it, whereas movie tickets, or the like, are typically transferable. Transferability is an attribute of the entitlement granted by an original owner to the recipient. It means that the recipient may be free to resell or transfer title to the entitlement prior to its redemption. It also typically means that the owner or its distributors agree to honor the redemption of the entitlement from whoever presents the entitlement. Thus, in some situations, a transferable entitlement may become an object of trade. However, in today's realm of content, such as in the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) domain, or the like, entitlements do not readily support transferability. If a recipient were to purchase an entitlement on one set top box (STB) there presently is no mechanism to enable the transfer of that entitlement to another set top box or other network device for redemption. Transfer of entitlements between devices on the same or different networks may open a wealth of opportunity for consumers and for content providers. Moreover, IPTV, and the like, may be currently served in discrete networks—so-called ‘walled-garden’ networks. These networks typically ensure a level of quality of service and security. However the walls often impose a barrier to a market of consumers inside the wall. The broader commercial motivation of this invention therefore includes allowing third-party content providers outside the walls to gain access to this market. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made

This invention relates to a method for applying normally dry relatively large particle size (granular) fertilizers to crops, such as lawns. Lawn fertilizers are available in various forms including solutions of nutrients in water, dispersions (suspensions) of fine powders (70-80 mesh and smaller) in an aqueous medium, dry powders and dry granules. In some cases, the nutrient materials are supported on an inert carrier, e.g. sand or clay. Both liquid fertilizers and dispersions of fine powders in aqueous mediums are usually spray applied using conventional types of liquid solution fertilizer spraying equipment. A typical example of a spray applied dispersion of a powdered fertilizer material is illustrated by the U.S. Pat. No. to Funk 4,036,627. This patent discloses a high analysis fertilizer formulaton of low bulk density powdered ureaformaldehyde having soluble and insoluble portions combined with soluble monopotassium phosphate in which the resultant mixture is a dry homogeneous blend, free of fillers and binding agents, and which may be carried in a liquid medium for application to surface or subsurface areas by conventional liquid solution fertilizer applying equipment. The suspension generally has a fairly high concentration of the fine powder particles in the liquid medium. Dry fertilizers in the powder form or the granular form are conventionally applied by dry spreaders. Numerous examples of dry powdered and granular fertilizer compositions are well known to those skilled in the art. Recently, these have begun to be formulated with provisions for timed (slow) release of the nutrients to avoid "burning" the crop and to reduce the number of applications in a growing season. Each of the various physical forms of fertilizer compositions has its advantages and disadvantages. Spray applied liquid fertilizer solutions and dispersions of powdered nutrient materials are characterized by the ability to be applied evenly and from a tank truck, for example. These fertilizer forms usually provide nutrients which are immediately available to the lawn, and therefore enable quick response of the lawn to the application, i.e. quick "greening" of the lawn. However, such liquid solutions are often too rich in immediately available nutrients, particularly nitrogen. A solution which is too rich in nutrients can cause "burning" of the lawn. Additionally, insect and fungus growth may be accelerated. Still further, liquid solution type fertilizers do not often possess long life on or in the ground and their effect is quickly lost. Frequent application is required to maintain a desired nutrient level in the soil during a growing season. With the finely divided powder or dispersion, a principal problem is retention on the leaves or blades of grass. This can also cause burning. Additionally, ambient conditions and normal lawn care procedures may result in loss of a significant value of the fertilizer. For example, application of dry powder is usually accompanied by considerable dusting and wind loss. Moreover, when the lawn is cut, and the clippings collected, a substantial portion of a powdered fertilizer, whether dry or dispersion applied, is carried away and lost. With a rotary lawn mower, dusting of a powdered fertilizer can also be a problem. Granular fertilizers which are spread on the lawn in a dry condition, do not generally have the foregoing types of application problems encountered with powdered fertilizers. Because of the larger particle size, dusting is not a problem. Further, retention on the blades of grass or on leaves is not generally a problem with granular fertilizers. Thus, loss on removal of grass clippings is negligible. However, like any spreader applied fertilizer, application is usually uneven because of turns at the end of a row, skips, overlaps, etc. Without care, overfertilizing can occur in certain areas and under fertilizing in others. A blotchy appearance results. Furthermore, the immediate nutrient availability of granular fertilizers may be lost due to leaching. Thus, with granular fertilizers obtaining quick "greening" can be a problem. Thus, as can be seen from the foregoing discussion the problems which are often encountered in the application of liquid, liquid dispersion or dry spread granular fertilizers are also manifested in the quality of performance of the fertilizer.

Conventional methods for producing metal powder include a water atomizing method, which provides metal powder by injecting a high pressure water jet to a flow of a molten material; a gas atomizing method, which employs spraying of N2 gas or Ar gas in place of the water jet used in the atomizing method; and a centrifugation method, in which a molten material jet is injected into cooling water present in a rotary drum rotating at high speed. Fine particles are also produced through a breakdown method such as mechanical formation employing a mill or the like and also through a buildup method such as a precipitation method or a sol-gel method. However, in the water atomizing method and the gas atomizing method, the nozzle structure is complicated and an excessive load is imposed on nozzles, resulting in lowered durability of the nozzle, since the molten material is formed into powder form by a flow of high pressure cooling water or cooling gas. Meanwhile, in the centrifugation method, the structure of the apparatus is complicated, in order to enable high-speed rotation of the rotary drum. Furthermore, in these methods, the molten metal is pulverized on the basis of collision energy. Thus, the resulting particle size is varied, and the yield of fine particles is poor. The breakdown method employing mechanical formation or the like can produce only large particles having a minimum size of, for example, approximately 100 μm. The buildup method such as a precipitation method can produce fine particles having a maximum size of approximately 1 μm, and particles which are larger than approximately 1 μm cannot be obtained. Therefore, when conventional methods and apparatuses for producing fine particles are employed, fine particles having a size ranging from several micrometers to the order of 10 μm, particularly fine particles having a size of about 3 μm, are difficult to obtain. Also, in the breakdown method, a large portion of the molten metal cannot be converted into fine particles and remains as a lump, thereby deteriorating the yield thereof. In addition, the particle size distribution assumes a broaden profile, causing the problem that fine particles having a desired particle diameter cannot be obtained in a large amount. Conventionally, a liquid quenching method has been known for producing amorphous metal. According to the liquid quenching method, a molten material is cooled and solidified by, for example, causing a molten metal liquid to spout into a coolant, whereby amorphous metal is produced. Even when a centrifugation method, which can attain a relatively large cooling rate, is employed in combination with the liquid quenching method, the heat flux between two liquids (i.e., molten material and coolant) is limited to the critical heat flux in the case where heat conduction is induced by cooling based on convection or a conventional boiling method. Thus, the cooling rate is limited to 104 to 105 K/s, which problematically imposes limitation on the type of metal which can be converted into an amorphous material. Previously, the present applicant filed a patent application for a method for producing fine particles and amorphous material of molten material which includes supplying into a liquid coolant a molten material which has been formed by melting a raw material to be converted into fine particles or amorphous material, with a small difference in flow speed of the two liquids, to thereby cause boiling by spontaneous bubble nucleation and employing the resultant pressure wave for producing fine particles and amorphous material thereof (see Patent Documents: WO 01/81033 and WO 01/81032). However, according to the method for which the present applicant previously filed a patent application, when a high-melting material having a melting point of, for example, 800° C. or higher is used, vapor film cannot be broken satisfactorily through condensation. Thus, formation of fine particles or amorphous material of molten material cannot be fully achieved. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide, on the basis of improvement of the previously developed technique, a method for producing fine particles, the method being capable of producing fine particles from a high-melting-point raw material and readily producing submicron fine particles which have not been readily produced through the previously developed technique. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus therefor.

This invention relates generally to enzymes that convert sucrose to isomaltulose. More particularly, the present invention relates to novel sucrose isomerases, to polynucleotides encoding these enzymes, to methods for isolating such polynucleotides and to nucleic acid constructs that express these polynucleotides. The invention also relates to cells, particularly transformed bacterial or plant cells, and to differentiated plants comprising cells, which express these polynucleotides. The invention further relates to the use of the polypeptides, polynucleotides, cells and plants of the invention for producing isomaltulose. Isomaltulose α-D-glucopyranosyl-1,6-D-fructofuranose (also called palatinose) is a naturally occurring structural isomer of sucrose (α-D-glucosyl-1,2-D-fructose). Isomaltulose is a nutritive disaccharide, with sweetness and bulk similar to sucrose. Several characteristics make isomaltulose advantageous over sucrose for some applications in the food industry: 1) noncariogenic (not causing dental decay); 2) low glycemic index (useful for diabetics); 3) selective promotion of growth of beneficial bifidobacteria among human intestinal microflora; 4) greater stability of isomaltulose-containing foods and beverages; 5) less hygroscopic; 6) simple conversion into sugar alcohols with other useful properties as foods. The safety of isomaltulose has been comprehensively verified, resulting in unqualified approval as human food, and it is widely used commercially as a sucrose substitute in foods, soft drinks and medicines (Takazoe, 1989, Palatinose—an isomeric alternative to sucrose. In: Progress in Sweeteners (T H Grengy, ed.) pp 143-167. Elsevier, Barking, UK). Furthermore, because isomaltulose has an accessible carbonyl group, it has attracted attention as a renewable starting material for the manufacture of bioproducts such as polymers and surfactants with potential advantages over substances manufactured from petroleum (Cartarius et al., 2001, Chemical Engineering and Technology 24: 55A-59A; Kunz, 1993, From sucrose to semisynthetical polymers. In: Carbohydrates as Organic Raw Materials II (G Descotes, ed.) pp 135-161. VCH, Weinheim; Lichtenthaler et al., 2001, Green Chemistry 3: 201-209; Schiweck et al., 1991, New developments in the use of sucrose as an industrial bulk chemical. In: Carbohydrates as Organic Raw Materials (F W Lichtenthaler, ed.) pp 57-94. VCH, Weinheim). Commercial isomaltulose is produced from food-grade sucrose by enzymatic rearrangement from a (1,2)-fructoside to a (1,6)-fructoside followed by crystallization. Sucrose isomerase (SI) enzymes (also known as isomaltulose synthases), which are able to convert sucrose to isomaltulose, have been demonstrated in Protaminobacter rubrum, Erwinia rhapontici, E. carotovora var atroseptica, Serratia plymuthica, S. marcesens, Pseudomonas mesoacidophila, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Klebsiella spp., Agrobacterium sp., haploid yeast and Enterobacter sp. (Avigad 1959, Biochemical Journal 73: 587-593; Bornke et al., 2001, Journal of Bacteriology 183: 2425-2430; Cheetham et al., 1982 Nature 299: 628-631; Huang et al., 1998, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology 21: 22-27; Lund and Waytt, 1973, Journal of General Microbiology 78: 331-3; Mattes et al., 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,140; McAllister et al., 1990, Biotechnology Letters 12: 667-672; Miyata et al., 1992, Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry 56: 1680-1681; Munir et al., 1987, Carbohydrate Research 164: 477-485; Nagai et al., 1994, Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry 58: 1789-1793; Nagai-Miyata et al., 1993, Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry 57: 2049-2053; Park et al., 1996, Revista De Microbiology 27: 131-136; Schmidt-Berg-Lorenz and Maunch, 1964, Zeitung fur die Zuckerindustrie 14: 625-627; Stotola et al., 1956, Journal of the American Chemical Society 78: 2514-2518; Tsuyuki et al., 1992, Journal of General and Applied Microbiology 38: 483-490; Zhang et al., 2002, Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68: 2676-2682). Isomaltulose is currently produced in industrial scale column reactors containing immobilized bacterial cells. Initially, natural isolates have been used for this purpose but it is anticipated that higher yields of isomaltulose may be achieved using recombinant techniques. Mattes et al. (1998, supra) disclose isolated polynucleotides from Protaminobacter rubrum (CBS 547,77), Erwinia rhapontici (NCPPB 1578), the microorganism SZ 62 (Enterobacter species) and the microorganism MX-45 (Pseudomonas mesoacidophila FERM 11808 or FERM BP 3619) for producing recombinant partial or full-length sucrose isomerase enzymes in host cells such as Escherichia coli. Mattes et al. also disclose conserved amino acid sequences for designing degenerate oligonucleotides for cloning sucrose isomerase-encoding polynucleotides by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In addition to isomaltulose, reported SIs produce varying proportions of the isomer trehalulose (1-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-D-fructose) along with glucose and fructose as by-products. Some purified SIs produce predominantly isomaltulose (75-85%), others predominantly trehalulose (90%). The ratio of these products varies with reaction conditions, particularly temperature and pH, and under some conditions small quantities of other products such as isomaltose and isomelezitose may be formed (Véronèse and Perlot, 1999, Enzyme and Microbial Technology 24: 263-269). The formation of multiple products lowers the yield and complicates the recovery of the desired isomer. Slow conversion of sucrose into isomaltulose, and a narrow range of optimal reaction conditions also limit the industrial efficiency of isomaltulose production (Cheetham, 1984, Biochemical Journal 220: 213-220; Schiweck et al., 1990, Zuckerindustrie 115: 555-565.). An ideal SI would show high speed, complete conversion, high specificity and a wide window of reaction conditions for isomaltulose production.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to the reporting of Power Headroom (PH) from a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system that supports carrier aggregation. 2. Description of the Related Art Mobile communication systems were originally designed to provide users with voice communication services while they are on the move. Current mobile communication systems are capable of supporting both voice communication services and data communication services for mobile users. Standardization for a next generation of mobile communication technology for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is being conducted for Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE is a broadband packet-based communication technology that is expected to provide download speeds that improve upon existing data transmission rates by up to 100 Megabytes/second (Mbps). In attempting to achieve such a high data rate, studies have been conducted that use a minimum number of nodes in connection with a simplified network topology, and that place a radio protocol as close as possible to radio channels. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an LTE wireless communication system. The LTE wireless communication system includes a plurality of Evolved Node Bs (ENBs) 105, 110, 115 and 120, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 125, and a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 130. ENBs 105, 110, 115 and 120 are coupled to the S-GW 130, enabling a UE 135 to connect to a core network. The ENBs 105, 110, 115 and 120 correspond to Node Bs of a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and perform more complex functions than those of a legacy Node B. In the LTE system, all user traffic, including real time services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), are provided through a shared channel. Each of the ENBs 105, 110, 115 and 120 manage one or more cells, and are responsible for the collection of status information from UEs and for the scheduling of traffic. In order to support transmission bandwidths of up to 20 megahertz (MHz), LTE employs Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) as its basic modulation scheme. LTE also uses Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) to improve data throughput. AMC varies downlink modulation and coding schemes based on channel conditions for each UE. The S-GW 130 is responsible for managing data bearers and establishes or releases data bearers under the control of the MME 125. The MME 125 is in communication with the S-GW 130 and is responsible for control plane functions. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a user plane protocol stack for use in the LTE architecture of FIG. 1. A mobile terminal, or UE, 200 has a protocol stack having a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer 205, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer 210, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer 215, and a Physical (PHY) layer 220. A base station, or ENB, 201 has a protocol stack having a PDCP layer 240, an RLC layer 235, a MAC layer 230, and a PHY layer 225. The PDCP layers 205 and 240 are responsible for Internet Protocol (IP) header compression/decompression. The RLC layers 210 and 235 pack the PDCP Packet Data Units (PDUs) into a size appropriate for transmission and perform an Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) function. The MAC layers 215 and 230 serve multiple RLC layer entities. These layers are capable of multiplexing the RLC PDUs into a MAC PDU, and demultiplexing the MAC PDU into the RLC PDUs. The PHY layers 220 and 225 perform encoding and modulation on upper layer data for transmission through a radio channel, and perform demodulation and decoding on the OFDM symbol received through the radio channel for delivery to upper layers. A data unit that is input to a protocol entity is referred to as a Service Data Unit (SDU) and a data unit that is output from the protocol entity is referred to as a Protocol Data Unit. A voice communication service of a wireless communication system requires a relatively small amount of dedicated bandwidth. However, a data communication service must allocate resources in consideration of a data amount and a channel condition so that transmission throughput may increase. Thus, a mobile communication system is provided with a scheduler that manages resource allocation with respect to available resources, channel conditions, an amount of transmission data, etc. Resource scheduling is also required in LTE, and a scheduler that is incorporated into a base station, or ENB, is used to manage radio transmission resources. In order to meet International Mobile Telephony (IMT)-Advanced requirements that extend beyond those of IMT-2000, further technological advancements have allowed for the evolution of LTE into LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). LTE-A is provided with technological components, such as carrier aggregation, to fulfill the IMT-Advanced requirements. Carrier aggregation aggregates multiple carriers to form a larger bandwidth, thereby allowing a UE to transmit and receive data at higher data rates. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an LTE-A wireless communication system supporting carrier aggregation. An ENB 305 operates on two different carriers 310 and 315, having center frequencies of f3 and f1, respectively. A conventional wireless communication system allows a UE 330 to communicate with the ENB 305 using only one of carriers 310 and 315. However, the LTE-A system supporting carrier aggregation enables the UE 330 to use both carriers 310 and 315 in order to increase transmission throughput. The maximum data rate between the ENB 305 and the UE 330 increases in proportion to the number of carriers that are aggregated. Due to the fact that uplink transmissions cause inter-cell interference, it is preferable for a UE to calculate an uplink transmission power using a predetermined function, and to control uplink transmission based on the calculation. The predetermined function may utilize variables such as an allocated transmission resource amount, a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), and a path loss value in calculating a required uplink transmission power. The uplink transmission power is limited to a UE maximum transmission power. When the required uplink transmission power is greater than the UE maximum transmission power, the UE performs the uplink transmission using the UE maximum transmission power. However, use of the maximum transmission power instead of the required transmission power degrades the uplink transmission quality. Thus, it is preferable for the ENB to perform scheduling for UE transmissions such that a required transmission power for the UE transmission will not exceed the UE maximum transmission power. Some parameters utilized in scheduling at the ENB, such as channel path loss, are not capable of being measured at the ENB. When required, the UE may transmit a Power Headroom Report (PHR) to the ENB to report UE Power Headroom (PH) with respect to path loss. However, conventional uplink transmission power determination procedures are performed with respect to a single downlink carrier and a single uplink carrier. Thus, the conventional procedures are not applicable to the LTE-A system supporting carrier aggregation.

Rigid stretchers for transporting injured patients are well known. Certain known rigid stretchers are partially collapsible. These stretchers include one or more rigid support panels or beams. Because of the rigid panels or beams, these stretchers can be relatively heavy and cumbersome when handled by emergency personnel during rescue operations, and these stretchers can occupy a relatively significant amount of space in vehicles and other storage areas. Also, these known stretchers do not include a patient covering which aids in the protection of emergency personnel from hazardous body fluids from the patient and which guards the front of patient's body during transport. One known rescue bag has been developed for keeping injured people warm while they are lying on stretchers. Though this rescue bag covers part of the patient's body, it is merely an accessory to a stretcher. Accordingly, one of the disadvantages of this rescue bag is that it does not function as a patient carrier. The emergency personnel must use a stretcher in conjunction with this rescue bag in order to pick-up, carry and transport an injured person to a desired location. In addition, such a rescue bag does not have medical treatment openings which provide emergency personnel with relatively quick access to select portions of the person's body, for example, to deliver essential treatments, such as IV solutions, heart defibrillation and the like. Therefore, there is a need to overcome the foregoing disadvantages and to provide improvements to patient transporters.

Various non-informational, non-programmable nanoparticles have been known in the art, such as those disclosed in Zhang, et al., Science 272:1777-1779, 1996; LaRue et al., Macromolecules 39:309-314, 2006; Ishihara et al., Chem. Eur. J. 13:4560-4570, 2007; Kim et al., Angew. Chem., Int. Ed 46:5779-5782, 2007; Li et al., Macromolecules 41:6605-6607, 2008; Roy et al., Chem. Commun. 2106-2108, 2009; and Fernyhough et al., Soft Matter 5:1674-1682, 2009. There is a need in the art for micelles that are capable of changing morphology in a predictable or programmable way. Provided herein are solutions to these and other problems in the art.

The prior art has proposed various methods and apparatus to produce composite materials. U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,082 to Brennan discloses a casting method and apparatus wherein a composite metal article is formed by continuously casting molten metal against a longitudinally moving base such as a metal strip or the like. In Brennan, a strip is disposed between the material being cast and a rotating casting wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,094 to McCall et al. discloses a process for applying a metal coating to a metal strip substrate. In this process, a melt pool of a metal coating material is deposited on a casting surface of the substrate material and rapidly cooled to form the coated metal strip. U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,978 to Klein discloses a twin roll casting method and apparatus for forming a composite material. In this method, a material having a mechanical strength and melting point substantially higher than that of aluminum is plated on at least one face of a continuously cast aluminum core material. Referenced in this patent is French Patent No. 1,364,758 which describes in principle a continuous casting method in which still liquid metal is introduced between two cooled work rolls and in which a metal plating strip is interposed between the liquid metal and the work rolls. The metal plating strip is thus plated onto the continuously cast material. This French patent discloses plating an aluminum blank with a strip of aluminum. In the prior art, it is also known to provide a brazing sheet comprising a core of an aluminum alloy and a brazing material, i.e. a coating of a lower melting point filler metal. Typically, the coatings are roll bonded to one or both sides of the core sheet during fabrication. Brazing sheet can then be formed without removing the coating, assembled, fluxed and brazed without placing additional filler metal at a joint site. In one type of roll bonding, the brazing material is bonded to a core material at an ingot stage. The bonded ingot must then be hot rolled to brazing sheet thicknesses, typically 0.125". This hot rolling step is conducive to the formation of surface oxides which impair the quality of the brazing sheet and can adversely affect brazing performance. Alternatively, the filler metal can be produced by casting into an ingot form and rolled to a thin gauge liner stock. After rolling, the wrought filler metal can be roll bonded to the aluminum core material using conventional techniques. This method requires numerous annealing and surface preparation steps to prepare the thin gauge liner stock for bonding. The core material may vary depending on the application. AA3003 or AA6951 aluminum alloys are typical examples of core materials. The brazing filler metals can also vary depending on the desired use, usually comprising an AA4XXX-type aluminum alloy. Besides the drawbacks noted above concerning excessive surface oxides in hot rolled brazing sheet and the additional processing steps of annealing and surface cleaning for wrought liner stock, prior art methods of making brazing sheet lack the ability to vary the cladding or filler metal composition for a given core material. In response to the drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art discussed above, a need has developed to provide an improved method for making twin roll cast composite materials offering flexibility in choice of composition, cost effectiveness and energy efficiency. In response to this need, the present invention provides a method for making a twin roll cast clad material having an acceptable structure and quality in combination with low operating and capital costs and the ability to utilize different brazing filler materials with a single core material.

The VC-2 video compression standard is an open free-use video-decoding standard contributed by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standard. The VC-2 standard uses discrete-wavelet-transform (DWT) and interleaved exponential-Golomb (IEG) variable-length-encoding to achieve the desired video compression. Originally designed to compete with the prevailing H.264 standard, it is expected that DWT results in fewer blocky artifacts than the prevailing discrete-cosine-transform (DCT)-based systems. To achieve the low-delay requirement in a serial data interface (SDI) transmission system, SMPTE standardized two low-delay profiles, which include the level-64 using the (2, 2) DWT, and the level-65, using the overlapped (5, 3) DWT. It has been shown that in order to fit a high definition (HD) video into a standard definition SDI (SD-SDI) payload with excellent video quality, the level-65 compression is required. The VC-2 level-65 is a subset of the low-delay profile with the following attributes: 1. 4:2:2 10-bit sampling with supported resolutions 1920×1080i29.97, 1920×1080i25, 1280×720p59.94, 1280×720p50. 2. The codec uses only Low-Delay Profile. 3. The codec uses only the LeGall (5, 3) wavelet transform (wavelet index=1). 4. The wavelet depth is exactly 3 levels. 5. The slice size is fixed to be 16 (horizontal)×8 (vertical) in luminance and 8 (horizontal)×8 (vertical) in chrominance. Conventionally, overlapped DWT is used in the JPEG-2000 standard which is used extensively in digital cameras and medical imaging systems. In the literature, there are many publications on how to reduce the implementation complexity of 2-D DWT. A common property of this technology is that JPEG-2000 based implementation uses an external frame-buffer memory for processing the on-chip DWT/IDWT data. Thus, such publications have primarily focused on how to: minimize the read and write access to the external memory; reduce the on-chip internal memory; speed up data processing; and choose a scan scheme to minimize the memory usage. However, an external memory typically increases costs associated with the chip package size and power consumption, as well as the overall system complexity and bill-of-material (BOM) costs.

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 98-54151, filed Dec. 10, 1998, in the Korean Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid jetting apparatus and a process for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a fluid jetting apparatus for a print head which is employed in output apparatuses such as an ink-jet printer, a facsimile machine, etc. to jet fluid through a nozzle, and a manufacturing process thereof. 2. Description of the Related Art A print head is a part or a set of parts which are capable of converting output data into a visible form on a predetermined medium using a type of printer. Generally, such a print head for an ink jet printer, and the like, uses a fluid jetting apparatus which is capable of jetting the predetermined amount of fluid through a nozzle to an exterior of a fluid chamber holding the fluid by applying a physical force to the fluid chamber. According to methods for applying physical force to the fluid within the fluid chamber, the fluid jetting apparatus is roughly grouped into a piezoelectric system and a thermal system. The piezoelectric system pushes out the ink within the fluid chamber through a nozzle through an operation of a piezoelectric element which is mechanically expanded in accordance with a driving signal. The thermal system pushes the fluid through the nozzle by means of bubbles which are produced from the fluid within the fluid chamber by the heat generated by an exothermic body. Recently, also, a thermal compression system has been developed, which is an improved form of the thermal system. The thermal compression system is for jetting out the fluid by driving a membrane by instantly heating a vaporizing fluid which acts as a working fluid. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a fluid jetting apparatus according to a conventional thermal compression system. The fluid jetting apparatus of the thermal compression system includes a heat driving part 10, a membrane 20, and a nozzle part 30. A substrate 11 of the heat driving part 10 supports the heat driving part 10 and the whole structure that will be constructed later. An insulated layer 12 is diffused on the substrate 11. An electrode 14 is made of a conductive material for supplying an electric power to the heat driving part 10. An exothermic body 13 is made of a resistive material having a predetermined resistance for expanding a working fluid by converting electrical energy into heat energy. Working fluid chambers 16 and 17 contain the working fluid, to maintain a pressure of the working fluid which is heat expanded, are connected by a working fluid introducing passage 18, and are formed within a working fluid barrier 15. Further, the membrane 20 is a thin layer which is adhered to an upper portion of the working fluid barrier layer 15 and working; fluid chambers 16 and 17 to be moved upward and downward by the pressure of the expanded working fluid. The membrane 20 includes a polyimide coated layer 21 and a polyimide adhered layer 22. Jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38 are chambers which are formed to enclose the jetting fluid. When the pressure is transmitted to the jetting fluid through the membrane 20, the jetting fluid is jetted only through a nozzle 35 formed in a nozzle plate 34. Here, the jetting fluid is the fluid which is pushed out of the jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38 in response to the driving of the membrane 20, and is finally jetted to the exterior. A jetting fluid introducing passage 39 connects the jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38. The jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38 and the jetting fluid introducing passage 39 are formed in a jetting fluid barrier layer 36. The nozzle 35 is an orifice through which the jetting fluid held using the membrane 20 and the jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38 is emitted to the exterior. Another substrate 31 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B) of the nozzle part 30 is temporarily employed for constructing the nozzle part 30, and should be removed before the nozzle part 30 is assembled. FIG. 2 shows a process for manufacturing the fluid jetting apparatus according to a conventional roll method. As shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle plate 34 is transferred from a feeding reel 51 to a take-up reel 52. In the process of transferring the nozzle plate 34 from the feeding reel 51 to the take-up reel 52, a nozzle is formed in the nozzle plate 34 by laser processing equipment 53. After the nozzle is formed, air is jetted from an air blower 54 so as to eliminate extraneous substances attached to the nozzle plate 34. Next, an actuator chip 40, which is laminated on a substrate to the jetting fluid barrier, is bonded with the nozzle plate 34 by a tab bonder 55, and accordingly, the fluid jetting apparatus is completed. The completed fluid jetting apparatuses are wound around the take-up reel 52 to be preserved, and then sectioned in pieces in the manufacturing process for the print head. Accordingly, each piece of the fluid jetting apparatuses is supplied into the manufacturing line of a printer. The process for manufacturing the, fluid jetting apparatus according to the conventional thermal compression system will be described below with reference to the construction of the fluid jetting apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 3A and 3B are views for showing a process for manufacturing the heat driving part and FIG. 3C is a view for showing a process for manufacturing the membrane on the heat driving part of the conventional fluid jetting apparatus. FIGS. 4A to 4C are views for showing the process for manufacturing the nozzle part. In order to manufacture the conventional fluid jetting apparatus, the heat driving part 10 and the nozzle part 30 should be manufactured separately. Here, the heat driving part 10 is completed as the separately-made membrane 20 is adhered to the working fluid barrier layer 15 of the heat driving part 10. After that, by reversing and adhering the separately-made nozzle part 30 to the membrane 20, the fluid jetting apparatus is completed. FIG. 3A shows a process for diffusing the insulated layer 12 on the substrate 11 of the heat driving part 10, and for forming an exothermic body 13 and an electrode 14 on the insulated layer 12 in turn. Referring to FIG. 3B, working fluid chambers 16 and 17 and a working fluid passage 18 are formed by performing an etching process of the working fluid barrier layer 15 through a predetermined mask patterning. More specifically, the heat driving part 10 is formed as the insulated layer 12, the exothermic body 13, the electrode 14, and the working fluid barrier layer 15 are sequentially laminated on the substrate 11 (which is a silicon substrate). In such a situation, the working fluid chambers 16 and 17 (which are filled with the working fluid to be expanded by heat, are formed on an etched portion of the working fluid barrier layer 15. The working fluid is introduced through the working fluid introducing passage 18. FIG. 3C shows a process for adhering the separately-made membrane 20 to the upper portion of the completed heat driving part 10. The membrane 20 is a thin diaphragm, which is to be driven toward the jetting fluid chamber 37 (see FIG. 1) by the working fluid which is heated by the exothermic body 13. FIG. 4A shows a process for manufacturing a nozzle 35 using the laser processing equipment 53 (shown in FIG. 2) after an insulated layer 32 and the nozzle plate 34 are sequentially formed on a substrate 31 of the nozzle part 30. FIG. 4B shows a process for forming the jetting fluid barrier layer 36 on the upper portion of the construction shown in FIG. 4A, and jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38 and the fluid introducing passage by an etching process through a predetermined mask patterning. FIG. 4C shows a process for exclusively separating the nozzle part 10 from the substrate 31 of the nozzle part 30. The nozzle part 30 includes the jetting fluid barrier layer 36 and the nozzle plate 34. On the etched portion of the jetting fluid barrier layer 36, the jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38 filled with the fluid to be jetted are formed. The jetting fluid such as an ink, or the like, is introduced through the jetting fluid introducing passage 39 (see FIG. 1) for introduction of the jetting fluid. The nozzle 35 is formed on the nozzle plate 34 to be interconnected with the jetting fluid chamber 37, so that the fluid is jetted through the nozzle 35. The nozzle part 30 is manufactured by the processes that are shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C. First, the nozzle plate 34 inclusive of the nozzle 35, is formed on the substrate 31 having the insulated layer 32 through an electroplating process. Next, the jetting fluid barrier layer 36 is laminated thereon, and the jetting fluid chambers 37 and 38 and the jetting fluid introducing passage 39 are formed through a lithographic process. Finally, as the insulated layer 32 and the substrate 31 are removed, the nozzle part 30 is completed. The completed nozzle part 30 is reversed, and then adhered to the membrane 20 of a membrane, heat driving part assembly which has been assembled beforehand. More specifically, the jetting fluid barrier 36 of the nozzle part 30 is adhered to the polyimide coated layer 21 of the membrane 20. The operation of the fluid jetting apparatus according to the thermal compression system will be described below with reference to the construction shown in FIG. 1. First, an electric power is supplied through the electrode 14, and an electric current flows through the exothermic body 13 connected to the electrode 14. Since the exothermic body 13 generates heat due to its resistance, the fluid within the working fluid chamber 16 is subjected to a resistance heating, and the fluid starts to vaporize when the temperature thereof exceeds a predetermined temperature. As the amount of the vaporized fluid increases, the vapor pressure accordingly increases. As a result, the membrane 20 is driven upward. More specifically, as the working fluid undergoes a thermal expansion, the membrane 20 is pushed upward in a direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1. As the membrane 20 is pushed upward, the fluid within the jetting fluid chamber 37 is jetted out toward an exterior through the nozzle 35. Then, when the supply of electric power is stopped, the resistance heating of the exothermic body 13 is no longer generated. Accordingly, the fluid within the working fluid chamber 16 is cooled to a liquid state, so that the volume thereof decreases and the membrane 20 recovers its original shape. Meanwhile, a conventional material of the nozzle plate 34 is mainly made of nickel, but the trend in using the material of a polyimide synthetic resin has increased recently. When the nozzle plate 34 is made of the polyimide synthetic resin, it is fed in a reel type. The fluid jetting apparatus is completed by the way a chip laminated from the silicon substrate to the jetting fluid barrier layer 36 is bonded on the nozzle plate 34 fed in the reel type. According to the conventional fluid jetting apparatus and its manufacturing process, however, since the heat driving part, the membrane, and the nozzle part have to be separately made before such are adhered to each other by three adhering processes, the productivity has been decreased. Further; since the adhesion between the heat driving part and the membrane, and between the membrane and, the nozzle part are often unreliable, the working fluid and the jetting fluid often leak, so that a fraction defective has been increased, and the reliability and quality of the fluid jetting apparatus has been deteriorated. The present invention has been made to overcome the above-described problems of the prior art, and accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid jetting apparatus and a manufacturing process thereof capable of improving the reliability, quality and the productivity of the fluid jetting apparatus by sequentially laminating a heat driving part, a membrane, and a nozzle part to form the fluid jetting apparatus, instead of adhering the same to each other. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The above and other objects are accomplished by a method of manufacturing a fluid jetting apparatus according to the present invention, including: (1) forming a heat driving part having a sacrificial layer; (2) forming a membrane on the heat driving part which includes the sacrificial layer; (3) forming a nozzle part on the membrane; and (4) removing the sacrificial layer. The step (1) includes: (i) forming an electrode and an exothermic body on a substrate; (ii) laminating a working fluid barrier on the electrode and the exothermic body, and forming a working fluid chamber in the working fluid barrier; (iii) forming a protective layer on the working fluid barrier, the electrode, and the exothermic body; (iv) forming a sacrificial layer on the protective layer and within the working fluid chamber at the same height as the working fluid barrier. Further, the step (1) may otherwise include: (i) forming an electrode and an exothermic body on a substrate; (ii) forming a plane layer on the substrate at the same height as the electrode and the exothermic body combined; (iii) laminating a protective layer on the electrode and the plane layer; (iv) laminating the working fluid barrier on the protective layer, and forming a working fluid chamber in the working fluid barrier; and (v) forming the sacrificial layer on the protective layer and within an interior of the working fluid chamber at the same height as the working fluid barrier. The step (2) is performed through a spin coating process. The step (3) includes: (i) laminating a jetting fluid barrier on the membrane, and forming a jetting fluid chamber in the jetting fluid barrier; and (ii) laminating a nozzle plate on the jetting fluid barrier, and forming a nozzle in the nozzle plate. The nozzle plate is laminated through a process for laminating a dry film. The above and other objects of the present invention may further be achieved by providing a fluid jetting apparatus including a heat driving part which generates a driving force, a nozzle part having a jetting fluid chamber interconnected to an exterior of the fluid jetting apparatus through a nozzle, and a membrane which transmits the driving force generated from the heat driving part to the nozzle part, wherein the heat driving part comprises: an electrode and an exothermic body formed on a substrate; a plane layer formed on the substrate at the same height as the electrode and the exothermic body combined; a protective layer laminated on the plane layer; and a working fluid barrier laminated on the protective layer, and provided with the working fluid chamber for holding a working fluid which is expanded by the exothermic body to generate the driving force.

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates generally to a device that attaches to a telephone for the purpose of lifting up the receiver end of a telephone handset (hook-switching). 2. Description of the Prior Art Many of the newest telephone systems that are coming out on the market have what is called electronic hook-switching. This is basically a button, that when pressed, will give a dial tone for a telephone headset. This is a very convenient option for people who use telephone headsets, but the problem still remains that there are literally millions of telephones on the market that do not have this option. Until now, the only option that people have had to alleviate this problem is to physically pick up the handset every time the telephone rings, and place the headset off to the side of the telephone base. This procedure is time and space consuming. Another method that is commonly used when getting a dial tone, is to balance the telephone handset just up and to the side of the telephone""s hook-switch. The major problem with this solution is that if accidently bumped or moved, the handset will fall back into place and one will hang up the line. The present invention overcomes the prior art practices by providing a mechanical handset lift for lifting the receiver end of a telephone handset off the hook-switch and pivoting the handset about the microphone end, but leaving the handset centrally positioned over and about the telephone body. The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a mechanical device for lifting the receiver end of a telephone handset off the telephone hook-switch to allow electrical operation of a remote handset receiver/mouthpiece while still leaving the handset placed over and about the telephone base unit. According to one object of the present invention, there is provided a vertically oriented base for mounting to the side of a telephone base. A moveable pivot shaft extends through an upper region of the vertically oriented base end, which includes a lift rod secured to one end of the pivot shaft and a lift rod lever handle secured to the opposite end of the pivot shaft. A stop shaft limits the over center travel of the lift rod lever handle and the lift rod to allow on hook or off hook positioning of a telephone handset receiver. According to an alternate embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a vertical base member with a lift rod and lift lever secured about the base member in positive locked alignment and also having rotational stops aligned on a surface of the vertical base member. One significant aspect and feature of the present invention is mechanical handset lift that will mechanically lift up the receiver end of a telephone handset off the hook-switch so that a dial tone may be obtained for the telephone headset in use. Another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a mechanical handset lift which will lift the receiver end of a telephone handset off the hook-switch so as to allow a user to use either the telephone handset or a telephone headset. A further significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a mechanical handset lift which will lift the receiver end of a telephone handset off the hook-switch and which will result in the environment on a person""s desk being less cluttered due to the absence of a telephone handset lying off to the side of the telephone base while the telephone handset is in use. Yet another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a mechanical handset lift that will mechanically lift up the receiver end of a telephone handset in such a manner that will greatly increase the chances of not accidentally hanging up the telephone while a telephone headset is in use. Another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a lift rod and lift rod handle in positive angular engagement with each other about a base unit. Another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is stops which define rotational movement of the lift rod and lift rod handle with respect to the base of a telephone. Having thus described the embodiments of the present invention, it is the principal object hereof to provide a mechanical handset lift. The present invention relates to a mechanical handset lift device that will enable the telephone user to enable and disable the telephone""s hook-switch capabilities without the inconvenience of picking up the telephone and placing it on the desk. Currently, the only means to do this is by placing the telephone handset on and off the hook-switch. The problems that arrive from this method are 1) one has to physically pick up the handset every time the telephone rings, 2) one has to lay the handset on the desk (for many people this takes up just too much room), 3) if the telephone allows one to balance the handset off to the right side of the hook switch, one may bump the telephone, and accidentally hang up. The invention uses the handset""s own mold to accomplish the goal of hook-switching, and allows the handset to be used as well. The present invention also creates an environment where it is virtually impossible to accidently hand up the telephone. This is a very common problem when the telephone is balanced to the side of the hook-switch. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that will enable a telephone handset operator to use both the telephone handset or headset conveniently, without the problems that are currently plaguing the telephone headset industry.

In cranes, cargo-handling machinery or construction machinery, such as excavators for example, hydraulic quick couplings are widely used for the purpose of coupling structural components which have to be separated or reset for a specific use of for transport. The structural components are in most cases connected mechanically by quick-change systems, the coupling of the power transmission lines, especially those with large cross sections, being associated with considerable expenditure in terms of energy and in terms of time. One object of the present application is to make available a hydraulic quick coupling which on the one hand reduces the expenditure of energy and time and on the other hand avoids contamination of the hydraulic fluid by using individual couplings free from leakage oil. According to the one embodiment, the object is achieved by a hydraulic quick coupling. The coupling includes two interacting quick-coupling parts which are arranged respectively on the structural components that are to be connected or separated. One quick-coupling part has at least one guide bolt which can engage in a centering bore of the quick-coupling part lying opposite it, each quick-coupling part being provided with coupling plugs or coupling sleeves for the connection of the hydraulic lines, and at least one quick-coupling part being arranged movably on one structural component in order to connect or separate the two quick-coupling parts. Preferred embodiments are set out in the dependent claims following on from the main claim. Accordingly, one quick-coupling part can preferably be arranged fixedly on one structural component, while the other quick-coupling part is arranged movably on the second structural component. Particularly advantageously, at least one of the quick-coupling parts is spring-mounted in a support frame. In this way, the coupling can be kept free from forces acting on the structural components. The quick-coupling part spring-mounted in the support frame can, together with said support frame, be mounted movably on the structural component. At least one lock can be provided via which the quick-coupling parts can be locked to one another in the coupled state. The lock can secure the at least one guide bolt driven into the corresponding at least one centering bore. The movable quick-coupling part can sit displaceably on a linear guide. As has already been mentioned, the support frame in which the quick-coupling part is spring-mounted can also be guided on this linear guide. The movable quick-coupling part is advantageously displaceable via a piston/cylinder arrangement. To lock the quick-coupling parts in the coupled state, it is also possible for the coupled position to be fixed, for example, by a permanent pressure load of the piston/cylinder arrangement or by suitable shut-off valves. Advantageously, the movable quick-coupling part spring-mounted in the support frame can be fixed in its opened position by a guide. The guide can comprise a guide means, for example, a guide bolt which engages in the coupling sleeve in the opened position of the quick-coupling part. In this position, the guide means, that is to say for example a guide bolt, permits guiding of the spring-mounted quick-coupling part in such a way that the forces acting on the latter can be taken up. When attaching the quick-coupling part, that is to say when moving it into the closed position, the quick-coupling part moves with its centering bore onto the guide bolt of the other quick-coupling part lying opposite it. In the coupled position, the guide means, that is to say for example the guide bolt, frees the corresponding coupling sleeve. The securing of the quick-coupling part is taken over by the guide bolt of the opposite quick-coupling part. To provide a possibility of also being able to couple structural components which are angled about their bolted point, at least one of the two quick-coupling parts is arranged on a pivotable support bracket. The support bracket can be pivoted by its own piston/cylinder arrangement. The quick-coupling part arranged on the support bracket can in addition be driven along the support bracket and moved to and fro along the lengthwise guide with another piston/cylinder arrangement. In this way, the quick-coupling parts can also be coupled in an angled position.

The invention relates to a discharge lamp having an oval sectional shape, and more particularly to a circular fluorescent lamp. Research and studies for developing a circular fluorescent lamp having a non-circular sectional started many years ago for the purpose of increasing the illuminance of the lamp on a plane beneath its installed position, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications Nos. 50-32785 (1975) and 51-11876 (1976). Also, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 37-22455 (1962) proposes a straight fluorescent lamp in which the ratio between the larger and smaller tube diameters is selected to be 4:3 or 4:2, and the thickness of its phosphor film is made non-uniform, so as to improve its illuminance in a specific direction relative to its installation. Although a discharge tube having an oval sectional shape has been proposed for years and is well known in the art, as disclosed in the prior art publications, the mechanical strength of the discharge tube decreases inevitably due its oval sectional shape. However, no proposal has been made hitherto for solving the problem of an undesirable decrease in the mechanical strength of such a discharge tube.

A typical tire has a plurality of rubber components and a plurality of reinforcing components chiefly constituted by cords. As illustrated in FIG. 9, a typical example of the tire includes an inner liner 1, a tread 2, side walls 3, rim strips or chafers 4, under-belt pads 5, and other components, all of which are built by rubber materials having required characteristics. These rubber components are combined with a carcass layer 6 and a belt layer 7 as reinforcing components including cords to become a tire T. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of respective disassembled components of a tire. FIG. 8 shows the inner liner 1, a tread base 2a and a tread cap 2b constituting the tread 2, the side walls 3, the chafers 4, and the under-belt pads 5 laminated under both side ends of the belt, all of which are built by rubber materials having predetermined characteristics. The carcass layer 6 has first and second carcass plies 6a and 6b, and the belt layer 7 has a plurality of belts 7a and 7b. Each of bead members 8 has a bead core 8a made of wire or the like and a bead filler 8b made of rubber attached to the outer circumference of the bead core 8a. A squeegee 10 as a rubber layer laminated on the inner ply, tapes between plies 6c, belt edge tapes 7c are all made of rubber materials. A spiral tape 9 contains fiber cords. A double-stage building method is known as a method for building this type of tire. According to this method, the inner liner, the carcass ply and other components are affixed on an expansive and contractive band drum, and the beads and sides are built by a primary building drum to build a green case. The green case is shifted to a secondary building drum which modifies shaping to build the green case into a toroidal shape, onto which the belt, the tread rubber and other components are affixed to build a green tire. In addition, a single-stage building method which uses a single building drum swinging between the position at which both the band building and primary building are executed and the secondary building position is known. When the tire components in the respective processes are affixed and built at a different building position for each of the primary building step and the secondary building step in the double-stage building method, longer building cycle time is required and therefore improvement of productivity is difficult to achieve. As a technique for overcoming these drawbacks, a system which uses a plurality of movable building drums to build a green tire has been proposed. In this system, the movable building drums are shifted to predetermined building positions. Predetermined components such as an inner liner or other rubber components or carcass plies are supplied to build a green case in a primary building step, and rubber components such as a belt and a tread are supplied to build a green tire in a secondary building step. The system which shifts the building drums to execute the double-stage building method requires a complicated and large-scale structure and a large installation and operation space. Moreover, preparatory processes need to be performed for both the rubber components such as the inner liner and the tread and the reinforcing members such as the carcass and the belt before they are supplied for formation. Furthermore, the system requires a wide space for storing various types of plenty of components to facilitate arrangement switching at the time of size change of the tire. Recently, such a technique has been proposed which builds rubber components having predetermined cross sections by overlapping and spirally winding unvulcanized rubber strips formed by extrusion into ribbon shapes on a building drum (see Patent Reference Nos. 1 through 4 shown below, for example). According to the technique which builds the rubber components constituting the tire by winding the rubber strips discussed above, the rubber volume considerably differs depending on the types of rubber components. For example, the rubber volume of the components such as the tread and the side walls is relatively large, and the rubber volume of the components such as the under-belt pads and the chafers is relatively small. The rubber components having large rubber volume requires longer time for winding. In formation of the tire, therefore, the arrangement of the building positions of the respective rubber components is an important factor associated with time required for winding of the respective rubber components. When the building time is not equalized for each of the primary and secondary building steps, loss time is produced in the building cycle. According to the method disclosed in the Patent Reference No. 1, for example, a breaker corresponding to the belt and the tread are sequentially laminated at a position for building the final shape in the secondary building step. Thus, the side walls are built by winding rubber strips at a position for building the green case in the primary building step. However, since the under-belt pads are also built by winding rubber strips at the position for building the green case, the building cycle in the primary building step takes longer time as the rubber volume of the side walls increases. In this case, there is a possibility that prolongation of the entire building cycle time occurs. Patent Reference No. 1: JP-B-6-51367 Patent Reference No. 2: JP-A-9-29858 Patent Reference No. 3: JP-A-2002-178415 Patent Reference No. 4: JP-A-2002-205512

This invention relates generally to a portable humidifier and, more specifically, to a portable humidifier with an improved water tank. Various types of humidifiers are used to provide moisture to indoor air. Included among such humidifiers are ultrasonic humidifiers, steam humidifiers or vaporizers, and evaporative humidifiers. Ultrasonic humidifiers employ a high-speed oscillator, positioned a given distance below the water surface, to energize the water and break it into a fine mist. A fan carries the mist into the surrounding environment. It is critical that the distance from the oscillator to the water level be accurately maintained to ensure that the oscillation energy is efficiently transferred to the water. A drop in water level can result in permanent damage to the oscillator. The water level generally is maintained by the use of an inverted water tank such as that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,210,818 and 5,247,604. The tank is sealed and includes a carrying handle on its top surface while a bottom surface includes an opening to which a cap is attached. When the tank is inverted beneath a spigot and the cap is removed the opening serves as a fill opening. Often the cap includes a valve system which seals the fill opening unless the tank is properly positioned on a humidifier base and the valve is engaged by a valve actuator in the base. The valve actuator opens the valve and allows water to escape from the tank into a reservoir defined by the base. Discharging water is exchanged for air which enters the tank through the same opening. As water flows into the base reservoir, the water level rises until it seals the valve and prevents air from getting into the tank. At this level, which is the normal operating water level for the humidifier, water flow from the tank ceases. The design of the humidifier is established to position the oscillator that given distance below this level. As the oscillator and fan cause dispersal of moisture from the reservoir, the water level attempts to drop creating a pathway for air into the tank and in turn allowing the release of a proportional amount of water from the tank into the reservoir to thereby return the water level to the normal operating level. This process repeats itself continually until the water supply in the tank is depleted, at which time the water level begins to drop increasingly lower. A float sensing shut-off switch mechanism senses the abnormally low water level and turns the humidifier off before the water level drops low enough to cause damage to the oscillator. This basic system is well known and often practiced in ultrasonic humidifiers of the prior art. Evaporative humidifiers come in several varieties. Some employ absorbent belts continuously rotating through first a water reservoir and then an air stream to cause humidity. Some employ pumps to lift water from a reservoir and pour it over a porous media through which air flows to cause similar humidification, and some employ wicking pads which are positioned partially below water level and partially above. In such humidifiers, the water level must be maintained for a different reason than that of the ultrasonic humidifier. Specifically, it is important that water level be maintained to ensure consistent humidity efficiency and maximum moisture output. Wick pads generally are capable of drawing water from the reservoir water level to a given height through capillary action. A relatively smaller portion of the wick pad must be positioned below the water level where water is absorbed, than above where air flowing through the pad causes the desired humidification. Excessive height of the pad above that height to which water will be drawn not only constitutes wasted wick material and is therefor inefficient by design, but also reduces the humidification efficiency of the humidifier by allowing a pathway for air which does not pass through the moistened portion of the pad, essentially constituting air leakage which reduces the total humidification rate. For this reason, wick type evaporative humidifiers are often designed to maintain a given water level which ensures that the most efficient amount of the wick pad lies above and below the water level to maximize efficiency and output. Accordingly, a water tank similar to that described above often is used with evaporative humidifiers. Steam humidifiers cause humidity by boiling water into vapor. A submersible heating element depends from a humidification unit into a boiling chamber within a base. A water tank similar to that described above is positioned on the base to both feed water to the boiling chamber and to maintain a given normal operating level therein. The boiling water maintains the temperature of the heating element at approximately two hundred and twelve degrees fahrenheit. It is important that the water level be maintained high enough to fully submerge the heating element, and not be allowed to drop while the heating element is energized or overheating will occur. A float sensing shut-off switch mechanism senses an abnormally low water level as the water tank is depleted and turns the heating element off before excessive overheating occurs. Most of the tanks described above and known in the prior art include a handle projecting from a tank top surface. Such positioning of the handle requires that the tank be carried from the humidifier to the spigot cap with the fill opening facing down. It is common for some leakage to occur from the cap during such movement. It is also common that, after being carried to a water supply, the tanks are rested on a surface with the fill opening facing down. Although usually protruding precariously from the bottom surface of the tank, prior cap/valve assemblies have not generally provided a great amount of structural support, and being that a filled water tank is relatively heavy, the weight of the tank resting on the cap/valve assembly can subject the valve to an enormously high amount of stress. Consequently, permanent damage to valves is relatively common and often results in water spillage that damages furnishings. It is the object of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a humidifier tank having a tank support structure which serves both to protect the delicate cap/valve assembly and provides a means by which the tank can be carried hole side up to prevent leakage during transport.

Conventionally, in a rotary pump such as can be used for transporting liquid foods, a rotary drive shaft is formed with its leading end in a spline shaft, a spline hole formed through a rotor is engaged by the spline shaft of the rotors of the pump within a pumping chamber in a main rotor casing, and a fastening nut of the rotors is engaged and fixed at the end of the rotor drive shafts projected outwardly from the rotor, and a concave casing cover receives the rotor segments and the rotor fastening nut. In such a conventional rotary pump, a transported liquid flows in the pumping chamber, enters into the concave part inside the casing cover through a space between the rotor and the casing cover, and tends to be retained in that concave part, becoming trapped therein. Since the so trapped food can spoil, the pumps of this type have to be frequently disassembled and the pump with the concave part inside the casing cover cleaned after a day's use of the pump. Reassembly of such pumps after their disassembly, and their cleaning requires the expenditure of considerable time and labor thus increasing the cost of the product.

1. Field of Invention The present invention relates to a mounting case to accommodate an electro-optical device, such as a liquid crystal panel, which is used as a light valve of a projection display apparatus, such as a liquid crystal projector, an electro-optical device encased in a mounting case, in which the electro-optical device is accommodated and a projection display apparatus including the electro-optical device encased in the mounting case. 2. Description of Related Art In general in the related art, when a liquid crystal panel is used as a light valve of a liquid crystal projector, the liquid crystal panel is not provided in an exposed state on a console, etc., constituting the liquid crystal projector. But it is accommodated or encased in a suitable mounting case and then the mounting case including the liquid crystal panel is provided on the console, etc. This is because the liquid crystal panel can easily be fixed to the case by suitably providing screws in the corresponding mounting case. In the liquid crystal projector, the light emitted from a light source is projected onto the liquid crystal panel encased in the mounting case as focused light. Light passing through the liquid crystal panel is enlarged and projected on the screen to display images. In such a liquid crystal projector, since the enlarged projection is generally predetermined, relatively intense light emitted from a light source, such as a metal halide lamp is used. However, in this construction, first, there is a problem in that the temperature of the liquid-crystal-panel encasing mounting case, particularly of the liquid crystal panel rises. The rise in temperature causes a rise in temperature of the liquid crystal interposed between a pair of transparent substrates in the liquid crystal panel. Therefore, the characteristics of the liquid crystal are deteriorated. In addition, when the light emitted from the source light is uneven, the liquid crystal panel is partially heated, and then variations in the transmittance are generated at so-called hot spots. Thus, the quality of projected images deteriorates.

Integrated circuit memories, such as static random access memories (SRAMs) require increasingly short access times. SRAMs are often used in the portion of a processing system where speed is very important, such as a cache memory for microprocessor. Address transition detection is one method that has been used to decrease access time by allowing a memory access to begin as soon as a change in an address is detected. ATD decreases memory access times, and may also reduce power consumption, by providing both preconditioning signals and activation signals in the memory. For example, ATD may be used for a word line driving, bit line driving and precharge, data line sensing, and for data outputting. An address transition detector generates a pulse in response to an address change. It is typical to have a separate address transition detector for each address signal which transitions are to be detected. For example, if a transition of the row address is to be detected, then an address transition detector is commonly used for a row address signal. The output pulses of these detectors are then logically combined by logic gates to provide a single summation signal. This summation signal is then used to provide timing and control signals for the memory. In the past, the summation of ATD pulses has been accomplished by using centrally located ATD summation logic circuitry. Metal lines have been used to route the ATD summation signal to portions of the memory where the ATD summation signal is to be used, such as to the word line drivers or to the bit line loads. However, as memories increase in size and density, the distance from the centrally located ATD summation circuitry to the most distant circuits of the memory increases, resulting in the need for longer metal lines. A problem with using longer metal lines to route the ATD pulses is the increased parasitic capacitance that the centrally located ATD summation logic circuit must drive, increasing power consumption, and requiring the use of larger drive transistors in the centrally located ATD summation logic circuitry. In addition, the timing signals may be excessively skewed from one another in different portions of the memory because the signals have to travel different distance across the memory. Excessively skewed timing signals may seriously degrade the performance and reliability of the memory.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates, in general, to a shift control method for a vehicle having a double clutch transmission (DCT), and more particularly, to a technology for improving a response to a speed change during a kickdown. 2. Description of Related Art Unlike an automatic transmission (AT) which requires only clutch shifting, a DCT can enable clutch shifting only after gear shifting has been completed. Therefore, in the DCT, gear shifting performance is a key factor for an overall response to speed change. In particular, more rapid gear shifting is required for a kickdown that a driver regards most sensitive for a response to speed change. For reference, the gear shifting refers to a speed change operation that causes a sleeve to engage with a clutch gear due to them being synchronized using a synchronizer. The clutch shifting refers to a speed change operation that transmits power that has been supplied from an engine to drive wheels by changing its speed substantially using the sleeve, the clutch gear and shift gears by engaging the working parts of a clutch of an input shaft, the gear shifting of which has been completed as described above, with each other. In addition, gear releasing refers to the process in which the sleeve is released and disengaged from the clutch gear. In order to reduce a time required for the gear shifting, displacement optimization at a point where the synchronization by the synchronizer starts, a reduced time for the synchronizer to carry out the synchronization, displacement optimization at a point where the working parts of the clutch gear are to engage with each other, and the like are required. Among these, most time is consumed in the range of the synchronization by the synchronizer during the gear shifting. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the time it takes the synchronizer to carry out synchronization. The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

The present disclosure is related to battery systems. In the recent years, with shortage of fossil-fuel based energy and adverse environmental effects from the consumption of fossil fuel, both public and private sectors have poured valuable resources into clean technologies. An important aspect of clean technologies is energy storage, or simply battery systems. Over the past, many battery types have been developed and used, with their respective advantages and disadvantages. For its chemical properties, including high charge density, lithium material has been used in various parts of a battery. For example, in a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, lithium ions move from negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge. In the basic operations of a lithium battery, a conversion material undergoes a conversion reaction with lithium, and the performance of the conversion material is an important aspect of a battery. Unfortunately, conventional battery systems and their manufacturing and processes result in relatively high cost, low energy density batteries that do not meet market demands for many applications. Therefore, it is desirable to have new systems and techniques for batteries.

Devices for transporting printed products such as sheets of paper are known in the prior art. These transporting devices are used, for example, in offset printing machines in order to transport the printed sheets. These transporting devices comprise hollow conveyor rollers which have a transporting surface in contact with the sheet that is to be transported. In order to cause the sheet to adhere to the conveyor roller, the transporting surface has cavities connected to a vacuum-creating device.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device, which forms semiconductor integrated circuit patterns by using charged particle beams. 2. Description of the Related Art A lithography technology has been used for pattern formation of a semiconductor integrated circuit. In such a case, a light, an electron beam or the like is used as an energy beam to expose a photo-sensitive film. In photolithography using a light as an energy beam, in order to deal with microfabrication of a semiconductor device, a wavelength of a light source has been made shorter from a g line (436 nm) to an i line (365 nm), and to KrF (248 nm). This has been carried out because of the fact that resolution of a micro pattern is increased in inverse proportion to a wavelength. In the photolithography, resolution has accordingly been increased by a shorter wavelength. However, performance of a photolithography device has become insufficient for a pattern size required as device performance. Thus, further shortening of a wavelength of the light source has been pursued so as to increase resolution. However, not only light sources but also new lens materials and resists must be developed, necessitating enormous development costs. Consequently, device prices and process costs are increased, creating a problem of a high price of a manufactured semiconductor device. On the other hand, electron beam lithography using an electron beam as an energy beam has an advantage of high resolution capability compared with the photolithography. In the case of a conventional electron beam lithography device, however, writing was carried out on a resist on a wafer by coating (direct writing) with a point (rectangular) beam or connecting a mask pattern of only several xcexcmxc3x97several xcexcm. In the case of the conventional electron beam, an electron source for obtaining high-density electron beams was not provided, and uniform electron beams were not provided in a wide range. Alternatively, aberration occurred between a center portion and a peripheral portion in the case of projecting an area of a large area. Consequently, resolution was deteriorated, making it impossible to project patterns of large areas all at once. Therefore, in a conventional electron beam writing method, since writing is carried out while connecting very small areas, many shots are necessary for writing on one wafer. In addition, since time is necessary until stabilization after an electron beam is deflected to a predetermined position for each shot, the increased number of shots causes a reduction in throughput. For such a reason, throughput has conventionally been low, about several pieces per hour (in 8-inch wafer), proving the method to be unsuitable as a mass-production technology. As one of the measures to improve throughput of the electron beam lithography, for example as described in pp. 6897 to 6901, Japan Journal Applied Physics, vol., 39 (2000), electron projection lithography has been presented, which forms all patterns on a mask original plate (referred to as a reticle, hereinafter), and then projects/transfers the patterns by using electron beams. In this electron beam projection lithography, a lens was developed, which prevents aberration from being generated even when high-density electron means are provided uniformly in a wide range, and large-area irradiation is carried out. As in the case of the photolithography, the development of the lens enables the mask to be irradiated with electron beams, and scanned, greatly reducing the number of shots. Thus, the electron projection lithography is similar to the photolithography in terms of projection, its image being similar to a change of a light source from a light to an electron beam. Compared with several pieces/hour of the conventional electron beam lithography, throughput of one digit higher, i.e., 35 pieces/hour (in 8-inch wafer) is estimated. A shape of the reticle for electron beam projection is descried in, for example pp.214 to 224 of Proceedings of SPIE vol. 3997 (2000). FIG. 2A is a bird""s eye view of a reticle for electron beam projection, FIG. 2B an expanded view of a area 203 of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C a view of the reticle seen from the above. The electron beam lithography has a limited projection range. Accordingly, circuit patterns constituting an LSI chip are divided at sizes 1000 xcexcmxe2x96xa1 on the reticle, and these circuit patterns are connected to form a pattern of the entire chip during projection. Hereinafter, one of such divided areas, i.e., a area on which the patterns are projected all at once, is referred to as a xe2x80x9csubfieldxe2x80x9d 201. A wafer, on which the circuit patterns are projected, is continuously moved, and each pattern projection is carried out by mechanically moving a reticle stage and deflecting electron beams corresponding to the wafer movement. A thickness of silicon (Si) of a pattern portion of the reticle is thin, 0.5 to 2 xcexcm, and consequently breaking easily occurs. Thus, a mechanical strength is increased by providing a silicon beam called a strut 202 between the subfields. Now, a manufacturing flow of a reticle for electron beam projection is described by referring to FIGS. 3A to 3D. As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer having SiO2 buried in a Si substrate is used. The substrate has a thickness of about 400 to 800 xcexcm and, thereon, SiO2 is deposited by 0.1 to 0.5 xcexcm, and Si by 0.5 to 2 xcexcm. As methods of manufacturing a reticle for electron beam projection, there are available a preceding back etching method for carrying out back etching of the substrate before formation of a reticle pattern to manufacture the strut 202, and a succeeding back etching method for carrying out back etching of the substrate later. Here, the preceding back etching method is described. In the preceding method, first, a area of the strut 202 is subjected to patterning, and dry etching is carried out. According to the preceding back etching method, a reticle pattern is formed after blanks for a stencil mask are made. Thus, since blanks for a stencil mask can be made and stored, and only surface machining is needed thereafter, turn around time (TAT) can be shortened. On the other hand, in the succeeding back etching method, patterning is carried out on a normal thick substrate. Accordingly, the number of special steps for manufacturing an EPL mask is relatively small. However, if mismatching is present in membrane stress between an oxide film of an intermediate layer and silicon on the surface by execution of etching of back-side Si, which makes TAT longer, mask deformation may occur, causing a shift in projection position. This positional shift is prevented by adding boron or the like to an oxide film on the surface to generate tensile stress on the substrate surface as well, and reducing stress between the oxide film and the substrate. Both methods have own features different from each other as described above, and the preceding back etching method enabling TAT to be shortened is considered to be more suitable. The oxide film is removed after the execution of the back etching. Accordingly, membrane blanks for the reticle for electron beam projection are made (FIG. 3B). Then, circuit patterns are divided into predetermined subfields, and a resist pattern 301 is formed on the reticle for electron beam projection by a resist process (FIG. 3C). A predetermined pattern is formed by further carrying out dry etching. Lastly, the reticle for electron beam projection is made by carrying out cleaning (FIG. 3D). As described herein, the reticle having an opening pattern for passing the energy beam is called a stencil type. Representative features of the present invention can be summarized as follows. In the case of using the electron projection lithography device, throughput can be greatly improved up to 35 pieces/hour compared with the electron beam direct writing method. Compared with the conventional photolithography, however, the throughput is lower, about xc2xd. In the case of the stencil-type reticle, since the opening pattern for passing the electron beam is provided, a xe2x80x9csquare-shapedxe2x80x9d pattern called a doughnut-type pattern cannot be included. This is because the inside of the xe2x80x9csquare-shapedxe2x80x9d portion is surrounded with the opening pattern, and thus no supports are present, causing it to fall. Therefore, to carry out pattern projection for one area, it was necessary to use a so-called complementary reticle for dividing patterns into two or more reticles, and executing electron beam projection for the same area by a plurality of times. In such a case, projection must be carried out twice for pattern projection of one area, and a reduction inevitably occurs in throughput. A current value of an electron beam must be increased in order to achieve high throughput. In such a case, repulsion between electron beams enlarges beam blur, lowering resolution. Accordingly, even if an electron projection lithography device that has been under development conventionally and now is used, it has been difficult to obtain throughput as high as that of the photolithography. Thus, there is a need to properly use the photolithography having high throughput, and the electron projection lithography having low throughput but high resolution. However, no effective proper using methods have been available. In the electron projection lithography, it is necessary to properly use a complementary reticle having limited pattern constraints but low throughput, and a non-complementary reticle having many pattern constraints but high throughput. Thus far, however, no effective proper using methods have been presented. Therefore, objects of the present invention are to provide an effective method of properly using a photolithography device and an electron projection lithography device, and an effective method of properly using complementary and non-complementary reticles when electron projection lithography is used. In the case of the reticle for electron beam projection, in a conventional reticle for cell-projection, a projection area is small, and a thickness of the reticle is about 10 xcexcm, thus providing a high mechanical strength. However, a thickness of a reticle for electron projection lithography is about 2 xcexcm or lower, which is very thin, and accordingly a mechanical strength is low. Further, since patterns are projected all at one on a large area of 1 mm or more, patterns having a large aspect ratio are formed in the opening pattern of the reticle. For example as shown in FIG. 20A, in a non-opening portion 2002 for scattering electron beams, openings 2001 for projecting patterns with electron beams non-scattered are densely formed at a large aspect ratio. Thus, a state before a cleaning step of the reticle was similar to that shown in FIG. 20A. After the cleaning step, however, as shown in FIG. 20B, surface tension of cleaning solution brought about bending 2003, chipping 2004, and adhesion of a foreign object caused by the chipping. Consequently, breaking or short-circuiting, and shifting in projection position occurred in a manufactured device circuit, creating a problem of impossible acquisition of initial performance. The problems including the bending and the like have become conspicuous, because projection of patterns carried out all at once on the large area in the electron projection lithography device or the like has increased the aspect ratio of the transcribed patterns by 50 times or more, and a thickness of the stencil mask has become thin to 5 xcexcm or lower. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a method of setting a beam interval, which prevents bending in a stencil mask. A micro-beam provided for the purpose of preventing bending or the like can be made sufficiently thin to make projection of the patterns difficult. However, this may cause a problem such as narrowing, where the transcribed patterns become large or small in size locally at the micro-beam portion. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to suppress pattern deformation at a micro-beam portion by providing a forming place, a shape and a material of an optimal micro-beam, and a projection method. As described above, throughput and resolution greatly varied depending on projection devices and methods, and required throughput and resolution were never satisfied simultaneously. Thus, regarding the two types of devices, i.e., photolithography having high throughput, and electron projection lithography having throughput low compared with that of the photolithography but still relatively high, and a high resolution capability, the present invention presents a projection device and a projection method capable of obtaining highest throughput while satisfying required accuracy and required resolution for each type and layer. The invention also presents a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, which makes effective selection of two types of projection methods, i.e., non-complementary and complementary reticles, so as to obtain highest throughput while satisfying required accuracy and required resolution, when the electron projection lithography device is selected. According to the invention, the electron projection lithography device is used at layers such as an isolation layer, a gate level, a contact hole layer, and a wiring layer just after the gate level, where pattern formation is difficult by the photolithography device. At other layers to be sufficiently processed even by the photolithography, the photolithography is used. In this way, pattern projection is carried out. According to the invention, conditions for selecting the photolithography and the electron projection lithography are decided depending on an exposure wavelength of the photolithography device and numerical aperture of an exposure system. According to the invention, for products small in number to be processed by one reticle or products with quick turnaround time, e.g., in small volume products or research developments, a variable-shaped electron writing system or a cell-projection electron beam writing system needing no manufacturing of reticles is used to directly write a pattern on a sample. Thus, it is possible to reduce mask manufacturing costs, and shorten mask manufacturing time. According to the invention, the electron projection lithography by the complementary reticle is used at the wiring layer just after the gate level or at a layer having a high ratio of a transcribed pattern area in a chip. Accordingly, an opening area of a pattern can be reduced by complementary splitting at the layer having the high ratio of the transcribed pattern area. Thus, it is possible to improve resolution. According to the invention, in order to increase a strength of a reticle for electron beam projection, if a short size of a non-opening pattern is Wnm, and a spacing with a non-opening pattern adjacent to the same is Snm, then a micro-beam formation interval Lnm is set equal to/lower than a predetermined interval so as to set 0 less than Lxe2x89xa6(S+Wxe2x88x9250)xc3x9750. However, each size is represented by nano meters. According to the invention, in order to increase a strength of a reticle for electron beam projection, a micro-beam forming place is set at an intersection portion between T-shaped opening patterns. According to the invention, as a material of the micro-beam, a material having a low electron scattering coefficient compared with that of a material of a reticle non-opening area is used. Thus, charged particles scattered at the micro-beam are suppressed to prevent projection of the micro-beam. According to the invention, in unit areas to be subjected to charged particle projection all at once, a width of a micro-beam in a unit area having a large opening area is set larger than that of a micro-beam in a unit area having a small opening area. Accordingly, a maximum micro-beam width can be set, which prevents projection in each unit area. Thus, mask manufacturing can be facilitated, and a mechanical strength of the mask can be increased. According to the invention, even in the same unit area, a width of a micro-beam at a place of a large opening pattern width is set larger than that of a micro-beam at a place of a small opening pattern width. Accordingly, a maximum micro-beam width can be set, which prevents projection, according to each pattern. Thus, mask manufacturing can be facilitated, and a mechanical strength of the mask can be increased. According to the invention, in order to prevent approaching between the micro-beam and a pattern edge, an area having a distance between the micro-beam and a non-opening pattern parallel to the micro-beam set less than 10 times of a width of the micro-beam is set as a micro-beam formation limiting area, and a position of the micro-beam is shifted so as to set the distance larger by 10 times or more than a width of the micro-beam. Thus, projection of micro-beam patterns caused by dense disposition of micro-beams can be suppressed. According to the invention, an area within a predetermined range, particularly an area requiring high pattern size accuracy, e.g., a gate pattern portion on an active area, is set as a micro-beam formation limiting area. Thus, it is possible to prevent pattern failures caused by micro-beams within the predetermined range. According to the invention, the micro-beam is disposed obliquely to a chip arraying direction, especially +45xc2x0 or xe2x88x9245xc2x0 to the chip arraying direction. Thus, a size changing amount at the micro-beam can be halved. According to the invention, a first round of projection is carried out by using a mask including a micro-beam having a non-opening area connected, and an opening pattern width shortened by a predetermined amount in a direction orthogonal to the micro-beam. A second round of projection is carried out by using the mask, and shifting a projection position in a direction orthogonal to an arraying direction of the micro-beam. Thus, it is possible to suppress formation of patterns of micro-beams on the semiconductor substrate. According to the invention, double exposure is carried out in a direction orthogonal to the micro-beam, and by using a reticle having an opening pattern width shortened by a predetermined amount in the same direction as a shifting direction. Thus, it is possible to suppress an increase in pattern size caused by the double exposure with positional shifting. According to the invention, as a method of carrying out the double exposure, shifting exposure is carried out by a deflector. Thus, it is possible to carry out the double exposure at a high speed. According to the invention, double exposure for suppressing projection of the micro-beam can be carried out by undulating a relative relation between an area to be projected by charged particles all at once, and the semiconductor device. Accordingly, it is possible to separately control projection position deflection and undulation for shifting exposure, achieving a simpler device configuration. According to the invention, a reticle having a larger opening width of an opening pattern adjacent to the micro-beam is used. Thus, it is possible to suppress projection of a micro-beam pattern.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates in general to fuel cells and electrical motors and, more particularly, to a fuel cell powered electrical motor. 2. Description of the Related Prior Art The use of fuel cells to actuate electrical motors depends upon several factors. Among them efficiency and compactness are essential. Attempts have been made in the past to introduce a better fuel cell powered electrical motor. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,647 dated Oct. 21, 1997 and granted to Wolfe et al. for a xe2x80x9cFuel Cell Powered Propulsion Systemxe2x80x9d describes a system for powering a vehicle. This system comprises an electrical motor for powering a vehicle, a fuel cell stack for providing fuel cell power and a turbine-generator unit. The latter includes a generator for supplying power output and a turbine for driving the generator. This system is believed to have an important disadvantage that resides in its lack of compactness, the components of the system being connected functionally, rather than structurally. U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,106, dated Jul. 13, 1999 and granted to Isaak et al. for an xe2x80x9cIntegrated Fuel Cell Electrical Motor with Static Fuel Cell and Rotating Magnetsxe2x80x9d describes a fuel cell with an electrical output integrated within a cylindrical form monopole electric motor. A rotor and a shaft are supported by a bearing attached to the top of the main body of the electrical motor, by another bearing attached to the cover of the body and by a third bearing attached to the bottom of the body. This motor has an important shortcoming. Structurally, the motor is not well engineered, since an accurate coaxiality of the three bearings mounted separately in three different components cannot be easily obtained. U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,322 dated Dec. 21, 1999 and granted to Isaak et al. for an xe2x80x9cIntegrated Fuel Cell Electric Motorxe2x80x9d relates to a motor similar to that described in the above United States Patent, wherein the cell is rotating. Besides the shortcoming of above United States Patent, the use of a rotating cell increases the mass to be balanced. Thus, it is more difficult to obtain and, especially, to maintain. the balancing of the rotating part of the system. There is accordingly a need for a fuel cell powered electrical motor which is well engineered, so that the components are easy to manufacture and reliable in operation. It is further desirable to have a compact, versatile and efficient fuel cell powered electrical motor. Broadly described, the present invention is directed to a fuel cell powered electrical motor which comprises an electrical motor including shaft means, stator means encircling the shaft means and rotor means encircling the stator means. Furthermore, the electrical motor incorporates a base plate means, located perpendicularly to the shaft means at a low part of the latter, and a flywheel means located perpendicularly to the shaft means at a top part of the latter. Fuel cell stack means are circularly disposed on the base plate means between the shaft and stator means, concentrically with both. The shaft means basically revolves together with the flywheel and rotor means with respect to the base plate means, while the fuel cell stack and stator means are attached to the base plate means. In one aspect of this invention, the fuel cell powered motor includes a commutator located under and attached to the flywheel means. The commutator is electrically connected to the fuel cell stack and rotor means. In another aspect of this invention, the fuel cell powered motor includes an annular brush disk attached to a top of the fuel cell stack means. The annular brush disk is provided at its upper surface with a plurality of brushes. The latter are adapted to be connected to an outside source of electrical power. In yet another aspect of this invention, the shaft assembly comprises: a main shaft having an upper flange provided with several apertures, equally spaced and circularly disposed; a flanged sleeve having a low flange provided with several openings, equally spaced and circularly disposed; and a bearing housing internally provided at both ends with a bearing. The bearing housing is mounted on the flanged sleeve. The upper flange is attached to the flywheel means and the bearing housing. The lower flange is attached to the flanged sleeve. In a further aspect of this invention, the base plate means incorporates a manifold and a sealing plate. The latter is disposed on top of the manifold plate. The manifold plate has a circular recess wherein the sealing plate is lodged. The circular recess is provided at its center with a shaft hole for a main shaft of the shaft assembly. Concentrical channel means is located coaxially with the shaft hole, while notch means extends radially from each of the concentrical channel means. Several downwardly extending apertures start from each of the concentric channel means and communicate with the exterior. Several manifold plate openings are located proximate to a periphery of the circular recess. The sealing plate is provided at its center with a passage hole, while four-hole row means are concentrically disposed around the passage hole. Each hole row means has a series of notch hole means, which correspond, with the notch means in the manifold plate. Both manifold and sealing plates are provided with a pair of coinciding slots: a first slot adapted for an electrical power output from the fuel cell stack means to an external controller and a second slot adapted for an electrical power input from the external controller to the stator and rotor means.

1. Field The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for distinguishing cells with the same physical cell identifier. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to distinguishing cells with the same physical cell identifier by using a radio frame timing offset. 2. Introduction Presently, in a cellular network, cells use physical cell identifiers to distinguish themselves from each other. An operator ensures that a physical cell identifier unambiguously identifies a base station. However, Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) base stations, such as access points, may use the same physical cell identifiers, which can result in physical cell identifier confusion. For example, CSG cells can be a collection of cells used for deployment in a campus or can be individual cells used for deployment in users' homes. The CSG cells co-exist with macro cells on the same carrier frequency. CSG cells have a smaller coverage area than macro cells. Unlike macro cells, the CSG cells are un-planned, in that the operator has much less control over their placement and configuration than with macro cells. Thus, two CSG cells that are located within the coverage of the same macro cell can use the same physical cell identifiers. Unfortunately, this results in physical cell identifier confusion. To elaborate, a mobile station uses physical cell identifiers (PCID) during synchronization and during cell ranking. The mobile station ranks cells by measuring the received signal strength and then uses the ranking to facilitate handover and reselection. If a PCID is not guaranteed to be unique within a macro cell, then PCIDs cannot be used for reselection and handover. If PCIDs cannot be used for reselection and handover, a mobile terminal would need to read system information of the target cell and acquire the cell global identity to determine if it is allowed to access the cell. Unfortunately, this requires considerable additional battery usage in idle mode and can seriously impact battery life. Another problem with using the same PCIDs is that mobile station cell handover will fail when there is more than one cell with the same PCID and a network cannot determine which cell is the right one for handover. A range of PCIDs can be reserved for CSG cells. Also, a mobile terminal can have a list of CSG PCIDs, such as a CSG white-list of cells that it is allowed to access. These restrictions limit the problem in the reselection case to when the target cell is a CSG cell in the CSG white-list. However, PCID confusion can still frequently occur in metropolitan areas where more CSG cells are deployed. Even in cases where the spatial likelihood of PCID confusion is low, when confusion occurs, it affects the same mobile terminal repeatedly. For example, if two homes within the coverage of the same macro cell use CSG cells with the same PCID, the corresponding users will experience handover failures when entering their homes and they will have substantially higher battery drain. In order to resolve the PCID confusion, a mobile terminal could read additional system information of a cell, which contains a unique cell identifier, which the mobile terminal could rely on to determine if the cell is suitable. Unfortunately, reading the additional system information in connected mode would cause substantial delay which negatively impacts handover performance. Also, a mobile terminal would have to read the additional system information every time it encounters a CSG PCID, because different encounters with the same PCID could correspond to different cells. Furthermore, the mobile terminal would lose data being sent through the serving cell as a result of reading the additional system information because the mobile terminal would have to synchronize to the target cell. It is also possible to ignore a cell based on the PCID if it has been found to be unsuitable after previously reading additional system information. However, this would not resolve the PCID confusion problem because a cell encountered later may be suitable to the mobile terminal but would be ignored if it has same PCID as a previously unsuitable cell. Furthermore, in connected mode, a mobile terminal would not measure and report the ignored PCIDs and the network would not know when interference from the PCID is significant and would not be able to take measures to prevent disruption of service. Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus for distinguishing cells with the same physical cell identifier.

Computer systems typically comprise a combination of hardware, such as semiconductors, transistors, chips, and circuit boards, and computer programs. As increasing numbers of smaller and faster transistors can be integrated on a single chip, new processors are designed to use these transistors effectively to increase performance. Currently, many computer designers opt to use the increasing transistor budget to build ever bigger and more complex uni-processors. Alternatively, multiple smaller processor cores can be placed on a single chip, which is beneficial because a single, simple processor core is less complex to design and verify. This results in a less costly and complex verification process, as a once verified module, the processor, is repeated multiple times on a chip. Techniques known as multiple logical partitions take advantage of multi-processors. A logically partitioned computer comprises multiple logical partitions that implement virtual computers, which execute in separate memory spaces, may execute separate operating systems, and may use shared resources. Examples of shared resources are processors, memory, co-processors, network bandwidth, or secondary storage. Partitions are often implemented on computer systems that include multiple processors and/or on multiple computer systems (often called compute nodes or simply nodes) that comprise processors, which run the multiple partitions to accomplish tasks.

This invention relates generally to carbon-to-liquids systems, and more specifically to methods and systems for minimizing liquid product variation from a reactor portion of a system. The terms C5+ and “liquid hydrocarbons” are used synonymously to refer to hydrocarbons or oxygenated compounds having five (5) or greater number of carbons, including for example pentane, hexane, heptane, pentanol, pentene, and which are liquid at normal atmospheric conditions. The terms C4− and “gaseous hydrocarbons” are used synonymously to refer to hydrocarbons or oxygenated compounds having four (4) or fewer number of carbons, including for example methane, ethane, propane, butane, butanol, butene, propene, and which are gaseous at normal atmospheric conditions. At least some known Fischer-Tropsch (FT) units have been optimized to produce synthesis gas (syngas) from natural gas, also known as Gas-to-Liquids process (GTL). Typically, syngas refers to a mixture of H2, CO and some CO2 at various proportions. To improve C5+ selectivity and minimize selectivity to C4−, i.e. natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production in known units, a FT reactor is operated with relatively high residence times, with relatively high per pass conversion, and with hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H2/CO) ratios below the consumption ratio. The remote location of most carbon-to-liquids plants makes natural gas and LPG co-production economically unattractive because of the relatively high transportation costs. Minimizing natural gas and LPG production generally results in a significant fraction (30-40%) of the FT liquids being over-converted to wax. The wax formed must then be converted back to a diesel range, typically C10-C20 hydrocarbons, using a separate hydrocracking reactor. Also, the relatively high per pass conversion that is used to increase C5+ production generally adversely limits the pressure of the FT reactor, and the byproduct water partial pressure increases with conversion and total pressure. As the water partial pressure is increased the catalyst can be generally deactivated through oxidation of the active catalyst sites. Low water partial pressure may cause competitive adsorption of water, CO, and H2 molecules on the catalyst active site, thus reducing syngas conversion. Iron-based FT catalysts in particular can be greatly affected by water. Cobalt-based FT catalysts are generally more resistant to oxidation by water. Other carbonaceous fuels may also be used to provide the syngas input to the FT process. However, undesirable product variations may be caused by the operating characteristics of the known FT gas-to-liquids systems described above.

Waste heat recovery in various types of combustion engines is a way to improve the overall efficiency of these systems. Waste heat recovery systems range from power plants that have bottoming cycles, to thermoelectric systems that generate electricity. Power plants that have bottoming cycles utilize the excess heat in the low pressure exhaust gases from the primary work generating cycle. Thermoelectric systems utilize similar waste heat sources. On piston engines, waste heat recovery systems can consist of a closed loop Rankine Cycle. A Rankine Cycle uses the heat from the exhaust to power the cycle. These systems typically have a separate, dedicated, expander that extracts power from the working fluid and is connected to the crankshaft of the engine.

The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to an aircraft deicing system, and more particularly, to a deicing system for a rotor blade of a rotary wing aircraft. Rotary wing aircrafts may encounter atmospheric conditions that cause the formation of ice on rotor blades and other surfaces of the aircraft. Accumulated ice, if not removed can add weight to the aircraft and may alter the airfoil configuration, causing undesirable flying characteristics. A common approach to ice management is thermal deicing. Thermal deicing includes heating portions of the rotor blades, such as the leading edge for example, to loosen accumulated ice. Centrifugal forces acting on the rotor blades, and the airstream passing there over, remove the loosened ice from the rotor blades. Desired portions of the rotor blades are typically heated using electro thermal heating elements arranged at the leading edges of the airfoils, in direct contact with the blade spar. As a result of this direct contact, a malfunction of the electro thermal heating elements, such as by overheating or shorting for example, may damage the spar thereby affecting the structural stability and/or the airfoil of the rotor blade.

1. Technical Field Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to providing an on-board diagnostic port connector in an automobile with a lockable connection, and specifically to a lockable connection that is discreet and easy to operate. 2. Background of Related Art On-board diagnostic regulations require passenger cars and trucks to be equipped with a standardized connector to provide access to the vehicles diagnostic information. Since 1996, the standard required has been one published in Society of Automotive Engineers paper SAE J1962, known as OBD-II (or OBD2). This standard specifies the signal and message protocols, the pinout of the connector, and the details of the connector itself. This standard connector is the access point for the diagnostic and operational information about the vehicle. The OBD-II port is crucial in such tasks as checking and clearing diagnostic trouble codes, allowing for governmental vehicle inspection, and driver provided supplemental instrumentation and telematics. These applications generally involve temporary, and voluntary, connections to the car's OBD-II port, commonly referred to as plug and remove. In the car rental and fleet vehicle industries, there is often a desire to have a device connected to the vehicle's diagnostics. These devices can be hard-wired into the vehicle's electronics, or they can be plugged into the vehicle's OBD-II port. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages. Devices that are hard-wired into the vehicle's electronics provide the most secure and least intrusive option. Such devices connect directly to the vehicle control unit or are spliced into the wiring harness of the vehicle. If done properly, these connections will be semi-permanent and very reliable. These devices also allow the OBD-II port to be unobstructed and be available for other devices to connect. Furthermore, since they are made in the vehicles wiring, they are rarely visible or otherwise evident without removing dashboard panels or looking in the engine bay. In a rental or fleet situation, the user not being aware of the device can be helpful to prevent tampering or removal. Though these hard-wired devices offer several advantages, their main drawback is the cost of time and labor associated with their proper installation. Proper installation of a hard-wired device requires a trained technician to first remove interior panels to access the wiring necessary. Once the technician has access to the wiring of the vehicle, great care must be taken to properly tap into the necessary inputs without doing permanent damage to the vehicle. This process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days per vehicle. Additionally, mistakes made during this installation can cost thousands of dollars to repair. Once the vehicles are no longer to be used in the fleet, uninstalling them to be installed in other fleet vehicles (or to provide for the sale of the decommissioned vehicle) is an equally labor intensive process. The alternative to such laborious installation procedures is an OBD-II port connected device. These devices have the advantage of taking only minutes or hours to install and secure in the dash area of the vehicle. Similarly, they are easily uninstalled at the end of a vehicle's service time. Because they are so easily installed and uninstalled, their downside is that they are often disconnected before it is desired by the fleet owner. This could be from vibrations gradually loosening the connection, an operator accidentally knocking the plug out, or a driver intentionally unplugging a device. The standard for OBD-II requires that the port be located within reach of the steering wheel, which typically results in the port being located in or around the foot well of a passenger vehicle. As such, a driver may accidentally contact the plug, loosening or disconnecting the device from the vehicle. Furthermore, potential operators may seek to intentionally remove the devices, either to prevent the collection of vehicle data, or to steal the device. What is needed, therefore, is an OBD-II compliant connector that is easy for a technician to install and uninstall, but difficult for an operator to knock loose or remove without permission. It is to such systems and methods that embodiments of the present invention are primarily directed.

There are over 223,000 railroad grade crossings in the United States alone. Most of these crossings, especially those in rural areas, have only warning signs to alert motorists to the danger posed by an approaching train. Typical of railroad grade crossing warning signs is the familiar X-shaped "RAILROAD CROSSING" sign or "crossbuck." Warning signs, however, only alert motorists to the presence of a railroad crossing and do not alert them to the presence of an oncoming train. Often, a motorist may fail to see an approaching train because he was distracted or because his view of the train was obstructed by environmental conditions or darkness. Consequently, collisions between trains and automobiles at railroad crossings account for thousands of accidents each year, many of which result in extensive property damage and serious injury or death to motorists. Known to the art are active railroad crossing warning systems utilizing the railroad tracks themselves to detect an approaching train and activate warning signal apparatus such as flashing lights and bells. These systems warn motorists when a train is detected at a predetermined distance from the crossing. However, present active warning systems do no take into account the speed of the train and thus make no allowance for the time it will take the train to reach the crossing. For example, a fast moving train may reach the crossing in only a few seconds after it is detected, while a slow moving train may fail to reach the crossing until several minutes have passed. Motorists may become impatient waiting for slow moving trains to reach the crossing. Consequently, some motorists may begin to ignore the warnings and attempt to cross the tracks possibly causing an accident should a fast moving train be encountered. Further, installation of current active warning systems may require the insulation and resetting of great lengths of track. Additionally, these systems may require the installation of expensive high voltage transformers, relays, and batteries for backup systems. Unfortunately, many rural crossings are not conducive to the installation of active warning systems that requires AC electrical power and extensive grade preparation. Consequently, these crossings usually remain inadequately protected. High speed rail corridors being proposed across the United States will only exacerbate this problem. These corridors will require improved crossing warning systems to properly secure the safety of both passengers and motorists.

The present invention relates to the field of information technology, including, more particularly, to systems and techniques for simplifying access to different applications. Organizations look to their information technology (IT) department to plan, coordinate, and manage the computer-related activities of the organization. An IT department is responsible for upkeep, maintenance, and security of networks. This may include analyzing the computer and information needs of their organizations from an operational and strategic perspective and determining immediate and long-range personnel and resource requirements. Monitoring the computer-related activities of the organization is an increasingly difficult task because the modern workplace is a complex blend of multiple users and multiple applications which combine into a complex and dynamically evolving environment. For example, at any given time multiple applications may be executing on multiple machines or “in the cloud.” It can be hard to follow what is going on in the cloud, for an application, for a given user. Many organizations do not have systems for tracking how resources are used by applications and users. Thus, there is a need to provide systems and techniques to manage computing resources.

HotKnot is a near-field communication technology (which is mainly used in a capacitive touch screen) used in some smart terminal devices. This near-field communication includes two processes: proximity detection process and data transmission process. The proximity detection process of the near-field communication is: a touch screen terminal of one party sends a proximity detection sequence (for example, the proximity detection sequence includes six frequencies), and after receiving the proximity detection sequence, a touch screen terminal of the other party successively scans the multiple frequencies included in the proximity detection sequence. If signal strength at each frequency is greater than a preset signal strength threshold, it is considered that a signal source exists at the frequency. After the scan is completed, if signal sources exist at all frequencies, it is determined that the sequence is valid; otherwise, it is determined that the sequence is invalid. After it is determined that the sequence is valid, the receiving party feeds back a proximity response sequence to the sending party. After receiving the proximity response sequence, the sending party successively performs scan similarly, and determines whether the response sequence is valid. The determining manner is described above. When the two parties both consider that the sequence is valid, it is considered that sequence identification succeeds once. After the sequence identification succeeds for multiple times according to an interaction rule, it is determined that a touch screen terminal approaches. After the proximity detection succeeds, an interference source is turned off, and the data transmission process is started to send or receive data. During the proximity detection, the interference source such as an LCD is not turned off, there is a relatively big difficulty to correctly determine a frequency of the sequence, and setting of a signal strength threshold plays a particularly important role in determining of a signal. Therefore, it appears to be particularly important to be capable of setting a proper signal strength threshold according to a noise situation. During proximity detection of two HotKnot (which is a type of near-field communication and is mainly used in the capacitive touch screen) devices, a drive signal of LCD scan, or common-mode interference when a charger is connected interferes with signal detection of the capacitive touch screen, which may cause an error when the proximity detection is performed by using the touch screen, and a case in which the two parties cannot enter or one party enters by a mistake. Currently, to enable the capacitive touch screen to adapt to different LCD interference intensities, noise reduction processing is usually performed on detected data. After the noise reduction processing, a signal strength threshold determining policy is used. If signal strength is greater than the threshold, it is considered that a signal is valid; otherwise, it is considered that the signal is an invalid signal. In addition, for the foregoing interference cases, an interference frequency is detected by using an instrument, and then the interference frequency is not used as a determining basis, thereby avoiding an interference sources. However, in a current processing manner, there are at least two problems: 1) Although some problems can be solved by using a proper signal strength threshold, when interference occurs at some frequencies, signal strength of noise is sometimes greater than strength of a signal, and the frequencies are very difficult to be identified, which finally results in failure of entire sequence identification; and in addition, interference intensity often changes, detection reliability and sensitivity are difficult to be ensured if only one fixed signal strength threshold is used. 2) Interference in an actual environment often changes; if some fixed frequencies are not identified, although a situation of interference at the fixed frequencies can be improved, when the interference at the frequencies changes, the changed interference frequencies cannot be shielded, that is, a compatibility problem exists. Therefore, in the case of weak signal or strong interference, reliability and sensitivity of proximity detection are not high.

Power over Ethernet systems are seeing increasing use in today's society. Power over Ethernet, sometimes abbreviated PoE, refers to providing power to Ethernet devices over an Ethernet line that is also used to communicate data. Thus, power over Ethernet devices do not require separate power supply lines. In some instances, the power may be supplied by a power supply contained within an Ethernet switch. Because the power supply does not generally have the power capability to supply maximum power to every port, there is a limit on the number of power over Ethernet devices that can be connected to a given power supply. A port may be denied power, if it will result in oversubscription of the power supply. Example power over Ethernet devices that can benefit from receiving power over the Ethernet communication lines include an internet protocol telephone, a badge reader, a wireless access point, a video camera, and others. Traditionally, when a power over Ethernet device is connected to a power supply, the power over Ethernet device is allocated a maximum power class according to IEEE standard 802.3af denoted as class 0 thru 4. These maximum values correspond to the maximum amount of power that will be supplied by the power supply to the power over Ethernet device. IEEE standard 802.3af provides for three levels of 15.4 watts, 7.5 watts, and 4.0 watts for these power over Ethernet devices. In certain circumstances, such allocation prevents the power supply from being utilized to its full capability due to the coarse granularity in class. A software program referred to as Cisco Discovery Protocol allows for more granular specification of the limit for the power over Ethernet powered devices other than the above-described IEEE levels. However, the power supply still may have unutilized capacity.

This invention pertains to speed regulators for direct current DC motors and, more particularly, is concerned with open loop speed regulators for DC motors. DC motors find numerous applications because of their intrinsic variable speed characteristics and capabilities which offer very high speeds and small size. The rotating member of a DC motor is named the armature and the stationary member is named the field. The armature has windings and the field can have either windings or permanent magnets. Some applications have a need for constant speed regardless of torque. A general statement about DC motors is that with an increase in torque, speed will drop and current will increase, assuming a constant input voltage. The amount each parameter varies depends on the type of motor. For a motor with the armature and field winding connected in series the drop in speed will be more pronounced than the increase in current. For motors with shunt connected windings or permanent magnet fields the opposite is true, the speed will be more nearly constant while there is a marked increase in current. There will be some drop in speed however, and this amount may be undesirable in critical applications. For this reason, a number of constant speed controls have been devised over the years. Speed regulating systems may be classified as either closed loop or open loop. Closed loop systems derive a signal from the actual speed of the motor with a tachometer, for example, and use the signal in a feedback loop. An open loop system does not measure speed directly but measures some other parameter. In some open loop systems the measured parameter is current. A well known example of an open loop motor regulating system includes a resistor in series with the input of the motor. The voltage across the resistor corresponds to motor current and is directed to a control circuit. The resistor voltage influences a control circuit which supplies the input voltage to the motor. A change in resistor voltage indicates a change in torque and indirectly indicates a change in speed. In response to the resistor voltage the control circuit adjusts the voltage to the motor thereby supplying the right amount of power required to maintain a constant speed over variations in torque. The series resistor causes I.sup.2 R power losses particularly when during high torque conditions because current is high. These losses cause heat build-up and a need for a larger power supply capability. It will be seen that a speed regulator according to the present invention does not require a resistor in series with the motor and is thereby more efficient.

Cardiac ischemia is a condition that results from insufficient oxygenation to heart muscle and may pose an inherent risk in addition to potentially being a precursor to a life threatening event, such as myocardial infarction (MI). Detecting ischemia may be carried out by a variety of methods, some of which are amendable to implantable monitoring devices. Ischemia, and particularly, unstable ischemia, in a patient may be treated in a clinical setting by a variety of modalities. A patient with severe unstable ischemia may be a candidate for immediate intervention, such as coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery. However, less severe cases may be treated by pharmaceutical methods as well as others. Even with such treatment modalities available, most ischemic events occur initially outside the clinical environment or at a place or time when such clinical assessment and treatment is not immediately available. For ICD patients experiencing transient ischemia, standard ventricular pacing therapy in order to increase cardiac output is contraindicated as the increased heart rate induced as a result of the pacing will typically increase the oxygen demand on the heart tissue, and particularly the ischemic heart tissue, which may further exacerbate any damage caused by the ischemia. In addition, generally speaking, a paced rhythm is not as mechanically efficient as a normal sinus rhythm, and, as such, the blood flow output may even be further reduced. Thus, typical single chamber ventricle pacing therapy for an ischemic patient may increase oxygen demand of the heart tissue undergoing ischemic trauma and decrease the pumping efficiency of the heart overall or both. As such, what has been needed are methods and devices for treating a patient with transient ischemia immediately after onset of the ischemia that do not generate a substantial increase in oxygen consumption by the heart.

In general, customers using an online order processing system may order products using a local computer (e.g., a client) over a connection to a vendor, such as by dialing in over a modem to a computer network, such as the Internet, to the vendor's computer (e.g., server). Typically, the customer can enter in ordering information into a user interface provided by the vendor's order processing software over the connection which is displayed on a visual display of the customer's computer. For example, the customer can begin by entering in the customer's name and address if the customer is interested in a particular product, and the customer can enter in the name and/or model number of the product that the customer is considering ordering. The customer can then receive product information including pricing information, configuration information, and so on. After receiving this product information over the network connection, the customer can decide whether to place the order or to hold off submitting the order until a later time. If placing the order, the customer can indicate that the customer wishes to submit the order by further manipulating the computer display provided by the vendor's computer. The vendor's order processing software may require the customer to submit additional information, such as a purchase order number and shipping address. After entering this information, the order processing software processes this information and accepts (or rejects) the order. If the order is accepted, the vendor's computer indicates the acceptance and typically provides the customer with verification information, such as a confirmation number or order number, that the customer writes down on a piece of paper or prints out on a printer connected to the customers' local client computer. If the customer is not sure of the product to be ordered, the customer can request information from the vendor's order processing software, which is then displayed on the customer's client computer as one or more screens of information provided over the network connection by the order processing software. The customer can then read through the displayed screens, or print them out to read the hard copies of the information for comparison with the customer's requirements and needs. If the customer is a business (e.g., wholesaler, distributor, value added reseller or VAR, original equipment manufacturer or OEM, or other business), then the customer can check or compare its own inventory, requests from its customers (e.g., its retail customers) and other information against the information provided by the vendor's computer to determine what products and configurations of those products to order from the vendor. In addition, the customer can use the ordering information (from a display screen or printout) and then enter (e.g., type in at a keyboard or copy and paste using a mouse) this information into an ordering application or other application (e.g., customer's inventory application) that the customer maintains at its own local computer. In another conventional approach, a customer can log onto a vendor's web site over the Internet, and view information about products for sale at the web site provided by the vendor's order processing software from the vendor's web server. The customer can select products from displays on the web site for an order and can then submit the order through the web site. The web site then displays a confirmation number to the customer, who can print it out if desired.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an intake device of an internal combustion engine. 2. Description of the Related Art In order to create a swirl motion in the combustion chamber when the engine is operating under a light load and to obtain a high volumetric efficiency when the engine is operating under a heavy load at a high speed, it is well known, to equip each cylinder in an engine with a pair of intake valves, and to arrange a fuel injection in an intake passage. The intake passage is divided into two branch intake passages at a position downstream of the fuel injector, and these branch intake passages are connected to the combustion chamber via the corresponding intake valves. A control valve which is closed when the engine is operating under a light load is arranged in one of the branch intake passages (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 57-70914). In the above arrangement, when the engine is operating under a light load, and since the control valve is closed, air is fed into the combustion chamber from only one of the branch intake passages, thus creating a swirl motion in the combustion chamber. Conversely, when the engine is operating under a heavy load, and since the control valve is open, air is fed to the combustion chamber from both branch intake passages, and a high volumetric efficiency can be obtained. However, since the fuel injector is arranged upstream of the control valve, some of the fuel injected from the fuel injector when the control valve is closed adheres to the control valve. Therefore, since all of the fuel injected from the fuel injector is not instantaneously fed into the combustion chamber, a good accelerating operation cannot be obtained. Also, since a swirl motion is created in the combustion chamber when the engine is operating under a light load, the burning velocity of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber can be improved. However, in the above arrangement, ignitability is neglected. Also, well known is an engine in which each cylinder is equipped with a pair of intake valves and a pair of independently arranged intake passages. A control valve which is closed when the engine is operating under a light load is arranged in one of the intake passages. The intake passages are interconnected via a connecting hole at a position downstream of the control valve, and the fuel injector is arranged in the connecting hole (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-105534). In this engine, when the engine is operating under a heavy load, and since the control valve is open, air is fed to the combustion chamber from both intake passages, and a high volumetric efficiency can be obtained. In addition, since the fuel injector is arranged downstream of the control valve, there is no danger that fuel injected from the fuel injector will adhere to the control valve. However, in this engine, since the intake passages are interconnected at a position downstream of the control valve, air is fed to the combustion chamber from both intake passages even if the control valve is closed when the engine is operating under a light load. As a result, the velocity of the air flowing into the combustion chamber is inevitably reduced, and, since it is difficult to create a strong swirl motion in the combustion chamber, it is impossible to sufficiently increase the burning velocity of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. In this engine, also ignitability is neglected.

1. Field The disclosed and claimed concept pertains generally to handheld electronic devices and, more particularly, to handheld electronic devices including a first input component and a separate second touch sensitive input component. The disclosed and claimed concept also pertains to methods of outputting the selection of input members of a handheld electronic device. 2. Description of the Related Art Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples of such handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Many handheld electronic devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such handheld electronic devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other devices. Wireless handheld electronic devices are generally intended to be portable, and thus are of a relatively compact configuration in which keys and other input structures often perform multiple functions under certain circumstances or may otherwise have multiple aspects or features assigned thereto. As a practical matter, the keys of a keypad can only be reduced to a certain small size before the keys become relatively unusable. In order to enable text input, however, a keypad must be capable of entering all twenty-six letters of the Roman alphabet, for instance, as well as appropriate punctuation and other symbols. One way of providing numerous letters in a small space has been to provide a “reduced keyboard” in which multiple letters, symbols, and/or digits, and the like, are assigned to any given key. In order to enable a user to make use of the multiple letters, symbols, digits, and the like on any given key, numerous keystroke interpretation systems have been provided. For instance, a “multi-tap” system allows a user to substantially unambiguously specify a particular character on a key by pressing the same key a number of times equivalent to the position of the desired character on the key. For example, a telephone key includes the letters “ABC”. If the user desires to specify the letter “C”, then the user will press the key three times. While such multi-tap systems have been generally effective for their intended purposes, they nevertheless can require a relatively large number of key inputs compared with the number of characters that ultimately are output. Another example keystroke interpretation system is key chording, of which various types exist. For instance, a particular character can be entered by pressing two keys in succession or by pressing and holding a first key while pressing a second key. Still another keystroke interpretation system is a “press-and-hold/press-and-release” interpretation function in which a given key provides a first result if the key is pressed and immediately released, and provides a second result if the key is pressed and held for a short period of time. Another keystroke interpretation system that has been employed is a software-based text disambiguation function. In such a system, a user typically presses keys to which one or more characters have been assigned, generally pressing each key one time for each desired letter, and the disambiguation software attempts to predict the intended input. Numerous different systems have been proposed. See, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0007120 and 2006/0007121 assigned to the same assignee as the instant application; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,541. For example, as a user enters keystrokes, the device provides output in the form of a default output and a number of variants from which a user can choose. The output is based largely upon the frequency, i.e., the likelihood that a user intended a particular output, but various features of the device provide additional variants that are not based solely on frequency and rather are provided by various logic structures resident on the device. When the key and keypad sizes shrink because of the form factor on the handheld electronic device, typing error rate increases. Hence, as the size of keypads becomes smaller and smaller, the issue of multiple key presses becomes more and more important to keypad design. One of the reasons is that the user's thumb and fingers are simply too big for the relatively small sized keys. Therefore, it becomes more likely that the user accidentally hits a nearby key, or even several keys at the same time. On some handheld electronic devices, a key adjacent to an activated key does not respond to stimuli until a set time lag has passed. This prevents unintended sequential pressing of adjacent keys on the keypad. This time lag is one method to reduce the error rate of rapid keying; however, this relatively short delay may impede on users who are intentionally typing adjacent keys in relatively quick succession. There is room for improvement in handheld electronic devices. There is also room for improvement in methods of outputting the selection of input members of a handheld electronic device. Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification.

The present invention relates in general to teleservice messages within a telecommunications network. More particularly, the present invention relates to reporting the capabilities and features of a mobile station within such a network. There are many features defined in the mobile stations specifications, such as the ANSI-136 standard. Some of these features are optional while most of them are required per the standard. Each mobile station within a telecommunications network, such as the ANSI-136 network, supports a protocol version (PV) that defines the capability of the mobile station. The different PVs cover the different revisions and capability sets of the standard. Different PVs support different items, with some items being xe2x80x9cmandatoryxe2x80x9d and some items being xe2x80x9coptionalxe2x80x9d. Typical features for PV0 and PV1 are shown in Table 1. Typically, PVs are backward compatible, meaning that if a telephone is PV1, then it has all of the PV1 features as well as the PV0 features. In order that the mobile network will know what revision of the standard that a mobile station supports, the mobile station provides its PV to the mobile network via an (air) interface message such as a registration message or the capability report. Typically, when a mobile station, such as a telephone, registers on a system, it provides its PV in a message to the system. Wireless operators and infrastructure vendors need to know what capabilities are supported by the customer premises equipment (CPE), including the mobile station, in order to know what messages, physical channel capabilities, and features can be assigned and sent to the CPE. It is contemplated that each mobile station that is registered as a certain PV supports all of the mandatory features. However, many CPE vendors do not support all xe2x80x9cmandatoryxe2x80x9d capabilities of the standard, and the conventional, standardized capability report does not account for mandatory features, only optional features. Thus, the wireless operator and infrastructure vendor cannot be sure of what features and capabilities a mobile station may or may not support. In order for a mobile station to indicate that it supports a particular PV, all mandatory items for that particular PV must be supported by the mobile station. However, in commercial practicality there are situations where a infrastructure vendor and a wireless operator may choose to provide support for one or more features in a PV prior to the ability to support all of the other mandatory features of the PV. Conventionally, the base station sends a message to the mobile station requesting its capability. The mobile station responds with a list of the optional features that it supports. It is assumed that the mobile station supports all the required features. However, oftentimes not all the PV features, even the mandatory ones, are in the telephone. The conventional capability reporting services only allow indication of support for features defined in the standard as optional. They do not allow any indication from the mobile station to the infrastructure of support for standardized feature sets which are mandatory in a particular protocol version. Also, in the ANSI-136 standard, the conventional capability report is a layer 3 message. The wireless operator is dependent on the infrastructure vendor to provide a conduit from the CPE to the wireless operator""s information database. This leads to development costs to the infrastructure vendor and the wireless operator. The standard does support many optional capabilities. These optional capabilities are not subject to the requirement of the PVs but rather may be optionally implemented in any revision of the standard later than the revision of the optional capability. In order to know that these features are supported by the mobile station, the standard supports a reporting mechanism called a Capability Report and the Capability Update on the digital control channel (DCCH) and the digital traffic channel (DTC), respectively. The Capability Report may be requested from the mobile station by the base station by a Capability Request flag on the DCCH. The Capability Update may be requested from the mobile station by the base station by sending a Capability Update Request on the forward DTC. Both of these services indicate the protocol and service capability of the mobile station. There is a need to allow support for select mandatory features without the mobile station having to indicate complete support for a particular PV level. Therefore, there is a need to determine which features, both mandatory and optional, are implemented in a telephone, and which features are not. The present invention is directed to a mobile station capability message and a system and method for generating a mobile station capability message. The mobile station capability message comprises data indicative of at least one mandatory feature supported by the mobile station. The capability storage message also can comprise data indicative of at least one optional feature supported by the mobile station. The features are each associated with a protocol version that is either the latest protocol version supported by the mobile station or an earlier protocol version. According to one aspect of the present invention, the features are part of the ANSI-136 standard. An embodiment of the present invention comprises a system and method for generating a capability request message at a remote site, transmitting the capability request message to the mobile station, and generating a mobile station capability message responsive to the capability request message, the capability message comprising data indicative of at least one mandatory feature supported by the mobile station, the at least one mandatory feature being associated with a protocol version. The remote site is one of a base station, a mobile switching center, and a non-base station entity. According to further aspects of the invention, the capability message is transmitted to the remote site from the mobile station, via an interface comprising, for example, point to point or broadcast mechanisms. The capability request message and the capability message can be part of respective ANSI-136 R-data messages. According to other aspects of the invention, the capability message is stored in a storage device that can be accessed by the remote site, and receipt of the capability request message at the mobile station is acknowledged. The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Work machines, such as backhoes, are used in many industries, including the agricultural, construction, and forestry related industries. Typical work machines are employed for performing various heavy tasks, such as moving soil, and lifting and moving bales of hay, pallets, and other heavy items with a hydraulically actuated attachment, such as a bucket. In order to perform work using the attachment, hydraulic cylinders are employed, which are controlled by an operator using control devices, such as joystick levers. Generally, the hydraulic pump employed by work machines is driven by the work machine's engine, and thus, the amount of hydraulic flow deliverable by the hydraulic pump varies with the speed of the engine. In situations where the output of the pump falls below the amount of flow requested by the operator of the work machine, e.g., because engine speed selected by the operator is insufficient for the pump to generate the requested flow, operational difficulties may be encountered. For example instability of the hydraulic system may result, which may adversely affect hydraulic system load handling, and engine recovery and stability. Hence, it is desirable to be able to control the hydraulic system of a work machine in a manner that promotes stable operation.

This invention relates to a grease for constant velocity joints, in particular, a grease for constant velocity joints which has a good extreme pressure property, good durability and vibration inhibiting effect by adding organic molybdenum compound, antimonydialkyl dithiocarbamate (hereinunder referred as Sb-DTC), a zinc dithio phosphate and organic sulfur compound. The conventionally used greases include greases containing sulfur-phosphorus extreme pressure agent and an extreme pressure grease containing molybdenum disulfide and these greases are in general used in lubricating parts where wears and fretting corrosions are easily caused by extreme pressure, such as constant velocity joints used in motorcars (C.V.J), universal joint, steer linkage, spline shaft gear, coupling in industrial machine, gear motor and transmission gear. Greases for wear-inhibiting and extreme pressure composed of sulfur-phosphorus compound were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,466,895 and 3,322,802 and Japanese Patent Publication Soh 66-47099. In these greases, by using sulfur-phosphorus compound independently or in complex, the friction coefficient and extreme pressure were improved. But in order to increase the extreme pressure and decrease the friction coefficient high temperature, a comparatively large amount of additives are required to be used. Some problems remained unsolved such as thermal decomposition of grease by active sulfide derived from the decomposition of sulfur-phosphorus compound in causing high temperature, corrosion and aging by acidic compound. Greases using organic molybdenum, were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,840,463, 4,466,901, 4,428,861, 3,400,140 and 4,208,292 which describes greases using organic molybdenum compound (Mo-DTP) independently of other extreme pressure additives. Further U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,051 disclosed a grease which is characterized in using polyurea thickener, organic molybdenum compound, especially molybdenum dialkyl dithiocarbamate (Mo-DTC) and organic zinc compound in mixed condition to the basic oil. However, with respect to the use of organic molybdenum independently, wear-resistance is increased owing to a decrease in the friction coefficient, and there is no synergistic effect between the organic molybdenum and other extreme pressure additives. And as there are limits in extreme pressure of molybdenum disulfide (MoS.sub.2) compound produced by the decomposition of organic molybdenum, in friction condition where extreme pressure property is greatly required, great heat radiation due to lubrication in friction area and great deal of wears like scoring caused. And in case that a mixture of an organic molybdenum compound and an organic zinc compound (Zn-DTP) is used as with a lithium grease there is an increase in both, friction coefficient and wear-resistance. Though the critical temperature of lithium grease is 120.degree. C., particularly in flanging type constant velocity joints wherein the rolling friction and sliding friction simultaneously occur, the temperature the of surrounding area increases to over the maximum 120.degree. C. because the of impulse load and frictional heat caused by sliding friction. Furthermore, the thermal decomposition temperature of Mo-DTP and Zn-DTP is low therefore are readily decomposed at 120.degree. C. into molybdenum disulfide compound and some cause some detrimental side-effects such as corrosion, sludge and slight-corrosions remain unsolved. Further Japanese Patent Publication Pyung 5-62639 disclosed a grease composition comprised of molybdenum a compound and sulfur compound, which improved oxidation stability, wear resistance and corrosion-inhibiting effects but failed to reduce the beating noise and vibrations. Conventionally used greases do not infiltrate into the lubricating area well in bad lubrication conditions which can result in wear and wear vibrations. And in the parts where slight vibrations do occur, the oxide produced by initial corrosion accelerates the wear, and abnormal beating noise, and vibrations occur. Therefore, the inventors have made efforts to solve the aforementioned problems and at last have succeeded invent a grease which is characterized in that the extreme pressure and the wear-resistance properties are greatly improved, using organic molybdenum, antimony dialkyl dithiocarbamate, zinc dithiophosphate and organic sulfide compound in mixed condition; sludge occurrence possibility is reduced by improving thermal stability of additives; infiltration into the lubricating area is made easy by low viscosity; and good durability is aquired when it applied to constant velocity joints.

A self-organized network (SON) may provide mechanisms for self-configuration, self-discovery, and self-organization. Self-configuration and self-discovery enable network devices (e.g., managed nodes) of the SON to be transparent to ordinary users. Self-organization ensures robustness of the SON during dynamic network topology changes and link breakages. It also ensures optimal and efficient bandwidth utilization. The SON operational and maintenance (OAM) architecture includes a domain manager and its managed nodes, an enterprise management system (EMS), etc. A managed node represents a radio base station (e.g., of a wireless network), home devices (e.g., Internet routers, television set-top boxes (STBs), etc.), etc. Current SON OAM architectures have several disadvantages. For example, the EMS needs to track the addresses of all its managed nodes. The tracking may include registering Internet protocol (IP) addresses and/or port numbers associated with the managed nodes in a directory within or without the EMS. The tracking may also include registering managed node name and IP address/port number pairs associated with the managed nodes in a database within or without the EMS. Such tracking becomes a major task when the number of managed nodes increases and when the managed nodes become mobile (e.g., acquire new addresses). Furthermore, when the EMS wishes to provide a command and/or information to all its managed nodes, the EMS sends the command and/or information, via the domain manager, individually to each managed node (e.g., one method invocation per each managed node).

The present invention relates generally to reclining chairs and, more particularly, to an improved "wall proximity" reclining chair. Traditionally, reclining chairs are equipped with an actuation mechanism which is operatively interconnected between a prefabricated chair frame and a stationary base assembly. The actuation mechanism is typically a combination of various mechanical linkages operable for providing various comfort features such as independent reclining movement of a seat assembly as well as actuation of an extensible leg rest assembly and associated tilting of the chair frame. In "wall proximity" reclining chairs, the actuation mechanism must also be operable to maintain a generally constant clearance between the reclinable seat assembly and an adjacent stationary structure (i.e., wall surface, table, etc.) during the entire range of reclining movement. Generally, the actuation mechanism includes a track arrangement for causing longitudinal movement of the entire chair frame relative to the stationary base assembly during "wall proximity" reclining movement to accommodate for rearward angular movement of the seat back relative to the chair frame. Due to the relative complexity of conventional actuation mechanisms, it is common practice in the furniture industry to assemble the various mechanical linkages into a "stand-alone" mechanism frame assembly. A prefabricated U-shaped chair frame is frequently bolted around the mechanism frame with the open portion of the "U" corresponding to the front of the chair. Accordingly, such reclining chairs having a mechanism frame assembly located within a prefabricated chair frame are commonly referred to as having a "frame within a frame" construction. As such, most furniture manufacturers do not upholster the exterior surfaces of the prefabricated chair frame until after the mechanism frame assembly has been installed. Unfortunately, the upholstering operation is very inefficient and expensive in that the frequently heavy and cumbersome prefabricated chair frame must be manually manipulated in an extremely labor-intensive manner. Another disadvantage associated with reclining chairs equipped with conventional actuation mechanisms is that a relatively large amount of frictional drag is typically generated between the upholstered components which must be overcome for smooth movement of the seat assembly between the "upright" and "reclined" positions. As such, lighter weight seat occupants must normally exert a deliberate leveraged thrust or force, in addition to pulling the actuator lever, for completely extending a leg rest assembly and/or moving the seat assembly to its "reclined" position. Moreover, it is often difficult for the seat occupant to return the seat assembly to the "upright" position from the fully "reclined" position due to the relatively large included angle between the seat member and the reclined seat back. Therefore, the seat occupant must exert a relatively large and deliberate leveraged force to return the reclined seat assembly to its full "upright" position. Furthermore, in many conventional recliners, the leg rest assembly cannot be retracted to its "stowed" position from an extended or elevated position until after the seat occupant has completely returned the seat assembly to its fully "upright" position. Likewise, some reclining chairs do not permit independent actuation of the leg rest assembly during the entire range of reclining motion. While many conventional reclining chairs operate satisfactorily, furniture manufacturers are continually striving to develop improved frames and actuation mechanisms for reducing system complexity and increasing structural soundness and smoothness of operation as well as occupant comfort. Such advanced development is particularly important for "wall proximity" reclining chairs since their actuation mechanisms are inherently more complex due to the requirement of accommodating rearward reclining movement of the seat back relative to a stationary structure. Furthermore, there is a continuing desire to develop improved fabrication and assembly techniques which will result in reduced costs while promoting increased efficiency and improved product quality.

The invention is related to an electromagnetically actuatable fuel injection valve of the type used for internal combustion engines. A fuel injection valve, and a method for producing the fuel injection valve, are already known, but this valve is not suitable for use in low-pressure fuel injection systems, because, as a result of heating, when it is used in a motor vehicle there is an undesirable formation of vapor bubbles and insufficient preparation of the fuel to be injected. In this valve, the armature stroke is adjusted by the interposition of spacer discs of various thicknesses. This operating procedure, first, makes it difficult to automate manufacture; also, it is expensive and causes excessively large deviations in the quantities of fuel ejected at the various fuel injection valves.

During the lifetime of a patient, it may be necessary to perform a joint replacement procedure on the patient as a result of, for example, disease or trauma. The joint replacement procedure may involve the use of a prosthesis that is implanted into one or more of the patient's bones. In the case of a knee replacement procedure, a tibial tray is implanted into the patient's tibia. A bearing is then secured to the tibial tray. The condyle surfaces of a replacement femoral component bear against the tibial bearing. One type of knee prosthesis is a fixed-bearing knee prosthesis. As its name suggests, the bearing of a fixed-bearing knee prosthesis does not move relative to the tibial tray. Fixed-bearing designs are commonly used when the condition of the patient's soft tissue (i.e., knee ligaments) does not allow for the use of a knee prosthesis having a mobile bearing. In contrast, in a mobile-bearing type of knee prosthesis, the bearing can move relative to the tibial tray. Mobile-bearing knee prostheses include so-called “rotating platform” knee prostheses, wherein the bearing can rotate about a longitudinal axis on the tibial tray. Tibial trays are commonly made of a biocompatible metal, such as a cobalt chrome alloy or a titanium alloy. For both fixed and mobile-bearing knee prostheses, the tibial trays may be designed to be cemented into place on the patient's tibia or alternatively may be designed for cementless fixation. Cemented fixation relies on mechanical bonds between the tibial tray and the cement as well as between the cement and the bone. Cementless implants generally have surface features that are conducive to bone ingrowth into the implant component and rely to a substantial part on this bony ingrowth for secondary fixation; primary fixation is achieved through the mechanical fit of the implant and the prepared bone. Tibial components of both fixed and mobile-bearing and cemented and cementless knee arthroplasty systems are commonly modular components, comprising a tibial tray and a polymeric bearing carried by the tibial tray. The tibial trays commonly include features extending distally, such as pegs or stems. These extensions penetrate below the surface of the tibial plateau and stabilize the tibial tray component against movement. In cementless tibial implants, the outer surfaces of these extensions are typically porous to allow for bone ingrowth. For example, in the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Monoblock tibial trays, pegs with flat distal surfaces and hexagonal axial surfaces are formed completely of a porous metal. In such trays, bone ingrowth is likely to occur along all surfaces of the pegs, including the distal surfaces. Femoral components of such knee prosthesis systems are also designed for either cemented or cementless fixation. For cemented fixation, the femoral component typically includes recesses or cement pockets. For cementless fixation, the femoral component is designed for primary fixation through a press-fit, and includes porous bone-engaging surfaces suitable for bone ingrowth. Both designs may include pegs designed to extend into prepared holes in the femur for stabilization of the implant. On occasion, the primary knee prosthesis fails. Failure can result from many causes, including wear, aseptic loosening, osteolysis, ligamentous instability, arthrofibrosis and patellofemoral complications. When the failure is debilitating, revision surgery may be necessary. In a revision, the primary knee prosthesis (or parts of it) is removed and replaced with components of a revision prosthetic system. When the tibial or femoral implant includes extensions (such as pegs or stems) that extend into the natural bone, a revision surgery usually requires a large resection of the bone in order to dislodge the extensions from the bone. This large resection not only complicates the surgery, it also requires removal of more of the patient's natural bone than is desirable. This removal of additional bone may further compromise the bone, increase the risk of onset of bone pathologies or abnormalities, or reduce the available healthy bone for fixation of the revision implant. Moreover, the large resection usually means that a larger orthopaedic implant is necessary to fill the space and restore the joint component to its expected geometry. This difficulty in dislodging the primary implant components from the bones is worsened by the fact that bone also grows into the extensions. Severing these connections may be problematic since not all of these areas are easily accessible without resecting large amounts of bone. In implants such as the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Monoblock tibia tray, some surfaces of the porous metal portion of the tibial tray may remain exposed above the tibial plateau after implantation. These exposed porous metal surfaces may be rough and may irritate the patient's soft tissue as the patient engages in normal day-to-day activities. Similar issues may be presented in other types of joint prostheses.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology provides an alternative to bar code reader technology for distinguishing and recording items for purchase. RFID may result in labor savings to retailers, since it may obsolete conventional methods of identifying items. One proposed method of processing items with RFID labels is to read the RFID labels in batch. For example, the processing method would include reading RFID labels on items while the items remain in a shopping cart, palette, or packaging. Technical limitations make this method of processing impractical. Numerous materials, including metals and liquids, can shield radio frequency (RF) energy. RFID labels can be damaged. Finally, RFID labels may be defective due to low yield rates. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method of determining unprocessed items.

In 2006, biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and other recombinant proteins, accounted for nearly half of all drugs in the development phase and a quarter of drugs in preclinical and clinical trials (Walsh, 2006, Nat Biotechnol 24:769-776). As the demand for biopharmaceuticals continues to increase, there is a commensurate need for better bioproduction vehicles. Although non-mammalian production systems, such as cultured Escherichia coli, yeast, plant and insect cell lines, often result in high yields, cultured mammalian host cell lines are preferred for production of many humanized proteins that require post-translational modifications to preserve their bioactivity. Culturing cells in vitro, especially in large bioreactors, has been the basis of the production of numerous biotechnology products, and involves the elaboration by these cells of protein products into the support medium, from which these products are isolated and further processed prior to use clinically. The quantity of protein production over time from the cells growing in culture depends on a number of factors, such as, for example, cell density, cell cycle phase, cellular biosynthesis rates of the proteins, condition of the medium used to support cell viability and growth, and the longevity of the cells in culture (i.e., how long before they succumb to programmed cell death, or apoptosis). Various methods of improving the viability and lifespan of the cells in culture have been developed, together with methods of increasing productivity of a desired protein by, for example, controlling nutrients, cell density, oxygen and carbon dioxide content, lactate dehydrogenase, pH, osmolarity, catabolites, etc. For example, increasing cell density can make the process more productive, but can also reduce the lifespan of the cells in culture. Therefore, it may be desirous to reduce the rate of proliferation of such cells in culture when the maximal density is achieved, so as to maintain the cell population in its most productive state as long as possible. This results in increasing or extending the bioreactor cycle at its production peak, elaborating the desired protein products for a longer period, and this results in a higher yield from the bioreactor cycle. Many different approaches have been pursued to increase the bioreactor cycle time, such as adjusting the medium supporting cell proliferation, addition of certain growth-promoting factors, as well as inhibiting cell proliferation without affecting protein synthesis. One particular approach aims to increase the lifespan of cultured cells via controlling the cell cycle by use of genes or antisense oligonucleotides to affect cell cycle targets, whereby a cell is induced into a pseudo-senescence stage by transfecting, transforming, or infecting with a vector that prevents cell cycle progression and induces a so-called pseudo-senescent state that blocks further cell division and expands the protein synthesis capacity of the cells in culture; in other words, the pseudo-senescent state can be induced by transfecting the cells with a vector expressing a cell cycle inhibitor (Bucciarelli et al., U.S. Patent Appl. 2002/0160450 A1; WO 02/16590 A2). The latter method, by inhibiting cell duplication, seeks to force cells into a state that may have prolonged cell culture lifetimes, as described by Goldstein and Singal (Exp Cell Res 88, 359-64, 1974; Brenner et al., Oncogene 17:199-205, 1998), and may be resistant to apoptosis (Chang et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97, 4291-6, 2000; Javeland et al., Oncogene 19, 61-8, 2000). Still another approach involves establishing primary, diploid human cells or their derivatives with unlimited proliferation following transfection with the adenovirus E1 genes. The new cell lines, one of which is PER.C6 (ECACC deposit number 96022940), which expresses functional Ad5 E1A and E1B gene products, can produce recombinant adenoviruses, as well as other viruses (e.g., influenza, herpes simplex, rotavirus, measles) designed for gene therapy and vaccines, as well as for the production of recombinant therapeutic proteins, such as human growth factors and human antibodies (Vogels et al., WO 02/40665 A2). Other approaches have focused on the use of caspase inhibitors for preventing or delaying apoptosis in cells. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,206. Still other approaches have tried to use apoptosis inhibitors such as members of the Bcl-2 family for preventing or delaying apoptosis in cells. See Arden et al., Bioprocessing Journal, 3:23-28 (2004). These approaches have yielded unpredictable results. For example, in one study, expression of Bcl-2 increased cell viability but did not increase protein production. (See Tey et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 68:31-43, 2000.) Another example disclosed overexpression of Bcl-2 proteins to delay apoptosis in CHO cells, but Bcl-xL increased protein production whereas Bcl-2 decreased protein production (see WO03/083093). A further example disclosed experiments using expression of Bcl-2 proteins to prolong the survival of Sp2/0-Ag14 (ATCC # CRL-1581, hereafter referred to as Sp2/0) cells in cultures. However, the cell density of the Bcl-2 expressing clones were 20 to 50% lower than that of their parental cultures, raising concerns for their practical application in biopharmaceutical industry (see WO03/040374; U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,199). It is apparent, therefore, that improved host cells for high level expression of recombinant proteins and methods for reliably increasing recombinant protein production, in particular the production of antibodies and antibody fragments, multispecific antibodies, fragments and single-chain constructs, peptides, enzymes, growth factors, hormones, interleukins, interferons, and vaccines, in host cells are needed in the art. A need also exists for cell lines that are pre-adapted to grow in serum-free or serum-depleted medium, that can be transfected with expression vectors under serum free conditions and used for protein production without going through a lengthy adaptation period before serum-free growth and protein production.

Modern electronic devices typically have user interfaces that include high-quality displays (e.g., color, greater than 300 ppi, and 800:1 contrast ratio). These electronic displays are found in numerous types of electronic devices such as include electronic book (“eBook”) readers, cellular telephones, smart phones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable computers, laptop computers, netbooks, desktop computers, televisions, appliances, home electronics, automotive electronics, augmented reality devices, and so forth. Electronic displays may present various types of information, such as user interfaces, device operational status, digital content items, and the like, depending on the kind and purpose of the associated device. The appearance and quality of a display can affect the user's experience with the electronic device and the content presented thereon. Accordingly, finding ways to enhance user experience and satisfaction continues to be a priority. Increased multimedia use imposes high demands on designs of display modules, as content available for mobile use becomes visually richer. In a liquid-crystal display (LCD), energy efficiency, among other things, can be determined by a backlight or frontlight design. Many conventional transmissive electronic displays use backlights that light up a display to enable a viewer to see content on the display that can otherwise be difficult to see without the backlights. In another example, conventional reflective displays use frontlights to improve visibility of content on displays, particularly in low light situations. Electronic devices configured with backlights and/or frontlights can incorporate one or more light guides to direct light from a light source onto or through a display. In some applications, a light source can have a relatively small area, such as in the case of a light emitting diode (LED).

1. Field of the Invention. The present invention relates to a device for securing a game call securely in close proximity to the user's mouth both for convenience and safety. The game call holder is a band of resilient material, such as elastic, which is provided with at least two securing loops. The band is slid onto the upper arm of the user and a tubular game call is secured in the securing loops in a manner which places the mouthpiece of the call directly in front of the user's mouth when the user raises the arm, such as when sighting a gun or pulling back the string on a hunting bow. 2. Prior Art The invention relates to the art of securing an air-operated game call in a safe and convenient position on a hunter's body. Game calls have long been used by hunters to attract particular animals into shooting range. Calls are also used by photographers, bird watchers and other sporting enthusiast. Of the several available game calls, air-powered calls of tube-like configuration are probably the easiest to use but do require the use of at least one hand to operate. This generally means that a hunter using a tube-like call will have not have both hands available to aim a gun or pull back a bow. Safety is always a primary consideration when hunting. Generally, game calls are suspended by a lanyard about the hunter's neck. When the hunter desires to activate the call, the call is picked up and placed in the mouth. A safety problem occurs in this situation as the lanyard suspending the call is prone to snagging the hunter's gun or bow. Of particular concern is the entanglement of the lanyard with the string of a hunting bow immediately prior to release. Several documented hunting injuries have occurred when a game call lanyard has tangled with a hunter's rifle or bow. A game call holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,981 which apparently allows a game call to be positioned on the user's shoulder thereby freeing up his or her hands. However, the referenced patent requires the user to turn his head to use the call. It is desirable to have a game call positioned so that the hunter can simultaneously sight her weapon and activate the game call. Further, the referenced patent has multiple components and will require the user to manipulate the holder into a comfortable and usable position. It is desirable to have a game call holder of simple design which is easy to use and which is durable and inexpensive. Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide a game call holder which allows the game call to be positioned in close proximity to the user's mouth for simultaneous activation of the call and sighting of a weapon. The invention will allow hands-free operation of the call and will allow the user to focus on the animal and on aiming the weapon. Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved game call holder which allows safe and easy access to the game call while hunting by eliminating a lanyard, or other attachment means, and by positioning the call away from the weapon. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a game call which is easy to use as it requires the user to place a resilient band over his or her upper arm and then fasten the game call in the securing loops provided. The invention eliminates any buckles, hook and loop fasteners, clips, snaps or buttons found in the prior art. Further, the invention will be durable and relatively inexpensive.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microprocessor with a cache memory in which debugging operations are supported, and, in particular, to a microprocessor with a cache memory in which functions for implementing debugging operations are improved. 2. Description of the Background Art Debugging operations are generally executed to debug in programming in a microprocessor applied system to develop the system. In detail, a program stored in the system is actually executed before the debugging operations are executed. Thereafter, for example, pieces of data transmitted on an external bus connected to an external memory are monitored. The execution of the program is braked when arithmetic processing is advanced to a designated address or when designated conditions such as access to a piece of designated data are accomplished. After braking the execution of the program, contents of registers and memories are displayed. Also, instructions executed during the arithmetic processing are listed up. Therefore, an operator can debug the program stored in the program. In this case, the system is generally provided with a plurality of microprocessors which are connected with a cache memory, an arithmetic unit and a control unit. In addition, the system is provided with an external memory connected with the microprocessors to store a large pieces of data, and external buses through which pieces of data, instructions or addresses are transmitted between the microprocessors and/or between the microprocessor and the external memory. However, there are drawbacks to execute the debugging operations in cases where a program executed in a microprocessor with a cache memory is debugged. That is, the debugging operations are initially executed according to normal operations. In detail, in cases where a piece of data is stored at an address of the cache memory, an address hit occurs in the microprocessor when the address is accessed by the arithmetic unit during the execution of the program. Thereafter, under control of the control section, the data stored at the address is read out from the cache memory to utilize in the arithmetic unit or is rewritten to another piece of data which is made in the arithmetic unit. Therefore, an operation accessing to the external memory is not executed in the microprocessor. In other words, instructions or pieces of data transmitted between the cache memory and the arithmetic unit cannot be detected even though the operation accessed from the microprocessor to the external bus is monitored. On the other hand, in cases where a piece of data is not stored at an address of the cache memory, a cache miss occurs in the microprocessor when the data is accessed by the arithmetic unit during the execution of the program. Thereafter, the data is fetched from the external memory through the external bus to store at the address of the cache memory. The above debugging operations are executed in the same manner as the normal operations. In this case, the data transmitted on the external bus is monitored by a data detector. Therefore, in cases where the arithmetic processing executed in the arithmetic unit is scheduled to be braked according to the debugging operations when a piece of data DA0 relating to the cache miss is fetched from the external memory, the data DA0 is detected when the data DA0 is transmitted on the external bus. This operation is one of the debugging operations and is not executed in the normal operation. Accordingly, the arithmetic processing executed in the arithmetic unit can be braked to debug the program executed in the arithmetic unit. However, it has been recently required to improve the speed of the arithmetic processing during the normal operation. Therefore, in cases where the cache miss occurs, a group of pieces of data is fetched in a block unit from the external memory to improve the speed of the arithmetic processing. The pieces of data fetched in a block unit are likely to be utilized in the arithmetic unit in serial order. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, in cases where the arithmetic processing executed in the arithmetic unit is scheduled to be braked according to the debugging operations when a piece of data DA2 relating to the cache miss is fetched from the external memory, a data signal requiring a piece of data DA1 is, for example, transmitted to the external memory through an external bus when the data DA1 is accessed by the arithmetic unit in the microprocessor and a cache miss occurs. Thereafter, a group of sequential pieces of data DA1 to DA4 is fetched from the external memory into the cache memory in serial order. That is, the sequential pieces of data DA1 to DA4 are stored at addresses AD1 to AD4 of the cache memory. In this case, the data DA2 is not detected by a data detector because the data DA2 is not required by the data signal even though the data DA2 is fetched into the cache memory from the external memory. Thereafter, the data DA1 stored at the address AD1 of the cache memory is read out from the cache memory to utilize for the arithmetic processing in the arithmetic unit. Thereafter, the data DA2 stored at the address AD2 of the cache memory is read out from the cache memory without the occurance of the cache miss. Therefore, it is impossible to specify the data DA2 accessed by the arithmetic unit in the microprocessor even though data signals transmitted through the external bus are monitorred without monitorring a piece of data processed in the arithmetic unit. Also, even though the data DA2 is detected by the data detector when the sequential pieces of data DA1 to DA4 are stored at addresses AD1 to AD4 of the cache memory, the data DA2 is not necessarily read out by the arithmetic unit after the data DA1 is read out by the arithmetic unit. Therefore, when the arithmetic processing is braked for the debugging operations, the program executed in the arithmetic unit is stopped at a step not relating to the data DA2. As mentioned above, even though the arithmetic processing executed in the arithmetic unit is scheduled to be braked for the debugging operations when the data DA2 relating to the cache miss is read out from the cache memory to the arithmetic unit, it is impossible to specify the data DA2 because the sequential pieces of data including the data DA2 are fetched in a block unit. Accordingly, the efficiency for specifying the data for the debugging operations deteriorates, and it is impossible to reliably specify which step is executed in the program. Therefore, it is impossible to immediately brake the arithmetic processing according to an interruption operation of the debugging operations when the data DA2 relating to the cache miss is read out from the cache memory after the data DA2 is fetched from the external memory. That is, it is difficult to sufficiently execute the debugging operations. On the other hand, there is another method that the microprocessor is operated according to simplified operations in which the cache memory is not used when the debugging operations are executed to prevent the efficiency for specifying the data DA2 from deteriorating. However, the frequency that pieces of data are transmitted to the external bus according to the simplified operations is different from that in the normal operations in which the cache memory is used. In addition, the execution time of the program in the simplified operations is also different from that in the normal operations. Therefore, there is a drawback that the debug operations cannot be efficiently executed while executing the normal operations.

The present invention generally relates to an interface for direct data transfers and, in particular, relates to such an interface for effecting direct data transfers between an intelligent switch and a microcomputer. The direct data transfer from the random-access-memory (RAM) of one microcomputer to the RAM of another microcomputer is known. Characteristically, such transfers are effected by means of known handshake signal techniques. Basically, the initiating microcomputer accesses the other to request control of the other microcomputers local bus. When the accessed microcomputer yields control of its local bus, the initiating microcomputer, now controlling the local buses of both devices proceeds to read or write to the accessed RAM and, when the data transfer is complete, signals the completion of the transfer. The accessed device then regains control of its local bus. Usually, such data transfers are executed to effect the transfer of large amounts of data. The direct data transfer, also referred to as "direct memory access" (DMA) results in a substantial savings of computing time compared to, for example, a first-in-first-out data transfer. However, also characteristically, the accessed microcomputer, after religuishing its local bus, can only service the accessing microcomputer. For example, if a read is being performed on the accessed device, the accessed device must wait until the completion of that process before executing a read or write itself or participating in a data transfer with another device. It is for this reason that DMA transfers are conventionally restricted to large data transfers. Further, when accessed, a device provides one address to the accessing device. This address represents a single starting address which the accessing device uses as a starting address from which it will read or to which it will write. That is, only a single starting address is generated by an accessed device for the transfer of substantial blocks of data. Hence, the transfer of a complete block of data must be completed before another starting address is supplied, i.e., before the device can be accessed again. Still another characteristic of conventional DMA transfers is the requirement that the RAM of the accessing microcomputer must be linked, literally, directly, i.e., without intermediate storage devices, to the RAM of the accessed device. But for this characteristic, the use of DMA transfers would become disadvantageous due to the added read/write steps necessary to carry data through any storage medium. These characteristics, however, place severe constraints on many potential implementations of such a technique. Hence, the direct transfer of data between a microcomputer and devices such as, for example, an intelligent switch, has, heretofore, been impractical.

1. Technical Field The present invention relates to a super-wide-angle lens and an imaging apparatus, and more particularly to a super-wide-angle lens which can be used for a digital camera, a broadcasting camera, a movie camera, and the like; and an imaging apparatus including the super-wide-angle lens. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there is great demand for cameras in the above fields to have a small F-number which enables photography in dark places and to have high performance which can be compatible with recent high-definition imaging elements. Moreover, for example, some movie cameras and the like are provided with a mechanism for driving power focus of a focusing group (a lens group which moves while focusing) such as an autofocus mechanism and the like. As there are many opportunities to photograph subjects which are moving, there is demand for a lightweight focusing group and suppression of fluctuations in aberrations and fluctuations in the angle of view in order to have superior responsiveness to focusing when the distance to a subject is changed. Taking these circumstances into consideration, the inner focus lens system is often adopted. Examples of the inner focus lens system include the lens systems disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-186269 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-028009. In contrast, many wide angle type lenses for movie cameras are conventionally of the fixed focus type from the viewpoint of optical performance, and are often used by changing a plurality of lenses according to the intended application. For example, the lens disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-056217 of a retrofocus type in which a negative first lens group, a positive second lens group, and a positive third lens group are arranged in this order from the object side is known as a wide angle lens.

This invention relates to a header processing engine for processing packet headers. Computer systems on modern data packet networks typically exchange data in accordance with several different protocols operating at all layers of the network—from protocols governing the quality of service of data streams, to protocols determining the logical construction of data packets, to protocols determining the physical signaling of fully-formed data packets onto the fabric of the network. A typical network data packet will therefore have multiple headers formed in a nested arrangement as the data packet is built up at a computer system. Often data packets will include one or more headers at each of layers 2 to 5 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. For example, a TCP/IP data packet transmitted over an Ethernet network over which a logical VLAN has been established might have a nested header structure similar to the following: Ethernet/VLAN/IP/TCPAdditionally the packet could have layer 5 headers within the above structure, such as a NetBIOS header. The headers of a data packet tell a computer system handling the data packet all of the information it needs to know in order to correctly route the payload data of the data packet to its destination and to respond appropriately to the originator of the data packet. Without the packet headers the payload data is simply a series of bits without any context and a computer system would not know how to handle the data. On receiving a data packet a computer system must therefore process the headers of the data packet in order to determine what it is going to do with the data packet. Generally, some of the header processing is done in software in the end system and some of the header processing is done in hardware. Software processing usually follows the model of a layered protocol stack, with successive headers being stripped and processed in turn. In contrast, hardware processing may process only some headers, or handle combinations of headers as a single entity, in order perform the required operations. Header processing at hardware can be particularly useful for routing packet data, accelerating packet delivery, or for manipulating the header of a packet. Header processing in hardware is generally performed at a network interface device. As each data packet is received, the network interface device parses the headers of the data packet and performs such operations as: performing checksums, extracting data and looking up the intended destination of the data packet using the address data in the headers. The operations performed generally depend on the type of headers present in the data packet. Since multiple operations are typically required for each data packet and there can be millions of data packets arriving over a network at a computer system every second it is important to ensure that the headers are processed as efficiently and with as little latency as possible. Conventional header processing hardware uses a dedicated processor to parse the headers in a data packet and perform the processing required for each header as the headers are identified. Such a processor can be efficient in terms of the number of operations the hardware is required to perform, but often waste processor cycles as the same processor executes each operation in the necessary order. For example, the processor must read header data from the packet buffer, identify the headers in each data packet, request look-up operations in forwarding tables at the network interface device, and make calls to hash calculation units at the network interface device. Furthermore, the instruction set of the processor must be large enough to support the range of operations the processor is expected to perform. This can lead to complex processors being used to perform what are in essence a series of repetitive simple operations. Such processors are power inefficient, which is a particular concern in network interface devices for use in blade servers and data farms. Furthermore, implementing header processing in hardware or firmware using the classic layered protocol stack model is very inefficient, requiring hardware configured to constantly process chains of if-then-else logic over sequences of headers. There is therefore a need for an improved header processing engine for a network interface device which addresses the above problems.

Optical fibers and electrical wires are optically or electrically connected to respective opposing optical fibers and electrical wires to transmit signals between the respective connected fibers and wires, which may occur in the operation of data storage and transmission devices. Respective opposing optical fibers and electrical wires are held at their ends by connectors. To establish connections between respective opposing optical fibers and electrical wires, the respective opposing optical fibers and electrical wires are attached to each other or are both attached to adapters. Connections between respective optical fiber connectors and electrical wire connectors, the electrical wire connectors and wires held thereby often being termed wiring harnesses, are often made using a click-to-lock configuration, as in the case of optical fiber “LC connectors.” This configuration prevents pullout of connectors when they are connected to each other or to a corresponding adapter and also provides a tactile feedback to alert a user attaching connectors to each other or to a corresponding adapter that a full connection in which pullout has been prevented has been made. Sometimes, incomplete connections between connectors or between a connector and an adapter, which may be undetected by users, are made. Additionally, fatigue or other stresses induced through use of the connectors may weaken mechanical connections between connectors or between a connector and an adapter causing connections to be broken or inadequate. Such incomplete or broken connections have caused reduced system performance or even complete system failure. Therefore, there exists a need for detecting that proper respective optical fiber and electrical wiring connections are made and maintained.

This invention relates to four quadrant-loading article handlers and more particularly to a straddle-type loader wherein the operator station moves with the load. As is known, industries are constantly faced with the problems of the lack of space for storage of industrial goods, parts, rolls, cases and the like. Since enclosing space for storage purposes has increasingly become more and more expensive, the trend has been to construct relatively high storage facilities to avoid lateral expansion which requires greater land use. Thus, the density of storage facilities has increased with minimum aisle space being provided. Thus, order-picker trucks are commonly used wherein the operator stands on the platform on the fork of the truck and the platform elevates to the desired height in the storage area. The articles are then manually moved either from the shelves or bins to the truck platform or from the truck platform to the storage shelves. This, of course, is a hazardous, time consuming and arduous process. Prior art shows various approaches to the problem. U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,825 discloses a side-loading handling device which incorporates a carriage adapted to be moved at right angles to the prongs of the fork. A turntable is rotatably mounted on the carriage and includes a mast structure which, in turn, is provided with a carriage adapted to be moved vertically. The arrangement disclosed is, in effect, a double order-picker arrangement, each acting independently of the other to perform its function. U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,664 discloses a side-loading fork truck which includes an upright post or mast that is fixedly mounted on the truck body and supports a vertically movable carriage. A guide arrangement is mounted on the carriage for angular movement about a vertical axis. A load-handling fork is arranged on the frame for guided movement in a horizontal plane. U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,242 discloses a truck having a mast and a lifting carriage supported thereon. On the carriage, there is a turntable which is supported by the mast. On the turntable is a guide means for a horizontally movable carriage which supports a fork arrangement for reaching purposes. German Pat. No. 1,026,668 discloses a truck having a vertically movable mast adapted to carry a frame, the frame being mounted on the mast for transverse movement relative to the mast. A fork mechanism is carried by the frame for movement with it and for rotation and lateral movement.

Gallium arsenates have been widely used in the manufacturing of communication and LED optical electronics products. Hydrogen arsenate gas is one of the compounds that chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process used. Wastewater containing soluble arsenic is generated due to waste gas wash by scrubbers. Currently, the conventional precipitation method is able to treat wastewater containing arsenic. However, it generates a large amount of hazardous sludge, which cannot be disposed of easily and economically; and a wastewater containing arsenic in excess of 10 mg/L, which is much higher than the regulated effluent concentration of 0.5 mg/L. It is, therefore, readily apparent that the development of an environmentally friendly method of treating the arsenic-containing wastewater is urgently called for. U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,493 discloses a process for the removal of metals, in particular heavy metals, from the wastewater in the form of their sulfides by mixing the wastewater with a water-soluble sulfide. According to the invention the metal-containing wastewater is thoroughly mixed with the water-soluble sulfide at a suitable pH in a reactor of the fluidized bed type provided with an appropriate bed material, on which the metal sulfide crystallizes out, whereby the thus obtained bed material covered with crystalline metal sulfide is removed from the reactor and new bed material is added to the reactor from time to time. Usually as water-soluble sulfide, an alkali metal sulfide, alkali metal hydrogen sulfide, ammonium sulfide or ferrous sulfide is used, whereas the use of sodium sulfide, sodium hydrogen sulfide, potassium sulfide or potassium hydrogen sulfide is preferred. According to this prior art process, the following metals: Ni, Sr, Zn, Cu, Fe, Ag, Pb, Cd, Hg, Co, Mn, Te, Sn, In, Bi or Sb may be removed. However, only Hg was removed from water at a pH value of 4–10 as shown in the examples disclosed in this prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,662 discloses a process of removing heavy metals (arsenic, tin and lead) from aqueous solutions (groundwater) by precipitation of a salt thereof, wherein an oxidizing agent (ozone, hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric acid, nitric acid or hydrochloric acid) is optionally used to increase the valence of said metal, and a precipitation-enhancing agent (calcium sulfate, arsenic trioxide, calcium arsenate or cupric oxide) is added to maximize particle size of the precipitate and to facilitate its separation from said solution. This prior art process will generate sludge with water content of 60–80%, which is not only bulky but also difficult to be resourced due to various contaminations contained therein.

This invention relates generally to gas generant materials. More particularly, this invention relates to the manufacture of gas generant formulations such as may be suited for use in the inflation of automotive inflatable restraint airbag to cushions. It is well known to protect a vehicle occupant using a cushion or bag, e.g., an xe2x80x9cairbag cushion,xe2x80x9d that is inflated or expanded with gas when the vehicle encounters sudden deceleration, such as in the event of a collision. In such systems, the airbag cushion is normally housed in an uninflated and folded condition to minimize space requirements. Upon actuation of the system, the cushion begins to be inflated, in a matter of no more than a few milliseconds, with gas produced or supplied by a device commonly referred to as an xe2x80x9cinflator.xe2x80x9d While many types of inflator devices have been disclosed in the art for use in the inflating of one or more inflatable restraint system airbag cushions, inflator devices which rely on the combustion of a pyrotechnic, fuel and oxidizer combination or other form of gas generant to produce or at least in part form the inflation gas issuing forth therefrom have been commonly employed in conjunction with vehicular inflatable restraint airbag cushions. Sodium azide has been a commonly accepted and used gas generating material. While the use of sodium azide and certain other azide-based gas generant materials meets current industry specifications, guidelines and standards, such use may involve or raise potential concerns such as involving one or more of the handling, supply and disposal of such materials. The development of safe gas generant material alternatives to sodium azide for commercial application in inflatable restraint systems commonly involves the oftentimes conflicting goals or objectives of increasing the gas output of the gas generant material while reducing or minimizing the costs associated with the gas generant material, including the costs associated with ingredients and the processing thereof. The incorporation and use of ammonium nitrate as an oxidizer in such gas generant formulations has been found to be one generally cost-effective approach for exceeding the current state of the art gas generant formulation gas yield of about three moles of gas per 100 grams of gas generant formulation. In particular, ammonium nitrate is relatively inexpensive and, when burned with guanidine nitrate fuel, generally combusts to all gaseous species resulting in gas yields approaching 4 moles of gas per 100 grams of material. Unfortunately, the general incorporation and use of ammonium nitrate in pyrotechnic gas generant formulations has generally been subject to certain difficulties. For example, ammonium nitrate-containing pyrotechnic gas generant formulations have commonly been subject to one or more of the following shortcomings: low burn rates, burn rates exhibiting a high sensitivity to pressure, as well as to phase or other changes in crystalline structure such as may be associated with volumetric expansion of various forms of such formulations, such as may occur during temperature cycling over the normally expected or anticipated range of storage conditions, e.g., temperatures of about xe2x88x9240xc2x0 C. to about 110xc2x0 C. Such phase or structural changes may result in physical degradation of the form of the gas generant formulation such as when such gas generant formulation has been shaped or formed into tablets, wafers or other selected shape or form. Further, such changes, even when relatively minute, can strongly influence the physical properties of a corresponding gas generant material and, in turn, strongly affect the burn rate of the generant material. Unless checked, such changes in structure may result in such performance variations in the gas generant materials incorporating such ammonium nitrate as to render the gas generant material unacceptable for typical inflatable restraint system applications. In view thereof, efforts have been directed to minimizing or eliminating such volume expansion during normal temperature cycling and the effects thereof. In particular, it has been found that the incorporation of a minimum of about 15 wt. % (based on total oxidizer content) of a transition metal diammine dinitrate such as copper diammine dinitrate, nickel diammine dinitrate or zinc diammine dinitrate, for example, in ammonium nitrate, may serve to phase stabilize the mixture and minimize or eliminate volumetric expansion during normal temperature cycling associated with such inflatable restraint applications. Further, ammonium nitrate stabilized with such transition metal diammine dinitrates are typically advantageously less hygroscopic than ammonium nitrate phase stabilized by other methods and the use of such transition metal diammine dinitrates has also been found to result in combustion products which form a more easily filterable clinker. Ammonium nitrate phase stabilization via the incorporation of such transition metal diammine dinitrates, however, is typically at the cost of an associated reduction in gas yield. For example, the gas yield of a typical formulation containing guanidine nitrate, silicon dioxide (5 wt. %) and ammonium nitrate stabilized with 15 wt. % (based on total oxidizer) of such transition metal diammine dinitrate is about 3.8 moles of gas per 100 grams of gas generant material. The gas generant formulation incorporation of such transition metal diammine dinitrates at levels greater than 15 wt. % (of the total oxidizer) has been found to increase burn rate and reduce pressure sensitivity of a corresponding gas generant formulation to levels realistic for typical inflatable restraint system applications. The maximum effect on burn rate has been found to generally occur when 100% of the oxidizer is composed of the transition metal diammine dinitrate. The gas yield of a typical formulation containing guanidine nitrate, silicon dioxide (5 wt. %) and such transition metal diammine dinitrate as 100% of the oxidizer is about 3.3 moles of gas per 100 grams of gas generant material, well above the current state of the art gas generant formulation gas yield of about 3 moles of gas per 100 grams of gas generant formulation. A traditional method of incorporating such a transition metal diammine dinitrate into ammonium nitrate is to react the corresponding metal oxide with ammonium nitrate. For example, for the incorporation of copper diammine dinitrate, cupric oxide and ammonium nitrate can be reacted according to the following reaction: CuO+2NH4NO3xe2x86x92Cu(NH3)2(NO3)2+H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1) This reaction occurs at elevated temperatures (e.g., in excess of 140xc2x0 C.) in either a solid state reaction or in an ammonium nitrate melt. The rate of such a solid state reaction is temperature dependent and under normal processing conditions (a processing temperature of about 170xc2x0 C.), such reaction typically requires, dependent on the rate of heat transfer achieved, about 30 minutes to 2 hours to complete. As will be appreciated, such extended processing times typically can render such processing regimes commercially unattractive or not feasible. Further, the conducting of such reaction in an ammonium nitrate melt generally requires specialized equipment since the material would normally have to be melted, reacted, and cooled, returning to a solid form, while simultaneously being granulated. In the case of either such solid state or melt processing regimes, the temperature required to perform such reactions is only about 20xc2x0 C. to about 30xc2x0 C. below the temperature at which such corresponding pyrotechnic formulations may begin to decompose. Thus, such processing may not afford a thermal safety margin as sufficiently large as may be desired, particularly for large scale applications. Further, such high temperature heat treatments can constitute an added processing step that may detrimentally affect process economics. Thus, there has been a need and a demand for a method of making a gas generant formulation which contains a transition metal diammine dinitrate which desirably avoids such high temperature processing. In particular, there has been a need and a demand for a method of making such a gas generant formulation and which can desirably be implemented within typical or existing processing equipment and such as may be accomplished over a relatively short time period, such as may be desired in a typical commercial application. To that end, the above-identified prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/454,041 discloses an improved method of making a gas generant formulation which contains a transition metal diammine dinitrate. In accordance with one preferred embodiment disclosed therein, such a method includes the steps of: combining at least a nitrate of at least one transition metal with an ammonia source in an aqueous slurry to form a corresponding reaction mixture; forming a spray dryable precursor to the gas generant formulation, the precursor comprising the aqueous slurry reaction mixture, a gas generant formulation fuel component and a sufficient quantity of water to render the precursor spray dryable; and spray drying the precursor to form a gas generant powder containing a diammine dinitrate of the at least one transition metal. In particular, an appropriate metal nitrate (such as cupric nitrate) can be reacted with an appropriate ammonia source (such as ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate or ammonium carbamate) in a concentrated water solution to form a desired metal diammine dinitrate. In addition, there is a need and a demand for a method of making ammonium nitrate phase stabilized via the presence of a selected metal diammine dinitrate and which method avoids undesirably high processing temperatures, i.e., processing temperatures which are undesirably near the decomposition temperature of ammonium nitrate, and which avoids isolation of metal tetrammine nitrate complexes such as may raise shipping and handling concerns. To that end, the above-identified prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/454,958 discloses a method of making phase stabilized ammonium nitrate which includes drying and heat treating an aqueous slurry containing ammonium nitrate and a combination of at least one transition metal nitrate and an ammonia source to form a phase stabilized ammonium nitrate. In the slurry, the ammonia source is present in at least a stoichiometric amount relative to the at least one transition metal nitrate for formation of a corresponding transition metal diammine dinitrate. While such methods of making a gas generant formulation which contains a transition metal diammine dinitrate and such methods of making phase stabilized ammonium nitrate may desirably reduce the equipment and processing costs associated with the production and supply of the respective gas generant formulations and phase stabilized ammonium nitrate, there is a continuing need and demand for alternative processing schemes for the production and supply of gas generant formulations which contain such transition metal diammine dinitrate and for ammonium nitrate phase stabilized via the inclusion of a suitable phase stabilizing amount or proportion of a desired metal diammine dinitrate. In particular, there is a need and a demand for alternative such processing schemes such as may permit the use of alternative, potentially lower cost, raw materials, preferably without significantly detrimentally impacting the processing costs associated therewith. A general object of one aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method of making a gas generant formulation which contains a transition metal diammine dinitrate. A general object of another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method of making phase stabilized ammonium nitrate as well as an improved resulting phase stabilized ammonium nitrate. A more specific objective of the invention is to overcome one or more of the problems described above. The general object of at least one aspect of the invention can be attained, at least in part, through a method which includes the steps of: combining at least an ammine carbonate of at least one transition metal with nitric acid in the presence of water to form a corresponding reaction mixture; forming a spray dryable precursor to the gas generant formulation, the precursor comprising the reaction mixture, a gas generant formulation fuel component and a sufficient quantity of water to render the precursor spray dryable; and spray drying the precursor to form a gas generant powder containing a diammine dinitrate of the at least one transition metal. As detailed below, certain preferred embodiments of the invention may also include a relatively mild heat treatment of the processed material, either as a part of the spray drying or subsequent to such spray drying. The prior art generally fails to provide a method of making a gas generant formulation which contains a transition metal diammine dinitrate which method while desirably avoiding high temperature processing such as processing at temperatures undesirably near the decomposition temperature of corresponding pyrotechnic formulations and which method can desirably be implemented within typical or existing processing equipment and/or within relatively short processing time periods further utilizes or permits the use of alternative raw materials such as may reduce either or both material or processing costs. The invention further comprehends a method of making a gas generant formulation which contains a gas generant fuel component and an oxidizer component comprising at least one transition metal diammine dinitrate selected from the group consisting of copper diammine dinitrate, zinc diammine dinitrate and combinations thereof. In accordance with one preferred embodiment, such method includes the steps of: combining an ammine carbonate of at least one transition metal elected from the group consisting of copper, zinc and mixtures thereof with nitric acid in the presence of water and in relative amounts to form a corresponding reaction mixture containing nitric acid in no more than a stoichiometric amount for reaction of the ammine carbonate and the nitric acid to form a corresponding diammine dinitrate; forming a precursor to a spray dryable gas generant formulation, the precursor comprising the aqueous reaction mixture, additional gas generant formulation components including at least one gas generating fuel material and at least one performance additive selected from the group of aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and combinations thereof, and a sufficient quantity of water to form a spray dryable gas generant formulation precursor slurry; and spray drying the gas generant formulation precursor slurry to form a gas generant powder; and heating the gas generant powder to a temperature in the range of about 125xc2x0 C. to about 135xc2x0 C. to form a gas generant formulation which contains a gas generant fuel component and an oxidizer component comprising a diammine dinitrate of the at least one transition metal. In accordance with still another embodiment of the invention, a method of making a gas generant formulation which contains a gas generant fuel component and an oxidizer component including at least one transition metal diammine dinitrate selected from the group of copper diammine dinitrate, zinc diammine dinitrate and combinations thereof is provided. Such method includes the step of combining a quantity of at least one ammine carbonate of a transition metal elected from the group consisting of copper, zinc and mixtures thereof with a quantity of nitric acid in the presence of water to form a corresponding reaction mixture. In such reaction mixture, the quantity of the transition metal ammine carbonate and the quantity of nitric acid are in relative amounts sufficient such that the reaction mixture contains no free nitric acid after reaction of the at least one ammine carbonate with the nitric acid. A precursor to a spray dryable gas generant formulation is formed. The precursor includes the reaction mixture, additional gas generant formulation components including at least one gas generating fuel material and at least one performance additive, and a sufficient quantity of water to form a spray dryable gas generant formulation precursor slurry. In particular, the at least one gas generating fuel material can desirably be selected from the group consisting of oxygenated nitrogen-containing organic compounds, organic compounds with a high nitrogen content, complexes of at least one transition metal and combinations thereof. The at least one gas generating fuel is included in the precursor in an amount sufficient that about 20 wt. % to about 70 wt. % of the gas generant formulation constitutes such fuel material. The at least one performance additive is preferably selected from the group of aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and combinations thereof. More particularly, the precursor contains between about 30 wt. % to about 35 wt. % water. The gas generant formulation precursor slurry is subsequently spray dried to form a gas generant powder. The gas generant powder in turn is heated to a temperature in the range of about 125xc2x0 C. to about 135xc2x0 C. to form a heat treated gas generant powder which contains about 30 wt. % to about 60 wt. % of an oxidizer component, wherein the transition metal diammine dinitrate constitutes about 15 wt. % to about 100 wt. % of the oxidizer component. Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of making a phase stabilized ammonium nitrate. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, such method includes drying and heat treating an aqueous slurry containing ammonium nitrate and a combination of at least one transition metal ammine carbonate and nitric acid to form a phase stabilized ammonium nitrate. In the slurry, the nitric acid is present in more than a stoichiometric amount relative to the at least one transition metal ammine carbonate for formation of the a corresponding transition metal diammine dinitrate. The invention, in accordance with another alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, still further comprehends a phase stabilized ammonium nitrate. In particular, such phase stabilized ammonium nitrate is desirably made by drying and heat treating an aqueous slurry containing ammonium nitrate and a combination of at least one transition metal ammine carbonate and nitric acid, present in no more than a stoichiometric amount relative to the at least one transition metal ammine carbonate for formation of a corresponding transition metal diammine dinitrate. Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the appended claims. The present invention provides an improved method of making a gas generant formulation. In particular, the invention provides an improved method of making a gas generant material which contains a transition metal diammine dinitrate and which such gas generant material may desirably be used in the inflation of inflatable devices such as vehicle occupant restraint airbag cushions. Gas generant materials and formulations prepared in accordance with the invention typically include an oxidizer component including, at least in part, a transition metal diammine nitrate oxidizer material, a gas generating fuel component and, if desired, at least one performance additive such as in the form of a metal oxide such as added to improve either or both slag formation or burn rate properties or qualitites. For example, such improved slag formation can be useful in either or both facilitating retention within an inflator device of certain combustion reaction products whose presence in airbag cushion inflation fluids is generally undesired and providing or resulting in a generally more uniform flow of inflation fluid from such an inflator device. Burn rate property or quality improvements realizable through such additive inclusion include such resulting gas generant materials or formulations exhibiting improved or increased burn rates. In accordance with certain preferred embodiments of the invention, between about 30 wt. % and about 60 wt. % of the subject gas generant material constitutes such an oxidizer component. In particular, gas generant materials and formulations in accordance with the invention advantageously contain an oxidizer component of which at least 15 wt. % up to about 100 wt. % is composed of a transition metal diammine nitrate oxidizer material, prepared as described herein. Preferred transition metal diammine nitrate oxidizer materials for use in the practice of the invention include copper diammine dinitrate, zinc diammine dinitrate and combinations thereof. If desired, the balance of the oxidizer component of the subject gas generant materials may constitute a suitable supplemental oxidizer material, such as ammonium nitrate in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention. In accordance with a preferred practice of the invention, such transition metal diammine nitrate oxidizer materials are preferably formed during processing in a manner such as avoids or eliminates the need for subsequent high temperature treatment undesirably near the decomposition temperature associated with the such corresponding pyrotechnic formulations. Further, practice of the invention desirably avoids extended durations of heating, such as may be associated with at least certain prior art techniques. As disclosed in the prior pending patent application Ser. No. 09/454,041 identified above, such transition metal diammine dinitrates, such as where the transition metal is selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, zinc and combinations thereof, have been found to be advantageously formed during a process in which the corresponding transition metal nitrate is combined with an ammonia source in an aqueous slurry such as to form a reaction mixture and which reaction mixture is processed as described herein. In particular, the metal nitrate can desirably be combined with a stoichiometric amount or more of ammonia from one or more of the following sources: ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, ammonium carbamate, ammonium hydroxide, anhydrous ammonia or mixtures thereof, relative to the corresponding metal diammine dinitrate such as in accordance with the following reactions relative to the formation of copper diammine dinitrate: a) via ammonium bicarbonate, Cu(NO3)2xc2x72.5H2O+2NH4HCO3xe2x86x92Cu(NH3)2(NO3)2+2CO2+4.5H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2) b) via ammonium carbonate, Cu(NO3)2xc2x72.5H2O+(NH4)2CO3xe2x86x92Cu(NH3)2(NO3)2+CO2+3.5H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3) c) via ammonium carbamate, Cu(NO3)2xc2x72.5H2O+NH2CO2NH4xe2x86x92Cu(NH3)2(NO3)2+CO2+2.5H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4) d) via ammonium hydroxide, Cu(NO3)2xc2x72.5H2O+2NH4OHxe2x86x92Cu(NH3)2(NO3)2+4.5H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(5) e) via anhydrous ammonia, Cu(NO3)2xc2x72.5H2O+2NH3xe2x86x92Cu(NH3)2(NO3)2+2.5H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(6) In accordance with a particularly preferred practice of such embodiment, such reaction mixtures desirably provide or result in at least two moles of ammonia per mole of metal provided by the metal nitrate. Further, while the reactions (2)-(6) have been shown above employing cupric nitrate in the 2.5-hydrate form, the broader practice of the invention is not necessarily limited by the particular hydrate form of the ingredients. For example, similar reactions can be shown employing cupric nitrate trihydrate. Now, in a new embodiment, such metal diammine dinitrates, such as where the metal is a transition metal selected from the group consisting of copper, zinc and combinations thereof, have been found to be advantageously formed during a process in which the corresponding transition metal ammine carbonate is combined with nitric acid in the presence of water to form a corresponding reaction mixture and which reaction mixture is subsequently processed as described herein. In particular, the metal ammine carbonate can desirably be combined with a stoichiometric amount or more of nitric acid, relative to the corresponding metal diammine dinitrate such as in accordance with the following reactions relative to the formation of copper diammine dinitrate: Cu(NH3)2CO3+2HNO3xe2x86x92Cu(NH3)2(NO3)2+CO2+H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(7) In accordance with a particularly preferred practice of such embodiment, such reaction mixtures desirably provide or result in at least two moles of nitrate per mole of metal provided by the metal ammine carbonate. As will be appreciated, copper diammine carbonate (CDC) can be relatively easily prepared by dissolving copper metal in ammonium hydroxide and bubbling carbon dioxide through the resulting mixture. The CDC precipitates from the mixture and can be isolated and purified. Further, nitric acid is a relatively low cost chemical, readily available on the open market. Thus, at current chemical costs, the raw material costs for copper diammine dinitrate production via such a CDC/nitric acid method is about 20% less than the raw material costs associated with copper diammine dinitrate production via the cupric nitrate/ammonium carbonate method described above, with the labor and equipment costs for both methods being about the same. In accordance with certain preferred embodiments of the invention, between about 20 wt. % and about 70 wt. % of the subject gas generant material constitutes such a gas generating fuel component. Preferred fuel materials for use in the practice of the invention are non-azide in nature. Groups or categories of fuels useful in the practice of the invention include one or more various oxygenated nitrogen-containing organic compounds, one or more organic compounds with a high nitrogen content, and one or more complexes of at least one transition metal. Specific examples of oxygenated nitrogen-containing organic compounds useful in the practice of the invention include guanidine nitrate, aminoguanidine nitrate, triaminoguanidine nitrate, nitroguanidine, nitrotriazalone and mixtures thereof. Specific examples of organic compounds with a high nitrogen content useful in the practice of the invention include dicyandiamide, triazalone, tetrazoles, triazoles and mixtures thereof. Specific examples of transition metal complexes useful in the practice of the invention include transition metal complexes of tetrazoles and triazoles, transition metal nitrate complexes of nitrogen containing organic compounds and mixtures thereof. In particular, such complexes of transition metals such as copper, cobalt, and zinc, for example, can be used. As will be appreciated, the gas generating fuel component of particular gas generant compositions in accordance with the invention may be comprised of individual such fuel materials or combinations thereof. Gas generant materials or formulations prepared in accordance with the invention may additionally desirably contain one or more performance additives such as in the form of a metal oxide such as added to improve either or both slag formation or burn rate properties or qualitites. Particular examples of suitable such performance additives are aluminum oxide and silicon dioxide. In practice, such additives may desirably be included in relative amounts of between about 2 wt. % and about 10 wt. % of the gas generant formulation. The incorporation and use of such silicon and aluminum oxide materials are particularly effective in facilitating the production of a slag material which is relatively easily filtered from the gas stream of an airbag inflator. In accordance with the invention, such gas generant formulations can desirably be made via a method which includes combining a transition metal nitrate with an ammonia source in an aqueous slurry or, alternatively, combining a transition metal ammine carbonate with nitric acid in the presence of water, such as to form a corresponding reaction mixture, such as described above, and forming a spray dryable precursor to the gas generant formulation, the precursor including the reaction mixture, desired additional gas generant formulation components including at least a gas generating fuel and a sufficient quantity of water to render the precursor spray dryable. While the broader practice of the invention is not limited by the specific amount of water added during such processing, it has been found generally desirable that water be added in sufficient quantity that the spray dryable gas generant formulation precursor slurry contains between about 30 wt. % and about 35 wt. % water. It will be appreciated that various processing arrangements are available whereby such a spray dryable precursor can be formed or arrived at. For example, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, such spray dryable precursor is formed via the above-identified aqueous slurry reaction mixture being prepared such as to contain the desired quantity of water to render the precursor spray dryable. Alternatively, an additional quantity of water may be required to be added to the aqueous slurry reaction mixture to render a spray dryable precursor. In accordance with one preferred practice of the invention, it is generally desirable that additional gas generant formulation components such as either or both a gas generating fuel material and, if used, a performance additive, such as described above, be added to the above-identified aqueous slurry reaction mixture, such as after completion of reaction of the combined transition metal ammine carbonate and nitric acid, such as evidenced by the completion of the evolution of carbon dioxide therefrom. Such post-reaction addition is generally preferred as the possibility of undesired reaction between one or more of such additional gas generant formulation components, either alone or in combination with either or both the transition metal ammine carbonate and nitric acid can accordingly be avoided or limited. The spray dryable precursor can then be appropriately spray dried, in a manner such as is known in the art and so as to form a gas generant powder containing a diammine dinitrate of the at least one transition metal. Following such spray drying and as detailed below in the examples, a relatively minor or mild heat treatment (i.e., heating of the material to a temperature of no more than about 135xc2x0 C., e.g., a temperature of approximately 125-130xc2x0 C. and holding the heated material at that temperature for a duration of at least approximately 5 minutes) of the material resulting upon such spray drying, may be desired or required in order to ensure or complete conversion of the transition metal species to the desired transition metal diammine dinitrate and such has been found to remain in a stable form. The application of more severe heat treatment processing (i.e., processing involving either or both heating the material to a higher temperature, such as a temperature in excess of or greater than 135xc2x0 C., or for significantly longer periods of time, such as for durations of 10 minutes or more) is generally not preferred or desired. In particular, such more severe heat treatment processing generally has associated therewith correspondingly higher processing costs without necessarily providing or resulting in concomitant processing or product benefits or improvements. Those skilled in the art and guided by the teachings herein provided will appreciate that post-spray dry heating can desirably be avoided where, for example, sufficient heat treatment is achieved or realized during the drying process. Alternatively, however, such heating can be relatively easily implemented into a processing scheme such as via in-line fluid bed dryers such as may be incorporated between a spray-dry tower and an associated collection bin, for example. In either case, such heat treatment is generally either or both at significantly lower processing temperatures or for significantly shorter durations than associated with prior art processing techniques. The resulting gas generant powder can be appropriately processed or shaped, such as by being tableted or wafered, for example and is generally known in the art, and such as may be desired for particular applications of such a gas generant formulation. While the invention has been described above with reference to the making or processing of gas generant formulations which contain a transition metal diammine dinitrate, it will be appreciated that the invention can, if desired, be applied to the making or processing of phase stabilized ammonium nitrate. In particular, the invention can be applied to provide a method of making a phase stabilized ammonium nitrate such as may desirably be used in gas generant formulations such as used in the inflation of inflatable devices such as vehicle occupant restraint airbag cushions. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, a metal ammine carbonate, particularly a transition metal ammine carbonate, such as described above, is combined with nitric acid, the nitric acid present in no more than a stoichiometric amount relative to the at least one transition metal ammine carbonate for formation of the a corresponding transition metal diammine dinitrate, to form a first precursor. In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention, a second precursor to the phase stabilized ammonium nitrate is formed to contain the first precursor and ammonium nitrate. As further detailed below, such second precursor desirably is in the form of a slurry, e.g., an aqueous slurry. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and guided by the teachings herein provided, such precursor can be arrived at by various techniques or specific processing steps without deviating from the general principles and guidelines herein provided. For example, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the ammonium nitrate in the xe2x80x9csecond precursorxe2x80x9d or a desired portion thereof may be added to the first precursor material, prepared as described above. In accordance with an alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the ammonium nitrate or a desired portion thereof may simply be added to or included in the aqueous slurry from which the first precursor, as described above, is formed or produced. In particular, the presence of ammonium nitrate in such slurry mix is believed to advantageously serve to stabilize such metal diammine dinitrate or various related forms such as may be formed therein from subsequent, undesired reactions, for example, from subsequent hydrolysis reaction. This precursor slurry is, in turn, dried and heated to form a phase stabilized ammonium nitrate. In particular, such phase stabilized ammonium nitrate desirably contains a phase stabilizing quantity or relative proportion of the diammine dinitrate of the transition metal of the nitrate used above. In practice, the relative proportion of such transition metal diammine dinitrate required to be present in ammonium nitrate to effect desired phase stabilization will typically vary dependent on the particular application and conditions of operation. In general, however, such phase stabilizing quantity or proportion of transition metal diammine dinitrate typically constitutes the transition metal diammine dinitrate being present in the ammonium nitrate in a relative amount of at least about 1 wt. %, preferably at least about 10 wt. % and, most preferably, at least about 15 wt. %. For example, in typical vehicle occupant inflatable restraint system applications, the inclusion of at least about 15 wt. % of such transition metal diammine dinitrate in ammonium nitrate is generally desired to achieve a desired level of ammonium nitrate phase stabilization such as may avoid unacceptable performance variations in corresponding gas generant materials as such as would otherwise render such gas generant materials unacceptable for typical inflatable restraint system applications. In particular, such drying treatment can be variously accomplished, as those skilled in the art and guided by the teachings herein provided will appreciate. For example, tray drying such as involving the use of a vacuum or convection oven, for example, can be used. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, such precursor slurry is desirably spray dried such as to form a precursor to the phase stabilized ammonium nitrate and which precursor desirably has the form of a powder. As will be appreciated, spray drying may advantageously provide or result in high processing throughputs while avoiding subjecting the treated materials to elevated temperatures for prolonged periods of time. Following such spray drying and as described above, a relatively minor or mild heat treatment (i.e., heating of the material to a temperature of no more than about 135xc2x0 C., e.g., a temperature of approximately 125-130xc2x0 C. and holding the heated material at that temperature for a duration of at least approximately 5 minutes) of the material resulting upon such spray drying, may be desired or required in order to ensure or complete conversion of the transition metal species to the desired transition metal diammine dinitrate and such has been found to remain in a stable form. As will be appreciated, such subsequent heat treatment can desirably be accomplished in a solid state, thus desirably simplifying processing and handling, for example. In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention, such drying and heating can desirably be conducted or accomplished in a single processing step such as where sufficient heat treating of the processed material is accomplished during the drying process. In an alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, such drying and heating are conducted or accomplished in separate processing steps, such as may be conducted in sequence. In accordance with one such alternative embodiment, such relatively minor or mild heat treatment can be relatively easily implemented into a processing scheme such as via in-line fluid bed dryers such as may be incorporated between a spray-dry tower and an associated collection bin, for example. In either case, such heat treatment is generally either or both at significantly lower processing temperatures or for significantly shorter durations than associated with prior art processing techniques. The application of more severe heat treatment processing (i.e., processing involving either or both heating the material to a higher temperature, such as a temperature in excess of or greater than 135xc2x0 C., or for significantly longer periods of time, such as for durations of 10 minutes or more) is generally not preferred or desired. In particular, such more severe heat treatment processing generally has associated therewith correspondingly higher processing costs without necessarily providing or resulting in concomitant processing or product benefits or improvements. Those skilled in the art and guided by the teachings herein provided will appreciate that post-spray dry heating can desirably be avoided where, for example, sufficient heat treatment is achieved or realized during the drying process. Alternatively, however, such heating can be relatively easily implemented into a processing scheme such as via in-line fluid bed dryers such as may be incorporated between a spray-dry tower and an associated collection bin, as described above. In accordance with a preferred practice of the invention, the resulting phase stabilized ammonium nitrate powder desirably contains a phase stabilizing quantity or proportion of the diammine dinitrate of the associated transition metal, as detailed above. As will be appreciated, such phase stabilized ammonium nitrate can find various applications. For example, such phase stabilized ammonium nitrate can find application in various gas generant formulations such as used in association with inflatable restraint systems and such as otherwise known in the art. In particular, such phase stabilized ammonium nitrate can be easily implemented into various gas generant formulations such as those prepared or produced via extrusion or granulation, for example. Such a processing method allows for preparation of metal diammine dinitrate phase stabilized ammonium nitrate without isolation of explosive metal tetrammine nitrate complexes. Further, the final relatively mild heat treatment, such as may be desired to ensure complete formation of metal diammine dinitrate, can desirably be done or preformed in a solid state, not in a melt. Thus, facilitating and permitting the preparation of phase stabilized ammonium nitrate, in accordance with the invention, via the use or processing of existing spray dry/fluid bed dryer equipment.

Water-curable compositions based on thermoplastic polymers having hydrolyzable silane moieties are becoming increasingly interesting as environmental, health and safety concerns increase for other curing technologies. Such compositions have excellent properties of weather-, chemical- and water-resistance, since the alkoxysilyl group is connected to the polymer chain by a carbon-silicon bond, rather than a labile carbon-oxygen-silicon linkage; therefore water-, alkali- and acid-resistance are remarkably improved compared to a system with silicates or silanes added by physical mixing. One disadvantage of water-curable silylated polymer compositions, however, is that they tend to crosslink, especially if dispersed in water, under normal conditions of preparation, handling and storage. As a result, the relatively poor shelf life of such compositions has tended to limit their wide commercial acceptance and has kept the use of silylated polymers to those with very low silane concentrations, typically less than 1.0 weight percent, in waterborne polymeric products. Modification of water-curable compositions to alleviate the problem of premature crosslinking is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,930 which teaches relatively water-stable, melt-processable, thermoplastic polymers with hydrolyzable silane moieties. These silylated polymers are only activated or made readily water-curable by the reaction herewith of an organotitanate having at least one readily hydrolyzable group, which ester exchanges with an ester group of the silane. Although the titanate functions as a silanol condensation catalyst, it is dispersed in the alkylene-acrylate solid matrix, not in water. Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 6025502 teaches a composition comprising a polymer emulsion obtained by adding a tin catalyst (a diorganotin carboxylate) which is insoluble in water, to silylated vinyl polymers after emulsion polymerization. The addition of a water insoluble tin catalyst, however, is not suitable for such films because defects result from the heterogeneous catalysts and the emulsion polymer mixtures, such as formation of craters and granular particles on the surface and uneven crosslinkage in the film structure. Moreover, the silanes taught therein have alkoxy groups of at least eight carbons long and generally of a straight chain. This Japanese patent application also teaches non-discriminate curing catalysts generally used for silane/ester hydrolysis and condensation reactions. Similar examples of catalysts for silane ester and silanol-containing compositions can be found in the literature, which disclose catalysts dissolved in organic solvent-based systems to ensure a proper cure. For example, it has long been known that diorganotin dicarboxylates are catalysts for polymerization of organosilicon compounds. However, in spite of their proven utility, the diorganotin dicarboxylates suffer from several disadvantages. One is the relative instability of the compound as shown by loss of activity upon standing, particularly under moist conditions. The phenomenon is even more pronounced when the catalyst is in the form of an aqueous emulsion. Many tin compounds may also undergo hydrolysis during prolonged storage and revert to catalytically inactive forms. Thus, it is clear that there is the need for one component, water-based dispersed silylated polymeric systems that have good stability during storage in water and which produce films of good quality upon application and drying.

There has been a significant need in many fields for high quantum efficiency, high speed response light detectors, particularly in the blue and near ultraviolet, (200 to 500 nm) as well as for particle detection, and low-energy X-rays. In many applications there is a further need for miniature, portable, rugged, field ready devices, which drives requirements away from photomultiplier tubes and towards solid state devices. In many applications requiring such solid state devices there is a need for relatively large surface area devices. Larger area devices intrinsically have lower signal to noise (SNR) and longer response time than smaller area devices. Many nuclear detection devices utilize scintillators that convert nuclear energy to light. Most scintillators emit light in the region of 200 to 500 nm. This light must be read or monitored with an appropriate light detector. In many applications a scintillating crystal or ceramic is mounted directly onto a solid state detector such as an avalanche photodiode. This method of direct coupling significantly improves the efficiency of detection. In medical applications such as PET and CT scanning high sensitivity and short response time are required to reduce the patient's exposure to radiation as much as possible. Thus, there is a critical need in nuclear medicine for high quantum efficiency, high speed response, and often large surface area devices. In other medical applications where detectors are in direct contact with the patient there is the further requirement that the bias voltage that drives the device be as low as possible for reasons of patient safety. There is also a need for high quantum efficiency, high speed response, and often large surface area light detectors in military applications, such as tracking, targeting, and ranging devices. This is particularly the case for daylight applications where military operations are conducted in the presence of large amounts of visible and infrared light. The human eye has little sensitivity at wavelengths below 400 nm. For laser exposure, there is an “eye safe” UVA region between 315 and 400 nm (ideal, for instance, for operation with tripled Nd:YAG lasers at 355 nm or with solid state lasers emitting in this spectral band region). Solar radiation is minimal in the UVA band and can be significantly further reduced by use of appropriate band pass or short pass filters. These filters can, in many instances, be directly coated onto the detector or an appropriate filter can be placed in the path of incoming light. For tracking and targeting applications it may also be advantageous to use positional sensitive detectors, based on arrays of detectors and/or proportional detectors. Scientific research instrumentation often requires high quantum efficiency, high speed response, and often large surface area devices in the spectral region between 200 and 1050 nm. Such applications include, but are not limited to, radiation detectors employing scintillators, radiation detectors based upon Cherenkov radiation, radiation detectors for X-ray detection, radiation detectors for ionizing particle detection and astronomical measurements in this spectral region. Over the past two decades, free-space optical communication (FSOC) has proven to be a viable way to transfer large packets of digital information. Capable of achieving Gbit/s transfer rates over several km, relatively compact systems for local area networks are commercially available. However, the technology required to deploy robust system architectures, such as those used on temporary or mobile platforms operating in a range of daylight and temperature conditions, has yet to be fully realized. A significant operational barrier for FSOC is the need to maintain eye-safety, which limits the permissible signal power and thus system ranging capabilities. Poor weather conditions, the need for direct line-of-sight, and interference with solar radiation within the receiver's line-of-sight are also factors that can significantly degrade the system performance. Despite these factors, FSOC offers significant advantages over commonly used microwave links. These advantages include: smaller size, weight and power requirements for the transmitter and receiver; higher immunity to electromagnetic interference; faster data transfer rates; and higher security due to directionality. Such optical communication systems consist of two primary components; namely the transmitter and the receiver. Medium-range FSOC systems have been realized thanks to advances in laser transmitter and LED technology in the ultraviolet (UV). Compared to systems that utilize red or near-IR sources, the advantages of using a UV source include higher permissible transmission levels and reduced interference from solar radiation. Strong absorption and Rayleigh scattering in the atmosphere greatly reduces the solar background in the deep UV (wavelengths<280 nm). However, this same scattering and absorption may also reduce the distance over which the communication signal can be relayed, particularly at sea level where water content is high. As a result, the use of deep UV has been proposed for short range non-line of sight (NLOS) operations where the scattered light is used to relay the signal around objects [2]. For medium to long range communications, therefore, longer wavelengths near the blue-UV region of the spectrum (350 to 380 nm) are preferred. The advantage created by recent advances in transmitter technology for UV FSOC has been dampened by the lag in the development of matching receiver technology for the UV. In particular, the highest quantum efficiency (QE) (the ratio between the number of photon-induced electrons collected and the number of incident photons) is approximately 50% for detectors at UN wavelengths, compared to >90% at the longer wavelengths. Table 1 compares the QE of various large-area UV-blue sensitive detectors when operated in proportional mode at the common laser wavelength of 355 nm (Nd:YAG). TABLE 1Detector typeGainQE (at 355 nm)Silicon detector 150%Avalanche Photodiode20050%Photomultiplier Tube  10625%Silicon Carbide 1<10%  Silicon detectors have the highest QEs at 355 nm, which is two to three times higher than photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and six to seven times higher than silicon carbide detectors, which have a peak response at shorter wavelengths. Silicon p-i-n photodiodes are compact, rugged high-speed optical receivers that are relatively inexpensive and require low operating bias. However, their signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is much lower than detectors with internal gain structures, such as APD's or PMTs. As a result, post-amplification circuits are often needed to generate appropriate signal outputs, further reducing the SNR. Avalanche photodiodes (APD's), like the PMTs, exhibit internal gain created by impact ionization, when a strong electric field is present in the detector. However, APD's are much thinner than PMTs, which increases design flexibility, enabling improved light collection geometries. Unlike the PMT, the APD is very rugged, does not require a recovery period (several to tens of minutes) following intense illumination from an unexpected signal or background source, can be operated in magnetic fields, and can be mass produced at low costs. As a result, APD's are often the detector of choice for field-ready instrumentation such as FSOC. An exemplary APD is depicted in FIG. 1. The substrate contains different regions that correspond to differing amounts of dopant present in that region. For example, an APD may include a photosensitive neutral drift p-region 100 located at, or adjacent to, the top surface of the APD. A depleted p-region 102 may be located beneath the neutral drift region. A depleted n-region 104 may be located beneath the depleted p-region. A neutral n-region 106 may be located beneath the depleted n-region. In some cases the APD may also include a passivation layer 108 disposed on top of the neutral drift p-region. During use an electrical potential may be applied to the APD such that when a photon is absorbed by the photosensitive neutral drift p-region, an electron-hole pair is formed at photon absorption site 110. Due to the applied electrical potential the charge carriers, i.e. the electron and hole, move in opposite directions within the APD. This initial migration of a charge carrier towards the bottom of the APD is indicated by arrow 112 which corresponds to minority carrier transport. As the charge carrier is accelerated due to the applied electrical potential it causes additional electron hole pairs to be formed within the depleted p-region and depleted n-region due to impact ionization which then exhibit similar behavior. This process is referred to as avalanche breakdown and is indicated by enlarged arrow 114. This phenomenon is responsible for the signal gain exhibited by avalanche photodiodes. After passing through the depleted p-region and depleted n-region the generated charge carriers undergo majority carrier transport to the neutral n-region which includes electrical contacts for outputting the generated electrical signal.

Circuitry for the positioning of the electron beam in CRT display systems such as exemplified by the M. S. Granberg, et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,434,135 and 3,489,946 includes X and Y deflection coil current drive systems of various designs. These prior art systems include digital logic that selectively switches in or out constant current sources of individually fixed but separately different incremental current magnitudes or levels such that the desired deflection-determining current level is caused to flow through the X (and Y) deflection coil. In CRT display systems, the cathode ray tube face is usually a flat surface. Equal increments of deflection-determining current move the electron beam along the face in increasing incremental lengths for increasing distances away from the center of the face producing a distortion called the "pin-cushion" or "non-linear effect." Prior art CRT display systems have included various correction features to compensate for such distortion. Aslo included were constant current drivers and electronic switches to maintain fixed increments of deflection-determining current and to prevent switching induced transients that further distort the display. The present invention is directed toward a CRT display system that eliminates these above noted causes of display distortion.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drive unit for a hybrid vehicle. 2. Description of the Related Art Electrically driven vehicles conventionally have been provided with a drive unit including a drive motor, a generator-motor and an inverter unit. Further, in the inverter for the drive motor formed by a bridge circuit, direct current supplied from a battery is converted into three phase alternating current, and the alternating current is supplied to the drive motor. Further, by an inverter for the generator-motor, formed by a bridge circuit, three phase alternating current supplied from the generator-motor is converted into direct current and the direct current is supplied to the battery. A pulse-width modulating signal is generated by the control unit and that signal is output to the respective bridge circuits to thereby switch transistors of the respective bridge circuits. However, it has previously been necessary to provide for separate connection of an inverter to the drive motor and of an inverter to the generator-motor and, accordingly, the drive unit must be sufficiently sized to accommodate such connections. Further, with a smoothing condenser, common to the respective bridge circuits, for stabilizing voltage generated when the transistors of the respective bridge circuits are switched ON and OFF, the lead wires connecting the respective transistors with the drive motor and the generator-motor are lengthy and the wiring is complicated. Further, particularly in a drive unit in which a drive motor and a generator-motor are arranged on two different axes, there is no design integrating the inverter for the drive motor, the inverter for the generator-motor and the drive unit casing so that the drive unit is necessarily large-sized.

1. Field of the Invention The present application relates to measuring devices, more specifically to coordinate measurement machines. 2. Description of the Related Art Portable coordinate measurement machines (PCMMs) such as articulated arm PCMMs can be used to perform a variety of measurement and coordinate acquisition tasks. In one common commercially-available PCMM, an articulated arm having three transfer members connected by articulating joints allows easy movement of a probe head or tip about seven axes to take various measurements. In operation, when the probe head or tip contacts an object the PCMM outputs to a processing unit data regarding the orientation of the transfer members and articulating joints on the articulated arm. This data would then be translated into a measurement of a position at the probe head or tip. Typical uses for such devices generally relate to manufacturing inspection and quality control. In these applications, measurements are typically taken only when a measuring point on the arm is in contact with an article to be measured. Contact can be indicated by strain-gauges, static charge, or user-input. Such devices have been commercially successful. Still there is a general need to continue to increase the accuracy of such instruments.

Antenna arrays are widely used in communication and radar systems because of their high directivity and ability to control beam direction. Some examples of these systems are military radars, vehicles collision avoidance systems, cellular base stations, satellite communication systems, broadcasting, naval communication, weather research, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and synthetic aperture radars. Antenna arrays are excited using either a serial or a corporate feed network. Serially-fed antenna arrays are more compact than their corporate-fed counterparts (e.g., serially-fed antenna arrays have a substantially shorter feeding or transmission line than corporate-fed arrays). Furthermore, the ohmic and feed line radiation losses are smaller in serially-fed arrays than in corporate-fed arrays. Hence, the efficiency of serially-fed arrays can be higher than that of corporate-fed arrays. Serially-fed antenna arrays are not without their drawbacks, however. For example, serially-fed antenna arrays have a narrow bandwidth due to the non-zero group delay of the feed network causing variation of the phase shift with frequency between the antennas of adjacent antenna units. Therefore, beam direction varies (beam squint) as the frequency changes, thereby reducing the array boresight gain and causing performance degradation, especially in narrow beam width systems. More particularly, the main beam angle of an antenna array is determined by phase shifts between adjacent antennas of the array. In serially-fed antenna arrays, the phase shift is adjusted using a frequency dependent phase shifter. Therefore, the antenna array beam angle changes as the frequency changes resulting in beam squinting given by equation (1): θ beam = sin - 1 ⁡ ( θ f - θ f o K o ⁢ d E ) ( 1 ) where: θbeam is the main beam angle, θfo and θf are the phase shifts between any two of the adjacent antennas at the center frequency and at an offset frequency, respectively, and dE is the inter-element spacing (i.e., the space between adjacent antennas in the antenna array). According to equation (1), the beam squint occurs because the phase shift between the adjacent antennas varies with frequency. In order to eliminate the beam squint, the phase shift between the antennas must be frequency independent. In other words, the group delay, which is calculated from equation (2) below, between adjacent antennas must be zero. Group ⁢ ⁢ Delay = - 1 2 ⁢ ⁢ π ⁢ d ⁢ ⁢ θ f d ⁢ ⁢ f ( 2 ) To obtain a zero group delay between the adjacent antennas (and thereby eliminating, or at least substantially reducing, beam squint), one or more NGD circuit(s) may be integrated between the adjacent antennas. In such an instance, the NGD value must be equal to the value of the positive group delay of the interconnecting transmission lines. FIGS. 1A and 1B depict conventional serially-fed antenna array arrangements wherein NGD circuits are integrated between adjacent antennas to have an overall group delay of approximately zero. In FIG. 1A, and for each set of adjacent antennas, an NGD circuit comprising a lossy parallel resonance circuit is serially-integrated into the transmission line between the two antennas. In FIG. 1B, an NGD circuit comprising a lossy series resonator circuit is integrated into the transmission line in a shunt arrangement. In each of these arrangements, in order to have a uniformly excited antenna array, an amplifier and corresponding matching circuits can be used as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The use of conventional NGD circuits in this manner is not without its shortcomings, however. The conventional NGD circuits employ lossy elements (e.g., a lossy resonator) to generate a desirable amount of NGD. As such, these circuits suffer from a large amount of loss in order to generate NGD (e.g., certain conventional NGD circuits may have a typical loss of 6 dB or more, meaning that more than 70-75% of the power is dissipated in the NGD circuit), which significantly limits their application. Accordingly, there is a need for NGD circuits that minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.

Optically variable devices are used in a wide variety of applications, both decorative and utilitarian. Optically variable devices can be made in multitude of ways to achieve a variety of effects. Optically variable devices (OVDs) such as holograms are imprinted on credit cards and authentic software documentation; color-shifting images are printed on banknotes, and OVDs enhance the surface appearance of items such as motorcycle helmets and wheel covers. Optically variable devices can be made as a film or a foil that is pressed, stamped, glued, or otherwise attached to an object, and can also be made using optically variable pigments. One type of optically variable pigment is commonly called a color-shifting pigment because the perceived color of images appropriately printed with such pigments changes as the angle of view and/or illumination is tilted. A common example is the number “20” printed with color-shifting pigment in the lower right-hand corner of a U.S. twenty-dollar banknote, which serves as an anti-counterfeiting device. Some anti-counterfeiting devices are covert, while others are overt intended to be noticed. Unfortunately, some optically variable devices that are intended to be noticed are not widely known because the optically variable aspect of the device is not sufficiently dramatic or distinguishable from its background. For example, the amount of color-shift of an image printed with color-shifting pigment might not be noticed under uniform fluorescent ceiling lights, but may be more noticeable in direct sunlight or under single-point illumination. This can make it easier for a counterfeiter to pass counterfeit notes without the optically variable feature because the recipient might not be aware of the optically variable feature, or because the counterfeit note might look substantially similar to the authentic note under certain conditions. Optically variable devices can also be made with magnetic pigments. These magnetic pigments may be aligned with a magnetic field after applying the pigment (typically in a carrier such as an ink vehicle or a paint vehicle) to a surface. However, painting with magnetic pigments has been used mostly for decorative purposes. For example, use of magnetic pigments has been described to produce painted cover wheels having a decorative feature that appears as a three-dimensional shape. A pattern was formed on the painted product by applying a magnetic field to the product while the paint medium still was in a liquid state. The paint medium had dispersed magnetic non-spherical particles that aligned along the magnetic field lines. The field had two regions. The first region contained lines of a magnetic force that were oriented parallel to the surface and arranged in a shape of a desired pattern. The second region contained lines that were non-parallel to the surface of the painted product and arranged around the pattern. To form the pattern, permanent magnets or electromagnets with the shape corresponding to the shape of desired pattern were located underneath the painted product to orient in the magnetic field non-spherical magnetic particles dispersed in the paint while the paint was still wet. When the paint dried, the pattern was visible on the surface of the painted product as the light rays incident on the paint layer were influenced differently by the oriented magnetic particles. Similarly, a process for producing of a pattern of flaked magnetic particles in fluoropolymer matrix has been described. After coating a product with a composition in liquid form, a magnet with desirable shape was placed on the underside of the substrate. Magnetic flakes dispersed in a liquid organic medium orient themselves parallel to the magnetic field lines, tilting from the original planar orientation. This tilt varied from perpendicular to the surface of a substrate to the original orientation, which included flakes essentially parallel to the surface of the product. The planar oriented flakes reflected incident light back to the viewer, while the reoriented flakes did not, providing the appearance of a three dimensional pattern in the coating. By way of background prior art, United States Patent Application 20050106367, incorporated herein by reference, published May 19, 2005 in the name of Raksha et al., assigned to JDS Uniphase Corporation, describes a method and apparatus for orienting magnetic flakes such as optically variable flakes. Although some of the aforementioned methods for providing visually appealing and useful optical effects are now nearly ubiquitous, these devices require enhancements and additional features to make them more recognizable as an authentic article; for example it would be preferable to have the ability to provide yet additional security features. For example it would be highly desirous to have a security device which provided a color shift with change in incident light or viewing angle including magnetically aligned flakes and optical features associated therewith; and, providing such a device which had a reasonable amount of tactility would be highly advantageous. It would also be preferably to have such a device wherein there was significant contrast and sharpness between regions of the device that Were functionally different. For example a magnetically aligned region of thin film color shifting flakes directly adjacent an embossed region could offer benefits not realizable in two adjacent different magnetically aligned regions. It is an object of this invention to provide a method for forming an image of a plurality of contrasting, discernible regions, wherein at least one region has magnetic flakes thereon aligned by an applied magnetic field having a predetermined orientation, and another of the discernible regions adjacent to the first discernible region having flakes thereon or an absence of flakes caused by mechanically impressing or pushing away flakes from said second region. It is an object of this invention to provide a tactile image wherein a tactile transition can be sensed by touching a transition between at least the first and second discernible regions. It is an object of this invention to provide a banknote or security document which has tactile properties to assist the blind in verifying the authenticity of the note or document. It is an object of this invention to provide an image having an optically variable region and having a tactile region about the optically variable region.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates in general to biased magnetic recording, and in particular to a biased cross-field recording head having increased short wavelength recording effectiveness.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a health check system, a health check apparatus and a method thereof for providing information on a user's health using a sensor. 2. Description of the Related Art For example, Shuichi Kurabayashi, Naoki Ishibashi, Yasuo Kiyoki: “Scheme for Realizing Active Type Multidatabase System in Mobile Computing Environment,” Proceedings of Information Processing Society of Japan, 2000-DBS-122, 2000, 463-470 and Shuichi Kurabayashi, Naoki Ishibashi, Yasushi Kiyoki: A Multidatabase System Architecture for Integrating Heterogeneous Databases with Meta-Level Active Rule Primitives. In Proceedings of the 20th TASTED International Conference on Applied Informatics, 2002, 378-387, disclose an active meta-level system that dynamically interconnects devices of databases or the like. However, these documents neither disclose nor even suggest any health check system, health check apparatus or method thereof for providing information on a user's health by adaptively using sensors.

Field This disclosure is generally related to computer networks. More specifically, this disclosure is related to deploying an overlay content centric network across an Internet Protocol network. Related Art Recent research efforts are producing content centric networking (CCN) to re-architect the entire network stack around content. In CCN, packets typically do not contain network addresses for a source and a destination of the packet. Rather, clients issue requests for Content Objects, and routers across the network route these requests directly through the network to a closest network node that stores a copy of the content, which returns a packet that includes the requested Content Object to respond to the request. CCN can use controlled flooding as a mechanism to route the requests to the appropriate content providers, which eliminates the burden of having to configure explicit routes to all possible content providers. However, the benefits produced by this mechanism comes at the cost of an increased overhead of the object-requesting traffic in the network. To make matters worse, the way CCN nodes are connected to each other has a major impact in the amount of Interests present in the network, which makes it difficult to deploy a CCN network without a debilitating overhead. For example, a sub-optimal CCN topology may cause Interests to flow via an undesirably large number of links, and can produce network congestion at certain CCN nodes. This sub-optimal topology can result in unnecessary processing overhead at the CCN nodes, and can increase the delivery time for content accessed by these Interests.

In the semiconductor industry, metal silicides have typically been used to provide low resistive contacts to source/drain regions and gate electrodes in metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) and CMOS transistors. Titanium silicide (TiSi2) has traditionally been used because of its low resistivity. However, by using the conventional Ti-salicide process the sheet resistance increases for lines having a thickness of less than about 0.35 microns (μm). A high temperature anneal is needed to completely transform the silicide from the high-resistivity C49 phase to the low-resistivity C54 phase. In some lines, the transformation is not complete and the film agglomerates before complete transformation into the low-resistivity state. TiSi2 has been replaced with CoSi2 to circumvent the problem mentioned above. However, CoSi2 consumes significant amounts of silicon during formation, which increases the difficulty of forming shallow junctions for silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. Further, as the semiconductor industry approaches dimensions less than 65 nm, CoSi2 also exhibits rapid sheet resistance degradation. Specifically, the polysilicon gate sheet resistance Rs increases sharply at narrow line widths due to voids formed by vacancy coalescence at the polySi grain boundary. Ni suicide with low resistivity, low salicidation temperature, small mechanical stress, low silicon consumption and relative insensitivity of sheet resistance to linewidth is currently being investigated to replace CoSi2. Manufacturing a functioning device requires several processing steps after contact formation where the silicide temperature typically exceeds 600° C. Under such conditions, NiSi has been reported to agglomerate and form NiSi2 which has a higher resistivity than NiSi. See, for example, J. Y. Yew, et al. “Epitaxial growth of NiSi on (111) Si inside 0.1-0.6 mm oxide openings prepared by electron beam lithography”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 69(7), (1996); B. A. Julies, “A Study of the NiSi to NiSi2 Transition in the Ni—Si Binary System”, Thin Solid Films, 347, 201, 1999; and M. C. Poon, “Thermal Stability of Cobalt and Nickel Silicides”, Microelectronics Reliability 38, 1495, 1998. Further, when shallow junctions (on the order of about 15 nm or less) are to be formed, nickel disilicide formation is seen under the spacer resulting in shorting of the device between the gate and the source/drain regions. The thermal stability of NiSi has to be improved before it can be used as a contact in submicron microelectronic devices. Co-pending and co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/334,464, filed Dec. 31, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,560 entitled “Retarding Agglomeration of Ni Monosilicide Using Ni Alloys” describes various metals that can be co-deposited with Ni to prevent disilicide formation. Some of these metals, such as Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W and Re, prevent nucleation of NiSi2. Ge, Rh, Pd, Pt or mixtures thereof can be used as stabilizing agents. The successful formation of a silicide contact through the salicide process requires deposition of a thin (less than 10 nm) Ni alloy uniformly over the substrate, heating the substrate to form the silicide over regions where silicon is present and finally selectively etching the unreacted metal without attacking the silicide. Any attack of the silicide would reduce the thickness of the line and increase the contact resistance. Further, the etchant should be capable of not only removing Ni, but all the other metals added along with it. Present etchants for removing Ni and Ni alloys in the salicide contact process are based on a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid at temperatures greater than 60° C. This is disclosed for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,901 and P. S. Lee, et al. “New Salicidation Technology with Ni(Pt) Alloy for MOSFETs”, IEEE Electronic Device Letters, 22 (12) 2001. Such etchants are incapable of removing all additional elements especially noble metals such as Pt, Pd, Rh and Re used along with Ni. Presence of the unreacted metal on the spacers and trench isolation regions leads to shorting of the devices thereby preventing the manufacturing of a functioning semiconductor chip. The remaining unreacted metal is referred in the art as stringers. In view of the above, there is a need for providing a new and improved method for forming NiSi contacts which avoids leaving unreacted metals, i.e., stringers, on the spacers and trench isolation regions.

It is known to recover nickel and/or copper from sulfidic ores by comminuting the ore to a finely divided state, subjecting the comminuted ore to froth flotation to upgrade the metal content thereof, and roasting the concentrate in an oxidizing atmosphere to remove the sulfur therefrom as SO.sub.2, followed by the reduction of the oxidized concentrate at an elevated temperature with a carbonaceous material to form molten nickel which is cast to provide pig nickel for use in the manufacture of stainless steel. The foregoing method has certain disadvantages particularly with respect to the formation of SO.sub.2 which is undesirable. Unless the SO.sub.2 is converted to sulfuric acid on site, the SO.sub.2 effluent released into the atmosphere presents environmental problems. Nickel-containing sulfidic minerals and laterites are the two major raw material sources for nickel. The laterites are abundantly distributed throughout the world. However, laterites unlike nickel sulfide ores, cannot be concentrated by froth flotation or magnetically. Compared to other ores, the nickel content is low, for example, may range from 0.5 to 1.5% nickel by weight, with the exception of deposits in New Caledonia and Indonesia in which the amount of nickel is of the order of up to about 3% by weight which is quite high. It has been predicted that by the end of this century, laterites will become the major source for the production of nickel. The conventional process for recovering nickel from lateritic ores is somewhat energy intensive in that the nickel is extracted from the ore by high pressure leaching at elevated temperature in an autoclave. For example, one process for recovering nickel and cobalt from lateritic ores is the well known Moa Bay process involving acid leaching at elevated temperatures and pressures at which iron oxide and aluminum oxysulfate are substantially insoluble. In the Moa Bay process, lateritic ore at minus 20 mesh (95% passing 325 mesh U.S. Standard) is pulped to approximately 45% solids and the nickel and cobalt selectively leached with sufficient sulfuric acid at elevated temperature and pressure (e.g. 230.degree. C. to 250.degree. C. and 405 to 580 psia) to solubilize about 95% each of nickel and cobalt in about 60 to 90 minutes. After pressure let down, the leached pulp is washed by countercurrent decantation with the washed pulp going to tailings. The leach solution pH, which is quite low (e.g., between 0 and 0.5), is then neutralized with coral mud to a pH of about 2.4 in a series of four tanks at a total retention time of about 20 minutes and the thus-treated product liquor (containing about 5.65 gpl Ni, 0.8 gpl Fe and 2.3 gpl Al), after solid-liquid separation, is then subjected to sulfide precipitation. The leach liquor is preheated and the sulfide precipitation carried out using H.sub.2 S as the precipitating reagent in an autoclave at about 120.degree. C. (250.degree. F.) and a pressure of about 150 psig. In the original scheme for treating the mixed sulfides, the sulfide precipitate was washed and thickened to a solids content of 65%. It was then oxidized in an autoclave at about 177.degree. C. (350.degree. F.) and a pressure of about 700 psig. The solution containing nickel and cobalt was then neutralized with ammonia to a pH (5.35) sufficient to precipitate any residual iron, aluminum, and chromium present using air as an oxidizing agent. The precipitate was thereafter separated from the solution and the nickel and cobalt solution then adjusted to a pH of about 1.5. H.sub.2 S was added to precipitate selectively any copper, lead and zinc present. The precipitate was separated from the solution by filtration and the nickel recovered by various methods. One method comprised treating the nickel-containing solution with hydrogen at elevated temperature and pressure to produce nickel powder. The aforementioned method, as stated hereinbefore, had certain economic disadvantages. The conversion of mixed nickel-cobalt sulfide into salable separate nickel and cobalt products was very expensive and there was no market for mixed sulfide precipitates. It is known to subject gold-bearing sulfide ore to oxidative bioleaching. Such methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,788, No. 5,127,942 and No. 5,244,493. The sulfidic material is ground, placed in heaps or piles or pulped or slurried and bioleached to oxidize the sulfide mineral using bacteria at temperatures of about 15.degree. C. to about 40.degree. C. The sulfide particle containing gold occluded within it is biooxidized to physically free up the gold for removal by cyanide leaching or other types of leaching. Attempts to use bioleaching to recover base metals, such as nickel, have not been attractive enough to warrant the building of a commercial plant, particularly since technology was not in place economically at the time for recovering nickel from the solution which were quite dilute at best, except for the use of solvent extraction by means of which more concentrated solutions could be produced for the subsequent recovery of nickel. The recovery of nickel from low grade bioleach solutions by solvent extraction has its problems in that (i) there are organic solvents that preferentially extract nickel from mixed ferric iron-nickel containing solutions such as shown hereinafter in Example 2 and (ii) the micro-organisms present in the bioleach solutions tend to adversely affect the separation of the organic phase from the aqueous phase. The problem with ferric iron is that either the ferric ion will preferentially load on organic solvents, such as DEPHA(di-2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid) or it will oxidize the active ingredient in organic solvents such as Cyanex 272; 301 and 302. These reagents are sold by the American Cyanamid Company with the following active ingredients: phosphoric, phosphonic and phosphinic acids. "Third phase" formation during solvent extractions sometimes limits the application of solvent extraction in leaching operations, particularly in a bioleaching circuit because bacteria and organic solvents are not compatible. For example, Thiobacillus ferroxidans is in essence a sulfur-loving bacteria which presents problems in solvent extraction, particularly when the organic solvent contains sulfur, such as in di-nonyl-naphthyl sulfonic acid. Since many nickel sulfide ore bodies have a metal cut-off grade of around 0.2% to 0.5% Ni, it at once becomes apparent that a method is needed to enable the production of nickel solutions of sufficiently high concentration from which the nickel can be recovered economically. Thus, low grade nickel ores, in essence, could then be treated the same as a high grade ore with the same economical advantages. Recent work conducted in the bioleaching of ores has indicated that low grade ores can be economically leached using bacteria as a means for effecting the dissolution of metal, e.g., nickel and/or cobalt, into an aqueous acid solution. An advantage of bioleaching, while time dependent, is the fact that it is not energy and cost intensive. The pregnant solution obtained, however, is quite dilute. One bioleaching method proposed for the recovery of nickel from sulfide ores is disclosed in Canadian Patent No. 2,065,491 which issued on Oct. 9, 1992. According to the Canadian patent, a method disclosed comprises crushing the sulfide ore which is thereafter formed into a heap and the ore heap percolated with an iron sulfate solution which, optionally, carries bacteria, such as Thiobacillus ferroxidans, Thiobacillus thiooxidans or Leptospirillum ferroxidans. By virtue of the oxidation of the sulfide ore, the generation of sulfuric acid occurs, thus forming a sulfate solution. Sulfuric acid or an alkali, such as lime, is added to the solution, if necessary, to control the pH to a range of about 1.2 to 3, preferably from 2.3 to 2.5. An anaerobic bacterium is added to the sulfate solution to cause the precipitation of the dissolved metal as an insoluble sulfide, thus upgrading the metal into a highly concentrated form which then must be treated to recover the metal, e.g., nickel. To bring about sulfide generation of the dissolved metal (e.g., nickel), a bacterium, referred to as Desulforvivrio Desulfuricans, may be added to the solution. After the nickel sulfide precipitates, it is separated from the solution to provide a concentrate high in nickel which must be further treated, such as by high pressure leaching at an elevated temperature in the presence of sulfuric acid to produce a nickel sulfate solution from which the nickel is extracted by known conventional methods. In a paper entitled "The Solubilization of Nickel, Cobalt and Iron From Laterites by Means of Organic Chelating agents" (Denis I. McKenzie et al, International Journal of Mineral Processing' 21 (1987) P.275-292), a group of carboxylic acids were mentioned as chelating agents, including Oxalic Acid, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, among others. The efficacy of the organic acids at natural pH were compared to H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 (15 mM final concentration). Over a 456 hour period, using 15 mM concentrations of acids with 2 grams of ore (West Australian ore) in 150 ml of H.sub.2 O, Oxalic, Citric and Tartaric acids compared somewhat favorably with H.sub.2 SO.sub.4. Amount of nickel dissolved in ppm was 30.3 for H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, 18.5 for Oxalic acid, 20.2 for Citric acid and 16.3 for Tartaric. The same acids employed on Indonesian ore showed that the nickel dissolved amounted to the following: Citric Acid 863 ppm, Tartaric Acid--708 ppm, Oxalic Acid--318 ppm, etc. In a paper entitled "Microbial Leaching of Nickel from Low Grade Greek Laterites," Mineral Bioprocessing, TMS, 1991 page 191-205, the authors indicate a variety of heterotrophic micro-organisms that can produce such organic acids. They include: asperigillus and penicillia concentrations of around 40 grams of organic acid which were readily produced by these microorganisms. Close to 70% of the Ni and less than 5% of the Fe were solubilized after a 51-day leaching period from a laterite ore containing about 1% Ni and 30% Fe. This work also showed an improved extraction when the organisms plus the culture medium were mixed with the laterite ore. An explanation was given: "Once the organisms attach themselves to the surface of the mineral grains, a high metal concentration gradient is experienced which could be toxic to the organisms spurring them to produce more citric acid (possibly as a defense response) which subsequently leaches out more ions from the mineral grains." If the toxic metal were to be removed from the solution, as proposed in accordance with the present invention, either during the leaching process or interrupted by it, the leaching kinetics will be enhanced significantly so long as a low level of the toxic metal is maintained. One method of heap leaching with nutrient solutions containing at least one micro-organisms include those selected from the group consisting of the fungi Aspergillus Niger, Penicillium Sp., Aspergillus Sp., Penicillium Simplicissimus and the bacteria Enterobacter Spp., Bacillus Spp., and Achromobacter Spp. It would be desirable to provide a process for bioleaching relatively low grade as well as relative high grade nickel-containing lateritic ores and sulfidic ores or concentrates thereof in combination with a novel method for concentrating the nickel ions in solution from which nickel is economically recovered.

1. Field of Invention The invention relates to a fieldbus gateway and the data transmission method thereof. In particular, the invention relates to a fieldbus gateway using a virtual serial fieldbus port and the data transmission method thereof. 2. Related Art During the development of fieldbus, the industrial Ethernet-based fieldbus protocols, such as ProfiNet, Modbus TCP, and Ethernet/IP, are later than the serial-based fieldbus protocols, such as Profibus and Modbus RTU/ASCII. Moreover, the architecture of the industrial Ethernet-based fieldbus protocols is more complicated. Therefore, most of current supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems or human machine interfaces (HMI) only support serial-based fieldbus instead of Ethernet-based fieldbus. Or one has to pay extra fees in order to obtain the Ethernet-based fieldbus support. Users of the SCADA system and HMI can only use the serial fieldbus port to communicate with the controlled device. However, since most of current factory automation requires that the remote control center and factory operators could control the controlled device at the same time, the controlled device should be able to receive the controls of a remote SCADA system and a local HMI concurrently. However, the system only uses serial fieldbus communication is difficult to provide this function. Due to its physical properties, the serial fieldbus cannot transmit data over a long distance directly. Repeaters are always required for extending the transmission distance, but they also increase the cost of wiring. To avoid the cost increasing on wiring, some factories use a fieldbus gateway at both the remote and local ends, respectively. The two fieldbus gateways communicate via an Ethernet. Although this reduces the cost on long-distance wiring, at least two fieldbus gateways are needed. To reduce the number of required gateways, some factories use a device server for the system only requires RS-232/RS-422/RS-485 based serial fieldbus communication. The COM port redirection technique used on a device server provides a low cost long distance transmission. As shown in FIG. 1, the remote SCADA system 101a uses the COM port redirection driver to generate a mapped virtual COM port, the COM port is mapped to a physical serial port on the local device server 700. That is, all operations on the mapped virtual COM port on the SCADA system would be transmitted via the network to the device server 700. Then the device server 700 does the same operations on the physical serial port. This makes the mapped virtual COM port works as a mapped interface of the physical serial port on the device server 700. For example, as the SCADA server 101a sets the RTS pin of the mapped COM port to output active signals, the RTS pin on the physical serial port of the device server 700 would output active signals. Then the CTS pin of the physical serial port of a programmable logic controller 301a (controlled device) connected with the physical serial port of the device server 700 receives the active signals. On the other hand, if the programmable logic controller 301a transmits data via its serial port to the physical serial port of the device server 700, then the device server 700 would forward the received data to the mapped COM port of the SCADA system 101a via the network. So the SCADA system 101a can concurrently receive the data from the programmable logic controller 301a (controlled device). Through this serial tunnel technology, the physical serial port of the local device server 700 is just like the real COM port of the remote SCADA system 101a, thereby connecting with the programmable logic controller 301a. Although the COM port redirection technique only needs one additional device server to extend the serial communication distance, the COM port redirection establish a dedicated tunnel between the physical serial port of the device server 700 and the mapped virtual COM port (interface) of the SCADA system 101a. Therefore, when using the COM port redirection technique, the physical serial port of the device server 700 could only be occupied by the established tunnel. The physical serial port of the device server only allows one SCADA system 101a (mapped virtual COM port) to communicate with and/or control over a programmable logic controller at a time. It can't work on the system requires the programmable logic controller 301a to be controlled by multiple remote/local control ends concurrently. In summary, the prior art always has the problem that it is impossible for more than two remote devices to control the same controlled device via serial fieldbus at the same time. It is therefore imperative to provide a solution.

The present invention relates to optical measurement of parameters of interest on samples having diffractive structures thereon, and in particular relates to improvements in real-time analysis of the measured optical signal characteristics from a sample to determine parameter values for that sample. (This specification occasionally makes reference to prior published documents. A numbered list of these references can be found at the end of this section, under the sub-heading xe2x80x9cReferencesxe2x80x9d.) In integrated circuit manufacture, the accurate measurement of the microstructures being patterned onto semiconductor wafers is highly desirable. Optical measurement methods are typically used for high-speed, non-destructive measurement of such structures. With such methods, a small spot on a measurement sample is illuminated with optical radiation comprising one or more wavelengths, and the sample properties over the measurement spot are determined by measuring characteristics of radiation reflected or diffracted by the sample (e.g., reflection intensity, polarization state, or angular distribution). This disclosure relates to the measurement of a sample comprising a diffractive structure formed on or in a substrate, wherein lateral material inhomogeneities in the structure give rise to optical diffraction effects. If the lateral inhomogeneities are periodic with a period significantly smaller than the illuminating wavelengths, then diffracted orders other than the zeroth order may all be evanescent and not directly observable, or may be scattered outside the detection instrument""s field of view. But the lateral structure geometry can nevertheless significantly affect the zeroth-order reflectivity, making it possible to measure structure features much smaller than the illuminating wavelengths. A variety of measurement methods applicable to diffractive structures are known in the prior art. Reference 7 reviews a number of these methods. The most straightforward approach is to use a rigorous, theoretical model based on Maxwell""s equations to calculate a predicted optical signal characteristic of the sample (e.g. reflectivity) as a function of sample measurement parameters (e.g., film thickness, linewidth, etc.), and adjust the measurement parameters in the model to minimize the discrepancy between the theoretical and measured optical signal (Ref""s 10, 14). (Note: In this context the singular term xe2x80x9ccharacteristicxe2x80x9d may denote a composite entity such as a vector or matrix. The components of the characteristic might, for example, represent reflectivities at different wavelengths or collection angles.) The measurement process comprises the following steps: First, a set of trial values of the measurement parameters is selected. Then, based on these values a computer-representable model of the measurement sample structure (including its optical materials and geometry) is constructed. The electromagnetic interaction between the sample structure and illuminating radiation is numerically simulated to calculate a predicted optical signal characteristic, which is compared to the measured signal characteristic. An automated fitting optimization algorithm iteratively adjusts the trial parameter values and repeats the above process to minimize the discrepancy between the measured and predicted signal characteristic. (The optimization algorithm might typically minimize the mean-square error of the signal characteristic components.) The above process can provide very accurate measurement capability, but the computational burden of computing the structure geometry and applying electromagnetic simulation within the measurement optimization loop makes this method impractical for many real-time measurement applications. A variety of alternative approaches have been developed to avoid the computational bottleneck, but usually at the expense of compromised measurement performance. One alternative approach is to replace the exact theoretical model with an approximate model that represents the optical signal characteristic as a linear function of measurement parameters over some limited parameter range. There are several variants of this approach, including Inverse Least Squares (ILS), Principal Component Regression (PCR), and Partial Least Squares (PLS) (Ref""s 1-5, 7, 11, 15). The linear coefficients of the approximate model are determined by a multivariate statistical analysis technique that minimizes the mean-square error between exact and approximate data points in a xe2x80x9ccalibrationxe2x80x9d data set. (The calibration data may be generated either from empirical measurements or from exact theoretical modeling simulations. This is done prior to measurement, so the calibration process does not impact measurement time.) The various linear models (ILS, PCR, PLS) differ in the type of statistical analysis method employed. There are two fundamental limitations of the linear models: First, the linear approximation can only be applied over a limited range of measurement parameter values; and second, within this range the approximate model does not generally provide an exact fit to the calibration data points. (If the calibration data is empirically determined, one may not want the model to exactly fit the data, because the data could be corrupted by experimental noise. But if the data is determined from a theoretical model it would be preferable to use an approximation model that at least fits the calibration data points.) These deficiencies can be partially remedied by using a non-linear (e.g., quadratic) functional approximation (Ref. 7). This approach mitigates, but does not eliminate, the limitations of linear models. The parameter range limit of functional (linear or non-linear) approximation models can be extended by the method of xe2x80x9crange splittingxe2x80x9d, wherein the full parameter range is split into a number of subranges, and a different approximate model is used for each subrange (Ref. 7). The method is illustrated conceptually in FIG. 1 (cf. FIG. 2 in Ref. 7), which represents the relationship between a measurement parameter x, such as a linewidth parameter, and an optical signal characteristic y, such as the zeroth-order sample reflectivity at a particular collection angle and wavelength. (In practice one is interested in modeling the relationship between multiple measurement parameters, such as linewidths, film thicknesses, etc., and multiple signal components, such as reflectivities at different wavelengths or collection angles. However, the concepts illustrated in FIG. 1 are equally applicable to the more general case.) A set of calibration data points (e.g., point 101) is generated, either empirically or by theoretical modeling. The x parameter range is split into two (or more) subranges 102 and 103, and the set of calibration points is separated into corresponding subsets 104 and 105, depending on which subrange each point is in. A statistical analysis technique is applied to each subset to generate a separate approximation model (e.g., a linear model) for each subrange, such as linear model 106 for subrange 102 and model 107 for subrange 103. Aside from the limitations inherent in the functional approximation models, the range-splitting method has additional deficiencies. Although the functional approximation is continuous and smooth within each subrange, it may exhibit discontinuities between subranges (such as discontinuity 108 in FIG. 1). These discontinuities can create numerical instabilities in optimization algorithms that estimate measurement parameters from optical signal data. The discontinuities can also be problematic for process monitoring and control because small changes in process conditions could result in large, discontinuous jumps in measurements. Another drawback of the range-splitting model is the large number of required calibration points and the large amount of data that must be stored in the model. In the FIG. 1 illustration, each subrange uses a simple linear approximation model of the form y≅ax+bxe2x80x83xe2x80x83Eq. 1 wherein a and b are calibration coefficients. At least two calibration points per subrange are required to determine a and b (generally, more than two are used to provide good statistical sampling over each subrange), and two coefficients (a and b) must be stored for each subrange. If there are M subranges the total number of calibration points must be at least 2 M, and the number of calibration coefficients is 2 M. Considering a more general situation in which there are N measurement parameters X1, X2, . . . XN, the linear approximation would take the form y≅a1x1+a2x2+ . . . aNxN+bxe2x80x83xe2x80x83Eq. 2 If the range of each parameter is split into M subranges, the number of separate linear approximation models required to cover all combinations of parameter subranges would be MN, and the number of calibration parameters per combination (a1, a2, . . . , aN, b) would be N+1. Thus the total number of calibration coefficients (and the minimum required number of calibration data points) would be (N+1) MN. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a parameter space spanned by two parameters, x1 and x2. The x1 range is split into three subranges 201, 202, and 203, and the x2 subrange is split into three subranges 204, 205, and 206. For this case, N=2, M=3, the number of x1 and x2 subrange combinations 207 . . . 215 is 32=9, and the number of linear calibration coefficients would be (2+1) 32=27. Generalizing further, if the optical signal characteristic (y) comprises multiple signal components (e.g., for different wavelengths), the number of calibration coefficients will increase in proportion to the number of components. Furthermore, if a nonlinear (e.g., quadratic) subrange model is used, the number of calibration points and coefficients would be vastly larger. Another measurement approach, Minimum Mean Square Error analysis (MMSE, Ref""s 2-9, 11, 13, 15), provides a simple alternative to the range splitting method described above. With this approach, a database of pre-computed theoretical optical signal characteristics representing a large variety of measurement structures is searched and compared to a samples"" measured optical signal, and the best-fitting comparison (in terms of a mean-square-error fitting criterion) determines the measurement result. (The above-noted references relate primarily to scatterometry and spectroscopy, but MMSE-type techniques have also been applied in the context of ellipsometry; see Ref""s. 12 and 16.) The MMSE method is capable of modeling strong nonlinearities in the optical signal. But this method, like range-splitting, can exhibit problematic discontinuities in the measurement results due to the database""s discrete parameter sampling. All of these prior-art methods entail a compromise between measurement resolution and accuracy. The MMSE approach is not limited by any assumed functional form of the optical signal, and can therefore have good accuracy. But measurement resolution is fundamentally limited by the parameter sampling density. The functional approximation models, by contrast, are capable of xe2x80x9cinterpolatingxe2x80x9d between calibration data points, in the sense that the modeled signal is a continuous and smooth function of measurement parameters across the calibration range; hence such models can have essentially unlimited measurement resolution. However, the term xe2x80x9cinterpolationxe2x80x9d is a misnomer in this context because the functional models do not accurately fit the calibration data points, and their accuracy is limited by the misfit. (For example, Ref. 11 reports a fit accuracy of 5-10 nm for linewidth and thickness parameters.) References 1. R. H. Krukar et al, xe2x80x9cUsing Scattered Light Modeling for Semiconductor Critical Dimension Metrology and Calibration,xe2x80x9d SPIE 1926, pp. 60-71 (1993). 2. C. J. Raymond et al, xe2x80x9cA scatterometric sensor for lithography,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2336, pp. 37-49 (1994). 3. C. J. Raymond et al, xe2x80x9cMetrology of subwavelength photoresist gratings using optical scatterometry,xe2x80x9d J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, Vol. 13(4), pp. 1484-1495 (1995). 4. M. R. Murname et al, xe2x80x9cScatterometry for 0.24 um-0.70 um developed photoresist metrology,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2439, pp. 427-436 (1995). 5. M. R. Murname et al, xe2x80x9cSubwavelength photoresist grating metrology using scatterometry,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2532, pp. 251-261 (1995). 6. C. J. Raymond et al, xe2x80x9cMulti-parameter process metrology using scatterometry,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2638, pp. 84-93 (1995). 7. J. Bischoff et al, xe2x80x9cPhotoresist metrology based on light scattering,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2725, pp. 678-689 (1996). 8. C. J. Raymond et al, xe2x80x9cMulti-parameter CD measurements using scatterometry,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2725, pp. 698-709 (1996). 9. C. J. Raymond et al, xe2x80x9cScatterometry for CD measurements of etched structures,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2725, pp. 720-728 (1996). 10. B. K. Minhas et al, xe2x80x9cTowards sub-0.1 um CD measurements using scatterometry,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2725, pp. 729-739 (1996). 11. J. Bischoff et al, xe2x80x9cLight scattering based micrometrology,xe2x80x9d SPIE Proc. 2775, pp. 251-259 (1996). 12. Xinhui Niu, xe2x80x9cSpecular Spectroscopic Scatterometry in DUV Lithography,xe2x80x9d SPIE 3677, pp. 159-168 (1999). 13. J. Allgair et al, xe2x80x9cManufacturing Considerations for Implementation of Scatterometry for Process Monitoring,xe2x80x9d Proc. SPIE 3998, pp. 125-134 (2000). 14. Conrad, U. S. Pat. No. 5,963,329. 15. McNeil, U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,276. 16. Xu, WO 99/45340. 17. Handbook of Optics, Second Edition, Volume 2, Optical Society of America (1995). 18. xe2x80x9cFormulation and comparison of two recursive matrix algorithms for modeling layered diffraction gratingsxe2x80x9d, Journal of the Optical Society of America, Vol. A 13, No. 5, May 1996. The invention is a method for measuring parameters of interest of a sample comprising a diffractive structure, wherein the method employs a database-search technique in combination with interpolation to avoid the tradeoff between measurement resolution and accuracy. Following is a summary outline of the steps of the method, which will later be individually described in more detail. (The steps need not be performed in the exact order indicated here, except to the extent that dependencies between steps constrain their order.) First, a theoretical model is provided, from which a theoretical optical response characteristic of the diffractive structure is calculable as a function of a set of one or more xe2x80x9cinterpolation parametersxe2x80x9d corresponding to measurement parameters. The theoretical model comprises two primary components: a method for translating any trial set of interpolation parameter values into a computer-representable model of the diffractive structure (including its optical materials and geometry), and a method for numerically simulating electromagnetic interactions within the diffractive structure to calculate the theoretical response characteristic. Next, a database of xe2x80x9cinterpolation pointsxe2x80x9d and corresponding optical response characteristics is generated. Each interpolation point is defined by a specific interpolation parameter set consisting of specific values of the interpolation parameters. The theoretical model is applied to each interpolation point to calculate its corresponding theoretical optical response characteristic, which is stored in the database. The database is used by an xe2x80x9cinterpolation modelxe2x80x9d, which calculates an interpolated optical response characteristic as a function of the interpolation parameter set. The interpolation model provides an approximation to the theoretical model, but without the computational overhead. Given any trial interpolation parameter set within a defined parameter domain, the interpolation model computes an approximate corresponding optical response characteristic by interpolating (or perhaps extrapolating) on the database. (The parameter domain is typically limited by the database, although extrapolation can sometimes be used to extend the domain outside of the database limits. The term xe2x80x9cinterpolationxe2x80x9d can be broadly construed herein to include extrapolation.) The diffractive structure""s internal geometry need not be modeled, and electromagnetic interactions within the structure need not be simulated, in the interpolation model. Thus the computational overhead of direct theoretical modeling of the diffractive structure is avoided. The interpolation model represents a substantially continuous function mapping the interpolation parameter set to the optical response characteristicxe2x80x94it does not exhibit the discontinuities or discretization of prior-art methods such as range-splitting and MMSE. Furthermore, although the interpolation is an approximation, the interpolated optical response characteristic accurately matches the theoretical optical response characteristic at the interpolation points represented in the database. Thus it does not suffer the accuracy limitation of prior-art functional approximation methods. (The term xe2x80x9cinterpolationxe2x80x9d broadly connotes a fitting function that fits the interpolation points. A portion of the fitting function might actually be extrapolated, so in this context the distinction between xe2x80x9cinterpolationxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cextrapolationxe2x80x9d is not significant.) The interpolation model is used by a fitting optimization algorithm that determines measurement parameters of a sample based on a measured optical signal characteristic of the sample. The theoretical optical response characteristic, which is approximated by the interpolation model, does not necessarily correspond directly to the optical signal characteristic or to a measurable quantity. However, a predicted optical signal characteristic is calculable from the optical response characteristic by means of a computationally efficient algorithm that, like interpolation, does not require that the diffractive structure""s internal geometry be modeled or that electromagnetic interactions within the structure be simulated. The optimization algorithm automatically selects a succession of trial interpolation parameter sets, applies the interpolation model to calculate corresponding interpolated optical response characteristics, and from these calculates corresponding predicted optical signal characteristics, which are compared to the measured optical signal characteristic. The algorithm selects the trial parameter sets, based on a comparison error minimization method, to iteratively reduce a defined comparison error metric until a defined termination criterion is satisfied. The measured optical signal characteristic is acquired with a measurement instrument comprising an optical sensor system, which detects radiation diffracted from the sample. The instrument further comprises computational hardware that applies the fitting optimization algorithm to measured signal data and generates measurement results. Subsequent to results generation, the instrument may also generate a computational or graphical representation of the diffractive structure""s geometry. However, this representation is not necessarily required to calculate a corresponding predicted optical response or signal characteristic, and it need not correspond to a particular parameter set in the database.

In the design of the pixel display matrix of the thin film transistor liquid crystal display, It is necessary to carry out a centralized fan-shaped wiring process for a bonding region of a driving integrated circuit, since the distances outputted from the driving integrated circuit to each of the display traces are different, so that the align of the resistance of the fan-shaped region cannot be achieved, thus causing the delay degree of the voltage change of each display traces is not the same, finally make the charging time of each display traces is not consistency and causing color shift, the more the outputting routes of the driving integrated circuit, the more the resistance difference of the fan-out traces in the fan-shaped region, the even more of the delay degree of the voltage change of each display traces, and more seriously color shift. Conventionally, by usually adapting changing the material of the display traces to reduce the difference of the resistance of the traces, or by reducing the number of the outputting routes of the driving integrated circuit to reduce the interval of the fan-shaped region, by reducing the distance difference of the display traces to reduce the difference of the resistance of the traces. But changing the material of the display traces, the support of the TFT-LCD process is needed, and the change of the process and the issues dealing with the process yield will raise a great cost problem, and reducing the number of the outputting routes of the driving integrated circuit will be corresponding increasing the number of the driving integrated circuit, and leading to increase costs, so the conventional method for improving color shift is costly.

The invention relates generally to mobile (cellular) telephone communications services. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and systems that enable businesses to subscribe to a mobile telephone service that allows subscriber's to a mobile telephone service provider to place a telephone call to a business and not have their allotted contract airtime minutes (subscriber-based measured-per-minute call charge) debited. Presently, mobile telephone service provider subscriber service contracts include a predetermined number of contracted-for airtime minutes. When a subscriber (customer) uses more than their allotted airtime minutes in a given billing period, the over minutes are charged at an inflated rate. Therefore, subscribers usually monitor their airtime minute usage to prevent over minutes, or if their airtime use warrants it, change to a service plan that includes more airtime minutes. Calling businesses for general information, pricing inquiries and orders from a mobile telephone consumes airtime minutes. Especially if a call is placed on hold for several minutes. Due to the proliferation of mobile telephone service, many consumers are dropping landline telephone services. This becomes more troublesome for business owners. If consumers minimize time spent shopping from one business to another due to mobile telephone airtime minute usage, business in general suffers and competition between like businesses is affected. What is desired are methods and systems that forward a call placed from a mobile telephone to a preexisting business landline telephone number not using airtime minutes.

This application relates to the discovery and asexual propagation of a new and distinct variety of plum, Prunus salicina cv. ‘Suplumfiftythree’. The new variety was first originated by hybridization in July 2014 by Terry A. Bacon as breeder number ‘PL1687RB’. The new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ is characterized by having large, juicy fruit with black skin and red flesh. The fruit of the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ also has a high Brix:Acid ratio, firm flesh, a mild sweet flavor and a stone that clings to the flesh. The seed parent is ‘PL761RB’ (unpatented breeding selection), and the pollen parent ‘PL674RZ’ (unpatented breeding selection). The parent varieties were first crossed in February 2011, with the date of first sowing being February 2012, and the date of first flowering being February 2014. The new plum variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ was first asexually propagated by Terry Bacon near Wasco, Kern County, Calif. in February 2015 by dormant grafting. The new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ is similar to its pollen parent ‘PL674RZ’ in that the fruit of both varieties has red flesh. The new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ differs from ‘PL674RZ’ in that the fruit of the new variety has a black skin compared to red-dapple skin for the fruit of ‘PL674RZ’. Further, the fruit of the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ is larger at 140 g compared to 100 g for ‘PL674RZ’. The new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ is similar to its seed parent ‘PL761RB’ in that the fruit of both varieties has red flesh and black skin. The new variety ‘Suplufiftythree’ differs from its seed parent ‘PL6761RB’ in that for the new variety ripening time starts 9 days later than for ‘PL761RB’. Further, the fruit of the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ is larger at 140 g compared to 130 g for ‘PL761RB’. The new variety ‘Suplufiftythree’ also differs from ‘PL761RB’ in that the brix:acid ratio is 34 for the new variety, compared to 21 for ‘PL761RB’. The fruit of the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ has similar black skin and red flesh as ‘Black Splendor’ (unpatented). However, the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ differs from ‘Black Splendor’ in that the new variety starts ripening about 7 days later than ‘Black Splendor’. In addition, the new variety has larger fruit at about 140 g compared 135 g for ‘Black Splendor’. The new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ has a brix of 17 degrees, while ‘Black Splendor’ has a brix of 14 degrees. The fruit of the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ has black skin like the fruit of ‘Owen-T’ (unpatented), but the ripening of the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ starts about 18 days later than ‘Owen-T’. Further, the fruit of the new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ has red flesh compared to yellow flesh for ‘Owen-T’. The new variety ‘Suplumfiftythree’ has been shown to maintain its distinguishing characteristics through successive asexual propagations by, for example, cuttings and grafting.

This invention relates to connecting assemblies and, more particularly, to quick release connecting assemblies provided for connecting a second member at a right angle to a first member, and to such connecting assemblies which permit connection and disconnection by access to a point spaced from the point of connection. Previous connecting assemblies providing for connection of a second member to a first member have required access to the point of connection in order to connect and disconnect the second member from the first member. In one such assembly 200, as illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings, a second member 204 was connected to a first member 208 by means of a piece 212 connected to the first member 208. The piece 212 included a recess 216 which received an end 220 of the second member 204, and a screw 224 which was secured in a threaded bore 228 in the piece 212. The screw 224 projected into the recess 216 and was received in an opening 232 in the end 220 of the second member 204. More particularly, the first member 208 was received in a bore 236 in spaced-apart housings 240 and 244. The piece 212 connected to the first member 208 was located outside of the spaced-apart housings 240 and 244, and included a portion 248 extending at a right angle to the first member 208. The portion 248 included the recess 216 which received the end 220 of the second member 204. To connect or disconnect the second member 204 from the first member 208, access to the screw 224 was required to turn the screw 224 in the threaded bore 228 to thereby or withdraw the screw 224 from the opening 232 in the end 220 of the second member 204. The recess 216 was larger than the end 220 of the second member 204 so that the end 220 of the second member 204 could pivot on the screw 224 in the recess 216. The first member 208 was secured in the housings 240 and 244 by the first piece 212 and a cotter pin, washer, and bow washer assembly 260 located on the first member 208 outside of the housings 240 and 244 opposite the first piece 212. Attention is also directed to Conroy U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,083, issued May 19, 1959.

Disclosed herein, in various embodiments, are stable, high performing nanoparticle compositions suitable for printing, such as by inkjet printing, as well as processes and devices for making and/or using the same. Fabrication of electronic circuit elements using liquid deposition techniques may be beneficial as such techniques provide potentially low-cost alternatives to conventional mainstream amorphous silicon technologies for electronic applications such as thin film transistors (TFTs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), RFID tags, photovoltaics, etc. However, the deposition and/or patterning of functional electrodes, pixel pads, and conductive traces, lines and tracks which meet the conductivity, processing, and cost requirements for practical applications have been a great challenge. The metal, silver (Ag), is of particular interest as conductive elements for electronic devices because silver is much lower in cost than gold (Au) and it possesses much better environmental stability than copper (Cu). Silver nanoparticles have been extensively examined. However, previous ink compositions containing silver nanoparticles have typically had poor jettability, i.e. they could not be printed using conventional inkjet printing technologies. Typically, the ink would block the nozzle, drip out or dry out on the printer head, and/or the ink droplets would misfire. The printed features had low resolution and/or suffered from the “coffee ring” effect, wherein the particles in a given droplet end up along the circumference of the circle having a center where the droplet was deposited on the substrate (i.e. a non-uniform deposition). Ideally, deposited inkjet-printed lines should be smooth, even, and straight. Jettable ink compositions would be desirable to enable drop-on-demand deposition and printing with functional features such as electrodes and interconnects for electronic devices.

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2000-46938, filed Aug. 14, 2000, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to duty cycle correction circuits. Recently, the speed of semiconductor memory devices, for example, dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), has increased to improve the performance of existing systems. However, increasing demand for improved systems may require DRAMs that can process even more data at even higher speeds. Accordingly, synchronous dynamic random access memories (SDRAMs) that operate in synchronization with system clocks have been developed for a high-speed operation, thus significantly increasing data transmission speeds. There are limitations on the amount of data that may be input to and/or output from a memory device per clock cycle of a system clock. To address these limitations, dual data rate (DDR) SDRAMs have been recently developed in order to further increase the transmission speed of data. DDR SDRAMS input and/or output data in synchronization with both the rising edge and the falling edge of a clock. Reliable data transmission is possible when the duty cycle of a clock signal is equivalent at 50%, which is ideal, in a DDR SDRAM or a direct rambus dynamic random access memory (RDRAM). Thus, when a signal having a duty cycle that is not equivalent, i.e. greater than or less than 50%, is provided as an input, the signal typically does not perform very well as an input signal. Duty cycle correction circuits have been developed to address this problem. A block diagram of a conventional duty cycle correction circuit is illustrated in FIG. 1. A duty cycle correction circuit includes a duty cycle corrector 10 and a detection circuit 13. The duty cycle corrector 10 generates a pair of complementary input signals IN and INB, from which distortion is typically removed, in response to first and second complementary clock signals CLK and CLKB, having distortion resulting from nonequivalent duty cycles. The detection circuit 13 feeds back first and second detection signals DETECT and DETECTB obtained by detecting distortion in the duty cycles of the complementary pair of input signals IN and INB of the correction circuit 10 in response to the pair of complementary input signals IN and INB. Now referring to FIG. 2, a circuit diagram of a conventional detection circuit 13 of FIG. 1 will be discussed. When mismatching exists among diode-connected loads M1 and M4, cross-coupled loads M2 and M3, source coupled pairs M5 and M6, and/or the respective transistors in the detection circuit 13, increased distortion may occur in the duty cycles of the pair of complementary input signals IN and INB due to mismatching of the respective transistors, even though less distortion is present in the duty cycles of the complementary pair of clock signals CLK and CLKB. Semiconductor devices according to embodiments of the present invention include a duty cycle correction circuit having a duty cycle corrector and a detection circuit. The duty cycle corrector generates a first input signal having a second duty cycle with a higher degree of equivalence than the first duty cycle in response to a first detection signal and a first control signal having a first duty cycle. The detection circuit generates the first detection signal in response to the first input signal. The detection circuit includes a current source having first and second current sources and a bias circuit that is electrically coupled to the first and second current sources and controls a bias of the first and the second current sources responsive to the first input signal. In some embodiments of the present invention, the duty cycle corrector further generates a second input signal having a fourth duty cycle with a higher degree of equivalence than the third duty cycle in response to a second detection signal and a second control signal having a third duty cycle. The detection circuit, in other embodiments of the present invention, further generates the second detection signal in response to the second input signal. In further embodiments of the present invention, the duty cycle correction circuit includes a load matching circuit that is electrically coupled to the first and second current sources and matches a load of the bias circuit in response to the second input signal. In still further embodiments of the present invention, the first control signal is a true clock signal and the second control signal is a complementary clock signal. Furthermore, the first and second input signals are complementary signals and the first and second detection signals are complementary signals. In some embodiments of the present invention, the duty cycle correction circuit further includes a first output driver circuit that pulls the first detection signal up or down in response to the first input signal and a second output driver circuit that pulls a second detection signal up or down in response to a second input signal. The current generated by the current source is supplied to the first output driver circuit, the second output driver circuit and the bias circuit responsive to a bias voltage. The bias voltage may be a voltage at a first node during a period and is calculated according to the equation VNODB+VNODCxe2x88x92VDDxe2x88x92GND. VNODB is the voltage at a second node, VNODC is the voltage at a third node, VDD is a source voltage, and GND is a ground voltage.

1. Field Subject matter disclosed herein relates to monitoring a concentration of an analyte in a physiological compartment. 2. Information The pancreas of a normal healthy person produces and releases insulin into the blood stream in response to elevated blood plasma glucose levels. Beta cells (β-cells), which reside in the pancreas, produce and secrete insulin into the blood stream as it is needed. If β-cells become incapacitated or die, a condition known as Type 1 diabetes mellitus (or in some cases, if β-cells produce insufficient quantities of insulin, a condition known as Type 2 diabetes), then insulin may be provided to a body from another source to maintain life or health. Traditionally, because insulin cannot be taken orally, insulin has been injected with a syringe. More recently, the use of infusion pump therapy has been increasing in a number of medical situations, including for delivering insulin to diabetic individuals or trauma patients. As of 1995, less than 5% of Type 1 diabetic individuals in the United States were using infusion pump therapy. Presently, over 7% of the more than 900,000 Type 1 diabetic individuals in the U.S. are using infusion pump therapy. The percentage of Type 1 diabetic individuals that use an infusion pump is growing at a rate of over 2% each year. Moreover, the number of Type 2 diabetic individuals is growing at 3% or more per year, and growing numbers of insulin-using Type 2 diabetic individuals are also adopting infusion pumps. Additionally, physicians have recognized that continuous infusion can provide greater control of a diabetic individual's condition, so they too are increasingly prescribing it for patients. External infusion pumps are typically provided to control a rate of insulin infusion based, at least in part, on blood glucose measurements obtained from metered blood glucose samples (e.g., finger stick samples) or from processing signals received from a blood glucose sensor attached to a patient to provide sensor glucose measurements. By processing signals from such a blood glucose sensor, a patient's blood glucose level may be continuously monitored to reduce a frequency of obtaining metered blood glucose sample measurements from finger sticks and the like. However, measurements of blood glucose concentration obtained from processing signals from blood glucose sensors may not be as accurate or reliable as blood glucose sample measurements obtained from finger stick samples, for example. Also, parameters used for processing blood glucose sensors for obtaining blood glucose measurements may be calibrated from time to time using metered blood glucose sample measurements as reference measurements obtained from finger sticks and the like.

The present invention relates to projectiles and in particular to a projectile having a cavity containing a fluid. To obtain a satisfactory range from a projectile it is necessary to stabilize its orientation to prevent excessive yaw or pitch. While judicious design of the center of gravity or the inclusion of fins may provide an aerodynamic moment which assures stability, a large class of projectiles rely on spin stabilization. Through the use of rifling, a launched projectile is spun about its longitudinal axis so that it exhibits the wellknown gyroscopic effect. To ensure that a projectile is gyroscopically stabilized its spin rate must exceed a minimum which is determined by factors such as its mass distribution. A specific cannon or gun having standard rifling does not have the ability to adjust the spin rate or the stability of various projectiles. In order to vary the spin rate a known barrel employed two interlaced riflings having differing twist rates. A projectile having engravings matching the appropriate one of the riflings is manually inserted therein. This approach however, does not allow continuous adjustment of spin rate and does not affect projectile stabilizing characteristics such as its mass distribution. In a known projectile, a slipping obturator is used to reduce the spin rate. This apparatus is exposed to high stress and does not provide for adjustment of stabilizing factors such as the mass distribution of the projectile. In a known launcher, its barrel is spun at a rate appropriate for the projectile being fired. While the spin rate can be adjusted in this apparatus, the highest rate attainable is limited and wear is a problem. The present invention provides a projectile whose flight stability is controlled by a fluid disposed in a cavity of the projectile. The cavity is arranged to allow shifting of the fluid. The resulting mass redistribution can affect flight stability by altering the moment of inertia or the center of gravity as the projectile is trajected. Such mass redistribution can be utilized to increase or decrease the flight stability, in various embodiments. Also, prior to launch the flight stability can be set by the simple expedient of selecting a specific volume or density of fluid. The setting of stability in this fashion may be performed in the factory or in the field. This latter feature is also useful where a standard shell is to be fitted with any one of variously shaped explosives of differing densities. In addition, for some embodiments the fluid employed may be a liquid explosive so that dead weight is avoided. Moreover this shifting of fluid may be arranged to facilitate high angular acceleration during launch, thereby ensuring rapic attainment of the rated spin rate. In some embodiments the fluid shift may occur over a predetermined interval so that the projectile stability varies throughout its trajectory. This feature may be important where it is desired to destabilize the projectile and cause it to fall when it reaches a target.

To enable wireless device mobility, access nodes in communication with a wireless device are configured to perform a handover of the wireless device to another access node. Some access nodes can be further configured to maintain an indication of proximate access nodes, such as a neighbor relation table or another similar indication, and the indication of proximate access nodes can be used to facilitate a wireless device handover. Configuring the indication of proximate access nodes is typically performed manually by a network provider for each access node deployed in a communication system. Further, the presence of invalid entries, such as a false indication that an access node is capable of supporting a handover from another access node, can degrade network performance by causing interrupted communication sessions and failed handover attempts.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to basketball practice devices, and more particularly to a basketball hoop assembly which permits greater basketball accuracy by utilizing a plurality of hoop sizes during the practice sessions. 2. Prior Art Basketball players have been attempting for generations to improve their shooting capabilities. In addition to long hours of shooting practice, basketball players and inventors have attempted to provide devices for helping the players achieve their aims. One such early device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,904,836 to Peoples. A standard basketball hoop is attached to a backboard. An inner ring, is attached by hook means to the standard basketball ring, so as to present a smaller hoop within the larger hoop. A further device of a multiple hoop nature, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,918,283 to Marschalk. This patent shows a basketball practice device with a C-shaped ring which is connectively attached to the top side of a regulation sized basketball hoop. This upper- most ring has a frontal segment which is missing. The gap or open segment in the top most ring permits manipulation of the ring so as to easily remove it or attach it to the regular ring. U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,135 to Rush shows a ring replacement arrangement to enable players to change from the standard diameter ring to a larger diameter ring f or players of limited ability. U.S. Pat. No. 2,694,572 to Crisp shows a basketball practice device comprising a plurality of concentric rings which are supported upon the top of a hoop to facilitate the rebounding of the basketball. U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,840 to Dix shows a rebounding apparatus which attaches to the top of a basketball hoop to permit the basketball to bounce back from the top of the ring. Breakaway or slam-dunk mechanisms are somewhat more recent. U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,802 to Ehrat shows a swingable mount for a basketball hoop. A large compression spring is attached to the backside of the basketball board. A shaft through the spring attaches through the board into the basketball hoop. The spring permits a resilient return of the hoop once it has been knocked out of place and down angularly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,923 to Engle et al shows a shock absorber set up to permit pivoting of a single basketball hoop about an axis. A further breakaway arrangement for a basketball hoop, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,556 to Estlund et al having a backboard with a tension spring extending therethrough and a release finger which holds the basketball hoop within its regular position. Force on the basketball hoop causes the finger to release and tension on the spring keeps the basketball hoop from excessive movement. Another breakaway basketball device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,503 to Mahoney wherein an arrangement of springs or lever arms work adaptively to permit a basketball hoop to pivot in front of the backboard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,277 to Dittrich shows a somewhat complicated basketball goal structure wherein a plurality of parallel arm linkages and shock absorbers are arranged to hold a basketball hoop an elongated distance from the support. It is an object of the present invention to provide a basketball hoop arrangement which facilitates basketball players improvement in "making a basket" on a regulation size rim. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a kit wherein a basketball assembly has a series of improvement capabilities which are stepped so as to permit a gradual sharpening of a shooters skill. It is yet a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved breakaway support for the basketball hoop assembly of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an access controller and method for controlling access to a data store. In particular, the invention relates to a method operable in a mail client and a mail client for filtering incoming e-mail. When an e-mail message is sent, a receiver can discover the sender""s e-mail address from the information attached to the e-mail message. Thus, the receiver may subsequently send as many mails as the receiver wishes to the sender. The receiver may also inform someone else of the sender""s e-mail address and third parties may also do the same. Normally this wouldn""t be a problem but there is an increasing amount of unsolicited and useless xe2x80x98Spamxe2x80x99 mail which can choke in-boxes (in-folders) and make it difficult for a receiver to discern real or important e-mail from junk-mail. Accordingly, the present invention provides an access controller for a data store, said access controller being cooperable with means instantiable to send messages across a network to a plurality of clients and means instantiable to receive messages from said clients across said network, said access controller including: means instantiable to generate a token indicative of the number of times a client can access said data store; and authenticating means instantiable to validate any token included in a message from a client to allow or deny access to said data store and a method for controlling access to a data store comprising the steps of: generating a token indicative of the number of times a client can access said data store; and validating any token included in a message from a client to allow or deny access to said data store. The invention enables the sender to control the ability of 3rd parties to successfully send e-mail or to enable the classification of real e-mail from unsolicited possibly junk-mail.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Calibrachoa plant, botanically known as Calibrachoa spp., and referred to by the variety name ‘SAKCAL112’. ‘SAKCAL112’ originated from a hybridization made in 2008 in Kakegawa, Japan. The female parent was the proprietary hybrid Calibrachoa breeding line named ‘7-3B-1A’ and had a lavender, pink and rose flower color, large flower size and a mounding plant growth habit. The male parent was the proprietary hybrid Calibrachoa breeding line named ‘7B-16A-1’ characterized by its lavender flower color, medium flower size and a compact plant growth habit. In November 2008, the parental lines ‘7-3B-1A’ and ‘7B-16A-1’ were crossed and 200 seeds were obtained. In February 2009, the F1 seed was sown in the greenhouse, cultivated and plant lines were produced with flower colors of rose, pink and lavender with a mounding and creeping plant growth habit. In May 2009, four plant lines were selected within the F1 plants that had lavender flowers and a compact plant growth habit. In June 2009, the four plant lines were intercrossed and 2,500 seeds were obtained from the group of F2 plants. In August 2009, 500 seeds were sown in the greenhouse, cultivated and plant lines were produced with flower colors of lavender with a mounding and compact plant growth habit. In November 2009, the line ‘K2010-062’ was selected for its lavender flower color and compact plant growth habit. In February 2010, line ‘K2010-062’ was first vegetatively propagated, cultivated and evaluated. In April 2010, line ‘K2010-062’ was confirmed to be fixed and stable. In July 2010, line ‘K2010-062’ was propagated and cultivated again to reconfirm the lines' stability. In November 2010, the line was confirmed to be fixed and stable. The line was subsequently named ‘SAKCAL112’ and its unique characteristics were found to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation via vegetative cuttings in Salinas, Calif. Asexual propagation was performed via excising the terminal 1.0 inches to 1.5 inches of an actively growing stem of the variety.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. An information handling system can include a communication interface for exchanging information with another information handling system. The communication interface can include a wireless interface utilizing radio signals to provide a data link between two or more information handling systems. The rate that information can be exchanged over a wireless data link is limited in part by the frequency of the radio signal used to carry the information, with higher frequencies generally capable of providing greater data throughput. For example, an extremely high frequency (EHF) wireless interface may operate at 60 gigahertz (GHz), a portion of the radio frequency spectrum known as the millimeter band. The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.

The hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenases (HPPDs) are enzymes that catalyze the reaction in which para-hydroxyphenylpyruvate (HPP) is transformed into homogentisate. This reaction takes place in the presence of enzyme-bound iron (Fe2+) and oxygen. Herbicides that act by inhibiting HPPD are well known, and include isoxazoles, diketonitriles, triketones, and pyrazolinates (Hawkes “Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase (HPPD)—The Herbicide Target.” In Modern Crop Protection Compounds. Eds. Kramer and Schirmer. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH, 2007. Ch. 4.2, pp. 211-220) Inhibition of HPPD blocks the biosynthesis of plastoquinone (PQ) from tyrosine. PQ is an essential cofactor in the biosynthesis of carotenoid pigments which are essential for photoprotection of the photosynthetic centres. HPPD-inhibiting herbicides are phloem-mobile bleachers which cause the light-exposed new meristems and leaves to emerge white. In the absence of carotenoids, chlorophyll is photo-destroyed and becomes itself an agent of photo-destruction via the photo-generation of singlet oxygen. Methods for providing plants that are tolerant to HPPD herbicides are also known. These methods have included: 1) overexpressing the HPPD enzyme so as to produce quantities of HPPD enzyme in the plant that are sufficient in relation to a given herbicide so as to have enough of the functional enzyme available for the plant to thrive despite the presence of the herbicide; and 2) mutating a particular HPPD enzyme into an enzyme that is less sensitive to inhibition by herbicides. Methods for mutating HPPD enzymes for improved HPPD herbicide tolerance have been described (see, e.g., PCT Application Nos. WO 99/24585 and WO 2009/144079), and some particular mutations of plant HPPD enzymes (e.g., mutation of G422 in the Arabidopsis HPPD sequence) are purportedly capable of providing some measure of tolerance to mesotrione and other triketone herbicides. However, the enzyme kinetic and whole plant data reported thus far are insufficient to conclude whether the reported mutational changes confer commercially significant benefits over the corresponding wild type enzyme(s). Furthermore, while a particular HPPD enzyme may provide a useful level of tolerance to some HPPD-inhibitor herbicides, the same HPPD may be quite inadequate to provide commercial levels of tolerance to a different, more desirable HPPD-inhibitor herbicide (See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040058427; PCT Publication Nos. WO 98/20144 and WO 02/46387; see also U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050246800 relating to the identification and labelling of soybean varieties as being relatively HPPD tolerant). Moreover, mutated versions of HPPDs from cool-climate grasses with improved resistance to triketone-type herbicides have yet to be reported. Such mutants would be highly desirable, as HPPDs from cool-climate grasses are preferable to other types (see, e.g., PCT Application No. WO 02/46387 and Hawkes et al. 2001 in Proc. Brit. Crop Prot. Conf. Weeds 2, 563). Accordingly, new methods and compositions for conferring commercial levels of HPPD herbicide tolerance upon various crops and crop varieties are needed.

Especially in the foundry field and, indeed, whenever sand castings are made, following the casting process a used sand becomes available which may have to be reprocessed, inter alia, to remove contaminants, and may have to be combined with new sand or fresh sand and, in some cases, with special sands for particular purposes in the foundry arts, before the sand is reused for the production of molds and the like. Apparatus for the processing of sand, both used sand and new sand, generally comprises a housing having a sand inlet and a sand outlet. The characteristics of the treated sand which are important are a uniform particle size, a freedom from detrimental contaminants, the presence of binder residues which may be advantageous, and, in the case of used sands, a freedom from dust, slime and the like. The product should also be free from large agglomerates and metal sputterings from the casting process as well as other impurities which may be detrimental to a subsequent casting process. In the past the apparatus has been designed to free the sand from contaminants and thus prepare the sand for reuse, both in the case of used sand and in the case of mixtures of used sand with fresh or new sand. By and large prior apparatuses for this purpose have proved to be unsatisfactory because the sand during the process was subjected to different temperatures and different humidity levels so that an optimal treatment could not be assured. Further a homogeneous reproducible product could not be ensured.

Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland of milk producing animals, for example dairy cows, most often caused by bacterial infection. Bacteria enter through the teat canal of the animal and can cause acute, clinical, or sub-clinical mastitis. Over 135 organisms have been documented as causative pathogens for bovine mastitis. Three of the major groups of pathogens are gram-positive cocci, gram-negative bacilli, and gram-positive bacilli. Hygiene, environmental factors, and metabolic disturbances deriving from high milk yield combine to create conditions favorable to the onset of mastitis. An increased somatic cell count, associated with mastitis, is positively correlated with infection and negatively correlated with milk production. Frequently, an infected cow must be removed from the herd and dried up. Mastitis often affects a cow during its entire life unless the disease is properly treated, and in extreme cases an animal may become so severely infected that she dies. Infection rates average from 10% to 30% of the cows in a typical herd, with losses per cow ranging from $185 to $250 per cow per year. Bovine mastitis is the most economically costly disease to the dairy industry, with losses estimated at two billion dollars annually in the United States alone. The majority of these losses are due to reduced milk production. Intramammary administration of compositions comprising an antibiotic for prevention and treatment of mastitis in milk producing animals is well known. Several compositions suitable for such administration are formulated in aqueous based vehicles. For example, British Patent Application No. 2,273,655 discloses compositions for intramammary use comprising an insoluble antibiotic in an aqueous suspension for treatment of mastitis. International Patent Publication No. WO 95/31180 discloses a composition comprising the antibiotic cloxacillin benzathine in an aqueous base, and additionally a teat seal composition, in injectors for intramammary application. European Patent Application No. 0 797 988 discloses a veterinary composition in the form of an aqueous gel containing an antibacterial agent, useful for intramammary administration for prevention and treatment of mastitis. The chemical stability of many antibiotics is, however, severely limited in aqueous based compositions. Hence, a number of oil based formulations for treatment and/or prevention of mastitis have also been developed. British Patent Application No. 1,456,349 discloses a composition of an anti-mastitis medicament dispersed in a gelled vehicle comprising a mineral oil or non-drying, semi-drying, or drying vegetable oil or a mixture thereof, other than a mixture of drying and semi-drying vegetable oils, and from 0.5% to 5% by weight of a fatty acid ester derived from a saturated or unsaturated monocarboxylic acid having from 12 to 20 carbon atoms, and glycerin, propylene glycol, a mono- or dihydric alcohol having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms, or a polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of 200 to 6000. Such a composition is said to provide short milkout times. European Patent Application No. 0 058 015 discloses an intramammary formulation comprising isoxazolyl penicillin and rifampicin in an acceptable carrier. This formulation is said to substantially eliminate intracellular staphylococci. U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,612 to Daley et al. describes a composition comprising a potentiating or safening amount of an aqueous surfactant in combination with a tumor necrosis factor, wherein the surfactant is sterol, n-dodecylglucosid, decanoyl n-methylglucamid, dodecyl B-D-maltosid or octanoyl n-methylglucamid. Such a composition is said to provide an efficacious treatment for mastitis with minimal milk discard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,920 to Dowrick discloses an intramammary composition comprising a suspension of a semi-solid synthetic penicillin in an oily vehicle that comprises triglycerides or propylene glycol diesters of fatty acids containing 8-10 carbon atoms. Such a composition is said to provide short milkout times and good stability and shelf life. U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,815 to Szentmiklosi et al. relates to a primycin-containing colloidal basic gel comprising 5-30% of primycin and 95-70% of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. International Patent Publication No. WO 88/01504 discloses an intramammary infusion comprising a first dosage unit comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle and a substance active against mammary infection, and a second, optional, dosage unit of active substance, the particles of which are microencapsulated within a membrane capable of degrading. International Patent Publication No. WO 87/03876 discloses a veterinary composition for treatment of mammary disorders and keratoconjunctivitis comprising benzathine cephalothin and a veterinarily acceptable carrier. British Patent Application No. 2,273,443 discloses a composition for treating mastitis, comprising an antibacterial and a seal comprising a polyethylene gel. British Patent Application No. 2,273,441 discloses a composition for treating mastitis, comprising an antibacterial and a seal comprising a gel base containing a heavy metal salt. British Patent Application No. 1,089,523 discloses a composition comprising an antibiotic in a hydrophobic viscous or gel base, and comprising in addition at least 10% by weight of a solid, finely divided physiologically innocuous non-gelling water soluble compound of average particle size below 150 microns. U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,312 to Reuter & Tsuk discloses a prolonged release dosage form for treatment of mastitis consisting of an antimicrobial agent dispersed in a matrix of low molecular weight polyesters of glycolic and lactic acids, and shaped as a cylindrical bougie for insertion into the teat canal. British Patent No. 1,589,917 discloses a composition comprising a crystalline sodium salt of clavulanic acid methyl ether and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. High tissue levels of medicament are said to be produced after administration. European Patent Application No. 0 271 306 discloses a method of treating mammary disorders comprising administering an antibacterial in the form of particles, at least 65% of which have a size in the range 0-5 microns, suspended in a hydrophobic oily vehicle which comprises an oil and a gelling agent. Prolonged release of medicament is said to be achieved. U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,138 to Rhodes discloses an infusion of a limited solubility penicillin salt in a slow release base, optionally with neomycin. U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,194 to Parizeau discloses a composition for treating mastitis by intramammary infusion, comprising an antibiotic, a vegetable oil, an alcohol-soluble fraction of natural lecithin phospholipid material for promoting dispersion of the oil in milk, the phospholipid being selected from the group consisting of phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine and mixtures thereof and present in amount of at least 0.25% in said oil. Such compositions are said to provide rapid dispersion into milk and short milkout times. British Patent Application 1,181,527 discloses a composition for treating mastitis comprising an active substance and a pharmaceutically acceptable oil base, said composition containing phospholipid material consisting substantially entirely of alcohol-soluble material for promoting dispersion of the composition in milk. European Patent Application No. 0 222 712 discloses a composition which contains one or more antimicrobial agents dispersed in an oil consisting of a mixture of triglycerides of palmitic and stearic acid together with polyoxyethylenated cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol, and held in an oily medium of mineral, vegetable, synthetic or mixed extraction. Such compositions are said to speed up release of the antimicrobial agent in the udder, enhancing its biological potential, and reducing milkout time. A Labrafil product brochure (Notice OL 0050/5th edition) from Gattefossé Corporation contains an extract from a thesis by Valette (1957), discussing characteristics of Labrafil™ M-1944CS in the ear canal. The same thesis describes an experiment involving injecting Labrafil™ M-1944CS mixed with gentian violet into a cow teat. It was shown that Labrafil™ wetted the entire surface of the mammary parenchyma section and reached the retromammary ganglion. Non-aqueous aerosol mastitis formulations are disclosed in the patents cited individually below. U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,658. U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,386. U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,743. Canadian Patent No. 670,254. British Patent No. 980,282. In addition, amphipathic oils that are dispersible in water have been utilized in preparation of a number of pharmaceutical compositions not specifically developed for intramammary treatment and/or prevention of mastitis. European Patent Application No. 0 982 035 discloses an alcohol free transparent solution which comprises a cyclosporin in a hydrophilic carrier medium comprising propylene glycol, a transesterification product of a natural vegetable oil triglyceride and a polyalkylene polyol, a polyoxyethylene hydrogenated castor oil product and triacetin. International Patent Publication No. WO 00/48571 discloses a spontaneously dispersible composition for oral administration comprising N-benzoyl-staurosporine, a surfactant selected from the group consisting of a polyoxyethylene castor oil, a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether and a polysorbate and a transesterified ethoxylated vegetable oil as a co-surfactant. U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,685 to Tyle et al. discloses a method of making an anhydrous formulation by preparing an anhydrous hydrophilic phase comprising at least one hydrophilic vehicle which is solubilizing at least one lipophilic pharmaceutically active agent, preparing an oily phase comprising at least one oily component which is partially miscible with the at least one hydrophobic vehicle and combining the oily phase with the anhydrous hydrophilic phase to form the anhydrous formulation. European Patent No. 0 356 325 discloses a pharmaceutical composition for oral, topical, or parenteral administration containing a sparingly water-soluble active agent in an amount as high as 25% and at least one glyceride gelled with at least one cellulose polymer. International Patent Publication No. WO 96/06598 describes pharmaceutical compositions for aerosol delivery comprising a medicament, a non-chlorofluorocarbon propellant, and a polyglycolized glyceride or derivative thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,491 relates to a liquid preparation for oral and parenteral administration comprising a cyclosporin, a polyoxyethylene glycol fatty acid monoester, and a monohydric and/or polyhydric alcohol(s). International Patent Publication No. WO 99/61025 discloses microemulsion proconcentrates with a piperidine substance P antagonist. U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,136 describes compositions capable of forming a microemulsion, comprising an active principle, a lipophilic phase consisting of a mixture of fatty acid esters and glycerides, a surfactant, a cosurfactant, and a hydrophilic phase. International Patent Publication No. WO 99/56727 discloses self-emulsifying microemulsion or emulsion preconcentrate compositions containing a poorly water soluble active agent, an effective amount of a low HLB oil component, and a surfactant system consisting essentially of at least one surfactant having an HLB of about 10 to 20, wherein the composition contains minor amounts or is substantially free of a hydrophilic solvent system. European Patent Application No. 1 004 294 discloses a substantially anhydrous pharmaceutical composition comprising a nitric oxide donating compound, a mucoadhesive compound, and an emulsifier capable of forming a microemulsion on addition of water. European Patent Application No. 0 265 044 describes (Nva)2-cyclosporin compositions for treatment of autoimmune diseases. U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,307 to Cavanak discloses a pharmaceutical composition comprising an active monocyclic peptide and at least one of the following: a nonionic ester of a triglyceride and a polyalkylene polyol, a saturated fatty acid triglyceride, and a mono- or diglyceride having improved physical and absorption properties. Two articles by Gao et al. (1995) in Pharmaceutical Research 12(6), 857-868, “Controlled release of a contraceptive steroid from biodegradable and injectable gel formulations: in vitro evaluation” and “Controlled release of a contraceptive steroid from biodegradable and injectable gel formulations: in vivo evaluation”, describe preparation of gels containing levonorgestrel, Labrafil™ M-1944CS, and glyceryl palmitostearate. Formulations comprising an antibacterial agent and an anti-inflammatory agent, said to be suitable for otic administration to treat otic conditions, are disclosed in the patents and publications cited individually below. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/142999. U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,746 to Cagle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,964 to Cagle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,327 to Cagle et al. International Patent Application No. WO 01/89495. International Patent Application No. WO 01/89496. European Patent No. 0 592 348. All of the above patents and articles are incorporated herein by reference. The most commonly used packaging containers and delivery devices for compositions intended for intramammary administration to treat and/or prevent mastitis in milk producing animals as well as for compositions for otic administration to treat ear infections are constructed of oxygen permeable plastic materials, for example polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. and mixtures thereof. The use of oxygen permeable packaging containers and delivery devices for anti-mastitis formulations and for compositions for treatment and prevention of ear infections, poses serious problems for long term chemical and/or physical stability of compositions comprising an ingredient, for example an active medicament or an excipient, that is prone to oxidative degradation. Although the references cited above disclose a number of compositions for treatment of mastitis and other disease conditions, none addresses the problem of providing extended chemical and/or physical stability of compositions packaged in oxygen permeable containers, where the composition comprises a pharmaceutically active substance that is prone to oxidative degradation. Despite the above teachings, there still exists a need in the art for pharmaceutical compositions having one or more of the following advantages over prior art compositions used in treatment and prevention of mastitis by intramammary infusion: (a) extended chemical and/or physical stability even when packaged in oxygen permeable containers and delivery devices, particularly where the composition comprises a pharmaceutically active substance that is prone to oxidative degradation, (b) efficacy against a wide variety of infectious organisms, (c) rapid dispersibility in milk and in udder fluids to achieve efficacious medicament levels at sites of infection, (d) short milkout times for lactating cows, (e) zero day slaughter meat withdrawal period, (f) short milk withholding times post calving after dry cow treatment, and (g) minimal to no irritation after administration.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to uninterruptible power supplies. More specifically, the preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to an uninterruptible power supply with controllable leakage current. 2. Background Discussion Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are commonly used to provide power to critical equipment that must not experience even short duration brownouts or blackouts. For example, computer servers, computer networks, telecommunications electronics and medical devices are often powered by an uninterruptible power supply. A UPS device typically has an AC-DC-AC converter and backup battery that is activated in case the alternating current (AC) line power is temporarily disconnected or falls below a voltage threshold. FIG. 1 shows a conventional UPS circuit according to the background art. The conventional UPS circuit includes an input rectifier (having switches Q1, Q2) and an output inverter (having switches Q3, Q4) connected in series. The input rectifier converts AC input power to DC power, and the output inverter converts the DC power to AC output power. Typically, the switches Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 will be MOSFET devices or insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), though switches Q1 Q2 can also be diodes. The switches Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 are controlled by a gate drive circuit (not shown). Storage capacitors C1, C2 store DC power. Typically, an isolation transformer T is provided. The input rectifier switches Q1, Q2 receive AC line power and provide direct current (DC) power to the inverter switches Q3, Q4. The inverter switches Q3, Q4 are typically operated according to a pulse-width modulation (PWM) scheme. The PWM waveform is filtered by output inductor Lo and output capacitor Co to create a smooth AC output waveform. With this arrangement, the voltage and frequency of the AC output can be accurately controlled and will be independent of the AC input. Leakage current is often a problem with the conventional circuit of FIG. 1 and similar UPS circuits. Leakage current results when AC signals (egg from the PWM waveform produced by the inverter switches Q3, Q4) couple to ground, the device chassis, or nearby electronic components. A typical UPS providing a kilowatt of power may experience several hundred microamperes of leakage current. In some applications, leakage current can produce ground loop currents, noise, and disturbances in sensitive electronic circuits. Leakage current is particularly a problem in medical device electronics because medical devices are often very sensitive to noise and ground loop current. Leakage current can be dangerous in medical applications as it may cause a malfunction of critical life support or monitoring equipment. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a UPS circuit that has reduced leakage current. It would be particularly beneficial to provide a UPS circuit that has a leakage current less than an adjustable maximum level. Also, it would be beneficial to provide a UPS circuit that allows the maximum leakage current to be controlled by a user.

This invention relates to a structure with switchable magnetic properties. In certain applications it is advantageous if the magnetic permeability of a material can be tailored for that application at least within a specified frequency range and more especially if its magnetic permeability could be switched between selected values. In our co-pending UK Patent Application No. 2346485 (International Patent Application No. WO 00/41270) and in a publication entitled Magnetism from Conductors and Enhanced Non-Linear Phenomena, IEEE Transaction on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1999, 47, 2075-2084, J B Pendry, A J Holden, D J Robbins and W J Stewart, a structured material is disclosed which exhibits a magnetic permeability at a selected frequency, typically a microwave frequency (GHz). The content of these documents is hereby incorporated by way of reference thereto. The structured material described in these documents comprises an array of capacitive elements which include a low resistance electrically conducting path and in which the elements are arranged such that a magnetic component of electromagnetic radiation within a selected frequency band induces an electrical current to flow around the path and through the associated element. The size of the elements and their spacing are selected such as to provide a selected magnetic permeability in response to the electromagnetic radiation. Such a structure allows a material to be fabricated which is designed to have a selected fixed magnetic permeability for a selected frequency of electromagnetic radiation. As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and (b) one such structured material 2 comprises an array of capacitive elements 4 each of which consists of two concentric metallic electrically conducting cylindrical tubes: an outer cylindrical tube 6 and an inner cylindrical tube 8. Both tubes 6, 8 have a longitudinal (i.e running in an axial direction) gap 10 and the two gaps 10 are offset from each other by 180xc2x0. The elements 4 are arranged in a regular square array and are positioned on centres at a distance a apart. The outer tube 6 has a radius r and the inner 8 and outer 6 cylindrical tubes are separated by a distance d. The gap 10 prevents the flow of dc electrical current around either of the cylinders 6, 8. However the self capacitance between the two cylindrical tubes 6, 8 allows an ac current, j, to flow when the material is subjected to electromagnetic radiation 12 having a magnetic field component H which is parallel to the axis of the tubes 6, 8. It is shown that such a structure has an effective magnetic permeability xcexceff (xcfx89) which is given by: μ eff ⁡ ( ω ) = 1 - [ π ⁢ xe2x80x83 ⁢ r 2 a 2 1 + 2 ⁢ σ ⁢ xe2x80x83 ⁢ i ω ⁢ xe2x80x83 ⁢ r ⁢ μ 0 - 3 ⁢ dc 0 2 π 2 ⁢ ω 2 ⁢ r 3 ] Eq . xe2x80x83 ⁢ 1 in which xcfx89 is the angular frequency, "sgr" the resistivity of the cylindrical tubes, i the {square root over (xe2x88x921)} and c0 the velocity of light. From Eq. 1 it can be seen that by appropriate selection of the size r and spacing a of the cylindrical tubes a structure having a selected magnetic permeability at a given frequency xcfx89 can be obtained. For ease of fabrication it proposed in UK Patent Application No. 2346485 (International Patent Application No. WO 00/41270) to construct each capacitive element 4 in the form of a stack of concentric split rings 26, 28 as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b). A stack of such rings is shown to be equivalent to the concentric cylindrical tubes described above and has a magnetic permeability given by: μ eff ⁡ ( ω ) = 1 - [ π ⁢ xe2x80x83 ⁢ r 1 2 a 2 1 + 2 ⁢ l ⁢ σ 1 ω ⁢ xe2x80x83 ⁢ r 1 ⁢ μ 0 ⁢ i - 3 ⁢ lc 0 2 πω 2 ⁢ r 1 3 ⁢ ln [ xe2x80x83 ⁢ 2 ⁢ c 1 d 1 ] ] Eq . xe2x80x83 ⁢ 2 where r1 is the inside radius of the inner ring 28, a the lattice spacing of the rings, l the separation between the rings in a given column in an axial direction, d1 the separation between the rings in a radial direction, c1 the width of each ring in a radial direction and "sgr"1 the resistance per unit length of each ring. A further microstructured material described in United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2346485 (International Patent Application No. WO 00/41270) is constructed using a stack of conducting elements which comprise a single spiral shaped conductor 34 as illustrated in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b). It is also suggested that in United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2346485 (International Patent Application No. WO 00/41270) that the magnetic permeability of the structured material could he made to be switchable by incorporating an non-linear dielectric medium, such as Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) or other ferroelectric material, into the structure. The magnetic permeability of the structure is switched by changing the permittivity of the ferroelectric material by applying an electric field across the ferroelectric material. It is suggested that the ferroelectric material could be incorporated between the cylindrical tubes of each capacitive element (FIG. 1(b)) or between each of the concentric rings in a radial direction (FIG. 2(a)). The inclusion however of a ferroelectric material, such as BST, decreases the resonant frequency of the structure by a factor of more than 30 times. To increase the resonant frequency to a selected value to obtain the desired magnetic permeability at a given frequency requires the self capacitance of each capacitive element to be reduced by the same factor. When it is intended that the structured magnetic material is to operate at microwave frequency, that is in the GHz region, this would require a structure composed of capacitive elements which were impractical to fabricate. To overcome this problem it is proposed in United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2346485 (International Patent Application No. WO 00/41270) that the structure comprises an array of single, rather than concentric, cylindrical tubes each of which has two gaps running in an axial direction. A ferroelectric is provided in the gaps and the magnetic permeability switched by changing the permeability of the ferroelectric material using an electrical static switchable electric field. Although such a structured material is capable of operation at microwave frequencies it is impractical to fabricate capacitive elements sufficiently small for operation at radio frequencies in the MHz region. Furthermore even for microwave operation the construction of such a structured material is difficult and expensive. The present invention has arisen in an endeavour to provide a structured material having a magnetic permeability which can be switched between selected values at a selected wavelength of operation, which can be readily fabricated and which is suitable for operation at radio frequencies (MHz). According to the present invention there is provided a structure with switchable magnetic properties comprising an array of capacitive elements in which each capacitive element includes a low resistance conducting path and is such that a magnetic component of electromagnetic radiation lying within a predetermined frequency band induces an electrical current to flow around said path and through said associated element and wherein the size of the elements and their spacing apart are selected such as to provide a predetermined permeability in response to said received electromagnetic radiation, characterised in that each capacitive element comprises a plurality of stacked planar sections each of which comprises at least two concentric spiral conducting members which are electrically insulated from each other and which have a switchable permittivity material therebetween. The magnetic permeability of the structure can be readily switched to a selected value by applying a static electric field across the switchable permittivity material. This is conveniently achieved by applying a dc voltage between the conducting spiral members of each capacitive element. In the context of this patent application the term spiral is to be construed broadly and is not restricted to a plane curve which is traced about a fixed point from which it continuously recedes. The term includes any unclosed loop of more than one turn which recedes away from a centre point. As such the term encompasses spirals which are square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal or have other geometric forms. Preferably the spirals are substantially circular in form. Alternatively they are square or rectangular in form. Advantageously the switchable permittivity material comprises a ferroelectric material, preferably Barium Strontium Titanate. Alternatively it can comprise a liquid crystal. Preferably the capacitive elements are arranged on a square array. Advantageously alternate spiral conducting members in a given row unwind in an opposite sense. With such an arrangement the structure advantageously further comprises electrically conducting connecting tracks connecting respective spiral members in a given column. Preferably the structure is configured for operation at radio frequencies (MHz). The structures of the invention are non-magnetic in a steady magnetic field.

An inverter is a device for converting a direct current into an alternating current (a sine wave of 220V and 50 Hz in general), which includes an inverter unit, a filtering unit, a control unit, a converging unit, a booster unit, a communication unit, a switch fitting and other components, thereby achieving the objective to convert the direct current into the alternating current in coordination with all components. A common inverter mainly includes a combined inverter and an integrated inverter. With the more and more requirements for a distributed power station, the combined inverter plays a more and more important role in the distributed power station. The combined inverter has advantages such as a wide voltage range from 250V to 800V, flexible component configuration, a small volume, light weight, convenient transportation, easy installation, small floor space, therefore, construction difficult of the combined inverter in various applications is low, and the combined inverter can be installed without a lifting apparatus. However, as the power of the combined inverter is increased, the weight of the combined inverter becomes heavier and heavier, and the advantages of the combined inverter such as the flexible installation and convenient transportation are diminished, which does not facilitate installation and transportation in the construction site, and reduces applicability of the combined inverter having high power. In view of the disadvantages of the combined inverter described above, it is urgent to provide a combined inverter which can achieve flexible installation and transportation.

As compared to conventional cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) primarily used for realizing moving images, LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays) have a drawback, so-called motion blur, which is the blurring of outline of a movement portion perceived by a viewer when displaying an image with movement. It is suggested that this motion blur arises from the LCD display mode itself (see, e.g., patent document 1 and non-patent document 1). Since fluorescent material is scanned by an electron beam to cause emission of light for display in CRTs, the light emission of pixels is basically impulse-like although slight afterglow of the fluorescent material exists. This is called an impulse-type display mode. On the other hand, in the case of LCDs, an electric charge is accumulated by applying an electric field to liquid crystal and is retained at a relatively high rate until the next time the electric field is applied. Especially, in the case of the TFT mode, since a TFT switch is provided for each dot configuring a pixel and each pixel normally has an auxiliary capacity, the ability to retain the accumulated electric charge is extremely high. Therefore, the light emission is continued until the pixels are rewritten by the application of the electric field based on image information of the next frame or field (hereinafter, represented by the frame). This is called a hold-type display mode. Since the impulse response of the image displaying light has a temporal spread in the above hold-type display mode, temporal frequency characteristics are deteriorated along with spatial frequency characteristics, resulting in the motion blur. That is, since the human eye can smoothly follow a moving object, if the light emission time is long as in the case of the hold type, movement of image seems jerky and unnatural due to a time integration effect. To improve the motion blur in the above hold-type display mode, a frame rate (number of frames) is converted by interpolating an image between frames in a known technology. This technology is called FRC (Frame Rate Converter) and is put to practical use in liquid crystal display devices, etc. Conventionally known methods of converting the frame rate include various techniques such as simply repeating read-out of the same frame for a plurality of times and frame interpolation using linear interpolation between frames (see, e.g., non-patent document 2). However, in the case of the frame interpolation process using the linear interpolation between frames, unnaturalness of motion (jerkiness, judder) is generated due to the frame rate conversion, and the motion blur disturbance due to the above hold-type display mode cannot sufficiently be improved, resulting in inadequate image quality. To eliminate effects of the jerkiness, etc., and improve quality of moving images, a motion-compensated frame interpolation (motion compensation) process using motion vectors has been proposed. In this motion compensation process, since a moving image itself is captured and compensated, highly natural moving images can be acquired without deteriorating the resolution and generating the jerkiness. Since interpolation image signals are generated with motion compensation, the motion blur disturbance due to the above hold-type display mode can sufficiently be improved. Above patent document 1 discloses a technology of motion-adaptively generating interpolation frames to increase a frame frequency of a display image for improving deterioration of spatial frequency characteristics causing the motion blur. In this case, at least one interpolation image signal interpolated between frames of a display image is motion-adaptively created from the previous and subsequent frames, and the created interpolation image signals are interpolated between the frames and are sequentially displayed. FIG. 44 is a block diagram of an outline configuration of an FRC drive display circuit in a conventional liquid crystal display device and, in FIG. 44, the FRC drive display circuit includes an FRC portion 100 that converts the number of frames of the input image signal by interpolating the image signals subjected to the motion compensation process between frames of the input video signal, an active-matrix liquid crystal display panel 103 having a liquid crystal layer and an electrode for applying the scan signal and the data signal to the liquid crystal layer, and an electrode driving portion 104 for driving a scan electrode and a data electrode of the liquid crystal display panel 103 based on the image signal subjected to the frame rate conversion by the FRC portion 100. The FRC portion 100 includes a motion vector detecting portion 101 that detects motion vector information from the input image signal and an interpolation frame generating portion 102 that generates interpolation frames based on the motion vector information acquired by the motion vector detecting portion 101. In the above configuration, for example, the motion vector detecting portion 101 may obtain the motion vector information with the use of a block matching method, a gradient method, etc., or if the motion vector information is included in the input image signal in some form, this information may be utilized. For example, the image data compression-encoded with the use of the MPEG format includes motion vector information of a moving image calculated at the time of encoding, and this motion vector information may be acquired. FIG. 45 is a view for explaining a frame rate conversion process by the conventional FRC drive display circuit shown in FIG. 44. The FRC portion 100 generates interpolation frames (gray-colored images in FIG. 45) between frames with the motion compensation using the motion vector information output from the motion vector detecting portion 101 and sequentially outputs the generated interpolation frame signals along with the input frame signals to perform a process of converting the frame rate of the input image signal from 60 frames per second (60 Hz) to 120 frames per second (120 Hz). FIG. 46 is a view for explaining an interpolation frame generation process of the motion vector detecting portion 101 and the interpolation frame generating portion 102. The motion vector detecting portion 101 uses the gradient method to detect a motion vector 105 from, for example, a frame #1 and a frame #2 shown in FIG. 45. That is, the motion vector detecting portion 101 obtains the motion vector 105 by measuring a direction and an amount of movement in 1/60 second between the frame #1 and the frame #2. The interpolation frame generating portion 102 then uses the obtained motion vector 105 to allocate an interpolation vector 106 between the frame #1 and the frame #2. An interpolation frame 107 is generated by moving an object (in this case, an automobile) from a position of the frame #1 to a position after 1/120 second based on the interpolation vector 106. By performing the motion-compensated frame interpolation process with the use of the motion vector information to increase a display frame frequency in this way, the display state of the LCD (the hold-type display mode) can be made closer to the display state of the CRT (the impulse-type display mode) and the image quality deterioration can be improved which is due to the motion blur generated when displaying a moving image. In the motion-compensated frame interpolation process, it is essential to detect the motion vectors for the motion compensation. For example, the block matching method, the gradient method, etc., are proposed as representative techniques for the motion vector detection. In the gradient method, the motion vector is detected for each pixel or small block between two consecutive frames and this is used to interpolate each pixel or small block of the interpolation frame between two frames. That is, an image at an arbitrary position between two frames is interpolated at an accurately compensated position to convert the number of frames. Patent Document 1: Specification of Japanese Patent No. 3295437 Non-Patent Document 1: Ishiguro Hidekazu and Kurita Taiichiro, “Consideration on Motion Picture Quality of the Hold Type Display with an octuple-rate CRT”, IEICE Technical Report, Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, ETD96-4 (1996-06), p. 19-26 Non-Patent Document 2: Yamauchi Tatsuro, “TV Standards Conversion”, Journal of the Institute of Television Engineers of Japan, Vol. 45, No. 12, pp. 1534-1543 (1991)